The HfP chat thread – Sunday 4th April

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• bafan says:

  4 Apr4 April 02:18

  I noticed planes were the big absence from that vaccine passport needed list that is circulating. I assume it’ll be addressed either tomorrow or on the 12th. Feels like we are seeing light at the end of the tunnel :). Signed up for my first miles card since this whole thing began in a show of optimism!

  • The Lord says:

    4 Apr4 April 07:02

    Looking good for May 17. Fingers crossed!

  • Anna says:

    4 Apr4 April 07:13

    The thinking seems to be that a minimum of 3 tests will be needed for foreign travel rather than a vaccine passport, which may well put overseas holidays beyond the reach of some families.

    • Anna says:

      4 Apr4 April 07:15

      https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/uknews/families-may-have-to-pay-600-for-covid-tests-to-travel-abroad-this-summer/ar-BB1fgbSr?ocid=msedgntp

      It’s making me re-consider, to be honest! OH will probably take a bit of convincing as well.

      • Number9 says:

        4 Apr4 April 08:51

        Done on purpose so ordinary person/ family have no chance of leaving country.
        I would also have to think hard wether I was going to stump up for all these extra costs.

        • meta says:

          4 Apr4 April 09:06

          Are they going to allow those £35 tests you can take with you? If so, for a couple it wouldn’t be such a huge extra expense. And for most countries that will allow tourists, you will be able to show proof of vaccination in order to enter without a test.

        • kitten says:

          4 Apr4 April 11:21

          But the wealthy, influencers and MP’s and their friends will be able to travel to have fun as they can afford it.

          This is like regressive taxation – hits those with less money proportionally hardest.

          This government keeps on making me feel they are more corrupt than incompetent which is actually a surprise to me.

        • Lady London says:

          4 Apr4 April 13:45

          …test costs everywhere are probably also deductible off income for tax by influencers…grrr

  • Andrew says:

    4 Apr4 April 07:16

    Looks like we have longer to wait for knowing where we can book to travel though, just the rules associated with each category coming tomorrow. “The list of countries included in each category will be drawn up closer to the time, and the government continues to advise people not to book summer holidays abroad.” (BBC)

    • The Lord says:

      4 Apr4 April 08:08

      Yep, shows how far we have come though. Was only a few weeks ago the govt was briefing that no holidays until August

      • TGLoyalty says:

        4 Apr4 April 10:47

        No holidays is one think. As I keep saying there are so many valid reasons why people need to travel and it’s not always to sit on a beach.

        • Anna says:

          4 Apr4 April 11:04

          But – if holidays travel isn’t allowed, flights will get cancelled and travel for any other purpose will be much more difficult!

        • Lady London says:

          4 Apr4 April 11:26

          +1 TG. I got badly hit by these costs last month. Hardly any flights and other transport actually runnilng, everything priced to the max except hotels as transport have worked out people are only travelling if exempt urgent reason and they have no choice.

          3 tests in 9 days I felt like a pincushion. Good thing is it cleared my sinuses!

        • TGLoyalty says:

          4 Apr4 April 16:27

          I agree. In some respects

          But holidays aren’t going to happen if 3 expensive tests are required.

          Business travel will be stifled too

• Mr. AC says:

  4 Apr4 April 02:25

  I think the regular code-speaking financial-product loving audience here might get a chuckle from this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fG0JTbzMnd4
  Brighton isn’t mentioned (since it’s not an fintech…), but Che Guevara and Bendy are. Monese and Wise as well – don’t think we have a code word for them yet…

  • AJA says:

    4 Apr4 April 08:21

    How about Owl? As in wise as an owl? 😀

    • Peter K says:

      4 Apr4 April 08:25

      Surely Clock for Wise.
      If say useless for monese, but that’s just because it is.

      • ankomonkey says:

        4 Apr4 April 10:22

        Morecambe& for Wise. I considered Ernie for Wise and Ernesto for Che Guevara. #ErnieFest or maybe #EarnyFest

  • Oh! Matron! says:

    4 Apr4 April 09:06

    How about Claude for Monese?

    • Memesweeper says:

      4 Apr4 April 13:13

      very good 🙂

  • Lady London says:

    4 Apr4 April 11:28

    It was our dear @Anna who invented Bendy. She also invented Volde-places. I’m not sure she didn’t invent Che as well.

    • Chris Heyes says:

      4 Apr4 April 19:28

      Lady London regards overpayment on mortgages later reply to me
      Yes a agree now a days you need to double check mortgage small print
      I found my building soc Nationwide was very reasonable (plus Abby National)
      you just needed to tell them when taking out your mortgage that you would be paying extra off your mortgage monthly (when you could afford it, to cover yourself)
      They just said no problem any extra would come off your balance each month,
      was never a problem (although my son and daughter had to ask for that to be included)
      Now a days there is all sorts hidden in t&c

• 747_Brat says:

  4 Apr4 April 03:47

  RIP Miles & More credit card. You will be missed! 😒

  • Joseph Heenan says:

    4 Apr4 April 10:06

    It’s not dead yet – I just (accidentally) put a transaction through successfully.

    • TGLoyalty says:

      4 Apr4 April 10:49

      Yup just put my last transaction though.

      Dying on bank holiday weekend was a shame (for me) as less scope to cycle my credit limit.

      • 747_Brat says:

        4 Apr4 April 11:19

        I am facing the same problem @TGL. I have used up my limit and can’t recycle it now due to bank holiday weekend.

  • Joints&Piles says:

    4 Apr4 April 10:21

    Sadly it seems less likely that a replacement is coming. The holding page used to say a new card will be coming this summer, but now it only says:

    “All UK members are very important to Miles & More and Cornercard UK Ltd. Both parties are currently evaluating options together.”

• Jenny says:

  4 Apr4 April 05:48

  Whats the best way to invest 50k? (Continuation of yesterdays thread)

  • BJ says:

    4 Apr4 April 05:52

    MS

    • Jenny says:

      4 Apr4 April 06:34

      No MS. Dont want miles

      • Mike says:

        4 Apr4 April 07:05

        If you don’t want miles – you are the wrong website!

      • blenz101 says:

        4 Apr4 April 07:43

        As you have said invest (5+ years minimum) rather than save then the usual wisdom is to use a mutiasset fund tailored to your level of risk.

        Vanguard and HSBC Global Strategy are well respected and can be purchased on your platform of choice and have a range of risk options from cautious to higher risk (basically just increasing the percentage of equities). HSBC has less UK bias.

        You may want to drip feed in 50k over a number of months for comfort against short term mar-ket movements but ultimately if your timeframe is sufficient this shouldn’t have any real impact.

      • Lady London says:

        4 Apr4 April 11:34

        Why are you here then if you don’t want miles/points? This is a serious question, intended politely

    • Mike says:

      4 Apr4 April 07:06

      Jenny – for how long, with what aim (income / growth) what level of risk etc

  • Waddle says:

    4 Apr4 April 07:04

    Ensure you have an emergency fund of around 3 months’ expenses.
    Top up all your ISAs and pick some investments.
    Overpay your mortgage up to any fee-free limits.
    Perhaps look into some blockchain investments. Bitcoin if you feel up to the risk.
    Stablecoins (crypto that’s pegged to a certain currency) have little exposure to blockchain market movements but can earn 10+ percent interest if put in the right place.

    • Scallder says:

      4 Apr4 April 07:45

      If happy to wait stick it in your pension – get the tax relief up front which is going to boost your savings before any potential investment gains

      • AJA says:

        4 Apr4 April 08:35

        The trouble with pensions is the inability to access until 55 (currently, rising to 57 in 2028 and then 10 years before your state pension age). I also wonder if the 25% tax free lump sum will remain although that is a plus point. Other plus points being tax relief on entry, matching or some contribution from employer.

        I like ISAs, especially Stock and Shares as they are accessible and tax free on withdrawal. I wish I had contributed more earlier in my working life to S&S ISAs.

        Buy your house and pay off the mortgage is also a great plan.

        Finally start saving for care home fees. They are incredibly expensive.

        • Andrew (@andrewseftel) says:

          4 Apr4 April 09:03

          The trouble with pensions is lifetime allowance. Very hard to plan for and hard to see much political sympathy for ‘million pound pension pots’ even if inflation picks up a bit.

        • Matthew says:

          4 Apr4 April 09:08

          The 10yr rule is daft. I I want to take my personal private pension at 55 then why can’t I? Being told I will have to wait til I’m 58 and prob more by the time I retire in 20yrs doesn’t seem right to me.

        • Doug M says:

          4 Apr4 April 10:43

          @Matthew. Because it’s benefitted from extremely generous tax relief is the answer.
          I agree with Andrew. The largest problem now with pensions is the lifetime allowance, £1million (ish) is not that much in pension terms.

        • Lady London says:

          4 Apr4 April 11:38

          @Matthew you can take it before 55. It just then becomes an unauthorised withdrawal and you get taxed at 55%. This prob also counts as breaching the MPAA putting pretty much a brake on all your future pension contributions.

  • YC says:

    4 Apr4 April 07:29

    Linked to this (but assume need more than 50k): How dead/alive is the BTL market? Hard assets always feel a bit more secure but keen to hear what the financial savvy think

    • blenz101 says:

      4 Apr4 April 07:56

      It is far harder than it ever was to make money in BTL, the government have worked hard to kill the market.

      Not being able to claim tax relief on the mortgage interest squezes profilt margins. But the biggest issue for most here (assuming higher rate tax payer) is the 28% CGT when you come to sell the property.

      You would have to be confident of a serious rise in that hard asset to realise any gain in a BTL property.

      • Brighton Belle says:

        4 Apr4 April 08:07

        And the talk of changing CGT from 28% to your highest tax rate if it is treated as income. So expect 40% and beyond.

      • AJA says:

        4 Apr4 April 08:49

        BTL is risky but can be very rewarding. You still get an allowance towards mortgage interest though having to borrow to fund the purchase also eats into the returns. BTL if you can buy outright is still a great option. The other risks are months when the empty property is empty, maintenance and repair costs and service charges on flats which all eat into the rental income. Also not nice when you have crap tenants who fail to pay and don’t leave, eviction costs are much more than you might think and that assumes that you can even evict them. Due to Covid restrictions you currently have to give tenants 6 months notice if you want your property back.

        • YC says:

          4 Apr4 April 09:07

          It feels like rental yield is minimal, especially after considering some of these buffers. So you are left with hoping on a large increase in property prices. A BTL mortgage would leverage both sides (gains/losses) but CGT results in an asymmetric skew in returns. But property price changes is also likely asymmetric skewed to the positive side so fairly even trade. vs iShares ETF MSCI ACWI (annualised 7% return since inception)

  • BuildBackBetter says:

    4 Apr4 April 07:47

    If it’s short term, find the highest paying bank account / cash isa.
    Medium term, invest in wealth preservation funds like CGT / PNL.
    Long term – passive / active equity funds. Preferably in a pension or isa wrapper.

  • The Savage Squirrel says:

    4 Apr4 April 08:29

    Use ISA allowances (e.g. if ISAing, you can get 20k in before 5th April and another 20k after.)
    Use pension allowance if happy to. Applies x10 if you are a high earner and it will get you out of the evil effective 60% band just above 100k earnings.
    Use Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs). They are cheap to buy and run; cheap trackers are proven to beat 98% of expensive active funds over the long term (and you have no way to spot the 2%). For larger amounts I would start thinking about asset and currency allocations, but here a global equity fund by Vanguard or iShares is as good as anything. Annual fees should be around 0.1%.
    Avoid wealth managers and expensive funds like the plague. Especially avoid layers of fees on fees. Look at St James Place as an excellent example of what NOT to do.

    • The Savage Squirrel says:

      4 Apr4 April 08:36

      Worth mentioning that, especially on higher tax rates or if you have a mortgage at a higher rate for whatever reason, a mortgage offset account remains a good choice. Always use an offset account rather than just overpaying the mortgage as the money then works double – it has paid off the mortgage but remains immediately available so acts as your on-hand emergency fund.

      • Steve says:

        4 Apr4 April 09:10

        Unless you’re unfortunately locked into a high rate, overpaying the mortgage is probably the worst option. Interest rates being so low you’d earn far more long term putting the money is a S&S ISA than the interest incurred on borrowing it.

        • The Savage Squirrel says:

          4 Apr4 April 10:09

          Steve, not really. Firstly that return is tax-free, as it’s a saving, so for a top rate tax payer it’s considerably greater than any other risk-free return once allowances such as ISAs have been used up.
          However as I alluded to, it’s mainly about risk management. Firstly, for your on-hand emergency funds it’s likely by far the best return available (for the reasons above). Overpayments via offset also remain as liquid and available cash, so can be converted to other investments quickly if really exceptional opportunities become available (I could jump into the crazy less-than-$0 oil market in early 2020 for example), or used as a permanently available revolving loan facility. Immediate cash is always on hand, which itself has intrinsic value.

          Secondly, let’s take the example of someone who has both a home and a significant sized business, both carrying variable rate loans – bear in mind that the non-property business loan will also be at a higher rate than a typical residential mortgage too (the same logic applies to anyone with a BTL variable mortgage) . A major risk within their life is interest rate risk – a significant rate increase will increase business expenses and so reduce (or eliminate) profits at exactly the same point that you need more more money to service the now larger home mortgage payments. The risk of that would appear to be small right now, but now we’ve been through the 2008 financial crisis and Covid, we know not to discount small or unexpected risks – as an aside nearly half the mortgage-paying population now (anyone who has got one since 2008 basically) have never experienced a base rate above 0.5%, and aren’t really familiar with the experience of rates varying significantly month to month and don’t plan for it – if and when rates increase and regular rate variations return they’re in for one hell of a shock). Therefore in terms of personal risk management, it is entirely rational to accept decreased returns to guard against such risks by paying off interest rate dependent debt and reducing the impact of future rate increases.

          Finally, and applicalbe to everyone, finance doesn’t have to be entirely rational at all times – the use of money is after all the pursuit of happiness. Being debt-free, particularly in terms of owning their own home, provides many people with a feeling of contentment and satisfaction beyond the simple investment return.
          So in many many different ways it’s NOT the worst option :p 😀 .

        • Steve says:

          4 Apr4 April 10:41

          Offsets are few and far between and at a higher rate so you pay for the privilege. Interest rate risk only applies outside of any fixed rate deal which most would be on.

          Personally I’d overfund in S&S which are relatively liquid and if interest rates do spike next time the fix is up for renewal can always sell down the S&S and pay off a chunk at that point (i.e. 5 years in S&S will outperform the <2% annual interest on most 5 year fixed mortgages). Granted S&S are not risk free.

          Residential mortgage is by far the cheapest form of debt and you can make money on it, draw more than you need and invest the excess. Can always flip when the interest rates turn on you.

        • Chris Heyes says:

          4 Apr4 April 12:13

          Steve Although I agree with you in theory. I personally paid extra off my mortgage to get it paid off quickly (was only £40 odd £ a month anyhow)
          I’ve told all my Children to pay extra off their mortgage each month
          Because of how interest is calculated on mortgages just over £10/£15 extra off a month can knock 8/10 years off a mortgage
          Better to have no mortgage at 40/50 less to think about later in life
          Yes in Theory your correct, but if you’ve no mortgage at 40/50 you will be better off than most with S&S ISAs
          I had no Mortgage at 50 so was able to retire comfortably for my modest needs

        • Lady London says:

          4 Apr4 April 13:51

          @Chris Heyes that does work but check the small print of your mortgage docs to find out when exactly any overpayment is credited.

          For some IIRC it was only once per year at a specific time. Others may not credit automatically for a while if overpayment is just made without actually arranging it.

      • Jill (Kinkell) says:

        4 Apr4 April 09:20

        We had an offset mortgage…. savings plus overpaid monthly and cleared a 25 yr mortgage in 9 years.

      • Matthew says:

        4 Apr4 April 09:56

        I thought offset mortgages have higher rates though….

        • The Savage Squirrel says:

          4 Apr4 April 10:11

          I’ve always got the best rate I can, then bolted on an offset facility to that – sometimes this meant adding it 6 months later.

        • Mike says:

          4 Apr4 April 10:56

          I have a 100 % off set mortgage- never paid a penny in interest ever and will not do so ( I have a pathological hatred for paying interest – although I don’t mind receiving it !! ) Barclays blue rewards used to pay me money for having a mortgage with them – now on avois rewards

  • Rob says:

    4 Apr4 April 11:00

    Premium bonds

    • Will says:

      4 Apr4 April 13:23

      +1 for this. 1% return, as low risk as you can get, liquid.

      Given how high the stock market is in the midst of a global pandemic and huge quantities of printed/borrowed money required to keep the economy going, I would be very hesitant to to invest £50k in one chunk in stocks and shares or trackers right now if your not already heavily invested historically.

      If it’s long term, drip it in bit by bit, you’ll buy some at the top, some at the bottom, lots in between.

      “Where there is greed be fearful, where there is fear be greedy”

      Many stock valuations suggest greed is presently at play.

      Likewise with property, it’s at very high levels, interest rates are as low as they can practically go for the mortgage borrower and even the BofE recently published a report linking property price inversely to interest rates over the last 20 years.

      Until covid has cleared and governments indicate longer term financial strategies a large new investment is risky.

      If you do invest in something, taking a position in gold/silver with a proportion of it could be a decent hedge against bad times/inflation. There’s a lot been written about treasury yields pulling money out of gold/silver, I’m not convinced on that connection if things turn bad, if inflation returns then a 1-2% treasury would be a terrible investment.

      Not much love on here for active investment funds, but one ive been in for a while and consistently pops up amongst the best performing isa funds is malbourough special situations.

      As ever, past performance not neccesarily indication of future.

• Patrick says:

  4 Apr4 April 07:30

  May you all have a happy Easter!

• JohnT says:

  4 Apr4 April 08:04

  Happy Easter all! Are all new BA vouchers useable online now? Have an avios flight (no 241) to cancel before June but may need fast access when booking next flight for next year.

  • Rob says:

    4 Apr4 April 10:59

    Only eVouchers from pure cash flights can be used online.

  • Nick says:

    4 Apr4 April 11:00

    No, some are still handled as FTVs. But call centre wait times are very low at the moment.

• Nadeshka says:

  4 Apr4 April 08:48

  Anyone else noticed a drop in redemption availability?
  I’d been monitoring Japan for a few weeks and routinely saw 5+ business seats being released and some days 9 or more!
  Now however they’ve all disappeared and it’s back to 2 business/4 economy and no more.
  Scuppered my plans for rebooking for next year!
  I guess BA are now getting more confident they can get cash for those seats instead?

  • Stuart Evans says:

    4 Apr4 April 08:55

    What a pity to hear that. I have been keeping a watch on US West Coast availability, which still seems Ok. But I guess inevitable that BA will eventually reduce availability

    • Nadeshka says:

      4 Apr4 April 10:15

      Yes what really surprised me is all the extra availability that was there for Jan/Feb/early March has been removed too. I don’t think that many people have booked redemptions!

      We were lucky to get them going out, and just unfortunate that they decided to throttle availability in the two week window while I waited for the return!

      Signed up for RFF in the hope that the seats do come back.
      We’ve got economy booked back as a reserve but in usual HFP first world problems I am having to steel myself for 12 hours in economy (with a toddler and infant..)
      Haven’t done economy long haul in nearly a decade thanks to miles collecting!

      • Anna says:

        4 Apr4 April 11:06

        Nadeshka, just be aware RFF is VERY unreliable at the moment. I have complained a couple of times and had my subs refunded for several months!

      • Jonathan says:

        4 Apr4 April 11:47

        Availability always plummets for Japan in March-May as Spring is most popular time of year so not surprised you’re struggling to get a flight back. The flight back is also a drag as it’s daylight all the way so you never have the urge to sleep. I struggle with it in business!

  • Hotelier says:

    4 Apr4 April 11:48

    End of March and soon to release April are ultra-peak season for Japan – definitely not expecting more than the minimum seats. Cash rates at a premium too.
    Managed to buy the outbound to Tokyo last night and business class tickets didn’t even make it to the website as expected. Economy were gone within 15 minutes so happy I stayed up ! Let’s see if second time around we can make the trip.

    • Nadeshka says:

      4 Apr4 April 12:25

      This is now our third year/attempt to get there for cherry blossom, previously we only needed 2 seats but toddler turning 2 this year means we need more.
      We’re going for mid-march and leaving probably just around when peak bloom was this year so I hoped we might just have gotten the trip in before the big rush of people (and that the “early bloom” these past years continues).

      I really commend the BA exec staff who are manning the lines at 1am – they were so helpful in grabbing the seats (that did come up) asap and allowed me to reserve the economy ones without ticketing so I could try again the next night without paying a change fee. Calling the US number but got through to India/UK teams and executed it all perfectly. Less stress than when I did it myself online for sure as they can hold them without you having to rush the checkout.

• Zoe says:

  4 Apr4 April 08:52

  So l’m slightly less optimistic on the travel front and we have blown some of my other half’s tax free pension lump sum on a VW Grand California. I’m not totally convinced we will love ‘van life’ but regrets tend to be the things you didn’t do. Obviously we didn’t just order a brand new one and will get 11k onto a credit card plus a bit more via Curve. I need to check the Curve daily limits.
  There is lots of the UK we have never visited and hopefully VW campers low depreciation will be in our favour if we decide to cash it up after a few years.

  • Patrick says:

    4 Apr4 April 08:59

    My parents got one a couple of years before my mom passed away, they really loved it! It’s not too huge and cumbersome compared to a campervan, and has all the mods needed for a week or so away from the house.

  • Oh! Matron! says:

    4 Apr4 April 09:16

    You’ll get out of it what you put into it. Being able to rock up to a camp site and get the kettle on within 5 minutes certainly beats spending 30 minutes in the howling wind and rain at a campsite in dent with a 1970’s Czech / slovak ex army tent with 1 inch poles….

    And regrets for things you DIDN’T do are far worse than regrets for things you DID do 🙂 You can only fail and learn from things you try 🙂

    • Zoe says:

      4 Apr4 April 09:31

      Might have to try a music festival now that we have the equivalent of business class for accommodation. Okay it’s not quite business class but much better than a tent!

  • Tom1 says:

    4 Apr4 April 10:07

    You’re right about the low depreciation – I tried to buy a Cali (not grand) last year and everyone that went up for sale was sold within minutes. Those who had bought them a year or two earlier were reselling for more than they paid, even with a year or two of use.

    I did quite a lot of research in to the residual values – combination of staycations, factory delays, no foreign travel to spend money on means they are really strong.

    https://www.travelismycurrency.com/vw-california-campervans/what-worth-value-vw-california-campervan/

    • Zoe says:

      4 Apr4 April 13:19

      Thanks Tom that’s really interesting. We got caught last August when the quarantine rules for Spain changed with less than 24 hours notice. Followed the quarantine to the letter but it cost me thousands of pounds (sourcing items for my business those August weekends were prime and couldn’t be replaced). Ever since I have a very low tolerance for other people’s selfish rule breaking.

  • the_real_a says:

    4 Apr4 April 13:14

    The problem for me is that a camp site birth is generally more expensive than a chain hotel room. I often meet friends (who camp) direct from a good nights sleep at the premier inn.

    • Zoe says:

      4 Apr4 April 13:20

      You may well be right, but my husband has been going on about it for ages and its his money…

      • Zoe says:

        4 Apr4 April 13:25

        To be fair it’s more fun than paying off a BTL mortgage.

        • the_real_a says:

          4 Apr4 April 15:50

          I can see the attraction of finding s deserted beach in Scotland and pulling up in the Motorhome to stay a few nights however!

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