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Qatar 15% off flash offer – ends 27 June
Qatar has launched a new offer for 15% off business class flights. They often have 20% off for privilege club members, so I would not rush at this one unless you need to book fairly soon. However, the travel dates are decent, as they go up to 10 December, whereas a lot of their deals are quite short-term. The other good point is there is no limits on the departure points or destinations when you look at the terms and conditions.
The discount only applies to the fare, not the taxes and charges.
You can find the offer page here.
BA suffers baggage meltdown – top tips
Having been at the receiving end of a BA baggage meltdown, I thought it would be a good time to recap the top tips if you get unlucky. Last night one of BA’s baggage systems went down meaning that many flights at T5 took off without the luggage and people had to wait up to 5 hours for bags or be told to go home and claim for their missing bag.
Here are my general and BA tips:
- Always, always take everything that is essential to you in your hand baggage. Obviously, valuables, medication, and electronics go without saying. But also think about what would happen if your luggage was to go missing. Mine happened on the way home so I had nothing with me but in fact I was going away again for a couple of days and needed some specific things which I should have carried in my hand luggage.
Now, I always carry spare underwear, one change of outfit that would suit day or night, a few basic toiletries, and a swimsuit if I am going somewhere hot. Be particularly cautious if you are going somewhere like Asia where it can be hard to find clothes/shoes if you are not petite or have medium to large feet.
- Make sure you have a tracker in your luggage. For those with an iPhone, I have always used the Airtags (£28 on Amazon) very successfully. They can be placed in luggage safely (uses a watch battery) and are relatively cheap. They do rely on people with phones being nearby, but this has never been an issue for me. If you have Android the Chipalo One is an alternative. (£22 on Amazon)
- Take a photo of your bag so that you can send it to the airline as some will request this. Make your bag stand out with a strap or other distinctive features and make sure you have some form of name on the outside such as a tag (I’d suggest name and mobile, never your home address) or frequent flyer tag. Know what brand your bag is.
- BA has a habit of telling you to leave and file a claim online. This is no slower than filing at the airport as it all goes in the same system. Just make sure you do it as soon as you can. However, if you can do it at the airport I would usually advise that as they can often give some information on how long it will take.
A spokesperson for Claims.co.uk also gave some generic advice on what steps you should take.
“Go to the airport’s baggage claim area and find the lost luggage desk or the airline’s baggage services counter and report the lost luggage as soon as possible. Provide details such as your luggage tag number, flight number, and a description of your luggage.“You will also likely need to fill out a Property Irregularity Report (PIR), which is a formal document that records the details of your lost luggage. Make sure you obtain a copy of this report and a reference number for follow-up purposes.
“It is also important to keep hold of all documentation related to your travel and lost luggage, including boarding pass, and luggage tag receipts, as you will need these to make a claim later.
“Many airlines have online systems where you can report and track lost luggage. Therefore, it is important to contact the airline and provide your PIR reference number.
“If your luggage is declared lost, which is usually after 21 days, you can claim compensation from the airline. The airline’s policy should state compensation limits and documentation required.
“It is also worth contacting your travel insurance company and file a claim for your lost luggage and provide all of your relevant documentation.”
IHG Rewards 100% buy points bonus flash sale
IHG has another buy points sale with up to a 100% bonus, which is the highest they offer. This is technically a personalized offer, but everyone I know has the 100% offer.
At the time of writing, there appears to be something wrong with the Buy Points website, as it won’t let me sign in. If this happens to you, I’d try again later.
The offer is available until Saturday, June 29, 2024.
Usually, you can only buy 150,000 points per year, but the purchase limit has been raised to 250,000 points (500,00 with the bonus) for the duration of the offer. It costs $2500 to buy the maximum, which is 500,000, including the bonus.
6 comments
Just a data point on the company that handles BA’s lost or damaged luggage.
HOLD THEM TO THIER OWN TIMEFRAMES!
I had to make a claim a few months back as somewhat decided to play football with my case on the way home. It was the late flight back and despite the desk having a sign saying staff should’ve been there, there was instead a phone and a hand written sign telling pax to call ( super useful for those of us who are deaf/ HOH and, literally, can’t use a phone). Thankfully via WhatsApp typing to a random fellow pax in the same boat I was advised that said staff couldn’t be asked to come and do their job & to just make a claim online….
…Claim made and sat back. However after 5 weeks I sent a follow up query. 3 weeks after that, the same. Getting bored I had a friend call them and after some searching the employee found my claim. Which had been marked as “completed” however they’d realised something was wrong. It turned out that as I’d had to make a claim about 2.5 years before they somehow decided this was the same claim and just ticked it off the list. Apparently this happens more often than the employee probably should’ve revealed.
SO if you’ve made a claim in the last several years then you might be best sticking to their 7-10 days response period instead of just assuming they’ve got your details, luggage dimensions and will just post it out asap.
Thanks for the information Clayton.
To add to the very helpful tips re lost luggage, make an inventory of what your checked luggage contains so that if you have to claim you know what needs replacing.
That’s a top tip Wendy!
I used to work in missing baggage and said then if the accountants work out it is cheaper to just pay the claims than employ us we’re in trouble. While years ago they used to try and reunite bags with passengers if there is a major failure they no longer have the staff to deal with it and in previous years they have sent paid out and sent everything to auction. I’m sure they will deny this but it’s true.
In relation to Clayton’s entry above and that of damaged luggage, if required you should quote to the relevant airline there obligations under the Montreal Convention 1999.
https://www.iata.org/contentassets/fb1137ff561a4819a2d38f3db7308758/mc99-full-text.pdf
Airlines will do there best to blame third parties for any damage but under this convention it is there responsibility. Over the years i have used this on several occasions and every time i mention it hey presto case dealt with straight away.
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