The HfP chat thread – Wednesday 18th November

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

• Baji Nahid says:

  18 Nov18 November 03:59

  seen a few people have got etihad offers on their amex cards, can anyone tell me which cards they got the offer on?

  I’ve not had any offers drop through so far this week

  • Blenz101 says:

    18 Nov18 November 04:13

    Amex Gold credit card, 20% back up to £200.

    After all of yesterday’s Dubai interest it is worth pointing out that Abu Dhabi (Etihad) is under much tighter restrictions for visitors and requires 14 day quarantine on arrival (tracked with a band).

    • Baji Nahid says:

      18 Nov18 November 04:36

      Smashing! Some good offers! A bit sad to have not been targeted for it (but if someone’s willing to give their offer away im here 🙃)

      • Crafty says:

        18 Nov18 November 07:20

        I have £250 off £500 on Platinum, happy to spend it “for” you if you’d like to suggest a suitable arrangement. Can contact me on Twitter @craftybison

    • S879 says:

      18 Nov18 November 06:16

      1. So flying to other routes would be fine if you are just transiting in Abu Dhabi?

      2.If someone shows that they have a booking in Dubai would they still be given a band to wear? I know a lot of HfPers are planning on visiting Dubai and its like 50 minutes taxi ride FROM AD.

      • Anna says:

        18 Nov18 November 06:49

        I’m wondering about 1. Got half price avios flights to AUH at Easter but if they still have the quarantine requirement by then that holiday’s not happening (though Rob and others thinks it will change). But if transit was acceptable, presumably booking onward flights somewhere would be an option?

        • Andrew says:

          18 Nov18 November 06:54

          But would likely need to be thru-ticketed snd I’m not sure if any One World airlines other than BA fly from there (Royal Jordanian might) so possibly not really any options for that.

        • blenz101 says:

          18 Nov18 November 07:54

          1. I’m pretty sure transiting Abu Dhabi to an onward flight is fine based on…

          2. If you are heading to Dubai or the northern Emirates this is fine, you will not be tagged. You will be tested on arrival and placed onto onward transport (taxi, bus, chauffer) directly.

          A holiday within AD itself is not really viable at the moment. Even UAE residents can’t travel freely to AD without a test and it has been like this for several months.

        • meta says:

          18 Nov18 November 08:54

          Transiting via Abu Dhabi and flying on Etihad requires negative PCR test. You can go to another emirate, but need to take another test on arrival at Abu Dhabi. I wouldn’t be booking on Etihad just yet.

        • Sandgrounder says:

          18 Nov18 November 17:13

          According to the etihad website, and the fco, and the uae government website you cannot enter the uae through Abu Dhabi unless you are a resident or a national. Does anyone have a link that says different?
          https://u.ae/en/information-and-services/justice-safety-and-the-law/handling-the-covid-19-outbreak/travelling-amid-covid-19/travelling-to-the-uae

  • James says:

    18 Nov18 November 05:15

    Got spend £500 get £250 off on my Platinum.

    • Andrew says:

      18 Nov18 November 06:33

      +1 got spend £500, save £250 on my Platinum and several of its supps. Wondering if the book and cancel for voucher route discussed for Qatar might be an option to pool the offers.

      • Tarmohamed says:

        18 Nov18 November 08:35

        +2 got this on platinum and supplemental card as well. If I made 2 bookings, to split the spend, how would I transfer amex points over to upgrade both tickets? Any pointers…

• Andrew says:

  18 Nov18 November 06:35

  Harvey Nics spend £150, save £30 is also back, running up to 20/12 which will do nicely for BF shopping and the start of the sale.

  • KBuffett says:

    18 Nov18 November 09:12

    I’m still trying to think about what to spend the £600 of gift cards I purchased around two weeks ago!
    Now more temptation to cash in on a discount

    • Super Secret Stuff says:

      18 Nov18 November 09:52

      Google how to sell gift cards online. Nice bit of MS. Yardy is meant to be quite good (not its actual name)

  • Nigel W says:

    18 Nov18 November 11:55

    They have just started a up to 40% ‘Private Sale’ for HN rewards customers.

• Ian M says:

  18 Nov18 November 06:53

  Hi all,

  Is it possible to book a Hilton redemption for a friend? If so, is 5th night free still possible, even if the friend doesn’t have status? I have diamond, they have no status.

  • Chris Heyes says:

    18 Nov18 November 07:29

    Easy if booking is in UK, Very difficult elsewhere myself and son done it loads, make booking add friend so he/she can check in
    (Alternately lend “trusted” friend your card/Amex)
    works every time in uk (abroad they ask for passport)

  • Genghis says:

    18 Nov18 November 07:44

    Yes
    “The Reward may be issued to the Hilton Honors Member, or to any other person, as directed by the Member”
    https://www.hilton.com/en/hilton-honors/terms/#redemptionSection
    Nothing specific mentioned in terms for 5 for 4 just, “Members can utilize the 5th Night Free benefit”, which you’re doing by doing the former. In reality, it’s what happens.
    So call up Hilton and get them to book a hotel in your friend’s name.

  • TripRep says:

    18 Nov18 November 07:53

    Yes.

    Phone the hotel and explain the circumstances.

    I did it last year for a friend in need of a place in Istanbul.

    The hotel actually updated the booking with their name and just deducted my points, obviously extra security verification was needed to prevent fraud.

  • The real John says:

    18 Nov18 November 08:24

    You can only do it on the phone with Hilton. If they do it correctly, from the hotel’s perspective, only your friend’s name will appear in the booking, and the hotel will see them as diamond.

    Some agents don’t understand how to do it, and will just put your friend’s name as the “additional guest”, but you can do this online yourself.

    In countries where ID is not needed to check in, you can just book it and the friend can give your name (as long as it seems plausible). As diamond most hotels don’t ask to see cards. They can always say they only have a virtual card.

    • Ian M says:

      18 Nov18 November 10:16

      Great thanks for all the replies! Very helpful

• Claire says:

  18 Nov18 November 06:59

  Has anyone ever successfully asked Amex for an offer and had it added to their card? I’m pretty gutted not to have the Morrisons offer this time on any card or sup card. Thanks

  • Andrew says:

    18 Nov18 November 07:09

    They used to do that years ago but they’ve stopped it now – sticking to the “it’s targeted” line.

    • Polly says:

      18 Nov18 November 08:07

      But they will add Shop Small for you if it’s not on your card. Here’s hoping for a Dec couple of weeks of SS…

      • Andrew says:

        18 Nov18 November 08:57

        Yes, ones which aren’t targeted they will add as it’s an admin error if you don’t have it on your card.

  • Amit says:

    18 Nov18 November 07:10

    Claire, they used to do this but very unlikely that they will manually add a targeted offer. Good luck 🙂

  • TGLoyalty says:

    18 Nov18 November 08:17

    They will only add offers which are available for all card holders.

    They won’t add anything that’s targeted.

    • Claire says:

      18 Nov18 November 09:50

      Oh 🙁 thanks for all the replies. I love the Morrisons offer, not sure why they excluded me this time!

      • Jonathan says:

        18 Nov18 November 15:36

        Probably because you used it before! I’ve only got it on my Green this time which is new. Not on my Platinum or wife’s BA which had it last year (& used heavily).

• Chrism20 says:

  18 Nov18 November 07:14

  Following on from last weeks news that Hilton had lost another hotel in Aberdeen it looks like Accor has lost one this week. The Mercure Ardoe House has went bust and closed according to the local press.

  • TripRep says:

    18 Nov18 November 07:56

    Stayed there once, nice building.

    68 jobs gone, hard times indeed.
    https://www.insider.co.uk/news/leading-aberdeen-business-hotel-goes-23020142

  • Vit says:

    18 Nov18 November 08:21

    Spent a couple weeks there back in the summer 2014 as part of the grad training. Nice facility, good selections of Scotch along with balmy Scottish summer evening! Long gone the good old days! 🙁

  • Andrew says:

    18 Nov18 November 09:29

    BBC are reporting it too.

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-north-east-orkney-shetland-54963550

    The hospitality sector in Aberdeen has taken a real beating. This won’t help the real “them and us” anger that has been brewing over the Scottish Government’s heavy hand with Aberdeen and the light touch with Glasgow.

• Crafty says:

  18 Nov18 November 07:52

  Really hacked off with Selfridges. Made an order on 13/11, two days before the £30 off £150 offer expired. Received an Amex offer redemption email. However the pending charge dropped off the card, and now they’re re-charging to the card, item by item, only as they despatch! As a result only £106 has even hit the card yet, with more to follow, and I doubt I’ll get the statement credit. Worse, the Amex T&C’s specifically state that if the merchant is too slow to charge the card, hard luck!

  • Tazzy says:

    18 Nov18 November 07:57

    Same here. I’m actually debating returning the items (when they arrive) in protest 😂

  • Andrew says:

    18 Nov18 November 07:59

    That’s so annoying! Thanks for the warning. Will avoid Selfridges online then if another offer pops up. Hopefully the physical stores will open soon.

  • Harry T says:

    18 Nov18 November 08:10

    Ring Brighton and explain.

    • KBuffett says:

      18 Nov18 November 08:17

      Unlikely to honour as spend hasn’t been been hit. Reject the delivery.

    • Crafty says:

      18 Nov18 November 10:37

      Thanks all. Can’t cancel as these are gifts being delivered directly to recipients. I will ring, I have certainly complied with the spirit of the offer, and it is beyond the customer’s control how the merchant chooses to bill – just very annoying.

  • TGLoyalty says:

    18 Nov18 November 08:20

    Unfortunately, buying online so close to the offer ending is a risk. As selfridges wasn’t cumulative it is even more annoying they are splitting.

    I’d refuse the delivery. Perhaps HN sell the items?

  • Vit says:

    18 Nov18 November 08:26

    That’s annoying. Happened to me with HN when one of the order items is out of stock. I ended up cancel the order and made a new order last minute with another card. Items received yesterday, payment cleared through this morning along with £30 credit back.

    • Andrew says:

      18 Nov18 November 08:59

      With HN you can select the option at checkout to have the items delivered all in one delivery (which they warn may take longer) but avoids the chance of multiple billing over split deliveries.

  • meta says:

    18 Nov18 November 09:00

    @Crafty I was prompted at checkout whether I want all items sent as one package or separately. I selected as one package which then got dispatched as one item and charge appeared a week after, but backdated. Amex credit appeared normally a day later.

  • Nigel W says:

    18 Nov18 November 10:55

    Oh gosh, i might have this issue then. I placed my order last Saturday and still haven’t have email confirmation that the offer has gone through.

  • Charlieface says:

    18 Nov18 November 14:51

    The fact the pending tx dropped off means nothing by itself. Amex only hold it for about two weeks, but the merchant can confirm it months later.
    I think it’s possible for a merchant to split a pending transaction, so maybe they did that. Barring that, the offer may have been cumulative. If it still doesn’t get the offer, complain and I’m sure Amex will sort it out.

  • BS says:

    18 Nov18 November 15:52

    Just phoned Amex up as mine posted on Monday, despite making the order before. The lady on the phone confirmed she could see it was made during the offer period, even if it posted afterwards. She said I was therefore eligible. She made a note on my file confirming this, as I said I would cancel the Selfridges order otherwise. I therefore feel I will now get the £30 even if it doesn’t post automatically (even if as ex-gratia if I was given incorrect info). I am not concerned.

• Anna says:

  18 Nov18 November 07:56

  The Hampton by Hilton in Blackburn (or Hyndburn to be accurate!) is now offering rooms for £48 pn night in December. It’s brand new and just off the M65 so could be a reasonable mattress run for anyone trying to get Diamond!

  • TripRep says:

    18 Nov18 November 07:59

    £43 or 13k HH on a Sunday Eve. Liverpool and Manchester have similar prices.

    • Rob says:

      18 Nov18 November 08:20

      Cheaper to book day rooms if you are happy to show each day.

      • Chris Heyes says:

        18 Nov18 November 09:26

        Rob but not much cheaper and free breakfast, especially if two people
        unless of course day rooms come with free breakfasts ?

        • Rob says:

          18 Nov18 November 09:47

          I was assuming you weren’t actually planning to spend any time in the hotel!

    • Sandgrounder says:

      18 Nov18 November 08:24

      Hamptons in Leeds and Sheffield are as low as £30pn if you are eligible for the frontline thanks rates

    • Anna says:

      18 Nov18 November 08:41

      Do award nights count for status?

      • Rob says:

        18 Nov18 November 09:50

        Yes, but check the small print if you are doing a Diamond Challenge as that may be different.

  • Andy says:

    18 Nov18 November 16:50

    Because it’s brand new, Hampton “Blackburn” doesn’t appear on the “participating locations” for the Amex Platinum “Spend £200, get £50 back”. What are the chances that a stay there would trigger the offer?

    • Rob says:

      18 Nov18 November 17:10

      I stayed at the brand new Hampton Ealing and it didn’t trigger mine.

• Tom says:

  18 Nov18 November 08:02

  Creation are hilariously old fashioned.
  Yes we will block your card without telling you so all your transactions fail randomly.

  How hard is it to implement a text or app notification for this? Then you have to sit on hold to get it unblocked again……

  • Craig says:

    18 Nov18 November 08:15

    Dreadful isn’t it? Make a complaint, if we all do when this happens then maybe they will implement a more user friendly system.

  • Secret Squirrel says:

    18 Nov18 November 08:17

    Are you a newish Creation customer? I’ve been with them now 18 months and never had a block.

    • Craig says:

      18 Nov18 November 08:44

      I’ve been with them three and half years and been blocked 4 times!

  • BuildTheWall says:

    18 Nov18 November 09:26

    Never blocked before, but requested to change statement date and learnt that its best not to disturb customer services at all.

    • guesswho2000 says:

      18 Nov18 November 11:23

      Agree with this 100%. I’ve had several blocks at random over the years, and calling CS is always a horrible task I try to avoid.

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