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The HfP chat thread – Wednesday 24th March

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Comments (329)

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

  • Eddie says:
    24 Mar24 March 03:29

    Only stayed 9 nights with IHG in 2020, though spire elite upgrade choice benefit just popped out on my account. Got 25k of cuz 😉

    • APPL says:
      24 Mar24 March 07:03

      Thanks! Just checked and also was able to select 25k points. Only 2 nights last year.

    • BJ says:
      24 Mar24 March 07:07

      Thanks, no such luck for me but it was fun checking.

      • meta says:
        24 Mar24 March 07:22

        Nice. Thanks. I only have 4 nights last year and it showed. Points in my account already.

      • Anna says:
        24 Mar24 March 08:09

        Have you all got your credit card points now? Just wondering if it’s being updated when they transfer those over, I think it’s today for most of us.

      • Lyn says:
        24 Mar24 March 19:28

        These may be done in batches, so worth checking again later. It is also possible this is just for those of us that had Spire status automatically extended from last year. Presumably the people who actually earned it have already received 25K after qualifying.

    • Steve says:
      24 Mar24 March 07:42

      Wow, thanks for sharing! Totally unexpected free 25k points, not to be sniffed at.

    • Harry T says:
      24 Mar24 March 07:56

      How do you find this in your account?

      • Steve says:
        24 Mar24 March 08:05

        On your IHG rewards account page, scroll down, past upcoming bookings, there is a picture of your status card. On mine there is a box that’s states “explore your benefits”, click there and the 25k rewards and Hertz 5* status are listed. (All of the above is using the mobile browser, may differ on desktop)

      • BJ says:
        24 Mar24 March 08:07

        Under ‘extra benefits’ in the app. Also under something about benefits of spire on your account home page online but so long since I used that I cannot recall exactly where.

    • Rachel R says:
      24 Mar24 March 08:24

      Has anyone who actually requalified for spire last year got an additional benefit or is this only for people who got a status extension?

    • Andrew says:
      24 Mar24 March 08:44

      They sort of promised this last year when they did the status extension but then seemed to backtrack so maybe this is what they originally promised finally posting. And for those of us that haven’t got it showing yet, perhaps they are doing it in batches – I would hope anyway.

      • Sandra says:
        24 Mar24 March 14:01

        Showing in my account today as a choice and posting date is 23rd. I can never find it via the app, I always have to use desktop and access via IHG rewards account. Not sure if it coincides with credit card spend points transferring across or if that is just coincidental but my points will transfer sometime in next 24 hours as statement date is around 23rd/24th of month.

        • Lyn says:
          24 Mar24 March 19:33

          My husband’s posting date for the choice is the 24th, so a day later, which fits with IHG doing this in batches.

    • rams1981 says:
      24 Mar24 March 16:05

      awesome, 25k for me and 50k for wife who’s account I forgot to add last time’s bonus too so got 2x bonus.

    • Lyn says:
      24 Mar24 March 19:23

      Thank you for this. I imagine they are doing these in batches. Good for IHG for honouring their promise of the extra 25K points along with their Spire status extension from last year.

      • Munch says:
        24 Mar24 March 20:23

        I’ve just collected my 25,000 points but I’ve also just passed the spend spend target with over 67,000 points earnt from credit card spend on this months statement. Can I still expect an additional 25,000 points for passing this years target?

  • Nick G says:
    24 Mar24 March 06:37

    Following on from yesterday’s BA holidays article does anyone know if you can UuA to another one world airline. Say I book a BA holiday to say Doha in PE on BA flights, then call to upgrade to biz…..as both BA and Qatar fly to Doha, could I potentially book into Qatar biz?

    • BJ says:
      24 Mar24 March 06:52

      You can definitely upgrade AA and IB, and possibly now Aer Lingus but others will need to confirm or otherwise as I’ve missed that detail. You can only upgrade one cabin and award seats need to be available in the higher cabin. Note that not all fare buckets used by BA Holidays can be upgraded.

      • Jonathan says:
        24 Mar24 March 07:28

        Also worth noting that to upgrade with Avios on AA or IB (don’t think it’s possible at all on QR metal) then you need to be booked in the very expensive, flexible fare buckets (J, W Y) which makes the whole process essentially pointless.

    • ChrisC says:
      24 Mar24 March 07:05

      No.

      For a travel agency booking (and BA Hols is a travel agent) you can only UUA Flights on BA metal and no other

      There are different UUA rules for flight only bookings and even then you can only UUA BA, IB and AA bookings.

      The flyer talk guide on this is excellent.

      https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/british-airways-executive-club/2031028-your-guide-spending-avios-2021-edition.html#post32910040

      • BJ says:
        24 Mar24 March 07:11

        Thanks Chris, I did not know it was BA only for TA, and apologies to Nick for misinformation.

  • Steve says:
    24 Mar24 March 07:05

    Bendy to Seagulls needs fronted it seems (tried without and failed)? Is there another way to feed the gulls?

    • Grant says:
      24 Mar24 March 08:04

      Che Guevara

      • TGLoyalty says:
        24 Mar24 March 08:05

        bendy attracts interest unless your whole balance is paid off immediately

      • Steve says:
        24 Mar24 March 08:07

        No fees? I’ve yet to join the revolution, seems I need to add this to my portfolio!

        • Harrier25 says:
          24 Mar24 March 09:30

          Without a doubt, but be warned, you can’t take the mickey with the Revolutionaries like some do with Bendy. Revolutionaries won’t give you the opportunity to try and explain, they will just shut you down.

          • TGLoyalty says:
            24 Mar24 March 10:27

            That’s not always the case. They ask for KYC data and if they are happy unlock it.

          • Aston100 says:
            24 Mar24 March 10:39

            They gave me a (full screen) warning when I logged in sometime last year.
            So there seems to be some leeway.

          • aDifferentSimon says:
            24 Mar24 March 11:49

            After ratesetter annonced it was closing, I went a bit silly there with bendy. Got shut down pretty quick!

          • Secret Squirrel says:
            24 Mar24 March 17:27

            I’m sure revolution give you a few top up warnings before KYC.

  • Vin says:
    24 Mar24 March 07:08

    Email from BA today to say a July flight from MAN to LHR has been moved to T1 from T3. I wonder if this ties in with the loss of the lounge.
    However, a dummy booking for the same dates still shows the flight as leaving from T3.

    • Scott says:
      24 Mar24 March 07:12

      It’s very possible that T3 won’t be re-opening before July; BA aren’t moving back there; something else.
      If most foreign travel is restricted until July, then most Ryanair flights won’t be leaving T3, so there’s probably no real point in opening a terminal for a few flights.

  • Steve says:
    24 Mar24 March 07:39

    Barclays : is the general consensus that 18,000 plus an upgrade voucher is worth £144 a year? It seems a bit borderline to me.

    • Ryan says:
      24 Mar24 March 07:52

      18,000 Avios is worth £144 in Nectar points as a minimum so it should be very much worth it…

    • Harry T says:
      24 Mar24 March 08:00

      I would probably open an account if I met the criteria. My only real quibble with it is that the upgrade voucher can’t be used to upgrade to First.

      • BJ says:
        24 Mar24 March 08:12

        Not every BA route has F anyway and the number that do is declining.

        • Harry T says:
          24 Mar24 March 08:56

          I know, BJ, but it seems out of keeping with an aspirational banking product. After all, if a peasant like me can afford business class, so can people earning the income required for Premier 😉

      • Neil says:
        24 Mar24 March 08:46

        That’s the thing that stood out to me – would maybe look a little more enticing for a “premier” product if they offered that carrot even though its going to be increasingly difficult to find first availability going forward.

        • Lady London says:
          24 Mar24 March 11:21

          Yeah, the Barclays Premier product seems pitched at a “Premium Economy” lev kn terms of quality level of the associated services.

          The numbers do add up on the avios. But the rest of it is not premium at all.

          Premium, relatively, in the UK is Amex Plat or HSBC WE… just.

          Centurion is on another planet but that’s the way Barclays seem to be trying to position this product.

          • Blair says:
            24 Mar24 March 12:24

            Savage. But true. It just seems a bit limp bar the Avios earning potential. And I do personally have my worries re where Avios redemptions will be when travel returns.

  • Andrew says:
    24 Mar24 March 08:00

    Had a “You’ve been Pwned” email this morning. Re a company called “Astoria”.

    11M sets of data leaked, but no passwords apparently, it’s a “lead generation company”. I’m not sure what’s more irritating, sloppy controls, or a US based company processing UK residents data deliberately outside UK regulations.

    • Rhys says:
      24 Mar24 March 08:47

      If it’s a lead generation company then surely the only data they have is your email address?

    • @mkcol says:
      24 Mar24 March 17:06

      I had email from FatFace yesterday advising that a variety of my data has been leaked/stolen/accessed, and they were offering free Experian monitoring for a year, but there was only 3 weeks in which to claim it & you had to phone to do so.

  • Ant says:
    24 Mar24 March 08:05

    Barclays: just want to make sure I am doing this correct. So I opened the account & now have the choice between Avios and blue rewards. So do I select Avios and then start the current acc transfer? Do I need direct debits out of the account? Thanks

  • Save East Coast Rewards says:
    24 Mar24 March 08:09

    Does anyone know what the minimum age the free (with BAEC) additional driver is for Avis car hire in the UK?

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