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The HfP chat thread – Thursday 11th March

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General

Comments (463)

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

  • Jody says:
    11 Mar11 March 10:42

    Well, this morning my easyJet flight in May to Corfu has been cancelled, so they must be working their way through the May flights.

    Not got the email yet, so not entirely sure what happens when your outbound has been cancelled but your inbound hasn’t (I realise it still could be). I know I can rebook for free, and when it’s cancelled, you can do that at any point you want. However, because the inbound hasn’t been, does that mean I have to rebook before the date of that flight otherwise I’ll show up as a no show for the flight? Hoping it makes it clear on the email, but haven’t seen anything about that on any others I’ve had!

    • Rhys says:
      11 Mar11 March 10:59

      Yep, just had my Stuttgart flights for end of May/1st June cancelled.

    • Anna says:
      11 Mar11 March 11:10

      Hi Jody, was it a return booking (as opposed to 2 legs booked separately)? If so, have you gone into the booking to see if it will let you change both sectors?

      I haven’t even had the email yet for my MAN-BIL flights which I’ve already moved!

      • Jody says:
        11 Mar11 March 11:45

        Yep, return booking. I can rebook both legs for free now, but I want to wait a while to see what the situation is regarding travel later in the year. Hopefully they’ll also cancel the inbound flight at some point then it won’t be an issue at all however long I want to wait.

    • aDifferentSimon says:
      11 Mar11 March 11:31

      I’m in the same situation. Can rebook both legs for free now but can we still after the one that is still operating? Do report back if you find out. I’ll do the same.

    • Shub says:
      11 Mar11 March 11:48

      What is the latest we can rebook the cancelled flights? Should the new flights be booked before the cancelled flights date of journey or can it be a few months after that as well?

      • Jody says:
        11 Mar11 March 13:17

        If it’s a cancelled flight, I think you can wait and book at your convenience even if that’s after the date of your flight.

        If they’ve cancelled you, but put you on a different flight, you must rebook before that flight is due to leave otherwise you’ll be down as a no show (I had an email about this a couple of weeks ago as had some flights moved).

        If you’ve got the outbound cancelled but the inbound not, I’m not sure whether you have to rebook before the date of the inbound. This is the scenario I’m currently in with my latest cancellation.

        • Lady London says:
          12 Mar12 March 00:10

          @ Jody EZ and Ryanair treat each leg separately even on a return booking. So they will expect you to handle each separately.

  • Simon says:
    11 Mar11 March 10:51

    Q re HL withdrawals… are there ways to ensure these don’t go back to the original underlying card (where initial deposit was via bendy)?

    In the past, I have had both: a withdrawal went back to the original card, and then later, with a “partial” withdrawal of the original deposit amount, this went to my bank account (obviously, the preferred route).

    However, another partial withdrawal made last week — the first withdrawal in months — has now gone straight back to the card, not to my bank account.

    Is there a means of having withdrawals simply going back to your bank account (only)? TIA

    • TGLoyalty says:
      11 Mar11 March 10:59

      Only way is if you actually invest it.

      • Mike says:
        11 Mar11 March 11:16

        Curious too. So if you invest it, then withdraw, it’ll automatically come back into the bank account?

        Time to search for something attractive for that…

        • TGLoyalty says:
          11 Mar11 March 11:24

          well if you are investing you risk your capital going up or down and it comes with a transaction fee and stamp duty.

          Therefore, unless you are actively investing I don’t see any opportunity for MS.

          • Genghis says:
            11 Mar11 March 11:36

            No transaction fee on OEICS / unit trusts but HL apply their harsh 0.45% custody fee, uncapped. These are also subject to swing pricing, depending on the fund.

          • Mike says:
            11 Mar11 March 11:44

            Or I can buy a mutual fund where there are no fees and barely any fluctuations e.g some LT IG bond / treasuries etc.

          • TGLoyalty says:
            11 Mar11 March 13:58

            barely any fluctuations still isn’t risk free

        • Jonathan says:
          11 Mar11 March 12:32

          You might not be money laundering but it will certainly look like it to an external observer so would expect their risk algorithms to flag this pretty quickly. To counter the transaction fees/stamp duty etc you’d need to be doing it with hefty sums which then also leaves you at the vagaries of any negative movement in the market.

          Sounds like a stupid idea that isn’t remotely worth the hassle to me!

      • Andrew (@andrewseftel) says:
        11 Mar11 March 12:13

        ISA transfer would work if you don’t mind burning your subscription allowance.

    • Mark says:
      11 Mar11 March 11:10

      So u basically want to put money into HL on a card and then pull it to a bank account without actually using the capital to put into a HL investment?
      So basically u expect HL to pay the transaction fee and in also potentially assist you (in their eyes) with money laundering?

      Good luck with that one. LOL

      • Jay says:
        11 Mar11 March 17:18

        +1 I would avoid this activity at all costs as it could generate a CIFAS or Hunter marker.

    • AJA says:
      11 Mar11 March 11:12

      Have you got your bank account details set up in HL? Whenever I do a withdrawal it asks me whether I want the money to go to the linked current account.

    • Ilou says:
      11 Mar11 March 11:55

      Which underlying card works with curve for this ?

    • Justin says:
      11 Mar11 March 12:23

      The T&C for their Active Savings account says they will do this if you withdraw within 60 days of a debit card lodgement.

      • Justin says:
        11 Mar11 March 12:26

        “where you pay money into your Account by debit card, and you redeem that money within 60 calendar days, we reserve the right to return the money to you via a debit card refund.”

        • Crafty says:
          12 Mar12 March 09:56

          I needed to withdraw this week from Active Savings for a house deposit. The majority went to my bank account but several thousand was indeed returned to source. However… source was Curve and it hasn’t shown up yet!

  • Oz says:
    11 Mar11 March 10:55

    Anyone remember if BA used to fly direct to Sri Lanka? If so when was it stopped & any thoughts that it may reopen? Next best alternative from UK using Avios?? TIA.

    • Anna says:
      11 Mar11 March 11:12

      With avios probably BA/QR to the ME then a connecting flight onwards.

    • AJA says:
      11 Mar11 March 11:16

      SriLankan flies directly between UK and Sri Lanka. Not sure how easy it is to redeem Avios.

      • BJ says:
        11 Mar11 March 12:19

        It wasn’t normally easy in J but I noticed it a few times in searches over the last few months. I put it down to the pandemic. Sri Lankan J is great if you get a longhaul plane with flat beds. Their cash fares always worth checking, calling gets much more flexible fare classes for not substantially more but they like id, credit cards etc faxed through if booking over the phone.

      • Andrew (@andrewseftel) says:
        11 Mar11 March 12:22

        Redemptions are easy (but poor value) in economy, hard in business. I thought the economy product was pretty good by economy standards so I’d give it serious consideration (probably as a cash ticket) vs connecting in the middle east in business.

    • Jonathan says:
      11 Mar11 March 11:30

      For the best advice on redemptions with oneworld airlines like Qatar, and Sri Lankan, it’s probably best to email the HfP team, especially since there’s hardly ever any articles about these redemptions, which probably because there isn’t enough interest to make it worth while writing one

      • Rob says:
        11 Mar11 March 11:56

        We know nothing about SriLankan!

        You can see when BA dropped Colombo by sticking ‘Colombo’ into the HfP search box.

    • Si says:
      11 Mar11 March 11:41

      When I went Sri Lanka, we flew to New Delhi in F on AMEX/BA 241. Spent 3 days doing the ‘Golden Triangle’ in India before flying to Colombo on Srilankan. At that time (2016 I think), i couldn’t use Avios for the India to SL flights but that may have changes.

      Only faff of the journey was had to fly back via India on return – but at least that was Row 1 on a brand new Dream Liner.

      • JD says:
        11 Mar11 March 12:28

        We were similar, 241 First only via Mumbai. We did a few nights in Mumbai Soho House on the way back which was v nice. Didn’t find any Avios availability on the SL Airlines flights, however, they weren’t too expensive and earned some on the cash fares. On arrival Indian passport control seemed to take some offence that we were leaving as soon as we had arrived, however!

  • TJ says:
    11 Mar11 March 10:58

    Aer Lingus / Are Club offering 50% bonus on Avios purchases until 14 March.

  • Mike says:
    11 Mar11 March 11:10

    If I were to order something from outside the EU, should I be paying the local EU VAT? Is there some kind of law that governs this where I should not be paying if exported out of the EU?

    (Assuming not UK before we jump on Brexit!)

    • AJA says:
      11 Mar11 March 11:23

      Do you mean ordering off an EU supplier for something that is not manufactured in the EU eg nike shoes manufactured in China?

      Also depends on whether price is over or under £135. If over £135 you will pay UK VAT on import into the UK and should not be charged EU VAT. If under £135 UK VAT should be included in the price.

      It also depends on whether the EU supplier imports the product into the EU first. If they do then technically the EU supplier should not charge EU VAT but some are charging both EU and UK VAT.

      • Mike says:
        11 Mar11 March 11:42

        Thanks AJA.

        Yes, so essentially trying to figure out if this retailer should be charging me local Germany VAT when the order is shipped out of Germany/EU. Order is above £135 and yes I have paid import / custom duties on that. Products are made in both Portugal and China.

        So it sounds like I shouldn’t be paying the local Germany VAT. Is there some kind of written regulation off an official website that I can take it up to the retailer? Tried searching but couldn’t find any.

        • AJA says:
          11 Mar11 March 13:18

          I can’t find anything that specifically says you should not be charged EU VAT as well as UK VAT. I would contact the EU supplier and appeal to their good nature by showing you’ve paid UK and EU VAT ie you’ve suffered double taxation. Ask if they will refund EU VAT as the goods were clearly exported from the EU so should be zero rated from a German perspective.

  • Rob says:
    11 Mar11 March 11:21

    Quick q for everyone: Has anyone got the 500 Avios from Nectar who tried to fudge it (ie had a zero Nectar balance but sent 1,000 Avios into Nectar and then moved them straight back)?

    • Lee says:
      11 Mar11 March 11:28

      I moved 250 Avios to Nectar as a bit short of 1600 Nectar needed. No bonus Avios received.

    • Genghis says:
      11 Mar11 March 11:38

      No. I moved avios BAEC to Nectar on the Sunday, the day before the promo, then moved back on the Monday, but not had any bonus avios come through.

    • Grant says:
      11 Mar11 March 11:42

      No Avois bonus for me (yet). I sent some Avios to Nectar prior to the promotion period starting and then moved them back when the promotion started.

      • Lady London says:
        11 Mar11 March 13:14

        me too and I see nothing wrong with it as I moved a few top-up avios to Nectar before the promo started, moved most of my Nectar balance (not much) to avios during the promo and done nothing since.

        I am fully expecting my bonus points but from mid-April or so the way the promo read

    • whiskerxx says:
      11 Mar11 March 11:55

      No, I’ve had mine via the legit route, but tried the other route for my wife and those points have not shown

    • Sandgrounder says:
      11 Mar11 March 11:58

      Nope, and I transferred out before the promo period started.

    • Andrew says:
      11 Mar11 March 12:04

      Nothing for me and this is what I did. Moved them over on Sunday, back on Monday, but no bonus arrived today. They are smarter than we gave them credit for!

    • Travel Strong says:
      11 Mar11 March 12:04

      No joy (24th Jan t/f out, 29th Jan t/f back in)

      • BJ says:
        11 Mar11 March 12:23

        Well, all that looks like a resounding NO, BA clearly on the ball for a change.

  • malkala says:
    11 Mar11 March 11:41

    Good morning

    Can anyone share their experience on arrival to Canada with current restrictions?

    Thank you

  • Aston100 says:
    11 Mar11 March 11:52

    This Morrisons offer that has come up today.
    7% on my BAPP and the supplementary.
    10% on my PRG.
    Is everyone seeing this same percentage on those cards? my BAPP has an additional avios per pound ‘retention’ offer at present, so I was wondering if that was why the statement credit is 7% and not 10% for me on the BAPP.

    • Andrew says:
      11 Mar11 March 12:05

      I’ve got 10% on all my cards including BAPP and Plat.

    • Mike says:
      11 Mar11 March 12:10

      Does Morrisons sell gift cards? Tesco, ASDA, John Lewis specifically?

    • Harry T says:
      11 Mar11 March 12:18

      You usually get 7% if you’ve spent at Morrison’s on the card previously. That’s the pattern for me. The “virgin” cards or cards I haven’t used recently get 10%. That’s why I rotate which cards I use the Morrison’s offers on.

    • Benilyn says:
      11 Mar11 March 12:45

      I slept on the last deal and the FC integration. Is that route now gone? What was the route out of curiosity?

      • Chas says:
        11 Mar11 March 13:48

        If you had registered your cards on the Virgin shopping portal, you could get Virgin miles on in-store purchases made with those cards. Morrison’s stopped being an in-store partner towards the end of last year though.

    • Matt says:
      11 Mar11 March 12:45

      I’ve got 7% on my gold card, and 10% (uselessly!) on my business platinum. Same on the supplementary cards.

    • Phil says:
      11 Mar11 March 13:02

      10% on my AMEX Plat. 7% on the BAPP Sup.

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

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