[Kuestrian]

The QR/VA flights aren’t being released on the QR T+361 schedule but the VA T+330 one, and they weren’t available for award bookings.

[Kuestrian]

OOTL here: what’s happening on April 26th?

[Kuestrian]

Does anyone know if the ability to upgrade a cash ticket with avios is capped by the number of ‘pay in full with avios’ award seats available on the flight?

Also whether you can upgrade with avios when there are flexi 2x seats available?

[Kuestrian]

Kuestrian wrote:

Anyone know when the 2nd daily Virgin Australia-sourced flights will be available to book?

According to this QR press release they should have been bookable from 11th Dec but it’s still only showing one flight per day when trying to book:

https://www.qatarairways.com/press-releases/en-WW/245216-virgin-australia-flights-to-doha-on-sale-now

Or are they only bookable through the VA website, and therefore not available for reward seat bookings?

I figured this one out – they ARE bookable through the Qatar Airways site but because they are listed as true VA flights they are only bookable up to T+330 and are not eligible for Avios redemptions.

[Kuestrian]

Anyone know when the 2nd daily Virgin Australia-sourced flights will be available to book?

According to this QR press release they should have been bookable from 11th Dec but it’s still only showing one flight per day when trying to book:

https://www.qatarairways.com/press-releases/en-WW/245216-virgin-australia-flights-to-doha-on-sale-now

Or are they only bookable through the VA website, and therefore not available for reward seat bookings?

[Kuestrian]

Check the other threads on here about BA Shopping but it’s basically not worth using due to their refusal to honour their deals.

It can even be more productive to use Quidco or TCB and use the cash to buy Avios than risk BA not paying out on purchases.

[Kuestrian]

BA Flyer IHG Stayer wrote:

Simple claims are processed quickly.

Not sure how you arrive at this supposition but they’ve still not processed my simple claim from over 2 months ago.

There’s no more straightforward case than refunding seat selection fees on flights that BA cancelled of their own volition (the KUL route).

[Kuestrian]

13th Oct and still only showing as ‘Received’. Given it’s an open-and-shut case (seat selection fee refunds for the cancelled KUL flights) I’m amazed and annoyed it hasn’t been dealt with yet.

I’ll be ringing them tomorrow and likely opening a CEDR claim next week.

[Kuestrian]

Can concur. Good work, Marriott!

[Kuestrian]

Thanks both

[Kuestrian]

Whatsthepoint wrote:

I’m new to esims. If I bought a T-Mobile esim for the US from e.g. Airalo, would this give me a US number?

Not with Airalo but you can get a T-mobile e-sim with number by using their official app:

https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/t-mobile-prepaid-esim/id1437014693

[Kuestrian]

Got the same with a claim submitted for the refund of seat selection fees following the KUL route cancellation. Was promised an email with details and follow-up but had nada.

Looks like yet more hassle chasing BA to provide the bare minimum customer service. If we can get avios flights to Aus with QR next month then it’s going to be bye-bye to BA as the BAPP 2-4-1 appears to be of no value whatsoever nowadays.

[Kuestrian]

Hmm…

https://www.headforpoints.com/2024/01/02/british-airways-seat-reservation-fee-refund-2/

Has anyone succeeded in a chargeback or S.75 for seat selection fees on cancelled BA flights?

[Kuestrian]

I’ve just rebooked but it seems I am being asked to stump up for seat selection again. Do BA offer refunds on the original seat selection charges?

[Kuestrian]

Used mine in the Tiffin Room at Raffles, which was pretty good.

[Kuestrian]

After getting burned by Samsung on that, and the appalling picture quality, I learned many lessons and haven’t looked back since moving to LG TVs as they are night-and-day different from Samsung.

Richer Sounds get my business now for A/V kit, and have also been superb. I haven’t had cause to use Amex for an S75 claim thankfully!

[Kuestrian]

JDB wrote:

More broadly, I really wouldn’t expect to need s75 cover for a TV and I’m of a cautious disposition. While appreciating that price is going to be a key driver of choosing a supplier, with or without s75 I would be looking to buy the TV from a retailer that will respect your/your son’s consumer rights and ultimately, you do have rights vs the manufacturer if necessary so I wouldn’t be concerned about the credit card protections. John Lewis is supposed to be reverting to its ‘never knowingly undersold’ policy!

Samsung mis-sold their 2016 TVs by not delivering on the promise of providing a SmartHub when they came out later in the year. Currys and JL were flat-out refusing to accept returns on that basis and many customers had to revert to S75 protections to get them to do so. Amex were particularly good in that regard, MBNA less so (as I think we’d all expect).

Worthy note to Richer Sounds who did adhere to consumer protections and accept the returns. Samsung and Currys should be avoided at all costs.

[Kuestrian]

davefl wrote:

@Kuestrian Great tips, thanks for passing them on.

I went for Airalo and a US Skype number on my recent trip and it was a disaster. SMS wouldn’t send on Skype although I could receive them. Got double charged by Google play for the skype number and complaints to Google, MS, Paypal and a chargeback on Amex all failed.

I did look previously for a Tmobile esim option but couldn’t find it. Having a US number is so useful for Uber/Lyft/takeout ordering and tour contacts.

The US number has been invaluable on this trip, especially for walk-ups where they take your number and text you when your table is ready. I also used it to register for Lyft and got a free trial month of their Lyft Pink sub, which includes priority pickups and 20% off rides.

The other nice thing is getting 5G Ultra Wide, even in the sticks. I ran a speedtest in a semi-remote part and got 850Mbps on download!

[Kuestrian]

For anyone needing a US eSIM…

I was looking specifically for a Verizon eSIM to provide additional coverage in some of the more rural parts for the US where the usual T-Mobile/AT&T ones used by Nomad, Airalo et al didn’t cover, and came across a fantastic deal in a post on another forum.

By downloading the Verizon Trial app you can sign up for a free 30-day trial giving you 100GB of data and unlimited minutes & texts:

https://m.vzw.com/dpkgPgsi

The only hurdle is that you need to provide a non-Verizon US cell number during sign-up, that hasn’t been used for the trial in the last 6 months. If you have one from a previous trip then you may be able to use that and get the trial without doing anything else.

However if you don’t have one available then you can download the T-Mobile Prepaid SIM app to get a US number that can be used to unlock the Verizon trial:

https://apps.apple.com/us/app/t-mobile-prepaid-esim/id1437014693

I ended up doing this and bought the cheapest option (5GB) for £13, giving me 2 US eSIMs on different networks which came in very handy whenever one dropped out. Having a US cell number for reservations and contact details was also extremely useful.

[Kuestrian]

SpotHero looks like just what I need. Thanks for the tip, both.

[Kuestrian]

Good tip about the receipt for the final fill-up, as that had never occurred to me.

I did look at doing a one-way but that went from £700 (downtown-downtown) to £2245 (downtown-SFO) ! SFO-SFO went from £750 last week and is now just under £1500.

[Kuestrian]

Interesting thread. It does seem like they all just make it up as they go.

I was going to prepay and use it to trigger a BA voucher but I think I’ll choose the pay-at-desk option which only adds a fiver to the total but means I can track the prices at SFO in the meanwhile and jump on that of they ever dip back down.

Also your comment in your thread about being charged in USD unexpectedly has also made me think twice about the prepay plan!

[Kuestrian]

travelersolo wrote:

ssume

Kuestrian wrote:

Aston100 wrote:

Does Amex Plat really provide Avis PC status?
I managed to get it through the Barclays Avios card (the paid one), along with the associated PC benefits.

@aston100 Can I ask how you got the Avis status through the Barclaycard Avios Plus card? I don’t see it listed as a benefit anywhere but would be really keen to get that with Avis.

Try
https://www.priceless.com/travel/product/162259/avis-world-elite-offer

Many thanks for that. I signed up through priceless using the MWE option. It put me on Avis Preferred so I’ve messaged them asking how to get upgraded to President’s Club.

[Kuestrian]

Aston100 wrote:

Does Amex Plat really provide Avis PC status?
I managed to get it through the Barclays Avios card (the paid one), along with the associated PC benefits.

@aston100 Can I ask how you got the Avis status through the Barclaycard Avios Plus card? I don’t see it listed as a benefit anywhere but would be really keen to get that with Avis.

[Kuestrian]

Wow! Straight in and approved!

Thanks very much for that. Wonder why CS said they couldn’t do it?