The HfP chat thread – Tuesday 23rd March

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Benilyn says:

23 Mar23 March 11:25

That moment when you can’t wait long enough for your monthly statement to be generated to book your IHG hotel as reward for giving liquidity to the government!
- Alex says:
  
  23 Mar23 March 12:11
  
  ROFL
Mouse says:

23 Mar23 March 11:35

Question for @Mike who posted yesterday about getting a covid vaccine at Excel (if he is reading and would care to answer) – did you need to tell them that you had a medical condition or are a carer, or did they jab you no questions asked?
- Tracey says:
  
  23 Mar23 March 12:18
  
  As a supplementary question, if you (Mike) managed to get the vaccine without any declared medical conditions/ carer status, how old are you?
  As a volunteer at local vaccine centres (not Excel), I can imagine a directive on a quiet day, to lower the age limit slightly, or to allow a firefighter/ policeman/ teacher to go through, I would be really surprised if a 20-30 year old with no obvious reason was allowed to be vaccinated, unless it was literally the end of the day and there were some vials already opened that needed to be used up.
  - Pete M says:
    
    23 Mar23 March 13:14
    
    Not Mike, obviously, but from speaking to various friends and colleagues, it seems to hugely vary from centre to centre. Some are taking the approach of jabbing basically anyone if they show up, others are turning people not eligible away or only giving out spares at the end of the day.
  - Jody says:
    
    23 Mar23 March 13:44
    
    I’m not Mike, but I turned up at my local vaccination on Friday after some advice on here. I’m 45, wasn’t asked my age or any questions related to whether I’m a carer etc. I do walk with a stick though, so don’t know if that had anything to do with it. I turned up at 3pm. I asked if there was a stand-by list I could go on to be contacted in case of people booked in not turning up, and the chap on the door told me they could vaccinate me there and then.
- lumma says:
  
  23 Mar23 March 13:47
  
  I got mine on Feb 15th at Westfield Stratford. I had to show proof that I was a frontline health worker (I’m a supervisor at a COVID testing site). Didn’t need to provide anything to book the jab so I reckon they’d kick you out if you were ineligible.
  - Travel Strong says:
    
    23 Mar23 March 14:42
    
    Strange but true: Answering that you work in health and social care is the only answer that means you must provide ID! All other reasons do not require proof. Unpaid carer is self declaration, no matter if you have registered as such elsewhere. If your NHS number is tagged as having a heath condition, the online booking process spins you through with no questions asked, and equally nothing to provide at the test centre.
    
    As said above – walk ins are then at the whim of the centre. Some will accept anyone and get max through the door.
  - Christopher says:
    
    23 Mar23 March 15:53
    
    Does it have to be in your local NHS administrative unit?
    My Dr is in Bromley but I live in Sevenoaks so straddling London and Kent.
    - Travel Strong says:
      
      23 Mar23 March 16:33
      
      Likely to be no problem – given that the NHS booking site allows you to select your vax centre by distance from a postcode of your choosing – i.e. it is not a list of just vax centres within your NHS trust. Pretty sure you could book one at the other end of the country!
      For this to work, the vax centres must also have access to NHS numbers nationally, not just for that trust – so would not prevent a walk in.
Eppleby Green says:

23 Mar23 March 11:43

I got an email, today, from BA which extols the virtues of VeriFly so I thought I would add my details. BA email says that VeriFly is active on (quote) Outbound routes from the UK – Available on selected outbound routes (including all US destinations and all Canada destinations departing after 18 February).(unquote). I have flights booked to ORD (Chicago) and that isn’t on the list of airports in the app.
DAON VeriFly support says (quote) Currently we only have a few airports for the US that are on the app. We are working to get partnered with other airports as fast as we can. You can still travel. Please take all the required test results and documents to the airport with you and they can verify you there. Give yourself a little extra time for this since they have to manually verify each document. (unquote).
- Beardless Hipster says:
  
  23 Mar23 March 11:48
  
  Or you could just use “…”
  - Mark says:
    
    23 Mar23 March 12:22
    
    lol
Daniel says:

23 Mar23 March 12:43

Any speculation on whether Amex will run another Summer Shop Small campaign again? I mean, last year they did it to support small businesses in the pandemic but surely those small businesses will need the help again more than ever come this summer?
- Rob says:
  
  23 Mar23 March 12:49
  
  Dunno. It’s not cheap though – the budget for Christmas was £18m apparently.
  - Aston100 says:
    
    23 Mar23 March 12:59
    
    Not sure the Christmas uptake was great?
    I think I managed 2 transactions in total, whereas in Summer 2020, I think I fully utilised the allowance across all cards.
    - Polly says:
      
      23 Mar23 March 23:54
      
      We really blitzed all our cards and supps on both campaign. Best thing was buying loads of restaurant vouchers to support them through this lockdown. And tomgive as gifts. Hoping for another summer one.
Paul says:

23 Mar23 March 13:00

Whilst not particularly caring what my cards actually look like, and even being slightly off-put by the thought of a metal card, seemingly adored by some, I must say the new Amex rewards cc just arrived does look, and indeed feel, well, shall we be kind and say ‘free’. Which is of course the point. And it also seems to have essentially abandoned the signature strip, now reduced to a mere 29x8mm. Probably a good job it will never see the light of day…
- memesweeper says:
  
  23 Mar23 March 13:24
  
  I actually like the look 🙂
  
  IMO the best looking card is the classic green Amex charge. Unfortunately seemingly not available as a sup. on my Gold accounts, but is available for Plats who want to look less affluent.
  - BuildBackBetter says:
    
    23 Mar23 March 16:34
    
    I think it looks like it’s designed by a school kid
    - Paul says:
      
      23 Mar23 March 18:06
      
      And made in D&T…
- Paul says:
  
  23 Mar23 March 13:36
  
  Looks blue and white online, but it’s actually ‘clear’ and blue. Well, no, actually it’s more slightly frosted, or scratched, or misty. I’m sure a wine expert could provide no end of analogies.
- Louie says:
  
  24 Mar24 March 08:54
  
  Just shows how we all differ. I like mine!
  - Rhys says:
    
    24 Mar24 March 08:59
    
    For a plastic card, I do agree the ARCC looks good. Obviously not as premium as a metal card but I get a lot of comments (or I used to, before Covid!) from people when I pay and can’t use contactless.
    
    Looks much cooler than 99% of plastic cards on the market, that’s for sure, and classier than the plastic Amex Gold card in my opinion!
Aston100 says:

23 Mar23 March 13:11

Anyone have experience of Air Transat ‘club’ / Premium Economy?
I’m struggling to find any reviews of the flights out of LGW.
The prices look very good on the dates I’ve looked at, and the product sounds a bit better than what I expect PE to be like, especially at the prices I’ve seen (just a touch under £800 return to Toronto for example).

Thanks.
- Graeme says:
  
  23 Mar23 March 14:46
  
  That’s a very good price for that flight. I’ve never seen it under £1,200 personally. We use it on our GLA-YYZ trips, very small cabin 2-3 rows and is fine for the 7hrs (or less) each way. Definitely a premium economy product in my view, wider seat and more recline. Remember that Transat are 3-3-3 in economy on the 330 whereas Delta or Air Canada were 2-4-2 on theirs. So ‘club’ definitely worth it at that price in my view!
  - Aston100 says:
    
    23 Mar23 March 14:56
    
    Thanks Graeme.
    Can you recall if there was anywhere to plant your feet in the first row if trying to have a nap?
    Can’t find any relevant reviews of the a330 and the a321neo on the LGW > YYZ route.
Amit says:

23 Mar23 March 13:46

My GP friend needs to have a day 5 test and release done on Sunday, and is expected back at work on Monday morning. Any recommendations from the approved list please? Have sent a few emails but no luck so far
- TGLoyalty says:
  
  23 Mar23 March 14:15
  
  Day 5 tests can be lamp tests which give results in 2-3 hours max (both collinson and expresstest charge £79)
Nc says:

23 Mar23 March 14:06

Is the maximum spend at Argos using Nectar now £200 again or is there a trick to get the £500 cap?
- Andrew says:
  
  23 Mar23 March 14:22
  
  Oh yes, as quietly as it was increased to £500, it has quietly reduced back to £200 again. I guess it will be just something that is periodically offered then.
  - Nc says:
    
    23 Mar23 March 15:15
    
    Thanks. Maybe avios weren’t happy about it!
    - Toaster says:
      
      23 Mar23 March 15:17
      
      Is there no sneaky way round this? Such as purchase something for £200 and return if for a refund but have it refunded to an Argos gift card? Repeat until you have enough gift cards to make chosen purchase.
      - Toaster says:
        
        23 Mar23 March 15:19
        
        Here you go, may be a little bit of faff, up to you if it’s worth it:
        
        https://www.argos.co.uk/help/faq/72574#:~:text=We'll%20refund%20the%20Nectar,this%20at%20a%20staffed%20till.
        
        How do I return something that was partly or fully paid for using my Nectar points?
        Return your item as you would normally. We’ll refund the Nectar portion of your payment as an Argos Gift Card (as we’re not able to refund your Nectar points).
        
        The remainder, where applicable, will be refunded via the original payment method, such as cash or payment card. If you’re returning an item in-store, you’ll need to do this at a staffed till.