Maximise your Avios, air miles and hotel points

The HfP chat thread – Sunday 7th March

Links on Head for Points may pay us an affiliate commission. A list of partners is here.

We are running 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.

Comments (202)

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

  • Munch says:

    What/when do I receive my IHG Black card bonus points / free night? I’ve just passed the £30k spend for this year. I assume this means I receive 20,000 points, free night and Spire Elite status for next year? My current voucher from last year is Apr 2020 – Dec 2021.

    • Peter K says:

      After the yearly renewal fee is paid.

    • Jimbob says:

      You should get the Spire Platinum Elite status as soon as the points post, then you can choose the 25k points as an option (although this is always hard to find on the website).

      The free night should post shortly after the anniversary of the credit card opening, although some of us are still chasing it 11 months later……

      • Munch says:

        Ok lets see what happens in April. I assume you normally have a year to spend the voucher and my current voucher has an extension?

        • Secret Squirrel says:

          Can I confirm also with the ihg free night voucher. I thought aslong as you had booked a stay using the voucher before the expiry date it was all fine not had to have stayed by the end of the voucher expiry date?

          • Benilyn says:

            @Secret Squirrel – that is correct under normal circumstances (ignoring extended vouchers, where people received one that needs to be booked and stayed by Aug-21).
            Assuming world opens up again, the next voucher you get will be as per your understanding.

      • Chrisasaurus says:

        Spire platinum ?

      • Benilyn says:

        Just redeemed my 25k today, wasn’t even aware of this!

    • Olly says:

      I had to call IHG cs on Friday because my free night hasn’t gone into my account at end of January as it normally does, so they’re looking into it.

      • Lady London says:

        Hum. For some people, IHG has been ‘looking into this’ for nearly a year now.

  • Rob says:

    Does anybody know when the current targeted referral bonus offer finishes? Can’t find an end date for it and don’t want to miss it.

  • Ant says:

    Can I transfer a Monese account to Barclays to get the 25000 current account transfer promotion?

    • Andrew (@andrewseftel) says:

      No, Monese isn’t part of CASS

    • Neil Spellings says:

      No, but I think Starling bank qualifes

      • kitten says:

        bearing in mind that someone said you have to wait a year to come back if you close your starling

        • Jay says:

          I closed it almost 2 years ago and still can’t open a new account. 🙁

  • ee says:

    Has anyone else had a Viking Nectar bonus added recently for 1000pts rather than 2000pts?

  • Hotelier says:

    Trying to find off peak/ peak calendar for BA 2022 redemption tickets. Is this available anywhere? Can only find previous years. Thanks

    • Doc says:

      Asked this question last month. Rob/Rhys said normally April time.

      • Hotelier says:

        Thanks @Doc must have missed that. Trying to find which dates closer to next year’s Easter will fall into off-peak. I think will have to wait until tickets go for sale.

      • Rob says:

        Nearer June to be honest

  • DJ says:

    Combined Amex membership reward accounts. But now I cannot use the points to redeem for cash for any transactions.

    “The transaction is not eligible for a statement credit using points”

    I thought I would combine my business account and personal account, so that I could take the advantage of 0.9P per points offer.

    Any ideas on how to resolve this?

    Thanks

    • Chrisasaurus says:

      Only Amex CS are going to be able to do anything I’d assume

    • Rob says:

      Very weird. I’m assuming you have unsettled transactions on your statement (ie not a balance of £0)?

      • DJ says:

        The card balance is currently £235 with a settled transaction. It was a transaction to Octopus Business via Amex, so in theory it should be eligible …

        Phoned CS multiple times but they couldn’t figure out either

    • Andrew says:

      Are these very new transactions – it can be a day after posting that they become eligible – check if the MR points for the purchase is showing as they need to post first.

  • OP says:

    @Rhys / others – I think I’ve heard Santorini Sky mentioned as a great place to stay (and I have heard this from other blogs etc too)… any view on the two locations? From an accessibility point of view how did you get around the island?

    • Rob says:

      You should be clear that Santorini Sky is owned by a Virgin Atlantic executive which explains much of the coverage you have seen 🙂

      Since it represents an obvious conflict of interest we did not review it despite visiting. It is impressive, however, and brand new.

  • ash says:

    I saw someone mention few days ago about bonus clubcard points for home and pet insurance but can’t see anything. I know about the sainsburys ones but keen to top up my virgin account, any ideas or was it a mistake?

    • toddy says:

      I renewed my cat insurance with Tesco and received 2500 points… to be honest, I wasn’t expecting this, as there was no mention in the renewal literature and/or when I called up to get the price reduced!

    • Martyn Ford says:

      If your pooch is poorly or your cat is, well, sick as a dog, then you want to know they’ll get the care they need. Without all the bills that you don’t.

      We’re here to look after you too. If you’re a new Tesco Bank Pet Insurance customer, and you’re also a Clubcard member, you’ll collect 2,500 Clubcard points when you take out Premier, Extra or Standard cover.

      Just quote CATDOG and your Clubcard number by 31.03.21.

      Cover must be bought directly from Tesco Bank. This offer is not available if you get a quote or purchase from any price comparison websites. See additional T&Cs below.

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