The new HFP chat thread – Saturday 18th April

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• xcalx says:

  18 Apr18 April 08:30

  Just a heads up for Iberia avios bookings. Iberia seem to have released 4 business seats for flights instead of the usual 2 on the routes I am looking at MAD to MIA and SJU and remember bookings can be made online 361 days into the future 355 for phone bookings.

  • Rob says:

    18 Apr18 April 09:16

    I saw 3 on Aer Lingus yesterday.

• Michael says:

  18 Apr18 April 08:38

  I have a outbound ticket booked on a companion voucher And will need to book the return via call centre on Monday – at least a 1am wake up isn’t a problem at the moment. Does anyone know if the Indian call centre is still open?

  I’m also on my 5th week of waiting for a cash refund from BA for a cancelled flight. Is this normal? Can’t get through to uk call centres to chase it!

  • TGLoyalty says:

    18 Apr18 April 10:17

    Indian call centre was closed a couple weeks ago not heard about it reopening.

    • Michael says:

      18 Apr18 April 10:53

      Thanks for the heads up. Will I need to wait for the uk call centre to open in order to add the return to my companion voucher?

  • The Jetset Boyz says:

    18 Apr18 April 10:31

    India is in lockdown – all businesses with call centres in India have been impacted by this.

• Princess says:

  18 Apr18 April 09:04

  Question: I’m considering closing my platinum card for the moment. Any suggestion for a good travel insurance? I know people suggested in the past LV, but seems now close to new applicants. We don’t have pre-existing condition if that could make the difference

  • J says:

    18 Apr18 April 09:58

    I’ve found AXA through my bank OK – only ever claimed once for seeing a Dr in the US and they paid out quickly. But I’d really do your own research – read and compare the different policies and all of the conditions. Also bear in mind no normal policy will cover you if you’re travelling against FCO advice, so I wouldn’t bother paying for a travel insurance policy you’re not currently using as I assume you’re not travelling.

    • Princess says:

      18 Apr18 April 10:13

      Thanks J, for sure I’ll compare, but I always find really knowledgeable advice here.
      I’m not going to travel against FCO advice, but I have some trips planned for the future up to next feb. I understand what you mean about what’s the point of having an insurance now that we are not travelling but I thought would be better to always been cover…

• Henry says:

  18 Apr18 April 09:06

  Checking Hilton redemptions and it looks as if a significant devaluation has occurred across the board.

  • meta says:

    18 Apr18 April 09:16

    Most of the time at popular properties, standard room awards are not available until 9 months in advance. Last year, I booked rooms for Tokyo in June for March this year.

  • TGLoyalty says:

    18 Apr18 April 09:16

    Are you going off the summary when you search or trying to actually book a room?

    I’ve noticed it’s been showing higher premium rate rewards then when you click the hotel it’s actually available for the normal rate with lots of hotels.

    Other hotels seemed to have blocked base room inventory this could be to allow guests that have cancelled bookings due to closures to be moved to other dates or just a tactic to increase revenue in the remainder of the year.

  • TripRep says:

    18 Apr18 April 09:52

    Got any specific examples?

    Some high end properties may have just removed base reward inventory for now.

• Dimitri says:

  18 Apr18 April 09:25

  Any suggestions on what should one with Flying Club miles. I have a stash of 200K miles and am unsure if I should go ahead and transfer to Hilton?

  • Doug M says:

    18 Apr18 April 09:40

    If you think Virgin Atlantic will survive keep them, that’s the bast value, assuming you’d want to fly to the USA. If you think VS is in as much trouble as some others do then transfer to IHG 1:1 or Hilton 2:3 whichever you’ll find most useful. There are some other suggestions, redeem now for flights a long time future and pay taxes and fees on a credit card, and then hope that EC261 holds the credit card liable for the full value of the trip should the airline fail. Unproven but many are certain it will work.
    This is covered a lot in comments in the last few days. Bottom line you have to decide for your self the value of each option, and the likelihood of survival of VS.

    • Dezbez says:

      18 Apr18 April 09:51

      Or as Rob suggested the other day, you could book a Virgin Holiday and redeem them against some/all of the cost. You’d likely be ATOL protected as well. Redemption rate has been 0.6p, although I think it’s now down to 0.55p, but still marginally better than for hotel transfers (per Rob’s rule of thumb).

    • BJ says:

      18 Apr18 April 09:52

      If redeeming in places like Tokyo or NYC there is potentially much greater value in transferring them to Hilton than doing UC redemptions. However with uncertainty at both Virgin and Hilton going forward, who knows.

      • Genghis says:

        18 Apr18 April 10:13

        Remember it’s the replacement cost you need to consider, not the redemption “value”.

        • BJ says:

          18 Apr18 April 10:36

          Yes of course but USA cheap and cheerful in recent years. Obviously depends on time of year though, and may now be a meet ball game.

      • J says:

        18 Apr18 April 10:18

        Wow just had a look at Hilton Tokyo with a few random dates – 70k points or £520 a night. I remember paying not much more than £150 a night 3 or 4 years ago.

        • BJ says:

          18 Apr18 April 10:33

          Seen it as low as 54k or 57k 🙂

        • meta says:

          18 Apr18 April 12:00

          Come November, there will hopefully a sale and you can get Junior Suite for £180.

        • Gavin says:

          18 Apr18 April 13:02

          It’s not usually that expensive. I stayed at the Conrad Tokyo in October last year for quite a bit less than that!

      • Rob says:

        18 Apr18 April 10:47

        Not when Hilton continues to let you buy 320,000 per year per person at 0.5 cents, unless you are planning very long trips.

  • Peter K says:

    18 Apr18 April 09:44

    No one can make that call for you. It’s keep them where they are and worry about whether you’ll get to use them or if Virgin will go bust…or transfer them to Hilton/IHG and lose 50% of their potential value but have peace of mind that at least they are in a safe haven.

    I valued peace of mind more and have a use for the Hilton points so went for that.
    Others may have a trip planned which they can only do it with Virgin miles (eg ANA redemptions). You decide for yourself.

    • Dimitri says:

      18 Apr18 April 09:50

      Thanks Peter / Doug. This is helpful ! I’ll move half of them over to HH for now and take a call on the remaining as the situation develops.

    • George C says:

      18 Apr18 April 10:26

      No guarantee Hilton is a safe haven, that needs to be pointed out, and there could easily be a HH points devaluation.

      • Peter K says:

        18 Apr18 April 11:55

        But the point still stands, guaranteed something vs potential everything/nothing.

    • Spaghetti Town says:

      18 Apr18 April 12:15

      Can’t see Virgin going under to be honest. I personally think if they can’t get a bail out Delta will be forced to inject some capital as they’re a major part of their world domination plan. Branson is very nostalgic about Virgin and would also likely put some money in as a last resort.

• Dezbez says:

  18 Apr18 April 09:46

  My son turns 18 next week and I’m keen to get him going on the Amex referral churning (as well as my wife). Has anyone got any experience/advice with which card he’s most likely to be accepted for? Presumably something like the ARCC or free BA? Or should I avoid Amex altogether for the time being until he has a decent credit history? He’s a student, but has an income from a part-time job. Thx

  • J says:

    18 Apr18 April 09:51

    I don’t think Amex will accept someone with zero credit history. Barclaycard accepted me when I was 18 – admitedly a long time ago now, but I think it’s generally necessary to build up your credit history a bit first with a card like that – paying off in full, on time and not using too much of the credit limit.

  • BJ says:

    18 Apr18 April 09:57

    Put him on a supp for 6-22 months, have him use it well, and then apply for the Nectar card if it is still around. Nectar now trumps Bonvoy in the churn strategy.

  • Spaghetti Town says:

    18 Apr18 April 12:16

    Believe it or not, Amex accepted me for my first credit card at 19 and I’d not had a full time job at that point!

    • Anuj says:

      18 Apr18 April 22:38

      Same I was accepted by Amex for a gold card at 19, no income apart from student loan. I just put my student load down as my income (maintenance not tuition loan).

  • Harry T says:

    18 Apr18 April 12:27

    I got rejected by Amex the first time I applied at age 23, as a graduate with a steady job. Maybe I did the application wrong – they haven’t rejected me for a single card since then, in either Australia or the UK. Things like address history may matter.

    • BJ says:

      18 Apr18 April 15:35

      Maybe they knew you better then you knew yourself Harry 😉

      • Harry T says:

        18 Apr18 April 18:58

        Ha they could smell the potential churner in me!

• thehornets says:

  18 Apr18 April 10:07

  Morning all,
  Does anybody have any experience of buying a watch (from Watches of Switzerland) at Heathrow?

  I’m hoping to travel to the US when normality returns, and wondered whether the prices displayed are tax free (ie 20% less that equivalent High Street price) or whether I would pay full price and claim the VAT back somehow? The watch is about £2k.

  Also, if anyone has any other money-saving tips, they would be much appreciated!

  • TGLoyalty says:

    18 Apr18 April 10:23

    It’s c18% off the high street price normally but you can usually get 10% off on the high street price online.

    Unless you are emigrating or a foreign resident How can you claim back the vat? Or you have a vat registered business where a watch would be a valid expense?

  • mutley says:

    18 Apr18 April 10:27

    Morning The Hornets,

    If you want a discount go to Goldsmiths, I have bought Omega and Tag and Breitling there and got 20% off with a haggle, ( 22% when I bought 2 watches)

    If you go via Heathrow and you are VAT registered you may be able to claim the VAT if you put the watch down maybe as a gift to a client, depending on what your accountant says.

    You ooooooorns!

  • Rob says:

    18 Apr18 April 10:32

    Depends where you are flying to. Problem with what you are suggesting is that it is illegal to bring the watch back into the UK without declaring it and paying the VAT.

    Historically Heathrow made all shops charge the same to all passengers, so if you flew to Paris you bought the watch for the same price but WOS absorbed the VAT element and you could bring it back to the UK with no risk of getting nicked, eg:

    High Street £2500
    Flying to US £2083 (WOS makes the same profit as 0% VAT)
    Flying to France £2083 (WOS has to pay £347 of VAT so make a lower profit)

    I think this doesn’t apply to WOS now but could be wrong.

    • Chabuddy geezy says:

      18 Apr18 April 10:50

      Some retailers at Heathrow will absorb the vat element if you travel to the EU or domestically such as Gucci, YSL, Jo Malone etc

      • TGLoyalty says:

        18 Apr18 April 10:55

        Might not matter from 31st December …

    • thehornets says:

      18 Apr18 April 12:14

      Thankyou all so much for your help – its very much appreciated.

      I think Rob answered my question- although I will just phone the branch when it opens and ask!

      I can get it (a Tag) cheaper in the grey market, but would prefer to see it before I buy it. I will also see if I can haggle 20 per cent at Goldsmiths!

      Thanks again

      • Andrew says:

        18 Apr18 April 22:33

        Pop along to Bicester Village when it reopens?

        Don’t forget to keep an eye on TK Maxx too. Every so often they get a batch of Tag watches, they’ve got quite a few Rado online at the moment, although ordering is currently suspended.

      • Graeme says:

        18 Apr18 April 23:57

        I bought a TAG there last year and saved a fair bit on anywhere else – and I searched intensively. I didn’t go to the high street and haggle though!

• BJ says:

  18 Apr18 April 10:16

  Notification from RFF that there are CW seats available LHR-BKK Monday 14 December if those are any use to somebody best get them quick.

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