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The HfP chat thread – Monday 28th 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.

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General

Comments (210)

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

  • ayearinmx says:
    28 Dec28 December 09:33

    signed up to the Tap Miles&Go Status Match offer on Dec 3…. any idea when they’ll likely approve (or deny) me??

    • Paasan69 says:
      28 Dec28 December 10:00

      I signed up on Nov 22nd and received my approval for the status match on Saturday (Dec 26th). Then signed up for the Miles & Go Basic for €99 yesterday. A couple of hours later TAP confirmed approval and said that they would promote me to Gold within the next 15 days but expect it to be quicker. Based on my experience I’d say you should receive a reply the next week or so.

    • AJA says:
      28 Dec28 December 10:35

      It takes at least a month, maybe slightly longer at the moment due to Xmas. I’d expect you won’t hear anything until end of next week at the earliest.

      • ayearinmx says:
        28 Dec28 December 11:30

        thanks….. figured it’d be a slight delay with xmas but wasn’t sure what their usual time-scale was…

  • fred says:
    28 Dec28 December 09:44

    Due to fly to Maldives and got this – do you think they know something?

    Email:

    Global travel restrictions .

    Before you travel to your destination, please be aware that due to COVID-19 travel restrictions are being introduced by some countries. These restrictions differ from country to country and may be subject to change with little notice. .

    Please check the UK Government website for the latest travel updates and entry restrictions..

    You may have to comply with additional measures such as temperature checks, proof of negative COVID-19 tests, completion of forms and other restrictions. Please be aware that if you fail to comply with these requirements, you will not be able to travel or be allowed to enter your destination. If you need a COVID-19 test, you can find helpful information here. .

    Please make sure you check both your inbound and outbound destination, and check back before you fly as requirements can change at short notice. .

    If you’re unable to travel, please don’t come to the airport. If you need to change your booking, please go to ba.com to see what rebooking options are available to you. Alternatively, you can call us on 0800 727 800 from within the UK, or +44 (0)203 250 0145 from outside the UK where we’ll be happy to help. .

    For the latest information on COVID-19, including answers to frequently asked questions, please go to http://www.ba.com/COVID-19. .

    Thank you for your understanding. We look forward to welcoming you on board. .

    British Airways

    • Brian says:
      28 Dec28 December 09:50

      “ do you think they know something?”

      Nothing other than the fact that restrictions can change within hours, which should be pretty obvious to most people.

    • Mr. AC says:
      28 Dec28 December 10:52

      Standard email, I got it for every international ticket I flew recently as the date approaches.

  • Kevin says:
    28 Dec28 December 10:08

    I got the free virgin CC (almost 1.5 year) would I still eligible to get the sign up bonus point if apply for the fee CC? Also is the £160 fee can be refund pro rota if cancel several months later. TIA

    • Andrew Mc says:
      28 Dec28 December 10:20

      No pro rata.

    • Lev441 says:
      28 Dec28 December 10:20

      No as can only hold one virgin credit card at one time. And it’s not pro rata

      • Sandgrounder says:
        28 Dec28 December 10:26

        I managed to sucessfully apply for the free while I held the paid card. It isn’t supposed to be allowed though, I think you need a six month gap? Or is my memory playing tricks on me?

        • Genghis says:
          28 Dec28 December 10:48

          I know you were allowed the two MBNA cards concurrently as I did it. Didn’t think with VM that was possible.

        • Ryan says:
          28 Dec28 December 12:19

          Other way around for me, had the free, got the paid about a year later

          The told me that the free’s credit limit would be reduced to £500 (too much exposure) but it never did change from £9k

    • Peter K says:
      28 Dec28 December 10:22

      No pro rata refund. Even when they changed the t&c’s on the account and the letter posted said to ring if don’t want to accept them they refused to pro rata refund the remaining fee.

    • Kevin says:
      28 Dec28 December 10:28

      Thanks for everyone comment. Shame that utilise it for a big purchase and earn sign up points

    • Michael says:
      28 Dec28 December 11:38

      Yes it should be possible to apply for another Virgin card as long as 6 months have elapsed since you opened your current card. I have both.

      • The Savage Squirrel says:
        28 Dec28 December 12:32

        I held both. Then I cancelled the paid. Then the CC company unilaterally cancelled the free one because I had not used it for months. Just signed up to paid again (due to changes in the overall points/spending picture) after 6+ months, so will see if I get a 2nd bonus – but will treat as a genuine bonus if so as not epecting it.

      • Kevin says:
        28 Dec28 December 13:15

        Did you get the sign up bonus too?

  • jil says:
    28 Dec28 December 10:12

    does amex travel insurance cover flights paid by master card?

    • Andrew says:
      28 Dec28 December 10:15

      If you’re talking about Amex Platinum insurance then no it doesn’t – unless the airline or travel agent doesn’t take Amex.

      • Jay says:
        28 Dec28 December 10:46

        I thought Amex would cover medical insurance but not trip delay insurance (when using another card to buy a ticket). Has this changed?

        • Andrew says:
          28 Dec28 December 11:35

          But Jil asked if the flights were insured. Medical insurance on the trip for which the flights are taken would be a different question to which I would have responded saying that you are always covered regardless of how you pay for any aspect of the the trip.

      • Genghis says:
        28 Dec28 December 11:06

        Or if Biz Plat – no requirement to pay on the “card”

      • DJ says:
        28 Dec28 December 11:08

        That’s good to know. Thanks Andrew.

        I have been only using travel agencies where they take Amex, which can be a pain to find since they are not always the cheapest.

        • Andrew says:
          28 Dec28 December 11:38

          Just have your screen grabs saved so you can show that they didn’t take Amex should you need to make a claim.

      • GeorgeJ says:
        28 Dec28 December 13:45

        Andrew, It depends which platinum you have, the dollar and euro versions do not require the spend to be on the card (or another Amex).

  • Kevin says:
    28 Dec28 December 10:25

    Question about IHG CC 5k bonus points for hotel stay. Is the point stay now considered as qualifying stay for IHG? Am I right that if I use point for a reward night and pay with CC for dinner/breakfast would trigger the 5k bonus point?

  • Nick G says:
    28 Dec28 December 11:02

    Just looking at my points and expiry dates for some of the hotels I use – Hilton/IHG/Marriott. It’s a bit of a minefield trying to figure out expiry dates for points at present.

    I don’t often stay in IHG but noticed it says I can reach gold elite with another 2571 points or 3 more qualified nights.

    Am I right in thinking keeping gold stops any points ever expiring? My points expire by 1st sept 2021. If so I might sign up for an IHG credit card to get gold unless I stay somewhere before then.

    Rob – any chance you could write an article for the changes in expiry rules for the main chains?

    • Travel Strong says:
      28 Dec28 December 12:58

      Your IHG earning year will come to an end on Dec 31st, so you will be further away from gold than 2571 after that. But you’ll have plenty of time next year to re-earn enough points to get to gold or higher (easily done with enough spend on the IHG card).

      An article on expiry would likely be out of date as soon as its written, as schemes are continually changing and extending expiry at the moment. Best to check the official pages of the schemes.

  • Tony says:
    28 Dec28 December 11:23

    Bank holiday puzzle for anyone looking for some entertainment. I’ve got $1700 sitting in my uk PayPal account. I need to pay a company in the US $1100 but they don’t accept PayPal. As that’s quite a big hit to take on the fx charge, can anyone figure out a way to do this? I do have a uk credit card with zero fx fees so at least don’t pay on both sides of the transaction. Would a revolut account work?

    Many thanks

    • memesweeper says:
      28 Dec28 December 12:06

      What payment methods *do* the US company accept?

      • Tony says:
        28 Dec28 December 12:18

        Any (regular) credit card. I usually pay with MasterCard.

        • Tony says:
          28 Dec28 December 12:24

          To add in case someone has first hand experience of this it’s DVC annual fees. Seems I can also buy Disney gift cards with PayPal and use that to settle the bill.

        • memesweeper says:
          28 Dec28 December 13:09

          Revolut supports USD wire transfer inwards, but you need to enable the USD account feature. No idea if PayPal supports the transfer out end of the deal.

    • Charlieface says:
      28 Dec28 December 15:19

      Will Paypal do an ACH wire transfer (basically a bank transfer in the USA)?

    • Eugene says:
      28 Dec28 December 17:31

      Try Transferwise

    • Max says:
      28 Dec28 December 19:42

      Could try opening a Cater Allen US Dollar account and use the debit card that it comes with.

  • Navara says:
    28 Dec28 December 11:24

    Any news on the new Avios supermarket partner yet?

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

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