The HfP chat thread – Thursday 1st April

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Craig says:

1 Apr1 April 10:54

Looks like an article has appeared early? 6 April with page not found?
- Rhys says:
  
  1 Apr1 April 10:55
  
  Oops – must be a bug!
  - Craig says:
    
    1 Apr1 April 11:20
    
    Must be, good job I didn’t screen shot it? 😉 (Secret is safe with me!)
Super Secret Stuff says:

1 Apr1 April 11:03

**** BREAKONG NEWS ****

British airways now offering club world and first passengers the chance to get there flight specific boarding passes permanently tattooed on there arms!

REVOLUTIONARY!
- BP says:
  
  1 Apr1 April 11:08
  
  I thought our COVID jab 5G microchips just do automatic check-in / boarding checks as we pass the desks?
  - Anna says:
    
    1 Apr1 April 11:13
    
    That would be quite handy, if a little reminiscent of a scene from Total Recall (the Arnie, version, obviously).
    - Ste Cox says:
      
      1 Apr1 April 11:16
      
      Would that mean you can only stay for 2 weeks though?
    - Guernsey Globetrotter says:
      
      1 Apr1 April 11:16
      
      How else are they going to track us all for the new frequent flyer tax ?!
IF1 says:

1 Apr1 April 11:25

How long do Amex offers take to appear on a new replacement card for a card that was reported lost? It’s been over 48 hours now since receiving the card and activating….it usually doesn’t take this long
- Babyg says:
  
  1 Apr1 April 12:06
  
  its a bit hit and miss – ive got multiple amex accounts now (e.g. multiple logins to the amex app) – found sometimes the cards dont get offers, and the only fix was to create a new login and add the card to the login. Other fixes are adding/removing, but that doesnt always work…
  - IF1 says:
    
    1 Apr1 April 12:11
    
    I meant saved offers already on the old lost card
- Jonathan says:
  
  1 Apr1 April 13:40
  
  Often they won’t reappear but they are still there if you had already saved them & will credit. I normally screen shot my saved offers before I request a replacement card.
Chrism20 says:

1 Apr1 April 11:33

I have a bunch of Wyndham points which are going to expire in a couple of months. Normally we used them in Southport which was a rather nice hotel especially after the refurb, however they left Wyndham a couple of weeks ago.

Does anyone know of a decent Wyndham property within the UK where they could be used?

Thanks
- Anna says:
  
  1 Apr1 April 11:39
  
  I have a feeling there’s one in Kendal – though I imagine the Lakes will be even more of a nightmare this year than usual! We get access to Wyndham discounts as part of our timeshare membership – never used them but you can search for a list of UK hotels on the website homepage (if you haven’t seen it).
  - Charlieface says:
    
    1 Apr1 April 19:32
    
    Killington Lake. It’s a Days Inn. Hotel itself is horrible, but the area is vey nice. Not technically in the Lakes, and scenery more reminiscent of the Dales side (moorland basically)
    - Chrism20 says:
      
      1 Apr1 April 20:46
      
      Yes its another Days Inn at the side of the M6 by the look of it.
      
      The options in the UK are pretty poor. At the moment I’ve narrowed it down to either Gateshead or East Kilbride. I’m struggling to contain the excitement
- Navara says:
  
  1 Apr1 April 13:20
  
  Telford or just buy 1k
  - Chrism20 says:
    
    1 Apr1 April 14:04
    
    Thanks for the suggestions.
    
    @Navara buying won’t work. Wyndham have a hard expiry date. I think it’s four years after they were earned.
The Original Nick says:

1 Apr1 April 11:41

Just went to pay Council tax at Co op via Paypoint using Amex. I’ve been paying using this method for years. Card not accepted. Anyone else had any problems?
- Harry T says:
  
  1 Apr1 April 11:48
  
  I’ll let you know in a few hours!
- Youllnever says:
  
  1 Apr1 April 11:54
  
  Worked fine at mine when I went on Monday.
  - Ben says:
    
    1 Apr1 April 12:08
    
    Mine worked on Wednesday no problem
- xcalx says:
  
  1 Apr1 April 12:06
  
  No problem on Saturday
- Aston100 says:
  
  1 Apr1 April 12:06
  
  Do you find spending time doing such a low amount a worthwhile activity? or is it part of going out for a walk / daily exercise, hence not much additional effort?
  - Rui N. says:
    
    1 Apr1 April 12:14
    
    Council tax a “low amount”?! Lucky you!
    - aDifferentSimon says:
      
      1 Apr1 April 12:46
      
      I can pay mine online with visa/mastercard. If I could pay by amex online I would but I can’t be faffed with finding a co-op for the additional benefit.
      But then I never did anything like pre order video games for bonus points or hunt for tesco magazines so maybe I should re-evaluate!
  - Youllnever says:
    
    1 Apr1 April 12:34
    
    It’s not a low amount if you’re paying off the whole year…
  - Harry T says:
    
    1 Apr1 April 12:59
    
    Tbh unless it helps you achieve a sign up or yearly bonus, I’m still not sure it’s worth a drive or walk just to earn a few quid’s worth of Amex points per month. And if your council tax bill is huge, one would hope you have the necessary capital and spending to hit 10-15k for a yearly spend bonus/companion voucher anyway.
    
    But there certainly is an opportunity cost to travelling to a coop when you could pay your council tax from home using Curve – think what you could do with the time. Of course, if you WFH or are furloughed, it could genuinely be a worthwhile activity to get you out of the house. As always, context matters.
    
    Genghis will appear soon to remind us that you can receive a rebate on certain cards for spending at the coop, which is a valid point!
    - Rui N. says:
      
      1 Apr1 April 13:26
      
      Why would one “hope” that? Just because someone has a house in a high council tax band do they need to spend money like crazy? I probably spend more on council tax than I do in supermarkets yearly. After income tax is my biggest expense. Sometimes we discuss here stuff making a profit of less than £10, and some of people’s highest expenditures is a “small amount”?
      - Harry T says:
        
        1 Apr1 April 13:31
        
        Of course you don’t need to spend money like crazy; I’m not trying to tell people how to live their life lol. Council tax is presumably a small amount in the context of your wealth if you have a house large/plush enough to be in a higher tax band? I can’t see anything controversial about saying that people with the money to afford nicer houses probably have a lot of money available to spend elsewhere. I find it hard to imagine that there is a significant majority of people with houses in higher council tax bands who think that spending 10k a year on an amex is difficult. I’m hardly Bill Gates but 15k spend on my Gold card a year doesn’t require much effort…
    - kitten says:
      
      1 Apr1 April 16:35
      
      Sadly @HarryT in London this is far from the case.
      there are a number of London Boroughs, such as IIRC Lambeth, that have ridiculously high council taxes for grotty areas, really grotty, poor environment and services, and very very expensive council tax. For households living in quite modest places council tax can be considerably more than income tax.
      
      Newcastle is maybe different in most parts? Lots of people who aren’t at all wealthy are crippled by local taxes and water costs, for example, because they happen to live in one of those high-charging areas. In London there is absolutely not a correlation between height of council tax and quality or availability of services.
      - Rob says:
        
        1 Apr1 April 16:54
        
        Actually, there is.
        
        Large chunks of council tax go on areas such as social care and schools. There is a correlation, then, because richer areas have fewer social care needs and so need to raise less. Similarly, area where a lot of kids go to private schools have a lower education budget.
        
        Oddly, the richer areas of London also have a higher population density than others. Kensington & Chelsea has one of the highest population densities in Europe (think of all the streets of tightly packaed 6-7 storey Victorian mansion blocks). This also drives lower council tax because you simply have more people in a small area to pay for things.
        
        Of course it also helps if the council can – as happened near us – sell off an old people’s home for £70m as K&C did. I doubt you’d get £70m for an old people’s home in Newcastle. The people who bought it pulled it down and are now building what they claim is the most luxurious old people’s home in the world – https://www.theguardian.com/business/2018/mar/03/caviar-care-home-retirement-complex-for-oligarchs-to-open-in-chelsea
      - Aston100 says:
        
        1 Apr1 April 18:04
        
        Remember when one of those London boroughs had zero council tax? think it was Wandsworth.
      - Rui N. says:
        
        1 Apr1 April 18:49
        
        I also reach the 15k on my Gold, but it would be impossible without paying my council tax (and probably 90% of my non-MS CC spending is on Amex). As for being in a higher tax band being synonymous with a plush house, not true on my neck of the woods. Newer houses are on the top bands if they are 2 bedrooms. Not that being on a higher tax band matters that much. On my previous house (same council) I was 2 bands lower and the payment was only £400 cheaper than now. You have to live in a one room bungalow for the difference to be £1000.
  - Andy D says:
    
    1 Apr1 April 13:38
    
    Ours is 2.5k a year, or in other words a quarter of a RFS band one flight. I don’t know if half a flight is a low amount or not.
    - Pete M says:
      
      1 Apr1 April 15:06
      
      I think it was also slightly more worthwhile this year with the additional Avios offer on the BA Amex. Near enough a RFS return to Berlin for me.
- Wally1976 says:
  
  1 Apr1 April 21:26
  
  I had this problem the other day and it seemed to be because the Co-op had just installed new payment terminals. I’m hoping it is a temporary Amex issue and am going to try again in a couple of weeks.
Neil says:

1 Apr1 April 11:48

Has anyone applied for an IHG card recently and experienced this. I applied last week and it went smoothly, approved instantly and received the card a few days later. But when I tried to activate it online it told me to ring them, I did that but when I called I was told by Creation I had to email proof of identity. I’ve done that but have still not heard anything back. I was wondering if anyone else has had this problem?
Tiger says:

1 Apr1 April 11:52

Logged in to Ernesto Rafael “Che” Guevara app, to find a stern message waiting for me. The message warned me of doing transfers in and out, to earn credit card points or to get cash advance from credit cards.

As a result, I have suspended all the MS activities with Che for a while. Anyone else had such a message from Che recently?
Thanks.
- BS says:
  
  1 Apr1 April 11:59
  
  I had that once after a £5000 transfer than I paid in to using GBP, converted to USD, and paid out to a USD account. Not MS, but was using a credit card to get a USD transfer I needed. In future I’ve only done less than £2000 and been fine.
- Aston100 says:
  
  1 Apr1 April 12:03
  
  Che sent me the very same message last year when I tried to test what happens if you send a load of money to a bank account in your own name, after having paid it in from our Creative friends in Solihull.
  
  So I haven’t tried that since.
  They seem not to mind paying the Seagulls however.
  - Tiger says:
    
    1 Apr1 April 12:09
    
    Thanks Aston.
    So do you use Che just to feed Seagulls now? My Seagull activity has been down recently, so I don’t see a point to keep sending them money.
- Anna says:
  
  1 Apr1 April 12:04
  
  Interestingly I have never had such a warning from the beret-sporting one (beardy beret?!), but my OH struck up a relationship with him a couple of months ago and got a pop up warning after the first couple of transactions (which weren’t huge). He’s kept it at once or twice per week since then and not had any more issues.
  - Aston100 says:
    
    1 Apr1 April 12:08
    
    Was it the kind you find in a second hand store?
    - Secret Squirrel says:
      
      1 Apr1 April 12:44
      
      Was it Raspberry?
  - Tiger says:
    
    1 Apr1 April 12:11
    
    Thanks Anna.
    Please could you confirm the amounts your OH was doing.
    - Anna says:
      
      1 Apr1 April 13:05
      
      Quinientas libras esterlinas.
      Seems like I was busy doing something close to nothing pretty well sums it up for me today!
- Reney says:
  
  1 Apr1 April 13:20
  
  What is che code name for? This is one I never managed to work out, and doesn’t get used as often.
  - Matt says:
    
    1 Apr1 April 13:28
    
    He is our favourite Revolutionary around these parts…
  - Guernsey Globetrotter says:
    
    1 Apr1 April 13:30
    
    Think revolutionaries and then shorten it…
  - Anna says:
    
    1 Apr1 April 14:19
    
    Think of an iconic photo of an Argentinian dude who has a beard and a beret and is never actually associated with Argentina!
    - Reney says:
      
      1 Apr1 April 15:55
      
      Thanks all. Got it. Sorry Anna your answer made me think of beardy..
southlondonphil says:

1 Apr1 April 12:11

Trying to link my AMEX MR account to Radisson Rewards in advance of a potential transfer of points. The Amex form asks for Address Line 1 and Address Line 2 but the Radisson profile only has a single Address Line and a drop-down selector for Country. I’ve tried all sorts of name and combinations in the Amex fields but it keeps saying there’s an error (in the validation check, presumably). Anyone know where I’m going wrong a.k.a. the trick for getting the link to work, before I embark on a convoluted conversation with Amex &/or Radisson CS?
- BuildBackBetter says:
  
  1 Apr1 April 12:47
  
  I have the same problem. The only way is Amex CS!
  - Genghis says:
    
    1 Apr1 April 14:56
    
    +1. I always have to get Amex to manually add it.
- Harry T says:
  
  1 Apr1 April 13:01
  
  Just ring Amex or use the chat. I hadn’t been able to link Virgin Atlantic and they were able to reset and do it properly from their end. Same with Flying Blue in the past.
- Wally1976 says:
  
  1 Apr1 April 21:30
  
  Is it definitely the address or is it the Radisson Rewards number that’s the problem? For the latter, you need to drop the first 6 digits. If it is the address, can you repeat Line 1 for Line 2?
  - fivebobbill says:
    
    1 Apr1 April 22:18
    
    This – it’s the number, can’t remember how many digits need removing, but just ring, quick and painless.