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Update – looks BA made a mistake. When I received the BA cancellation invoice, the cancellations fees were £30 per person and not the cancellation fee of £60 per person given over the phone. I’ve spoken to BA and they are not sure why the computer system and the invoice amounts are different. I’ve been encouraged to raise a complaint to understand what has gone wrong.

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Ba have provided a refund breakdown showing a £60 per person fee for online cancellation for short haul flight. I will forward this to insurance company. For future bookings i’m trying to understand the cancellation fees BA charge. I thought it was £15 per person but when I called BA I got various answers from £15 per person per flight, £15 per person per booking or £30 pound per person per leg because I was calling them on the phone (even though I cancelled online). Just wanted to figure where BA show their cancellation fees.

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Thanks AJA – very helpful.

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I’ve moved this to the ‘Flight changes and Cancellations Help’

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Update – Amex posted the £70 IHG rebate on both my cards last week despite telling me previously I wasn’t eligible because I had made an online booking.

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Perth airport is a good idea. The insurance excess is high (about 5k AUD)- did you have to buy additional insurance (on top of AMEX Platinum to bring this down?

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Thanks for the help. Stayed in Perth last year and explored (including Rottnest) using trains and uber and it was great. We will be heading out towards Margaret river this time after spending a week in Perth so pick up will not be airport, probably around Perth somewhere just as we head out – avoids painful parking in Perth.

Did anybody use Amex Platinum card to cover car insurance?

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Thanks – bayswater car rental has some excellent prices. What insurance did you have? I need to figure out what my Amex Platinum car insurance covers.

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Update – AMEX posted £70 cashback on both my cards for an advanced booking at the IC George Edinburgh last November even though AMEX told me offer was not eligible for advanced bookings.

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@ Me2 ‘I spoke to Amex yesterday who said that the way the hotel processed our payment, meant that for some reason the AMEX system didnt pick it up as qualifying spend (and it had some odd extra reference on the card statement).Amex were very happy to process this manually and the rebate appeared today on my online statement….so you may want to do the same. Good luck.’

Unfortunately my booking was an advanced booking and as AMEX pointed out advanced bookings are not eligible.

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Update – AMEX investigated my complaint and agreed service was poor. Was offered £50 compensation.

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I have also raised a complaint – the agent was trying hard not to raise the complaint but I insisted 3 times on the same call before they agreed.

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@ dst78 – The lounge experience was the worst we’ve experienced when compared to 5 others we have visited ( Park Lane, Sydney, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Vienna). For example on first day sandwiches are supposed to be served from 2pm – we waited until 2.30 and nothing arrived so we went to a local cafe. Food in the evening is limited and is mainly cold cuts and fish that require some refrigeration so after a few hours the food didn’t look too appetising For both evenings the food was exactly the same which could be tedious for anyone staying there for an extended period.

Overall I did feel for the staff as I got the feeling the George just doesn’t have the staff to manage the lounge properly. There is nobody checking lounge access in the evening so anyone can just wander in without paying any premium. Staff wander in when they can but you get a feeling of part-timers working in the lounge possibly pulled in from other day jobs in the hotel.

Only positive was there were so few people my wife and I have the entire lounge to ourselves for most of both evenings.

@ NorthernLass – I was asked for feedback from the hotel whilst on train journey home. I made it very clear I want no ‘ come back again and give us another chance’ type response as I don’t see why my misfortune should be viewed as a positive training benefit for the hotel. Surprising I did receive an almost immediate response from the General Manager which was genuinely apologetic and he offered 60K IHG points as compensation which I accepted.

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I agree there is a wider issue here. But for Amex to have closed the case without even contacting me was poor as I have been waiting since mid-October for a response.

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Update on my Amex Edinburgh George Intercontinental credit – Amex rejected it because it was an online transaction – merchant used by the hotel was not eligible for the offer. I had escalated the case and AMEX were supposed to get back to me but they never did – they just closed the case. I had to chase them.

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Stayed at the Edinburgh Intercontinental a few weeks ago. Two nights with lounge access and was Ambassador diamond member. Check in was poor with no recognition of diamond status. Room was tiny. Unfortunately I did pay the 130 pound per night premium for lounge access – a complete waste of money. I only booked because of the IHG offer on my amex card but booking was rejected by amex because it was an advance booking.

So overall a rubbish experience at the Edinburgh Intercontinental and I have no intention of returning. Kimpton much much better.

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Just spoke to Amex through chat – case is escalated to Amex validation team and they will get back to me in 7-10 days.

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My IHG booking posted as 3CPAYMENT*INTERCONTINEN EDINBURGH on my Amex. Might give Amex a call to check if offered saved on their system. But get feeling Amex might say payment has to be made at hotel.

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I’m having an issue with The George Edinburgh as well – nothing triggered.

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Thank you for all the advice. BA have been very good but don’t have a funeral date yet and current outbound flight availability is very limited – worried about rebooking too soon and have to change again. Good point about train merchant not accepting amex – will go down that route with Amex insurance.

Thanks again to everybody.

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Does anyone know if an amex spend in a restaurant of an eligible Hilton trigger the amex offer?

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Is the BA Amex hilton offer valid for Hilton point purchases?

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That is the issue Rob. I can get redemptions as two separate flights (LON-Perth, Perth-LON) which works out more than the 180K Lon-Perth. I see with cash bookings you do get the option for a few days stopover included in the standard ticket price but was wondering if that option was available with reward bookings. I don’t think it is so will bite the bullet and book separate flights.

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Fixed – doesn’t work on website but link does work on app. Was able to reauthenticate ba account.

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You could be right. I managed to change the booking online to May 2023.