The HfP chat thread – Wednesday 10th March

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Mike says:

10 Mar10 March 15:27

It feels like every few months it’s curtains for Curve. It’s just not going to last forever.

I’ve asked them multiple times about changing my card to Personal plus since then we now have the issues with Amex, HMRC and Ernie.

I’ll be looking to cancel Metal I don’t use any of the other features.
- BuildBackBetter says:
  
  10 Mar10 March 16:43
  
  Annual fee is due in April. Hope they clear the issues by then. If not chop chop.
Aslan says:

10 Mar10 March 15:28

Wildly off MS topic. Parents are nearing retirement and are after some pension advice re lump sums, tax implications, moving providers, drawdowns etc.
Can anyone recommend someone who’d be able to provide the relevant advice but without costing the world?
- Dave B says:
  
  10 Mar10 March 16:00
  
  look at the AJBell website , SIPP details are all on there. The costs are low and its all there in plain English. .
- Anuj says:
  
  10 Mar10 March 16:02
  
  Perhaps a free Pension wise appointment?
  - BuildBackBetter says:
    
    10 Mar10 March 16:38
    
    +1
- WaynedP says:
  
  10 Mar10 March 17:48
  
  If one or both are employed, and members of their employer’s workplace pension, they can often benefit from subsidised (or in some cases fully paid) Independent Financial Advice from a registered IFA.
  
  I’d strongly recommend doing as much self-education from as many sources as possible, including fee-charging IFA (all the better if subsidised).
  
  Pension pot built up over years of working can rival primary home in value, so it’s worth spending time and effort getting acquainted with as many of the features and potential pitfalls of pension provision for the rest of your life as possible.
- M says:
  
  10 Mar10 March 20:17
  
  Barney at the escape artist blog does some financial advice/coaching which has been very helpful for me https://theescapeartist.me/
Matty says:

10 Mar10 March 15:43

Does spending over £12k on the HSBC Premiere World Elite credit card get you 40 000 points every year after the first year – so second, third and fourth years etc.?
- Jimbob says:
  
  10 Mar10 March 15:45
  
  Only the once, sadly
- TJ says:
  
  10 Mar10 March 16:19
  
  Am I missing something here…you have to pay the card fee for 2 years (£390) to get the equivalent of around £400 worth of points (with a spend threshold of £12k)? Not particularly attractive!
  - Dan says:
    
    10 Mar10 March 16:24
    
    Well you would be getting more than £400 of points. 40,000 + 12,000 (1st year spend) + whatever you spend on year 2. This is conservative assuming you spend exactly £12k.
    
    The alternative would be the free version where you spend £12,000 and get 6,000 points with no annual fee.
  - Rob says:
    
    10 Mar10 March 16:24
    
    Correct. You are also getting 1 mile per £1 spent on a MC/Visa, however, which is attractive.
  - DJ says:
    
    10 Mar10 March 16:39
    
    And you get unlimited lounge pass with the WE card as well
    - BJ says:
      
      10 Mar10 March 16:53
      
      And the displeasure of doing business with HSBC, they even make a song and dance about titles in your name.
Cal says:

10 Mar10 March 15:46

Has anyone received the 15,000 Virgin Points from the bank switch?
I phoned today as I hadn’t received anything from VM and the person said I have have met to criteria but it’s for the wine offer.

I don’t think there is much point phoning Virgin Wines. Chat on VM weren’t any help yesterday either so might have to send an email.
- ChrisA says:
  
  10 Mar10 March 16:03
  
  I’ve just received mine now.
  - Fm says:
    
    10 Mar10 March 16:08
    
    Same here, literally just got the email
    - Joe says:
      
      10 Mar10 March 16:09
      
      And mine!
      - Tom says:
        
        10 Mar10 March 16:25
        
        And mine. I am 99% sure I applied via the website rather than the app, so those who’ve done likewise but received the wine offer should definitely chase up.
- Ryan B says:
  
  10 Mar10 March 16:06
  
  Just had an email with a code for the 15,000 points. My account switch completed on the 5th March and I did my application through the Virgin money website, not the app. Was worried I would end up getting the wine after reading some of the comments on here.
  - BJ says:
    
    10 Mar10 March 17:36
    
    Thanks for confirming you used website. I guess I’ll just have to follow through with my complaint. Good it is working properly for most people though.
- Ash Raj says:
  
  10 Mar10 March 16:07
  
  I just received my Virgin Red code for the 15k points
  - Cal says:
    
    10 Mar10 March 16:20
    
    Funnily enough I have just received it too. Maybe my phone call had an impact…
    - James K says:
      
      10 Mar10 March 17:51
      
      And another receipt. Removing the £1k from the savings account !
- Grant says:
  
  10 Mar10 March 16:20
  
  I just got my email with the code for 15k points too. Opened the account via the app on 17 Feb.
- Doug M says:
  
  10 Mar10 March 16:31
  
  I think this is quite widespread from comments here and elsewhere. I also have received the wine offer. I called VM and waited an age to speak to someone who said they knew nothing of the offer and the VM offer was a wine voucher. They recommended contacting Virgin Red. I just gave up and sent a secure message to VM through the website.
  - Secret Squirrel says:
    
    10 Mar10 March 17:28
    
    I’ve completed the bank switch application but on reading my doc in my new VM account I can see my surname has the wrong letter at the start. All the other details are correct, will the switch go through?
    - M says:
      
      10 Mar10 March 20:21
      
      I have received a wine voucher; called, emailed, messaged and chatted Virgin Money support a few times quoting the terms and conditions on VM site 😉
      
      Received a callback today saying VM have reached out to wines to cancel the voucher, then they will reach out to Virgin Red to get the points voucher, then they will send it to me manually. They said the whole thing can take about a week 😉
MKB says:

10 Mar10 March 15:49

Is there an equivalent to SeatSpy / Reward Flight Finder for Qatar reward seats available to other OneWorld airline programmes?
- kitten says:
  
  10 Mar10 March 17:46
  
  awardnexus ? expertflyer ?
  
  flyertalk might be a good source for the relevant airline(s)
ash says:

10 Mar10 March 16:20

15k virgin points for current account just hit, went through the app.
- TGLoyalty says:
  
  10 Mar10 March 16:32
  
  Was just about to say this.
TGLoyalty says:

10 Mar10 March 16:42

It’s exactly the same company

Both can be used interchangeably
John says:

10 Mar10 March 17:03

Is 12% the best discount for M&S vouchers?
- Andrew says:
  
  10 Mar10 March 17:23
  
  Where?
  - Kai says:
    
    10 Mar10 March 17:53
    
    cardyard