The new HFP chat thread – Thursday 13th August

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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.

Aston100 says:

13 Aug13 August 16:19

Hi, I need to put £6k aside somewhere for a bit.
Thought perhaps could put it into that NS&I thing.
As I only have a free white IHG card and a BAPP, am I right in thinking the way to go about it is to signup with Curve and then use that with the free IHG to put £6k into NS&I?
Is it literally as simple as that, or do I need to pay for the Curve card? I presume NS&I is also free.
This isn’t for any form of MS by the way. Literally need to sit on £6k for about 10 months, and NS&I sounds like the best place to hold it, and if I can get some free points out of doing that, then it’s a bonus.

Thanks.
- BJ says:
  
  13 Aug13 August 16:37
  
  If you don’t have a Halifax account then switching to one will earn you £100, and parking £5000+ will get you 0% interest but £5/month reward. If you have no interest in MS just open an NS&I income bond at 1.16% and make your deposit directly with a debit card.
  - Blindman says:
    
    13 Aug13 August 20:25
    
    Does that work with no fees?
    - xcalx says:
      
      14 Aug14 August 08:43
      
      yes
  - BJ says:
    
    13 Aug13 August 21:45
    
    No idea sorry, I stopped using MBNA when all the reward cards went.
    - BJ says:
      
      14 Aug14 August 06:35
      
      @Rob, I just jumped too quick, cost me the lucrative new VA card offers too.
  - James says:
    
    14 Aug14 August 06:34
    
    With Curve the recycling is endless really.
    
    IHG > VA > MBNA > VA > IHG
    
    Its a shame Barclays don’t accept Curve
- John says:
  
  13 Aug13 August 17:29
  
  Yes, curve works for free with income bonds, but you have to do it slowly. Just consider the credit card points as interest
- Secret Squirrel says:
  
  13 Aug13 August 17:53
  
  If you open a new Curve account you will need to build up general spend before putting larger amounts into nsi. They will probably block such transactions for a while so it’s up to you how long you can wait.
  - Aston100 says:
    
    13 Aug13 August 18:19
    
    Thanks all. Sounds like I should give the points earning opportunity a miss as I’m not prepared to invest time in this.
    Will just stick the money in via a debit card as suggested (I already have a Halifax account).
    
    Thanks.
    - Vit says:
      
      13 Aug13 August 18:29
      
      You would still be qualified for Halifax if you have not received any sign up offer from them since April 2018 iirc. My last switch to them was back in October 2017 for £100+ and was advised I’m qualified to switch and get the offer again.
      - Aston100 says:
        
        13 Aug13 August 18:41
        
        Interesting. I’ve been with them for more than 5 years now. I’ll contact them tomorrow and see.
        Thanks.
      - BJ says:
        
        13 Aug13 August 18:45
        
        Only if you don’t have a current account with them at the moment I believe.
      - Lee says:
        
        13 Aug13 August 19:36
        
        BJ, worked for me as Halifax current account holder. Just open second account which has to be reward account then switch.
      - BJ says:
        
        13 Aug13 August 19:46
        
        Thanks Lee, I will give it a go then as I have an effectively redundant FlexDirect account.
Nigel W says:

13 Aug13 August 18:49

If I need to make an Avios booking during the early hours of the morning, which call centre/country is best to call to try and do this?
Niall says:

13 Aug13 August 19:39

I have a friend (French national) trying to fly to Sydney to be with her daughter (Australian national) who is giving birth in a month and is severely depressed to be alone with her partner at this time. Any idea if there’s a possibility of compassionate considerations?
- BS says:
  
  13 Aug13 August 20:00
  
  There is a list of exemptions here:
  https://covid19.homeaffairs.gov.au/travel-restrictions-0
  
  My immediate reading is she certainly wouldn’t qualify for an automatic exemption, but may qualify for a compassionate exemption. I do have doubts about this though because the daughter is not critically ill or expected to die, as in the example. There can be no harm in applying, but I really wouldn’t get hopes too high about this.
  
  Also the timeframe is almost impossible: it takes 2 weeks to get an exemption, followed by travel and 2 weeks quarantine (which she would have to do). So in reality a month minimum. Although I do accept she would be more than able to help after the birth as well, and knowing your Mum is coming (even in a week or two) is a psychological boost.
  - Niall says:
    
    13 Aug13 August 22:06
    
    Thanks, much appreciated
Heathrow Flyer says:

13 Aug13 August 22:16

France, Netherlands and Malta all added to U.K. quarantine.
- Nick_C says:
  
  14 Aug14 August 00:35
  
  Based on the data, this should have happened a week ago.