The new HFP chat thread – Sunday 10th May

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• Riccatti says:

  10 May10 May 09:04

  Why no one talks about 14-day quarantine requirement for the UK, which if implemented, will be here to stay.

  That is by far the biggest news.

  • TGLoyalty says:

    10 May10 May 09:08

    You missed a full page of comments in yesterday’s chat thread?

  • Anna says:

    10 May10 May 09:24

    Where has it said it will be here to stay?!

    • Riccatti says:

      10 May10 May 09:38

      Because this is how these measures work.

      For a number of reasons, but largely which politician or bureaucrat will want to responsible for extra blame if 14-day requirement lifted and 2nd large wave of pandemic comes.

      There is a lot of inertia, you can’t steer the ship left and right by introducing and pulling off Regulations. Bureaucracy works to set them in stone. This is part of the wider risk — we don’t even notice each step that takes us deeper into economic inactivity.

      • Anna says:

        10 May10 May 12:22

        “Here to stay” means “permanent”, Riccatti, I don’t think anyone seriously envisages such a scenario.

    • Chrisasaurus says:

      10 May10 May 10:00

      Jusdging by the scenes in Warrington and frankly in my locality too, a 14 day quarantine will be summarily ignored by the entitled middles class who don’t believe rules apply to them and who therefore don’t care how long the crisis lasts

      • Anna says:

        10 May10 May 12:27

        Did you go to IKEA?!

      • Anna says:

        10 May10 May 13:09

        Ah, was that in Warrington?
        I felt a tiny bit sorry for Boris getting harangued for walking to work though the park with his Costa coffee, it was probably safer and more environmentally friendly than cramming him and his driver and bodyguard in a car for the short journey.

      • Lady London says:

        10 May10 May 18:07

        Ah….my neighbours must think they live in Warrington. Constant flow of visitors to their house since lockdown. Counted 6 cars yesterday parked there ,(their own being only 2 of them). They’re quite well off, perhaps they think rules don’t apply to them

    • Rob says:

      10 May10 May 10:22

      Who says it is actually happening?

      • TGLoyalty says:

        10 May10 May 10:27

        And from which countries. France’s quarantine rule excludes schengen and the UK.

        • Anna says:

          10 May10 May 13:10

          This is interesting because it seems to suggest that we can travel to France, but not Spain. (If we wanted to, of course, which is a different issue).

      • TGLoyalty says:

        10 May10 May 10:47

        Just because an industry is consulted on something doesn’t mean it’s happening and that they know exactly who will be affected, when it will come in place and how long for.

        Airlines also leaked the news to get a reaction.

      • Rob says:

        10 May10 May 20:17

        Seems simple enough for me. Quick taxi to St Pancras, train to Paris and flight from there 🙂

      • Optimus Prime says:

        10 May10 May 20:42

        @Rob – Assuming France lets you fly in/out…

      • Rob says:

        10 May10 May 22:27

        Most decent luxury resorts are under 100 rooms with substantial grounds and public spaces – really shouldn’t be an issue as long as you pick the right place. Bit stuffed if you want to go anywhere cheap and cheerful, admittedly.

      • Rob says:

        10 May10 May 23:47

        Why would I be booking 2 months in advance? I can see our Summer holiday being booked more lke 2 days in advance.

• Rahaney says:

  10 May10 May 09:05

  Hi all. Got my fiancée to get the spg pre Marriott change and now the PRGC. Safe to assume she’d get the 20k starter bonus as she’s never held an MR earning card before and she got in before the spg/Marriott change?? Cheers

  • Secret Squirrel says:

    10 May10 May 09:51

    Yes, hopefully you referred her also?

    • Rahaney says:

      10 May10 May 09:57

      Thanks SSq,
      Indeed 🙂
      Last referral from Plat before downgrading to year Free Gold. It hasn’t come up on her app but know they aren’t always 100%.
      Cheers.

    • TGLoyalty says:

      10 May10 May 10:33

      I’m not sure that is a yes.

      If she held an SPG/Bonvoy card in the last 24 months she’s not eligible for a sign up bonus on anything but a Platinum or BAPP is she?

• Tom says:

  10 May10 May 09:42

  What are your views on Virgin Points. I have about 100k of points and I’m worried I might lose them. What are people doing? Keeping them and gambling on survival or trading in for Hilton / IHG? They are worth a lot more to me as Virgin points but obviously if they go bankrupt….

  • BrightonReader says:

    10 May10 May 09:53

    This question get asked on an almost daily basis.and the answer has not changed so have a scan through the chat posts for the last couple of days and you will get a range of opinons

  • Secret Squirrel says:

    10 May10 May 09:54

    One everyday!
    People tend to hedge their bets on this one by either keeping all in VS, some transferring half out to partners & some 100% transfer out.
    Are you a betting Man?

  • The Savage Squirrel says:

    10 May10 May 10:02

    “They are worth a lot more to me as Virgin points”

    You’ve answered your own question then.

    I transferred all mine to Hilton in the end, but then my travel patterns have settled to where I have been unable to usefully spend a Virgin point in years, but need hotels in London a few times every year and find HH points very useful for that and often get excellent redemption values. I’d topped up my HH account from VS more than once even before any issues of solvency came along. I can tell you what my calculation was, but unless your travel pattern is EXACTLY the same as mine it’s meaningless for you.

  • Charles says:

    10 May10 May 14:27

    Same here as I do not want to trade in for Hilton points. So I booked a reward flight I am prepared to take and paid the fees with a credit card.

    It is still not risk free as S75 would cover the fees but not necessarily the value of the miles. Though I think it is slightly better than letting the points sit there.

    • Lady London says:

      10 May10 May 18:11

      s75, unlike chargeback, covers consequential lossso actually you could ask to be put in the positio you would have been is request a replacement ticket same class same destination

• Billdub says:

  10 May10 May 09:47

  Looking for advice… Is there any way to use Revolut with/ to boost amex spend? Or does it only really benefit V/MC cards?

  • Anna says:

    10 May10 May 11:56

    You can’t top Revolut up with Amex so that would appear to rule it out.

    • Billdub says:

      10 May10 May 14:42

      Thanks

  • The Urbanite says:

    10 May10 May 12:39

    Some Visa and Mastercard cards will charge interest and/or cash advance fees and you might not get any points for your trouble.

    Before trying any route it pays to do some digging to get the most up to date information. You may even have to set aside a budget for research and development purposes!

• TinaHammond says:

  10 May10 May 09:57

  If you need something to write about during lockdown, I think people may find a comparison of non ow airline loyalty schenes interesting.

  I don’t just mean a single article.

  I mean a different airline each thread, with emphasis on easiest to match BA silver or gold, whether it be by number of flights, miles flown, cash spent, etc, and if retaining needs as many points as attaining status.
  Do points expire from the date earned, or stay alive if activity on account?
  What partner airlines does each airline have (there is often an overlap between alliances), and are the earning and redemption rules the same on partners?

  Personally I’d find this more interesting than a favourite hotel review each day as it’s simple hard data, not a subjective opinion

  • Rob says:

    10 May10 May 10:20

    It’s too complex. For example, with Star Alliance a Silver card only gets you lounge access on the airline that issues your card. Is this good or bad? More importantly, the value depends on how you earn and how you spend. Some airline reward business class more generously than others, others treat economy better than others. Some have better sweet spots – Singapore Airlines is amazing if you want Business Class to the Middle East, for example, but less good for other places. Too many variables.

    You need to start off with: What class do I fly in for cash? Where do I redeem to, and in what cabin? How long does my status last (1 or 2 years)? Is there a soft landing? Do I need to fly a certain number of flights on the ‘home’ airline to get status and can I do this? Does it have UK credit card earning and do I care? These factors differ for everyone.

    • Sean says:

      10 May10 May 11:00

      Don’t think Tina wanted opinions – good or bad – but some hard data so that she can choose. There will be a number of nuances you are aware of (or others will provide in comments) that Tina or others may be unaware of.

    • Cinimo says:

      10 May10 May 11:12

      Hi Rob,
      I think the questions you put are all great, and very important. Is there anywhere that lays out the answers for all major airlines in a clear and consistent way that you know of?

      If not, I think just adding this to HfP would be really useful. It helps anyone trying to choose between the different programs even if the answer for which is best depends on your own circumstances.

    • Riccatti says:

      10 May10 May 12:04

      Rob, that idea that Start Alliance Silver gets you a lounge…

      This is clearly LH artefact. Other Start Alliance carriers not likely to give access to their own Silvers.

      Aegean gives 4 coupons to Aegean Club Lounges in three cities (for Silvers).

      Turkish gives some access with domestic flights.

      Those were two noteworthy “exceptions”. SQ and United don’t give a flying toss to their own Star Silver-level members.

      • marcw says:

        10 May10 May 13:07

        I might be wrong, but LH Silver only gets you into the lounge when there’s a LH Group operated lounge.

• Niall says:

  10 May10 May 09:58

  I called up Amex to cancel my platinum yesterday and asked the agent to set my points balance against a recent transaction. The points deduction was immediate but the total balance hasn’t reduced yet. Does it usually take some time to show? Or only show once the statement is produced?

  (I kept the card after being offered 20k points)

  • Niall says:

    10 May10 May 10:06

    I can answer my own question I think… I used points against a transaction in the app and even though the T&Cs didn’t say anything, a message appeared after to say allow 72 hours for the credit to show.

• Spk says:

  10 May10 May 10:02

  Looking for some advice. Wife has Marriott Amex card. If she cancels it and gets a ARCC or a Gold card now and get the Plat next year, will she be eligible for Plat signup bonus? Looking for a way to avoid the fee paying cards until we can actually travel next year.

  • Rob says:

    10 May10 May 10:17

    No. She would need to be 2 years without an Amex Gold or ARCC (ie a Membership Rewards card). If she keeps the Marriott Amex then she WOULD qualify for the Plat bonus.

    Of course, you may prefer 20k from Gold now rather than 30k from Platinum next year.

    • Spk says:

      10 May10 May 12:54

      Thanks! So the choice is between paying annual fee on Marriott + get a big sign up bonus on play vs get a slightly smaller sign up bonus on gold.

      • Lady London says:

        10 May10 May 13:30

        Or take the Gold bonus (and free first year?) now, while it’s there, as who knows what happens to Plat in two. You can then make another decision after taking the Gold if you want to.

        Referrals and supps seem much surer these days whereas re-signup bonuses have a lot of time risk.

• MS says:

  10 May10 May 10:11

  Has anyone else found that Capital On Tap rejects their Curve (Metal) for HMRC now? Makes having got the card pointless (literally) for me. I won’t hit my bonus level in time at this rate.

  • Tanya says:

    10 May10 May 10:38

    This has started happening to me too over last few weeks.

  • Greg says:

    10 May10 May 10:59

    Revoult also seem to be messaging a lot of people. Looks like tge net is finally closing after all the chit chat on here. Maybe curve have been having words

    • Don says:

      10 May10 May 12:26

      Is that your own experience?

    • The Urbanite says:

      10 May10 May 12:49

      Revoult have been warning people about using them for MS or dodging cash advance/balance transfer fees for ages. They do ask nicely for people to desist.

      The ultimate driver for the warnings is that MS costs them money. They pay to accept credit cards and it also costs them to investigate your account when it gets red flagged. And costs them more still to deal with complaints about credit card fees when they categorise themselves as a money transfer service.

      Revolut have clocked onto the fact that the only way some people will stop is if their accounts are suspended. Unfortunately this can mean that funds are tied up for an unlimited amount of time. Coupled with all the issues with changing MCCs, is it really worth it?

    • Lady London says:

      10 May10 May 13:34

      The Bank of England, whilst printing money all over the place, may be advising financial institutions of upcoming tightening on things like gearing / lending ratios ( or whatever it’s called in personal finance markets).

  • Connor Muir says:

    10 May10 May 11:40

    Ernie still works with CapitalOnTap, so if you’re struggling to hit the bonus just deposit using Curve and withdraw to your bank account.

    • memesweeper says:

      10 May10 May 12:24

      I don’t know who your accountant is, but mine wouldn’t like a company card being used like that.

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