The HfP chat thread – Monday 15th March

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Aston100 says:

15 Mar15 March 14:58

How long before Ryanair start bothering passengers with attempts to sell PCR kits to go with the scratch cards?
- Anna says:
  
  15 Mar15 March 16:49
  
  That would be fine if they were cheaper than the current rip-off prices!
  - Super Secret Stuff says:
    
    15 Mar15 March 19:03
    
    At least you get free membership to the covid carrier club…. I’ve heard it’s great fun 🤢
Tom says:

15 Mar15 March 15:02

Hey guys. I used my Virgin Atlantic mastercard voucher for a UC redemption to the US in June. It’s not looking likely they’ll be letting tourists in by then. If in May it’s clear I won’t be able to go, what can I expect in terms of refund? Surely wouldn’t lose the voucher, miles and cash too?
- Sean says:
  
  15 Mar15 March 15:06
  
  Everything will be returned to you, including the voucher which will have been extended if previously expiring. Maybe easier to push it back until later in the year, if they’ll allow it, and you never know, we may be letting tourists out and them tourists in by then
  - Jonathan says:
    
    15 Mar15 March 16:11
    
    That is assuming they cancel the flight. If it goes ahead (regardless of restrictions at either end) then you’re on the hook for the £30 per person cancellation fee to get a refund. Deadline to request is 24 hours prior to departure.
    - Tom says:
      
      15 Mar15 March 16:48
      
      Thanks Jonathan/Sean. No issue paying £30 as long as I get everything else back!
Alan says:

15 Mar15 March 15:10

Does anyone have a referral for 50k points on AMEX Platinum I could use.
- Ste Cox says:
  
  15 Mar15 March 15:17
  
  I would post mine but that’s poor form, Rob’s should be on the review of the card.
  - Ste Cox says:
    
    15 Mar15 March 15:21
    
    *although I cant find a referral that would get you 50k for the personal Plat, mine would only get you 35k
  - Alan says:
    
    15 Mar15 March 15:29
    
    I had a look but that’s only the standard 30k, I saw a mention of a 50k targeted offer in the comments a few days ago. Cannot find it now, it’s possible I have misremembered or someone had confused it with a business card offer.
    - Rob says:
      
      15 Mar15 March 15:46
      
      I will email Lev441 your details.
      - Lev441 says:
        
        15 Mar15 March 16:03
        
        Thanks Rob – appreciated. @Alan – sent you an email.
      - Alan says:
        
        15 Mar15 March 16:08
        
        Thanks Rob
    - KS says:
      
      15 Mar15 March 21:45
      
      That may have been my comment. Glad to have helped! 🙂
- Lev441 says:
  
  15 Mar15 March 15:36
  
  I do – If rob allows!?
  - Alan says:
    
    15 Mar15 March 17:45
    
    Thanks.
    
    I have a targeted 30k BAPP offer, if anyone interested and ok to send.
- Mouse says:
  
  15 Mar15 March 18:11
  
  Would also be happy to share mine for the 50k Plat / 30k BAPP if anyone else is looking and Rob permits.
  - Gavin says:
    
    15 Mar15 March 18:26
    
    When is the increased offer valid until? I want to apply for Platinum first week of April.
    - Rob says:
      
      15 Mar15 March 20:12
      
      No idea – you are not told.
      - TGLoyalty says:
        
        15 Mar15 March 21:31
        
        Hopefully until after the nectar card link is fixed
Alan says:

15 Mar15 March 15:31

On another topic. If anyone has managed to get their Virgin status match changed to start from their booked flight date could you share how you managed it. So far I have had a computer days no response.
Anuj says:

15 Mar15 March 16:25

Has anyone had any luck asking Qatar to extend lounge passes ? They’ve extended my status but left the lounge passes expiring in June
BuildBackBetter says:

15 Mar15 March 16:30

Looks like Europe is going to remain locked down for a bit longer.
Politicians happy they can blame the delay on something else now.
- Anna says:
  
  15 Mar15 March 16:51
  
  I thought individual countries could make their own decisions about re-opening?
  - BuildBackBetter says:
    
    15 Mar15 March 17:08
    
    They do, but how can they reopen if cases remain high after they stopped vaccinating.
    Atleast they should do the honourable thing of giving the vaccines to other countries if they’re not going to use it.
    - Anna says:
      
      15 Mar15 March 17:42
      
      Have Spain and Greece stopped vaccinating though? They were the ones discussing travel corridors and also probably where the lion’s share of holiday makers would be heading to anyway.
      - Optimus Prime says:
        
        15 Mar15 March 18:00
        
        Spain has suspended AZ vaccinations for the next 2 weeks.
      - meta says:
        
        15 Mar15 March 18:11
        
        You need to look beyond headlines and UK press. Many EU countries that depend on tourism have not stopped vaccinating.
      - meta says:
        
        15 Mar15 March 18:12
        
        AZ is not the only vaccine though…
- The Savage Squirrel says:
  
  15 Mar15 March 19:56
  
  It’s genuinely tragic that countries have chosen to stop vaccinating on the evidence available.
  The rate of blood clots amongst those vaccinated was no higher than in any random population sample so there is zero evidence of causative effect. In fact no change in the rate of clots with or without a vaccine is positive evidence that it does NOT cause blood clots!
  I genuinely can’t work out whether this is a cynical attempt to deflect or make redundant the political failure to secure supply, or whether it is politicians presented scientific evidence and unable to form even the most basic understanding of how science works.
  
  As this is an important subject, if anyone wants to reassure themselves regarding the AZ vaccine, then there are three independent scientists here all of whom analyse and explain the findings nicely.
  https://www.sciencemediacentre.org/expert-reaction-to-reports-that-ireland-has-suspended-the-use-of-the-oxford-astrazeneca-vaccine/
  - ChrisBCN says:
    
    15 Mar15 March 20:28
    
    I agree that it is tragic… And I would put it down to incompetence
  - chris says:
    
    15 Mar15 March 21:15
    
    If there is some underlying clinical or medicinal clash its worth pausing to find out what it was to reduce other people suffering. Doesn’t matter if it’s 1 or a million people. Til the issue or cofactors are understood its hard to gauge the risk; especially if you have access to the better vaccines.
    - Sandra says:
      
      15 Mar15 March 22:53
      
      Statistically 40 cases out of 17+ million vaccinations is negligible (although I accept not if you/someone you know is one of the cases) and without examining each individual case in detail and looking at all contributing factors a clot can not be attributed with certainty just to AZ. The danger is though that those already sitting on the fence over vaccination/wary of vaccination decide not to trust any vaccine and refuse all of them. I have heard anecdotally that in Europe vaccination generally is less popular anyway so, if that is true, this won’t help build confidence.
      - Sandra says:
        
        15 Mar15 March 22:57
        
        ** I should say mainland Europe as, of course, we are European too!
    - The Savage Squirrel says:
      
      15 Mar15 March 23:38
      
      chris if there were no downside to pausing that might be reasonable. If it were a cosmetic procedure, say.
      In this case though, there is a clear and present downside. Pausing costs lives as more people die of Covid-19. Pausing on the data available is madness bordering on criminal.
Baji Nahid says:

15 Mar15 March 16:37

Morrisons loyalty scheme is changing big time, no more points collection but instead instant money off coupons of products
- KevMc says:
  
  15 Mar15 March 16:48
  
  I guess I will be cashing out my £100 worth of points before august then
  - Baji Nahid says:
    
    15 Mar15 March 16:59
    
    Yep Before the 5th of August I believe?
    - BuildBackBetter says:
      
      15 Mar15 March 17:41
      
      Thanks for that. Was worried I won’t be able to earn MORE points on my Amazon gift card purchases next week!
- HeadingForNoPoints says:
  
  15 Mar15 March 17:36
  
  My £60 worth of vouchers were stolen by someone 400 miles away from me, my email and password was part of a leak few years ago and I used the same password on Morrisons (and a few others) so they logged into my account no doubt, no help from Morrisons. Wrote them off and changed my passwords.
  - Aston100 says:
    
    15 Mar15 March 17:55
    
    Username checks out.
- d4ve says:
  
  15 Mar15 March 17:58
  
  You stop earning More points from 10th May and have to convert More points to vouchers by 9th August (then valid for 56 weeks). Assume you lose More points that are multiples of less that 5000.
  - Jerry says:
    
    15 Mar15 March 18:11
    
    Not surprising Morrisons news. They’re giving 10% off to NHS, teachers, Amex, who knows who next. The 10% extra is all built in for the rest of their customers. Did a rare shop there the other day when they offered to top up my next voucher immediately – now I know why. I found Morrisons current prices high. The Lidl ad comparison shops show the same.
    - Super Secret Stuff says:
      
      15 Mar15 March 19:07
      
      Never trust the supermarket comparison ads, you can easily make Waitrose look cheaper than Tescos if you pick the right products
  - CH says:
    
    15 Mar15 March 22:11
    
    You assumed correctly. From their FAQs:
    “For example, if you have a balance of 6,500 points you can redeem 5,000 points but the remaining 1,500 points will be void as More points do not have any monetary value.”
    https://my.morrisons.com/more/#/faq/changes
Baji Nahid says:

15 Mar15 March 17:00

Ah rob thanks for clarification about the BAPP Amex! This means that basically its 3.5 Avios per £1 spent or even better 4.5 with those with retention bonus.