The HfP chat thread – Monday 18th January

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• AlanC says:

  18 Jan18 January 11:25

  I posted this in the Bonvoy thread but no replies.
  I had the amex Marriott last year as part of Robs article to earn 180,000 avios for a newby amex collector. I cancelled it around october. Would I be allowed to re apply and get ths 15 nights but obviously not the sign up bonus points?

  • Ikaz says:

    18 Jan18 January 11:37

    I applied last year after the changes that give 15 nights, I didn’t receive the bonus points (as expected), I did receive 15 night credits last year and also this year. So based on my experience you would receive the 15 nights.

  • Waddle says:

    18 Jan18 January 11:58

    You get 15 elite night credits every year for having the card. It’s not a bonus for signing up and you can’t churn more by applying twice in a year. So in you in your case you will get them because you won’t have had the 15 nights this year. Hope this makes sense.

  • Rob says:

    18 Jan18 January 12:49

    Yes

• BP says:

  18 Jan18 January 11:42

  Considering a move out to Singapore when it’s safe to travel again and just looked at the Amex Plat offers out there.

  Earn 215,000 member rewards points for spending 20,000 SGD (~£11k) in the first 6 months if you are referred. Wow! The card fee is pretty hefty at ~£950 a year.

  • Alex says:

    18 Jan18 January 11:45

    Is the conversion rate the same for airlines etc? Is it still 1:1 for avios for example? 215,000 MR points is a lot either way but less interesting if the rate is say 3:1 or something. Although I’m sure you’d use other airlines more if you’re based in Singapore

    • BP says:

      18 Jan18 January 12:06

      I made an assumption that 1MR is worth the same worldwide. Actually that’s not true.

      In Singapore 450 Membership Rewards points = 250 airmiles regardless of whether it goes to BA, Thai, Singapore, Emirates, Malaysia, Qantas….

      If I do go ahead with the move then I think I’ll need to get my calculator out!!

      • TGLoyalty says:

        18 Jan18 January 12:36

        Common misconception when people read the huge MR bonus and earn rates in USA too.

      • Alex says:

        18 Jan18 January 13:54

        I mean that’s still over 100K points for a sign-up which is considerably better than here in the UK. But yes it’s always something to keep an eye on.

  • BuildBackBetter says:

    18 Jan18 January 14:38

    In singapore Amex cards are worst for rewards on day to day spending. Many other cards provide 4 miles per sgd in specific categories which you should try to maximise.

  • Donna says:

    18 Jan18 January 20:26

    How easy is to get a work permit in Singapore? I have been applying for jobs for a while but finding it hard.

    • BP says:

      18 Jan18 January 23:49

      No idea. I only have an initial interview at this point. They did say the job was UK based unless the candidate is already in Singapore but when I said I’d only consider it if it was Singapore based they said they could make an exception for the right person.

• Jonathan says:

  18 Jan18 January 12:07

  With CoT, the welcome bonus is this once per person or per company? I have several businesses and would look to sign up with them too if i received the bonus again.

  • George says:

    18 Jan18 January 12:39

    One account per linked director max. Other businesses can only apply if a different director provides a PG.

• Stuart Evans says:

  18 Jan18 January 12:30

  Like quite a few of us, I have an FTV linked to a 2-4-1 which has to be used on a trip finishing by 30 April 22.

  We would like to use it on 3-4 week road trip to Western US, preferably as near the end of April as practical given: (a) better weather; and (b) hoping travel arrangements generally are easier post-pandemic.

  I know about the customary 355 day rush to book, but I’m wondering about when might be the best time to try and schedule the trip. If I leave it too late, will there be a rush of others using FTVs before they expire? Or do we think there is any chance of the FTV expiry date being extended?

  In terms of public holiday dates, the February Half Term is 14-18 Feb; Easter weekend is 15-18 April; and US Spring Break is 26 Mar-3 April – we aren’t tied to any of them

  So I’m wondering if the optimum window is after Half Term and before Easter

  Appreciate this is all speculation, and who knows how things will be next year. But interested in the views of the HFP team and other travellers.

  • Anna says:

    18 Jan18 January 13:30

    Be aware that UK school holidays will range from the last week in March until after Easter weekend so this period will be peak in terms of pricing and availability.
    You’ve got several US aipports to choose from which will help a lot with availability. Probably the best thing is to narrow down where you’re prepared to start and finish (which can be different) and keep an eye on general availability until you’re ready to book.

• Chris says:

  18 Jan18 January 12:38

  What’s the current best advice on hitting the BAPP companion voucher threshold in short notice? I have 5 days to go and £2,300 to hit.

  Not keen on buying vouchers at that amount. In the past I’ve bought a refundable flight with BA (and accepted the higher threshold for my next earning year) but are refunds easy at the moment on fully flex tickets?

  • Rob says:

    18 Jan18 January 12:45

    Book a Hotels.com ‘pay on departure’ hotel and you will be offered a ‘pay in advance, no quibble refund on request’ option. Take that.

    • Mo says:

      18 Jan18 January 13:44

      +1 on this, if you pay now on hotels.com they charge you pretty quick and refund very quickly too when you ask for a refund. Make sure it’s a refundable rate though!

  • Anna says:

    18 Jan18 January 13:33

    With 5 days to go you need to decide quickly as purchases can take a couple of days to clear.
    Can you get an online refund for a fully flexible ticket? If so I can’t see why it would be more difficult than usual. If not it seems very hit & miss re getting through to BA at the moment.

    • Paul says:

      18 Jan18 January 13:53

      If doing this can you get refund to a different card as if refunded to BAPP is the £10k threshold not met as such or does it just trigger at £10k and not taken back if a refund on spend is later given?

  • tony says:

    18 Jan18 January 13:46

    This won’t be cheap but it should be safe so long as they do the KYC check quickly. Just make a billhop payment to yourself for the £2.3k. It’ll cost you 2.95% but I’m assuming you value the voucher at more than £70.

    • Alex says:

      18 Jan18 January 13:59

      I have done each of these in the past – I’d rather pay the fee(£70 in this case) than have an extra £2K added to next years threshold.

    • memesweeper says:

      18 Jan18 January 14:29

      Amex disapprove of making payments to yourself. You could see your account closed.

      I think Billhop only supports transfers to company accounts, not personal ones, but I stand to be corrected on this.

      • Jim C says:

        18 Jan18 January 23:01

        Correct, it’s my understanding Amex will no longer work with Bill Hop when paying to an individual .

  • Anna says:

    18 Jan18 January 14:17

    Can you pay your council tax with Amex (or Paypal)? You could pay the full year upfront now, the bills will be out in a few weeks anyway!

  • Super Secret Stuff says:

    18 Jan18 January 15:06

    Hypothetically, you can you pay a friend with pay pal? Just a thought…

    • Aston100 says:

      18 Jan18 January 15:25

      “Hypothetically, you can you pay a friend with pay pal? Just a thought…”
      £2300 seems a bit risky. Perhaps if really desperate, and no other option available.

  • Charlieface says:

    18 Jan18 January 20:52

    Europcar or Hertz pay now booking for an expensive car for four weeks.

    Fully refundable.

• Aston100 says:

  18 Jan18 January 12:39

  Curve question regarding purchases in foreign currency.
  I have the free version.
  I’ve tried reading the rules, and wondering if this is correct:
  If on a Monday I were to book a Hilton in a foreign country for £475, using Curve and with Creation underlying, I shouldn’t expect to see any additional charges on my Creation statement, and potentially Creation might provide double points because they can’t distinguish between IHG and non-IHG hotel spend.
  Is all of that correct?

  Thanks.

  • Sina says:

    18 Jan18 January 14:17

    No extra fee, no idea about double points!

    • Aston100 says:

      18 Jan18 January 15:23

      Thanks Sina.
      I note a few people have previously commented that paying with an IHG card has always given them double points at any hotel, not just at IHG managed ones.
      But I don’t know if that still applies if going through curve.

  • Anna says:

    18 Jan18 January 14:18

    Why would you be paying in a foreign currency if you are in the UK?

    • John says:

      18 Jan18 January 14:47

      Hotels usually charge in their own currency and if they charge in GBP it will be 4-5% over the current exchange rate.

      • Aston100 says:

        18 Jan18 January 15:21

        This.
        The charge is in the local currency, as seems to be the case for pretty much any hotel I’ve booked abroad (where I have booked directly with the Hotel/chain rather than through an OTA or booking site).

  • Brian W says:

    18 Jan18 January 21:57

    You’re correct, Creation omit any charges every Monday. Not sure about Tuesday – Sunday though. YMMV.

    You won’t get double points as you’re not paying IHG with your Creation card. Same as using PayPal. 3rd party aggregator.

• Aliks says:

  18 Jan18 January 12:50

  Posted this in the wrong place, apologies for re-posting here.

  Another BA cancellation story . . . I am claiming for an alternative flight with another airline, and just received the first response from BA Customer Services.

  They are claiming that they are not liable because their flight was cancelled due to COVID-19 and this is out of their control. However, its clear they cancelled due to the downturn in passenger numbers as they are still running the flight on other days.

  I don’t believe they have a leg to stand on – but does anyone know better?

  • babyg says:

    18 Jan18 January 13:06

    there is lots of info on this type of thing on flyertalk… but you need to provide much more detail to get a proper response, dates, flight details, what got cancelled, when, and what it is you want. you are entitled to re-routing – you may have to book/pay for this yourself and then claim via the courts etc…

  • kitten says:

    18 Jan18 January 14:28

    for now they will get away with it. but only so far as you not getting compensation is concerned.

    duty of care they are still responsible for whatever tje circumstances, they have no valid excuse. you get to choose refund in cash, rebook on some other airline as close as can reasonably be found to original date/time if you want (you can suggest alternatives but they get to choose which other airline provided they choose one with the best reasonably available ‘reasonable despatch’ to transport you, or you can choose completely different dates for your whole samr itinerary. BA must provide your choice of these under the law and no escape, no excuse.

    Read this thread past 1-4 weeks and your choices asvto action will be clear to you

  • Charlieface says:

    18 Jan18 January 20:54

    If they cancelled within 14 days for a flight that they knew beforehand shouldn’t be running, you could argue for compo even given the Covid situation. You’ll be in for a fight though

    • kitten says:

      18 Jan18 January 22:34

      it won’t fly right now Charlieface. Due to extreme reduced demand they had to pick flights to cancel. OP was
      just unlucky their flight was one of the ones picked.

      For now airlines will get away with this.

      As you’ve said before, there might still be a chance if something happened like pilot turning up drunk on the day of the flight..and you’d have to remember to check the official aviation report for why late (i think Expertflyer has it for about 48hrs then you have to go to other sources?). But right now and for a while ahead airlines are going to be able to say most problems are covid.

      It will be abused by airlines but right now maybe some sympathy for them?

• Dan says:

  18 Jan18 January 13:00

  Thanks to a fellow poster her yesterday on the HSBC Premier article, I decided to phone in regarding my WE card to see if I could get any rebate or retention offers.

  To my surprise, they admitted the travel benefits of the card are pretty useless now and offered to refund me back the full £195 – which I took gladly. They did reiterate that by taking this goodwill gesture, I would not be getting any further goodwill gestures come next renewal in November.

  Plan for me is to hold the card until end of Oct, beginning of Nov and downgrade to the free version. So effectively I managed to get (52,000 Avios in Y1 and whatever I earn in Y2) for just £195.

  Does anyone know for the downgrade, if I would have to transfer the points to a airline scheme can I still keep it there as HSBC points?

  • Nigel W says:

    18 Jan18 January 13:30

    Thanks for that. Will try and give that a go later today.

    • Dan says:

      18 Jan18 January 13:48

      Yep – the Scottish lady on the line was very understanding and empathetic. Didn’t have to dig too deep for her to offer the refund.

    • Pete C says:

      18 Jan18 January 14:44

      I just called and was only offered a downgrade to the free card. I’m in my second year with WE so perhaps they feel there’s less reason to incentivise me to renew

      • Dan says:

        18 Jan18 January 15:29

        Strange. At first the agent said no refund and I suggested a not partial refund if I downgrade – they said no. I played the no-travel card and inability to use the benefits and the agent said they’d speak to a manager and after then they offered it.

        Not sure if it’s worth HUACA – if you are persistent and want to try your luck again …

      • Pete C says:

        18 Jan18 January 15:54

        Ah ok, I think I’ll try again and have a few different reasons up my sleeve. For a potential £195 rebate I’m happy to try a few times, especially now I’ve finally heard of a success story!

  • memesweeper says:

    18 Jan18 January 14:32

    If you downgrade you can leave your points there, they won’t be touched as long as you hold the free card.

    Was your renewal coming up when you made this threat to leave?

    • Dan says:

      18 Jan18 January 15:25

      Thanks!

      Renewal had already passed and I was 2 months into year 2.

      • memesweeper says:

        18 Jan18 January 17:06

        cheers 🙂

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