The HfP chat thread – Tuesday 8th September

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• Big Ernie McCracken says:

  8 Sep8 September 08:55

  Difficult one for people to answer!! I follow this site quite closely and am aware of most of the credit card positioning but for some reason using say “curve for MS spending” I don’t
  understand the MS bit. Can anyone explain it without it making it too obvious!

  • Rob says:

    8 Sep8 September 09:02

    MS is manufsctured spend, ie spend which is not real spend.

  • Charlieface says:

    8 Sep8 September 09:29

    Basically you’re spending and then getting the cash back via a different route, and recycling it again.
    Best avoided unless you know what you’re doing. Be prepared for possible: funny questions asked, accounts blocked and substantial amounts of money locked up for often long periods.
    No-one will tell you a route they use unless it’s really obvious, as routes get blocked as soon as they’re public.

    • BJ says:

      8 Sep8 September 09:37

      What funny looks, blocked accounts, and tied up money? I thought all those were solely reserved for @Genghis?

      • Lady London says:

        8 Sep8 September 11:03

        @Travel Strong manages to do it without.

        • Travel Strong says:

          8 Sep8 September 11:41

          I still get funny looks

      • Charlieface says:

        8 Sep8 September 14:26

        Buying £1000s of GCs in Tesco gets funny looks.
        Forex, gambling or Paypal accounts blocking happens often, leaving you waiting months for the cash. Don’t risk what you can’t afford.

      • Genghis says:

        8 Sep8 September 16:27

        🙂 never had money tied up. Need to learn the ropes a bit. Have lost accounts, yes. But no funny looks: had funnier looks scanning Mr Muscles individually at a Tesco self check out! Lol.

        • Polly says:

          8 Sep8 September 22:34

          Lots of funny looks in the 3v and cabbages days in Tesco…

• Dave says:

  8 Sep8 September 09:21

  Rob, any update on the Barclays/Avios account offering?

• Jimmy says:

  8 Sep8 September 09:24

  Just an update for those who helped me yesterday re my query. My BAPP year ended yesterday and I was £370 short of the £10k needed for the 2-4-1 voucher. On advice here I booked a Hotels.com refundable room that morning, and fortunately the payment processed in time to trigger the voucher!

  Thanks all

  • eligold says:

    8 Sep8 September 10:34

    well done

  • Anna says:

    8 Sep8 September 10:48

    Phew – have you set up alert for next year?!!

• Lady London says:

  8 Sep8 September 09:59

  The problem is that the proceeds of crime or – even more unpalatable to governments- untaxed income are often made to look legit/clean/laundered in ways that look very similar in systems to MS.

  Governments have made banks and other money handlers responsible for policing this otherwise the financial institution can get shut down or nearly as bad, get tied up having to answer compliance challenges by the authorities. So any pattern that looks like ML (money laundering) will lead to you having to prove source of funds etc, or you may just get shut down without warning or chance to defend yourself because it’s easier for the financial provider that way.

  There is hours of fun in old threads on this on flyertalk if you feel like educating yourself. Most MS routes get shut down with publicity but you can learn from what worked in the past to find your own new adventures.

  • Axel says:

    8 Sep8 September 21:01

    You should have followed the MS routes Najib Razak achieved with 1MDB before publicity.Sarawakreport has diarised.

    For example, the film Wolf of Wall Street, was financed through MS. Think Goldman Sachs was in on the act, but just cashed out with a small fine.

• Andy says:

  8 Sep8 September 10:00

  BA related question which I’m sure I’ve seen the answer to before – what are my options if BA swaps out aircraft? Seeing some pretty good deals to Tokyo direct in CW for summer next year, with one of the 2 daily flights on the A350. If they swap to an aircraft with the old CW seat, is my only option to take the voucher?

  • Stu N says:

    8 Sep8 September 10:40

    Yes.

    Aircraft changes happen all the time – the further ahead you book, the more chance of swaps,

    • Andy says:

      8 Sep8 September 13:04

      Thanks, that’s what I thought. Also the more chance of a schedule change or cancellation though, so I might end up on JAL metal instead, which wouldn’t be too bad. Either that or I book CX direct to HK instead, price is pretty much the same but at least the J product is consistent across 777 and A350 unlike BA

      • Stu N says:

        8 Sep8 September 15:29

        I’d be cautious of going indirect when there is a direct option available in the current climate – mainly because you’d have two sets of immigration/ transit requirements to deal with instead of one.

        As a secondary point, it’s a 4 hour flight from Hong Kong to Tokyo and there’s a fairly high chance of ending up in regional business class on Cathay. This is recliner seats, similar to Premium Economy or US Domestic First rather than full lie-flat beds.

        • Andy says:

          8 Sep8 September 16:19

          Oh definitely, this would be a different trip altogether and leave the visit to Japan for another year

• GEORGE says:

  8 Sep8 September 10:04

  Hi all, I have a BA AMEX. If I were to upgrade to the BA AMEX Premium Plus card, would my spending to date count to the £10,000 spend for a companion voucher? Also, would my anniversary date (of when I need to spend the total by to get the companion voucher) remain the same? Thanks.

  • Rob says:

    8 Sep8 September 10:50

    Yes and Yes

• BP says:

  8 Sep8 September 10:04

  Amazing MasterCard World Elite deal. 3 nights completely free at select Anantara resorts in Asia.

  https://specials.priceless.com/en-ap/offers/Anantara_Vacation_Club_?Oid=202002270013&issuerId=&productId=

  • FFoxSake says:

    8 Sep8 September 10:20

    T&Cs… “This offer is only eligible for cards issued in Asia Pacific”

  • Spk says:

    8 Sep8 September 10:53

    Offer is complimentary in return for your compulsory attendance at and completion of an Anantara Vacation Club preview presentation lasting approximately 90-120 minutes during your stay. You are required to participate in the preview presentation together with your spouse or partner.
    Be prepared to resist committing any money during that 2 hours.

• Definitas says:

  8 Sep8 September 10:09

  Am I to understand that we can anticipate an impending article on a Barclays/Avios tie up Rob?

  • Rob says:

    8 Sep8 September 10:50

    No idea. All in Sinead’s hands and she’s been in Crete!

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