Chat thread – Sunday 13th April
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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.
import ban on meat and dairy from the EU
Tourists from Great Britain who travel to the continent to satisfy their epicurean desires for cured meats and fragrant cheeses will be frustrated in their attempts to bring home some of their favourite foods after a ban on meat and dairy imports from EU countries came into force this weekend.
Holidaymakers will no longer be able to bring meat from cattle, sheep, goats or pigs, or dairy products, from EU countries into Great Britain for personal use, in a move aimed at preventing the spread of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) after a rise in cases across Europe.
Even those attempting to bring sandwiches with offending items such as cheese and ham will be stopped by customs and excise. Cured meats, raw meats and milk are off limits regardless of whether they are packed, packaged or have been bought at duty-free.
Those found with these items will need to either surrender them at the border or will have them seized and destroyed. In serious cases, those found with these items run the risk of incurring fines of up to £5,000 in England.
Spotted this by accident. Had no idea. No bringing home any wurst or Käse from my Berlin trip over Easter then.
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@Flyer/Stayer, it was discussed in the chat yesterday. On reflection, I feel a bit sceptical about the reason given for the ban – I mean what’s the difference between what you can buy in a continental supermarket and what’s imported from those countries to be sold in the UK? Properly pasteurised products don’t transmit the virus, in any case, so it feels a bit like tit for tat on the EU ban on produce going the other way.
But anyway, it’s not worth risking upsetting customs staff (if they ever put in an appearance, not seen any at UK airports for years) – there are plenty of nice things you can still bring back, like honey, chocolate, seafood and wine.
Good afternoon from the opening day at the Osaka Expo 2025 where the vast number of visitors seems to have overwhelmed the capacity of the restaurants.
Had to make do with some raw fish and a doughnut.
Toilets are amazing as you’d expect but the toilet roll is possibly the worst since Watford Gap services in 1983. Had to use approximately 4 or 5 sheets per wipe (after the initial pleasant jet of warm water from the toilet bidet).Good morning from Peschiera del Garda. Yesterday was a ‘fun’ day, number one semi-adopted step son (absolutely no family connection to anyone) arrived in Verona at 0830 after an 0200 alarm. He took an early flight because he was too tight/disorganised to book early. Collecting a hire car was a disaster because he only has an Amex and the hire car company didn’t accept it. We were halfway through our drive from Bellagio at this point but rather than wait 90 minutes he spend €80 on a taxi. When we arrived at our accommodation he was asleep on the grass, this was 1pm, checkin is at 5pm unless the bungalow was ready earlier, it wasn’t. Then number one daughter misread the gate number at Stansted, the five people in that party queued for the wrong Ryanair flight and were unsurprisingly denied boarding. A quick dash to the correct gate to find it had just closed, the gate agent shrugged and said tough. People were still boarding, they had bags onboard, the aircraft left 23 minutes late. Fortunately, Stansted has a Ryanair customer service desk that actually provided customer service. £500 later three of them had tickets to Bergamo and two had standby tickets, they all got on and managed to find the correct gate this time. Hire car was cancelled and rebooked from Bergamo. Meanwhile I cancelled our planned family meal and headed off solo along the autostrada to Bergamo, stopping to charge my RHD car along the way. This involved getting out of the car 4 times, twice to collect tickets and twice to pay, Italians can be quite irate if they have to wait a few seconds extra. The reason for my journey is I had the car seat for my grandson, my 20 minute trip to Verona was now an hour each way to Bergamo. We finally all settled down at 9pm for takeaway pizza, beer and wine which cost €180 which isn’t outrageous for 9 people. I’ve been accused recently of being airport dad from a distance and told to back off, I’ve now been told to start again, can’t think why? Of the party of five that went to the wrong gate, the only one blameless is the 5 year old. It was remarked how calm I had remained, externally maybe. Anyway, time to enjoy some quality family time, at least the weather forecast has dropped from heavy to moderate rain. I’m sure we will all laugh about this experience in years to come.
@Flyer/Stayer, it was discussed in the chat yesterday. On reflection, I feel a bit sceptical about the reason given for the ban – I mean what’s the difference between what you can buy in a continental supermarket and what’s imported from those countries to be sold in the UK? Properly pasteurised products don’t transmit the virus, in any case, so it feels a bit like tit for tat on the EU ban on produce going the other way.
But anyway, it’s not worth risking upsetting customs staff (if they ever put in an appearance, not seen any at UK airports for years) – there are plenty of nice things you can still bring back, like honey, chocolate, seafood and wine.
The difference is that in order to import those ‘at risk’ foodstuffs into the UK, the manufacturer/exporter needs to obtain the necessary veterinary certification. Pasteurisation obviously wouldn’t apply to the meat products and better cheese isn’t pasteurised either! As for importing shellfish (or fish), much of that sold in France comes from the UK, albeit less than pre-Brexit, so now there’s an abundance of great fresh (shell) fish that can be bought for home delivery in the UK.
The other is issue is that it’s totally disproportionate to have eg customs officers checking whether a product is pasteurised or not and it may not even be properly label. Thus, given the vital importance of keeping foot and mouth out, wider rules seem sensible.
Good afternoon from the opening day at the Osaka Expo 2025 where the vast number of visitors seems to have overwhelmed the capacity of the restaurants.
Had to make do with some raw fish and a doughnut.
Toilets are amazing as you’d expect but the toilet roll is possibly the worst since Watford Gap services in 1983. Had to use approximately 4 or 5 sheets per wipe (after the initial pleasant jet of warm water from the toilet bidet).Extremely envious of your trip Ashton. I did a lot of planning for it but we ended up not going. How did you find the expo overall?
@strickers that made me smile. Glad that you’re all together in the end; despite the gentle joshing. memes and mickey taking, I shall continue to engage ‘airport Dad mode’.
I used to visit Billinsgate market for my Fish, great prices at the time, I used to be in the vicinity at around 4am when it opened, many years ago, it was an experience, don’t visit with your best footwear!
I used to visit Billinsgate market for my Fish, great prices at the time, I used to be in the vicinity at around 4am when it opened, many years ago, it was an experience, don’t visit with your best footwear!
Nowadays, many smaller fishermen are able to bypass the wholesalers and sell to (almost) directly consumers who pay less while the fisherman are getting paid considerably more for their catches. This works well for everyone.
BTW With the Nectar Taste the Difference TTD promotion that’s running currently, it is very easy to gain extra points on items costing less than a pound.
@JDB, as I said earlier, I haven’t even seen a customs agent for years now, so I doubt this ban is going to stop much getting through. The irony is, of course, that you could be tramping around land where the virus is rampant and then return to the UK wearing the same shoes. When other countries wanted to stop Foot and Mouth being brought in from the UK in the early 2000s, they made us all walk through disinfectant; the UK’s response, on the other hand, is simply to announce a probably unenforceable blanket ban on a vast range of products, many of which will actually be harmless. Another irony is that the ban doesn’t apply to Northern Ireland, where products from ROI (and the rest of the EU) can come and go freely!
BTW With the Nectar Taste the Difference TTD promotion that’s running currently, it is very easy to gain extra points on items costing less than a pound.
Individual fruit?
BTW With the Nectar Taste the Difference TTD promotion that’s running currently, it is very easy to gain extra points on items costing less than a pound.
Fine if you’ve got the promo, as usual I don’t have it.
BTW With the Nectar Taste the Difference TTD promotion that’s running currently, it is very easy to gain extra points on items costing less than a pound.
Individual fruit?
Red pointed peppers 75p, I can’t see any fruit.
Some loose bread rolls 65p.BTW With the Nectar Taste the Difference TTD promotion that’s running currently, it is very easy to gain extra points on items costing less than a pound.
Individual fruit?
There’s no minimum spend involved, just it had to be a TTD item.
Hi All
My 2 year time lapse from closing the BA Amex PP Card is coming up soon, and with some likely very big spend coming up soon as my and my OH are looking for a house I’ll look to get it after the 2 year date and when there is a enhanced sign up bonus
I currently hold the Barclaycard Avios Plus Card which I have had since June 2022 along with Barclays Premier Account, although I don’t see the need of holding both paid cards, along with my Amex Plat
At the moment for holding the Avios Plus Card and Premier Account, the following benefits apply that I value
– £10,000 Spend Target for Cabin Upgrade/7,000 Avios
– Anniversary Reward- Cabin Upgrade/7,000 Avios
– 4 Dragon Pass Longue pass
– £5 Back on Barlcays Premier Account Fee
– Apple TvIf I downgrade to the Free Barclaycard Avios card
A. How easy is it?B. As far as I am aware you lose the £5 cashback (But then save on £20/month fee for paid card), and the spend target increases to £20,000
Apart from that is there anything else that I would lose?
Good morning from Peschiera del Garda. Yesterday was a ‘fun’ day, number one semi-adopted step son (absolutely no family connection to anyone) arrived in Verona at 0830 after an 0200 alarm. He took an early flight because he was too tight/disorganised to book early. Collecting a hire car was a disaster because he only has an Amex and the hire car company didn’t accept it. We were halfway through our drive from Bellagio at this point but rather than wait 90 minutes he spend €80 on a taxi. When we arrived at our accommodation he was asleep on the grass, this was 1pm, checkin is at 5pm unless the bungalow was ready earlier, it wasn’t. Then number one daughter misread the gate number at Stansted, the five people in that party queued for the wrong Ryanair flight and were unsurprisingly denied boarding. A quick dash to the correct gate to find it had just closed, the gate agent shrugged and said tough. People were still boarding, they had bags onboard, the aircraft left 23 minutes late. Fortunately, Stansted has a Ryanair customer service desk that actually provided customer service. £500 later three of them had tickets to Bergamo and two had standby tickets, they all got on and managed to find the correct gate this time. Hire car was cancelled and rebooked from Bergamo. Meanwhile I cancelled our planned family meal and headed off solo along the autostrada to Bergamo, stopping to charge my RHD car along the way. This involved getting out of the car 4 times, twice to collect tickets and twice to pay, Italians can be quite irate if they have to wait a few seconds extra. The reason for my journey is I had the car seat for my grandson, my 20 minute trip to Verona was now an hour each way to Bergamo. We finally all settled down at 9pm for takeaway pizza, beer and wine which cost €180 which isn’t outrageous for 9 people. I’ve been accused recently of being airport dad from a distance and told to back off, I’ve now been told to start again, can’t think why? Of the party of five that went to the wrong gate, the only one blameless is the 5 year old. It was remarked how calm I had remained, externally maybe. Anyway, time to enjoy some quality family time, at least the weather forecast has dropped from heavy to moderate rain. I’m sure we will all laugh about this experience in years to come.
I think I’ve told the story on here before of leaving my passport in my scanner and only realising at bag drop so had to do a 4hr drive home and back to retrieve it. Left the rest of my family to make their own way only for them to subsequently miss the flight as they mixed up gate close time and departure time. So we all ended up on the later flight (luckily during COVID so was dirt cheap to buy new tickets) Have never been accused of being an airport dad again!! I am rarely speechless but when my OH called me to inform me of the situation I really did not have any words 😂 but we do laugh about it now so you will too in time !
@Candor – I’m not sure how it works in practice, but if you downgrade, per the terms, you immediately lose the Dragonpasses and the Apple TV as well as the £5 month Dual Rewards refund. It’s easy to downgrade but only IF you have the offer in your app. If the offer isn’t there there’s no other route to downgrade other than cancelling and reapplying.
Also, it appears that there will be changes to the free card soon, with it either closing entirely or being closed to new applicants which may or may not affect downgraders.
Good afternoon from the opening day at the Osaka Expo 2025 where the vast number of visitors seems to have overwhelmed the capacity of the restaurants.
Had to make do with some raw fish and a doughnut.
Toilets are amazing as you’d expect but the toilet roll is possibly the worst since Watford Gap services in 1983. Had to use approximately 4 or 5 sheets per wipe (after the initial pleasant jet of warm water from the toilet bidet).Also been to Expo today. Was really disappointed – felt really badly organised and the queue to get back into the metro in the pouring rain was not a highlight and not what I am used to in Japan.
@Candor and @JDB, Being slightly pedantic, you lose the four lounge passes a few days after your next Barclaycard statement date, which is when a card downgrade takes effect. You do retain the paid Dragonpass access via the Avios Rewards current account assuming you keep that.
Worth being clear that the credit card spend tracker resets when you downgrade, which is a positive as it allows you to earn another voucher in less than twelve months, but clearly not a sensible route if you haven’t yet earned a voucher in your current year and are close to doing so.
Have I missed some gossip regarding Barclaycard changes? That snippet was news to me.
Good afternoon from the opening day at the Osaka Expo 2025 where the vast number of visitors seems to have overwhelmed the capacity of the restaurants.
Had to make do with some raw fish and a doughnut.
Toilets are amazing as you’d expect but the toilet roll is possibly the worst since Watford Gap services in 1983. Had to use approximately 4 or 5 sheets per wipe (after the initial pleasant jet of warm water from the toilet bidet).Also been to Expo today. Was really disappointed – felt really badly organised and the queue to get back into the metro in the pouring rain was not a highlight and not what I am used to in Japan.
Exactly my experience too.
Spent most of the time queuing in the rain.
I didn’t win tickets for any of the pavilions of my choice through the reservation lottery system (tried at the three permitted occasions).
Some pavilions weren’t open (the India pavilion wasn’t even completed).
Unable to get access to the opening night ceremony or any of the shows & events.
Food had run out pretty much everywhere around 2pm from what I could tell.Glad I went, but it was quite poorly organised. The pavilion entry lottery system was particularly disappointing.
Plenty of customs agents on duty when we went through the tunnel last month, performing some
very robust checks. Seems like we timed our visit to Le Touquet, and the cheese stalls at the market perfectly.
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