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The new HFP chat thread – Wednesday 22nd April

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We have decided to run this new daily chat thread on Head for Points.

Historically, the daily ‘Bits’ articles were the defacto repository for random comments and questions.  It is unlikely that the news flow will be so big over the next few weeks that we will need many ‘Bits’ articles, however.

The comments under this article are where you should post questions about travel and, indeed, anything else on your mind.  At this tricky time, and given that many of you are stuck at home self-isolating, we want the HFP community to have a place to chat.

Please only comment under the main articles on the site if your comment is directly related to the topic of the article.  This has long-term benefits as its keeps the commentary relevant for people who read those articles in the future.

By default, HFP shows the last page of comments under the article.  If you want to see the first page of comments and read them all from beginning to end in order, click here: https://hfp2022.headforpoints.blog/2020/04/22/the-new-hfp-chat-thread-wednesday-22nd-april/comment-page-1 The page will refresh with this article but the comments will now show the first page and not the last page.

We will continue to monitor how this is working:

we could potentially split it into a daily travel and non-travel chat thread

we may install some basic forum software

we may start suggesting potential topics for daily discussion

Let’s see how it goes.  Take care!

Category

General

Comments (241)

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

  • C says:
    22 Apr22 April 07:41

    If I get the free Amex Rewards card (blue/silver coloured one) will that keep my MR points alive if I want to close my Gold before it’s first anniversary? And my partner can get a referral bonus if he refers me for this one from his Gold? Thanks

  • Matthew says:
    22 Apr22 April 08:03

    easyJet have now released seats upto 18 April 2021 which includes Easter school hols now (previously only to 27 March) and hold baggage still 99p each-way. Incase that helps anyone….

  • Anna says:
    22 Apr22 April 08:27

    I’ve got 2 nights booked on points at The Langley for my birthday weekend at the late May bank holiday. A bit gutted at the thought of cancelling as I paid 65k points for 2 nights and now it’s 60k per night at peak times 😢. Does everyone think we’ll still be in lockdown in 4 weeks?

    • Harry T says:
      22 Apr22 April 08:32

      I think we will still be in lockdown or starting a gradual return to releasing the public. I wouldn’t expect to be able to travel for leisure at that point.

      I wish I’d made some more booking for the Langley later this year before it went up a category! Least I sneaked in one night for 35k points.

      • Evan says:
        22 Apr22 April 09:29

        Agreed there will be some movement re retail and public services but no, leisure facilities will not be open by then.

    • Michael C says:
      22 Apr22 April 08:32

      I’m going to say NO, mainly to give you good b-day vibes, Anna!

      (As an aside, our [private] school is now saying maybe May 11, but “very very likely” May 31 for a return, so you could be lucky)

      • Anna says:
        22 Apr22 April 08:52

        I’m not holding out much hope! The real kicker for me is that my OH can’t change his travel dates (work has been unusually accommodating by authorising his leave for Easter 2021 instead at this stage). Everything was booked for Spring/Summer for our joint 50th celebrations, so it looks as though we’ll have to write off the whole of 2020 travel-wise.

    • TripRep says:
      22 Apr22 April 08:48

      Glad Hilton allowed free cancellations til end of June, hoping they roll forward that a couple more months.

      Personally I think we’ll still be in some form of lockdown in a few months.

      Depends how quickly they want us to “take it on the chin as it were, allow the virus to spread through the population”

      • Anna says:
        22 Apr22 April 08:54

        Yes we’ve been quite fortunate in that 90% of our travel was either booked with Avios and hotel points or BA holidays so hopefully we won’t have to lose out or bother our insurer.

    • Paul says:
      22 Apr22 April 09:08

      I would message the Langley a little closer to the time and see if they would move the dates for you and keep the same number of points.

      I had success in doing this with the newish Hyatt in Budapest. I think they were just keen to have any bookings in the diary (I only pushed it back to July so may still not be able to go)

      • Anna says:
        22 Apr22 April 10:31

        I did wonder about that but thought they would be unlikely to honour a points booking. I will give it a go if other people think it may be possible. We’ll be spending a fair bit in the restaurant and spa so I’ll try mentioning that as well! They are still taking points and cash bookings according to the Bonvoy app.

        • Crafty says:
          22 Apr22 April 15:42

          Anna, they have done this for me without much fuss, but only up to end of this calendar year.

    • meta says:
      22 Apr22 April 12:10

      Why don’t you just try moving the dates? I am sure you have pretty good chances.

      • Anna says:
        22 Apr22 April 13:09

        I will contact them and ask but normally you would have to cancel and rebook, or at least pay any cash or points difference.

        • TGLoyalty says:
          22 Apr22 April 23:37

          They’ll move the booking as long as there is availability, any room by the looks of it as they moved me and there were no standard rooms showing at the time (could be because they’ve blocked rooms too ofcourse) with no diff in points etc required.

    • Chrisasaurus says:
      22 Apr22 April 14:29

      Even if we arent I’m afraid I dknt see it being the test you are wanting

      Restaurants will be closed and probably the leisure facilities, to the extent you may feel its barely with the 65k….

    • MoJack says:
      23 Apr23 April 19:24

      I’m in a very similar boat, they’ve already been happy to move my booking into May, and got another email today, explaining how they’ve had to stay closed, offering either refund or rebook, and i think I might keep requesting they push along the booking until they open…🤷🏻‍♂️ With luck I’ll get a midsummer stay for 75k…

  • Harry T says:
    22 Apr22 April 08:38

    I’ve seen coverage of this on Money Saving Expert as well – they have reported Ryanair for giving vouchers when passengers have requested refunds.

    https://www.theguardian.com/business/2020/apr/22/big-uk-airlines-and-travel-firms-denying-refunds-which-coronavirus

    • Cheshire Pete says:
      22 Apr22 April 14:44

      Might be a wake up call for people booking way in advance to save probably a minimal amount. In the future I wonder if people will hold off & just book last minute or like BA Holidays a small deposit. In the long term it could come back to bite those withholding funds against the law.

      My only current big commitment is a £3,500 BA holiday for Sept which I’ve only committed to £300. I have till August to see what happens.

      • Harry T says:
        23 Apr23 April 01:52

        Agree that package holiday bookings with a deposit are looking more attractive now, unless chasing hotel status, of course.

  • N says:
    22 Apr22 April 08:40

    A convoluted one…

    I bought a family member a flight with Ryanair, paid on my Amex via PayPal and I paid, let’s say, £150.

    My brother then changed the flight with Ryanair and paid the fees (£60) on his Mastercard. On making the change, Ryanair sent a confirmation showing that £210 was paid on the Mastercard.

    Ryanair are now offering a voucher for the £210. We’re not interested.

    I know I can’t chargeback with Amex as I went through PayPal. Do I have to rely on PayPal’s policies re this?

    And what happens to the £60 paid for on the MC? We don’t have a bill/receipt showing how much was paid for on that card that correlates with the statement.

    Am I overthinking this?

    • J says:
      22 Apr22 April 09:10

      £150 is with PayPal so you have to go through them. You need to ask Ryanair for a receipt for the £60, and charge back with your MasterCard for that. To be honest I’d be inclined to take the voucher to avoid a lot of hassle because Ryanair is secure and I know I’d use them again (although I’m sure Ryanair won’t make their vouchers easy to use). Good luck.

      • Charlieface says:
        22 Apr22 April 13:05

        S75 on the Mastercard would work if it’s a credit card, given the total value including the change is above £100. The fact you paid some on another card is immaterial

        • No lockdown for moi says:
          22 Apr22 April 18:11

          yep S75 for the full amount – very straightforward – credit card co are jointly & severally liable for the FULL amount incl anything paid through PayPal

    • Ken says:
      22 Apr22 April 20:15

      This feels like it’s going to take hours of your life, a load of stress and likely take forever.

      I’d take the voucher.

      • Ken says:
        22 Apr22 April 20:18

        And when you say ‘a flight’ do you mean a return which is actually 2 x singles, and if so one of them likely to be under £100

        • TGLoyalty says:
          22 Apr22 April 23:41

          It doesn’t matter if Ryanair treat them as two singles if they are one one booking the total value needs to be £100.01+

  • Remainder2 says:
    22 Apr22 April 09:14

    Datapoint

    BA LCY flight for mid May on Fri 17 April – avios RSF booking. Called BA mid afternoon and did not press any option. Connected to agent inside of 5 mins. Spanish accent but not sure where she was based. Avoid returned same day. Told to expect refund of taxes in the 14 days. On checking Amex yesterday for something else saw the refund from BA in there (Tues 21 April).

    Sorry to have read others have been having struggles but in some circumstances things are clearly working (although would be better to be able to self serve rather than need to call up)

  • APPL says:
    22 Apr22 April 09:14

    I have recently received Curve red investor card (after investing £10 last year).
    It has no numbers at all, no signature strip or cvv, and says business (my current Curve is not a business card).
    I haven’t yet activated it, as I’m not sure if it will still allow payments to Brighton.
    Anyone has any experience?

    • LewisB says:
      22 Apr22 April 09:43

      Just used my new red investor card and it worked paying Brighton no problems. For reference I paid £200. Oh how my spending has decreased!

    • Dave Barron says:
      22 Apr22 April 10:31

      Got mine yesterday and wondered the same! But on the Curve website it makes it clear these are deliberate security measures and that all the relevant card numbers etc are held within the App.

    • Anne says:
      22 Apr22 April 19:19

      Mine arrived at the weekend, activated it straightaway and so far south coast functionality is unchanged from the old card. Even better activating the card has reset all my limits back to zero, bit of a result seeing as I was getting close to my £50k annual limit.

  • Secret Squirrel says:
    22 Apr22 April 09:24

    Just called Tesco Bank in relation to Pet Insurance bonus.
    Advised will be applied by next Q statement 8th May.
    Anyone else been advised this?

    • Craig says:
      22 Apr22 April 09:53

      I’ve been waiting 45 days now, was promised 14 days a week ago. Not sure whether to cancel or not?

      • Secret Squirrel says:
        22 Apr22 April 11:52

        Originally in the terms 35 x days. I was advised that Tesco Bank can take up to 25 x days after the 35 x days to apply points. I’m on 67 x days and still nothing.

        • No lockdown for moi says:
          22 Apr22 April 18:21

          Early adopters all got ours promptly on about 35 days (provided you complied with T&Cs ie not the cheapest insurance, though ours were only pennies more expensive, to include illnesses).

          I guess they have staffing problems like many businesses, ie somebody needs to be in work and press the button.

    • Liz says:
      22 Apr22 April 16:02

      I’ve been waiting 4.5 mths for the 2500 CC pts for the buildings and contents insurance. Called today and was told they should appear with the May statement. Then she called back and tried to tell me we hadn’t used the promo code which is rubbish because we definitely did and a previous call confirmed the points had been allocated to a different clubcard number. Also waiting for the pet insurance points. Will see what happens at the next quarter statement.

      • Genghis says:
        22 Apr22 April 16:10

        Not sure if you saw my comment on this previously @Liz?
        Last year Tesco Bank credited my home insurance points to a new random club card account. I was promised multiple times I’d be given access but was not after six months or so. I raised a formal complaint. They initially offered £25 cash for the 2,500 but we agreed on £75 for the points and £50 compo for being fobbed off a couple of times. My advice: raise a formal complaint now. The complaints team are v good.

        • Liz says:
          22 Apr22 April 19:21

          Thanks @Genghis – I did remember your issue before. I will wait for the next statement as she reassures me I will get them. If I don’t I will raise a formal complaint.

          • Secret Squirrel says:
            22 Apr22 April 20:16

            The agent at Tesco Bank stated if the points did not materialise in the May statement they would add the bonus points manually.

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