Bits: attend a Loyalty Fraud Prevention conference, pretend to fly on a private jet

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News in brief:

Attend a Loyalty Fraud Prevention conference in Brighton

If you are in the loyalty industry, you might be interested in a major Loyalty Fraud Prevention conference in Brighton, running on the 8th and 9th November.

There is a good line-up of speakers over two days, including a representative from GCHQ! Rob is attending but not speaking. There is likely to be something of interest to anyone who deals with security, fraud or compliance for a loyalty programme – and if your programme doesn’t have such a person, this may be a good place to learn why you should.

Full details can be found here.

Pay to pose on a private jet?

My photos from my recent Surf Air private jet review flight were very popular on my Instagram account.

However, if your budget doesn’t stretch to a Surf Air or Jetsmarter membership but you still want that perfect Instagram picture of you sipping champagne on a private jet, Private Jet Studio has the solution.

The Russian (of course) company has found a gap in the market and offers two hour long photo shoots on board a grounded private jet for £145 without a photographer and £185 with a photographer.

If you’re looking for a business opportunity to roll out in the UK, this could be the one …..

Just make sure your next picture shows you in a different country so your followers believe that you actually took off …..

PS. The picture above is not fake!

Category

Hilton Honors, Iberia and Iberia Plus

This article is closed to new posts. Discussion continues in the HfP Forums.

Nick says:

25 Oct25 October 06:20

This woman flying on Jet2 from Glasgow to Heraklion on Sunday got one of the best ‘private’ jet experiences. She was the only passenger on the 189 passenger flight!

http://www.travelandleisure.com/airlines-airports/accidental-private-flight-to-greece
- TripRep says:
  
  25 Oct25 October 06:35
  
  Surprised that A/C didn’t go U/S and have a “technical issue”, must of been a good load of Pax coming back on the RTN
  - the_real_a says:
    
    25 Oct25 October 13:01
    
    It was the last flight of the season from the UK to Crete. The “return” portion of this sector was totally full.
- Alan says:
  
  25 Oct25 October 09:57
  
  I had a SIN-AKL flight in SQ Suites where I was the only passenger in Suites 😀 Had 12 seats to myself, ate at one then they made double bed up for me to sleep in. Phenomenal flight and crew.
  - RussellH says:
    
    25 Oct25 October 20:56
    
    I certainly cannot match that, but I was once the only person in my coach in Leisure Select (ie cheaper first class) on Eurostar from Brussels one morning. I therefore had my ‘persoanl’ stewardess who kept trying to give me more champagne at 30 minute intervals. Unfortunately I had meetings to go to in London, and I knew that wine would be provided there too…
    - Alan says:
      
      25 Oct25 October 22:14
      
      Haha nice, wish I got wine at the meetings I go to! 😛
      - Rob says:
        
        26 Oct26 October 05:21
        
        We have free beer on tap in our office if you’re passing. I think Anika still has a bottle of gin in her desk as well (gift from a client, obviously ….)
      - Alan says:
        
        26 Oct26 October 07:13
        
        Haha I like it, sounds most civilised!
Tilly says:

25 Oct25 October 07:21

Early O/T – 1000 avios from Rolling Luggage turned up in my BAEC this morning.
- Joe says:
  
  25 Oct25 October 08:46
  
  Me to 1000 avios just gone in .. how fabulous
- Anna says:
  
  25 Oct25 October 09:55
  
  Yes, I’ve got my avios.com and my BAEC lot now. Not sure it was worth all the hassle though!
  - the real harry1 says:
    
    25 Oct25 October 16:35
    
    aha aha aha 🙂
    - the real harry1 says:
      
      25 Oct25 October 18:57
      
      I wonder if anybody who didn’t send them an email got 1000 points? 🙂
    - PalCsaky says:
      
      26 Oct26 October 02:40
      
      I didn’t contact them at all and got the points
  - Tilly says:
    
    25 Oct25 October 19:23
    
    Good point. I did think it was a coincidence the points turned up after I sent a strongly worded email.
    - the real harry1 says:
      
      25 Oct25 October 19:38
      
      can’t blame them for not wanting to lose over £10 to each of us on the points…
      
      …except, er, this was what they offered so they should honour it…
      
      …oh yeah, being honest and trustworthy as online retailers, there is that, I suppose…
      
      …if they’ve given the 1000 points to people who didn’t chase it, my dog can speak Russian 🙂
BillyK says:

25 Oct25 October 07:26

Full flight on the return by all accounts
- pr99 says:
  
  25 Oct25 October 21:11
  
  Ryanair would have still cancelled. Act of God.
Darren says:

25 Oct25 October 09:57

I pretend I’m on a private jet every time I’m upstairs on a 747.

That’s the closest I’m gonna get!
- Rob says:
  
  25 Oct25 October 13:27
  
  If you are BA Gold, Surf Air will give you a freebie. Quite a few readers already approved and booked.
Gavin says:

25 Oct25 October 10:10

OT – £250 for switching to Yorkshire or Clydesdale bank, may be of use to Northern / Scottish based HFP readers, not much use here in Berkshire
- John says:
  
  25 Oct25 October 10:19
  
  Not sure why proximity to a branch matters, but there’s a branch of B (what a silly name) on Kensington High St…
  - Gavin says:
    
    25 Oct25 October 11:54
    
    I have to pay in cheques a few times a year, Kensington is a long way to go to do this
    - Lumma says:
      
      25 Oct25 October 12:07
      
      Surely you can pay into a different bank then move the money across when the cheque clears? I personally have a house bills account that I use for switching deals. So far I’ve gotten £125 from Halifax and £115 from the Co-Op. I’ve applied for this £250 deal as well and just waiting for their response
  - ee says:
    
    25 Oct25 October 18:58
    
    What a silly branch IMHO. Based on a single visit to update details on my ISA it is trying desperately hard to be trendy but the whole setup felt awkward. Won’t be returning unless I have to!
- Jordan says:
  
  25 Oct25 October 14:24
  
  Thank you!
Cate says:

25 Oct25 October 10:36

OT as it’s bits – from IHG – ‘Book your next stay using Points & Cash from now until 26 October, and you’ll save 25% on the cash portion for all travel until 31 December.’ Includes IC’s.
- Rob says:
  
  25 Oct25 October 13:24
  
  Targetted. But cheap points if you book and cancel, almost a no brainer actually unless you fear devaluation.
  - Tracy says:
    
    25 Oct25 October 15:48
    
    I’ve been targeted, how does this work?
    - Cate says:
      
      25 Oct25 October 16:24
      
      I think and stress think that you buy now, wait till the price goes back to normal and then cancel which would then get you the elevated points. I’m looking to transfer some into miles for a redemption top up which I’m close to so this may work out well.
      
      Thanks Rob – really good and appropriate tip (as usual) !!
    - Genghis says:
      
      25 Oct25 October 16:31
      
      Is it not just that when you do a points and cash normally you effectively buy the points to make the redemption and then when you cancel it’s all refunded in points? So with a 25% reduction in the cash element, you buy points a bit cheaper.
      - Rob says:
        
        25 Oct25 October 16:45
        
        Yes
    - Cate says:
      
      25 Oct25 October 16:36
      
      Ah I see, thanks Genghis. There seems to have been a few tinkerings with IHG website including the ‘Rate Preference’ drop down box now has a few governmental departments added and the reductions are in dollars.
    - Rob says:
      
      25 Oct25 October 16:46
      
      Book a room using P&C and then cancel it. You only get points back so you have de facto bought points at a very cheap rate.
    - Cate says:
      
      25 Oct25 October 18:59
      
      Right, so you don’t have to wait till the sale is over and the cost in points goes back to normal before you get the cheap points. Gotcha.
    - Bach says:
      
      25 Oct25 October 20:09
      
      20k @ 86.25$, is that the best we can get?
    - Nick says:
      
      25 Oct25 October 21:18
      
      Just to throw a spanner into the works I just got an email from IHG offering 100% bonus on points.
      
      Do more of what you love with 100% more points!
      We want you to get more of the rewards you love. So, when you purchase 5,000 or more IHG® Rewards Club points through November 3, we’ll double it — that’s 100% more points!
      Buy points now and do more of what you love, with less out of your pocket.
      But hurry: this offer ends November 3, 2017!
      
      I’ll leave someone else to work out the permutations as it was never a strong point of mine! 🙂
- Nick says:
  
  25 Oct25 October 21:36
  
  At the top end IHG are offering 60K + 60K Bonus = 120K points at USD 690.00.
  - Mark says:
    
    26 Oct26 October 14:08
    
    Loyalty Lobby has found that a few offers do better – 60K + 60K Bonus = 120K points at only USD 600. But targetted so some are wosre than either!
Lawro says:

25 Oct25 October 16:58

Effectively buying a room at any (top) IC for £200.