The HfP chat thread – Tuesday 13th October

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Anna says:

13 Oct13 October 13:27

Rob – I’ve just seen there’s Holiday Inn opening in Blackpool in 2022. Apparently it’s going to have a Marco Pierre White restaurant! I can’t see it being anything but good value for money given general hotel prices in the town. A new opportuity to earn IHG points and status in the North West (as long as we’re out of lockdown by then 🤦‍♀️).
- Nick_C says:
  
  13 Oct13 October 13:49
  
  Interesting. And run by the same management group that run’s The Imperial.
  
  https://www.lancs.live/news/lancashire-news/new-blackpool-holiday-inn-marco-19091270
  - Lady London says:
    
    13 Oct13 October 14:58
    
    And I got pooh-poohed on here for saying in 20 years or less, Blackpool will actually be fashionable.
    
    Though I did nearly choke on the plastic publicity quotes in the article linked above about Marco Pierre White, authentic New York and a menu penned personally by Marco.
    - Anna says:
      
      13 Oct13 October 15:08
      
      It is a bit optimistic! It’s as though it’s been written by someone who’s never been to Blackpool. That said, the town has surprisingly good theatre (a hangover from the 50s & 60s when apparently the likes of the Rat Pack were quite regular performers), and if you have small children you can’t put a price on the amount of seaside entertainment you can find!
    - TGLoyalty says:
      
      13 Oct13 October 16:09
      
      It needs Indigo/Kimpton, Autograph Collections/Tribute Portfolio, Curio/Hilton etc to be cool any time in the next decade.
      - Lady London says:
        
        13 Oct13 October 17:35
        
        I’ll “see” you, @TG !
        
        fashionable may of course mean other brands by then.
      - TGLoyalty says:
        
        13 Oct13 October 17:51
        
        100% I wouldn’t even say they are cool but they are a step towards where it needs to be to start. HI isn’t likely to make it a place to be for those with £ to want to stay.
        
        I don’t think I’ll see a four seasons or MO Blackpool in my lifetime though 🙂
      - Lady London says:
        
        13 Oct13 October 21:40
        
        hahahah @TG you made me laugh at the thought of the MO in Blackpool…!!!! that would be a step too far
- Andrew says:
  
  13 Oct13 October 16:28
  
  Many of the Holiday Inns have MPW restaurants – the one I (used to) stay at a lot in Salford has one but it’s really like Jamie’s Italian – far from a Jamie Oliver Restaurant. Does good burgers though.
Michael C says:

13 Oct13 October 13:42

Premier Inn opening in the very centre of Oxford – opposite the Westgate Centre!
- Ja says:
  
  13 Oct13 October 16:10
  
  Where is that then. Can’t remember seeing that when I was that way last week.
  - Michael C says:
    
    13 Oct13 October 17:17
    
    Starts almost opposite the bottom (not top) entrance: sort of between Westage & castle.
    - Michael C says:
      
      13 Oct13 October 17:18
      
      *Westgate!
  - Genghis says:
    
    13 Oct13 October 19:17
    
    Previous home of Filth. Had some good nights in there!
Super Secret Stuff says:

13 Oct13 October 14:25

Anyone know if the co-op food offer from amex (spend £15, get £5 back) works more than once?

Curious as I got the email right after I used it, but it still shows up as an offer on the app
- TGLoyalty says:
  
  13 Oct13 October 16:10
  
  It won’t move to recently redeemed until your credit actually posts
  - Super Secret Stuff says:
    
    13 Oct13 October 16:20
    
    Ahh that makes sense, thank you TG!
- Nick_C says:
  
  13 Oct13 October 17:36
  
  For the first time, I’ve got a 10% ćãșĥƀäċķ offer on my Lloyds(Avios) MC for Co Op Food. Max £30. Hoping it will work for my regular Co Op transaction.
  - Tw33ty says:
    
    13 Oct13 October 17:56
    
    I used mine with 10% on co op offer buying amazon vouchers.
Jason says:

13 Oct13 October 14:45

Amex cash back offers…any else waiting for a number to come through? I haven’t had any for about 10 days.
Marcin says:

13 Oct13 October 14:47

Hello! I am a long time HfP reader, but first time commenter 🙂
I have an Amex Gold (free first year ending in a couple of weeks). I have around 25k Amex points and around 30k Avios at the moment. I have some large purchases coming in a few months (probably February, March), so I want to apply for BA Amex before then and get the bonus.
I think I have a few options to get there:
1) Cancel Amex Gold right now, transfer my Amex points to Avios immediately, and apply for BA Amex just before the big purchases.
2) Keep Amex Gold for now, apply for BA Amex around January, cancel Amex Gold and transfer Amex points to Avios later (that way I pay some fees on Amex Gold but have a slight chance that a Amex to Avios promotion happens in that period).
3) Cancel Amex Gold right now, apply for free Amex rewards now, apply for BA Amex around January (that way I avoid feeds, have a shot at Amex to Avios promotion, but I added some hassle to the process).
What would you guys recommend? Is there anything else I could do that would be better? Or am I overthinking this? 😉
Thanks!
Marcin
- Rob says:
  
  13 Oct13 October 15:07
  
  Assuming you haven’t spent £15k to get the 10k Gold bonus, I’d go for 3). There is no need, at all, to move your points to Amex until you are ready to book a flight. You are protecting yourself against Avios devaluations or missing a stonking deal from another Amex partner.
  - Super Secret Stuff says:
    
    13 Oct13 October 15:28
    
    I am going to disagree with you here, many people have been offered at least 5k points as a retention offer to keep you on Amex gold. Various reports that if you are very close to renewal date, the bonus increases. So threaten to cancel now, see if you get a tasty bonus. Then follow strategy 3 if you won’t hit the £15k spend bonus. If you do hit the spend bonus, let the renewal fee go thru but don’t use the card. The points will process and you’ll get a pro rata refund from when you last used it, downgrading to keep them in Amex. During that time also apply for BAPP.
    
    Sounds a bit more complicated but potentially a lot more points! Don’t forget the refer a friend bonus 😉
    - Marcin says:
      
      13 Oct13 October 15:40
      
      I will definitely not hit the £15k bonus, I am closer £10k at the moment. How would I try to get a retention bonus? That sounds nice 😉
      - Super Secret Stuff says:
        
        13 Oct13 October 15:51
        
        Same with the bonus, might make them give more as a retention bonus. All you do is ring them up on the general helpline for gold. When the machine asks you what you want to do, say cancellation. When you get thru to the agent (ideally one in the UK), say your considering cancelling the card as the benefits don’t make sense for you anymore given the cost. Do not mention BAPP or the free rewards card, or they probably won’t give it to you. If they offer you the free card, just say you might as well transfer out entirely.
        
        When chatting emphasise you are only considering cancelling at this point, you haven’t made up your mind as obviously it is a big choice. See what they say
    - Nick says:
      
      13 Oct13 October 16:02
      
      I am sorry to report that I wasn’t offered any retention offer for my Amex Gold which is due for renewal next week. They called my bluff and told me to cancel the card if I want. 🙁
      - Super Secret Stuff says:
        
        13 Oct13 October 16:12
        
        You are not the first to have that, happens sometimes. Given Marcin actually wants to cancel that should not be a problem. At the last minute they could say actually are their any free cards I could switch too so I don’t lose my points?
        
        For you, maybe try ringing up again (and get thru to Brighton / UK) and ask a question like is their a cancellation period? So it I genuinely looks like you are going to cancel and see if that triggers an offer.
        
        Note: Expect them to shove all the benefits down your throat many times before they offer anything.
      - Nick says:
        
        13 Oct13 October 16:26
        
        Thanks Super Secret Stuff for the tip.
        I will give them a call again tomorrow.
      - Marcin says:
        
        13 Oct13 October 18:17
        
        Thanks guys, I’ll try that!
Darren says:

13 Oct13 October 14:51

Me too, the website bookings appear to be working now
DK says:

13 Oct13 October 15:04

Has anyone upgraded Green to Platinum recently? Was it instant or Amex took time?
- TGLoyalty says:
  
  13 Oct13 October 16:11
  
  Took 4 days last week
  - DK says:
    
    13 Oct13 October 16:30
    
    Thanks @TGLoyalty
    My OH got it instantly last year. My request yesterday wasn’t
- Harry T says:
  
  13 Oct13 October 17:46
  
  Yeah, takes a few days before your account and Apple Pay card changes. They actually forgot to send me a new physical Platinum card last time when I upgraded! 😂
  - DK says:
    
    13 Oct13 October 18:47
    
    Thanks.
    Can’t recall what happens with supp green when you upgrade.
Darren says:

13 Oct13 October 15:23

If my trip doesn’t happen what are the options?
I’ve booked for the US in March to take advantage which is shaky but would like to switch it to Nov 2021
- Anna says:
  
  13 Oct13 October 15:55
  
  If BA cancels you might get them to swap you to a flight later in the year but different CSAs will tell you different things! You can also cancel up to 24 hours before travel but will have to pay £35 pp fee. If for some reason you still want to travel, but BA cancels the flight, you are entitled to re-routing, on another carrier if necessary. I’m thinking Spring is optimistic, to be honest, pretty much accepted I won’t be flying in F to NYC at Easter!
  - Darren says:
    
    13 Oct13 October 16:18
    
    Thanks Anna, yes spring is optimistic but we can dream. I wanted to have something in place to take advantage of the avios sale, do you know if additional avios will be needed if there’s a date change? Is this what you mean when you mention different CSA’s? I can do a geordie accent but not a scouse which may help 😀
    - ChrisC says:
      
      13 Oct13 October 16:30
      
      CSA = phone agent
      
      If BA cancel and rebook you then no additional avios / cash to pay.
      
      If you want to rebook then yes you do have to pay any additional avios and cash.
    - Darren says:
      
      13 Oct13 October 17:48
      
      Thanks ChrisC