The HfP chat thread – Saturday 6th February

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• AlanC says:

  6 Feb6 February 09:33

  Got 15 Bonvoy nights from the Bonvoy Amex and 13 nights from Gold status with amex plat. Would you recommend booking 11 nights during the current double nights promotion to get to Platinum? I can get a courtyard at £42 a nights so looking at around £460. Worth it? I’m looking for a second hotel scheme now that I have Hilton Lifetime Diamond.
  Thanks

  • DJ says:

    6 Feb6 February 09:42

    Which courtyard?

    • AlanC says:

      6 Feb6 February 14:08

      Edinburgh Baxter place.

  • TGLoyalty says:

    6 Feb6 February 11:54

    If you do at least 35 nights a year then yes it’s worth it.

    Have to ask is £460 worth it before your next Marriott stay you are looking to use the benefit or would it just be better to book some stays and reach platinum naturally by the end of the year.

  • Blair says:

    6 Feb6 February 18:40

    Hasn’t the Bonvoy Amex extended the 10 points per £ at marriott too? If so even more reason. You may find on very cheap hotels (ACs at £30-50) that it’s worth considering the bonus points per night rates.

• Diydegsy says:

  6 Feb6 February 09:33

  A few people have mentioned a pub near the Langley hotel thats very good can anyone remember the name of it or have any other suggestions for lunch/dinner out for 1 of our days staying there please?

  • Peter K says:

    6 Feb6 February 11:25

    Depends on what you want.
    The Red Lion is a chef and brewer.
    The Three Oaks at Gerard’s Cross is very nice.
    Nonna Rosa at Uxbridge is a lovely Italian.

    • kitten says:

      6 Feb6 February 12:31

      Nonna Rosa served me half-defrosted sea bass. The part that was actually defrosted tasted off as well.

      • TGLoyalty says:

        6 Feb6 February 13:03

        Not good!

• Njb says:

  6 Feb6 February 09:56

  Has anyone completed a Viking purchase and had the bonus nectar points posted? What was the timescale?

  • BJ says:

    6 Feb6 February 10:13

    It will most likely bev28 days +/- 1 day after the promotion closing date, not your transaction date. Check t&c, for the most part nectar bonuses adhere to them. Exceptions are only usually points credited by Sainsbury’s and their bank.

    • Njb says:

      6 Feb6 February 10:19

      Thats a shame – was hoping to get them in time for avios bonus conversion as I am new to nectar. Thank you

      • fivebobbill says:

        6 Feb6 February 18:08

        I kept the T&C’s, it’s 60 days from purchase date

        • ee says:

          7 Feb7 February 09:22

          And expect it to be that long – I shopped 5th Jan and am yet to see the points (the base ones came very quick though!)

• Njb says:

  6 Feb6 February 10:04

  Also just had my BA 2-4-1 First flight cancelled to Singapore in April. It was booked in the avios sale. They have booked me on next day flight which I do not want. Is it correct that I can have a FTV or refund?

  • ChrisC says:

    6 Feb6 February 10:11

    As the flight has been cancelled you can have either a refund or an FTV- The choice is yours.

    FTV maybe better as it retains the 2-4-1 if that’s a major issue for you.

    BA rebooking you does not mean you have to accept it. It actually protects your trip for you until you decide what to do.

    • Njb says:

      6 Feb6 February 10:18

      Thank you. I have read all posts on here but not always easy to find most up to date info. Do you know validity of FTV ‘s?

      • ChrisC says:

        6 Feb6 February 10:21

        need to have completed your trip by 30th April 2023

      • kitten says:

        6 Feb6 February 12:45

        did you 2 comments here you might be missing a good opprtunity but they are waiting moderator approval to show due a typo

  • Ed says:

    6 Feb6 February 11:07

    That’s an interesting data point, I’ve got Singapore booked for June, but confident it won’t happen!

    • Njb says:

      6 Feb6 February 11:13

      Was due to fly 21/4. Quite pleased they cancelled as wouldn’t be able to get in if we got there!

  • kitten says:

    6 Feb6 February 12:36

    You can have same trip on completely other later date peak or offpeak without needing avios ability. They legally cant insist, such as BA is trying on, that you rebook to within, say, 3 or 14 days either side.

    There is a slight admin difficulty if your new date is more than a year after you bought the ticket but that’s just admin and BA can issue a replacement ticket to overcome that.

    • kitten says:

      6 Feb6 February 12:43

      you dont pay differenve in fare for new date you choose convenient to you even if you booked in 50% sale etc and importantly legally there does not have to be avios seats available on your chosen flight just any seat in same cabin.

      Be careful if you booked First and they try to downgrade you to Business – if you fly it then you are due compo of 75% of First cost per seat even for both seats on a 241, that’s worth a lot more than the difference in avios/cash/tax BA may make you think they’re doing you a favour by offering you. If you want to get the compo dont accept even partial refund and keep it clear the diengrade is not something you voluntarily chose in any conversation or online actuon where it might become ambiguous.

• mr_jetlag says:

  6 Feb6 February 10:12

  Barclaycard avios deal – is this ever happening?

  • BJ says:

    6 Feb6 February 10:16

    Rob said they are reluctant to launch anything during this period of travel disruption.

    • Rob says:

      6 Feb6 February 10:22

      We now have a date, it will be a few months yet.

      • KBuffett says:

        6 Feb6 February 10:57

        Are we going to be able to supercharge our Avios balance easily?

  • Benilyn says:

    6 Feb6 February 11:33

    Wait was it a Barclaycard or a Barclays tie up? I thought latter. Curious as I was just about to apply for a Barclaycard 0% card.

    • mr_jetlag says:

      6 Feb6 February 12:35

      Yes you’re all right it’s Premier. Was looking at switching my account away and got confused.

  • Jonathan says:

    6 Feb6 February 11:47

    I thought this was Barclays Premier (high amounts of savings / income needed to be able to have the account) if it’s Barclaycard though, then it would mean many more people are eligible to take advantage of some good deals that might come Barclaycard’s way

    Does anyone know for certain if it’s Barclays Premier or Barclaycard ?

    • Rob says:

      6 Feb6 February 12:12

      Barclays Premier

      • Zoe says:

        6 Feb6 February 13:22

        My husband has a Premier but likely wouldn’t qualify for one if applying again, do we think there will be ongoing earning potential or just sign up bonuses?

      • Jonathan says:

        6 Feb6 February 13:50

        Damn!

      • Martyn Ford says:

        6 Feb6 February 14:59

        I`m with Barclays Premier. Should I be switching elsewhere for a few months?

        • Rob says:

          6 Feb6 February 16:03

          No idea what the rule will be for returners but last time Barclays trialled this the sign up bonus was 25,000 Avios.

    • Benilyn says:

      6 Feb6 February 12:12

      99% sure it was Barclays / Premier. I managed to nab the offer in q4 2019 when I opened a premier account and got the sign up points.

      • tom1 says:

        6 Feb6 February 17:04

        me too.

        I don’t remember the details of the promotion, but I have been receiving £21 ‘rewards’ each month, which has just dropped to £7 on the anniversary. (£4 fee each month for the rewards account).

        Does anyone know what that was for ?

        • ee says:

          7 Feb7 February 09:24

          It’s probably £3.50 for your first two direct debits per month. The earnings were trebled for the first year.

• Ed says:

  6 Feb6 February 11:06

  Morning-apologies for this, I’m sure it has come up frequently before, but I get misled by the code names!
  I’m looking at making a chunky purchase of premium bonds (Ernie ;-)) and historically I would just do it with a debit card. Can I do something better than this and earn some points? I have BAPP Amex, but no curve etc. Just applied for Virgin Rewards+ which should be through in a few days, but investment will be greater than initial credit limit of £14,400 just offered. I don’t mind going through a couple of hoops if there’s something out there. Thanks.

  • Travel Strong says:

    6 Feb6 February 11:23

    Get the free blue curve card, link it to V+, and do it in chunks to stay within curve daily spend and V+ monthly limit.

    • Bobri says:

      6 Feb6 February 14:48

      My blue Bendy never worked with Ernie, what did I do wrong? Also, is Tomorrow’s Bezos card compatible the way Beardy is?

  • memesweeper says:

    6 Feb6 February 11:27

    Curve Metal is required for significant top ups, and to max your return on Bearded Atlantic then you need to spread it across several months and stay within credit limits. Curve is expensive, but this plus HMRC makes it worthwhile for me — YMMV.

    There maybe some angle with the revolutionaries but I’ve no experience with that route.

    • Benilyn says:

      6 Feb6 February 11:34

      Does IHG (via Bendy) still get hit with that £700 rolling weekly limit on Ernie?

      • Sean says:

        6 Feb6 February 11:59

        no

      • Aston100 says:

        6 Feb6 February 12:02

        ***Does IHG (via Bendy) still get hit with that £700 rolling weekly limit on Ernie?***
        Don’t think it ever did.

        • Alex says:

          6 Feb6 February 12:58

          Does IHG via bendy limit all MCC 6012 transactions to a total £700/week?

        • Anna says:

          6 Feb6 February 14:37

          Not IME.

    • Travel Strong says:

      6 Feb6 February 11:57

      What extra benefit is there in metal with Ernie? It’s not a curve fronted transaction and limits on blue are not prohibitive at £1.4m year and 4.5k per day.

      Re: the 700 rolling limit. It’s a myth. Never existed for Ernie. Only for things like revolut.

      • TGLoyalty says:

        6 Feb6 February 12:20

        It’s not a myth then is it.

        Ernie just isn’t impacted by it.

      • Harrier25 says:

        6 Feb6 February 13:57

        The £700 Revolut limit is a myth too.

        • Anna says:

          6 Feb6 February 14:37

          +1.

    • Sean says:

      6 Feb6 February 11:58

      14k can be done over 4 days with curve blue and stay within VR+ credit limit. No need for curve metal.

      • Aston100 says:

        6 Feb6 February 12:03

        I thought everyone was upgraded to 1.6m annual / 9k daily?

      • Ed says:

        6 Feb6 February 12:11

        Thanks everyone, lots of helpful stuff there. I would have preferred doing it in one hit, but I suppose really I have no reason to do that and can spread the investment over a period of time. Looks like Curve blue and Virgin+.
        Once again, many thanks.

    • ankomonkey says:

      6 Feb6 February 16:02

      Bearded Atlantic is my favourite codename used so far 🙂

• GS says:

  6 Feb6 February 11:33

  Hi folks – I had 10% off at Sainsbury’s on my Lloyds card last month, so I took the opportunity to stock up on JL gift cards. Nectar points appeared almost immediately and hope the bonus points will follow in due course.

  My question: is there a definitive answer on whether you can buy gift cards with Nectar points in store? Very tempted to do as others have done and use our Avios stash for food shopping over the next couple of years. Thanks.

  • Chrism20 says:

    6 Feb6 February 19:31

    I work for JS and you used to be able to, however I am sure the ability to do this was enhanced away when Nectar was relaunched following the purchase of Nectar.

• Alex says:

  6 Feb6 February 11:38

  Hi. Has anyone had any experience of dealing with Amex reward points in the case of a bereavement please? For 94k points I’ve been sent £150 of M&S gift cards and a refusal that anything else can be done (ie turn into avois). Has anyone had any luck doing this (non BA card) – more important things to worry but very annoying

  • Rob says:

    6 Feb6 February 12:14

    First rule is to never tell the card company (or BA) that the person has died. As long as you have their access codes, just drain the accounts. If Amex’s rules are that the points go on death then you may not get far. BA has the same rules BUT will actually transfer them if the probate solicitor gets in touch.

    • Sandra B says:

      6 Feb6 February 12:48

      When my friend’s husband died suddenly BA transferred all his Avios to her (considerable amount as he flew First and Business most weeks worldwide) when she asked them. It’s not something I would advocate in telling them and have told my kids to drain the account. My friend had to be upfront with BA as he died on holiday on the first morning abroad and they had flown 2-4-1 therefore many arrangements had to be made. They came good for her and maybe was lucky. Again, I wouldn’t risk it unless necessary.

      • Anna says:

        6 Feb6 February 14:41

        Did they not have a HHA? I would do the same as you, although I very much doubt that my OH has the first clue how to go about this!

    • Number9 says:

      6 Feb6 February 18:08

      I sent my Mums amex points to Hilton and then on to me. I won’t be telling BA she’s died as still a few points in her account. Which is in my household account.

    • Blair says:

      6 Feb6 February 18:44

      Best thing any elderly relative can do is spend a wet afternoon listing their loyalty accounts so you know where to look. Morbid perhaps but we’ve had a great aunt who would definitely be smiling down at us chinking glases to her in the lobby.

      • Number9 says:

        6 Feb6 February 19:10

        Not just elderly Blair, I’ve given my Son precise instructions on what to do with my stash of points. He’s got 3rd party access to my BA account anyway but I’d haunt him if he let them go to waste. Well I hope I’m not classed as elderly yet I thought 60 was the new 50.

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