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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.

  • Mutley says:
    24 Mar24 March 08:16

    Up to 80% bonus on buying Flying Blue miles until 11th April.

  • Scallder says:
    24 Mar24 March 08:47

    Haven’t done a Revolut top up in a while and went from Solihull through Curve and been charged a cash advance.

    Does Beardy attract a cash advance if going through Curve? Been more than 6 months since having the card so might take it out again…

    • Harrier25 says:
      24 Mar24 March 09:14

      Don’t know what you did but I don’t incur a cash advance when using Solihull to top up the Revolutionaries. You do get charged interest though by Solihull if you don’t make sure your credit card is in credit by the amount you wish to top up by.

      • Anna says:
        24 Mar24 March 09:17

        +1 – try leaving Curve out of it?

        • Ilou says:
          24 Mar24 March 09:30

          So if you have positive balance with bready, you can to up Revolut without incurring a cash advance fee nor interest ? Is this right ?

        • Jonathan says:
          24 Mar24 March 09:32

          I did a test transaction on my beardy plus card of £20.00 and got charged £0.01 in interest and £1.00 cash advance fee. Lucky it was a low amount I tested with !
          I think all credit card issuers are getting wise to topping up Revolut accounts, since it’s a very easy way to perform MS

      • Scallder says:
        24 Mar24 March 09:39

        My card wasn’t in credit which is probably the mistake – as mentioned it has been a while since I topped up Revolut and never remembered having a problem with Creation (although this was probably a couple of years ago now I last did it). Will remember that for next time.

        Helpful to know about the beardy card – thanks Jonathan

      • Scallder says:
        24 Mar24 March 09:40

        Sorry Harriet – should have said it just came up as interest on cash rather than cash advance fee, so clearly just the issue not having the card in credit before making the transaction. Thanks for your help!

        • Crafty says:
          24 Mar24 March 10:16

          The interest is minuscule as long as you pay off promptly. I do this rather than keep the card in credit, which is likely to attract negative attention. Credit cards are not designed to have positive balances.

          • TGLoyalty says:
            24 Mar24 March 10:28

            Exactly.

            Make sure the whole balance is paid off though not just the top up. Going via bendy offers no advantage.

          • Jonathan says:
            24 Mar24 March 10:34

            Creation really don’t like positive balances. Had major issues with them as my wife’s card ended up in credit when I was trying to pay bigger sums to HMRC in January (thanks to the tiny credit limit they refuse to increase).

            Every time she uses the card now it gets blocked & have to go through CS team who say there’s no issue until you ask to speak to the security team (who only work 9-5 weekdays). They say account was blocked as being in credit is a fraud risk but accept the explanation & unlock it which works for 1 transaction then the fun starts again…

            If the IHG black wasn’t such an endangered species I’d have cancelled her account by now.

          • QFFlyer says:
            24 Mar24 March 10:39

            Yes, do not keep, or regularly put Solihull cards in credit, they are very touchy about it.

          • Anna says:
            24 Mar24 March 11:26

            Our Creation cards are in credit a lot of the time as I always pay the balance off twice to put us ahead for the next transaction. Never had any issues.

          • Harrier25 says:
            24 Mar24 March 11:35

            Me neither, but certainly worth bearing in mind.

          • DT says:
            24 Mar24 March 15:04

            Whenever I top up Revolut I make sure the Creation card has a balance to pay, then just pay that balance twice and top up Revolut equal to the overpayment I just made. This usually ends up with the payment and the top up clearing off pending on the same day and not catching any interest. That way Creation doesn’t sit in a credit. Doesn’t always work in practice though, sometimes the balance is not enough to cover how much I need to send to Revolut.

  • Mike says:
    24 Mar24 March 09:00

    Anyone knows how long it takes for IHG and Virgin+ card to arrive once approved?

    • Mr. AC says:
      24 Mar24 March 09:07

      Mrs. AC got her VA reissued recently, took 4 days. Not sure if it applies when it’s new.

    • Alan says:
      24 Mar24 March 09:29

      Three days when I opened a Virgin card in January

  • Zana says:
    24 Mar24 March 09:05

    Wondering how London HFPers are stocking up on gift cards at Morrisons especially Amazon ones: my closest store at Camden is now a convenience store format. Despite its small size, it had every card available except Morrisons own and Amazon gift cards. Grabbed a few other ones and did self-checkout to find out Amex declined both transactions – contactless and then chip and PIN. Staff said Morrisons no longer take Amex (!) but I didn’t want to argue.

    Anyone have recent data points on availability of gift cards in London stores?

    • Lev441 says:
      24 Mar24 March 09:16

      Go to a larger store, no issues with Paying on Amex or buying multiple gift cards ta couple of days ago..

    • Ste Cox says:
      24 Mar24 March 09:29

      not sure if its the same darn sarf but near me the convenience (Daily) stores aren’t proper Morrisons, its a rebranded McColl’s (which dont take Amex)

      • Ilou says:
        24 Mar24 March 09:32

        Is it guaranteed to use Morrison’s own gift card to buy Amazon gift card or others later on ?

        I have been told by a store manager that I can use Morrison’s gift card to pay for another gift card !

        • Polly says:
          24 Mar24 March 10:19

          Yes, definitely, am doing just this with JL, and Amazon atm, so double points sort of…

          • Polly says:
            24 Mar24 March 10:20

            Morrisons have a habit of pulling Amazon GCs off the shelf when they do the 10% thingy

          • TGLoyalty says:
            24 Mar24 March 10:29

            Plenty of Amazon GCs in my M’s.

            Better to double dip more points and spend M’s GC at your leisure though.

    • Kai says:
      24 Mar24 March 09:41

      Been to three in West London and they all had Amazon gc stocked

    • BuildBackBetter says:
      24 Mar24 March 10:02

      Someone mentioned here that these smaller ones are franchise run, therefore they can choose the payment methods.

    • Pete M says:
      24 Mar24 March 10:22

      Went to the Camden one on Sunday – no Amazon or JL/Waitrose. Grabbed some Apple and M&S ones, paid at the staffed till with no issues. Got the extra Avios email, but nothing for the Morrisons offer. Hoping it still shows up soon and don’t have to call…

    • Jonathan says:
      24 Mar24 March 12:45

      I’ve brought a load of John Lewis gift cards (that can be used solely in Waitrose if desired), never had any problems. Although most cashiers need to call over a checkout team leader (I was buying 2x £100 a time, one said the other day that anything over £50 needs authorisation), and as they say it’s fine nearly straight away, a quick ask if you’re paying by card, then they’re gone again !

      I don’t use Amazon much so, don’t look for their gift cards

  • George K says:
    24 Mar24 March 09:07

    Apologies if I missed this, but is anybody seeing ‘Avios not linked’ with Barclays after signing up to the Premier offering? It’s a weird situation where it actually displays my avios balance immediately afterwards, but throws up an error in the app immediately above. Have successfully linked accounts already, and also done it another time just to make sure.

  • Matty says:
    24 Mar24 March 09:24

    I’m having trouble going back in time with Bendy. I tried to make a payment today for £1k. Transaction backed by Solihull. It wouldn’t go through. Changed to a different card. Transaction went through. Unable to go back in time and charge Solihull. Pre-authorisation fails. Is there a daily limit or weekly limit? I spent £300 on Solihull yesterday via Bendy and no issues. Metal card. Paying World Pay but billed as Primary Bid.

    • stevenhp1987 says:
      24 Mar24 March 09:28

      A brief look at their website… they look like some form of investor site?

      If that’s so I would expect Solihull to be capped to £300 pd, £700 pw.

    • Harrier25 says:
      24 Mar24 March 09:35

      I would call Solihull because it sounds like they may have a block on your card.

    • Grant says:
      24 Mar24 March 09:51

      I could never get Curve to work with Primary Bid if there was a credit card underlying.

      • Matty says:
        24 Mar24 March 10:22

        Managed to get it to go through with the VS replacement that offers CB. I’ll try Solihull when I pop to the shops later, although I’m with stevenhp 1987.

      • TGLoyalty says:
        24 Mar24 March 15:10

        Creation doesn’t work with Primarybid nor HL

  • marcw says:
    24 Mar24 March 09:32

    Aer Lingus flights from Manchester are now live:

    New York, Orlando and Barbados – good things come in threes!
    We’re delighted to let you know that we’re launching three new non-stop routes from Manchester to New York JFK, Orlando and Barbados. From 29 July 2021 we’ll be flying daily from Manchester to New York, and five times a week to Orlando. Our Barbados service launches on 20th October – just in time for a winter sun getaway. We’ll be flying non-stop from Manchester to Barbados Grantley Adams International three times weekly. All of these new routes are available to book now. Fares start from £199. We can’t wait to welcome you on board.

    • Anna says:
      24 Mar24 March 10:12

      That will be awesome if these routes survive long enough for us to take advantage of them! A HFP article with some samples prices would be very welcome (plus tier points earned etc).

  • Andy says:
    24 Mar24 March 09:59

    Marriott Bonvoy “soft landing” – is there such a thing? I just qualified for titanium, which I understand will last me until February or March 2023. I’d be surprised if I manage to requalify for Platinum in 2022 even if I keep the Bonvoy AMEX open. Does Marriott have a soft landing like BAEC or (in the extreme case) assuming I complete 0 nights in 2022 will I drop to Gold (thanks to AMEX Plat)?

    • Matt says:
      24 Mar24 March 11:33

      I don’t think there is a soft landing in Marriott, which is a shame.

    • The Streets says:
      24 Mar24 March 17:35

      I’m in exactly the same boat! Hoping the answer is yes but from comments in the past it is unlikely unless you call

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