The HfP chat thread – Tuesday 2nd February

This article is closed to new posts. Discussion continues in the HfP Forums.

• Harry T says:

  2 Feb2 February 03:40

  Bit of a niche question – I’ve just gotten an American Express Rewards Credit card to keep my MR alive (the transparent card). Does anyone know how many additional/supplementary cardholders I can add for free? I can’t find this information anywhere on the Amex website.

  • Super Secret Stuff says:

    2 Feb2 February 07:28

    First one is free, after that I think you get charged

    • Harry T says:

      2 Feb2 February 08:49

      Thanks

  • BJ says:

    2 Feb2 February 08:27

    Not sure if you are aware but there is no bonus for adding a supp on that card IIRC.

    • Harry T says:

      2 Feb2 February 08:48

      @BJ yeah, I don’t think there is. Just handy to have extra supps if a good offer pops up!

• Harry T says:

  2 Feb2 February 05:28

  On a completely different note – I’ve just moved and I’m looking to switch to a new energy supplier. Octopus Energy is recommended by the MSE Cheap Energy Club. Is there a way to be referred to get some extra c@shb@ck or is there a way to go through a portal for a rebate?

  • Chrisasaurus says:

    2 Feb2 February 05:59

    So far as I can see, neither I’m afraid

  • Oli says:

    2 Feb2 February 06:10

    We’ll have £50 each if you use my referral link:
    share.octopus.energy/denim-deer-905
    I switched to Octopus about three months ago and have set up the direct debit at £1 and am topping up my account with Amex.

    • Harry T says:

      2 Feb2 February 06:50

      Thanks, Oli. Do they let you keep a positive credit balance? Can you make manual card payments online?

      • Oli says:

        2 Feb2 February 07:04

        Yes, I’ve had a £400 credit balance for about 2 months, they never questioned. I pay online with my Amex, could choose any amount. Also did change the direct debit to £1 online

        • Harry T says:

          2 Feb2 February 07:36

          Thanks, that’s helpful. Will use your link if I go with them. Any way to easily withdraw the credit balance deposited from Amex?

      • BJ says:

        2 Feb2 February 08:23

        @Harry T, you need to be careful. Tariffs quoted on CEC and the likes, Voldeportal and the likes, and the Energy company themselves are not always the same. For example, if you take £50 refer a friend from Oli the tariff you can get including the £50 may be more expensive than than the exclusive tarrifs CEC or CTM. Similarly tariff plus Voldeportal benefits may also be more expensive that the exclusive tariffs you can get from comp@rison sites. What does often work though is to go through the likes of energy helpline or youswitch via voldeportal to take benefit of both exclusive tariff plus c@shb@ck.

        • Harry T says:

          2 Feb2 February 08:50

          @BJ thanks, duly noted. Will compare tariffs with referral with those in incognito browser with cookies cleared.

      • RussellH says:

        2 Feb2 February 11:07

        Not only do they let me have a +ve credit balance, recently they complained that I did not have one.
        They kept saying that I was never paying them enough by D/D (because I pay them lump sums and insist on a small D/D), and that at the end of autumn I should have had a decent credit balance to counteract higher costs over winter.
        Recently I have been paying lump sums every 15 days and their complaining e-mails have stopped.

  • Steve S says:

    2 Feb2 February 06:13

    Points available through the Virgin Red app

    • TGLoyalty says:

      2 Feb2 February 07:35

      7400 over 3 years … rather have £50

  • YC says:

    2 Feb2 February 07:52

    Recently switched to the cheapest (wasn’t octopus). But prices direct (with referral) > prices from aggregator (+c@shbk). So worth checking some aggregators, uswitch tend to come up in employer sites and Voldemort, etc

    • BuildBackBetter says:

      2 Feb2 February 07:57

      Twice went for the cheapest, both bankrupt and am now chasing them for refunds.

      • Rob says:

        2 Feb2 February 09:51

        You are legally guaranteed your cash though. This is potentially a Government failure because it encourages under-capitalised firms into the market.

      • 747_Brat says:

        2 Feb2 February 09:54

        You deposit is protected by Ofgem. Once they switch you to a new energy provider, you will receive your credit back with the new provider.

  • Nick says:

    2 Feb2 February 09:05

    Lol the whole point of the above is to question whether referral tariffs are more expensive than direct/aggregator tariffs, not to generate more referral spam 😂

  • Catman says:

    2 Feb2 February 09:22

    Quite a few energy suppliers have given notice that they are putting up their tarriffs at the moment but are still showing their old rates…..so it’s not an easy time to be switching.

    I was going to have a look in March when things have settled down

  • Charlieface says:

    2 Feb2 February 09:44

    Little trick for everyone:
    If prices have gone since your last switch (when do they not) then it would be beneficial to stay on current plan as long as possible.

    In most T&Cs as something like this:
    “If you decide to leave us and we hear from your new supplier within 20 working days after your fixed plan ends, or if you enter into a new plan with us in the same period, we’ll keep your charges the same until you switch or start the new plan (as applicable).”

    So, bearing in mind it only takes a couple days for them to be informed of a switch, you can put the switch through over 2 weeks AFTER your plan ends. It then takes another 2-3 weeks to actually do the switch. So you get another month or so on the cheaper plan

    • TGLoyalty says:

      2 Feb2 February 09:51

      Thanks mine ends in March so I’ll leave it to the last min.

    • kitten says:

      2 Feb2 February 11:31

      Will they keep the old plan if you let them know you’re switching? is there any negotiating power?

      • Charlieface says:

        2 Feb2 February 16:02

        You don’t need to. They will recalculate it retrospectively based on the old plan when they see you switched.

  • Lev441 says:

    2 Feb2 February 09:59

    If I were you, I’d use the citizens advice energy comparison site – it’s the only place that allows you to see the whole energy market. Normally splitting gas and electric between different providers saves you even more. I was on octopus until November. In my 2 bed flat, I managed to get a saving of over £150 a year… (energy prices have gone up since then though, I jumped ship at a good time)

    • Charlieface says:

      2 Feb2 February 16:02

      Not always true: there are quite a few deals which are not available as gas-only

  • Alan says:

    2 Feb2 February 12:31

    I switched a few months ago to Outfoxthe market. It was over £100 cheaper than Octopus and also lets you top up via Amex.

    • Wollhouse says:

      2 Feb2 February 19:00

      Im with outfox too. I had a problem w my meter and they sent someone out and agreed it was knackered. It’s taken some time to sort as it had been recording erratically for months and I went through hoops of checking wiring, appliances etc, but they sorted it all and I’ve just had a sizeable refund for overpayment. I’ve had to speak to customer service a number of times due to issues with previous suppliers on my rentals, and unlike some of the larger companies, I usually call and the phone is answered by a real live person! Shock! I’ve always found them really helpful even though they get slammed on MSE. And yes, they accept Amex.

    • Polly says:

      2 Feb2 February 23:38

      Peoples energy allows me to top up online with Amex. By phone they can’t take Amex, and have reduced our dad to £10pm. Handy if chasing a bonus.

• Iris says:

  2 Feb2 February 07:05

  Question regarding expiring miles. We have small amounts of Krisflyer miles in our child’s account which are expiring in March 2021. If we transfer about 5k, we could make a one way short-haul redemption in future. If I don’t purchase (as not worth it then), is there some other way to keep them active as I can transfer to mine from HSBC but my child doesn’t have those options. Thank you.

  • BuildBackBetter says:

    2 Feb2 February 07:18

    Krisflyer miles have a hard expiry. You can only extend it once by paying a small fee. A topup will not extend miles. But can help you to book a redemption ticket.
    I’d suggest booking a ticket for next year or later this year to make use of the miles. Short haul economy is generally poor value compared to avios. Best value redemption is Europe to Middle East.

    • Iris says:

      2 Feb2 February 07:58

      Thank you.

  • Louie says:

    2 Feb2 February 12:45

    The miles will be extended 6 months which gives you a bit longer to decide what to do – https://www.singaporeair.com/en_UK/sg/ppsclub-krisflyer/latestnews/2020renewal-kf/

• Tom says:

  2 Feb2 February 07:52

  An e-mail this morning from Norwegian regarding what is happening with their Cashpoints scheme. They say they will not devalue the cashpoints – but:

  1. Pausing of Reward program benefits with Norwegian while in reconstruction process
  We will be pausing the Norwegian airline-related benefits of our loyalty program. Your membership will remain active, but during this time it will not be possible for you to earn or spend CashPoints or Rewards on Norwegian’s products or services (flight tickets, extra baggage etc.). You will still be able to earn CashPoints with our other Reward partners.

  2. Following the pause, a potential limit on CashPoint spend
  Once the pause has ended, you’ll be able to earn and redeem CashPoints and Rewards on Norwegian’s products and services, but we will reserve a right to limit the spending of CashPoints as means of payment until the impact of the ongoing pandemic is under control and Norwegian’s commercial activities can return to a new normal.

  3. An extension of CashPoints and Rewards validity
  We recognise that the above changes, as well as the ongoing pandemic and government travel restrictions, may not allow you to earn and spend your CashPoints and Rewards as you would normally. With this in mind, we will be giving all members with CashPoints due to expire on 31 December 2021 the opportunity to extend the validity of those CashPoints by one full year. You will receive more information about this.

  • kitten says:

    2 Feb2 February 11:32

    why does this remind me of what happened with Air Berlin?

• Malcolm says:

  2 Feb2 February 08:51

  Apologies if I have missed a HfP report on this recently but Flying Blue have a new Miles purchase offer up to 100%, it may be of interest:
  ++++++++++++++++++
  More Miles, more rewards!
  Indulge yourself with even more rewards thanks to a 100% bonus applied to your Miles purchase or gift.
  For every Mile you purchase or gift until 5 February, you will receive 100% more (or 75% more from 6 February until 26 February)!
  +++++++++++++++++

  • Charlieface says:

    2 Feb2 February 09:45

    Works out about 1.25p I think. Not majorly worth it but not terrible

• HughM says:

  2 Feb2 February 09:07

  Throwaway plastic: several of my plastic Mastercards (IHG, now Curve) have come to the end of their service lives and are being replaced. Is there a way of recycling expired plastic cards? I have a bank account in Switzerland, and they take back their own Maestro cards for ‘environmentally friendly disposal.’ Does this exist in the UK? I expect the answer to be no. I could try and palm them off on the Swiss, and expect their answer would be nein.

  • Blindman says:

    2 Feb2 February 09:34

    Just cut them in half and throw into your recycling bin?

    • ChrisC says:

      2 Feb2 February 09:41

      That dosen’t make them recyclable!

      Not all plastics can be recycled and including non recyclable plastics can contaminate the batch to such a degree it gets rejected and has to be sent for incineration or landfill.

      • memesweeper says:

        2 Feb2 February 11:03

        30,000 tonnes of PVC cards produced per year by the banking industry in cards, most with embedded metal parts making recycling very hard. ‘metal’ cards are also compound PVC+metal.

        A tiny minority are bio-plastics which can, hopefully, degrade — the first one was the Greenpeace UK co-brand card.

        If anyone knows of a sensible way of disposal I’m all ears, I have a large and growing collection of useless cards.

    • TGLoyalty says:

      2 Feb2 February 12:39

      Cut them up but bin them as they aren’t recyclable.

  • Charlieface says:

    2 Feb2 February 09:47

    Just cut it and chuck it. I highly doubt the small amount of plastic contained in something replaced every 3-5 years is going to move the needle much

  • Colin MacKinnon says:

    2 Feb2 February 10:41

    Keep them for a few years and sell on EBay!

  • kitten says:

    2 Feb2 February 11:35

    they make marvellous windscreen scrapers.

    Especially f deposited separately and identified your local tip may be recycling them

  • Travel Strong says:

    2 Feb2 February 12:43

    Save them for caulking / siliconing the bath

    • ankomonkey says:

      2 Feb2 February 14:28

      Not a comment I ever expected to read on HfP!

    • Paul Francis says:

      2 Feb2 February 22:46

      Or for flattening your phone screen protector and removing the bubbles

• George K says:

  2 Feb2 February 09:32

  FYI: Bonvoy bumper promo night credits just posted

  • estrangeiro8 says:

    2 Feb2 February 09:50

    Same here. Managed to get a status match last year with Bonvoy, so hoping to be able to retain status. I think I’ll need to get the Bonvoy Amex to help me along the way.

    • estrangeiro8 says:

      2 Feb2 February 09:56

      Marriott Bonvoy registration for double points and double Elite Night Credits on each stay of 2 or more nights now open. Rob has already done an article on this, but headline dates are: eligible for stays from 16 Feb – 27 April 2021. Registration ends on 13 April 2021.

• estrangeiro8 says:

  2 Feb2 February 09:47

  OT – bit of a newbie question regarding SIPPs. I’d like to open one where I can make contributions from my limited company as well as personal payments. What are people’s views regarding good SIPP providers? I’ve got ISAs with HL, AJB and Vanguard but am completely new to the world of pensions. Thanks in advance.

  • Genghis says:

    2 Feb2 February 10:35

    My wife uses Vanguard for both ISA and SIPP. As I’m sure you’re aware, the 0.15% custody fee is capped at £375 (£250k across all accounts). I like them.

    They may not work out the cheapest but won’t be far off. The £375 is all in. You may pay less with AJ Bell if you hardly trade and invest in traded instruments (i.e. ETFs or ITs etc) but if you pay money in regularly (and we split the portfolio into two: developed world and emerging markets to save around 10 bps pa so would have two lots of any trading fees).

    • estrangeiro8 says:

      2 Feb2 February 11:27

      Thanks Genghis and Memesweeper – very helpful to know. Both options I was looking at – appreciate your thoughts.

  • memesweeper says:

    2 Feb2 February 11:04

    I’m with youinvest and, by exclusively using ETFs, I’m keeping my fees low. I’m not an active investor.

    • Doug M says:

      2 Feb2 February 16:22

      I’ve mentioned this before but I think worth repeating. I use youinvest, have done since the sippdeal days. Really like them with one proviso. Once you crystallise part of your pension, they don’t separate it out from the uncrystallised part. So you cannot adopt different investments strategies between the two portions, and you can’t get a valuation of each part without asking.

    • Sam says:

      2 Feb2 February 18:51

      When you say not an ‘active investor’ what does that mean exactly?

  • BuildBackBetter says:

    2 Feb2 February 11:27

    Each one comes with their own advantages and disadvantages. Vanguard is cheap but limited options. HL is expensive, but no drawdown charges and good for ETFs and investment trusts.
    Check out monevator’s broker comparison and ‘compare fund platforms’ website after deciding what instruments u r going to invest in.

    • estrangeiro8 says:

      2 Feb2 February 11:29

      Thanks a lot, BBB – I’ll check out the comparison site. Cheers.

  • kitten says:

    2 Feb2 February 11:47

    For company you could take a look at SSAS depending on your needs and scale going forwards.

    As with all pensions either get yourself a reputable financial adviser, or do a lot of research as even SIPPs can, do and have gone bust. Up to you but I’d want an FA (pref. independent) that would agree to a fixed or hourly fee rather than the old way the industry got used to sucking on that goes purely on % of your funds.

    Or some combination fee structure bearing on mind they will often be getting a different rate etc from platforms etc.if you come as an ‘advised client’ even though I believe ‘trail commissions (commission to them in later years even without activity from them) were banned a few years back.

    There will be people on here that know much more than me. Hopefully they will contribute/correct.

  • Alex says:

    2 Feb2 February 13:55

    Interactive Investor charge is £10/month and includes one free trade, they seem to be the cheapest SIPP provider

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