Chat thread – Saturday 11th January

[Aston100]

can2 wrote:

I think everyone who uses a taxi in istanbul gets ripped off every time!
I remember reading that they were almost finished connecting SAW to the city with metro.

Only really an issue in the super touristic areas such as Sultanahmet or near Taksim.
Insist on the meter and card payment or else wave them away and the next taxi will likely comply.

Other than airport transfers, there isn’t really a huge need for taxis as the public transport system is excellent and very cheap. You can take the metro to both airports by the way if so inclined.

[Biki]

I’m about to cancel my platinum Amex card and have 335k MR points to convert first. I know this has been asked a few times, but what are people’s thoughts on where to move them to?

I was going to move to BA, but already have about 700k avios, so wondering whether to hedge my bet if the rumours of dynamic pricing may come true.

Although people aren’t happy with virgins move, it seems like there are some upper seats popping up for 29k each way, so maybe move some here and potentially some to Hilton to use on a 5-4-4?

Any thoughts welcome!

[phantomchickenz]

Biki wrote:

I’m about to cancel my platinum Amex card and have 335k MR points to convert first. I know this has been asked a few times, but what are people’s thoughts on where to move them to?

I was going to move to BA, but already have about 700k avios, so wondering whether to hedge my bet if the rumours of dynamic pricing may come true.

Although people aren’t happy with virgins move, it seems like there are some upper seats popping up for 29k each way, so maybe move some here and potentially some to Hilton to use on a 5-4-4?

Any thoughts welcome!

Entirely up to you and your future plans for points, miles, hotels, etc.

Keep in mind you can downgrade to a fee free Amex card which will keep your MR balance intact.

[Avant]

@northernlass my apologies for the serious disruption to your journey by rail. Please may I ask if you are in Standard, Standard Premium or First?

On Avanti West Coast, reservations are not compulsory, it’s a “walk on” service so passengers are permitted to keep joining the train to stand until they can physically fit no more.

The usual policy for strike dates for Avanti is coaches A-J are all Standard unreserved accommodation, with the Premium in H and J declassified to ordinary Standard. K is unreserved First.

There will be a train service running on the Sunday but it will be a case of showing up and hoping for the best. If you have a First class ticket you can expect to be accommodated sat down in the tiny carriage K. Everyone else, it’s free for all in the remaining 10 carriages. For timetable you’ve received the correct advice – look at tomorrow and expect very similar to that 🙂

[davefl]

Biki wrote:

I’m about to cancel my platinum Amex card and have 335k MR points to convert first. I know this has been asked a few times, but what are people’s thoughts on where to move them to?

Any thoughts welcome!

If you’re doing it to reset for the 2 years before you can get a new card then I can’t help. If you’re doing it because you don’t get value from the Platinum any more then just get the standard free Membership Rewards card and your points can sit there until you decide what to do.

You still get Amex Offers, just lose out on Priority Pass, travel nsurance, and hotel statuses etc. You can buy most of that and still have change from £650.

[Avant]

Worth being aware of your LNER cashback offers via American Express or Mastercard. This stacks with the 50% discount Rail Sale which is opening for booking on Tuesday at 10am.

Nearly all lines in Great Britain are included in the sale, and bookable via the LNER website. It’s not just for travel on LNER trains.

17 January 2025 – 31 March 2025 is the travel period for the sale tickets. Nearly all tickets valid for the booked train only and non-refundable.

[Sevy]

Hi all,
I just took out a supplementary Platinum Amex for my wife and Amex has billed me £250. I had done this assuming it was free.

Has there been a change in policy?
I can’t see how a supplementary card can be worth this much.

Anyone else has experience with this?

[annabh]

Anyone have The Ivy APP? Been going through the platinum dining but they have double reward points to spend this month until 26 January I had £40 plus on it now doubled up to £80 so ‘free’ brunch tomorrow! Not sure whether this will stack with the £20 off offer if you spend £100 terms and conditions really not clear if we go over £80 can use some of the dining credit and pop back later this month. Diet not going too well ha ha.

[rogerj]

Is anyone else having issues logging into the Qatar privilege club collection to bid on O2 events? I get the OPT correct then it just hangs….

[PJJ]

Biki wrote:

I’m about to cancel my platinum Amex card and have 335k MR points to convert first. I know this has been asked a few times, but what are people’s thoughts on where to move them to?

I was going to move to BA, but already have about 700k avios, so wondering whether to hedge my bet if the rumours of dynamic pricing may come true.

Although people aren’t happy with virgins move, it seems like there are some upper seats popping up for 29k each way, so maybe move some here and potentially some to Hilton to use on a 5-4-4?

Any thoughts welcome!

Agree with @phantonchickenx and davefl with regards to moving to the free Amex card, however, you could also downgrade to the Free for Year Preferred Rewards Gold Card

[Froggee]

Sevy wrote:

Hi all,
I just took out a supplementary Platinum Amex for my wife and Amex has billed me £250. I had done this assuming it was free.

Has there been a change in policy?
I can’t see how a supplementary card can be worth this much.

Anyone else has experience with this?

The first supplementary card is free. Additional ones are £285.

So I’m confused!

Have you issued anyone else a supplementary card?

[Blair Waldorf Salad]

@Northernlass I think best to avoid a Sunday seat tussle. Stay the extra night. If London prices are high, why not just stay in Milton Keynes or Watford. And catch the EUS-PRE train as it passes by.

[jsj17]

JerrySignfield wrote:

Anyone had their gold status updated for RJ yesterday/today?

Nope, not yet.

[NorthernLass]

@strickers, @avant. Thanks for the responses. Tomorrow is showing normal service on the Northern Rail app. I assume our tickets are standard, even though they cost an arm and a leg. There’s usually something on the ticket saying you can only travel on that particular service.

So I can’t re-book us onto one of the trains which will be running that day?

@BWS, my friends are not like us. They will think I have lost my marbles if I start suggesting we split the journey home and stay in Milton Keynes.

I think our options are:

-Risk standing up all the way to Preston on a train which stops everywhere en route.
-Stay an extra night in London; our current hotel is only £108 that night so an option (and roughly the price of the original train ticket!)
-Get the tube to LHR, fly to MAN and hope one of our husbands will take pity and come to meet us. A plan will be needed to avoid MAN pick-up fees, which make the husbands froth at the mouth.

[Avant]

@northernlass apologies it’s a naff situation for you.

If you want to book a flight at your own cost, you can contact your booking point (not Avanti, unless Avanti was how you booked obviously) for a full refund. This can be both out and back or only back, at your choice.

If you want to use the train on the strike date’s limited schedule, or the day after, don’t touch your original booking. The ticket is valid for travel any train you want on those days.

As to reservations, I’ve checked and I’m sorry my previous info was out of date. They now are doing some reservations on the trains which run on strike days. These seem just done as free add ons but they’re quite limited in numbers. Any reservations for cancelled trains just disappear into the ether. To make a request for replacement reservations, you can either follow the link in your email (that email might only have a link if you booked through trainline or Avanti themselves) or send Avanti a social media message, visit a station ticket office, or fill in this form https://www.railhelp.co.uk/avantiwestcoast/websupport

In case it helps you, there will be trains from Manchester Airport direct to Preston which aren’t affected by the strike action. Husbands could collect you for free at Preston station then which would save their blood pressures, or alternatively you can buy a ticket such as Manchester Airport to Horwich Parkway which is very cheap and there is ample kiss and ride space there, just off the motorway. I know none of this is massively helpful when you’ve already parted with a small fortune.

If it were me I’d show up at Euston earlier than planned and sit in any seat showing unreserved / blank on the little label above the seats in coaches J or H.

For timetable info you can see the times of the trains on an enthusiast-focused website already:

https://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/search/detailed/gb-nr:EUS/to/gb-nr:PRE/2025-01-12/0200-0159?stp=WVS&show=pax-calls&order=wtt

That’s tomorrow, but I’d expect similar for a week tomorrow.

Totally get that the uncertainty makes it hobsons’ choice though.

[Greg]

Good evening Hfp’ers from Club lounge at Gatwick South.

I just walked the length of the lounge and counted 12 people. So enjoyable.

In the words of the old Seiko advert, “one day all lounges will be made like this”

[Ant M]

NorthernLass wrote:

I’d be grateful for some help from regular rail users. I’m going to see ABBA Voyage next Saturday with friends, and we’d booked very expensive fast train tickets from PRE-EUS. I had an email this week saying the return train journey has been cancelled due to strike action …

Apparently they are releasing a “strike timetable” on Monday. I am there will be a lot of people competing to move to one of these services. What time does it become available and what’s the best method of getting an decent alternative? Do I do this via my current booking or do I have to start from scratch?

At a push, we could all stay in London until Monday, would we just be better forgetting about trying to get back in any sort of civilised manner on the Sunday?!

“You can dance, you can jive, having the time of your life, but not if you’re relying on public transport in the UK…”
🕺 🪩 🚊 😩

Staying an extra night in London will give a much nicer journey home – with a reduced service it’s likely to be very crowded on the Sunday and the chances of any seat reservations being respected are minimal.

[Avant]

Ant M wrote:

NorthernLass wrote:

I’d be grateful for some help from regular rail users. I’m going to see ABBA Voyage next Saturday with friends, and we’d booked very expensive fast train tickets from PRE-EUS. I had an email this week saying the return train journey has been cancelled due to strike action …

Apparently they are releasing a “strike timetable” on Monday. I am there will be a lot of people competing to move to one of these services. What time does it become available and what’s the best method of getting an decent alternative? Do I do this via my current booking or do I have to start from scratch?

At a push, we could all stay in London until Monday, would we just be better forgetting about trying to get back in any sort of civilised manner on the Sunday?!

“You can dance, you can jive, having the time of your life, but not if you’re relying on public transport in the UK…”
🕺 🪩 🚊 😩

Staying an extra night in London will give a much nicer journey home – with a reduced service it’s likely to be very crowded on the Sunday and the chances of any seat reservations being respected are minimal.

Unfortunately, yes.

[Biki]

Thanks for the replies. I tried Amex online chat and they only want to offer the £60 a year card to save the points. I’ll try calling on Monday and see if I have any better luck

[AL]

Aside calling BA, is there a way to get the EI PNR out of them? I have a BA-ticketed EI-operated flight coming up, and I’d like to make seat selection, but BA are (as ever) claiming it can’t be done. I am fairly confident that EI can do it… but I need my PNR first.

[NorthernLass]

@Avant, well thank you, mysterious newcomer who knows a lot about trains!

I have now found my confirmation email and it seems I booked with Avanti. In big orange writing on each ticket, it says “What can I do with my ticket?”
As if you need to ask, Avanti!

Manchester airport to Preston is about a measly £7, but would be an hour followed by another 30 mins in a car which might finish us off.

“Look at me now, will I ever learn … not to rely on public transport”.

It was the same weekend last year that @Super Secret Stuff (separately!) had to run to Euston and fight our way onto trains which hadn’t been cancelled due to a storm …

[Lou]

aseftel wrote:

Lou wrote:

Morning all – could someone with an Amex gold/plat card please tell me how much their travel rate is for the Melia Sanilas Lanzarote hotel for 22-29th Nov? Thank you so much!

Since you presumably don’t have a Plat card, thought you might find it useful to know that the lead-in pricing booking direct (using the Meliá Gold 20% discount that you get with Plat) is €1,893.08.

That is a super-useful data point! Looks like the Plat card almost pays for itself with a single booking

[Avant]

No worries! London Euston is a true shocker. No doubt you all saw it in the media last year that the station operators were given an improvement notice by the regulator for mismanagement of crowds and other problems. Minor improvements have been implemented since, but they really are minor.

If you take the risk of travelling earlier, sans reservation, I strongly suggest coaches H and J as these have the first class seats, but you can use them with standard tickets on strike days. It’s effectively a free upgrade but I would still expect all seats to be occupied and passengers to be standing. It may be impossible to access the shop due to the number of people standing too. At least if you need the loo you can usually squeeze past people…

The reservation methods above can be done for free if you want to delay a day too – don’t swap your ticket, just use it on the incorrect date. It’s still valid specially. It probably won’t scan on the ticket gates if you leave from a automatic-gated platform, but this doesn’t matter, an assistant will open the gate for you.

Another awkward and convoluted method can be used to make free reservations. This is well-hidden away deliberately:
1. Go https://myaccount.gwr.com/MyAccount and sign up for an account or log in. I know it says GWR but you can reserve any lines in Great Britain that do them through this, not only GWR trains
2. Open the menu and press “bookings” (I know this is bizarre)
3. Press “Make a seat/bike reservation”
4. Press “Next” then input details of a search for trains
5. Tick a box and press either “Anytime Single” or “Anytime Single 1st” for Standard and First respectively (yes I know this still makes little sense, doesn’t matter what ticket type you actually have, you can even do this if you don’t yet hold a ticket)
6. Press “Continue” then check the box for “I would like to reserve a seat” and input preferences
7. Press “add reservation” and that’s it you’re done

You don’t get a slip or a code or anything it’s just you see the number of the seat it has reserved.

[Lou]

aseftel wrote:

Lou wrote:

Morning all – could someone with an Amex gold/plat card please tell me how much their travel rate is for the Melia Sanilas Lanzarote hotel for 22-29th Nov? Thank you so much!

Since you presumably don’t have a Plat card, thought you might find it useful to know that the lead-in pricing booking direct (using the Meliá Gold 20% discount that you get with Plat) is €1,893.08.

How long would it take to get the 3 20% discount vouchers if I applied for the Plat card? Thanks!

[Greg]

can2 wrote:

Panda Mick wrote:

Good morning from the (empty) DLM lounge at Dalaman.

To be fair, we are the only passengers in the airport, it seems.

Pegasus were great on the way out from SAW. However, was disturbed to see people getting out of their seats whilst the plane was still moving with no announcements from the cabin crew.

But, booked the flights through GoToGate with Quidco, and it made a refreshing change using a low cost carrier and not having to pay for arbitrary things. Even seat selection was only £11 for two (didn’t use it on the way out)

A shame that SAW is t properly connected to Istanbul, as I feel every time I use a taxi in turkey im getting ripped off 🙁

I think everyone who uses a taxi in istanbul gets ripped off every time!
I remember reading that they were almost finished connecting SAW to the city with metro.

SAW is definitely connected to the “European side” by metro and if you need one change, by Marmaray.