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The HfP chat thread – Wednesday 17th February

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We have decided to run this daily chat thread on Head for Points during the coronavirus outbreak.

Historically, the daily ‘Bits’ articles were the de facto repository for random comments and questions.  With the news flow being lighter, we are running fewer ‘Bits’ articles.

The comments under this article are where you should post questions about travel and, indeed, anything else on your mind.  At this tricky time, and given that many of you are at home, we want the HfP community to have a place to chat.

Please only comment under the main articles on the site if your comment is directly related to the topic of the article.  This has long-term benefits as it keeps the commentary relevant for people who read those articles in the future.

Old chat threads are hidden from the HfP home page.  If you want to look for something in an old thread, click here.  This brings up all the articles in our ‘General’ category which includes the chat threads.

Category

General

Comments (287)

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

  • Amar says:
    17 Feb17 February 09:24

    Just got the dreaded email from Bendy . . . . “Due to the high volume of investment payments and credit card transactions we require some additional verification before any blocks can be removed”

    Anyone got any tips before I reply? They’ve asked for beardy statements for 3m & evidence of source of funds paying off beardy.

    • Sandgrounder says:
      17 Feb17 February 09:41

      If you were moving savings across and using the process as a conduit you might get away with it. If you were recycling the same funds over and over, probably not much you can do to avoid the chop. If you come clean and explain it was MS and show the statements to back that up, you should avoid referral to the authorities.

      • Rui N. says:
        17 Feb17 February 10:48

        “If you come clean and explain it was MS and show the statements to back that up, you should avoid referral to the authorities.”

        The stuff people make up is unbelievable. If Curve referred anyone to any “authorities” that anyone would do well to bring them to court.

      • Toaster says:
        17 Feb17 February 12:46

        I am curious as to which authorities you think may be involved. If the underlying credit card issuer and Ernie (or whoever else) have not flagged the transactions as suspicious then what are Bendy going to do other than cancel the Bendy card?

        I’ve had the same email and am not going to supply all that information to them, I’ll just not have a Bendy card anymore. I’m surprised they have not blocked Ernie yet, bound to happen sometime.

        • Charlieface says:
          17 Feb17 February 14:45

          Authorities here being the NCA as under Required Reporting, as well as a CIFAS marker, the latter actually being much more concerning, as it’s difficult to find out about it.

    • avstar says:
      17 Feb17 February 10:09

      How much were you putting through on a weekly basis? was it to Ernie?

    • mark2 says:
      17 Feb17 February 10:36

      Tip – don’t expect a quick reply!

      • Andrew M says:
        17 Feb17 February 11:38

        I’ve been waiting since the 20th of December when Curve suspended my account. I’ve supplied all the information that they asked for but there’s no progress. They rarely reply to messages and you need to open a new ticket if you want a response.

      • Track says:
        17 Feb17 February 23:17

        Now, this is unacceptable!

    • Alex says:
      17 Feb17 February 10:45

      Explain politely that you want to send through the evidence securely and you are not happy doing this by email.

    • cinereus says:
      17 Feb17 February 13:25

      What was your % of MS by number of transaction and by volume of transactions?

  • Jimmy says:
    17 Feb17 February 09:26

    Just say you have been moving money around – do you have a big purchase coming up for example?
    Was it Ernie and beardy? What (rough) amounts were you putting through?

    • Amar says:
      17 Feb17 February 22:02

      Well I’m surprised I got the email because I only topped up £1,500 per week for around 4 weeks (started in Jan), but in hindsight they are the only transactions going through my bendy so makes sense that they would pick it up

  • Vit says:
    17 Feb17 February 09:43

    Data point: called up last night to cancel/downgrade the APRG card for my partner before the first annual fee hit. Got offer 5,000MR points if spend £1,000 in the next 3 months and monthly fee instead of yearly. Took it in as council tax bill is due soon anyway. That was based on a very low ~£8k expense on it the past 12 months.

    I called up a few days earlier to cancel mine. Was offered nothing but I guess because I hardly put any expense on it. Okay though as I would like to start the 2 years hibernation anyway.

  • YH says:
    17 Feb17 February 09:46

    Eurostar have automatically extended my eVouchers till 31st December 2021.

    • Lady London says:
      17 Feb17 February 10:08

      is that so the French law that says they have to give you a cash refund might only kick in at end December 2022?

  • Venturelog says:
    17 Feb17 February 09:53

    Has anyone been having problems using contactless on their IHG card? Mines stopped working the last few days at multiple places.

    • AJA says:
      17 Feb17 February 10:01

      Have you done a chip and pin transaction recently or is it all contactless? I had this problem with my HH Barclaycard and phoned them up to be told they block contactless every so often to force you to do a pin entry to verify the card is still in your possession. So now I make sure every 4th transaction is pin entry.

      • Venturelog says:
        17 Feb17 February 12:51

        Of course yes that makes sense! I forgot about that change.
        Thank you again AJA

  • fivebobbill says:
    17 Feb17 February 09:59

    Could somebody just clarify for me please.
    I am Marriott Gold, have 28 nights via my status extension and the Amex, so 22 nights short of Platinum, and am trying to work out if it would be worth pushing for the enhanced status. If I was to do an 11 night stay during the double promo over the next few weeks, how long would it be before my new Platinum status expires?

    • meta says:
      17 Feb17 February 10:09

      31 January 2023.

    • Harry T says:
      17 Feb17 February 11:48

      Marriott Gold is rubbish, Platinum is very good. Worth pursuing Plat IMO

      • fivebobbill says:
        17 Feb17 February 13:21

        Yes Harry, I know, held Gold for a long time courtesy of Amex Plat, and had some great benefits from it both in the Middle and Far East. When they “devalued” it at the Bonvoy transformation I was gutted. Think I’ll make the effort during the next month or so to get my free drink and breakfast back 🙂

        • Harry T says:
          17 Feb17 February 15:20

          Hope you manage to get the nights in! Platinum is the new sweet spot and you should be treated especially well with most hotels at low occupancy.

  • Rjn21 says:
    17 Feb17 February 10:08

    Data point re Amex BAPP.
    I called using “cancel card” on the voice recognition system. I got through to an overseas CSA who immediately passed me back to “retentions” in the UK.

    Nice chat. 1 extra Avis per £ for 3 months. Suits me fine given the option of exiting avios via nectar, and I would otherwise have downgraded to the free blue card.

    • TGLoyalty says:
      17 Feb17 February 10:24

      You have to think if you’ll spend enough to claw back the £17 a month fee so c£1700 a month to make it worthwhile

      Why downgrade? Just get a nectar 1.25 Avios / £ and reset the clock.

      • Genghis says:
        17 Feb17 February 10:38

        Exactly. 2.5 avios / £ on the BAPP vs 1.25 avios / £ on the Nectar which is free for the first year. I make it £1,300 / month you’re better off with the BAPP, assuming 1p / avios.

        • TGLoyalty says:
          17 Feb17 February 11:46

          I’d say if I’m going to burn £17 a month I’d expect a decent return on my investment so purely breaking even isn’t good enough.

    • Lee says:
      17 Feb17 February 10:54

      Why not downgrade to BA free card that will earn you 2 avios/£ for next 3 months.

  • Bob says:
    17 Feb17 February 10:25

    Daily Mail Nectar subscription automatically cancelled.

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