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The HfP chat thread – Wednesday 30th 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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Comments (290)

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

  • CTR says:
    30 Dec30 December 13:49

    Just want to check, or confirm, I haven’t received many, maybe four, Amex offers in the two weeks on Platinum. Is this the case for most? Lots of expiring ones today and tomorrow, very few new ones at present.

    • APPL says:
      30 Dec30 December 13:55

      Nothing here on any Amex(Plat, Bonvoy, BA) since end of October. Shop Small had to be loaded manually.

      • DB2020 says:
        30 Dec30 December 16:28

        +1
        Nothing new since September and had to have the Shop Small added manually.

    • TGLoyalty says:
      30 Dec30 December 14:54

      Yeah nothing new and about 15 expiring tomorrow.

    • Harry T says:
      30 Dec30 December 16:32

      I always get plenty and I’ve had very few offers during December.

      • Andrew says:
        30 Dec30 December 17:14

        Yes it’s been a dry spell the last few weeks – I guess all the uncertainty of the tiers means marketing departments have paused their activity a bit. I hope Amex do something to sweeten things for us such as the double points double value they did in April.

        • Harry T says:
          30 Dec30 December 22:59

          Yeah, they will be losing me as a Platinum customer soon unless they pivot to offering value during this phase where travel is all but impossible.

  • s says:
    30 Dec30 December 13:52

    Any recommendations for IHG property in York? I guess it comes down to Indigo vs Principal. I don’t mind about the price, just want the nicest option/best elite treatment for Spire.

    • Anna says:
      30 Dec30 December 14:05

      Had to cancel our bookings (of course!) but the Prinicpal sounds to be rather overpriced for what it is (Rob has previously done a review. I would probably go with the Indigo – the Durham and Newcastle ones treated us really well as Spire (upgrades plus free drinks coupons).

      • Genghis says:
        30 Dec30 December 14:16

        I stayed at Indigo when it first opened. It was nice.

      • The Savage Squirrel says:
        30 Dec30 December 18:03

        I live not too far away. The Principal (in its various previous guises and names) has for decades been a crumbling-dump-long-faded-glory kind of place that was originally a railway-owned hotel. It’s in a 150YO building with all the issues that brings, unless you have huge amounts of cash to overcome them, and a bit of a local joke. This hasn’t changed just because they spent some money on a bar refurb. They get away with it by having a posh-looking garden and being in the perfect location (next to the station on the way to the city centre) and mainly because it’s York.

        With the Grand nearly opposite, and the old Aviva building next tothe Grand about to convert into a new Malmaison to be nicer than them, as well as a new Hampton forming part of the (much needed) regeneration of Piccadilly to be cheaper bringing online several hundred additional chain-hotel rooms soon, they are in for a rough ride.

        • TGLoyalty says:
          30 Dec30 December 18:08

          I believe I’ve a courtyard and an autograph collection will be opening soon too.

    • Rob says:
      30 Dec30 December 14:29

      Principal is a mess, we did a night there in the Summer. Quote from manager to me: “our biggest problem is that people now think we are a posh hotel [due to the money spent on the public areas] when we’re not”. Teeny tiny rooms, hopeless service, zero elite recognition (hence my teeny tiny room). I had a rant after getting the worst room in the hotel despite being Spire and got a 100% refund.

      • gareth says:
        30 Dec30 December 14:35

        Indigo is very nice, give decent recognition too and have a car park over the road ish, if you are in the car.

        • s says:
          30 Dec30 December 14:51

          Thanks all, thanks pretty unanimous.. I’ll ignore the better £/point value of Principal and go for Indigo!

      • TGLoyalty says:
        30 Dec30 December 14:55

        They need to spend some money on the rooms them and stop charging £200+ a night.

      • Andrew says:
        30 Dec30 December 21:51

        Are you sure you had the worst room in the hotel?

        I remember having one of the internal basement rooms with fake-ish translucent windows that faced onto a noisy back kitchen/service corridor.

        On the other hand, after a chat to reception and highlighting I’d be in York for 6 weeks and would probably be asking HRG to switch me to the Marriot for the following 5 weeks I was allocated one of the generously sized front tower corner rooms each of the following weeks. (At the time) it came with the disadvantage of no lift access to that floor though, so it was lift to third(?) and carry luggage up the stairs for the final floor.

        • Rob says:
          30 Dec30 December 22:14

          Wasn’t that bad 🙂 because it overlooked the park, except the park had been handed over to a company to run a (socially distanced) late night party village every Friday and Saturday night.

        • Harry T says:
          30 Dec30 December 23:04

          I actually quite like the Marriott. Bit dated but the grandtand rooms with the balconies are pleasant with a pretty view. Staff are decent too. I stayed there after checking out of the Moxy early because they didn’t have air con to cool the room (or even a fan) and it was constantly 24 degrees and above despite the window being open! We couldn’t sleep.

    • Aston100 says:
      30 Dec30 December 15:33

      I went to the Indigo in August.
      Would recommend, though the rooms were a bit small.
      Principal has a lot of bad reviews lately.

      • Dick Steele says:
        30 Dec30 December 19:50

        Principal York is awful for what it is. Stifling in summer, tiny rooms and appaling service. The only redeeming feature is the public areas.

        I then had to haggle service recovery from a manager… Eventually given a free stay after turning down a 10% refund…and a 20% refund. The next stay wasn’t much better.

  • Alan says:
    30 Dec30 December 14:22

    This has been asked and answered before but I haven’t been able to find it.

    What do I need to do to get my Curve metal changed from business to personal and is there any impact on spending other than saving the 0.1% HMRC charge.

    • memesweeper says:
      30 Dec30 December 15:06

      Open a chat with your request. Should take a few days.

      If you have a high daily limit it will reduce to £4.5k. This is unavoidable AFAIK.

      • Alan says:
        30 Dec30 December 18:11

        Thanks memesweeper,

        The £4.5k daily limit won’t be a problem as I already seem to be hitting an unadvertised Virgin daily limit well below that level.

        • BP says:
          30 Dec30 December 23:02

          I don’t have that Virgin transaction limit… have done almost double with no issues.

  • 747_Brat says:
    30 Dec30 December 14:33

    Shoutout to @AndyGWP for recommending Surfshark sometime last week. I just bought a 2 year plan and I am mightily impressed! 🙂

    • AndyGWP says:
      30 Dec30 December 17:09

      No problem – glad its of use to you 🙂

      • 747_Brat says:
        30 Dec30 December 19:51

        Cheers Andy. 🙂
        Please could you share some links/knowledge on how to use OpenVPN client to VPN onto home broadband. I tried to configure it, but I am struggling to set it up.

        • AndyGWP says:
          30 Dec30 December 21:16

          For that, you need a Raspberry Pi or similar to create your own VPN server (so you won’t need SurfShark for that)…. happy to give pointers for a Pi if you’re interested 👍🏻

    • Sam says:
      30 Dec30 December 17:57

      Hi @747_Brat, I saw this comment from yesterday and meant to ask you today. What is the use of the VPN (which I assume is what you purchased?) – I have looked it up myself but from what I have read, it’s more relevant if you are accessing confidential/personal info over public wi fi? Although appreciate it has some uses when using your home wi fi

      • Blenz101 says:
        30 Dec30 December 19:28

        Handy for ex-pats wanting to access content restricted by jurisdiction (e.g. feel for us here in Dubai) or get iPlayer etc. whilst travelling.

        Most useful for UK day to days seems to get to get Netflix (international versions) or USA TV streaming services.

      • 747_Brat says:
        30 Dec30 December 19:46

        Good question Sam. I am happy to help. 🙂

        I use VPN primarily for the following reasons:

        1. To access websites which are otherwise restricted to a particular country. For example, I need to access some New Zealand and India government websites (primarily for filing tax returns), which I can’t access from UK. Similarly, when I am abroad and I need to access certain UK based websites, I need to hop on to VPN to access them. Sites like Tesco Clubcard and Qu!dCo actively track your location and shut you down from accessing them, while you are outside UK.

        2. To access streaming content in other geographies. I used VPN to access US Netflix and some other streaming services in India/NZ, including watching live sports.

        3. I also use VPN when torrenting, more so as a security feature. Some VPNs come with security features to prevent cyber attacks. You can use this to your advantage while torrenting.

        4. I also use VPN for devices like Fire Sticks, PlayStation, Xbox and Apple TV!

        You can also use VPN profiles with clients like Open VPN and remotely login to your home Wi-Fi network, while you are abroad. So for all practical purposes, you can surf the internet as if you are in the UK at your home. But this requires a bit of technical knowledge.

        Hope that helps. Not everyone needs a VPN of course. But if you decide you need a VPN, I can happily refer you to Surfshark. You will get 30 days of Surfshark FREE! Register & get a £1.64/month deal, and get 30-day bonus on top! Plus 3 months extra (on 2 yr plan) by using my link!

        https://surfshark.club/friend/RERkykEk

        • Sam says:
          30 Dec30 December 21:36

          Thanks @747_Brat – apart from wfh (which is via a secure work system), and using home wi fi for online banking etc or watching movies on Amazon, Netflix and general browsing, I don’t do much else (don’t tend to access banking accounts via public wi fi) so don’t believe I need a VPN but will look into it and if needed, will use your code. Thanks!

  • r* says:
    30 Dec30 December 15:07

    Are the daily chat posts being deleted each day? I was looking for something posted yesterday but the only ones showing for me are todays and one from the 13th?

    Does anyone have the email for JW Grosvenor?

  • Anna says:
    30 Dec30 December 15:13

    Matt Hancock announcing new Tiers 😬. Ah well, I was getting bored with meeting 5 other people in the park anyway 😂

    • Aston100 says:
      30 Dec30 December 15:34

      We’re now into Tier 4.
      As far as I am aware I can still go shopping in the local supermarket, mixing with lots of strangers, but still can’t go eat in a socially distanced restaurant.

      • Chrisasaurus says:
        30 Dec30 December 15:55

        Well I’m no epidemiologist but even I understand the distinction there…

      • Anna says:
        30 Dec30 December 15:59

        Yes, and your cleaner or nanny can come into your house to work but your mum can’t come and sit at the opposite end of your sitting room to you! Go figure.

        • Jonathan says:
          30 Dec30 December 16:14

          They’re not supposed to make sense on an individual level, it’s about general principles.

          Your cleaner/nanny is likely under 60 so lower risk & employing them has economic benefits. If you are a high risk individual then up to you to risk assess.

          Your parents are likely older so higher risk. You will also end up spending much more time in close proximity to family/friends who pop round than a cleaner who you could avoid or go for a walk while they’re working.

          • Anna says:
            30 Dec30 December 16:35

            Age is irrelevant, Jonathan, it would be equally unlawful for a 30 year old friend or neighbour to come into the house (or even the garden) for a socially distanced 10 minute chat, yet my 30 year old cleaner can spend the entire morning in my home each week as well as the homes of all her other clients! Don’t tell me there’s any kind of logic to this from an health perspective.

      • Nick_C says:
        30 Dec30 December 17:41

        You shouldn’t be mixing with lots of strangers in the supermarket. You should be keeping two metres away from them, and they from you.

        Assume you have the virus and are asymptomatic, and you need to prevent yourself spreading it to others.

        Assume that every person you encounter from outside your household is infectious and asymptomatic, and you need to protect yourself from them.

        Until we have immunised 30 million people, this is how we should all be living, and should have been living for the last 10 months.

        • Rob says:
          30 Dec30 December 18:14

          ….. if over 60.

          • Nick_C says:
            30 Dec30 December 18:36

            It is that sort of attitude that has taken deaths back to 500 a day, caused the NHS to be overwhelmed, and gravely damaged the economy. And its only going to get worse in the coming weeks.

          • Jamie says:
            30 Dec30 December 19:23

            Agreed. The same people making the same boring virtue signaling comments.

          • Cat says:
            30 Dec30 December 23:21

            Rob – most people who catch it pass it on to someone. They then usually pass it on to somebody else, and then somebody else. Sooner or later, it hits somebody who is over 60, or who has a heart condition, or who is being treated for cancer (and anyone within that chain who passed it on while knowingly taking risks they shouldn’t have, is at fault).

            While you may not feel threatened by this, it is worrying as somebody who has a job that involves being in a far too small, un-socially distanced classroom, inside, with draught restricted windows and classes of up to 30 students for 1.5 hours at a time. Every time one of my students’ families decides to not take this seriously and ignore guidance / the law because they don’t consider themselves at risk, it puts me at risk. It puts the 3 members of staff in their 3rd trimester at risk. It puts my headteacher (who’s being treated for cancer) at risk. It puts my student who’s got diabetes (along with several members of his large family) at risk. It puts my doctor and nurse friends at risk, and we’re running out of hospital beds.

            981 deaths today, and my best friend’s gran was one of them – she was a lovely lady.

        • kitten says:
          30 Dec30 December 18:22

          I try to keep distance in the supermarket but no one will let me.

        • Anna says:
          30 Dec30 December 18:58

          Why does anyone even go to the supermarket when home deliveries are available?! It’s just an unnecessary extra risk, of which the benefits surely don’t justify?

          • TGLoyalty says:
            30 Dec30 December 22:44

            The risk is close to 0 as you’ll get.

          • kitten says:
            31 Dec31 December 21:31

            believe me Anna I wouldnt be going out at all if I could get a supermarket delivery. They mostly wont deliver here. Of the two that do they are booked up.

            Supermarkets saying they have increased delivery slots doesn’t seem to have helped much

      • TGLoyalty says:
        30 Dec30 December 18:12

        @Aston100 you won’t spend 90-180mins mixing with the same few people in a supermarket.

        For all intents and purposes you will not catch Covid brushing past someone in the supermarket. Your risk increases substantially sitting even 3m away from them for a whole meal in a space with poor ventilation.

  • Tracey says:
    30 Dec30 December 16:30

    That number now being in tier 4, it’s going to have an impact on flights, that up to now don’t seem to be massively effected.
    (Ignoring those that book up a viewing appointment with Saville’s of course 🙄 )

    • Anna says:
      30 Dec30 December 16:37

      Yes most major airports are now in Tier 4. You may still be ok if you’re using Leeds/Bradford and live in North or West Yorkshire!

      • Nick_C says:
        30 Dec30 December 17:43

        It doesn’t matter where the airport is. It’s where you live that counts.

        • Anna says:
          30 Dec30 December 19:05

          Yes but most people use their nearest airport, most people now live in Tier 4, and many living in Tier 3 are going to find their plans cancelled in the next couple of days.

  • Lol says:
    30 Dec30 December 16:31

    My dual fuel contract with British Gas ends on 31 January and I’m looking for a cheaper supplier using uSwitch or similar, and preferably with a supplier who accepts Amex, or at least Mastercard/Visa payments if necessary via Curve, at no additional cost compared to Direct Debit. Does anyone know of any or can offer advice on the best ones for rewards and points?

    • Anna says:
      30 Dec30 December 16:39

      I don’t know if OVO is actually cheaper but it’s very easy to pay as much as you want by MC or Visa (I think energy companies which take Amex are about as common as unicorns lol). You don’t need to go via Curve unless you want to build up payment history. Best thing is, if you need a refund this can be requested online and is paid into your bank account (which you have a minimal DD set up from).

      • Anna says:
        30 Dec30 December 16:59

        And pays 5% interest, though I think you can donate this to charity if you wish.

    • Oli says:
      30 Dec30 December 16:41

      I was with Bulb and switched to Octopus last month, it was slightly cheaper. With both suppliers you can pay online with Amex; with Octopus it’s then easy to set up your direct debit as £1; with Bulb you have to reduce it a few pounds at a time and I never managed to make it less than £15 or so. Here is my referral link, we’ll both get £50 if you use it:

      share.octopus.energy/denim-deer-905

      • Andrew says:
        30 Dec30 December 21:57

        I’ve never had a DD with Octopus.

        Simply pay the full Smart Meter bill in full every month when I get the email.

    • 747_Brat says:
      30 Dec30 December 16:55

      I recently switched to Igloo. They offer lower rates than Bulb & Octopus, and allow Amex top-ups keeping the direct debit to just £1. The cherry on top is that they pay 3% interest on the account credit! 🙂

      Their Trustpilot reviews are also very very good.

      In case you would like to switch to Igloo, here’s my referral link. We both get £50. Thanks.
      https://refer.igloo.energy/neerajg3609

      • 747_Brat says:
        30 Dec30 December 17:02

        I should add that account credit can easily be requested to be credited to a bank account via BACS.

      • Daniel says:
        30 Dec30 December 17:14

        Any trouble changing the direct debit to £1 online? Their help says it has to be 80% of the recommended payment unless you call them.

        Thanks

        • 747_Brat says:
          30 Dec30 December 17:42

          No troubles at all. You can do it yourself online, without involving customer service. You might need to build a decent credit for it though, which can easily be done with an Amex top-up. So long story short, don’t attempt to change the DD before topping-up your account.

      • Lol says:
        30 Dec30 December 20:57

        747_Brat – I used your referral link. I went for Igloo in the end having compared my electric and gas usage over several of the suppliers and using a comparison website.

        Thanks everyone for the advice.

      • BP says:
        30 Dec30 December 23:14

        I’ve signed up using your link. Thanks.

    • Martha says:
      30 Dec30 December 16:57

      I found Octopus the cheapest, you can pay by amex, and customer service is great.
      You will get £50 for using this, share.octopus.energy/glad-wolf-803
      Good luck!

    • Nick_C says:
      30 Dec30 December 17:53

      Your cheapest supplier will depend on where you live and how much gas and electricity you use.

      I would recommend using https://switch.which.co.uk/ to find your cheapest suppliers.

      It might be cheaper getting different suppliers for each fuel.

      Find the lowest price. No point in using a supplier who accepts Amex if they charge 10% more.

      Personally, I have a Santander 123 Lite account which gives me 1% ċäƨĥƀɑƈƙ on fuel DDs, so I wouldn’t pay with Amex anyway, as I wouldn’t buy Avios at 0.67p. YMMV.

      • TGLoyalty says:
        30 Dec30 December 18:14

        Don’t forget these switch sites don’t take into account when you demand energy.

        Eg if you have an electric car then a smart traffic like octopus agile might be the best bet.

    • Alan says:
      30 Dec30 December 20:47

      I have recently changed to Outfoxthemarket.

      So far all good. very good deal, smooth transfer and they accept Amex payments.

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