6 Travel Updates You Need to Know - June 2024 Edition
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- Опубліковано 4 лип 2024
- I try to make my videos eternal, so someone stumbling across one a year or two after release will still get value from watching.... But things change and these changes can invalidate my old videos.... Which is annoying!!!!
So periodically I'll make a video which highlights some of the bigger changes that have been announced. In this video I'll look at:
- Amex moving the goalposts for their companion voucher
- Hotels.com choosing to lose lots of its loyalist of customer
- Fiji Airways joining OneWorld. Again, Sort of....
- BA Double Tier Point promotion being extended
- Finnair using avios
- SriLankan Airways unreliability
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⏰ Timestamps:
0:00 - Intro
0:55 - Amex Twofers
7:56 - Hotels.com
10:37 - Fiji and Oman
11:42 - Double Tier Points
13:39 - Finnair
15:27 - SriLankan
DISCLAIMER: Links included in this description might be affiliate links. If you purchase a product or service with the links that I provide I may receive a small commission. There is no additional charge to you. This video may not be copied or reproduced without written permission.
Word of caution. Don't leave your Avios with Finnair as they will expire each month. As I learnt the hard way. Took a while but I got them back.
And yes Helsinki airport is amazing and Finnair business and PE are amazing
That's an interesting point - hadn't heard that before.... Will bear it in mind when looking at the Finnair scheme. I tend to hold my avios in BA and move them as required as I keep a closer eye on BA than I do the other avios accepting airlines
Avios never expire with Finnair when you either spend or earn at least 1 avios every 18 months
@@jk7921 For me perhaps many/most I don't want to spend on anything other than flights with Finnair so leaving Avios unused will see them expire.
The mobile app was very recently updated to advise the 'use or lose' point but i suspect a few would have been caught out.
If you’re new to Amex you don’t care what value there was over the last 20 years, you want it now
Absolutely! I'd love to know if Amex's application rate has slowed since the increase....
I’m flying on Fiji Airways in July. I like them as an airline. Also flew them in March 2020 just before the you know what. In fact, I was on the last flight from Fiji to Singapore before everything shut down.
Have a great time!
the average UK salary (pre-tax) is £35,724, so £15K is quite a spend!
But you have to eat, pay taxes, buy petrol, lots of subscriptions (i.e Netflix, etc) so it's not impossible. Just dedicated.
Don't think the average salary earner is Amex's target market for this card!!!
That hat is strangely hypnotic Matt!😁
Even more so when I'm wearing it!
With the Amex I think it’s fair especially with the increase in cost of travel recently. What I don’t get is why there is no separation apart from economy vs any class voucher and the small increase in avios gained between the free and paid card (which requires a large spend to make difference of the fee)
I would say a small decrease in cost of the voucher trigger as it was previously between the two or maybe get some free tier points or something for paying for the card
Good points. They are experimenting with giving tier points for spend right now, and it wouldn't be a surprise if that became a permanent thing - I think the tier points kicked in at a £15k spend so that may become the differentiator between the cards.
Seriously though, it's not exactly difficult to spend 15k in 12 months if you use your card at every opportunity for your every day purchases. if you have the level of credit rating you need to be accepted for an amex in the first place, you have significant spending power already.
Indeed. Some people I know with small businesses spend £15 a month though Amex.... If you can get the card, they must think you can achieve the spend!!!!
Hi Matt,
Great video as per usual.you are very right in saying that BA seems to do the opposite of what their customers desire !! Guess the data points behind the double tier points and the influence they may have on travel patterns is facinating reading!
Stay well
Thomas
Cheers Thomas - as I said - it must be making sense for BA to keep extending it!
Thanks for the great info + video!
Thanks for watching!
Hi Matt love the shows
just done a nice BA , 5 night to Marrakesh with hotel, gained 320 teir points got another booked for August, that’s me silver sorted with 2 nice trips .
Keep up the good work 👍
Great work! Not a bad place to spend 5 days either! Marrakesh will be toasty in August if you're going back there!
Thank You ✈️
Thanks for watching
Agree about the hat 😂😂
Great info - think I will be sticking with my Barclaycard Plus which is now looking good value
As always, funny n informative think I’ll ’stick around’ 😉😁
Thanks. I hope Barclays doesn't get any ideas having seen what Amex has done....
I'm a big fan of Finnair. Fairly new aircraft, regular upgrades, good lounge, well priced.
Just finishing my review of the new seat.... Will be out next weekend
Thanks Matt, and another great video. My friend Lisa, who runs the BA pantomime, said she will email you next month. Cheers
Thanks mate - date is in the diary
I flew Fiji Airways last year as part of a Oneworld round the world ticket. Happy to report that they are a fantastic airline and really look after BA Exec customers on the ground and in the air. I flew LA to Brisbane with a 24 hour stop in Nadi.
I'm going to have to start searching for options!
Advice required….thinking of going in November for 8nts, breaking journey in LAX each way for 1 nt. Am I mad going that far for 8nts?
@@1974Lozza No, not mad at all. It's a fascinating place. Just do plenty of research. There are some very very rural areas. There's also some lovely rustic hotels and of course the friendly version of the usual brands.
Also, maybe plan to visit one of the islands.
@@mtmawdsley thanks! Gonna redeem some Avios and Amex voucher on the LHR/LAX legs, so it’ll be economy only on the LAX/NAN legs which makes it doable I think. Bucket list destination😎
@@1974Lozza Not at all! As has been said, the shorter the stay, the more preparation you should do to make sure you make the most of the time. Its only 2 flights each way!
Inflation is irrelevant if wages are stagnant.
Inflation is a disaster if wages are stagnant... Inflation is irrelevant if everyone's wages increase at the same time (and currency exchange rates move similarly), although there's lots of people who's wages cannot grow in line with inflation
Great video like always do you know what Iberia Express is like in economy from LGW to MAD flying them in July
I believe IB express is just a brand name that segments Iberia's operations so I wouldn't expect it to be any real difference from Iberia's mainline operations
A tip on the UL Tier Point Run - contact the Abu Duabi office via email should your flight be disrupted. They reply to emails pretty swiftly and are eager to solve any issues. Good luck!
Great tip - thanks. SriLankan seems to want to help its customers when things go wrong.... Typing this as Manchester airport is still in meltdown!!!!
@@MattsPlanet
Ba flights from t3 are ok, i believe
Looking forward to Finnair video! 🥂
Making it this week! Still not sure how I'm going to describe the seat!
Looking forward to you spilling the tea on Finnair loyalty over BA 👍🏻
Going to require a lot of research, that one....
Excellent summary as always. What sort of actual value can be achieved with a Companion Voucher - I can't remember whether you've done a video covering this? Good news that the Double TP holidays is extended (I added a car for a mere £100 and got an extra 230 TPs). Yes, Abu Dhabi new airport is amazing. A trip to Fiji - it's a tough life, but someone's got to do it!
The max value would be a return in business class for your partner to Australia which is worth 300,000 avios - hard to get that redemption but worth thousands if you can... New York is easy to snag and off peak that's 160,000 avios saved, which is perhaps £2k in value?
Thanks Matt your video made me check my Amex spend targets 👏
Get spending!!!
@@MattsPlanet I need to cut back not spending says the boss!
Hi Matt-you mentioned that redeeming companion vouchers on short haul is not good value-but as a Jersey resident this is four flights not two for us-so I always believe it’s not bad-plus I always pay cash and Avios to give me better value-also there are NEVER any redemptions to Singapore when I need it so gave up on long haul redemptions
If it gives you value, I can't argue!!! And the key to Singapore is to book 355 days ahead of travel when the seats are created. That may not help you much but it is where most of the seats go!
i think i will book a BA holiday very soon then thanks as always matt
its well worth a look!
Thanks for the explanation matt. We are new to Amex/Avios so it seems ok. American Airlines Advantage Miles has diminished over the years , with no way to link a credit card to Advantage Miles, since MBNA dropped this. I always find it odd that you can still get a Credit Card linked to the Advantage scheme card in the USA and other countries but not the UK. Must not be worth there while. Regards S
The world of airline credit cards is a strange one for sure
Managed to bag CW 241 seats to Male from LHR in January so excited for that. Points run with SriLanka booked for Nov. Staying in Abu Dhabi for a night then repeating the journey (going for gold). Also have a trip booked to Sofia but gutted to see they are now in the EU so sadly not able to B2B any more :-(
Male is a result - congrats! I've seen conflicting reports that Sofia is still possible now they're in the Schengen region - might be worth a google....
Recently flew with Fiji from AKL to LAX via NAN booked though an AA Miles redemption - have to report that their A350 Biz class is a big thumbs up (DO however avoid the A330 which i flew on the shorter leg and has a much older seat, and they do fly that A330 long haul also, so try to avoid it!) !! Enjoy if you go!.
Am booked on Finnair from BKK to LHR next year and cant wait to try the new seat!
Thanks - starting to look at how to get aboard them! And I'm scripting my Finnair review today! Still not sure how I'm going to explain that seat!
LH just gave me 250 TP (network disruption) - Pushed me over to re-qualify for Star Alliance Gold and it's only June!
Agree with you about the Finnair seat - flew with them to Tokyo last year, twas great.
Star gold is very nice to have.... Still dithering about what to do about mine with Aegean.... Starting to script my Finnair review this week - really not sure what I'm going to say as its such a hard seat to explain!
@@MattsPlanetJust remember Matt, if you fail to renew with Aegean the numbers shoot up re qualify is only 12000 plus four flights. You could do that for around 1k. Much cheaper that One-world. 😮😮😮
@@MattsPlanetI like the seat except when lying down the belt across the waist can be abit annoying for me at least
On American Express increasing the spending target by 50%, I wouldn't say American Express did it, I would think BA told AMEX to do it.
That's a really interesting perspective that I think is bang on...
you mention that the extension of BA's Double Tier Points requires the journey begins in the UK. Previously you could originate in the USA. Has this changed?
The T's and C's say it must start in the UK, but that may be the case as I'm looking from the UK....
Will it be the case that the target spend for BA Amex will be on a pro-rata basis if done during your card year? So for example your spend target could increase but not necessarily to the full £15,000 depending on where you are in your year?
No - it'll be £10k until 31 October then £15k if you haven't got there by then
I thought £10k companion spend was high enough already
£10k is a lot of money for sure.... But there's a lot of value in the voucher, plus the £10k spend got you 15k avios (at least)....
With Russia air space closed to Finnair, there is little point routing through Helsinki these days, unless you want to maximise your time on an airplane.
It is a good seat.... But you are right - closing Russian airspace has not helped Finnair....
I'm not sure you should be pushing your referral link on here
The Amex referral? You're all my good friends!
I was really disappointed when they made the double TP only for UK residents. I can understand starting from the UK, but as a loyal customer that spent a lot of her hard earned money with them, I feel a bit cheated on that issue.
I believe it's also available to US-based account holders, but that may not be helpful as you still need to start from the UK.... But your wider point is very valid
@@MattsPlanet yes I saw that. I’m American living in Sweden…so close, but just not quite close enough. 😂
😄literally watching this whilst heading to the Cathay Lounge then on to a Finnair A350 to Helsinki..
Have a great flight!
Assume this increase also applies to BA AMEX fee free card.
Very good point I should have mentioned - the fee free card is going from £12k to £15k
Thanks Matt.
Excellent advice as ever, Matt. But please, it's "cutter" or "gutter", not "catarrh", even though you say it in the back of the mouth ;)
You are completely correct... Must do better!
It's almost like there's more and more government currency being created all the time which causes prices to constantly go up
Quantitate Easing, I believe its called.... And Seigniorage is another good word!!!!
Is BA Gold Guest List worth pursuing?
For me it's not - 5,000 tier points is more than 3 times what you need for gold.... For others, its invaluable. If you have a family, the jokers you get from GGL can be extremely valuable for opening up reward seats at peak times.
@@MattsPlanet Could you do a video about GGL, now that there is a group zero, will this create more awareness about the tier?
@@oliverguest7528 I am certainly planning to. I was hesitant as I've never had it myself, but I have a fair few GGLs in the Patreon group and I've learned a lot from them so I'd be confident to make this video now
@@MattsPlanet How do I join the Patreon group?
@@oliverguest7528 Take a look at patreon.com/matts_planet
Miss the beard
It'll be back! When winter comes....
AMEX has become irrelevant anyway. The number of outlets that don't accept AMEX has vastly increased over the years.
I'm not sure I agree, in the UK at least. According to Amex, the number of outlets accepting the card is increasing at about 30% a year.... According to Amex, but they should know as they have to approve each one!
Uk acceptance of Amex is not as good as abroad.
Are you sure? I find that about 90% of UK companies I want to use it with, accept it.
I'm with Mr Well-Blazered in that I'm not sure that's true - I find I can use Amex pretty much everywhere I want in the UK these days, although I tend to spend with the big supermarkets and the major online retailers.... If anything, acceptance overseas has been patchier than the UK
@@MattsPlanet Exchange rate is too poor to use an Amex for non-GBP transactions, and those Avios will cost you dear. All my non-GBP spend goes on a Halifax Clarity card for this reason.
I'm surprised how many big brands don't accept it. You might detect something of a theme here but Greggs, KFC and Pizza Hut don't - at least not the ones I've used. My car insurance company didn't and neither did Currys when I purchased an annual Spotify membership. I'd hit the new target with more ease if they did. The issue with the Barclays Mastercard as an alternative is that it doesn't support Google Pay, so transacations are more laborious. Looks like Virgin's Mastercard which is accepted everywhere, does work with Google Pay, and has no fees in the eurozone is the next step for me.
You're right in that the major firms and online accept it, I just had recent experience in more local stores where the owners state its costs them more to accept it. Not sure how true though.
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Reply!
@@MattsPlanet xD hey hope u gd I’ve got so many travel plans by myself cuz of u and yellow productions ahhhh tysm
@@gexrge-ps5 You are very welcome!
Oh Matt. Matt, Matt, Matt. I cannot believe you missed a prank opportunity: switch the hat every few scenes.
Ha ha! There was a pink one floating around in Madrid but I only brought the green one home...
I think Mr Yianni took the pink one home, 😂😂
After your inflation busting intro no need to remind us your were an accountant 😂
Is a hard habit to break!!!
Not sure I agree with that analysis r.e inflation. Yes inflation may have bumped the cost up by 7k in real terms, but inflation has also eroded the buying power of your cash. Spending £15k today isn't easier than it was 10 years ago, in fact it's gotten significantly worse as inflation has outdone bank interest rates significantly, so it's more expensive to spend £15k coupled with the cost increase of the card, I think Amex just want to thin the membership.
Well income should have grown with inflation. Not sure thats the case in the UK due to leaving the EU. (Thank you Mr. Farage)
@@hanrau7349 exactly this! Wages have been stagnant for many years whereas inflation has been astronomical (also thank you Ms truss)
We're in the world of economics here.... If you're retired and living off savings, then net interest rates versus inflation is relevant... If you're working, then salary growth versus inflation is the key metric... Which in turn is public versus private sector wage growth, which is a function of productivity.....
@@hanrau7349Income levels in the UK have risen due to inflation (and some staff shortages too). UK high inflation as per the rest of the world was a result of the lockdowns from the 'you know what' (as Matt would say), absolutely nothing to do with Brexit or Farage. We did not have high inflation before then.
Not for the first time, a comment of mine has gone missing within a few minutes. At the hands of a BA or AMEX fan-boy? Whatever, I'll now unsubscribe.
Don't go!!!! I never delete comments - UA-cam will occasionally ring-fence them if they think there's a dirty word in them, but I usually catch them and reinstate them when I see them
Why unsub from him he’s good u don’t need to watch every vid
OK, you were desk-bound on this one, but another great video.
It's very likely YT deleted it. YT are very trigger happy suppressing posts. The longer the post, the more likely they will find something objectionable.