[Kuestrian]

TunnocksTeaCake wrote:

That appeared at T-361

May I ask what time you booked them? There are differing opinions online about what time they become available, including 0000 GMT, 0200, or at the departure time of the outbound flight (local time).

[Kuestrian]

Following on from Not Long Now’s suggestion I’ve been using Qeeq (props to NLN!) which have been very good so far, and give you complete visibility on the providers and vehicles.

The ability to cancel-and-rebook easily through the site and app has been a godsend, and has saved me hundreds when rates have dropped closer to the pickup dates.

Apart from being (generally) cheaper than going direct, they also do cashback in their app so the value-add really stacks up:

– original saving compared to provider
– Qeeq cashback
– Curve cashback
– Avios on underlying card

[Kuestrian]

bungalow wrote:

NorthernLass wrote:

Doubletrees are the best for status recognition, IMO, relative to price. One of my faves is the DT NCL, where they give you drinks vouchers at check in AND leave them in your room!

I concur.

I stayed at Doubletree Minsk just before Covid days, it’s THE hotel in Minsk (or at least it was then).
Anyway, they gave me my cookie, plus some “vouchers” to use, and directed to the rooftop lounge.
I was greeted at the lounge door by 2 burly guys in suits who checked my credentials then promptly escorted me through the Gold and Silver entrance door – to be greeted by a lot of, ahem, ladies dressed in mostly skimpy sequined attire…

Cookie was nice, I used the vouchers on a few beers 🙂

I neglected to mention we got cookies and drinks vouchers for the rooftop bar too, on top of the room upgrade. I must say, Hilton may get some more of my loyalty if that’s the norm!

[Kuestrian]

Travel Strong wrote:

Kuestrian wrote:

I was wavering about giving up my BAPP but this seems to be the deciding factor.

Not to state the obvious, but the primary benefit of the BAPP is the 2-4-1 voucher, and mild shifts in the Avios pricing does little to change the value of this benefit.

If you were using the voucher on long haul and saving 180k+ points on a redemption previously, then BAPP was probably worth it and probably still worth it.

If you weren’t getting the value before these changes, you probably shouldn’t have had it at all.

“Why don’t you save £5 and jog behind a taxi?!”

The value of the BAPP is the 2-4-1 but with that being increasingly difficult to use, coupled with the poor BA product and now the devaluation, the avios accrued for those vouchers may be better emoloyed elsewhere.

[Kuestrian]

I was wavering about giving up my BAPP but this seems to be the deciding factor.

[Kuestrian]

BJ wrote:

True @HamoshireHog such as hiring a car to explore Krabi and Satun provinces or taking a 40 minute flight on a Bsngkok Airways ATR-72 to Hat Yai to explore Songkhla abd Patthalung provinces for those who want to experience Thailand as it once was.

You don’t even need to venture that far to get away from Phuket, as Koh Yao Yai & Noi are ideal for those wanting the opposite of Patong.

[Kuestrian]

Unless they’ve changed it this year the 0% offer does come out of the same stock. I bought my latest iphone with 0% on a pre-order and received it on the release date.

[Kuestrian]

leec-b wrote:

Usually cheaper to get a new iPhone on contract Eg…..
https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/cheap-mobile-finder/contracts/apple/iphone-17/

They’re coming in at the same price as the 0% Apple deal + buying the SIM only service separately at the moment, but that may change once the 17 has released and all pre-orders filled. Worth keeping an eye on and checking back regularly.

[Kuestrian]

Aus trip for Xmas, starting in WA. Haven’t been that way for 25 years so if anyone has any accommodation recommendations for Perth, Freo, Margaret River, Esperance etc they would be very welcome!

[Kuestrian]

Thanks, that’s what I would have expected so it looks like a website glitch then. It’s either a call to them or a cancel-and-rebook.

[Kuestrian]

On the plus side, immigration at SIN is super-quick now with the electronic gates. The last few times we’ve been through within minutes of leaving the plane and bags were ready within a few minutes of arriving at the carousel.

[Kuestrian]

BA Flyer IHG Stayer wrote:

Yes you will have to complete the usual processes such as collect your bags and recheck them in in line with BAs checkin deadlines.

It is BA policy not to interline bags between separate tickets.

Arrange your separate SYD-SIN flight accordingly.

It has been known as we have had bags checked through from a completely-unrelated SQ flight but as said it is a risk if the check-in staff don’t accommodate the request.

You’d hope BA staff would employ common sense given both tickets are BA but that is probably the last airline that you would expect to do so!

[Kuestrian]

Thanks for pointing that out. For some reason I thought we were Qsuite on all 4 legs to/from Aus but it was just that one that was the A380 (and hence non-Qsuite), so obviously they couldn’t transfer it 1:1. Notification would have been nice, though.

I see what you mean about the A380 centre seats being unsociable. I’ll keep an eye out if any centre Qsuite seats open up but the windows will do as that leg is prime for sleeping anyway.

[Kuestrian]

You can’t chat to the other person in the centre seats as they’re so far away you end up shouting across. If we ever fly BA CS again it would be 2 window seats.

[Kuestrian]

Have a read of this:
https://hfp2026mar.kinsta.cloud/2025/04/21/what-is-an-avios-point-worth-9/

Even based on 1p a point the avios is worth more, but when you can get 4-5p per point on redemptions they could be 10x more valuable than the eVoucher.

[Kuestrian]

As everyone knows, it’s almost impossible to get decent fish & chips in the south and even more so in London!

However there is a pub that does really good fish & chips – although unfortunately as with every other chippy down here they also leave the skin on, for some unfathomable reasonable, but it’s still a 9/10.

The pub is called The George in Fitzrovia (Regent St end) and well worth a visit. This is a realistic review, even if the bloke is a bit of a numpty:

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DG-geSDogDV

[Kuestrian]

shopping.ba.com is not worth the hassle. You basically have a 50-50 chance of getting paid out. Stick to Quidco & TCB for an easier life and actual customer service.

[Kuestrian]

Navara wrote:

That’s the problem with having all your eggs in one basket

It’s almost as if HfP knew, with the ‘Where do BA fly from LGW?’ article landing in mailboxes this morning!

[Kuestrian]

Is anyone else thinking they would have checked the other 3 cards and expected all of them to say ‘Aygo’..?!

[Kuestrian]

Another negative for BA Shopping is that for things like insurance policies you have to wait 6 months before the avios is paid out but you cannot make a claim for missing avios when they don’t pay out as it has timed-out on the claiming period.

As suggested on here several times, I now check Quidco & TCB first as they are much easier to deal with and cannot claw back payouts on a whim.

[Kuestrian]

Your 5K upper limit for BA Shopping is way too pessimistic. There are plenty of offers on with thousands of avios available. For example, my home insurance policy alone got me 3,500 avios (for something I was going to buy anyway).

Then there’s wineflyer with frequent offers of thousands of avios on top of the regular avios earned on the bottles.

[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.