The HfP chat thread – Monday 1st February

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• Sina says:

  1 Feb1 February 02:53

  Amex business card – was it always 3 months with no Amex MR earning card to be accepted for bonus? Or has it changed recently?

  • Jonathan says:

    1 Feb1 February 06:41

    You’ve got 3 months to spend the required amount to earn the bonus. But cannot get another bonus for 6 months of holding another card. “Cardmembers who are enrolled or have been enrolled in the Membership Rewards programme in the last six months, are not eligible for the bonus.”

    • Sina says:

      1 Feb1 February 10:52

      It’s now 3 months:

      You will not be eligible for any Welcome Bonus award if you currently hold or have held any Membership Rewards enrolled American Express Card in the past three months.

      https://www.americanexpress.com/uk/charge-cards/platinum-business-card/

• BJ says:

  1 Feb1 February 06:30

  10, 000 Nectar points available for switching to Sainsbury’s Energy. Not great but it might work for some depending on the area where they live and how much energy they use.

• jil says:

  1 Feb1 February 07:56

  I haven’t been able to login club opinion in the last few days, is it just me? Entered email password click login nothing happens

  • EwanG says:

    1 Feb1 February 08:21

    I’ve just tried logging in on the website and have the same as you.
    I could start a survey from an email however won’t be able to look at my profile etc

    • Rob says:

      1 Feb1 February 08:36

      It has been troublesome for a couple of weeks – other readers have emailed us about this.

• Michael C says:

  1 Feb1 February 08:24

  Calling BA cancellation/2-4-1 experts!
  So…I have LHR-GRU/GIG-LHR linked on a 2-4-1 but with 2 separate locators: I guess from the outset that makes them 2 different bookings?
  The flights (March/April) are no longer on the schedule. I have the option to change dates (not actually tried it) BUT only up to June, as the original 2-4-1 expires then. I think it only had one 6-month extension.
  I have a couple more 2-4-1s unused.

  Is there any way I could get the flights moved to Aug. when BA cancel, pleading either that the original 2-4-1 should have been extended more, or that they use another one from my account?

  If BA just cancel and return everything…will I get an extension on the 2-4-1 that expires in June?

  All the hoo-haa is, of course, because it was a 50% off Avios booking.
  Thanks in advance, and happy planning!

  • Anna says:

    1 Feb1 February 09:22

    Hi Michael, I am in a similar position with my Easter flights! If your sectors have been linked by BA it should count as one booking – in fact I had 2 sectors on completely different PNRs and YouFirst cancelled the whole thing for me because the inbound leg was cancelled.
    If BA has cancelled your flights, you should be able to move the dates and it should not make any difference when your 241 expires as this comes under the re-routing regulations. BA might argue that they can’t re-ticket more than 12 months from your original booking date, but people on here have confirmed it can be done. But if you booked in October time when the 50% avios sale was on it shouldn’t be a problem.
    I don’t think 241s have been extended again at this point. A FTV would extend it to April 2023 now but you’d only be getting the 50% avios back that you paid, of course!
    If my DXB flights get cancelled I’m going to argue for a change to October half term or pre-Xmas but I may be up against BA’s 12 month rule!

    • Michael C says:

      1 Feb1 February 10:24

      Thanks, Anna! Was looking at late Aug. (which would even be within 12 months of ticketing) but would v much prefer N Year!
      Hope something somewhere works out for you: getting closer for we 50+s!

      • Anna says:

        1 Feb1 February 11:07

        Well half the fun is in the planning! Starting to think about Easter 2022 now – at least I can start a hotel shortlist lol.

        • Chris Heyes says:

          1 Feb1 February 12:07

          Anna, Mornin, Planning lol, booked USA this Aug, our first peak hols Hilton imperial Dubrovnik plus Sun Gardens, 2022, again peak hols not looking forward we normally Fly Sept and May/June Avoiding peak periods, but one of daughters wants to come (school hols)
          surrientosuites.com (our usual Splendore Suite prob May and Sept) 2023 that’s planning
          Well planning and hoping

• Optimus Prime says:

  1 Feb1 February 08:45

  If a British citizen travelled to an EU country in November, does the 90-day stay limit apply to them?

  • Anna says:

    1 Feb1 February 09:07

    The guidance seems to suggest that the 90 days should be counted from 1/1/21, but I don’t know if individual member states have their own interpretation of this. Interestingly, from gov.uk:

    “Different rules apply to Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus and Romania. If you visit these countries, visits to other EU countries do not count towards the 90-day total.”
    It doesn’t clarify exactly what this means though!

    • meta says:

      1 Feb1 February 09:24

      These countries are not part of Schengen, so they have their own set of rules. Not sure what they are though.

      • Anna says:

        1 Feb1 February 09:34

        Might be a good item for a HFP article!

      • RussellH says:

        1 Feb1 February 11:58

        “However, Bulgaria, Croatia and Romania are currently in the process of joining the Schengen Area and already applying the Schengen acquis to a large extent.”
        https://ec.europa.eu/home-affairs/what-we-do/policies/borders-and-visas/schengen_en

  • marcw says:

    1 Feb1 February 09:14

    If you arrived prior to 1/1/2021, you can stay as long as you wish.

    • Anna says:

      1 Feb1 February 09:33

      That’s interesting – the Independent seems to have interpreted the guidance in the same way as I would, saying:
      “Any time spent in the Schengen Area up to the end of 2020 does not count. So if you spent December in Spain, the clock did not start ticking until New Year’s Day.”
      It would be interesting to see some official confirmation.

      • Super Secret Stuff says:

        1 Feb1 February 11:39

        You can stay as you entered as a European citizen so, under brexit rules, you can apply for permanent residence as you can claim to live there. Therefore, stay however long may be desired.

        Beware tho, if you leave you’ll become one of us!

    • kitten says:

      1 Feb1 February 11:12

      and even if the EHIC had disappeared in validity for UK citizens from 1st Jan, if you entered Schengen prior to 1st Jan then your old EHIC still valid under its usual terms so long as you did not exit yet.

      • Anna says:

        1 Feb1 February 11:38

        I think EHIC still valid for everyone until it naturally expires, at which point you have to apply for a GHIC.

        • kitten says:

          1 Feb1 February 12:57

          yes – my point was that even though that is now the case, it wasn’t going to be but under the previously advised rules that wasn’t going to be the case anyone who entered Schengen before 1Jan and still there with an old EHIC would still have been covered by it till they leave.

    • GeorgeJ says:

      1 Feb1 February 15:25

      No Marcw, it is 90 days from 1 January unless you have residence rights.

      • John says:

        1 Feb1 February 18:40

        Which you have if you entered before 1 Jan with the intention of residing in the EU

• AK says:

  1 Feb1 February 08:53

  My friend, who has a US passport, but resides and works in the UK is looking to fly back home in early March to see her family . Would this be allowed and is she likely to be interrogated at the airport?

  • Andrew says:

    1 Feb1 February 08:58

    Everyone can be stopped by the police, but showing a US passport and an explanation of the reason for their travel will I’m sure satisfy them not to fine them.

    • Anna says:

      1 Feb1 February 09:13

      The friend could still be directed to return home though. Unless there’s a specific exemption for foreign nationals, it’s been made clear that “holidays” are not a permitted reason for travel.

      • Rob says:

        1 Feb1 February 10:19

        The police cannot force you to go home. I read something last week where a senior office admitted this. They can fine you and that is it.

        The police have very limited powers in this country, for example not being able to enter your home without a warrant. Many people also believe that you must identify yourself to a police office is asked – this is not true IIRC.

        • A says:

          1 Feb1 February 11:09

          No, but they might arrest you if the general arrest conditions in PACE are satisfied (e.g., you refuse to/give them a false name for a FPN).

          You are right, though, that the power to use reasonable force does not apply to enforcing a direction that someone return home; it only applies to the power of a constable to remove a person from an unlawful gathering (Coronavirus regs quoted above, Section 9(4)).

        • Anna says:

          1 Feb1 February 11:27

          Police can most certainly enter your house without a warrant, Rob, for example to arrest someone or to protect life, under the Police and Criminal Evidence Act (for England and Wales, anyway).

        • Rob says:

          1 Feb1 February 12:41

          Obviously under some circumstances they can do it, but it is not a blanket option.

        • Anna says:

          1 Feb1 February 11:33

          They might not be able to physically force you to return to where you live, but if you were seen to be refusing to comply they could arrest you and/or report you. So even if you circumvented the actual instruction by driving around the airport a few times, you’d probably still miss your flight and the end result would be the same!

        • TGLoyalty says:

          1 Feb1 February 11:34

          @Anna but not just for offences under the coronavirus legislation unless they believe someone is actually seriously ill.

        • Anna says:

          1 Feb1 February 11:41

          TG, that’s not the case. Normal arrest powers still apply, so if someone refused to give their details for issuing a FPN, police can technically arrest them to establish what these are (most people tend to give them up when threatened with arrest though!)
          Similarly, if you just stood around and refused to go home, you can be arrested, like this woman:
          https://metro.co.uk/2021/01/10/covid-denier-arrested-for-refusing-to-leave-bench-13879133/

        • Anna says:

          1 Feb1 February 11:54

          But for the Health Protection Regulations (which aren’t the ones stopping you going on holiday), there just has to be reasonable suspicion that someone is infected to be able to detain them for testing or treatment.
          Which, IMO, wouldn’t cover compelling people to isolate in a hotel for 10 days …

        • Rupert says:

          1 Feb1 February 12:12

          They don’t necessarily need a warrant to enter property. They do have powers that grant access without ine. S17 PACE – example.

          Under certain offences you are obliged to provide your details or liable for arrest. However there is no blanket cover to demand details

        • Chris Heyes says:

          1 Feb1 February 12:30

          Rob the police have always been able to enter your home without a warrant,
          You’ve been watching to much tv during lockdown lol
          The only excuse they need is drug related, violence related, abuse related, terrorist related, health and safety related or suspicion you have or about to commit a criminal offence which covers almost anything they want
          What they cannot do is break in with out a warrant in normal circumstances
          Although there 2/3 who can HMCA, Ambulance services, Border Force
          I’m sure Anna or someone else will correct me if i’m wrong or add what i’ve missed lol

        • Anna says:

          1 Feb1 February 13:37

          Chris, it’s true a lot of people get their ideas about police powers from American TV, and think they need a warrant for all sorts of things when they actually don’t. Warrants are generally for searches of property and for bringing people before the court if they fail to appear at a hearing, or fail to comply with the terms of a sentence.
          And yes all sorts of agencies have powers on entry. I think HMRC has the widest powers generally! Bailiffs can go in if they’ve been authorised by a court. All should be able to provide the act and section they’re entering under though, plus supporting paperwork if applicable (so yes for a search warrant, but not for an arrest where a warrant hasn’t been issued).

        • Charlieface says:

          1 Feb1 February 14:33

          IIRC there is also a difference between detaining and arresting. For most purposes, when they are just asking questions, they can only detain you, which means they cannot use handcuffs.

  • Anna says:

    1 Feb1 February 09:09

    If she lives in the UK then she would technically be committing an offence by leaving home to take this trip, though there might be an exception, say, if she was travelling to care for a sick relative, or to work in a family business. She needs to check the regulations very carefully to avoid having her trip curtailed and the financial loss that would incur!

  • A says:

    1 Feb1 February 09:27

    One interesting additional point to what @Andrew and @Anna say.

    If your friend lives alone, or is one of the other persons permitted to form a linked household (under Reg 3 of the The Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) (All Tiers) (England) Regulations 2020), then there may be a way for her trip to be legal, regardless of her reason for travel.

    If she is not currently in a linked household with anyone else (or 10 days have passed since she last saw her currently linked household – reg 3(8)/(9)), she could form a linked household with her relatives in the US. (Note there is no requirement in reg 3 that the linked household be in the UK, or even be a “household that is subject to these regulations” or similar wording…)

    The restrictions on leaving home without a reasonable excuse (Schedule 3A), include a list of reasons that are automatically deemed reasonable excuses for leaving home. One of those is, in Regulation 2(2)(g), “to visit a member of a…linked household”.

    So if your friend can form a linked household with her family in the US, the regulations as drafted appear to give her an automatic reasonable excuse for visiting them.

    Side note: this is not legal advice, and not to be relied upon. I don’t imagine your friend would find any police who stops them accommodating of this excuse at first. But I do think it’s what the wording of the regs permits, and she’d have a good case for trying to fight any fixed penalty notice down the line.

    Second side note: your friend of course should judge for themselves whether this is really appropriate behaviour in light of the pandemic.

    • Anna says:

      1 Feb1 February 09:39

      That is an interesting point. Considering all this theoretically and apart from any moral implications, the biggest impact would be, as you said, what enforcement action might be taken if the traveller is stopped and questioned by the authorities at the airport. A Fixed Penalty can always be challenged down the line, but if you get sent home you’re going to lose your (possibly expensive) trip and I can imagine insurance companies denying cover for travel curtailed in this way!

      • A says:

        1 Feb1 February 10:08

        Yes, absolutely – this is not without risk for the reasons you outline (but ultimately, if you have deep pockets and time, if you are (forcibly) returned home by police using a legal basis which turned out to be erroneous, you will likely win some recompense from the police that will help to defray your lost costs on the trip).

        I certainly wouldn’t want to risk the hassle though. Need to spend that time keeping track of all the offers in Sainsburys instead now…

        • kitten says:

          1 Feb1 February 11:16

          Unless it’s life or death or something highly similar, or unless she is needed for urgent family support reasons (in which case it’s more believable if there is a far-ahead return date and not a holiday-length return date), then for now she shouldn’t be going.

          It’s nice to see how she’s taken on the current British ethics though 🙂

      • Nick Booker says:

        1 Feb1 February 13:57

        Anna I do enjoy watching people showing how little they know about the law, does your OH come on here too?
        I often wonder why people want to challenge laws which are basically there for a reason
        When PACE came in I know of one individual who was in custody for 4 days, mainly because the courts did not know what to do with over a defective windscreen wiper

        • A says:

          1 Feb1 February 16:40

          @Nick Booker – this made me chuckle. The joys of fresh, untested legislation. Not as appealing as fresh, untested snow.

    • Stu N says:

      1 Feb1 February 12:33

      Not sure about the English rules but in the Scottish and Northern Irish versions, both parts of an extended household have to be within the Common Travel Area.

      • A says:

        1 Feb1 February 13:53

        Not in the English versions as they stand this morning. Looks like an oversight.

• N says:

  1 Feb1 February 09:45

  Does anyone have any experience with OB points and FTVs? Got a load expiring at the end of this year and trying to work out how to extend them…

• Amy says:

  1 Feb1 February 10:26

  What is an outward spend bonus on amex?

  • Doug M says:

    1 Feb1 February 10:38

    Non GBP transaction if a UK card.

    • Amy says:

      1 Feb1 February 10:39

      ah right ,that makes sense, i couldnt remember now i recall it was a software purchased online but bent on being charged in usd currency

      • Doug M says:

        1 Feb1 February 10:55

        Bad idea really. Unless you need it to hit the £15K for 10K MR bonus, you’re really buying an extra 1MR at 3%.

        • TGLoyalty says:

          1 Feb1 February 11:32

          Agree in most cases as you’re also giving up rewards on another card backed by curve.

          Though 3% charge gets you 2.67 MR if you weren’t going to hit the 15k anyway it’s probably worth it.

        • Russ says:

          1 Feb1 February 11:42

          Well sometimes you’ve just got to get those few extra points to seal a deal. I can’t remember anytime I’ve sat in F on Emirates and when asked if I’d like more champagne thought to myself, ‘…if only I hadn’t paid that extra 3% for this seat…..”

          🙂

        • Anna says:

          1 Feb1 February 11:59

          +1 (though my best Emirates flight was an unexpected upgrade to J from HKK to DXB. Then-famous Right Said Fred were sitting near us, which gives you an idea of how long ago this was!)
          I don’t begrudge putting something through Billhop, either, if it gets me to a target!

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