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The HfP chat thread – Sunday 21st March

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Comments (338)

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

  • Andy says:
    21 Mar21 March 15:23

    If overseas travel this summer is unlikely, those with 241s due to expire Q1 2022 will have difficulty using them. Is the best course of action to wait and see ? I have 2 due to expire in March 22 and have not booked anything yet. Any advice please ? Thanks

    • Andrew says:
      21 Mar21 March 15:26

      Same with BA status – with these latest developments, hopefully they will extend the other half of the membership which didn’t get the extension a few weeks ago.

    • Genghis says:
      21 Mar21 March 15:30

      Lock up in a cheapy FTV. But for how long will BA allow you to create a FTV…

      • Anna says:
        21 Mar21 March 15:32

        +1. For minimal cost in the short term.you can extend them another 12 months to April 2023. Works with a one way avios booking so you could just book an outbound leg in economy to Paris or similar for 4500 avios plus £17.50 or whatever it is now.

      • Benilyn says:
        21 Mar21 March 16:50

        Is it best to do a couple booking return 2-4-1 or just one person? Plan to use for a couple down the line

      • Andy says:
        21 Mar21 March 16:54

        Thanks, do I book via website and then cancel (for FTV) or call BA. Apologies as I’m new to this.

      • Andy says:
        21 Mar21 March 20:50

        Thank you all. Done and FTV received.

    • SwissJim says:
      21 Mar21 March 15:54

      I have a previously extended 241 expiring 12.21. I thought these were being extended again?

  • Nigel W says:
    21 Mar21 March 15:25

    Random q, does anyone know if Bendy works with Vanguard at all?

    • Toaster says:
      21 Mar21 March 15:34

      I tried ages ago and it either didn’t work at all or prompted for Fronted. I use Tesco debit card instead.

      • Nigel W says:
        21 Mar21 March 16:16

        I’ve just given it a go with Bendy x Hong Kong bank and it has seemed to work….

        • Lawro says:
          21 Mar21 March 16:54

          Yes, have used the above combination for some time with no problems. No luck with Beardy though.

    • Harry T says:
      21 Mar21 March 15:59

      It works but not as well as you would hope. Curve ended up charging my Halifax Clarity instead when I tried to use Bendy with Solihull underlying.

      • Genghis says:
        21 Mar21 March 16:22

        Problem was with your underlying.

        • Harry T says:
          21 Mar21 March 16:35

          @Genghis
          I know but I don’t have an alternative points visa or MasterCard 😞. Any advice on getting accepted by Beardy? And do you think the black Solihull card will return?

          • Secret Squirrel says:
            21 Mar21 March 17:15

            @Harry T: VA card is pot luck by the looks of it being accepted. If you get declined ask Rob to intervene.
            Black card – dought it will return to the market, I’m sure I read Creat are trying to get out of the credit card market.

          • Dan says:
            21 Mar21 March 17:37

            Yep – I missed applying for the Black card when it was available, which I am kicvking myself for. Simply wasn‘t that into collecting hotel points then. I’ve took out the white version a coupel of weeks ago as I think issuers are taking cards off the market than reverse so wan‘t to keep hold of it and not regret my decision once it also gets pulled.

            I mean teh white version is not very exiocitng but still gives me some choice for a points earning Visa/MC that is free – which is key as I won’t need to worry about getting a profit from the card etc.

          • Dan says:
            21 Mar21 March 17:38

            On the phone hence all the typos!

          • Genghis says:
            21 Mar21 March 18:08

            Sorry. No idea. I thought you were getting HSBC Prem?

    • Harry T says:
      21 Mar21 March 17:37

      @Secret Squirrel
      The problem is that I don’t want to go through the hassle of appealing to Virgin again just to get another crappy credit limit.

      • Secret Squirrel says:
        21 Mar21 March 18:08

        @Harry T: can understand your situ. I have same with my wife, I considered applying for the VA Plus card in her name but she gets low credit limits so prob 3K limit & paying the annual fee doesn’t make financial sense.

        • Harry T says:
          21 Mar21 March 19:02

          @SS
          Yeah, I don’t understand why only Virgin gives me such low credit limits but I suspect they want to limit the amount of points they have to give me…

          • BLT says:
            21 Mar21 March 20:33

            Virgin gave me a £25k limit, so it’s not stingy across the board

          • Lady London says:
            22 Mar22 March 02:37

            From what you’ve said V doesn’t want you and still won’t.

            Would have thought HSBC more use. Have you eliminated the new Barclays one?

  • Peter K says:
    21 Mar21 March 15:33

    Anyone else having a wierd message on Amex Platinum (personal)? Tried to register for the Shangri La Jade but it says that there is nothing on my card that needs enrolling.

    • Ste Cox says:
      21 Mar21 March 15:56

      I have has the same message for a while when trying to sign up my other halves supp card, sometimes the page loads, some times I get that message.

      when it does load though and try to sign up I get a different error saying the system is down.

      tried the online chat but they said I need to phone the number on the back of the card

    • Alan says:
      21 Mar21 March 19:00

      I am getting the same message for all the hotel loyalty programmes.

  • Ilou says:
    21 Mar21 March 15:46

    I have booked a hotel in Turkey and had to pay a deposit. The payment was in EUR and processed by Belgian bank. I did it online.

    Virgin no longer charges fees for Eur, yet I was charged a fee

    Any views/experience with this please

    • Harry T says:
      21 Mar21 March 16:00

      I believe Virgin doesn’t charge for transactions made in European countries that use the euro, but this policy doesn’t apply to online payments. So it would theoretically work fee free if you used it a cafe in Amsterdam but not if you purchased goods online.

  • Russ says:
    21 Mar21 March 15:54

    Anyone care to share what credit cards they’re currently holding, considering getting, closing and why? Wife and I are selling up and going on an OAP gap year(s) before returning to UK and then buying/renting another property.

    American Exp are happy for you to keep their cards whilst not having a home address in the UK but for Barclay’s Hilton card it’s a definite nope. I’d like a visa card or two because of the problems you can sometimes meet using Amex plus it doesn’t make sense having cards just from one issuer. They have to be the right one’s because it’s going to be really difficult getting cards once we’re classed as no fixed abode. Any suggestions from the HfP collective would be diamond as always.

    • Harry T says:
      21 Mar21 March 16:02

      Just use a UK friend or family member’s address – change it online after you get the card account set up.

      In terms of cards, I’m hoping the Creation Black comes back and they accept me. Virgin still won’t accept me for their card based on the eligibility checker (last time I held the card, I had to appeal in writing and then received a very low credit limit). For some reason, I’m very attractive to Amex, who shower me with decent credit limits and lucrative retention offers, but other lenders don’t like me as much.

    • Harry T says:
      21 Mar21 March 16:05

      For use abroad, I’ve always found the Halifax Clarity credit card a solid option. They don’t charge FX fees and you also don’t get charged fees for withdrawing cash (you do get a bit of interest). I know you can use Curve etc for payments abroad but you will likely find a proper credit card useful when hiring cars or paying larger sums. Halifax didn’t mind when I lived in Australia too – I just used my Mum’s address but they would obviously have been able to see all my spend was in Australasia and Asia.

      • Russ says:
        21 Mar21 March 18:00

        Thanks Harry, I’ll check Halifax out. Wife and I are going to be supps on each other’s cards and we’ll both hold separate cards. Both our parent’s have passed on so going to have to take a view on who to choose next. Good look with the Creation Black.

        • Harry T says:
          21 Mar21 March 19:03

          @Russ thanks, hope you manage to find someone to trust with your UK address. Sorry to hear about your parents.

          • Russ says:
            21 Mar21 March 19:55

            Thanks Harry T. They passed on some time ago so there it is…..

            Yep, who to trust is going to be a bit of a handful. Are you sure it’s legal though?

    • HBommie says:
      21 Mar21 March 16:10

      I don’t have any credit card tips but would be interested in your plans for the gap year, will this be points related, bargain, luxury, motorhome? Intrigued. Is it a meticulously detailed plan or go with the flow?

      I’m a couple of years away but would love this.

      Thanks

    • Anna says:
      21 Mar21 March 16:11

      Can you not nominate a family member’s address while you’re away – what’s going to happen with your mail?
      And where are you going on your gap year?! I am so tempted to do this once the teenager has finished school!

      • Mikeact says:
        21 Mar21 March 16:26

        We’ve done it a couple of times…mostly many places/continents around the world…on the hoof. My wife says we should write a book as we travel way off the beaten track, stayed in numerous types of accommodation….(not one 5*) And met so many friendly locals etc., happy to share meals, a bed for the night in exchange for how we live in the UK.

        • CH says:
          21 Mar21 March 17:21

          How about a blog, which I imagine will be much more easily done than an actual book. Though having said that, there are loads of travel blogs around.

          • Dan says:
            21 Mar21 March 17:40

            yes – but are there any travel blogs written by boomers? OP might have a USP going…

          • Anna says:
            21 Mar21 March 18:19

            He might not be a boomer! I’m retired but I am definitely Generation X, thank you very much. It sounds much cooler being associated with a 70s punk band 🤣

      • Russ says:
        21 Mar21 March 18:20

        Hi HBommie and Anna

        The plan is to spend a month in each hotel we’ve liked on our previous trips abroad. None of them are budget or luxury as I’ve done that and out of the system. You can always book another hotel anyway whilst keeping the first booking alive. So basically it’s an organized trip with the option of adapting it as we go along. Nothing’s going to be carved in stone because I want to take advantage of any hotel chain offers. All going to be fully flex until we have to commit.

        If we’re smart about it I reckon we should be able to earn enough points from cash bookings to have at least three months free. I’m not relying on that but leaving that to the wife as personally I think women are just better at this points stuff than men. Dunno.

      • Chris Heyes says:
        21 Mar21 March 21:08

        Anna Your only problem will be your teenager will want to come lol

    • Russ says:
      21 Mar21 March 19:59

      BS, do you still have a residency in the UK though to keep the Barclaycard alive. Barclays have said as much as they loved me they will reverse all payments and close my account. It’s the Hilton card we have and they say policy recently been updated. I’d be tempted to keep it as think it’s a better earning card for Hilton points than Amex MR conversion.

      • Tiff says:
        21 Mar21 March 20:10

        Any recommendations for a health insurance policy for a year-long trip? Not bothered about baggage, delay, cancellation, etc.

        • BS says:
          21 Mar21 March 20:40

          Tiff: depends what you want.
          If you want emergency coverage only, I’d recommend an LV single trip coverage for 1 year.
          For that length of time (especially considering COVID will stop you easily returning to U.K. for treatment) it is seriously worth considering international health insurance, which covers everything including routine stuff etc. Likely to be £2k – £3k though for the year, excluding USA. I’d recommend Allianz worldwide.
          Even better would be through a company, as company policies are cheaper and do not have individual underwriting to be covered in the first place.
          It does all depend on where you’re going and the level and costs of local care there.

      • BS says:
        21 Mar21 March 20:36

        Yes still have address in U.K., and am still paid in the U.K. via payroll.

    • Louie says:
      21 Mar21 March 23:31

      We left the UK in 2015 and have been nomadic in Australia for more than 5 years now. Currently in very wet Byron Bay.

      We use my parents’ address for UK stuff. Most is online now, but for things that aren’t and can’t wait until our next visit, dad opens and scans them. New credit cards (we are still regularly opening new Amex cards) – he reads the numbers out when we Skype and we use them online for international expenses as we have Oz cards for use here. Our post pile is building up though as we’ve not be able to get back since Christmas 2019. Obviously you need to trust someone to do this for you.

      Over here we use a mailing service that scans envelopes and emails the image and then either forwards the letter to wherever you direct, bins the letter or opens and scans the contents, your choice. There are several, we use Hotsnail. I’ve never needed to look into it, but maybe there is something similar in the UK if you don’t have anyone you can trust.

      As far as banking is concerned, we have Barclays Premier in the UK and HSBC Premier in both the UK and Oz, although we do use Dad’s address for UK financial stuff. Use the HSBC Premier credit card or Amex outside Oz. Credit cards – still have MBNA Horizon and various Amexes (and as I said above, still taking out new ones as Amex don’t require you to be UK resident).

      I think you are worrying unnecessarily. Barclays and HSBC are aware we are resident here; neither have an issue with it. From memory, you can update your residence status online on their websites. Amex know we are here as we used Global Transfer to get our Oz cards. The banks and credit card companies really don’t care as long as you pay them!

  • Chano says:
    21 Mar21 March 16:04

    I’ve got a BA-Amex voucher expiring in October 2021 after the latest 6 month extension. I’m pretty certain the voucher will actually come in handy in Dec/Jan 2022 as I’ve got a long haul trip planned for Christmas. Should I book a random flight/cancel/claim voucher to be able to “extend” its validity or is this strategy no longer valid? Thanks!

  • DAJ says:
    21 Mar21 March 16:14

    I have a EasyJet holidays booking for October. Outbound flight time has now changed by 8 hours 50 mins so departing really late rather than early in the day. I note in the terms and conditions that any change less than 12 hours isn’t a significant change. It is my understanding (although can’t find it – not for want of trying!) that if I had a flight only booking a significant change would be more than 5 or 6 hours. If this is the case, it’s rather sneaky that because it is a package holiday booking and not flight only they can change what is classed as significant relating to changes in flight times!

    Has anyone else had experience of this?

    • Harry T says:
      21 Mar21 March 16:36

      Has the flight number changed?

      • DAJ says:
        21 Mar21 March 18:06

        Yes it has on the outbound only.

        • Harry T says:
          21 Mar21 March 19:04

          You’re entitled to a refund or rerouting under EC261 if the flight number has changed. To be honest, you’d have a good argument for EC261 rights even if the flight number hadn’t changed – it’s a substantial change to the flight time.

          • DAJ says:
            21 Mar21 March 19:22

            Thanks for the info. I’ll give them a ring as I’m not happy with the timings and ask for a refund. I booked using a FTV from a previously cancelled booking last year. Sorry to bombard with questions but would I be able to ask for a cash refund under these circs as I’m not inclined to want to use EasyJet for any future travel?! Thanks again.

  • Asim says:
    21 Mar21 March 16:50

    What’s the cheapest package for Day 2 and Day 8 testing? According to Gov UK, 001doctor is £170. BA has a special offer through Qured for £178. Anyone come across a cheaper company?

    Flying is becoming an expensive exercise – £60 pre-departure PCR, £33 pre-arrival LAMP, and then a Day 2/8 bundle

    • Pete M says:
      21 Mar21 March 16:55

      Those sound like the cheapest I’ve seen. Collinson is similar. And yup – these are actually pretty decent compared to even a few weeks ago!

    • Joe says:
      21 Mar21 March 17:34

      Where is the pre departure PCR £60?

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