The HfP chat thread – Sunday 21st March

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Bee says:

21 Mar21 March 06:26

Looking to set up a wise account, any referral links?
- Oli says:
  
  21 Mar21 March 07:18
  
  Thank you!
  
  https://wise.com/invite/u/olivierk27
- Steve says:
  
  21 Mar21 March 07:34
  
  What does the referral get you (as new account holder)?
  - DT says:
    
    21 Mar21 March 07:48
    
    Fee waived for your first transfer, up to £500 transfer value (worth about £1.90 in fees I think)
    - Steve says:
      
      21 Mar21 March 07:52
      
      Better than a kick in the teeth I guess!
- Mr. AC says:
  
  21 Mar21 March 08:43
  
  https://wise.com/invite/u/alexanderc426 in case anyone needs another one.
  I’ll note that though Wise is probably the best overall when you’re sending money AND converting at the same time, there are ways to send GBP through SWIFT for free, and then exchange on the other side. E.g. Revolut Plus or Barclays Premier does that for free. If the exchange rate of the receiving bank is better (in my case it’s 4x better), you’ll be ahead.
  - Blenz101 says:
    
    21 Mar21 March 12:13
    
    For anybody heading to Dubai then Wise is shockingly bad for the transfer of AED where they now insist on the use of a card payments and have shockingly high fees and a poor exchange rate.
Anna says:

21 Mar21 March 06:54

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-56467813
Which minister do you think will get the unenviable job of announcing this to millions of people who can only travel in July and August?
- Yuff says:
  
  21 Mar21 March 07:20
  
  At the moment I think it’s absolutely right Brits aren’t allowed to go abroad fir leisure and unless they sort their act out on vaccinations etc I don’t see it improving in time for July/August.
  I can’t believe what’s happening here in Mallorca, who have made huge efforts in their battle to reduce cases down to 20/100k, kept restrictions over Easter in preparation of opening up the summer, Spain banned Spaniards from leisure trips over Easter and Germany, where Merkel stated last week are rising exponentially, increased their flight to Mallorca from today from 7 flights a day to 50 a day.
  The only saving grace is they have to had negative pcr tests which will reduce cases but they will increase. Although there are now complaints they are only checking the paperwork randomly.The Balearics has had the worse vaccine supply in Spain.
  The US is looking better for summer travel than Europe now.
  - Anna says:
    
    21 Mar21 March 07:26
    
    I’ve got Florida and Spain booked (both refundable, obviously) but I’m also wondering if the UK and US will mutually bar each other due to the fear of variants being imported.
    I would travel to Scotland if they’ll have us, but I think England and Wales will be overcrowded, overpriced and very likely wet so if it comes to the worst I’ll just stay at home and have a few spa days and plenty of meals out!
    - Yuff says:
      
      21 Mar21 March 07:35
      
      By July the UK and the US will be in a much better position than Europe I suspect.
      Vaccinated travellers should be able to travel to other countries who have decent protection from vaccination programmes, of which there will be multiple countries in that category by July/august.
      Israel and UAE as well as US are all doing pretty well with cases, deaths etc all starting to drop pretty quickly.
      - Steve says:
        
        21 Mar21 March 07:50
        
        I would say it’s as important to look at what those other countries are doing regarding letting other countries in, as it is looking at how they’re handling their own residents.
        
        E.g. Dubai may have made great progress on vaccinating residents, but of they’re letting in all and sundry from around the globe, then the vaccination state of the residents isn’t the primary concern if the country is full of unvaccinated tourists.
      - Yuff says:
        
        21 Mar21 March 08:17
        
        @steve
        
        I did preface my comment with vaccinated travellers, you are absolutely right if they let un-vaccinated tourists in it’s pointless.
        I have a trip to Dubai booked in May half term and October half term, we both won’t have had our 2nd jab by May half term, nor will the children.
        I have already cancelled Easter in Dubai, May isn’t looking great and no idea about october 🤣
    - Louise K says:
      
      21 Mar21 March 07:41
      
      This is my view too Anna.
      
      I gave up trying to book a cottage here in the UK, I think it will be too busy and crowded.
      
      Have family in Scotland that I haven’t seen in over a year and Christmas plans were scuppered.
      
      I think maybe a couple of days out to West Kirkby and Formby will be the extent of our travels this summer.
      
      I have the US booked for September (already had April and June trips cancelled) and am 50/50 if that will go ahead.
      - Freddy says:
        
        21 Mar21 March 07:49
        
        The article is based on one ‘expert’ opinion and the main concern is variants. This concern will still remain even when most are vaccinated. On that basis we may aswell forget travel abroad full stop
      - Anna says:
        
        21 Mar21 March 07:56
        
        The Blackpool Hampton is nearly £150 pn in August!
      - Rob says:
        
        21 Mar21 March 10:15
        
        The HIX in Bodmin we stayed at last year is £180, I checked yesterday.
      - John says:
        
        21 Mar21 March 08:16
        
        It was £150 in August 2019 too.
        
        I paid it because it was the best option for my plans.
      - Sam G says:
        
        21 Mar21 March 08:59
        
        Think outside the box for a UK trip. I own an airbnb in Kent and myself and my competitors still have plenty of availability and there are miles of lovely beaches, lots of attractions to keep kids busy, some great food and even on the hottest day of the year the beaches are never like the scenes at Bournemouth etc. Or do a few days as a tourist in London in a nice hotel, that’s what I’m planning. Certainly avoiding the whole of the south west !
      - Matthew says:
        
        21 Mar21 March 09:06
        
        Nothing wrong with the Pine woods in Formby 👍
      - Zoe says:
        
        21 Mar21 March 10:10
        
        To Sam G maybe you could share your Airbnb link (if that’s okay with Rob).
      - Eugene says:
        
        21 Mar21 March 10:23
        
        Israel is by far your best bet.
    - Mouse says:
      
      21 Mar21 March 07:56
      
      Has Scotland said when they will open their “borders” to UK visitors yet?
      - Anna says:
        
        21 Mar21 March 08:13
        
        From April 26th has been mentioned but I’ve not seen anything official. If the infection figures continue to fall, it might make economic sense for Scotland to pick up some leisure business from the rest of the UK before hotels in England re-open on May 17th. The early May bank holiday is usually a popular weekend break but only self-catering accommodation will be open in England at that point for leisure breaks.
      - Peggerz says:
        
        21 Mar21 March 13:49
        
        The official date to open travel between Scotland and the rUK is the 26th April as per Scot Gov, with the proviso that things progress well. This can and will be changed if there is an ‘uptick’ anywhere.
        
        I have booked into the Doubletree at Greenwich in early June (thanks to HfPers advice) to see my wee one who is at Goldsmiths. Can’t wait to say Happy New Year in person!
      - Anna says:
        
        21 Mar21 March 15:34
        
        Fingers x’s @Peggerz! I’ve done the opposite and booked a weekend in Edinburgh for our belated silver wedding anniversary.
  - Rob says:
    
    21 Mar21 March 10:17
    
    London is 20 per 100k (23 in Chelsea last week so probably under this week) so not entirely sure of the point.
- Andrew says:
  
  21 Mar21 March 07:56
  
  I think Europe is off the table this summer now, but USA looking much more likely, particularly for vaccinated people, but let’s hope first dose is sufficient. Cunard are running cruises around the U.K. from July and requires evidence of a second dose 10 days prior to travel.
  - Anna says:
    
    21 Mar21 March 08:16
    
    I think the US is gearing up for a summer of travel, even if it’s only domestic. I booked 2 rooms for 5 nights at the Kimpton Surfcomber on Miami beach at 25k points per night but when I looked at adding on extra nights the other day it’s gone well above that now!
    - Alan says:
      
      21 Mar21 March 08:45
      
      I’m still hoping the US in June might be a possibility for vaccinated folk. It’s a long shot I know but can be cancelled (redemption booking) so have left it for now – certainly seems more plausible than a European trip!
      - Dave says:
        
        21 Mar21 March 08:51
        
        If the UK is going to stop overseas travel due to concern over variants then I guess we can say goodbye to holidays until 2024/25!
        
        Once we’re vaccinated over here I’d like to see some relaxation of restrictions. Put a decent test and trace programme in place and there is no reason why they should ban us going everywhwre
      - Johnny Tabasco says:
        
        21 Mar21 March 09:17
        
        The USA in June ? Behave.
  - HBommie says:
    
    21 Mar21 March 09:54
    
    I understand the second dose requirement for cruise guests, but what I don’t get is that staff don’t have this need. The logistics of workforce vaccination is tricky for the business at present, both legally and getting hold of the stuff for this purpose, but that will be a major turnoff I would think.
- TGLoyalty says:
  
  21 Mar21 March 09:30
  
  The travel task force will announce its findings/recommendations on April 12th
  
  Im starting to wonder if these scientists just worry they won’t get 5 mins of fame ever again
  - BuildBackBetter says:
    
    21 Mar21 March 09:47
    
    What a noble thought!
    Getting 5 mins of fame is what’s driving them rather than thousands of people dying.
    - Pete M says:
      
      21 Mar21 March 09:57
      
      Having a few epidemiologist friends, the one thing I notice is that they are completely incapable of factoring in the wider socio-economic impacts of their views and advice. As far as they are concerned, (and I exaggerate slightly for impact) the only solution to this mess is that we all stay at home, for several years, whilst we continue being paid from some imaginary source and, presumably, have our food and everything else delivered by robots. As someone said above, if we are truly going to continue to close ourselves off to the world and lock down every time a new variant is detected, I cannot see the world and/or this country ever going back to any sort of “normal”.
      - Alan says:
        
        21 Mar21 March 10:08
        
        That’s not their job.
        
        It’s up to the politicians to decide what level of avoidable deaths they are willing to accept in return for a lower economic impact.
      - Jamie says:
        
        21 Mar21 March 12:47
        
        Are you really that dim, Pete? Where is the job of an epidemiologist to consider this? They give epidemiology advice, politicians decide.
      - Pete M says:
        
        21 Mar21 March 16:08
        
        Thank you for the insult, Jamie. My friends are clearly not providing advice to me as they do to the government – these are normal conversations, where I’d expect a degree of realism to creep in. They are so completely blinded by their truth and desire to completely eradicate Covid, Australia-style, that I don’t envy the politicians making the decisions – because, according to them, if we don’t do exactly as they say we will all die…
    - TGLoyalty says:
      
      21 Mar21 March 10:44
      
      Deaths in feb/March are 3% higher than the 5 year average. -5 to +5% is the expected range anyway.
      
      80%+ of over 60’s are vaccinated with first dose and they made up the overwhelming vast majority of deaths.
    - The Lord says:
      
      21 Mar21 March 11:47
      
      And laying the groundwork for their future book releases
- Chris Heyes says:
  
  21 Mar21 March 09:54
  
  Anna That’s probably the best news we have heard throughout this pandemic
  But looks like my America trip is off for another year Gr
  Even so it’s good news rather than various groups of people trying to get their own agenda across.
  Will We Won’t We is never a good situation to be in
  At last someone with courage coming to give an announcement can only be good news regardless whether you agree or not
- Yorkieflyer says:
  
  21 Mar21 March 10:08
  
  I think we basically just need to wait and see. The predicable public lobbying by all sorts of experts, health, travel and so on with their own professional interest and personal prejudice will doubtless reach fever pitch shortly, not forgetting Lock em up Libs n Labs and Run Free Cons before 12 April
- Olly says:
  
  21 Mar21 March 10:30
  
  @Anna, as it’s the BBC quoting scientists who fundamentally disagree with any actions that might endanger lives regardless of social economic impact – compared to politicians who will have more of “an acceptable level of risk” concerning casualties, I would be surprised if any minister will make that statement. It will of course give the BBC and other media outlets more column inches on how the Government is ignoring scientific advice and putting people’s lives at risk.
  - TGLoyalty says:
    
    21 Mar21 March 10:46
    
    There should be balance from both sides.
    
    Shouting your mouth off with a single unconsidered view on national TV isn’t wise.
    - Pete M says:
      
      21 Mar21 March 11:32
      
      That’s spot on, actually!
      - Yuff says:
        
        21 Mar21 March 13:04
        
        The Sunday times has a great graphic of vaccinations and deaths today.
        It takes 47k vaccinations to save a life in the under 50 category , 1 in 20 in a care home and 1 in 180 in the over 80’s category.
        It does not say whether those figures are in or out of lockdown, however as most over 50’ s will be vaccinated by end of this month then things don’t look too bad for the UK.
- Sam G says:
  
  21 Mar21 March 13:21
  
  @Zoe I didn’t want to post it in case people thought I was just trying to flog a few nights! But it’s the renovated four bed victorian town house in Ramsgate if you google it. Ramsgate if you’ve never been is surprisingly charming around the harbour and even nicer if you walk up to Broadstairs etc. Then plenty of things nearby or to drive out and do – Ramsgate war tunnels, Margate, fruit picking, Canterbury etc.
  
  We were there a few times last summer and never found anywhere too busy – especially compared to the scenes in the news from Bournemouth etc.
- Lady London says:
  
  21 Mar21 March 14:34
  
  sounds quite sensible.
  
  better to try restricting this year as well in case it’s possible to avoid losing all the previous progress made. Evil variants may come in anyway but we should at least try for a bit longer to avoid exposures that could ruin everything.
- C says:
  
  21 Mar21 March 14:39
  
  The UK policies continue to be a confused mix of management and eradication. The past year has shown that a zero-COVID policy is not sustainable in most countries; the end game is managed infection. While it’s tempting to argue for waiting until we have 100% vaccination rates, we also can now anticipate that won’t be enough: other countries will have different levels of take up, particularly in countries with less resources or less willingness to be vaccinated, and the virus will undoubtedly mutate beyond the current vaccines. We will thus either need to create a permanently socially distanced world with repeated lockdiwns, or find some other path. The question is thus a political one, balancing the present impact of COVID against the present and future economic, health and other costs of lockdowns and other measures.
  
  I’m fed up with politicians hiding behind science. They need to take a stand and do what they are elected to do: balance competing demands in the interests of those whom they purport to govern. And if they can’t do that, step aside for the next group who can try to do better.
Garry says:

21 Mar21 March 07:55

Transferring points from one Virgin account to another (family) does it cost points to do this transfer?
- Andrew says:
  
  21 Mar21 March 07:57
  
  Yes, basically nearly the price of just buying the points – so don’t do it.
  - Garry says:
    
    21 Mar21 March 08:51
    
    Thanks, it didnt say anything about fees when I logged in and saw the option (currently have zero points)
    Also, it wouldnt let me through the next stage until I had 1k or more points.
    Have MR points, so good thing I asked here
    Although I am interested in using about 10k points of Virgin in the future.
  - Alan says:
    
    21 Mar21 March 18:49
    
    Does that still apply if you have Gold flying club status. I thought that allowed you to share family points.
- Wally1976 says:
  
  21 Mar21 March 08:10
  
  Others on here will know more but you can book individual legs using points from different accounts, I believe, as a workaround.
  - Secret Squirrel says:
    
    21 Mar21 March 09:59
    
    Correct, you can only use points from another family member if the amount covers an entire leg, no part pay.
    - Garry says:
      
      21 Mar21 March 11:27
      
      Can you use points and pay, if its from a family member?
- Ste Cox says:
  
  21 Mar21 March 12:14
  
  could you transfer out to Hilton and then back in to the other virgin account?
  - The real John says:
    
    21 Mar21 March 14:25
    
    No
Andy says:

21 Mar21 March 08:23

I’m in the market for a case of wine. Just received a ba wine offer for a 1,000 avios and “half price”. I wonder if I can get better. Are there other ways of getting avios or virgin points?
- Steve says:
  
  21 Mar21 March 08:29
  
  Doesn’t everyone always say Aldi and Lidl have award winning wines? Cheap prices and accept Amex.
  - Crafty says:
    
    21 Mar21 March 09:03
    
    As with most places ,just careful which ones you buy…
    
    Generally the best thing to do if you want nice wine at good prices is forget about Avios and get a case from the Wine Society.
  - Anna says:
    
    21 Mar21 March 09:10
    
    Aldi delivers wine as well!
  - Steve says:
    
    21 Mar21 March 09:21
    
    Any Aldi/Lidl recommendations?
    - Zoe says:
      
      21 Mar21 March 10:17
      
      I have the Wotwine app on my phone, it blind tastes then attributes a value to each wine. You can scan barcodes instore.
    - Tiff says:
      
      21 Mar21 March 12:38
      
      Lidl Fairtrade South African Shiraz, £5.99.
- Andrew (@andrewseftel) says:
  
  21 Mar21 March 09:15
  
  Virgin Wines usually has a decent intro offer. Also check Amex cards for BA Wine Flyer 20% off. No points, but there’s a Vinoteca offer on a lot of Amex cards and I’d say their selection is a bit more interesting than Laithwaites/Virgin.
  - Clive says:
    
    21 Mar21 March 11:28
    
    If you go for Virgin try the Pig collection
- Andrew says:
  
  21 Mar21 March 12:05
  
  Do these post as Laithwaites? If so, make sure you use the 20% LBG offer and the 10% Airtime offer.
Alan says:

21 Mar21 March 08:50

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-56460329 – interesting interview with Alan Joyce from QF. He thinks airfares will be lower rather than higher to encourage travel and reiterated their thinking re vaccination passports.
- Andrew says:
  
  21 Mar21 March 09:30
  
  Yes I thought that was an interesting view about air fares too.
- TGLoyalty says:
  
  21 Mar21 March 09:32
  
  Australia is currently 2.5m doses behind its rollout glidpath.
  
  I think it’ll be a while before anyone is on international Qantas flights.
- Paul says:
  
  21 Mar21 March 22:28
  
  Have you looked at QF prices? Never ever seen a discount and the Perth non stop frequently over £5000. If QF reduced prices they’d still be eye wateringly high
Pete M says:

21 Mar21 March 08:53

Morning all! Just a quick thanks to all those commenting yesterday and suggesting, very convincingly, why I shouldn’t do exercise after the jab. Sadly only saw those comments on my return, but happy to say I survived and continue to feel absolutely fine. So the side effects clearly vary hugely – fingers crossed as many of you have it as easy as me!
- WaynedP says:
  
  21 Mar21 March 09:21
  
  👍
- Jody says:
  
  21 Mar21 March 11:23
  
  Glad to hear from you Pete, was a bit worried when you didn’t come back on after your workout!
  
  I went from feeling ok in the morning to feeling like a zombie by about lunchtime. Had to go back to bed, I was completely exhausted. Napped on and off until about 4. I’m still tired now (more tired than usual, feeling knackered is one of the unfortunate symptoms of my autoimmune condition) and have a bit of an achy arm, but no other problems.
  - Pete M says:
    
    21 Mar21 March 11:33
    
    Very glad to hear, Jody! Wonder if vaccine experiences will replace Bendy conversations on here for a few months! 🙂
    - Jody says:
      
      21 Mar21 March 12:26
      
      I’ve never done the bendy thing, so at least this is a chat I can join in in!
      - AJA says:
        
        21 Mar21 March 14:39
        
        I’m another non-bendy HfPer. I agree this is one chat I can join in. The other one I can help with is Nectar Points 🙂
  - AJA says:
    
    21 Mar21 March 14:36
    
    Glad you are ok Jody and Pete. I am feeling absolutely fine, have not had any side effects other than the tenderness in the injection area in my arm. I felt a bit more tired than usual last night so went to bed a bit earlier. But that is it.
    
    Woke up full of the joys of spring this morning, completed my census form and then helped my mum fill hers in via Skype. I had the census website open on one screen and Skype in the other. I read the questions out and completed per the answers my mum gave. Much less fiddly than the last census.
- Andy says:
  
  21 Mar21 March 11:37
  
  I’m still bedridden after my injection Friday morning! Slowly feeling a bit better, now it’s just more like a mild dose of flu.
  
  One thing it has made me think- better to have the injection early in the week so you’re ill during work time rather than the weekend! ☺️
  - Cat says:
    
    21 Mar21 March 14:55
    
    I had my first AZ injection after online school on Wednesday, then had to teach a full day the following day to my second set GCSE class, then my A-Level Maths class, then my Further Maths class, and as the Maths got progressively more complicated to explain, my temperature went up, I felt more and more exhausted and the banging in my head got worse.
    The F Maths lesson was woeful.
    Woke up the next morning feeling absolutely fine!
    - Lyn says:
      
      21 Mar21 March 19:24
      
      Glad to hear you’ve had your vaccination, Cat, and were OK on Friday. Thursday sounds exhausting and stressful.
Martin Short says:

21 Mar21 March 09:03

Getting through passport control at Heathrow T2 took 1 hour this morning with only berween 100 -200 people arriving.
Only 1 desk open then they opened another 3. No e-gates were open
Matthew says:

21 Mar21 March 09:09

Has anyone any experience of getting points and status benefits when booking a ‘Hotel Collection’ rate via Amex gold? I’ve done FHR bookings via Plat before and got points and the Hotel Collection rates now include $100 hotel credit but I brekky so I’d need to rely on my status for free breakfast. They are flexible pay at hotel rates if that makes a difference. Thanks.
- Matthew says:
  
  21 Mar21 March 09:10
  
  Should say ‘no brekky’ with Hotel Collection rates
- memesweeper says:
  
  21 Mar21 March 09:22
  
  yup — did this at a Conrad and it was treated exactly as if I’d booked direct, except with benefits.
  - Matthew says:
    
    21 Mar21 March 09:39
    
    OK great. Didn’t realise ‘Conrad’ hotels were in the hotel collection group too…