The HfP chat thread – Thursday 14th January

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Anna says:

14 Jan14 January 12:31

There looks to be another Hilton Seychelles option from the summer – Mango House. Looks nice from the images.
- YC says:
  
  14 Jan14 January 12:40
  
  Ah dang – it was teasing with March/April opening previously. Suppose to go in June and was eyeing it up. 95k/night is a good deal!
  - Anna says:
    
    14 Jan14 January 12:43
    
    I’ve just been having a proper look – it looks dreamy – definitely on the list for our first child free holiday next year!
    - YC says:
      
      14 Jan14 January 12:51
      
      From my research, 95k for that is a nice sweet spot for luxury on Mahe. Other 5* are a bit older and four seasons is around £1k/night. I know new hotels are prone to delays in opening so I think I’m resigned to not available for June. The crowd also seem to suggest to minimise time on Mahe and maximise on other islands. Anyway travel by June is still touch and go at this rate
      - Anna says:
        
        14 Jan14 January 13:06
        
        Honestly, all I want just now is sunshine and somewhere nice to swim! Though the ultimate plan would be to use QR towards hitting Silver that year. Seychelles would be a nice place for in between the flights!
      - Ashraj says:
        
        14 Jan14 January 15:30
        
        I hope we are allowed in to the Seychelles by end of may.
        
        https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/news/seychelles-aims-save-vital-tourism-sector-becoming-first-nation/
  - BJ says:
    
    14 Jan14 January 15:55
    
    Seychelles? … Isn’t Ah dang in Vietnam?
    - mr_jetlag says:
      
      14 Jan14 January 15:57
      
      …Dad? (Insert Phuket joke here 🙂
Bee says:

14 Jan14 January 12:43

I want to close my BA Amex card. So that i can start the 24months count. Which card can I transfer my points to that won’t affect the 24 months count.

Thank you.
- TGLoyalty says:
  
  14 Jan14 January 12:51
  
  BA points transfer to your BA account every month. Don’t close until they transferred over.
  - Bee says:
    
    14 Jan14 January 12:56
    
    Thank you. I have an AMEX reward card. Can it be transferred there and that will be the only Amex card I will leave open ( I assume that it is not affected by the 24 months count)
    - Anna says:
      
      14 Jan14 January 13:09
      
      No – you can’t transfer avios to an MR account, if that’s what you mean, but as TG pointed out they will go to your BAEC account anyway. An MR card shouldn’t stop you getting another sign bonus on a BAPP after 2 years (but it would for the free blue BA card).
      - Amex User says:
        
        14 Jan14 January 13:53
        
        Really? That doesn’t match with the recent article on Amex bonuses
      - Rob says:
        
        14 Jan14 January 14:04
        
        It does. The only rule on getting a BAPP is that you haven’t had either BA card in the past 2 years.
Doommonger says:

14 Jan14 January 12:58

30% bonus on buying Avios until February 2nd
- Anna says:
  
  14 Jan14 January 13:11
  
  You need a new moniker, you don’t monger doom at all.
  - dezbez says:
    
    14 Jan14 January 15:38
    
    Haha. Joybringer?
    - Peter K says:
      
      14 Jan14 January 15:55
      
      At 30% bonus it’s more Mehbringer.
Anna says:

14 Jan14 January 13:21

Sorry if it’s been mentioned previously but IHG seems to be running a 25% – 30% (depending on status) off dining offer at various hotels in Africa and the ME throughout 2021.
- TGLoyalty says:
  
  14 Jan14 January 13:32
  
  They actually do a lower discount all the time
  
  Hilton is also running 20-25% in some ME markets depending on status
  - Tarmohamed says:
    
    14 Jan14 January 14:00
    
    Anyone planning to visit Dubai on a budget, the Hampton Al Seef is bookable but is closed. You will be moved to Canopy by Hilton.
    - Rob says:
      
      14 Jan14 January 14:04
      
      I was in Al Seef two weeks ago. It is a really interesting area, with the benefit of a huge range of eating and shopping outlets on your doorstep. Canopy looked good (this was originally a Jumeirah) with the Hampton adjacent.
    - BP says:
      
      14 Jan14 January 15:02
      
      Not a great deal of price difference between the two. I stayed in HGI Al Jadaf 2 years ago for 1 night after a late arrival. I thought this was an excellent hotel for the price but the location wasn’t great.
    - TGLoyalty says:
      
      14 Jan14 January 15:23
      
      The canopy is available on AMEX hotel collection at about £60 a night. Bargain considering if you stay 2 nights you get $100 credit.
Martin Short says:

14 Jan14 January 13:38

I have Amex 2-4-1 singapore flights booked during 50% BA deal.
BA have cancelled the outbound flight.
Can I change it to one with avios availability or any date?
- DT says:
  
  14 Jan14 January 13:41
  
  If BA cancelled it, you can change it to any date, without needing reward availability. If it was an F redemption call YouFirst, in my experience they are a little better with this
  - kitten says:
    
    14 Jan14 January 18:18
    
    you can change all the dates for flights on all of your boooking if airline cancels even one. not if you cancel – only if they do
Harrier25 says:

14 Jan14 January 13:38

For all the Revolut scaremonger on this site….This morning I went through an account review and passed with flying colours. I am free to continue operating my account with no restrictions. The review was raised due to Curve GBIT transactions.
- TGLoyalty says:
  
  14 Jan14 January 13:58
  
  I don’t think it’s scaremongering it’s just the reality that if you’re putting your yearly salary through a month you’ll be shut down.
  
  If you’re just a “dabbler” then it’s fine.
- Aston100 says:
  
  14 Jan14 January 15:34
  
  What did they ask for?
  - Harrier25 says:
    
    14 Jan14 January 16:31
    
    Proof of income, Starling Business bank statement and proof of Curve statement which of course is the only item I couldn’t provide, so sent them a IHG Creation statement which showed them rebilled items to the credit card. They were satisfied with that.
Waddle says:

14 Jan14 January 13:51

Will Amex CS be able to tell me the exact date I cancelled a card? Stupid me forgot to make a note.
- Peter K says:
  
  14 Jan14 January 13:55
  
  Yes they can. It helps if you know the last 5 digits of the card if you’ve had several versions of it in the past.
- Russel says:
  
  14 Jan14 January 13:56
  
  yes
Andrew says:

14 Jan14 January 13:52

Does Flyingclub Gold get you a free bag on Economy Light, or is it like BA where you only get an additional bag when you have at least one bag as part of your ticket? Wording on the website seems to suggest the former, but not overly conclusive.
- bafan says:
  
  14 Jan14 January 14:47
  
  I am Delta Silver and I get a free bag on DL, VS and Alitalia so I’d assume it’s reciprocated?
  - Lumma says:
    
    14 Jan14 January 18:26
    
    Not if they follow similar rules to Oneworld
- Tom1 says:
  
  14 Jan14 January 21:36
  
  Similar but not quite the same… I bought VS economy light and I have SQ gold. Got to LHR and no problem.
  On return from JFK they weren’t having any of it. I called Virgin UK from the checkin desk at JFK and checkin assistant still wouldn’t give me free bag even when instructed by the guy in Wales. She eventually accepted, but wasted at least 30 mins of lounge time.
  So… *think* you should get free bag but reality might be different.
  - kitten says:
    
    14 Jan14 January 22:30
    
    sounds like the “outsourced-staff-working-across-all-airlines-that-belong-to-only-the-dominant-airline-at-the-airport-and-apply-their-own-airline’s-rules-to-everyting” problem.
    
    Particularly prevalent in the US when returning on international airlines that don’t have the same rules as, say Delta. You can miss flights because they apply the wrong rules. I have found only great charm and reasonableness overcomes this and sometimes not even.
- Tom1 says:
  
  14 Jan14 January 22:31
  
  Actually I’ve just found a pdf of baggage rules attached to a previous Virgin booking confirmation email.
  Has a take that days for economy light there is 0 standard bags, but 1 additional bag for gold fc members.