The HfP chat thread – Tuesday 2nd March

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

• Andy says:

  2 Mar2 March 07:36

  The big Amex ad on HFP is now offering 50k points for the free gold card if you spend £5k within 3 months, and the terms and conditions from the advert say you only need to be 6 months from having a membership rewards card.

  I thought it was 24 months from any Amex card?

  Any ideas?

  • Optimus Prime says:

    2 Mar2 March 07:47

    It’s for the Business Gold card

    • Andy says:

      2 Mar2 March 08:22

      Ah right, that makes sense – thanks!

• hypuk says:

  2 Mar2 March 07:37

  I’m trying to book a flight using Lufthansa’s 2-4-1 business class deal but for any dates I select I get “There are no flights or fares available for the dates you have selected” error. Is there any way to see available dates? Thanks

  • Dave B says:

    2 Mar2 March 09:52

    I booked a Swiss 241 at the weekend, and the calendar was colour coded, orange for available dates and grey for not. As a side note seemed to have good availability in business though first had all but gone from when I initially looked.

• Simon says:

  2 Mar2 March 07:44

  Morning everyone. Does anyone have a customer service phone number or email address for Amex UK for non customers? All the links on the website assume you hold a product. Thanks.

  • AJA says:

    2 Mar2 March 11:03

    Have you tried calling the overseas number: +44 (0)1273 696 933 ?

    Why don’t you just call the number anyway and just hold until someone answers? What are you trying to find out from AMEX?

    Is it me but if you are not an Amex customer why would you be phoning Amex customer services?

    • Simon says:

      4 Mar4 March 08:11

      Thanks. I have questions about eligibility for sign up bonuses.

• memesweeper says:

  2 Mar2 March 07:54

  How do all the serial card churners, multiple Amex holders and account sign-up bonus chasers store all their credit/charge cards? Is there a good wallet or holder? I have a Walter Wallet for daily use but this only holds maybe 15% of my cards.

  • TGLoyalty says:

    2 Mar2 March 07:56

    In a small box 🤣

    • John says:

      2 Mar2 March 08:17

      In a big box 😅

  • Andrew says:

    2 Mar2 March 08:02

    One of those business card holders from the 80s with the transparent pages like a book perhaps?

    • Alex says:

      2 Mar2 March 08:21

      Now that’s a lot of cards 🙂

    • memesweeper says:

      2 Mar2 March 08:27

      There’s a really ugly one of those on Viking. I’ll resist the Nectar there and keep looking…

    • roberto says:

      2 Mar2 March 08:29

      I have one of those plastic business card holders – its full of cards and lives in the safe. I use a Bellroy wallet which holds enough for my regular access needs of about 10 cards inc license and ID. Of those cards three get used on a day to day basis give or take. I have used my phone to pay but its just as easy to get a card out

      I hardly ever use coins and only two or three hundred pounds cash per month.

      • memesweeper says:

        2 Mar2 March 08:35

        The pandemic has seen me make a lot of use of the digital wallet on my watch. Very handy.

      • Rob says:

        2 Mar2 March 09:52

        £300? I just bought a sausage sandwich for £2.50 in a little cafe and was forced to pay cash. It was literally the first cash payment I have made since we got from Dubai in early January. Even my 13-year old doesn’t use, or indeed have, cash.

        • Andrew says:

          2 Mar2 March 10:07

          I don’t think I’ve been to a cashpoint for a couple of years! I went to lunch with a friend in the summer and they were paying their half by cash so I put it all on my Amex to bag the points and took the £20 cash – didn’t really know what to do with it, still kicking around somewhere.

        • sloth says:

          2 Mar2 March 10:32

          I took £30 out the cashpoint in (I think October), still have £25 sitting in my wallet

        • BLG says:

          2 Mar2 March 11:25

          I am waiting delivery of some composite decking this afternoon COD £2220. No card options.

        • roberto says:

          2 Mar2 March 11:38

          @rob. My biggest cash outlays are currently the gardener and the wood yard , thats about €150 a month. The rest is coffees, the odd beer/coffee and lunchs here and there. Spain is becoming card friendly but away from the tourist hubs cash is still the only way to pay in many situations.

          During the summer 11 week lockdown I spent no cash as nothing was open.

        • Anna says:

          2 Mar2 March 14:31

          Rob, out of interest, what card is your 13-year old using? I’m looking for a card for my son currently (he is 14)

      • yorkieflyer says:

        2 Mar2 March 11:27

        you must be generous with street folk ,can’t shift the fifty quid I had in my wallet for months, nobody else welcomes cash nowadays

        • Sandra says:

          2 Mar2 March 11:48

          Our local Chinese takeaway still only accepts cash, doesn’t even take debit cards. We did think during the first lockdown they’d be forced to start taking cards but no they’ve stayed resolutely cash only! Apart from that, the window cleaner is about all we use cash for now.

      • memesweeper says:

        2 Mar2 March 12:06

        Belroy make nice stuff 🙂

  • Toppcat says:

    2 Mar2 March 08:40

    Google Pay. Physical cards live in a box, with very occasional outings into the real world.

  • Andrew says:

    2 Mar2 March 09:09

    I don’t.

    Generally speaking, I just keep four core cards in my wallet.

    BA Amex
    MBNA Visa (0.5% return, but no free FX)
    BoS Debit Card
    Spree Card

    If I’m heading out of the UK, I’ll take out the MBNA Card and drop in my FX Free Virgin Money MasterCard to the wallet. I’ll also carry my Barclaycard separately for emergency purposes when overseas.

    Any other times, I’ll just carry the relevant cards as appropriate.

  • Mummy55 says:

    2 Mar2 March 10:05

    The best one I saw was a lady in the Hertz office in Boston, when asked for a card she produced a stack of cards about 3 inches thick bound with a thick rubber band!!🤔
    Do Gucci do those??…

  • BJ says:

    2 Mar2 March 10:58

    Anywhere but the OH’s purse or wallet.

  • AJA says:

    2 Mar2 March 11:09

    How many cards do you have? I use one of those rfid metal wallet holders that you used to be able to buy on board. It nominally holds 8 cards but I find that I can store several cards in each slot.

    • memesweeper says:

      2 Mar2 March 12:06

      Over a dozen… maybe twenty?

      • David D says:

        2 Mar2 March 13:06

        I have a Secrid double card holder which can hold 10 cards in the RFID sections plus another four in the outer pockets. A few notes in the note holder and that does me for everything.

• Chrism20 says:

  2 Mar2 March 08:17

  BA question following on from my cancellation the other day and not being able to reschedule online myself.

  They have acknowledged that the dates I want to switch to are available but are saying if they are cancelled again I will not be able to change them which is a touch bizarre given that the website says free changes are still available.

  Have asked for clarification as what they are now saying makes no sense whatsoever.

  • Mouse says:

    2 Mar2 March 16:40

    I had exactly the opposite yesterday – they said they wouldn’t move me to >1 year from original ticketing date, but I could move to any time between now and ticket expiry and then if that flight was cancelled I would be able to move to a year from my *reticketing* date. Very odd.

• Zoe says:

  2 Mar2 March 08:33

  I have a bit of a question. I have looked into this many times myself but not getting to a conclusion.
  Basically I have a 241 voucher and want to use it next year (before July when it expires) to get to Vietnam. Specifically I want to fly into Hanoi and out of HoChiMinh. I know BA does not fly there direct and I can’t do a code share. So where is my best airport to go into?
  Thanks all!

  • Yorkieflyer says:

    2 Mar2 March 09:10

    Normally I would suggest an open jaw into Hong Kong and out of Bangkok. A CX Avios ticket from HKG to HAN and say an air Asia cash fare SGN to Don Muang with a stopover. Alternatively back to HKG on an avios ticket.
    However Cathay regional avios tickets now not released till close to departure I believe. Secondly, you are relying on lots of borders being open and even if possible multiple PCR tests might be required. Avoid non flex tickets and hotel bookings!

    • Zoe says:

      2 Mar2 March 13:12

      Thank you!!!!!

  • Genghis says:

    2 Mar2 March 09:10

    Hong Kong most likely.

    • Zoe says:

      2 Mar2 March 13:12

      This was my thought but very worried about when their borders would open!

  • BJ says:

    2 Mar2 March 11:11

    (INV/XXX-)LHR-BKK ow
    HKG-LHR(-XXX) ow

    LCC (AirAsia or Vietjet) to/from Vientam or CX avios redemption SGN-HKG. Qatar at one time had 5th freedom from Bangkok to one or both Vietnam cities so possibly worth looking for cheap cash or avios fares on it too if they still do.

    • Zoe says:

      2 Mar2 March 13:13

      Thank you!!!

      What is CX? (Can you tell I am a relative newbie to all of this!) I BET IT MEANS CODE SHARE!

      • MilesOnPoint says:

        2 Mar2 March 13:31

        CX is the 2 letter airline code for Cathay Pacific

        (BA = British Airways, VS = Virgin Atlantic, SQ = Singapore Airlines etc..)

      • FFoxSake says:

        2 Mar2 March 13:35

        Airline flight code… CX = Cathay Pacific

• 747_Brat says:

  2 Mar2 March 08:43

  @Rob/Rhys
  Sorry if this has been asked before, but it caught my attention just now when I was trying to find an article: what happened to category drop-down box at the bottom right corner of the home page. I can’t seem to locate it. Is it gone for good?

  • Rhys says:

    2 Mar2 March 08:45

    We moved it from the homepage, but it’s still on other pages

    • 747_Brat says:

      2 Mar2 March 08:51

      Thanks Rhys. Please don’t ever remove it completely. It is a life saver! 🙂

• Rupert says:

  2 Mar2 March 09:25

  I had an odd text message from BA to state that I am due to fly to the USA, ( beginning of April) when holidays are not allowed under government restrictions. This is clearly inaccurate as the rule is to stay at home. It is even more bizarre as I live in Wales, when it looks like the stay at home rule for Wales, will be relaxed on the 15th March. I thought it was a scam initially, but it does have the correct locator.

  • AJA says:

    2 Mar2 March 11:13

    There are several reports of this over on FT. I think BA is giving you the opportunity to cancel and exchange for a FTV on the basis that you may not be able to fly. I think it’s an interim step before they cancel and I suspect they’re trying to gauge whether to operate your flight or consolidate or go ahead and cancel it.

    • kitten says:

      2 Mar2 March 11:56

      +1
      Plus their liability to you is more onerous if they cancel a flight.
      Whereas if you take an FTV it’s much better for them.

  • Jonathan says:

    2 Mar2 March 14:39

    You won’t be going on an overseas holiday in April. Ignore the dates when stay at home is currently due to end as the government have made perfectly clear May 17th is earliest date for foreign holidays. There will be new SI’s issued to enforce this but don’t expect them to be published till May 16th!

    • Rupert says:

      2 Mar2 March 14:56

      Not sure that is right. If Wales relax stay at home on the 15th March, what’s to stop me from travelling to the USA via LHR?

      • Rob says:

        2 Mar2 March 15:11

        Nothing – although it depends if these ‘declaration to travel’ forms start on 8th March and b) whether they apply to the Welsh and c) what sort of binding basis they have.

        • Rupert says:

          2 Mar2 March 15:38

          Thanks. BA need to be more legally concise with their wording of text messages. It did look a scam with a link. It will be interesting to see whether the travel declaration forms make it off the drawing board, or whether it will be in the “too hard to do “ basket along with vaccination passports.

      • Jonathan says:

        2 Mar2 March 19:10

        How are you getting to Heathrow? Will you be abiding by the English rules while your driving on the M4 between the Severn Bridge & Heathrow? You may get away with it but you quite possibly would if you tried it today & that doesn’t mean it’s legal.

        I’d also put good money on the USA not letting you in (& therefore you won’t be getting on a flight at LHR) if you’re not a US citizen or green card holder.

        Assuming you have a BA Holidays booking based on receiving this text then I’d be rescheduling or refunding now before the balance becomes due in a few days.

        • Rupert says:

          2 Mar2 March 22:25

          After the 15th March, no problem travelling along the M4. What rules would I break? No need to stay at home ( assuming the change takes place), in Wales. We have been in national lockdown much longer than England. I would get into the US due to family ties. Im travelling alone, not for a “holiday”.

    • Lady London says:

      3 Mar3 March 09:21

      🙂 Jonathan

  • Matt says:

    2 Mar2 March 14:40

    Follow the link and you’ll have 3 options: voucher, refund, or retain booking (in case your travel is essential etc). It’s just their new way of taking pressure off of their call centres for refunds

    • Rupert says:

      2 Mar2 March 15:40

      Thanks. Links in text messages are usually iffy.

      • Matt says:

        2 Mar2 March 16:00

        Agreed. I had the same text yesterday and followed the link gingerly, I wouldn’t ever enter personal details etc through a link sent like that but I’m OK with just clicking a ‘refund’ button.

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