The HfP chat thread – Sunday 7th February

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JimmyJimmy says:

7 Feb7 February 11:54

Ihg ambassador question.
From the web site
“ The complimentary weekend night is valid on the second night of a minimum two-night paid weekend stay on the Ambassador Complimentary Weekend Night Rate.

The weekend is defined as Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, except in the Middle East”

If I am reading this correct I can’t book a Thursday stay (paid) and use the Friday as the free night as Thursday doesn’t count as the weekend??
- Rob says:
  
  7 Feb7 February 12:03
  
  No (except in the Middle East).
  - JimmyJimmy says:
    
    7 Feb7 February 12:12
    
    Oh well there goes that idea for now anyway! Thanks
Harry T says:

7 Feb7 February 12:06

Can anyone recommend luxury/decent five star UK hotels/resorts outside of the cities that allow payment with points? I know IHG have a partnership with Mr and Mrs Smith now. I’m also open to less decadent but still pleasant hotels that have an excellent location for outdoor activities or city breaks.

I am familiar with Marriott offering such as the Langley – overpriced for cash presently, about to go into stupid points territory. My issue with the Langley is that dynamic points pricing and the category change will make it 70k points+ a night for weekends throughout basically the entire summer, as hotels seem to be able to set the majority of dates as peak. Turnberry and University Arms remain good value but I’m looking for some other options too.
- Pangolin says:
  
  7 Feb7 February 12:34
  
  Have you considered SLH via WoH?
- BJ says:
  
  7 Feb7 February 19:13
  
  @Harry T, Hilton Craigendarroch, if it’s good enough for Kylie…
  - Harry T says:
    
    7 Feb7 February 19:46
    
    Thanks, both. Have to laugh at that Hilton charging 84,000 points a night or £134 in July!
    - BJ says:
      
      7 Feb7 February 20:28
      
      £134 is covid pricing, it’s not usually that cheap. There are never any standard rewards, 84k is good too but obviously not in comparison to current cash rates. I had 544 at 83kpn at Xmas but that was another thing that got cancelled. If you stay just the one night they might invite you on the time share package which is a great offer for listening to a not so hard sell for about an hour. Not sure what has happened to those though, I have not had one from either Marriott or Hilton for several years, and I would have welcomed one in Spain.
      - Harry T says:
        
        7 Feb7 February 21:29
        
        Thanks, so it’s worth booking a few provisional nights for the summer then? Surprised they are keeping the rates that low in August!
      - BJ says:
        
        7 Feb7 February 22:00
        
        A couple of cash nights at that price would be an especially good deal with an amex Hilton offer. You could combine with a night or two at Dunblane Hydro (avoid weekend) and a night or two at Aberdeen TECA (Friday or Saturday).
Ian says:

7 Feb7 February 12:09

Has anyone been offered 10k MR points to not close their Amex Gold card, or any other MR card? I rang to cancel before my next annual fee posted. Offered 10k MR points if I didn’t cancel today ‘because I have had an Amex card for over 20 years’ but try as I might, the person couldn’t confirm if that was conditional on me keeping the card for a certain amount of time. I’ve been given 48 hours to consider if I want to take it or not. It’s a no brainer if I can take the points and then cancel at the end of the month before my fee is due.

If it’s relevant, am cancelling to restart the clock on signup bonuses so that I can apply for a Plat Business Card later in the year. Have never churned with Amex if that too is relevant.
- Rob says:
  
  7 Feb7 February 16:00
  
  Not conditional. If these post immediately you can close the card the next day (but of course you need to transfer the MR points somewhere).
David says:

7 Feb7 February 12:36

Interestingly the government have ruled out a vaccine passport – it already exists ! The NHS app gives you full access to your medical records including recent covid vaccinations inc serial numbers etc.
- TGLoyalty says:
  
  7 Feb7 February 12:54
  
  They’ve filled out requiring / offering them to discriminate against people here.
  
  You can get a letter from your doctor for foreign travel.
  
  Assume the NHS app works on your NHS number ? No idea what mine is!
  - david says:
    
    7 Feb7 February 13:00
    
    NHS number helps but you don’t need it.
    - TGLoyalty says:
      
      7 Feb7 February 13:57
      
      Yup just realised.
      
      However, it doesn’t provide anything like your full GP history as I’ve had many vaccines over the years that aren’t listed.
      
      But it does list the last medication I was prescribed (something for norovirus 13 years ago LOL)
  - Peter Taysum says:
    
    7 Feb7 February 15:19
    
    You can “look up” your NHS number when you use the app (you don’t need it to start using; as above).
    
    I’ve had both PfizerBioNTech vaccinations (at 21 days apart) as a health care worker (and luck!). I have a “card” demonstrating I’ve had both vaccines; but I’ve just looked and it’s not on my NHS App (yet!)
    
    There’s the “app” that HfP has presented for “testing” don’t know if that will evolve?!?
    - Tom1 says:
      
      7 Feb7 February 15:43
      
      My parents can see their az vaccine on the NHS app, which they had 14 days ago.
- Jamie says:
  
  7 Feb7 February 12:55
  
  What app is this?
  - david says:
    
    7 Feb7 February 12:59
    
    The NHS app – find it on App Store.
    - Liz says:
      
      7 Feb7 February 16:59
      
      Is there a Scottish version of this – it says only for NHS England? I managed to get a flu jab for the first time in Dec but only because there was a spare appt going the day my husband got his. However, they couldn’t find any medical record of me on their systems even though I’ve been registered with a GP in the UK for 52 yrs! I want to check to see if the flu jab has been added to my medical record. Although I am more worried that I won’t get a letter for the vaccine if I am not showing on the NHS system even though my GP surgery has all my medical records. It’s really weird!
- Tom1 says:
  
  7 Feb7 February 15:17
  
  I can’t see my vaccine on the app sadly.
- Brian says:
  
  7 Feb7 February 16:11
  
  Some countries have already said you’ll need proof of a vaccine. It was pretty obvious this would happen despite people on here saying it wouldn’t.
  - Toppcat says:
    
    7 Feb7 February 18:03
    
    Yes, it seems very likely that a Covid vaccine will be needed to enter various countries, the same way proof of e.g. yellow fever vaccination is currently required for some. This isn’t particularly surprising…
- Rui N. says:
  
  7 Feb7 February 16:50
  
  “International certificate of vaccination or prophylaxis” have existed for decades, so it does exist indeed. It is likely that the Covid vacs will just be added there. No need for any apps that other countries won’t recognise. That the UK government doesn’t seem to know that these certificates exist it’s another matter…
Mouse says:

7 Feb7 February 12:47

Does anyone know / care to speculate whether the current Laithwaite’s offers with Airtime and Virgin credit card would stack?
- mark2 says:
  
  7 Feb7 February 14:15
  
  My speculation is yes.
BrianW says:

7 Feb7 February 13:47

The AerClub e Store seems to be down, I’ve not been able to access it for a couple of weeks, just get Internal Server Error. Has anyone managed to get it to work recently?

BAEC and Vueling versions are working fine as normal. The ‘collecting avios’ links on the Avios.com pages have also disappeared which is odd.
- Tim says:
  
  7 Feb7 February 17:16
  
  On a Mac, I get the same message using Chrome/Edge. Works with Safari.
  - Brian W says:
    
    7 Feb7 February 21:08
    
    Thanks Tim.
    
    Using a Mac with Chrome, I’ll try the new Safari as you suggest.
SG says:

7 Feb7 February 13:54

Hi Rob and HFP readers
Can anyone please advice if upgrade to Amex Platinum is targeted only now?Looking to upgrade the Green but I remember reading here that they have change the rules!
- mark2 says:
  
  7 Feb7 February 14:15
  
  You have to ring up rather than upgrading online. The rules have been changed so that you can only have the 20,00MR every two years.
  - SG says:
    
    7 Feb7 February 14:25
    
    Many thanks @marc2,will dig the records to find d out when I have last upgraded!
  - Crispr says:
    
    7 Feb7 February 18:18
    
    It’s not 2 years, if you’ve had an upgrade bonus you won’t qualify for another after.
The cyclist says:

7 Feb7 February 13:59

Questions for a Sunday Afternoon.

1) If spending 30 nights in a Hyatt the latest promotion, I’m assuming one would jump straight to Globalist status or not?

2) How long does the 2000 bonus nectar points take to post after spending £30 at Viking?

3) Assuming my partner has no personal Amex cards, is the best way to collect Avios Nectar then BAPP, then Gold or Plat?

4) Are there any particular sweet spots with Etihad Partners especially flying east?
- Rob says:
  
  7 Feb7 February 15:51
  
  1. Sort out … the bonus nights hit a few weeks after the first batch, and you are promoted then
  2. No idea
  3. No, must be Nectar/BAPP/Plat – Nectar blocks you from Gold
  4. Czech Airlines to Seoul
  - The cyclist says:
    
    7 Feb7 February 17:16
    
    Thanks Rob, the Czech option looks good.
    - Bob says:
      
      7 Feb7 February 17:56
      
      Etihad Guest has lost several of its airline partners over the last few years, and has lost Czech Airlines on January 31this 2021 year.
      
      Check again of course but…
      - Andrew M says:
        
        7 Feb7 February 18:52
        
        Where did you hear that Czech Airlines were no longer an Etihad Guest partner? That would be very bad news if true. Czech are still listed as a partner on the Etihad website.
- TGLoyalty says:
  
  7 Feb7 February 16:17
  
  1) under the current promo you get double nights therefore you’d have globalist after 15 nights + a few weeks. If you did 30 nights you wouldn’t need to wait for the bonus nights.