The new HFP chat thread – Wednesday 13th May

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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/2020/05/13/the-new-hfp-chat-thread-wednesday-13th-may/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. Let’s see how it goes. Take care!

Category

General

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

Ranga says:

13 May13 May 13:14

Any thoughts on hsbc world elite -> sounds like amex platinum offering extra stuff to offset inability to use card benefits, anyone tried calling hsbc?
- Ian M says:
  
  13 May13 May 13:16
  
  I hold the HSBC Premier World Elite, but haven’t tried asking them about help. Worth a try but normally find HSBC to have pretty poor customer service
  - Anon says:
    
    13 May13 May 13:54
    
    Very poor customer service – I’m waiting to see if they offer any transfer bonuses.
    - Doug says:
      
      13 May13 May 14:02
      
      My sign-up bonus took 6 months to be applied and was referred to be done manually. I do not expect them to give me during covid…
  - Polly says:
    
    13 May13 May 23:54
    
    Their CS is definitely improving. Might be worth a call to say not using the benefits atm…
- Sam says:
  
  13 May13 May 19:13
  
  This got asked yesterday or the day before.
  
  I asked twice, got nothing so am in the process of downgrading to the free Premier one. Had to send in an application for the Premier card with a supporting letter to the branch explaning what I was trying to do. Seems a little backward. Dropped the letter off on Sat. Today, I received an SMS and online banking message saying I’ll get the new card in the next few days.
Michael says:

13 May13 May 13:29

What’s a reasonable amount of £ cash that can be withdrawn on Curve Metal in a month? 5x £500 too much?
- Connor says:
  
  13 May13 May 16:32
  
  Obviously depends on your limits but I’ve heard of people doing 2k a month no problem.
  
  If you’re doing this as a way of manufactured spending there are much easier ways using Curve.
  - Michael says:
    
    13 May13 May 17:04
    
    You mean Revolution? And Monezeee? They get hammered too.
    - Connor says:
      
      13 May13 May 22:56
      
      Nope, many other ways available.
      - Michael says:
        
        14 May14 May 00:17
        
        Ernie and DS, PayPal? What’s left dear Sir? Give me some code words.
the_real_a says:

13 May13 May 14:01

Just received an email to say my Tesco vouchers expiring in May would be extended to November…
- stevenhp1987 says:
  
  13 May13 May 14:09
  
  Same. Had £35 expiring this month with little use for them so it’s a good result.
Dezbez says:

13 May13 May 14:22

Seems like pretty positive news from VA – they obviously feel like they can look to the future.
https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.standard.co.uk/lifestyle/travel/travel-news/virgin-atlantic-flight-schedule-summer-2021-a4438496.html%3famp
Does it mean that you’ll be able to book flights for next August from this Saturday ie way in advance of the usual 11 month timeframe?
- Rob says:
  
  13 May13 May 16:20
  
  Doubt it. Summer season runs from end March so presumably just the first 4-5 weeks will be loaded.
rahaney says:

13 May13 May 14:36

Anyone got a BA phone number for queries about a future booking? (Not a cancellation and not travelling within 72 hours)
Cheers
- JAXBA says:
  
  13 May13 May 20:11
  
  There’s no specific number for that, just the regular number for your tier. The 72hr limitation is not currently being applied, but limits to calls held in queue are still in place. Keep trying.
Super Secret Stuff says:

13 May13 May 14:40

Spotted! I’ve just seen an advert for 20% bonus avios for BA flights and holidays.

Not sure about the offer actually working as not heard anything else.
marcw says:

13 May13 May 15:12

Do you reckon BJ will survive (politically) the COVID-19 crisis? I say no.
- Freddy says:
  
  13 May13 May 15:16
  
  Unfortunately he was at the helm during a pandemic. Wide spread job losses, country in recession and massive death rate isn’t a good look for even teflon boris
  - Anon says:
    
    13 May13 May 15:51
    
    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2020/05/13/keir-starmer-took-boris-johnson-apart-like-duplo-train-set/
    
    Yikes. And this is the ‘Torygraph’
  - Rob says:
    
    13 May13 May 16:19
    
    At the moment we are not clearly worse than everyone else. It only starts to look really bad when other countries are out of the woods. It also depends what people base it on – death rate? collapse in economic activity? unemployment rate? ability to travel?
    
    Weird to think that if Cameron hadn’t called the referendum, the next election (given the Fixed Terms Parliaments Act) would have been last week with Cameron as defending PM.
    - Heathrow Flyer says:
      
      13 May13 May 16:23
      
      Interesting food for thought re Cameron.
      
      I for one would happily have taken 5 years of a Cameron government staying in the EU vs the shambles of the last 4 years.
      - Harry T says:
        
        13 May13 May 16:25
        
        I agree and I am not a Cameron fan.
      - Lady London says:
        
        13 May13 May 16:51
        
        +1 @Harry T
      - James says:
        
        13 May13 May 17:38
        
        You lot will do anything to have stayed in the EU and that’s where the pro leave wins!
        Shame you felt that way a few years ago…
      - happeemonkee says:
        
        13 May13 May 19:32
        
        Me too
      - Lady London says:
        
        13 May13 May 22:15
        
        @Lockdown L my worry is that we land a hard Brexit because it falls through the cracks as everyone’s busy.
    - Spaghetti Town says:
      
      13 May13 May 16:48
      
      Cameron didn’t want to serve a 3rd term I don’t think. So may of been Boris after all!
      - Michael says:
        
        13 May13 May 17:05
        
        Cameron has 105 CIV, Premier.
    - Anon says:
      
      13 May13 May 17:35
      
      There’s definitely a few countries the UK is doing clearly worse than, and there’s a few the UK is doing clearly better than.
      
      The true question is did the UK cope as well as it could have done? Is there a reason the UK should have been worse than Austria or South Korea?
    - Bazza says:
      
      14 May14 May 01:05
      
      Let’s not forget that Blair and brown took us into the LONGEST AND DEEPEST recession in history! And they didn’t need a pandemic to achieve it! They were fine taking all the praise when the economy was doing well but as soon as it went down it was nothing to do with them that “all the money was gone” clowns? That party was an entire circus!
      - guesswho2000 says:
        
        14 May14 May 02:12
        
        @Bazza agree entirely. The Blair/Brown combo was the worst thing that happened to the UK in a long time.
      - J says:
        
        14 May14 May 07:19
        
        There was a global financial crisis – the recovery then prolonged by austerity. Brown/Blair were not to blame.
  - Harry T says:
    
    13 May13 May 17:00
    
    Me too. The States handles healthcare like a third world country, and now Trump is bringing these standards to the economy.
    - J says:
      
      13 May13 May 17:21
      
      I find it puzzling that the US is more often a point of comparison for British people, rather than other European countries. The attitude to healthcare I think is a good example of how culturally we are a lot closer to Europe. In a professional sense even I find it usually easier to communicate with Europeans using English as a 2nd language vs Americans.
    - Josh says:
      
      13 May13 May 17:30
      
      @J
      
      You’re assuming that all Europeans act and behave as one. Do you think, for example, that French people laugh at German comedies? 😁
    - Yank says:
      
      13 May13 May 17:41
      
      That’s just you biased attitude to Americans. Nothing more!
    - J says:
      
      13 May13 May 18:15
      
      You can’t read if you think I made that assumption.
    - Lockdown Larry says:
      
      13 May13 May 18:19
      
      “That’s just you biased attitude to Americans. Nothing more!”
      
      I think Americans are a great bunch of lads. I’ve not met an unfriendly American either in America or abroad.
    - Josh says:
      
      13 May13 May 18:40
      
      @J
      
      If we were culturally closer to “Europe” then Brexit wouldn’t have happened.
      
      Wasn’t it Helmut Schmidt who said, jokingly, that the gap across the English Channel is far bigger than the one across the Atlantic Ocean?
    - J says:
      
      13 May13 May 18:51
      
      Brexit doesn’t change the geography or facts. Good luck with Brexit anyway, you’ll need it!
    - Lady London says:
      
      13 May13 May 22:20
      
      @J you are spot on. Never realised this about the gap – often although not always – even when speaking to Americans in English. Lots, lots of exceptions but a very good point.
    - Lady London says:
      
      13 May13 May 22:25
      
      @Josh some things are common, some not. Especially humour can be so different. But I was always amazed to find out how many other countries Benny Hill on TV was enjoyed by the locals :-).
  - Secret Squirrel says:
    
    13 May13 May 19:19
    
    But is Furlough just prolonging unemployment? Lots when the furlough ends will be facing redundancy.
- Harry T says:
  
  13 May13 May 16:24
  
  Yes, because he will find a way to spin it and blame it on one or all of the below:
  A) Labour
  B) the EU
  C) Matt Hancock
  
  Also, most of the UK voting public put as much thought into their voting as I do into choosing which pants to wear.
  - Harry T says:
    
    13 May13 May 16:26
    
    On a slightly more serious note, I think it will depend on how bad the economic fallout is. I can see a lot of workers turning on the government when the recession hits and Sunak finally stops handing out cash from the magic money tree.
  - Rob says:
    
    13 May13 May 17:11
    
    The problem with the science guys is that they are science guys. Ask them if cars should be banned and they will tell you, with 100% certainty, that they should be due to the death and pollution they cause. From their corner of the world, it is the correct answer, but it doesn’t mean it is the right answer for society as a whole.
  - Josh says:
    
    13 May13 May 17:33
    
    Speaking as a Scientist, we are generally too focused. Try getting an academic to look “at the bigger picture” lol
  - BJ says:
    
    13 May13 May 19:08
    
    @Rob. clueless, miles wide of the mark. Science is also wearing very different hats when it is advising the Government than when science is doing, well, science. And before anybody asks, I am not suggesting that advice to the government is for sale, at least it shouldn’t be.
  - Josh says:
    
    13 May13 May 19:16
    
    Have you been on the shandies BJ? 😂
  - BJ says:
    
    13 May13 May 21:03
    
    @Josh, nah, perhaps just a few too many HFP comments, as much as I love them. And by the sounds of your last but one, it seems you’ve not yet had the pleasure of working for IC.
- mark2 says:
  
  13 May13 May 16:29
  
  Being Leader of the Opposition must be the easiest job in the world.
  You don’t have to do anything, just wait for the government to put a foot rong and then criticise with 20-20 hindsight.
  Did Keir Starmer make any useful suggestions at a relevant time?
  - Nick_C says:
    
    13 May13 May 20:03
    
    “Being Leader of the Opposition must be the easiest job in the world.”
    
    And yet it was beyond Corbyn’s ability.
    
    Sir Keir ran rings around BoJo at PMQs today. For all his supposed intelligence and the best education money can buy, it was a dismal performance. I could have provided better responses to most of the questions, thinking on my feet. Indeed, I was shouting them at the TV screen.
    
    Boris needs to step up. Or step down.
- Spaghetti Town says:
  
  13 May13 May 16:49
  
  @Marcw – but would any other PM have faired better? Corbyn certainly didn’t have a leaders bone in him.
  
  Kier Starmer and Dave cam, maybe??
  - guesswho2000 says:
    
    14 May14 May 02:14
    
    Corbyn would have taken the country back about 30 years to some kind of socialist dystopia.
- The Lord says:
  
  13 May13 May 16:59
  
  Depends on the economic hit/recovery. 4 years from now people aren’t going to be recalling if he locked down a week too late or not or whether he said they should or shouldn’t wear masks on the tube. They will be focusing on do they still have a job etc.
  - Josh says:
    
    13 May13 May 17:34
    
    But South Korea has just had a flurry of cases pop-up again from opening the nightclubs… They aren’t out of the woods at all.
  - Dubious says:
    
    14 May14 May 01:53
    
    South Korea had the unfortunate benefit of SARS experience so had a playbook and tools in place they’d revert to immediately.
    
    I believe they put an immediate focus on contact tracing and testing to nip in the bud cross infections.
    
    Plus the people (the public) who lived through SARS knew to take it seriously from day 1 which also helps.
    
    Similar to Hong Kong.
Andrew says:

13 May13 May 15:19

Anyone else still waiting for the IHG Spire Choice Benefit to be applied to their account to select, following the year extension a few weeks ago?
- Secret Squirrel says:
  
  13 May13 May 15:49
  
  Yes.😤
- Michael says:
  
  13 May13 May 16:18
  
  I hit Spire (75000 points) today when my Creation statement was produced. I was able to add the 25000 points straight away to my account.
  - TGLoyalty says:
    
    13 May13 May 18:22
    
    The issue is everyone who was spire last year was told they will get it until the end of 2021 and a free 2020 benefit choice (25k points)
    
    I’m still waiting so probably Means I miss out on an extra 25k points when I hit 55k on 22/5/2020.
  - Secret Squirrel says:
    
    13 May13 May 19:22
    
    But is that the 2nd Spire Bonus you have been awarded this year? I have already redeemed 1 x 25k, we are waiting on a 2nd 25k bonus now!
    - Michael says:
      
      13 May13 May 20:10
      
      First bonus 25000 this year.