Originally Posted by Pyeinthesky
Thanks Mr Welder and Mr 97. There's some interesting suggestions there. I will have to check with the TA who booked the tickets if they can be changed to include HKG. What's the MPM that you refer to?
I had been trying to include a stopover in SIN or BKK, but apparently there's some 24 hour rule on IATA fares that's more complicated than football's offside rule that means that the max stopover is <24hours and because of the timing of flights I couldn't find any options that didn't break this rule unless i got the QF operated flight out at 09:00 the next day, which would be pretty painful...
I had heard about the changing aircraft trick to get extra tier points, but I am not sure how to arrange that without a stopover as the two BA flights arrive and leave within 45 minutes of each other.
I'm sure someone in the main Libya thread was able to get BA to add longer stops in LON and SIN. If you want to do it, and so far only your TA has said no, you could try calling BA (and acting naive: "...but the far rules say UNLIMITED FREE STOPOVERS").
Adding stopovers >24hr triggers the "Higher Intermeidate Fare" rules on IATA fares (the system realise that SIN-SYD is more pricy than what you are paying TIP-SYD and charges you that instead).
If I'm recounting the tale correctly, BA would have decided to honour the same price on a non-IATA fare, i.e. a "BA special" (technically, most point-to-point fares are airline "specials") which means they set the rules and MPM/HIF is no longer the final arbiter. In exchange though, the fare became BA only (non-sure about QF-codeshares), so it was a trade-off.
Edited to add: Okay, I found the post, though it was actually LON only, and a CAI-SYD fare. But I'd say it's comparable, but we can ask the original poster what they think.
Originally Posted by The Saint
Do it regularly.
I have never understood how the HIF rule can be applied when the rules of the ticket provide for - UNLIMITED FREE STOPOVERS.
Relying on that clear contractual term, I regularly insert stopovers into journeys that were originally booked as straight through. Never been required to pay more applying the HIF.
Interestingly when I inserted a stop in LHR on a CAI-SYD ticket, the reissued ticket came back with an endorsement waiving the HIF, but endorsing the ticket to BA only (it was previously an IATA fare valid on any carrier). Wasn't asked whether this was what I wanted, but no complaints as I was intending to stay on BA anyway.
Ticketing and Fare rules are a mysterious world, and I remain to be convinced that anyone at BA fully understands them.