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The HfP chat thread – Friday 12th March

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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 (335)

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

  • Benilyn says:

    Bank Transfer from current account to Prem HSBC credit card – usually instant (few secs) right? I did some earlier today don’t look like they have gone through.

    • KS says:

      Generally takes a day for me to post. However I have noticed the credit limit reset is instant.

      • Benilyn says:

        Yeah sorry I meant my credit limit is updated instantly but today it is not…

    • BuildBackBetter says:

      Generally takes 2 working days. As KS says, credit limit is updated in a day.

  • Hotelier says:

    Received this week the Plat. business and was about to order the Supplementary cards but there is not mention of the 5000 bonus per card. Is this something that everyone gets or do i need to do it through special link?

    • Benilyn says:

      Log in, log out, different browsers, etc see if it appears? For me if random, appears about half the time

  • BuildBackBetter says:

    Everyone over 40 should be offered their first Covid-19 vaccine by Easter, with a “bumper boost” to supplies allowing the programme to rapidly expand next week, The Telegraph can reveal.
    Stocks are expected to more than double, allowing the NHS to administer up to a million doses a day in coming weeks, government sources said. 

    It means that all over-50s are expected to receive an invitation for a jab over the next week – around three weeks ahead of the Government’s target.

    Good news.

    • ChrisC says:

      The nhs website still has 55 and over and that’s been the case since Monday so I’d say it will be a couple of weeks at least more before all the 50’s group is fully invited let alone vaccinated as they won’t want a long time between the invite being received and actually having the jab.

      The timeline for me this week was

      Monday – booked vaccination in the evening after the update to 55+ was posted on here. The earliest available appointment for me was Thursday 18th and there were only a couple of time slots left in the evening,

      Tuesday – text from the NHS

      Thursday – letter from NHS arrived (dated 5th March).

      • BuildBackBetter says:

        Did u read what was posted? It’ll be expanded from next week!

        • Flyoff says:

          Not just next week. Text messages in my area for all 50+ pluses with availability from this Sunday. Slots disappearing rapidly but availability on every day going forward. This was GP led but at one of the national centres. With all the COVID negativity, this roll out is world class

        • ChrisC says:

          Yes I did read what you posted but I was explaining why they won’t suddenly invite a whole 5 years of people all at once otherwise the system will get swamped.

    • Lord Doncaster says:

      Excellent news – Great to know of the fantastic progress being made

  • Amar says:

    Will have around 200-250k Krisflyer miles for singapore airlines soon due to the Biz Plat. The Mrs and I are looking to tick the new Singapore Airlines First Class Suite off the bucket list (redemption availability looks like we might kick the bucket before we get availability though).

    Any tips on routing and how far in advance you’d usually need to book? Would prefer from LHR but would take it from anywhere in Europe as I’m sure availability is scarce.

    Also going to try and use the International dollar card to gross up by 40%. I presume the transfer rate is not changing from the usual 1:1?

    • BuildBackBetter says:

      SQ has pulled all first class availability until Feb 2022. Even after it becomes available, number of seats will be dramatically lower as most A380s would’ve been upgraded to just 6 suites.
      London and Sydney are their flagship routes, so keep checking for them. Best to read the latest threads on flyer talk.

      • Amar says:

        Thanks – May need to change the bucket list! Any other crazy mile high redemptions you would recommend with Amex MR Points All I’ve ever done is BA business & first!

  • Benilyn says:

    Emirates first class London to DXB redemption – is it hard to find? Struggling to find…

    • Rob says:

      Historically not. EK also open up a lot 2-3 days out as we found over Christmas. When I did 777 First (the new suite) I flew to Dubai and sat it out hoping for a seat on the day I wanted, which I got.

  • Amar says:

    Is this new? My Biz Plat card has a banner at the top saying all Biz accounts will have to complete all company info:

    In the next couple of weeks, Business Cardmembers and Programme Administrators of a Corporate Account will receive an email asking you to update your company information. In this communication you will find your username and a link to our secure online portal. You can also type this link into your browser. Not received this email communication yet? Then please wait for it to arrive.

    https://www.americanexpress.com/uk/business/corporate-updates/index.html

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