The HfP chat thread – Monday 8th March

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Tom says:

8 Mar8 March 08:37

All your credit card reviews say that there is no free credit card which has fee-free foreign transactions. Please could you review the Barclaycards Rewards card one day – https://www.barclays.co.uk/credit-cards/reward-cards/barclays-rewards/?
(I have no connection with Barclays/Barclaycard; just puzzled why that card seems to have been overlooked by you).
- DT says:
  
  8 Mar8 March 09:42
  
  Don’t the reviews say that there is no fee free foreign exchange travel rewards card? I don’t believe a cash back card is a travel rewards card by most definitions.
- Sandgrounder says:
  
  8 Mar8 March 09:43
  
  I think it’s more that it doesn’t earn miles/points. I think the Virgin Atlantic CCs are still 0% in Europe? Or did that change at the end of Jan?
  - Sandgrounder says:
    
    8 Mar8 March 09:52
    
    Cross post with DT. I have checked the TS and Cs on the VA CC application page, still no fees for Euro, Swedish Kronor or Romanian Lei spend in the EEA.
  - Rob says:
    
    8 Mar8 March 09:54
    
    Still there for now – only for in-person transactions in Europe, if we’re being picky.
- Aston100 says:
  
  8 Mar8 March 09:50
  
  Sounds like a decent replacement for a Halifax Clarity – I think?
  - the_real_a says:
    
    8 Mar8 March 13:47
    
    Is something happening to Clarity?
    - Aston100 says:
      
      8 Mar8 March 15:22
      
      Not as far as I am aware.
      This card sounds like it does what Clarity does, but more.
meta says:

8 Mar8 March 08:47

@Michael C @ Tracey that’s only partially correct. I don’t know how many times this needs to be repeated.

If BA cancels your Avios booking can have:
a)refund (everything returned to you)
b) reroute on another date of your choosing (you might need to fight for it)
c) voucher

If you cancel:
a) refund (minus cancellation fee) if done within 24 hours of departing
b) voucher should you wish
- Chrisasaurus says:
  
  8 Mar8 March 12:31
  
  Except in the second half where within should read not within?
Simon says:

8 Mar8 March 09:00

Does anyone have an issue with Curve Metal < COT paying HMRC? Mine stopped working since Friday. No MS BS – legit payment of tax
- Alan says:
  
  8 Mar8 March 10:26
  
  I succesfully put a payment through last night.
- BlueHorizonUK says:
  
  8 Mar8 March 11:03
  
  There seems to be a serious 3DS issue affecting customers (they say its only a few) but I suspect that its only working for a few people and not the majority.
  
  They have provided no timeline for fixing it.
  - Rob says:
    
    8 Mar8 March 11:49
    
    I used Curve to pay HMRC on Friday and it was fine.
Phil says:

8 Mar8 March 09:08

IS the HFP RSS feed broken? It’s reporting issues in my feed and the last reported post is the BA/SITA post yesterday.
- Rob says:
  
  8 Mar8 March 09:33
  
  Seems fine to me (type headforpoints.com/feed into your browser).
  - Phil says:
    
    8 Mar8 March 11:15
    
    I unsubscribed and resubbed to it and it still out of date.
    - BlueHorizonUK says:
      
      8 Mar8 March 11:33
      
      can confirm, not working today. yesterday was lsat time it worked.
    - Rob says:
      
      8 Mar8 March 11:48
      
      Very odd, since you can see from /feed that it is up to date.
- Rhys says:
  
  8 Mar8 March 11:35
  
  It can’t be broken because that’s where our emails get drawn from!
  - Optimus Prime says:
    
    8 Mar8 March 11:53
    
    Working fine for me.
Michael_s says:

8 Mar8 March 09:44

So- did anyone already have experience with outbound travel forms that come into effect today? Who checks these forms (check-in desk? Boarding desk?) Do police randomly stop and check you at airport? How detailed are the questions- is it ok you say you’re travelling for work or are they asking proof? If yes, what type of docs you are asked to produce? So many questions and unknowns again…
- Rob says:
  
  8 Mar8 March 09:53
  
  None of this is ‘unknown’ – it is all explained on the Government website and in our article from Friday!
Ed says:

8 Mar8 March 10:02

Good morning,
A new user of the Virgin Rewards + card after seeing good reviews on here. I’ve just had my first statement and got my points and sign up bonus (15,000). In month one I spent over £10K so should get the companion voucher too. Does anyone know how quickly these arrive?
Thanks.
- BJ says:
  
  8 Mar8 March 10:09
  
  Thanks, I’ll have a look, for some reason I thought there was no sign up bonus on the Virgin cards at the moment.
- Alex says:
  
  8 Mar8 March 10:22
  
  It should appear on your statement for the month. If it doesn’t, I would WhatsApp virgin and then can tell you expiry date etc with ease. Just wait until your statement period ends to give the IT time to work it out.
Garry says:

8 Mar8 March 10:05

Starling – how long does it take to open a business account? it has been some days now. a recent indication would be good (since their website says they are under heavy demand for new applicants)
- Alex says:
  
  8 Mar8 March 10:22
  
  Only 10 mins
  - Lost confused says:
    
    8 Mar8 March 11:02
    
    Less than 48 hours this time last year (as a sole trader and no trading history)
    - Freddy says:
      
      8 Mar8 March 18:05
      
      I tried in December – waited 3 days and got rejected! Ended up with Lloyds business banking which opened with a week which was quite impressive for a big bank
- Igloo says:
  
  8 Mar8 March 20:53
  
  I opened one over Christmas and it took about a week including some bank holidays
Michael C says:

8 Mar8 March 10:09

So our local Voco has just announced:
-Mar. 29: open for essential business
-Apr. 12: gym open for guests
-May 17: open for leisure bookings
- Crafty says:
  
  8 Mar8 March 10:13
  
  That’s just the government’s aspired-for timeline?
  - TGLoyalty says:
    
    8 Mar8 March 10:18
    
    Still think April 12th is an unknown
    
    If the hotel has its own sleeping/en suite etc i.e. not a hostel or B&B then I’m not sure why it can’t open to leisure.
    
    When does the updated SI get released?
    - meta says:
      
      8 Mar8 March 10:37
      
      It’s very ambigous in the published document. There is an infographic which separates domestic overnight stays (same household) and domestic stays in self-contained accommodation. In the narrative part, it does not explicitly ban hotels from opening either.
      
      Media have obviously interpreted it the way they think it will serve their agenda without actually scrutinizing the document properly.
      - Anna says:
        
        8 Mar8 March 11:05
        
        I looked at that and I think that sadly it’s just so badly written that it appears ambiguous. It’ll be interesting to see what prohibitions are actually contained in any new legislation from April.
      - TGLoyalty says:
        
        8 Mar8 March 11:43
        
        Surely the hotel groups are preparing to open just in case.
        
        Rather await SI than trust anything the media say.
- Anna says:
  
  8 Mar8 March 11:03
  
  Quite a few are doing this. I really can’t understand why they can’t open along with self-catering accommodation for household groups as happened last summer with appropriate hygiene and social distancing – I’m not aware of any covid outbreaks linked to such stays. I’m sure the lack of business at Easter and early May bank holiday will be the straw that breaks the camel’s back for some of these places.
  - James says:
    
    8 Mar8 March 12:52
    
    Maybe it’s because they are trying to open up the economy again in a gradual and sustainable way that keeps inevitable new infections at a lower and more manageable level?
    - Anna says:
      
      8 Mar8 March 13:49
      
      I can’t see how 6 or 8 people in a holiday cottage or caravan, including children who will have recently been mixing in schools, can be less of an infection risk than 2 adults in a hotel room?
      - James says:
        
        8 Mar8 March 14:15
        
        Really? If you’re planning not to leave the hotel room I’d agree, but that doesn’t happen in hotels, does it. You mix with many more people than 6 or 8 and use facilties and public areas frequented by many more people too. Hence the increased risk.
      - Anna says:
        
        8 Mar8 March 15:06
        
        From April 12th those 6/8 people will not only be in their cottage or caravan, but going in shops, eating outdoors in beer gardens and meeting up with another family an unlimited number of times per day. Additionally, anyone can go to the hairdressers, or the gym – plus anywhere else any new regulations don’t apply to. Again, how does a hotel pose a higher risk than all this?
      - James says:
        
        8 Mar8 March 16:21
        
        Again, why do you not understand that restrictions are being eased gradually and monitored to see any impact.on the R rate, rather than a free for all? If this current government can eventually learn from doing the opposite in previous lockdown easing (look where that got us), surely so can you?