Chat thread – Sunday 13th April
Discuss today's stories:
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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.Yes, plenty of customs staff at the Channel Tunnel. One sees them at Heathrow as well. Someone had been stopped with a mountain of cigarettes being counted and bagged when we went through earlier this month. The fact one doesn’t see them as one used to doesn’t mean they aren’t there and I doubt the person we saw was caught randomly.
Re Le Touquet, loads of people fly there from the UK in small private planes. On arrival one will be checked by the French authorities but for the return, while one has to notify Border Force of ones arrival location and time, I have never been met by them.
Good afternoon from the BA lounge at EDI where we are settled ahead of our flight(s) to DPS with QR. Very tranquil here compared to the ‘on the beach lounges’ which we accidentally stumbled into at the other end of the terminal!!😱😱
After a lovely drive last evening from Tyneside to EDI (much better than the nightmare of driving to MAN on the M62!!) and a comfortable and relaxing stay at the Hilton DT last night (including the very nice room upgrade and drinks voucher!!👍), combined with my newly acquired BA Silver status which has allowed lounge access, I am pleased to report that Mrs TF is stress-free!!👍👍. I just hope she is not too disappointed that I rejected QR’s £1700 offer to upgrade from economy to business class (with no lounge access) for only one of the legs we are flying. I’ve told her I’m saving my Avios and upgrade vouchers for later in the year/next year when I hope to impress her with a suitable upgrade to somewhere equally exotic!!😇😇
All this ahead of 11 nights at the IC Sanur Bali, where we stayed last year.
Oh, and a big thanks to @Rob for the Avolta App tip and platinum upgrade that gives us 10% discount on our pre-flight shopping. I’ve used it the max 2 x today, at which they told me I couldn’t use it again but gave me a 20% voucher, which I promptly used!! I know that @NorthernLass will be pleased to know that I put the discount to good use as I bought 2x bottles of Bolly as well as some very nice perfume for Mrs TF (who is equally pleased with the outcome!!🤣🤣😇😇).
Success!
Apparently Avios app’s availability alerts seem to be working. Just scored a Club redemption thanks to it!
Easter travel finally sorted!
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.
It’s amazing and quite disappointing the Japanese can’t manage it better. We went to the Shanghai Expo in 2010 and it was incredibly well organised, in terms of transport to/from, crowd management, and pavilion choice (although we never got into the UK one). We went to two – African nations and Pacific that were very empty but actually more interesting than the most popular ones we also visited. The beautiful China pavilion is now a museum and the expo site has been really well repurposed.
@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.
The offer is there in the app, Along with the offer to change to two other Barclaycard’s so that solves that issue
Not too bothered regarding the dragonpasses as I have priority pass with Amex plat
I think I’ve seen that Apple TV is benefit of Barclays premier and blue rewards so I think that may be safe along with the rolling 1500 Avios/month
Interesting regarding the changes to the free card, whether it becomes a situation like other credit cards which have kept running but closed to new applicants
@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.
Truly a paper tiger imho
I’ve lost track of where BA is with Brunchgate.
I’m flying to MIA on Wednesday – flight departing 9:55.
Any idea what we can expect food-wise?
@Strickers And relax…Hoping that the rain eases up for you.
Picking up some foreign currency tomorrow. If it’s purchased with a credit card is it considered a cash advance and therefore attracts nasty fees?
Picking up some foreign currency tomorrow. If it’s purchased with a credit card is it considered a cash advance and therefore attracts nasty fees?
That’s what M&S currency told me last week!
Hi All,
I have a query. Last month I had three 20% off coupons for Meliá, unused.
This month they have all disappeared.
Could anyone know why this is?
Thanks in advance!
Picking up some foreign currency tomorrow. If it’s purchased with a credit card is it considered a cash advance and therefore attracts nasty fees?
That’s what M&S currency told me last week!
Weirdly if purchasing foreign currency from M&S paying with my M&S credit card (I have had it for years) it is treated as a purchase and doesn’t attract any nasty fees. My problem these days is finding an M&S bureau de change nearby.
Hi All,
I have a query. Last month I had three 20% off coupons for Meliá, unused.
This month they have all disappeared.
Could anyone know why this is?
Thanks in advance!
I think they disappear at the end of your membership year and take a while to regenerate new codes.
Picking up some foreign currency tomorrow. If it’s purchased with a credit card is it considered a cash advance and therefore attracts nasty fees?[/quote
It depends . Using Tesco credit card at Tesco Bureau de Change incurs no fee ( and a slightly better rate ). The same applies at M and S Bureau De Change when using their credit card . Some high street outfits also change an advance cash fee when using certain debit cards.Hi All,
I have a query. Last month I had three 20% off coupons for Meliá, unused.
This month they have all disappeared.
Could anyone know why this is?
Thanks in advance!
@harrysjones21 – Is it the new Melia App? On P2s Melia account – I can’t access the codes when I log in using the app, but if I use the website, they’re in the usual promotions tab under your account.However – i’ve taken a note of the code, and then successfully used in the app though 😊
US might be expensive. But it’s already Happy Hour here in California and Margarita for $5 seems reasonable. Already stocked up with Hatch chillis, slightly more expensive than buying direct in New Mexico.
Flight yesterday with BA full and only one empty seat in CS (possibly broken). The lamb main course was excellent as was the SA red wine. Cabin crew were great too – no complaints so far.
There seem to be fewer Cybertrucks around than in Deep South last month, which seems surprising.
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