The HfP chat thread – Tuesday 6th April

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Will says:

6 Apr6 April 10:37

anyone know how long the Creation IHG Premium Card one Night Voucher is valid for? I received my voucher 2 weeks ago but have had zero marketing emails and no new annual fee charged yet, and the terms and conditions of the voucher online point to another Kimpton T&C’s page (IHG error). thank you in advance
- TGLoyalty says:
  
  6 Apr6 April 10:39
  
  The voucher is valid for bookings made within 1 year of it being issued (the stay can be after it expires but if it’s cancelled your voucher won’t be returned)
  - Sal says:
    
    6 Apr6 April 10:59
    
    My first ever voucher says:
    Book 1 between
    23/09/2020 – 11/04/2022
    
    Surely over a year then?
    - TGLoyalty says:
      
      6 Apr6 April 11:11
      
      They were extended due to Covid-19
      
      I actually received an extra voucher late December to “replace” the one that was about to expire while hotels were closed/travel restricted.
      - Genghis says:
        
        6 Apr6 April 11:17
        
        Whereas my wife didn’t since it was attached to a booking. We since cancelled the reservation and voucher lost. IHG would only comp 10k IHGs.
    - Secret Squirrel says:
      
      6 Apr6 April 13:20
      
      With the extention you need to have booked & stayed before the expiry date.
      - TGLoyalty says:
        
        6 Apr6 April 13:28
        
        With the additional voucher, yes.
        
        Though this is all irrelevant to someone who received there’s 2 weeks ago.
- Anna says:
  
  6 Apr6 April 11:30
  
  The validity date should be underneath the voucher when you click through from your account page – where it says “1 free night” or whatever in the top left corner.
Mark says:

6 Apr6 April 10:52

Hot my plat business spending on day 1 of card, now being told I have to wait 90 days for the bonus. Never had this before and it was Brighton so tried to push back and ask why, they just stated that’s how the business card works. Also didn’t get my bonus for adding a supp card, they also stated that will take 90 days. Don’t believe it but don’t know how to push back.
- AK says:
  
  6 Apr6 April 11:21
  
  My bonus arrived once I hit the threshold spend, supp bonus usually the same, although on occasions has taken a few days. I think it must be written somewhere in the small print that it can take up to 90 days
  - Mark says:
    
    6 Apr6 April 11:22
    
    That’s how everyone has been for me but for
    Some reason this is being weird. Not a huge fan of waiting 90 days
    - Lady London says:
      
      6 Apr6 April 11:59
      
      Just watch. Be ready to act when it happens. Amex agents are not always correct as to what actually happens.
      
      Personally I wouldn’t have been so insubtle as to spend the whole amount on the card on Day and ditto the referral. Then in case they’d missed that your whole intention was to ‘stag’ it you rang up immediately to demand points. I think I’d have stretched it out a bit and not done all those at once.
      - Mark says:
        
        6 Apr6 April 12:14
        
        We had a kitchen to pay off to the timing was good for us. I planned to keep it 3 months anyway as then I can refer the OH for a personal plat, so I honestly don’t mind waiting the 90 days. Got an offer too if £150 off £1000 spend so that saving makes the fee a good option too.
    - Rob says:
      
      6 Apr6 April 14:58
      
      Are you mistakenly including the fee in your calculations?
      
      Have you had a personal Amex which issues MR points in the last 6 months?
      
      Could any of the transactions be seen as pseudo cash by Amex and so not count? The easiest way to check is to see if all your transactions earned MR points – if they did, they should count towards the bonus.
      - Mark says:
        
        6 Apr6 April 15:39
        
        Nope the balance in the kitchen was 10.5k, I’ve got the 10500 points sitting in my account but no bonus
      - Mark says:
        
        6 Apr6 April 15:40
        
        Also no personal MR card for 20 months
- Jay says:
  
  6 Apr6 April 13:06
  
  If you spent on Day 1, did you check that all the points posted to the MR correctly. Mine didn’t, and Amex had to do a manual adjustment of the points e.g. £2k adjustment, so when I hit what I thought was 5k spend, it was in fact 3k as the bonus doesn’t take into consideration the adjustment. I then spent another £2k and points added immediately. Amex seem to have a real problem with the Biz cards in linking correctly to an MR account. Best advice is set up a new online account for the biz and do small transactions to ensure it posts correctly to MR before any big spends. I was told the same old same old 90 days for the spend and supps. I now have the bonus points but no sign of supps bonus points, so will just wait 90 days.
NB says:

6 Apr6 April 10:57

Anyone have experience/recommendation of paying a driver through BACs transfer but making it points earning? It’s £1300 a month. Billhop want £38 a month which seems a bit steep and will probably negate any revenue.
- Harry T says:
  
  6 Apr6 April 11:09
  
  Bill hop won’t be worth it. Does Revolut allow BACS transfers? That could be a way to indirectly earn points, though you could be flagged for KYC if doing a lot of bank transfers.
  - Anna says:
    
    6 Apr6 April 11:32
    
    Also Billhop generally won’t let you pay individuals, only companies (not clear if you’re employing the driver or using a taxi/chauffeur service).
    - Rob says:
      
      6 Apr6 April 14:56
      
      Billhop will pay individuals (with an invoice, which you can mock up yourself) with MC or Visa. With Amex it must be a business.
- IanM says:
  
  6 Apr6 April 11:56
  
  Ask your driver if he will take his salary by Amex or you’re going to fire him.
- Andrew says:
  
  6 Apr6 April 13:50
  
  Your driver could always get a card reader…
- Jamie says:
  
  6 Apr6 April 18:10
  
  You are paying for a driver at £1300 a month and are worried about a £38 fee to do so…? First World problems eh.
  - Freddy says:
    
    6 Apr6 April 21:37
    
    All to gain around £13-20 worth of points a month……
  - NB says:
    
    6 Apr6 April 21:40
    
    I have a brain injury and have had my license revoked. A scheme called Access to Work provides financial assistance for me to continue working by offsetting some travelling costs.
    
    Frames of reference are everything.
Blair says:

6 Apr6 April 11:30

IHG airline transfer partners: Apologies in advance if I have my sums wrong. IHG 100% bonus sale, 150,000 points get 150,000 bonus=300,000 points at £1077 (originally USD). So paid 0.36p per point. IHG transfers 10,000:2,000 into Emirates Skywards. Currently no Skywards sale, so 2,000 miles purchased from Emirates = £44.20. Or transfer from IHG and the out of pocket cost is the £36 paid for 10,000. Based on the IHG devaluation making it hard to pin a value, this seems quite a tempting option. I fear I’m missing something by doing self-reinforcing maths though.
- memesweeper says:
  
  6 Apr6 April 13:05
  
  You are buying points in an airline scheme you cannot use in the short term (for two reasons: the transfers can take weeks; and there’s nothing you back book unless you one-way out of the UK). You are then exposed to devaluation/poor availability risk with Emirates.
  
  The basic maths is 300,000 IHG to 60,000 Emirates. Even with a low-ish valuation on IHG points that’s going to incur a big loss versus hotel stays.
VP says:

6 Apr6 April 11:30

Hi everyone,
I was just browsing on St. Regis Maldives website and came across this line on Rate details “Payment will be made through DCC (Dynamic Currency Conversion)”
Does the mean DCC is mandatory at this resort while paying?
If yes, hope this is a not a new trend for generating additional revenue which catches across popular destinations!!
Also, is the actual billing charge in $ or local currency? If $, does this mean the International Amex $ card won’t attract any additional fees as it’s the same currency?
- Matt says:
  
  6 Apr6 April 11:42
  
  Not been to the Westin, but I’d assume that all costs are both advertised and paid in US$ on any resort in the Maldives. When we went there was no sign of whatever the local currency was at all.
- TGLoyalty says:
  
  6 Apr6 April 11:55
  
  Good job DCC is banned by Amex.
  - meta says:
    
    6 Apr6 April 12:25
    
    I’ve seen some chain resorts in the Maldives don’t take Amex for incidentals, so double check with the resort.
- memesweeper says:
  
  6 Apr6 April 13:09
  
  I would assume this means prices quoted in USD but DCC offered to make the transactions actually work in USD. You should always be able to opt out of DCC if you want to pay in the local currency. If this concerns you be sure to email them ahead of any stay, the T&Cs will be aimed at a US traveller who will no doubt be expecting to pay everything in greenbacks.
  - QFFlyer says:
    
    6 Apr6 April 14:40
    
    That’s one thing that annoys me, foreigners (of all nationalities, but invariably they end up being American) trying to force their currency on locals.
    
    Last time I witnessed it was in Reykjavik, I was waiting on the airport bus and the drivers was collecting fares from those boarding, until an American loudly began requesting a price in USD. I smiled when he just quoted some ridiculous figure about 50% more than the ISK price, which the pax duly paid. First time I’d witnessed DCC in hard currency.
    - The real John says:
      
      6 Apr6 April 20:29
      
      I once overhead an American at a skiing village in Austria complaining that nobody would accept his $100 bills and that he spent the first one and a half days trying to find a currency exchange.
      
      The USD cash was the only form of payment he had brought with him.
      
      If I had encountered him earlier I would have offered to “DCC” him.
- VP says:
  
  6 Apr6 April 13:28
  
  Thanks for the suggestions. Have no definate plans at the moment but if I ever decide on this resort then will surely check with them beforehand.
BrianGK says:

6 Apr6 April 11:35

Hi thanks all for the replies and information. I should have provided more info though. The question was referring to either stocks and shares isa accounts or general investment accounts with the main providers, either high street, online or robo advisers.

No specific concerns but as I am approaching the £85k mark with Nutmeg in my stocks and shares isa it got me thinking whether to start a new one elsewhere.

It sounds like market value (so including any profits) is protected in most cases from the replies/info.

Thanks
- BrianGK says:
  
  6 Apr6 April 12:21
  
  Sorry ignore this. Meant to reply to the other thread.
Chuffer says:

6 Apr6 April 11:56

I know this was mentioned some days ago but can’t find the outcome so any help welcome. I posted 1600 Nectar to Avios on 5 February and received the 1000 Avios but have never received the 500 bonus (as most people seem to have got). I have not undertaken any other transaction in either direction. As this is linked to the double Nectar points offer at the time I am slightly concerned I won’t get that either. Who should I chase, Nectar or Avios and how?
- Catman99 says:
  
  6 Apr6 April 12:34
  
  500 Avios is worth between £4 -£5…..Is it worth chasing?
  - Chuffer says:
    
    6 Apr6 April 12:55
    
    i actually spend quite a lot in Sainsbury so the Nectar points will be significant if doubled. If they don’t double I reckon I will lose somewhere around £40. The N to A transfer was largely to access that offer although the 500 Avios or 800 Nectar would be handy
- AJA says:
  
  6 Apr6 April 14:55
  
  I would contact BAEC. They should be able to see the transfer from NP to Avios on 5 February which should have the description “Avios Nectar – Conversion Credit”. The bonus Avios should have the descripton “Avios Nectar Launch Offer”. Are you sure it never posted? You can either phone them or try using the Claim Missing Avios form on your BAEC. As for the double NP at Sainsbury’s you will just have to wait until 17 May to see if anything posts. It should do as long as you have transaction of NP to Avios on 5 Feb showing in your Nectar account. The 500 bonus Avios was independent of the double NP on Sainsbury’s shopping
  - Chuffer says:
    
    6 Apr6 April 16:18
    
    Thanks for your helpful response. Got the first description but not the second. Will try the Claim Missing Avios form, thanks again
Harry T says:

6 Apr6 April 12:51

Any recent experiences with Staysure travel insurance? I’m tempted to switch to them as their prices are excellent and TrustPilot and Defacto scores are reassuring.
- Chuffer says:
  
  6 Apr6 April 12:56
  
  I have used them before. No problems but never had to claim which of course is the true test of an insurance policy/company!
- Lady London says:
  
  6 Apr6 April 15:35
  
  I used Staysure for my annual travel policy for one year. There was just too much cshyback on offer and their ratings are good.
  
  I haven’t used them again as, midway through the year, they wrote and demanded an updatw on any treatments, conditions, and any time I’d had a doctor’s appointment since taking out the policy.
  
  This didn’t bother me as I had nothing to disclose and there had been as good as nothing to disclose upfront going into the policy. But I have never had this request midway through any travel policy out of the blue before.
  
  So far as I am concerned provided full disclosure is given upfront on an annual policy then it is up to the insurer to price that risk for the period accordingly. Obvs longer should cost slightly more just like finance options but that’s up to the insurer to price.
  
  When this request came out of the blue I looked harder at the terms of the policy and there were ways Staysure could have terminated the policy immediately and not continued to provide cover for the full term if anything was reported as new since the policy had been in force Staysure in their judgment didn’t like even if full disclosure had been made upfront.
  
  That made me not trust Staysure for any further purchases since. If you do go with them though, never renew straight after even with a discount as over the following 3 months or so after I didn’t renew about 3 progressively better offers were made.