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The HfP chat thread – Sunday 25th October

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We have decided to run this daily chat thread on Head for Points during the coronavirus outbreak.

Historically, the daily ‘Bits’ articles were the de facto repository for random comments and questions.  With the news flow being lighter, we are running fewer ‘Bits’ articles.

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 at home, we want the HfP community to have a place to chat.

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Comments (155)

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

  • Nils says:
    25 Oct25 October 10:55

    I have a FTV voucher that was issued in March with 12 months validity from the date of the first flight in the booking. Does the extension to 30 April 2022 apply to this voucher, or was that only for new vouchers?

  • Michael C says:
    25 Oct25 October 11:03

    Sri Lanka just been placed back onto indefinite 6pm curfew.

  • Nick_C says:
    25 Oct25 October 11:24

    I’m about to order some furniture from Heal’s. Haven’t seen an Amex offer for them for a long time, and planning on going through Voldeportal unless anyone has any better suggestions?

    (I’m buying a couple of “Brunel” sofas. They are never on sale (guaranteed lowest price). And I’ve seen them and sat in them in store.)

    • Sam says:
      25 Oct25 October 11:47

      Nick, what’s Voldeportal?

    • Andrew says:
      25 Oct25 October 13:57

      My “Perks at Work” has 2% at the moment at Heals when you pay by linked card. Airtime Rewards is also doing 2% at Heals.

      Remember, those are on top of any other regular offer you might find and you must allow 24 hours from updating the portals with your card details and making the purchases.

    • Lady London says:
      25 Oct25 October 16:07

      Do you need them right now?
      you’ve got both black friday and january sales coming up. Why not phone the buyer and
      ask if any special deals coming up? i would do it this coming Thursday 29th early-ish i normal business hours.

      • Nick_C says:
        25 Oct25 October 16:10

        Thanks, but the sofas that I want are never on sale. (Heal’s had a general 15pc off sale recently but this erange was excluded.) Only a general offer is going to work.

        • Lady London says:
          25 Oct25 October 16:22

          …which is why I suggest calling the buyer on the 29th. Just in case.

          • Lady London says:
            25 Oct25 October 16:28

            A personal visit would be better but I am assuming you are not already going to be near the store.

            It may be there is really nothing that can be done – which is more likely to be the case if these two expensive sofas are made to order and not kept in stock – but at this time of year I would do a friendly call to ask about anything upcoming that might apply just in case.

  • Anna says:
    25 Oct25 October 11:40

    Is the BA Cityflyer serving MAN year round now? I was just looking at the feasibility of flying down to London over Xmas and MAN-LCY popped up for December 27th. I thought that service only ran from May-September.

    • Anna says:
      25 Oct25 October 12:05

      Though BA may be running the regional ski routes which feels very optimistic!

    • ChrisBCN says:
      25 Oct25 October 13:02

      Hey Anna, I saw you commented on the high train fares from MAN to LON over Christmas. It’s because the advance fares haven’t been released yet, because they haven’t finalised the engineering plans. They’ll be up soon, but I don’t know exactly when.

      • Anna says:
        25 Oct25 October 13:09

        Thanks Chris, no matter how far ahead I look I can’t find a return for under £100, even well into January! I was thinking London might be a realistic option for mini breaks over the next year if foreign/other UK travel is still out – loads to do and generally the best choice of hotels to use points and free nights. Actually getting there in a timeframe to make 2 or 3 nights worthwhile is proving to be a bit more difficult!

        • ChrisBCN says:
          25 Oct25 October 13:14

          They’ve only loaded the £25 advance fares up to 13th Dec, they will add them for dates after that (including January) at some point!

          • ChrisBCN says:
            25 Oct25 October 13:17

            I’ll shout when the fares get added, I’m waiting on them too.

          • Anna says:
            25 Oct25 October 14:41

            Muchas gracias! If wee Nicky gets her way I can’t see us having our pre-Xmas jolly at The George – the IC Park Lane or Kimpton Fitzroy might go some way to cheering us up though.

          • Anna says:
            25 Oct25 October 15:07

            The low fares only seem to be on evening services.

  • KBuffett says:
    25 Oct25 October 12:15

    Does anyone know if the Selfridges and Harvey Nicols Amex Offers work when ordering vouchers online?

    • Jonathan says:
      25 Oct25 October 13:07

      No (processed by a 3rd party) though you can buy gift cards in store.

      • Andrew says:
        25 Oct25 October 14:49

        Harvey Nics are fine online, Selfridges not.

        • KBuffett says:
          25 Oct25 October 15:46

          Popped into Harvey Nics for the first time in almost a year. Struggled to see what I would spend £600 worth of vouchers that I could have purchased via Amex. I found the selection of products strange in comparison to Harrods for example. Perfumes and beauty had a good range. Everything else seems far too ‘high fashion’.

          • Andrew says:
            25 Oct25 October 16:56

            Harrods has much more variety and of course is much much larger – there’s not much “normal” fashion in Harvey Nics these days – a Moncler coat might be your best option for a £600 not too high fashion piece.

          • Lady London says:
            25 Oct25 October 18:06

            If tights are your (or your partner’s) thing, I have always found Wolford tights etc. an excellent way to get through £600 very quickly.

            Like blokes with socks, I do not believe a girl can ever have too many tights or leggings.

          • Cat says:
            25 Oct25 October 19:08

            Lady London – I just have to look at a pair of tights, and there’s a soft ping, and they spring a ladder. I honestly don’t know how I do it.

            It always happens on the way to work (I may start blaming Thameslink), and then I just have to deal with the inevitable stairway to heaven jokes from teenage boys all day.

            Expensive tights just aren’t worth the investment for me. I tend to go with thick ones that don’t ladder!

          • TGLoyalty says:
            25 Oct25 October 20:05

            lol @ Moncler not being high fashion.

            Canada goose perhaps for £600.

          • TGLoyalty says:
            25 Oct25 October 20:08

            Though the gift cards can be used in the restaurants. Zalman meats in Knightsbridge isn’t bad for example.

            But I agree it’s much harder to spend £600 in HN than Harrods or Selfridges.

            Issue I have with gift cards with no immediate plans to use them is that while they may be a little more recession proof than HoF it’s still a worry.

    • Eligold says:
      25 Oct25 October 21:39

      Selfridges must be bought in-store but can be used online
      Harvey Nichols can be bought online but must be spent in-store
      Earn thousands of Avios buying HN vouchers using BA e store!

  • sk123 says:
    25 Oct25 October 12:19

    Could someone advise please. I would like to transfer about £1,500 to a relative in Canada. It is a one off so not a regular thing. I am wondering what would be the best way. Ideally, I’d like them to receive cash in Canadian dollars so that they are not hit by international money receiving charges by their bank. I am thinking Western Union but they have limit although charges are not much. They have never accepted Curve even for small amount. Does anyone know of any other way for a smooth transfer as well as perhaps using Curve or other benefit although the latter is just an extra thing.

  • nomad says:
    25 Oct25 October 12:28

    I have used TransferWise several times to send to CAD. Fast service with good rates. The money will be deposited directly into your relative’s bank account.
    Not sure if you can use curve with this though as the underlining card might charge a fee.

  • Patrycja says:
    25 Oct25 October 12:33

    Looking for advice. I’ve got Qatar business class flights booked for New Year to Sydney. Given current situation with COVID and border closure, I called them to move the flights to next year, same dates. They said, they cannot do that. They can only extend the validity of my ticket and when I find the deal I like, I should call them to rebook and pay the difference in fare. Does that sound right to you? They also said that first class lounge access in Doha we purchased is non refundable. What’s your advice?

    • Anna says:
      25 Oct25 October 13:17

      I imagine that unless Qatar cancels the flight (and it’s departing EU) you’re stuck with their Ts & Cs (did they have anything similar to Book with Confidence?). Similarly there will have been conditions attached to the lounge access. If you’re not happy to move the travel date and pay the difference, your travel insurance may cover you for not being able to travel due to FCO advice or Australia not being open, if it’s a policy which includes Covid-related issues. Could you change your destination and go somewhere else at New Year? A sunshine break anywhere flying in QR business class sounds like heaven right now!

      • Patrycja says:
        25 Oct25 October 17:57

        They have made changes to the flight but not cancelled. The flight was bought in January so covered by my travel insurance as pre-COVID. I would have thought that they would rather rebook me than having to pay out the refund (aparently that’s an option)

    • Jonathan says:
      25 Oct25 October 13:26

      Sounds right. The flights are still running so strictly speaking they don’t have to offer you anything. Qatar do have a very flexible policy for tickets where travel is completed by 31st December 2020 but since you’re away for New Year this unfortunately won’t apply.

      If one of the legs is cancelled you can get a full refund so check flight numbers with your original booking confirmation.

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

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