-
This is today’s chat thread.
If you have specific questions about Avios, hotels or credit cards, please ask them in the appropriate forum and not here. This thread is a good place to post interesting deals you have spotted or your general thoughts on travel and all things miles and points. Thank you for contributing.
I’m trying to research Avios (and CV) flights to Anchorage from LHR but ANC isn’t accepted as an airport in the ‘book using Avios’ form. (The page has loaded properly — other destination airports are fine.)
Maybe I’m missing something, but it’s served by AA and I can see cash fares such as LHR-ORD-ANC on a mixture of BA and AA metal, for example.
Is this a somewhat-tedious telephone task, or something else? Thanks in advance!
And good morning from SQ894 where a paucity of Krisflyer points mean that we are in premium economy. Perfectly adequate for a four hour flight.
An at capacity SATS lounge relegated us to the Ambassador lounge which was quiet and more than acceptable for a half hour pit stop.
We booked the cook and have already had our choices reconfirmed.
Freddo is busy building an airport on Minecraft and I am praying for some peace and quiet.
@davidn you won’t be able to use your companion voucher to get to Anchorage, only Chicago.
If you post your dates, someone can look see but I briefly managed to get it to search from ORD-ANC before it went back to erroring.
The knack I suspect is to type Anchorage out in full until BA populates that field for you. Typing ANC did not seem to work for me. I am pretty sure I have had this before with other destinations.
@davidn, you can only use the companion voucher on BA, Iberia and Aer Lingus, and you can’t add a flight on another airline on to one you’ve booked with it. So it’ll be 2 separate flights – the best value you will get is to use the voucher to an airport as near to ANC as you can get, e.g. YVR, SEA, then connect from there.
ANC just worked for me in the app but that was for an ordinary avios flight not using a 2-4-1. Not that there was any availability on the dummy dates I selected for LHR-ANC.
Remember there is limited avios availability on AA flights anyway due to aaa only releasing the lowest award flights to BA.
Plus it looks like ORD-ANC is seasonal so depends on your dates. Daily flights seem to end in September and only weekends in October.
You might be better off with Alaska (AS) from Seattle (but also note the restrictions on airlines and the 2-4-1 noted above)
There don’t seem to be any non-stop flights ex YVR to ANC.
Also think very carefully about unprotected connections – AA is notorious for shifting flights by as much as 3/4 hours which can completely mess up your plans! We’d always stay at least one night at the first destination to avoid unnecessary stress.
Thanks, all! I had tried both ANC and Anchorage on a desktop browser (want to check voucher opportunities) but not the app. Heh ho.
ANC is on the main/headline list of BA destinations, so was confused as to why a voucher couldn’t potentially be used… but makes sense now. I’ll do some more poking around, using these helpful tips.
If you want to know just how bad AA are, the March stats are here https://viewfromthewing.com/delta-first-united-surges-to-2nd-american-6th-with-most-cancellations-the-march-airline-performance-rankings/
How would you feel?
There’s a popular hotel booking agent promoted by this website that get lots of positive feedback and I wanted to share my recent experience get a neutral view on it.
Like many on here I like to eke out the bast value for all my stays and as I do a lot of 1 or night stops on road trips I tend to use FHR & Virtuoso frequently. I must admit I rarely use the HFP enquiry page as I don’t find it that convenient (sorry Rob). Maybe I should.
I found a hotel in Germany on Virtuoso that was in the right place at the right price and tried to book but maybe because I was on a mobile device or just a portal problem it wouldn’t let me so I sent a note to this popular travel agent with the details asking him to to book for me. I mentioned my SLH number as I saw they were part of that group in order to try and get points (like I would do with Accor or IHG etc) and perhaps crucially, I did not mention I wanted the Virtuoso rate/benefits.
I got conformation back that it was booked but did not check the details fully. Another mistake.
When I checked in there was none of the chat about upgrades, credit, just breakfast. Not all hotels are good at that and I just assumed as a wedding was going on I got no upgrade and have never had a problem with any previous Virtuoso or FHR booking so didn’t question it.
Come check out I was not given any credit against my F&B spend so I queried this and was told it wasn’t part of the rate. I was just booked on B&B. Surprised, I gave a call to the agent that booked it but no answer. I paid and left assuming there was a misunderstanding and it wouldn’t let be sorted out in due course.
Having now exchanged a few emails with the travel agent, they are stating that they have done nothing wrong and have just booked what I asked for. I’ve tried to understand why they think I wouldn’t have wanted the Virtuoso benefits but just get told they booked the room I asked for. Quite why they thought I would want to use them for a standard rate when I could have booked directly with either SLH or Hilton and received at least the points I find impossible to understand.
I guess strictly speaking they have just taken an order but if I had provided a lesser service than what I feel I should have done as a professional then I would have at least apologised and tried to make amends even if I had done it in good faith.
Here’s the email I sent to get the booking made:
Hi ****
I’ve been trying to book the Heritage Room for 1 night, 1 person, on April 11th at Schlosshotel Kronberg but the system keeps crashing on me.
I would like to request secure parking if available. My SLH membership number is ********.
Booking is for **** ***** and my number is ***********
CC details:
************ **/**
Thanks
****
Not all Virtuoso rates get the same benefits. Did you get an email quoting the price and listing the benefits? I always hang on to this, not because of issues with the agent, but because hotels are sometimes unaware of the rate. Then on the actual booking it should say something like “IHG one night on us” (going off my next Virtuoso booking) which indicates that it’s a special rate.
Also, are the benefits you were expecting listed on the Virtuoso website (though I appreciate not all hotels feature there). Some benefits have been withdrawn, especially since the pandemic – and some properties (like the IC 02) have disengaged from the program altogether.
Not all Virtuoso rates get the same benefits. Did you get an email quoting the price and listing the benefits? I always hang on to this, not because of issues with the agent, but because hotels are sometimes unaware of the rate. Then on the actual booking it should say something like “IHG one night on us” (going off my next Virtuoso booking) which indicates that it’s a special rate.
Also, are the benefits you were expecting listed on the Virtuoso website (though I appreciate not all hotels feature there). Some benefits have been withdrawn, especially since the pandemic – and some properties (like the IC 02) have disengaged from the program altogether.
All the benefits are listed on the agent’s branded Virtuoso website. It just wouldn’t let me book it on the website for whatever reason. My email confirmation from the agent didn’t confirm the benefits but I had (mistakenly) no reason think any other rate would be booked and didn’t check it other than the date of stay. Won’t make that mistake again.
I guess my grumble is that when you ask an expert to do something they should do the best for you or at least question why I would want a sh*t deal over a deal that gives a (potentially) upgraded room and guaranteed hotel credit. Maybe my bigger grumble is the attitude after the fact has been pretty much a shrug of the shoulders.
I know there’s other partnerships that don’t show on the Virtuoso platform and you need to go direct to the agent but this hotel is on Virtuoso and does list all the benefits.
@smitrax – used it once. Error on price vs original quote and I had to do all the pre-arrival upgrade legwork. Gave the benefit of the doubt and tried a second booking where the hotel had a 342 offer although it expired mid stay; was told I couldn’t use it. Contacted the hotel who willingly offered it plus confirmed upgrade and benefits. Doubt I will use again.
On a broader note, I see these Virtuoso rates and similar things like FHR as the American tourist rate, i.e. the mug’s rate. The hotel is totally delighted to get bookings at that rate and in fact so delighted, it is willing to give you $100 credit for the stay, breakfast and pay the agent c. 15% on your booking.
The $100 fades quite quickly after one night and I really don’t like maybe upgrades which anyway sometimes don’t feel like much of one.
I would rather be in direct contact with a person at the hotel who knows the rooms and is empowered to offer a guaranteed deal. I do always check Virtuoso, OTA rates, local rates and hotel packages first.
@smitrax – used it once. Error on price vs original quote and I had to do all the pre-arrival upgrade legwork. Gave the benefit of the doubt and tried a second booking where the hotel had a 342 offer although it expired mid stay; was told I couldn’t use it. Contacted the hotel who willingly offered up plus confirmed upgrade and benefits. Doubt I will use again.
On a broader note, I see these Virtuoso rates and similar things like FHR as the American tourist rate, i.e. the mug’s rate. The hotel is totally delighted to get bookings at that rate and in fact so delighted, it is willing to give you $100 credit for the stay, breakfast and pay the agent c. 15% on your booking.
The $100 fades quite quickly after one night and I really don’t like maybe upgrades which anyway sometimes don’t feel like much of one.
I would rather be in direct contact with a person at the hotel who knows the rooms and is empowered to offer a guaranteed deal. I do always check Virtuoso, OTA rates, local rates and hotel packages first.
I tend to find they offer good value for a night or two but agree the upgrades aren’t much of a benefit.
I always check versus a direct booking to make sure I’m not paying too much for the F&B credit and breakfast.
What was the rate stated on the booking confirmation? I’m not disagreeing with you here, I’m trying to work out if there was anything which can be proven not to have been honoured on either side.
I agree that Virtuoso prices aren’t always the best, and I always compare with booking direct. However offers like 3 for 2 take some beating, especially when combined with the F & B credit, or lounge access.
All the benefits are listed on the agent’s branded Virtuoso website. It just wouldn’t let me book it on the website for whatever reason. My email confirmation from the agent didn’t confirm the benefits but I had (mistakenly) no reason think any other rate would be booked and didn’t check it other than the date of stay. Won’t make that mistake again.
I guess my grumble is that when you ask an expert to do something they should do the best for you or at least question why I would want a sh*t deal over a deal that gives a (potentially) upgraded room and guaranteed hotel credit. Maybe my bigger grumble is the attitude after the fact has been pretty much a shrug of the shoulders.
I know there’s other partnerships that don’t show on the Virtuoso platform and you need to go direct to the agent but this hotel is on Virtuoso and does list all the benefits.
Are you 100% sure you were using Emyr at Bon Vivant travel?
I’ve used him a few times – first via the contact form on HfP and then via email – and found him to be excellent. I’ve certainly only given him my CC details and hotrl membership number once I’m happy with the booking he’s about to make for me.
And since the booking is in my name have always been able to see it on the hotels site including the rate paid etc.
@smitrax – I think that as markets soften, there will be ever better direct deals to be done which hotels won’t want to show in their headline rates. I’m already experiencing it in one market (at two hotels in different cities) but others are very steady for now.
What was the rate stated on the booking confirmation? I’m not disagreeing with you here, I’m trying to work out if there was anything which can be proven not to have been honoured on either side.
I agree that Virtuoso prices aren’t always the best, and I always compare with booking direct. However offers like 3 for 2 take some beating, especially when combined with the F & B credit, or lounge access.
The booking confirmation showed a B&B rate which is what I got and arguably, what I requested from the agent. The hotel is not a fault. The agent has, I suppose, just booked what I asked for but I thought the whole point in these agents was to book the special rates with all the benefits and had no idea you might need to request it.
As it turns out, the agent has now made an acceptable offer to smooth things over.
All the benefits are listed on the agent’s branded Virtuoso website. It just wouldn’t let me book it on the website for whatever reason. My email confirmation from the agent didn’t confirm the benefits but I had (mistakenly) no reason think any other rate would be booked and didn’t check it other than the date of stay. Won’t make that mistake again.
I guess my grumble is that when you ask an expert to do something they should do the best for you or at least question why I would want a sh*t deal over a deal that gives a (potentially) upgraded room and guaranteed hotel credit. Maybe my bigger grumble is the attitude after the fact has been pretty much a shrug of the shoulders.
I know there’s other partnerships that don’t show on the Virtuoso platform and you need to go direct to the agent but this hotel is on Virtuoso and does list all the benefits.
Are you 100% sure you were using Emyr at Bon Vivant travel?
I’ve used him a few times – first via the contact form on HfP and then via email – and found him to be excellent. I’ve certainly only given him my CC details and hotrl membership number once I’m happy with the booking he’s about to make for me.
And since the booking is in my name have always been able to see it on the hotels site including the rate paid etc.
I’ve never had a problem in the past, but would stress that you should check any bookings made by email. If the agent isn’t aware that there are Virtuoso rates for a particular hotel then you might not get the Virtuoso rate. I think that’s what happened.
@smitrax – I think that as markets soften, there will be ever better direct deals to be done which hotels won’t want to show in their headline rates. I’m already experiencing it in one market (at two hotels in different cities) but others are very steady for now.
I’d like to hear some of your hotel recommendation. I’ve read a few posts of yours that seem to indicate you are not a fan of the big chains so genuinely would like to know some of your personal favourites.
I have an upcoming car rental in JFK with Hertz for Tesla Model 3 as it was cheapest to book on Hertz USA. I have a Five star President level loyalty with Hertz. Today i got a reminder email from hertz of the upcoming rental and giving the chance to upgrade. When I follow the link it doesn’t let me upgrade as this booking. Based on my loyalty I should be able to pick a Full size car without fee .Many times i have hired in USA I was given the option to choose any car from Small to Full except the Premium segment based on the loyalty tier.
Am i right to think I can have a Full size car than Tesla? like as always.
Am I nuts or is Qatar Airwaya offering me to boost my avios by giving them 12p yes that’s twelve pence – £0.12p Per extra Single Avios received.
They say they’ll give me about 25,000 avios if I pay them about £300. Have I miscalculated or does Qatar think I would do this? Should I give up maths?
Am I nuts or is Qatar Airwaya offering me to boost my avios by giving them 12p yes that’s twelve pence – per extra avios received.
They say they’ll give me about 25,000 avios if I pay them about £300. Have I miscslculated or does Qatar think I would do this? Should I give up maths?
1.2p per Avios, but still not great!
I have an upcoming car rental in JFK with Hertz for Tesla Model 3 as it was cheapest to book on Hertz USA. I have a Five star President level loyalty with Hertz. Today i got a reminder email from hertz of the upcoming rental and giving the chance to upgrade. When I follow the link it doesn’t let me upgrade as this booking. Based on my loyalty I should be able to pick a Full size car without fee .Many times i have hired in USA I was given the option to choose any car from Small to Full except the Premium segment based on the loyalty tier.
Am i right to think I can have a Full size car than Tesla? like as always.
In the current environment, when they hook that rare fish – the customer that wants a Tesla, they won’t let that booking go easily.
Am I nuts or is Qatar Airwaya offering me to boost my avios by giving them 12p yes that’s twelve pence – per extra avios received.
They say they’llb g9ve me about 25,000 avios if I pay them £300. Have I miscslculated or does Qatar think I would do this? Should I give up maths?
Isn’t that 1.2p per avios?
300×100 = 30000p
30000/25000 = 1.2p per avios
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.
