The HfP chat thread – Saturday 2nd January

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• 747_Brat says:

  2 Jan2 January 13:14

  Pulled the trigger and converted all of my Tesco Clubcard vouchers worth £22.5 into Avios! 😬

  • Andrew says:

    2 Jan2 January 13:47

    I’m going to wait until the final few days in case there was a last minute bonus?

    • 747_Brat says:

      2 Jan2 January 14:03

      I like your optimism mate! 🙂

      • Andrew says:

        2 Jan2 January 14:23

        Well yeah figured there was no gamble waiting until the last minute. But of course unlikely to yield anything.

    • Kevin says:

      2 Jan2 January 17:07

      Forgotten, when is the last day to convert club point to Avios?

  • BJ says:

    2 Jan2 January 15:54

    Hope you didn’t lose any sleep over thst one 😀 £18 to NowTV for me to hopefully cover USPGA, US Open and The Open if I get a discount on the second month.

  • Sam says:

    2 Jan2 January 15:59

    Isn’t the best use of Tesco CC the retailers/companies where you get maximum value which is 3x?

    • Genghis says:

      2 Jan2 January 16:15

      Only if it’s a genuine 3x and you’d otherwise pay cash.

      • Sam says:

        2 Jan2 January 16:42

        Yes that is true Genghis

    • BuildBackBetter says:

      2 Jan2 January 17:20

      Best value is getting what is scarce and difficult to buy cheaply. For me, that’s avios and J seats.

• fivebobbill says:

  2 Jan2 January 13:57

  Hi guys. I’ve been having a status dispute with Hilton via their chat facility and they have suggested I call an agent on a 1-800 number. Does anyone have any experience calling these numbers from the UK, or better still do they have a UK number I can use? Skype maybe?
  Many thanks in advance…

  • kitten says:

    2 Jan2 January 13:59

    Skype
    Google Voice etc if you have it

    • Dave says:

      2 Jan2 January 14:03

      Hilton have a uk freephone number. It’s really an international freephone number + 800 4445 8667

      • Nick_C says:

        2 Jan2 January 14:27

        Check the price with your service provider before calling an international freephone number. EE charge up to 40p a minute. https://ee.co.uk/content/dam/ee-help/help-pdfs/EE-Price-Guides/ee-pay-monthly-non-standard-01112020.pdf

        I would recommend using the Ringo app.

  • fivebobbill says:

    2 Jan2 January 14:41

    Thanks for the advice guys, ended up using Skype, and hung up after a 25 minute hold… will get them again, life’s too short!

    However, no charge to my Skype balance thankfully 👍

• S FRED says:

  2 Jan2 January 14:46

  question re InterContinental Ambassador complimentary weekend night: is the expiry date a book by date or a stay by date?

  • Genghis says:

    2 Jan2 January 15:03

    Stay

    • Rob says:

      2 Jan2 January 15:30

      I checked in the other day on the expiry date of my certificate. Now in debate with IHG about validity. Rules specifically say you must have a valid certificate at check in, which I did – although it has expired at check out.

• Steven says:

  2 Jan2 January 14:48

  Is there a particular time of the year when new credit cards are introduced? My Virgin one is due for renewal in February so looking at other options and just wondered whether best to hang fire to see if any new cards will be introduced at the start of the year. TIA

  • Rob says:

    2 Jan2 January 15:31

    No. We are lucky to see one good launch per year.

  • dezbez says:

    2 Jan2 January 16:19

    If you have the paid Virgin card and you do end up cancelling be very careful on timing – a few people on here have been caught out as Virgin seems to charge the annual fee quite early

    • Steven says:

      2 Jan2 January 17:19

      Yeah, I did see that, thanks. Seems to be charging half way into the 11th month so will cancel before then.

      • Lev441 says:

        2 Jan2 January 19:00

        They will credit you back the annual fee as long as you haven’t used the card after your anniversary date…

• Graham says:

  2 Jan2 January 15:22

  Looking to press the button on a return flight to Hong Kong in NOV 2021 using a companion voucher. Under current BA rules if I decide to cancel can I get cash paid back or have to take a FTV and if latter how long would I have to use the FTV

  • Genghis says:

    2 Jan2 January 15:36

    Using a companion voucher therefore it’s an avios flight:
    – you always have the option to cancel for £35 per person.
    – if BA cancel flight, you can get full refund (or flight for a rerouting)
    – if you don’t want to forgo £35 per person, you can at your option bundle everything into a FTV. See latest coronavirus policy.

    • Genghis says:

      2 Jan2 January 15:36

      *fight

    • kitten says:

      3 Jan3 January 01:32

      bearing in mind the ability to choose FTV or its conditions/validity has only been a thing since BA cash retention needs became extreme due Covid ….at some point it could be withdrawn

  • Tracey says:

    2 Jan2 January 16:05

    FTV expire April 2022

  • memesweeper says:

    2 Jan2 January 16:47

    Do you think Hk will be open to visitors in Nov?

    • Graham says:

      2 Jan2 January 17:36

      It is the first leg of getting to Australia for the first two cricket tests so understand it is a real long shot. hence wanted to know where I stood and Will only be out of pocket £140 at worse

    • kitten says:

      3 Jan3 January 01:35

      just off the wall even if not covid issue in Honkers by then, unsure all issues emanating from China there wouldnt decide this more

• Ben says:

  2 Jan2 January 17:17

  Still hanging on for an HSBC premier card points conversion bonus to Avios. I thought it was around 30% and annually (around Dec) but who knows if it will ever happen again?

• tom1 says:

  2 Jan2 January 17:28

  Virgin cc upgrade voucher question.
  When using with a cash flight, assuming you pay cash for a Premium ticket and use upgrade voucher to fly Upper, are there additional fees you have to pay?

  Secondly, I know when launched you were supposed to receive the miles(points) and tier points of the ticket you paid for (in this case Premium, not Upper) -any experience of that working in reality? I guess not many people have flown since the changes.

  I know there’s a lot of uncertainty around future flights, but I like to have something to look forward to , and be optimistic. Happy New Year all 🙂

  • Clive says:

    2 Jan2 January 18:38

    If you run a dummy booking using Vpoints on the VS website you will see the difference between Prem and UC in relation to taxes

    • tom1 says:

      2 Jan2 January 19:28

      thanks, yep good idea – I just didn’t know if that’s what actually happening when people book.

      So New York is £474 taxes in PE and £664 in upper.

      There are PE cash tickets for around £450 for next autumn. Add an upgrade voucher + extra £190 in fees looks pretty decent fare to me. And would earn PE points and tier points.

• Jan M says:

  2 Jan2 January 17:47

  Hi, I’m looking to fly to Germany on the 11th for work. Had booked a PCR test on arrival but the guidance from the German Embassy has now changed. (Well, the rules say up to the 6th but does anyone expect them to loosen?) I now need a PCR or antigen test before departure. “Antigen tests must meet certain quality standards.” Does anyone know if the antigen test offered at Heathrow meets that standard? And any advice for how early to arrive? I see results only take 45 minutes…

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