The HfP chat thread – Thursday 14th January

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General

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ComeFlyWithMe says:

14 Jan14 January 11:05

Hey all. Have Curve Metal and was planning to pay HMRC.

If using the IHG card (via Curve) to pay HMRC does anybody know if we get hit with the cash advance fee, or does it work ok?

What are the best cards to use with Curve and HMRC/NS&I?
- CurverUser says:
  
  14 Jan14 January 11:20
  
  Hi, I was also wondering the same. Keen to hear any thoughts from other users.
- John says:
  
  14 Jan14 January 12:39
  
  no cash advance fees
- John Gallagher says:
  
  14 Jan14 January 15:37
  
  I was also wondering this.
  Can I use Curve Metal with HH Barclaycard to avoid cash advance fees?
  - The real John says:
    
    14 Jan14 January 16:13
    
    Yes for tax and ernie.
Mark Peterborough says:

14 Jan14 January 11:09

Data point : My Creation IHG free night that originally had to be used by March 2021 and had then been extended to August 2021 ( I think), is now showing as a use by date of December 31st 2021.
- Phil says:
  
  14 Jan14 January 12:37
  
  Snap – that must’ve happened in the last couple of days. I’m also due another voucher this month.
- Pid says:
  
  14 Jan14 January 15:34
  
  Not showing on mine yet
747_Brat says:

14 Jan14 January 11:14

Are the HSBC points transferred over when you upgrade or downgrade between the Premier & WE Cards, or do you have to mandatorily get rid of them before you upgrade/downgrade?
Thanks.
- Dan says:
  
  14 Jan14 January 11:35
  
  Would also like to know. I’m into the second year HSBC WE card and once I reach renewal I’ll be downgrading too as the economics don’t work for year 3.
  
  If they could be kept with HSBC then it would be ideal rather than committing to an airline.
- Pete C says:
  
  14 Jan14 January 12:01
  
  Mine were transferred over when I upgraded so would assume the same works for downgrading too
  - 747_Brat says:
    
    14 Jan14 January 12:23
    
    Thanks Pete for confirming. Cheers.
  - Sam says:
    
    14 Jan14 January 12:40
    
    Can confirm they carry over on downgrade
    - 747_Brat says:
      
      14 Jan14 January 12:45
      
      Thanks Sam
  - Kevin says:
    
    14 Jan14 January 22:51
    
    Guys
    Myself nor wife have an Avios collecting Visa/Mastercard at the moment. She is eligible for HSBC Premier World Elite Mastercard. Am I right in thinking the 40,000 reward points on first 2k spend (in 90 days) equates to 20,000 Avios?
    
    Any other advice for gaining Avios with spend in places not acceptation Amex? Apologies, I’m sure this has been mentioned, though I’ve scanned through the last lot of weeks threads and can’t come across much.
    
    Cheers
    
    Kevin (newbee)
    - Rob says:
      
      14 Jan14 January 23:17
      
      Hi Kevin. Yes, WE is your best bet if you can get it. 40k (=20k) in Year 1 plus a further 40k in Year 2 if you spend £12,000.
      
      If you have a Limited Company then the Capital On Tap card is also worth a look, although no better than World Elite.
      
      There is also:
      Billhop – https://hfp2022.headforpoints.blog/2020/01/18/review-billhop/
      Using PayPal where possible – https://hfp2022.headforpoints.blog/2020/11/28/how-to-boost-american-express-spend-by-using-paypal/
Dan says:

14 Jan14 January 11:20

Interesting article in the FT about like the future of business travel:

https://on.ft.com/38FeBeH
GraeM says:

14 Jan14 January 12:16

I signed up for Dragonpass with the offer from Red by DUFRY a year or so ago – highlighted on here – card was due to expire last week but it has rolled over to 2022 along with the 9 unused visits.
- Aston100 says:
  
  14 Jan14 January 15:38
  
  That is indeed the case for everyone.
  Good proactive work by them.
Gothbe says:

14 Jan14 January 12:18

Anyone made flight bookings on cheap dates in the hope that they will be cancelled with the offer of a free change to a more expensive date?
- ankomonkey says:
  
  14 Jan14 January 12:58
  
  I did this last year, but have not yet booked new flights, mainly due to heavy travel restrictions since. I was happy to make the original trip if not cancelled, but was fairly sure they would be.
- BP says:
  
  14 Jan14 January 15:09
  
  Yes, last year. I had a stag weekend in September to Lisbon. Flights were £380 with Easyjet. I booked a £70 return on a date I knew would be cancelled and then transferred my flights for free to the dates that would have cost £380.
  
  It worked out well as Coronavirus numbers declined enough during August into September that we actually got to travel!
  
  A few days before travel the flight price was £40 so I rebooked and transferred the £70 to a flight for this year (the wedding got cancelled so we get to go on stag 2.0)
- Gavin says:
  
  14 Jan14 January 16:07
  
  Yes, I did it with Sofia. Booked for January and postponed until September. If it hadn’t been cancelled, I would have got an e-Voucher which was fine by me.
- kitten says:
  
  14 Jan14 January 18:22
  
  If I had been cashrich this time round I would have been doing that for *at least* the past 6 months. And I;m not the only reader on HfP 🙂
  - Rob says:
    
    14 Jan14 January 19:43
    
    I think a few readers went to the Maldives for Christmas with this ‘offer’.
- kitten says:
  
  14 Jan14 January 18:23
  
  The refinement was to book First on BA on routes that were clearly going to have First removed.
  
  Not only cancellation rights (i.e. airline-cancels-on-you-rights) but also the fillip of being then eligible to claim (albeit with a fight but suuuure to win) a 75% downgrade compo.
  
  Half the readers of this site have probably been doing this since last August.
  
  Welcome.
Rob says:

14 Jan14 January 12:19

Interesting. I just checked and I have got my £15. Original transactions on 10th, refund is dated 12th.

Looks like I need another plan to trigger the £50 on £250 deal on my Business card.
- YB says:
  
  14 Jan14 January 13:31
  
  I tried this with me and the other half. One worked and credit came through. The other – got the email, but not credit a few days later.
  - TGLoyalty says:
    
    14 Jan14 January 13:52
    
    If you’ve had the email I’m sure it will eventually.
747_Brat says:

14 Jan14 January 12:20

Pretty chuffed today. 🙂 Some lovely personal news (Credit card wise):
1. Got approved for HSBC Premier Card finally after many weeks of chasing up. I can see the card on my app.
2. Got my Amex credit limit reinstated after it was reduced unceremoniously earlier this week. Shoutout to @johnny_c-l for suggesting the way to go about reinstating the limit.
Cheers!
- johnny_c-l says:
  
  14 Jan14 January 12:32
  
  Glad you got it sorted 747_Brat!
  - 747_Brat says:
    
    14 Jan14 January 12:33
    
    Thanks mate 🙂
- old bob says:
  
  14 Jan14 January 12:33
  
  Thank god I couldn’t sleep worrying about you.
  - 747_Brat says:
    
    14 Jan14 January 12:34
    
    lol…you can sleep in peace now!
- BuildBackBetter says:
  
  14 Jan14 January 15:27
  
  Check if the Amex credit limit change appears on your credit report. Shouldn’t though.
  - 747_Brat says:
    
    14 Jan14 January 16:23
    
    Yes, I was worried about that too. But since it was reinstated within couple of days, I don’t think it will have an impact on the credit report. But again, it depends if Amex passed on the data to credit agencies within last few days.
    
    My understanding and observation is that the data on credit reports is almost always 1 month behind. But I have kept a hawk-eye on my credit report, just in case it comes up, in which case I will flag it to the agencies!
    - Sam says:
      
      14 Jan14 January 21:16
      
      Moral of the story…no unsolicited flirting with Amex CS in future! 😂
      - 747_Brat says:
        
        14 Jan14 January 22:24
        
        Lesson learnt mate! 😆
- The Urbanite says:
  
  15 Jan15 January 02:58
  
  Congratulations!
  - 747_Brat says:
    
    15 Jan15 January 09:37
    
    Thank you 🙂