The HfP chat thread – Sunday 7th February

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Marko says:

7 Feb7 February 05:10

Hi Rob,

You mentioned that you recently stayed at the Ritz Carlton Al Wadi – how does it compare to Al Maha? Would you say they are similar or is Al Maha really worth the double price?

Thanks
- Rob says:
  
  7 Feb7 February 11:06
  
  I have a kid under 10 so I don’t get a choice and indeed have not been to Al Maha.
  
  Latter is all inclusive I believe which is a big financial difference.
Stu says:

7 Feb7 February 07:40

Morning all, immediately after the offer of 500 bonus Avios and double Nectar points until April at Sainsbury’s for exchanging 1600 Nectar for 1000 Avios was announced, I did exactly that.

I know it said the 500 bonus Avios might take 30 days to appear, but anyone any idea when the double points for shopping at Sainsbury’s kick in? I’ve done two shops since then and only collected the standard Nectar points …

Thanks in advance.
- Andrew says:
  
  7 Feb7 February 07:43
  
  28 days after the end of the promotion in a lump sum for all your applicable shops.
- Rob says:
  
  7 Feb7 February 11:03
  
  They come in arrears in mid May as per the rules.
  - Stu says:
    
    7 Feb7 February 11:08
    
    Thank you both!
Martin says:

7 Feb7 February 08:15

Help from the experts please – I have an annual GBP 3000 bill to pay in USD – trying to find a way to earn miles on it – 3% fx fee does not seem worth it on ba amex for 4500 miles – I already pay 10 a month for Revolut so don’t want to pay for curve and link to HSBC – any ideas on options gratefully received
- Rob says:
  
  7 Feb7 February 11:01
  
  Midpoint
  - Martin says:
    
    7 Feb7 February 12:49
    
    Thanks Rob – I should have mentioned I need to pay by card as these are Disney and Marriott timeshare fees – any further thoughts ? Have got back into points collecting now business flights have dried up
- The real John says:
  
  7 Feb7 February 12:45
  
  Can you break it into £500 chunks to use with the free Curve
  - Martin says:
    
    7 Feb7 February 12:51
    
    Good idea and will do that next year – ie pay the fees in advance each month but they are due Feb so can’t this year
Anna says:

7 Feb7 February 08:35

Refunds currently hitting my gold Amex are playing havoc with my 10k MR points retention bonus! I timed it really, really badly. Which supermarket/gift vouchers (apart from M & S) can you buy online, with Amex? A lot of them only seem to accept MC or Visa when purchasing e-giftcards. I’ve got plenty of Amazon credit and I’ve paid my council tax!
- ChrisBCN says:
  
  7 Feb7 February 08:42
  
  Topped up your energy provider too? Maybe overpaid a TV/broadband/mobile providers bill?
- Andrew says:
  
  7 Feb7 February 08:45
  
  The PayPal gift card site sells Netflix vouchers so you can top up your account and not pay subscription fees for a year etc.
  - Chrisasaurus says:
    
    7 Feb7 February 08:48
    
    Problem is you can buy Netflix cards at a discount elsewhere so you’re still paying a premium by paying full price
    
    Best choice IMO is gift cards for wherever you do your food shop,
    - KBuffett says:
      
      7 Feb7 February 09:48
      
      Please can you share where Netflix cards are available at a discount?
    - TGLoyalty says:
      
      7 Feb7 February 10:09
      
      So if you are signed in to Netflix in the UK you’ll see UK content regardless of where your account is registered
      
      What I don’t know is will Netflix shut down your account if it’s only ever used in the UK and never in Turkey.
    - Andrew says:
      
      7 Feb7 February 10:20
      
      Not a huge saving – the SD U.K. one is £5.99
    - Aston100 says:
      
      7 Feb7 February 10:46
      
      But that bit of borderline scamming doesn’t help with Anna’s query.
    - TGLoyalty says:
      
      7 Feb7 February 12:16
      
      Well that’s where you’ve mid read op said The standard HD one is £4 in Turkey.
      
      It’s £9.99 here.
    - The real John says:
      
      7 Feb7 February 12:46
      
      The same applies though. You can buy supermarket gift cards at a discount using sites which only accept V/MC, so the Amex rewards need to be worth more than the increased rewards plus the discount.
    - Callum says:
      
      7 Feb7 February 15:33
      
      No, Netflix doesn’t seem to close accounts used solely “abroad”. I’ve had my Turkish Netflix (and Filipino Spotify) for years with no issues (other than hassle trying to pay for it using non-Turkish/Filipino cards!).
      
      Andrew – And SD Netflix in Turkey is £1.86.
- BuildBackBetter says:
  
  7 Feb7 February 08:54
  
  Pay council tax for next year? Energy supplier? Amazon sells some gift cards like curry’s, Netflix, Uber, primark, fat face, H&M, Wagamama – topup more?
  - Anna says:
    
    7 Feb7 February 09:05
    
    I’ve paid the council tax, I’ll have a look at Amazon, I forgot they sell other gift cards.
    As it’s Sunday I will confess that I am still with an energy supplier that doesn’t accept Amex and beg forgiveness 😬🤣
    - Chrisasaurus says:
      
      7 Feb7 February 09:30
      
      If there are brands in amazon you may use, top up Amazon and decide later?
    - Mr(s) Entitled says:
      
      7 Feb7 February 10:31
      
      Can’t you keep paying the Council Tax? I don’t think they ever turn away payments.
      - southlondonphil says:
        
        7 Feb7 February 11:05
        
        I’m short of my 10k bonus level but the ‘counter’ has disappeared from my Amex account page – anyone know how to get it back or is it a case of downloading everything and using Excel to tally it up?
- bsuije says:
  
  7 Feb7 February 10:39
  
  I’m pretty sure you can buy John Lewis gift vouchers with an Amex.
  
  It won’t come through as JL, as they use a 3rd party provider, but I don’t think that’s important in this case.
- Aston100 says:
  
  7 Feb7 February 10:50
  
  PayPal family & friends.
  Amount dependent on how risk averse you are.
  - Super Secret Stuff says:
    
    7 Feb7 February 11:17
    
    Noted for the future, thanks Ashton
Elaine J. says:

7 Feb7 February 08:41

It’s a real blow that I can no longer convert my Tesco Clubcard points to Avios. It’s all very well if you have a local Sainsbury’s, but the nearest one to me is 30 miles away, and they do not deliver to my postcode.
- Andrew says:
  
  7 Feb7 February 08:46
  
  Time to switch to Virgin Atlantic?
Mikeact says:

7 Feb7 February 08:42

I see that Norwegian have told their flight attendants they may keep their uniforms as a ‘keep sake’.
That’s nice of them….
- Charlieface says:
  
  7 Feb7 February 13:35
  
  At least they get some free clothes…
  What did you want them to say?
  - Mikeact says:
    
    7 Feb7 February 16:33
    
    Apparently, in lieu of redundancy.
Martha says:

7 Feb7 February 08:51

When I activated my BAPP it offered me 14000 for a referral at the point of activation. Now when I log in it only shows 9000. Was that a one off at the point of activation or could I somehow still get 14000? Many thanks
- Anna says:
  
  7 Feb7 February 09:24
  
  It was probably a time limited offer but you could always call/chat and ask if they can extend it.
- Rob says:
  
  7 Feb7 February 10:58
  
  Amex is running time-limited trials on this. It was 14k for you then it dropped to the usual 9k.
  - Martha says:
    
    7 Feb7 February 12:22
    
    Did it drop within 5 minutes?
Michael C says:

7 Feb7 February 09:03

Re. Number’s (wonderful) trip plan of yesterday to do GIG-Iguaçu-B.Aires. Sure your trip is a long time away, and everything will def. change….but just bear in mind that the land border is closed, so it’s not possible either to visit the Arg. side from Brazil, or go to the airport to get the flight to BsAs!
- Tracey says:
  
  7 Feb7 February 09:12
  
  There is an airport on both sides. We flew up from BaAs and back to Rio. Crossing the land border at the end of our stay.
  - Michael C says:
    
    7 Feb7 February 09:56
    
    Exactly, Tracey – but that border crossing is closed to non-residents right now.
    - The real John says:
      
      7 Feb7 February 12:50
      
      When Argentina allows entry for tourism again surely the land border will also be opened for tourists?
- Number9 says:
  
  7 Feb7 February 11:21
  
  Oh I will think up a contingency plan incase it’s still not open come next year! I guess the simplest way is to book hotel Brazil side then fly back to BA from Brazil?
  Thanks for the info, I’ll look into it.
  - Number9 says:
    
    7 Feb7 February 11:27
    
    Oh looking very quickly not as simple as that 🤔 of course it wouldn’t be lol
    - Michael C says:
      
      7 Feb7 February 14:28
      
      As John says above, borders should be reopening, but no harm in having a plan B! Logical time would be Jan. in time for (LatAm) summer hols.
      Hope it’s fantastic, wherever!
      - Number9 says:
        
        7 Feb7 February 15:38
        
        Yes flying out on 26/1 hopefully boarding ship in Buenos Aries on the 31/1 return on 13/2. ….visiting Chile, Antarctica, Falkland Islands, Uruguay. With side trip to The Falls.