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The HfP chat thread – Sunday 13th December

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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.

Please only comment under the main articles on the site if your comment is directly related to the topic of the article.  This has long-term benefits as it keeps the commentary relevant for people who read those articles in the future.

Old chat threads are hidden from the HfP home page.  If you want to look for something in an old thread, click here.  This brings up all the articles in our ‘General’ category which includes the chat threads.

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General

Comments (264)

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

  • Tom says:
    13 Dec13 December 08:29

    Does anyone know any online retailers that trigger shop small? I’m struggling to use all of my quota for this year (owing to not going to London for work!) and looking for inspiration…

  • Sk123 says:
    13 Dec13 December 08:31

    1. Anyone redeemed Etihad £250 off offer for an excellent deal? I also wanted to check that there is no travel date restriction as long as its booked by 31st December. I have looked at the terms and it doesn’t state. Prices seem crazy for school holidays. Showing £700+ for tickets to Abu Dhabi in economy.

    2. Does anyone know if two children can be booked on a ticket? My kids will be 14 and 11 if we travel.

    2. I want to make a booking that I would ideally like to redeem but people who have booked and cancelled for a voucher, can you just cancel for a voucher for any reason or does your flight need to be cancelled by the airline first?

    • Andrew says:
      13 Dec13 December 09:29

      The payment needs to be completed by 31/12 – for a ticket for any future date. Amex only cares about the payment date.

      You can cancel for a voucher at your own desire – disinclination to travel – just like BA.

      • Fm says:
        13 Dec13 December 10:14

        If I were to make an Etihad booking and pay using someone else card, does anyone know if the Etihad ‘credit’ would be issued in my name or the card holder?

      • r* says:
        13 Dec13 December 11:26

        Are you sure thats how vouchers work on etihad? I want a flight with them next december, but it seems like december flights wont be bookable until jan and so after the amex offer ends, so I looked at the voucher option and it kept referencing rebooking for before oct 31 which sounded like I wouldnt be able to change to next dec?

        • Fm says:
          13 Dec13 December 11:46

          You’re right, it is a little confusing. This page: https://www.etihad.com/en-gb/manage
          seems to suggest that you can rebook to 31 October but can also accept credit which is valid for 2 years. Could anyone who has done this clarify whether the credit is in fact valid for 2 years rather than to the 31st October?

          • Sk123 says:
            13 Dec13 December 12:26

            So if you opt for credit, you also get usd400 per booking? That’s fantastic.

          • Tarmohamed says:
            13 Dec13 December 13:42

            It says up to $400 in credit. I’ll be booking next few days and see how much it offers me in reward credit. Currently I’m planning to book the outbound with Emirates using reward points and return with Etihad using the £250 back offer.

          • Fm says:
            13 Dec13 December 13:44

            If you read through Etihad credit blurb, the bonus credit seems dependent on your destination and ticket type.

  • Wally1976 says:
    13 Dec13 December 08:33

    This has probably been mentioned before but on our BAPP cards (main and supplementary) wife and I have got an offer for Marstons pubs, “spend £40 or more, get £20 back”. It’s only once per card, valid until 31/1/21 and the terms don’t seem to say if the £40 spend needs to be in one transaction or is cumulative.

    After hundreds of Amex offers that are mostly useless to us it’s nice to see one that we will use (assuming we are out of tier 3 before the offer expires)!

    • Craig says:
      13 Dec13 December 09:03

      It would be great if the local pub was open!

      • Wally1976 says:
        13 Dec13 December 10:09

        Very true, I did say assuming we move out of tier 3 at some point (Dudley area)!

    • MattB says:
      13 Dec13 December 09:46

      Tried to use a similar offer a free months back, the pub was on the list of eligible Marston’s but they didn’t accept amex!

      • Tariq says:
        13 Dec13 December 11:27

        Same in Oxford. Would put me off bothering this time around.

      • Craig says:
        13 Dec13 December 11:58

        My local Marston’s says they don’t take Amex but they do. I just cover the card when paying.

  • Kiln says:
    13 Dec13 December 09:02

    Is it safe to pay Amex off with Bendy?

  • The Original Nick says:
    13 Dec13 December 09:06

    It would be great if ALL pubs were open.

  • YC says:
    13 Dec13 December 09:31

    Stumbled on the Holmes Hotel this weekend for dinner as I was in Marylebone and it was 30% off. Food was good which tempted me to look at the hotel rooms online. Surprised to find it’s a radisson hotel and recently refurbished with rates from £120. Good option for those looking for a 4* boutique hotel in London in a nice location. Base rooms do seem small though

  • Backpacker says:
    13 Dec13 December 09:42

    Does anyone have a list of places still offering PCR test availability for a reasonable amount in London?
    Friend needs to travel to visit family in spain, but a lot of places booked out?

    • Rob says:
      13 Dec13 December 09:50

      We are using this place tomorrow which can do same day – https://www.theregenerativeclinic.co.uk/covid-19/ Note this is NOT a recommendation, just a factual statement! I may upgrade it to a recommendation later in the week.

    • Dave B says:
      13 Dec13 December 10:17

      Not a recommendation either, however I had a test at Boots Stratford on Saturday and there was a ‘walk-in’ ahead of me. It was a bit of a faff for them as they had to register using their phone, in the queue ahead of us. I am awaiting result however a colleague had his on around the 48hr point.

      • Rob says:
        13 Dec13 December 10:50

        Bizarre as Boots online shows no availability until January at any London store.

        • DB2020 says:
          13 Dec13 December 11:29

          Any branch of Bliss Pharmacy. No appointment required, just walk in and ask for the RT-PCR test.

          Results are delivered by email in 24-48 hours, mine arrived in 24 hours and the local branch printed and stamped it for me (amazing how an official looking rubber stamp makes a difference in most countries outside Europe and the USA!).

          £140 total. I am happy to recommend this one to the HfP community.

        • jil says:
          13 Dec13 December 12:08

          better to walk in a large boots and ask them directly, their website said the same thing about flu jab (no availablity for under 65s if I remembered correctly), I went to a large boots in a shopping mall, had the jab on the spot, no one was there queueing for flu jab

  • George K says:
    13 Dec13 December 09:45

    Hey folks- random request, but considering all the talk about The Langley, would anyone happen to have the GM’s email by any chance? All the firstname.lastname permutations I’ve tried have come back negative…

    • meta says:
      13 Dec13 December 10:30

      I only have reservations email.

    • KBuffett says:
      13 Dec13 December 11:08

      Try looking for them on LinkedIn

      • George K says:
        13 Dec13 December 12:31

        No luck – I know the name of the guy, just not his email…

        • TGLoyalty says:
          13 Dec13 December 13:30

          I think perhaps they meant message them on LinkedIn.

          Why not phone the Langley, explain what it’s about and ask for him directly / a call back?

          I’ve done both before but it was the previous GM

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

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