The new HFP chat thread – Tuesday 28th July

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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 de facto 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.

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Category

General

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

Rahaney says:

28 Jul28 July 12:08

Can I check how long Ernie debit card payments are taking to clear in working days? I realise that they can take 7-9 in the t&c’s. Just wondering what the average is on here?
Cheers
- Nick_C says:
  
  28 Jul28 July 16:56
  
  As I understand it –
  
  7 banking days. So a deposit today (Tuesday) would normally clear next Thursday.
  
  However, if you are opening a new income bond, deposits made after the 20th do not clear until the 5th of the following month, so an opening deposit made on Tuesday 21st which you might expect to clear on Thursday 30th will not actually clear until the following Wednesday.
  
  Interest is backdated to the date of the deposit.
Chris says:

28 Jul28 July 12:17

Is anyone able to recommend hotel based apartment/villa accommodation in Europe for a family of 5?
Not always easy with that number and usually end up booking connecting rooms but don’t always get them.
Hilton Vilamoura seems to offer what we want such as 2 bedrooms and shared space in a location relatively close to the beach. Also seen a Hilton in Islantilla that has something similar. Having cancelled everything for this year I was hoping to get some advice and optimistically book for next summer. Thanks.
- Chris Heyes says:
  
  28 Jul28 July 14:41
  
  Chris@ Volcano Views Santorini
- Michael C says:
  
  28 Jul28 July 14:41
  
  Chris, nearby (to that Hilton) is the Pine Cliffs – we stayed in the hotel part & v happy (steps down to beach), but it had a massive range of accommodation, inc. villas., and the kids’ section was fab.
- Louise says:
  
  28 Jul28 July 22:06
  
  Have a look at Four Season Country Club in Quinta do Lago, and Vale do Lobo also do rentals.
  
  There are also the residences at Victoria Golf, Vilamoura.
Reeferman says:

28 Jul28 July 15:24

Currently self-isolating – as a result of returning from Spain on Sunday.

Had a missed call on my mobile yesterday with a garbled message. Another call today and a real live human told me they were calling on behalf of the UK Govt and asked me to verify my full name and year of birth and then asked me to confirm I had travelled-back from Spain, if I was isolating (I am) and if I knew the Coronavirus symptoms (I do!). That was it – thanks and goodbye.

I wonder what happens to that information/verification and if there’s any further follow-up. All seemed a bit of a waste of time.
- KevMc says:
  
  28 Jul28 July 16:53
  
  Leaving a voicemail = ‘got in touch with’ when Dido is asked about it…
- Nick_C says:
  
  28 Jul28 July 17:02
  
  Doesn’t seem a waste of time to me to make sure you understand the rules and what is expected of you. And calling a second time when they couldn’t get through on the first attempt seems sensible. Were you mean’t to call them back to respond to the answerphone message?
  
  But I wouldn’t give out my full name and date of birth to a stranger on the phone. Did they tell you your name and dob and ask you to confirm that it was correct (data protection breach), or did they ask you to tell them your full name and date of birth (potentially opening yourself up to fraud)?
  - Roberto says:
    
    28 Jul28 July 18:31
    
    GREAT COMMENT.
    
    I never give any of my details on the phone unless I do the dialling and suggest you all do likewise, too many scammers. Well said Nick.
    - Reeferman says:
      
      28 Jul28 July 21:02
      
      I think you misunderstood – or I wasn’t clear enough.
      To clarify, I was asked to confirm my name – they gave it, I confirmed it
      I wasn’t asked for my date of birth, just my year of birth
      I wasn’t asked to return their call when a message was left the previous day. In fact, they said they would call me the next day, which they did.
      - Nick_C says:
        
        28 Jul28 July 21:49
        
        Many thanks for the clarification.
  - TGLoyalty says:
    
    28 Jul28 July 19:31
    
    Fully agree. God knows who is on the other end. I specifically declined giving that info to people who ring me out of the blue.
Peter North says:

28 Jul28 July 19:08

Another example of this governments muddled thinking and general incompetence, breaking their own Privacy and GDPR rules.
ChrisC says:

28 Jul28 July 20:07

Looks like BA are cancelling more LGW flights up until the end of October and into early November so things really not looking good for SH ex LGW for some time,

I saw a commenty on flyer talk and the poster said their flights had been zeroed out and I did a dummy booking to check if my flights are running (out 29th Oct and back 2nd Nov) and AMS certainly withdrawn as it says ‘sorry, we don’t fly from Gatwick to Amsterdam’

Not had the email yet but no doubt they will start appearing soon and the phone lines will be busy
- marcw says:
  
  28 Jul28 July 21:00
  
  The winter season is going to be a big disaster for the airline industry. No one will be flying.
  - mr_jetlag says:
    
    28 Jul28 July 21:54
    
    I hope the ME3 keep their flights up. Could do with an Asian escape if things stay the same through winter sans vaccine and sunlight!
- planeconcorde says:
  
  28 Jul28 July 22:57
  
  Thanks for mentioning. The LGW to JER route had been cancelled up to about 8th September, with reduced service LHR to JER instead. Looking up to 8th November there is nothing LGW to JER. Replacement shedule out of Heathrow is not listed. Existing booking in October does not show cancelled yet. But can’t book a new ticket for the same flight. So looks like they have started the next round of changes but have not completed them yet.
- @mkcol says:
  
  29 Jul29 July 00:48
  
  Well 12th November LGW-TFS still there thankfully, so I’ll hang onto my Avios booking.
  For now.
Manu says:

28 Jul28 July 22:50

Hi,

Do you know if you get the 2000 promotion points for a dayuse rate at Hilton? Also the 1000 Diamond bonus?
- Rob says:
  
  29 Jul29 July 09:53
  
  Out of novelty value I just checked Hilton day use rates. Weirdly, in London they are now HIGHER for day use than overnight use!
- guesswho2000 says:
  
  29 Jul29 July 10:54
  
  In my experience yes you do, but my last day room was Oct 2019, so I don’t have any anecdotal evidence from this year.