Get 1,000 Virgin Flying Club miles for starting Tesco Clubcard points auto-conversion

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• Darren Thompson says:

  7 May7 May 05:26

  I was issued a voucher for a stay coming up in October @Hyatt Regency,.

  I take it Hyatt wouldn’t get the money until October giving me zero chance of it being valid?

• Anna says:

  7 May7 May 07:47

  Early OT, sorry. 3 of us have a long haul flight in BA Y next year (for various reasons this is our only option) and I have pre-booked a row of 3 middle seats in row 17 on a 777-200. These are showing as bulkhead seats on the seat plan, which would be ideal as it’s a overnight flight and no-one would be able to recline into my space!

  There are 2 issues – firstly, on every other seat map I can find including seat guru), row 17 is not a bulkhead row (or will we be on some kind of as yet re-configured aircraft?) and secondly, as I recall, bulkhead seats may contain a bassinet – is there any chance BA would move us at some point to accommodate someone with a baby?

  Many thanks for any insight!

  • Anna says:

    7 May7 May 07:53

    Apologies, I’ve just looked at the seat plan again and row 16 (showing as the last row of WTP) is shown as having the bassinets. Basically then, is row 17 a decent place to sit in WT? I can’t envisage right now what the first row after WTP looks like!

    • Shoestring says:

      7 May7 May 07:55

      Don’t know.

      But for interest – yes you can often be bumped from bassinet row seats if somebody with a baby wants them (for free!)

      • TGLoyalty says:

        7 May7 May 08:03

        Even if you have paid for the seat? Refund of seat fees or free to chose any other paid seat?

        • Anna says:

          7 May7 May 08:07

          I think they can move you “for operational reasons” and you’ll get a refund but at that point there may only be rubbish seats left to choose from!

        • Shoestring says:

          7 May7 May 08:58

          yep paying for seat reservation never guarantees you’ll get the seats – as v high status passenger or Peter Mandelson throwing a hissy fit might come along and bump you – but particularly true for bassinet seats, as babies get priority

          I guess you’d be entitled to refund or free reservation somewhere else but ISTR from FT that quite often you have to ask for a refund (on BA), it’s not automatic

        • Lady London says:

          7 May7 May 12:25

          Yes. I’ve accidentally booked bulkhead seats more than once before and found myself down the back of the plane even with status. On principle I would avoid them
          Too risky.

          BA moves lots of seats even ones paid for. Thus is one reason you need to keep checking bookings made far ahead. That and equipment change. Neither might be notified to you. If you paid then its up to you to spend your own personal time requesting a refund and no compensation will be paid.

  • ChrisC says:

    7 May7 May 10:15

    Not all bulkhead rows have bassinets.

    And if they do they are blocked off from seat selection until 2-3 days before the flight.

    • Anna says:

      7 May7 May 12:25

      Thanks Chris, yes it looks like it’s the bulkhead further back in WT which has the bassinet. Hopefully we shouldn’t have more than the average chance of having the seats changed.

  • Mikeact says:

    7 May7 May 20:37

    I thought you were up front?

• meta says:

  7 May7 May 08:16

  O/T Anyone knows when Hilton hotels release awards? Specifically, I have been looking for Hilton Fukuoka for the last month or so for dates in March next year and nothing is showing. I also see that I can’t book for cash either.

  • Anna says:

    7 May7 May 08:52

    Those dates should be showing if there is availability. If you are going at a very popular time the hotel may already be fully booked. I’ve noticed since joining HH that rooms get booked up as soon as they are released by people reserving speculatively, then a few weeks later rooms come free again.

    • meta says:

      7 May7 May 09:11

      No, what I am saying, no dates were released at all I think. I checked at midnight, Japan time midnight/morning, morning UK time. Nothing. This has now been the case for over a month. I can see dates until end of February. I can also see all other dates for Hiltons in Japan (even Conrad Tokyo shows some availability). Not even cash prices are showing. Not even on OTA’s.

      The only other thing I can think of is that hotel might be leaving Hilton group by the end of February next year?

      • Genghis says:

        7 May7 May 09:16

        I stayed at the Sea Hawk quite a few years ago – was nice. No idea what it’s like now though.
        Happy to offer advice on Fukuoka if you’d like it. Lived there for two years. Let me know.

        • meta says:

          7 May7 May 09:27

          Thanks Genghis. I’ve been to Fukuoka before last year, though stayed with friends who now moved. This time I am going with my partner and we are doing a week in Kyushu driving around. I lived in Japan for a year now almost 20 years ago though in Sendai!

    • Andrew M says:

      7 May7 May 10:05

      Some hotels are slow at releasing both cash and award availability. I have had this issue at the DT Newcastle Airport. Even though we’re now in May, they have yet to put their rooms on sale for next Easter. It was the same for next Christmas. Emailed them, got told to come back in a couple of months. Most hotels allow booking for a year out though!

  • Peter K says:

    7 May7 May 09:15

    Sounds like it’s leaving the Hilton portfolio.

    • Peter K says:

      7 May7 May 09:17

      See if you can book it via hotels.com beyond that date. If yes then almost certainly leaving the Hilton group.

      • Genghis says:

        7 May7 May 09:20

        There might just not be reward availability? I’d contact the hotel directly and ask them what’s going on.

        • meta says:

          7 May7 May 09:39

          Thanks. Just sent them an email. It’s strange, because I can’t even book it for cash.

  • Charlieface says:

    7 May7 May 10:09

    If it’s available for cash it’s prob leaving HH.
    If not available at all it is closing temporarily or permanently, or possibly has a very giant group booking.

  • Japan says:

    7 May7 May 13:02

    Unfortunately it’s located in a rubbish location (unless you’re going to the adjacent Dome)….just so you know.

    • meta says:

      7 May7 May 14:48

      Yes, but will have a car, so no issue there. Plus even on public transport it’s not that bad. I understand that some people are not prepared to walk 15-20 minutes to get to a station, but it’s not an issue for me!

• Terry says:

  7 May7 May 08:25

  O/T Lloyds Bank Choice Rewards – did anyone get the new Lloyds Avios Mastercard in exchange? I remember reading it will get exchanged but no notification yet. Happy with the £12 annual fee (for Club Lloyds account holders) and 1.5% return in gift cards (Amazon, Currys, Argos) so far and hoping to keep the card for longer.

• Craig says:

  7 May7 May 08:35

  O/T: With Uber ending 3x value is still available with Tesco Clubcard points on railcards. Just about to use £10 to renew our Two Together. Arguably slightly less because there is usually a discount code somewhere.

  • Genghis says:

    7 May7 May 09:18

    It’s a top option. Usually the discount on railcards is around 10% so this still gives a genuine 2.7x value. Hotels.com at c.2.6x (but all non-refundable).

  • bsuije says:

    7 May7 May 12:03

    Do you (or someone you know and is willing) have an Annual Gold Card (through buying an Oyster annual pass)? If so, you can purchase any railcard for £10 at train stations.

  • Mark says:

    7 May7 May 14:05

    Remember, you can let the Railcard expire, and renew it online instantly just before your next journey. No use if you are commuting of course, but can spread it to a ‘longer than annual’ railcard.
    If you don’t leave a big enough gap (maybe a month, but I’m not sure), RC might try to renew from expiry date. But just use your ‘other’ email / railcard account.

  • Craig says:

    7 May7 May 15:21

    Good tips, no to the first, yes to the second which is what we do every year if we can. If the gap is less than a month we flip/flop between myself and the boss.

• Paul Komp says:

  7 May7 May 09:20

  OT/rant: BA, if you are going to force us to check our luggage at the gate, even though we only had a tiny case between the two of us, then at least have the decency to handle the bag carefully. Also, surely it should be the first bag off when we arrive at LCY, rather than the last. Most importantly, if you will advertise Speed Bird 100 at least tell your flight attendants about it. Oh yeah, and maybe actually have some on the flight as well!

  Rant over – feels good!

  • John says:

    7 May7 May 09:54

    Just bring some lithium batteries next time

    • Colin JE says:

      7 May7 May 12:37

      Inspired! Nice one. “Sorry, my laptop, electric toothbrush, ipad, is in there” Very useful with Ryanair.

• Will T says:

  7 May7 May 10:00

  O/T not being much of a churner, I am about to see my BAPP through to the expiry date. Do Amex give a ‘secret’ loyalty reward for continuing with a card into its next cycle? Has anyone had experience of this? Am deciding whether to continue with it or pursue a path with Virgin.

  • Rob says:

    7 May7 May 10:02

    No

    • Will T says:

      7 May7 May 10:21

      Thanks Rob. Bye Bye BAPP (well, maybe au revoir)

  • Anna says:

    7 May7 May 12:28

    Why do you need to keep it until the expiry date (unless there’s a reason connected to the companion voucher)? If you don’t have a reason, you can cancel any time you like and get a pro rata refund on the fee.

    • Will T says:

      7 May7 May 21:10

      I normally trigger the 2-4-1 just before the annual renewal date (as it normally takes a year to spend 10K on the card). But it went wrong this year and we triggered the voucher way earlier than normal!

      • David says:

        8 May8 May 00:56

        By “expiry date”, do you mean your card anniversary? Or the “valid thru” date shown on the card?

• Stella64 says:

  7 May7 May 10:13

  OT – advice needed please. I would like to generate some reward point stays for Marriott as have US trip in October. Rooms are already booked with (future) points. I have had a read of a lot of pages on here and elsewhere and I would like to confirm my plan:

  1. Sign up for Starwood card and hit minimum spend to earn Marriott points – I think this earns 30,000 points
  2. Get wife to sign up for Amex Platinum (I had a Gold charge until mid 2018 so I don’t think I am eligible for a sign-up bonus). Both of us will get hotel status. Hit minimum spend and cancel. This should earn 45,000 points.

  Is this the best strategy with Amex? We would like to hold an Amex long term (for theatre tickets) but I don’t think we will make use of it enough to justify the annual fee.

  Realistically, how long will we need to hold the Amex to get the hotel status – a couple of months?

  Please could someone help me with the maths for the cost of this ‘plan’:

  Amex cost = £75 [(450/12)*2 months]
  Starwood = £25 [(£75/12)*4 months] – is it possible to get a pro-rata refund of the fee?
  ‘Lost’ virgin miles on spend on Reward + card = (£1,000 + £2,000)*1.5 points per £ = 4,500 miles x 1p per mile = £45
  Total cost of hotels = £145
  Cost per point = £145 / 75,000 = 0.193 p

  Obviously what this does not factor in is the benefit of the gold status at Marriott but I keep reading that this seems a bit hit and miss with Marriott at the moment. I also have other Marriott points to add to these but I acquired them free so I am not factoring them in.

  Advice on this or suggestions as to a different strategy are gratefully received.

  • Genghis says:

    7 May7 May 11:12

    I presume you already have Amex Plat (but not explicit?)? Follow the rules here https://headforpoints.com/2019/04/29/how-to-maximise-american-express-sign-up-bonuses/
    If referred for Amex Plat, the referer earns 12k MR = 18k bonvoy, referee 35k MR = 52.5k bonvoy. Also on Starwood card, similar no’s are 9k bonvoy and 33k bonvoy respectively.
    If you’re factoring in the “lost” virgin miles earned, factor in the miles you’ll earn from ongoing spend on the Amex cards.

    • Stella64 says:

      7 May7 May 11:21

      Thanks Genghis. No we don’t have the Amex Plat at the moment. The Gold charge (in my name) was cancelled last year, so I assumed I am not eligible for a sign up bonus. I did wonder if I could get an upgrade to Amex Platinum (based on the card being closed relatively recently) and then refer my wife. Might be worth me calling them.

      I had not factored in any Amex miles because I planned to cancel once we hit the required spend. I had forgotten that I would earn 4,500 Bonvoy on the £3,000 (2,000 + 1,000) required spend as well.

  • Lee says:

    7 May7 May 11:36

    If you had other AMEX card within two years, you won’t get sign up bonus for Starwood card I think

    • Stella64 says:

      7 May7 May 12:04

      Thanks Lee – you are right. I have just re-read Rob’s article. You can go Starwood > Amex Platinum/Gold. You can’t do it the other way and get the sign up bonus.

      From this article – https://headforpoints.com/2019/03/21/what-is-the-best-card-strategy-now-for-someone-with-no-american-express-cards/ – it looks like Starwood > Amex Platinum is the way to go.

      • Anna says:

        7 May7 May 12:32

        I think Lee is saying that you won’t be eligible for the Starwood bonus because you had an MR gold too recently. Your wife could get one if she hasn’t has any personal Amex within the last 2 years, I don’t think you clarified her situation.

        • Stella64 says:

          7 May7 May 16:54

          Thanks Anna.

          Yes I totally misunderstood the question. She has never had an Amex. So I will just get her a Starwood first and then an Amex Plat.

          Amex said I could get gold again and refer. I assume it would be better to wait and get my wife to refer me instead. It turns out my 24 mths is actually up in Nov.

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