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The HfP chat thread – Saturday 20th March

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Comments (255)

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  • Andy says:
    20 Mar20 March 05:45

    I recall this was brought up a while back, but any recommendations on cheap UK car rental with one of the big brands? A 2 week automatic rental starting in late April seems to be around 600£ for both London and Scotland pickup, which is more than peak summer last year!

    • Paul says:
      20 Mar20 March 07:03

      Try Hertz.com.au. It the Australian site. Has had some deal in the past. Car hire has soared in the pandemic if you can find them open.

      • Andy says:
        20 Mar20 March 16:39

        Says “call to book” unfortunately, just like the UK website. I’ll try it again closer to the date, but Hertz has been poor value for me even when they quote prices since the bankruptcy filing last year

    • KS says:
      20 Mar20 March 07:07

      Not sure if this will help but I tend to use the HSBC WE offer through here: https://www.avisworld.com/worldelite
      This should work on any WE card. Late April does look expensive though.

    • BJ says:
      20 Mar20 March 07:15

      Automatics nearly always very expensive. When my American relatives visited in the past (talking about 10+ years ago) we nearly always got the best deals from Alamo so might be worth check their website.

      • Andy says:
        20 Mar20 March 17:05

        True but my last two rentals in Scotland with Sixt were ~40£ (peak summer 2020) and ~30£ (November 2020) a day, so the ~45£/day they’re asking for an automatic luxury sedan is quite steep. Oh well, gotta suck it up

    • pauldb says:
      20 Mar20 March 07:16

      Kayak (signed in) will discount Sixt to £430 (auto, booked direct).

      • Andy says:
        20 Mar20 March 16:46

        Interesting, must depend on dates – Kayak is showing me 530£ for 15 days, and 610£ paying at the counter rather pre-paying

    • Andrew says:
      20 Mar20 March 08:47

      Have you tried Arnold Clark? Got to watch the pick-up times as they are car showroom orientated, but they are about a 2 minute walk from the Edinburgh Park tram stop and usually significantly cheaper than the airport hires.

      There is a real shortage of hire car stock though.

      • RussellH says:
        20 Mar20 March 10:21

        That takes me back!
        My brother used to use Arnold Clark in Stirling for ski weekends. Hired a Lada for ~£20 for the weekend.

  • MadeUpName says:
    20 Mar20 March 06:21

    Posted late yesterday so posting again – Data point- I’ve just been able to sign up to barclays avios rewards this evening. I opened a new account when the new offer first went live (I wasn’t a barclays customer before).

  • John W says:
    20 Mar20 March 06:39

    How are people finding this Barclays avios account ?- I am not sure it is worth signing up .
    Do you need to switch your existing bank account with your salary or move money accross ?

    • John says:
      20 Mar20 March 07:17

      Yes

    • BJ says:
      20 Mar20 March 07:22

      Ultimately I suppose it depends how much you need and value avios. As the articles on HfP indicated it is worth the fee even if used in just the most basic way. To get the most out of it you need to take out other Barclays products which may not be a good idea.. The sweet spot is sticking to the basics, and it’s a good option for solo travellers.

    • Roger says:
      20 Mar20 March 07:42

      I’ve signed up and found it all awful. My main account – which I have no intention of changing – is first direct. They have always given me fantastic customer service (for a decade), instant answer on the phone by a competent human.

      Despite this being billed as Barclays “Premier” the experience is anything but. I signed up online, and then the only sign I was accepted was the debit cards showed up a week later. No welcome letter, just the generic letter with the card on it. No expectation about what else to receive, how to register for online banking, etc. Then the pins the next day. A few days later a cheque book turned up, then a couple days later the phone banking pin.

      Only after all that lot turned up did I get a “welcome email” with very unuseful generic info.

      I signed up for the app. Managed to enrol straight away on Avios Rewards, but it felt quite glitchy.

      In the app try to start the account switching process and it says “you do not have an eligible current account”. So I called up the premium support number. Had to deal with a painful automated phone system, eventually got to a human who was entirely clueless. She read out some bits of her internal help guide which I pointed out was about what happens midway through the switch process, she then tried to fob me off with “it needs to be open for 7 days before it will be available”. Obviously nonsense. Sure enough 7 days come and go and no change.

      Doesn’t feel too premium. I was considering using this as my main “bill paying” account for all my standing orders and direct debits. No chance now.

      • BJ says:
        20 Mar20 March 08:22

        Never got the popularity of FD, I hated it. Don’t know if it has entered the 21st century yet but back in the day you had to call for the simplest tasks, even with online banking already being a thing.

        • Andrew says:
          20 Mar20 March 09:08

          Generous credit card limit, and for my accounts anyway, they don’t report my current account or credit cards to any credit reference agency.

          The App is a few steps behind other banks though. Trouble is my main accounts are with LBG and their apps are constantly upgraded, every other mainstream bank is rubbish by comparison – but they have been providing online banking for personal customers for 36 years so have a bit of experience.

          • Colin says:
            20 Mar20 March 17:11

            36 years online ( 1985) might be a push, TSB had their speedbank, a little machine that you put over your (inc dial) phone that made the correct tones. Lloyds ATM still had those one line LED viewers .

        • Pete M says:
          20 Mar20 March 09:08

          You can do a lot online now, but the beauty is that calling is actually quick and painless. Unlike most other banks… It took me over 2 weeks for Halifax to correctly update my address recently, about 8 calls with completely disinterested people. But I got £150 out of them, so guess that was a bonus…

        • Yorkieflyer says:
          20 Mar20 March 10:17

          But the point is that you get straight through to a competent real person who can sort it. No endless queues and options on the phone, chat bots and overseas call centres. The web/app is fine for everyday stuff, not fancy and no unnecessary bells and whistles

        • RussellH says:
          20 Mar20 March 10:25

          My partner signed up with First Direct when they were giving away £100 for doing so.

          Some years later they unilaterally closed the account because they felt that she was not using the account appropriately – ie just writing the occasional cheque to tradesmen, paying credit card bills, using an ATM…
          But HSBC are notorious for closing accounts and never explaning why.

      • Kipto says:
        20 Mar20 March 09:15

        Agree re First Direct. Been with them over twenty years. Great customer service.

        • Anna says:
          20 Mar20 March 10:08

          +1 – coming up 30 years now. Now there’s the app I very rarely need to call them.

          • Harry T says:
            20 Mar20 March 10:21

            Never had to call First Direct since opening my account but they were delightful when I needed them. The app works very well these days.

          • Sandra says:
            20 Mar20 March 12:11

            +1, about 30 years too. We have had loans, bridging loans, overdraft increases, virtually everything and because you get through quickly to a competent person (or if they can’t answer they pass you on to someone who can) all discussed & arranged over the phone with a practically instant answer & paperwork done afterwards so much easier to explain if the circumstances are unusual. Mostly just use the app these days though.

    • Red Flyer says:
      20 Mar20 March 07:51

      I had the opposite experience – left FD after being a happy customer since mid 1990’s but noticed a drop off in last 18 months, particularly with wait times on phone. Now have both HSBC & Barclays Premier and flip salary monthly between the 2 and have WE Mastercard as my strategy now. Avios Rewarsa activated on day 1 and 25,000 now showing as ready to post in May as expected.

      • Roger says:
        20 Mar20 March 10:48

        They did get busy a year or two ago. I think after a big push for new customers. But they staffed up and it’s back to normal again. A couple of years ago we had an issue where someone was able to use groupon to charge my wife’s old debit card a year after it had been cancelled and replaced. We complained and a couple of notches up the food chain and ended up getting a call back from the bloke who actually manages the card processing team. Not a customer service supervisor/complaints team, but the guy who actually runs the whole card processing team. I was blown away. No other bank would that happen.

  • BSI1978 says:
    20 Mar20 March 07:06

    Anyone had a VS flight cancellation of late? Timeframe for refund if so….?

    • Jim says:
      20 Mar20 March 07:43

      My return VS was cancelled, re booked two days ealeier. 300,000 miles plus two vouchers or full cash refund. Currently ticket is at open status while I decide what to do. VS will do all they can to hold onto your cash.

    • The Streets says:
      20 Mar20 March 08:28

      Mine took about two to three weeks for a refund. They were also pretty relaxed about a flight I had frozen that was previously off peak and changed it to a peak date without incurring additional miles

  • BJ says:
    20 Mar20 March 07:30

    Another volcanic eruption on Iceland. Reports at the moment suggest there is not likely to be a great deal of smoke and ash, and there should be little impacts on aviation. But worth keeping a eye on it.
    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-56465393

    • Andrew says:
      20 Mar20 March 08:07

      Little impact on aviation because there’s very little aviation.

      • BJ says:
        20 Mar20 March 08:25

        Lol, on reading the article my first thought was ‘famous last words’

      • Navara says:
        20 Mar20 March 08:48

        Can’t see there being much Aviation now till August with the third wave in Europe.Just bit the bullet and booked Cornwall for May.

        • Andrew says:
          20 Mar20 March 09:11

          Yes I think European summer holidays are pretty much off the table now.

          • Sandra says:
            20 Mar20 March 12:35

            BBC news online reporting scientists (who feed into SAGE) saying overseas travel unlikely this summer due to risk of bringing variants back into UK, particularly more SA variant, and also because of infection rates in Europe increasing and their, so far, low rates of vaccination.

          • Mike says:
            20 Mar20 March 13:18

            Yup agree definitely no overseas travel this year – in the summer and I am holding off on ski bookings in case the predicted winter spike occurs

  • Jody says:
    20 Mar20 March 07:36

    Thanks for the supportive messages from people on yesterday’s thread, you’re very kind.

    No side effects yet, but it’s only been 16 hours……!

    • Anna says:
      20 Mar20 March 08:16

      Morning Jody! I had a few quite rough hours last night (temperature shot up and I went bright red in the face on top of the hungover sensation, but feel fine this morning. I would say from 24 to 36 hours post jab were the worst. Fingers x’d.

    • Andy says:
      20 Mar20 March 08:54

      I had my dose at 10.30 yesterday morning. Had a temperature of 39.8C by bedtime with uncontrollable shivers! Had a very feverish night sleep. Temp down to 39.2 this morning and still feel rough. Can only think how bad getting Covid would actually be! Glad you got the dose
      Jody!

      • Pete M says:
        20 Mar20 March 09:10

        Interesting to hear and sorry you are all having a rough time 🙁 I had my shot yesterday morning and have had zero side effects, apart from a very slightly tender arm.

        • Anna says:
          20 Mar20 March 10:09

          It didn’t hit me until 24 hours later so you may not feel so smug in a bit lol!

          • Pete M says:
            20 Mar20 March 10:15

            I’m about to head out for a workout, so if you never hear from me again, know I went out with AZ pride! 🙂

          • WaynedP says:
            20 Mar20 March 12:35

            Not so sure you should be heading out for a work-out @Pete M.

            Not possible for you to take a rest day ?

            When I was doing my conscripted military service in my early 20s (treated as dispensable govt property to wage an ideological war) some of our PT officers were highly peeved that we were once given an entire 24 hour day off from any physical exercise after receiving a raft of vaccinations.

            Other than the presence of a crewed military ambulance when we were given punishment exercise sessions, it was one of the few concessions I recall when medical opinion was allowed to override the prevailing “the army will make a man out of you, even if it kills you in the process” sentiment.

            My point is, if the bigoted, ideological, die-hard South African National Defence Force hawks could relent on a day’s rest after vaccinations, then perhaps you should be affording yourself the same take-it-easier approach for one day ?

        • AJA says:
          20 Mar20 March 10:15

          Same here Pete. Apart from the slightly sore upper arm no discernable side effects. 🙂 Taking it easy anyway.

      • Michael C says:
        20 Mar20 March 10:16

        I was likewise with the shivers, AndyI I’m telling myself that means we’re both a) megaprotected, and b) won’t have any shot 2 effects ;o)

      • David S says:
        20 Mar20 March 10:24

        I had the uncontrollable shivers as well. Thought I was going to shake my body to bits – I have Osteoarthritis which meant it was really painful as well. But ok now

    • HBommie says:
      20 Mar20 March 08:59

      3 days later, bit of a snotty nose. Probably unrelated?

    • ChrisC says:
      20 Mar20 March 09:17

      Exactly 22 1/2 hours after my AZ does on Thursday evening it felt like I’d been side swiped by a bus. It was that sudden.

      No discernible temperature but a headache and feeling generally achey and tired.

      Paracetamol and plenty of fluids and a good nights sleep and I feel almost human again.

      Arm still sore though.

      • Polly says:
        20 Mar20 March 23:02

        Gosh, am really surprised hearing about all these side effects. All our cohort of friends 60 yrs plus, not a single side effect. Mostly we all got AZ, couple got Phil. Hope you all feel better soon, and that others don’t refuse their jabs.

    • Travel Strong says:
      20 Mar20 March 09:56

      19hrs in I am running 1*C hotter than normal, which is actually quite pleasant, but also woke up quite dehydrated.

      • Oh! Matron! says:
        27 Mar27 March 08:50

        After having COVID around 6 weeks ago, its left me very susceptible to dehydration. Having to drink more to avoid the early evening headache which seems to be a regular occurrence .

    • Jody says:
      20 Mar20 March 10:37

      Sorry for all those with horrid side effects, hope they disappear soon. I’ve got a slightly achey arm, but nothing else (but to be fair I feel pretty rubbish most days so I wouldn’t necessarily know the difference!).

      Anna, bet you thought you were out of the woods with nothing until 24 hours afterwards.

      Andy, I hope you’re keeping on top paracetamol and ibuprofen with a temperature that high!

      • Sandra says:
        20 Mar20 March 12:17

        My arm, shoulder and back on that side were really achy for about 3 days and 4 days later I also had 24 hours of extreme lethargy but not sure if that was AZ connected or coincidence. A couple of my friends had 24/48 hours with high temperature, flu symptoms and pounding headaches so I think I got off quite lightly although will see how I fare with second dose!

  • Daniel says:
    20 Mar20 March 07:56

    Virgin SA Portal Question. Still no sign of e-mail or points for a Mozza’s purchase last Saturday. Has anyone received points yet from the portal yet or even a e-mail notification?

    The site does say 7 days, and if it doesn’t come by them you can submit receipts to claim back – but surely the receipts have Gift Cards on them and therefore make the transactions not eligible!

    • Chrisasaurus says:
      20 Mar20 March 08:27

      Then do a small transaction and see if that tracked quickly – then you know if they are indeed not tracking gift cans txns?

    • Ste Cox says:
      20 Mar20 March 08:31

      same for me with a purchase last Friday. did get airtime on it though so not the end of the world for me.

    • mark2 says:
      20 Mar20 March 08:53

      IME seven days is wildly optimistic.
      It ca be many weeks before the points arrive.

      • memesweeper says:
        20 Mar20 March 10:06

        +1

        my last two took about 21 days each… and instore is never 100% reliable… just relax and treat it as a surprise bonus when it comes 🙂

      • CH says:
        20 Mar20 March 12:23

        Presumably this is the time until it appears on the transaction history, as pending rather than approved?

  • Jonny says:
    20 Mar20 March 08:20

    PayPoint – instore bill payments in Coop stores. Is there a per-day or per-transaction limit? Want to use to pay Council Tax to trigger Amx plat bonus target with fewest possible visits. Thx.

    • BJ says:
      20 Mar20 March 08:30

      Your council may be imposing limits, not the co-op. For example, here in Edinburgh it is £300 IIRC and we have to scan the payment cards twice into one transaction at co-op to achieve that. Varies by LA though so you need to check in your own area.

      • JohnT says:
        20 Mar20 March 08:46

        Lucky in Brighton as can use Paypal (to Amex).

        • Brighton Belle says:
          20 Mar20 March 09:11

          Don’t need even need PayPal in Brighton. Amex accepted as an option in online payments for council tax. Did it yesterday.

      • Sam G says:
        20 Mar20 March 08:48

        One co-op could do a £200 payment . I then tried another co-op and it wouldn’t work for even that. Both times they seemed surprised to be handling such a “large” payment and since my council tax bill is £2.5k I gave up with the idea. Shame as it’d be a perfect large spend for the biz plat offer

        • Genghis says:
          20 Mar20 March 10:37

          Usually only one paypoint actual payment per day for council tax. Ie. Can’t pay once on one Amex and then pay again on same / different Amex

          But IME, transactions limited to £200 but multiple transactions can be done and then put on one Amex payment. I did it yesterday. Ie £200 + £200 + £200…

      • Phil W says:
        20 Mar20 March 10:48

        Hi BJ, which co-ops in Edinburgh have PP and take Amex for Council Tax?

        • BJ says:
          20 Mar20 March 11:52

          For me, every store I tried. Initially Scotmid didn’t work but EwanG directed me to two in Granton that did. One is on Crew Road North but I think it goes under the other street the store faces. The other is nearby but I forget name of the Street. I used Shandwick Place most but it closed in 19. Now I use South Clerck Street or East Craigs on way in or out of the city. Frederick Street in centre takes it but best avoided, a couple of the ladies there can be difficult as can the manager. At any of them don’t ask, just get them to swipe your CT card then take out your amex and pop it in the reader.

          • Chrism20 says:
            20 Mar20 March 18:05

            The other street for the Scotmid thats on the corner of Crewe Rd North is Boswall Parkway, my first ever job was in the TSB that was opposite. The blue Co-op at McDonald Rd has also worked for me in the past. Haven’t tried the new one at Stockbridge yet.

          • BJ says:
            20 Mar20 March 19:16

            Thanks, hadn’t noticed a new co-pp in Stockbridge.

      • Kevin D says:
        20 Mar20 March 23:31

        Yes. I had to pay my rates (bit like council tax in NI) in £400 chunks of 5 days.

    • Andrew says:
      20 Mar20 March 08:57

      It’s a challenging question to answer.

      There are dozens of different Cooperative societies, each with their own rules and counter systems. Near me I have two different Co-ops that look identical except one says “Mid-counties” in smaller writing. The Visa offers don’t work in that one.

      There’s at least 100 local authorities, each with their own rules too.

      • Jonny says:
        20 Mar20 March 09:15

        Thanks all for quick replies. It’s Camden Council. For some reason I thought a £200 per day (not transaction) limit applied but not sure where I got that idea from.

        I guess only one way to find out.

        Immediate problem is PDF bill – Camden hasn’t embedded the barcode font so it’s just plain text characters. Trying to regenerate the barcode in a website and see if that scans!

        • Jonny says:
          20 Mar20 March 12:45

          Update: Just back from the Coop. £213 payment didn’t go through on PayPoint. £200 max the till operator told me, so did £200. I then immediately paid a £39 electricity bill on same Amex at same till. Cashier asked if she wanted me to try the balance of £13 for Council Tax but queue had built up behind me so I declined.

          So my data points are max £200 per transaction, not per day. Don’t know if two payments to council tax would have worked or not. Presume a different Amex would circumvent but that doesn’t help with the plat target!

        • CH says:
          20 Mar20 March 12:49

          And your random website barcode worked? I’m impressed.

          • Jonny says:
            20 Mar20 March 18:34

            It didn’t. I tested it with a barcode scanning app on phone. However all previous years’ bills had the same barcode so they scanned an old bill i had from the receive-by-post era.

      • Matt says:
        20 Mar20 March 09:21

        +1 for fact that YMMV. Most I managed in one go last year was £200, but suggestion here last week was that you could ask cashier to ring up multiple lots of 200 and pay in one transaction. As usual do not mention Amex or ask if it will work: just put your card in reader. Best to choose a quietish time and give your local co-op a go. Fingers crossed that it and your council will play nicely.

      • The Original Nick. says:
        20 Mar20 March 11:06

        Same for me in Oxfordshire.

    • Secret Squirrel says:
      20 Mar20 March 09:13

      Ppl mentioned £200 per day.

    • Steve says:
      20 Mar20 March 10:23

      Seems some my local BPs have paypoint (only the BP without an M&S attached). Presume Amex would work there?

    • Ben says:
      20 Mar20 March 11:25

      Paid my Barnet council tax bill upfront last year – limit in the co-op I used was £250 but I did multiple transactions until I got to the right amount

    • Wally1976 says:
      20 Mar20 March 21:07

      The local authority/Co-op combo I use has a £200 limit so I was a little peeved to find that our bill has risen above £200 a month this year (yes I realise some people’s bills are far higher than this!) :-(.

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