[BJ]

So many experiences have been reported it is difficult to figure any pattern to Barcs. I think we just have to try and see. I closed my Hilton card with them last year and will have a go next year if they boost the SUB. Good luck with yours.

[BJ]

From memory of comments here, having another product with Barcs reducesvyour chances of success. If it’s another credit card you will almost certainly be rejected.

[BJ]

Thanks @Grant, I’m thinking February, hoping for snow.

[BJ]

Just been emailed that there are 10x Nectar points on toys at argos.

[BJ]

At the end of the day one of two things are likely to happen here, either BA try their luck at dismissing the claim and getting home free, or they be fair and provide reasonable settlement. What BA will consider reasonable is inevitably going to fall short of what OP hopes for. IMO OP has to get to this point first with a minimum of stress and fuss, and then decide how to proceed after BA response. IMO a reasonable response from BA would be in the ballpark we usually discuss in these cases.

[BJ]

Any recent experiences with HGI Snowdonia? I recall feedback from readers in the past was a bit mixed.

[BJ]

@Swifty, with a month you will have a blast! You cannit get train from Pguket to KL, you would need to take bus or van to Surat Thani ir Nakhon si Thammarat and take train from there. Alternatively I would suggest bus from Phuket Town to Krabi, a few nights there to explire the coasts and forests then a bus to Hat Yai. From Hat Yai you can visit Thale Noi on a day trip, a huge wetland with lotus flowers, water buffalo and many birds. Going in the spring you miggt get lucky and find it in full bloom to match your Cherry Blossom experience. You can take train or VIP bus from Hat Yai to KL, however, it’s easier and quicker to take a minivan to the border, cross and pick up a train in Malaysia. If you want to skip Krabi then I’d recomment flying Bangkok Airways from Phuket to Hat Yai to meet train, nus or van as described. Costs £36 ow including 29kg bag operated by ATR-72. If sky is clear views are fantastic, Thale Noi on left side of the plane 10 minutes before landing in Hat Yai. There is also a direct bus from Phuket to Hat Yai, takes 7 hours scheduled but could be 9h with entertainment along the way. If you are interested making some journey by sea you can do Hat Yai or Krabi transfer to Koh Lipe by van and speed boat and then another speedboat to Langkawi.

[BJ]

Use the voucher to/from HKG if there is any availability. HKG to NZ is cheap using Alaska miles if you can buy them in a sale. However, an Alaska MP devaluation is coming soon.

[BJ]

£6 off £20 spend at Superdrug appearing on cards today. Time to check for good offers on razor blades.

[BJ]

Thanks for confirming my experience @Anna. I also suspect that PNR1 and PNR2 function independently even where they do show up as linked but I couldn’t recall specifics of my booking.

[BJ]

@aq.1988, several of us have advise Boi similarly in previous discussion on her trip but she seems determined to do both countries at once. Ultimately no har done, she will probably just want to go back to both and see some more 🙂

[BJ]

Just stick to the bare gacts and hope for the best from BA. Sometimes I think it just comes down to agent gandling tour case. No need to create more stress unnecessarily, just aim to get it wound up with as little fuss asap. If BA do respobd unreasonably (and based on reports here, they might well do) then you can cross that bridge when you come to it. You can always come back here for collective wisdom and advice on BA response and next steps if necessary. Good luck with it.

[BJ]

@JDB, I’M not dure if that is true but I cannot say for certain as I’ve never changed PBR2 to a different class having already flown PNR1. However, what I have done is cancelled PNR2 after flying PNR1 and received a full refund for PNR2. I cannot recall what the situation was in this specific case but one interesting thing is that when making bookings in this way some CSA link (can be seen in the booking) the two PNR when refunding the avios while other agents have refunded the avios without linking the two PNR. I believe the former is likely the correct policy but the latter sometimes happens for one reason or another with respect to the CSA. My hunch is that I likely received a refund because the bookings were probably not linked but I cannot say for sure.

[BJ]

That’s how it works with the 2 ow PNR strategy, and in addition to lower costs this flexibility is why some of us love them so much.

[BJ]

I would switch order. Out to Tokyo, main base in Japan. Do one day bus tour or train visit to Hakone or lakes as I imagine Fuji not onsen is the attraction for you here, shinkansen to Osaka as base for Osaka, Kyoto Nara and Hiroshima. IMO Kyoto and Nara are a bit boting for teens so do both in one day. If you want to make most of time then take 1am JAL flight from KIX getting you into BKK at about 5am. After seeing Bangkok fly to Phuket for beach at end. Easy to route from HKT back to Canada.

[BJ]

It’s just the policy so generocity has nothing to do with it unless @JDB means they think the policy itself is generous (which I certainly believe it is). This change was allowed because AUA and SJC are in the same zone. You vould have flown the same class too if award seats were available in which case tehre would have been no perceived loss.

[BJ]

@Polly, forgot to mention Edelweiss. Check their own website. They fly direct between ZRH and HKT seasonal on exSwiss a340s. However, IIRC I read they are getting new longhaul aircraft and/or J seats. I’m quite tempted as I fancy a winter break in Switzerland some time and it would be good opportunity to combine with Thailand. Obviously the main downside would be hauling both winter and summer clothing so I’d need to check bags.

[BJ]

@Polly, I found it searching Skyscanner ow J HKT-EDI week beginning 22/1. It was apparently bookable via Trip. I never followed it through to see what happened but tbh it looked like an error fare to me. Asking about such low fares on Trip within the forum two or three months back, readers replied that they are reliable and owned by the same company that now owns Skyscanner. I had previously found attractive J fares there from Hat Yai to Edinburgh (around £900 ow)with connections on that Malaysian airline that just went bust plus longhaul on MH and then over to LGW for EasyJet to Edinburgh. I did work those through to payment page fine. Notes said the connections were protected too whatever that actually meant in practice. We are heading HKT to HKG for 3 nights before coming home BA on 241 so looking forward to that. Had just been exploring options as I usually do in event I need to get home suddenly.

Happy travels and happy festive season!

[BJ]

I hope Santa’s good to your daughter then…

[BJ]

What people normally fo to reduce fees for travel from HKG (and some other places):

1. Book UK-HKG (or elsewhere) ONLINE using voucher and get PNR1 ABCDEF
2. Book HKG-UK ONLINE and get PNR2 UVWXYZ
3. Call BA and request they apply voucher used on booking ABCDEF to booking UVWXYZ, link the two bookings and refund the appropriate avios for UVWXYZ.

[BJ]

The taxes/fees become higher because your fare is being recalculated as an open-jaw return from the UK as I explained earlier. The only way to avoid this is to book both as one ways online and then call to have avios refunded following application of voucher to both one way legs.

What I am not clear on is where the 57k avios for the outbound leg came from. This looks line you have been charged avios for the MAN-LHR sector but you should not have been because domestic connections are free (in terms of avios but not fees).

[BJ]

Should have added. You state that you would like to apply the amex voucher that you have used on PNR XYZABC to the new booking. In your case they will likely just ask why you didn’t callvto do it all at once.

[BJ]

First, you need to be patient and listen to all call options before pressing buttons on the phone. You want change an existing booking, used abios, used a companion voucher. That will get you through to a more experienced CS team who will understand perfectly. Pressing the buttons too early can muck up the call routing.

Second, be aware that this strategy is not going to reduce your tax/fees, they will recalculate them and you will pay normal rates for open jaw return from UK.

[BJ]

Excellent result @Angela, the benefits of GGL combined with a steady, measured approach. £140k would have be fabulous though 🙂

[BJ]

strickers wrote:

To answer my own question, the T&Cs now on the points.com website for IHG state:

Beginning December 6, 2023, Diamond Elite and IHG Business Rewards members may transfer points free of charge. For all other Members, the Member authorizing the transfer will be charged $5 US per 1,000 Points transferred, payable via valid, accepted credit card or approved payment method.

A positive change I think. I’ll be able to top up my wife’s account to make use of the few thousand points she has.

Thanks for your trouble 🙂