Originally Posted by
Priory1
Questions: was £35/50 really the right amount to offer as expenses to a CW pax? How much can I reasonably expect as compensation for the slightly farcical aspects of the way this was handled? And finally, the flight was booked on a BA Amex card, which I have since upgraded to BA Amex Platinum - would travel insurance apply retrospectively, as I'm a current cardholder, or not, as it was booked on a card which afaik does not include travel insurance?
I am not sure what status you have with BA, but that is on the low side, from discussions with colleagues who have yet to discover the joys of hand baggage only travel. I think Amex would be very happy to assist you on the basis of Platinum status, but it sounds like you haven't called them yet? Which you need to do forthwith. The form there is they let you use their credit card to buy stuff up to the limit concerned and then send you something to sign later. Painless. And I thought all BA Amex cards had insurance, but I may be wrong there.
In terms of compensation, yes you're entitled to whatever you reasonably needed to do to get over the situation. For 24 hours loss of baggage, even £35 is an awful lot of toothpaste and underpants, particularly in Chengdu, but you can certainly claim for more, just keep the receipts and a contemporary note as to why you needed, as opposed to wanted, said item. The poor customer service aspect is worthy of a separate claim in its own right, but if you got more than 5,000 Avios I'd be a little surprised. Luggage does go missing and you did quite well, in the round.