The HfP chat thread – Tuesday 6th April

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• ChrisW says:

  6 Apr6 April 12:58

  Did the Virgin M Bank Account 15,000 point bonus definitely finish last month? My app is still showing the offer but the desktop site isn’t. I don’t want to go through all the faff to switch if its definitely over.

  • Sandgrounder says:

    6 Apr6 April 13:22

    I think it was paused due to the rebrand. It might be better going through the app, the issues people had seem to have been related to using the desktop site.

  • Patrick Cold says:

    6 Apr6 April 13:26

    I switched and had a horrendous experience with VM CS which included them losing a £4,000 transaction for which I was compensated £100 after two weeks of tedium and prevarication. Think very carefully before getting involved. I have switched away again.

    • DJ says:

      6 Apr6 April 13:41

      I had to spent at least 4 hours in calls (over time) just to get my 15,000 points.

      Long wait time to get through to the agents in general. I wouldn’t bank with them long term.

• YC says:

  6 Apr6 April 12:58

  Current account switching – if it needs 2 standing orders, can I just put two £1 standing orders to another of my own bank accounts? Only finally getting round to this small money tree

  • Genghis says:

    6 Apr6 April 13:02

    yes

  • Jay says:

    6 Apr6 April 13:08

    Most switches want direct debits, not standing orders so just double check the criteria.

    • Secret Squirrel says:

      6 Apr6 April 13:23

      I thought it was only DD also.

  • M says:

    6 Apr6 April 13:08

    What offer have you found that requires just 2 standing orders? (I might be tempted myself 🙂)

  • TGLoyalty says:

    6 Apr6 April 13:27

    Didn’t think standing orders counted. Set up some DD’d to charity?

    • Genghis says:

      6 Apr6 April 13:38

      Not necessarily. e.g. HSBC advance, “then switch within 30 days using the Current Account Switch Service (including at least 2 Direct Debits or standing orders)” I have done such switches with SOs only in the past.

      • YC says:

        6 Apr6 April 15:23

        Yes this is the one I’m looking at. Seems the best switch offer currently

• will says:

  6 Apr6 April 13:33

  Ref virgin points to redeem on Singapore airlines. They are currently blocked due to Covid, but the website references something about Singapore airport.

  There’s a Manchester – Houston flight, anyone know if this can be booked with Virgin miles as it doesn’t transit through Singapore?

  • Sam G says:

    6 Apr6 April 13:57

    Singapore Airlines long haul business class can’t usually be redeemed by any partners (including star alliance) so I don’t think you’d have any luck with this. Economy would be possible but unlikely to be good value. I’d also imagine that this flight could be a long way off returning / if at all for a good while as I’d have thought the demand was more business led

    • meta says:

      6 Apr6 April 15:33

      That’s not true. Business class can always be booked by partners. However, first class cannot.

      • Babyg says:

        6 Apr6 April 16:39

        @Meta, err kind of… Singapore redemptions in Business Class and First Class on their A380-800, 777-300ER and A350-900 aircraft types are not available.

        https://www.virginatlantic.com/gb/en/flying-club/partners/airlines/singapore-airlines.html

        • Sam G says:

          6 Apr6 April 19:11

          Which are the only planes they have left – so currently no long haul availability for partners….

      • BuildBackBetter says:

        6 Apr6 April 17:27

        Theoretically you can. But practically SQ has blocked most premium cabins in long haul for its partners.
        Specifically Virgin and SQ block each other’s premium cabins.

• Fm says:

  6 Apr6 April 13:44

  Any suggestion that the bonus on the Virgin mastercard might go up to 25k soon? Going to be applying…

  • Doug M says:

    6 Apr6 April 14:18

    Rob’s answered previously that at present it seems very unlikely.

    • Fm says:

      6 Apr6 April 14:47

      Thanks

    • Jonathan says:

      6 Apr6 April 18:37

      Rob has mentioned recently that VM are prioritising their current customers instead of trying to attract new ones. They don’t want to take on someone who could easily get into financial difficulty

• James says:

  6 Apr6 April 13:56

  Can a BA Amex 2 4 1 voucher been used for a return trip to the UK starting outside the UK? Rob’s excellent article mentions this is not possible for a one way trip to the UK but is silent on return trips starting outside the UK.

  https://hfp2022.headforpoints.blog/2020/06/08/how-do-british-airways-2-4-1-american-express-companion-vouchers-work/

  • KP says:

    6 Apr6 April 13:57

    ex UK only, one way or return

  • mark2 says:

    6 Apr6 April 14:21

    or Jersey I believe

    • Anna says:

      6 Apr6 April 14:29

      Yes Jersey benefits from lower taxes/fees.

• gareth says:

  6 Apr6 April 14:01

  does anyone know how long it takes for hsbc to avios transfer? i waited and waited for a bonus but nothing coming so committed!

  • Genghis says:

    6 Apr6 April 14:30

    1 or 2 days

  • Nigel W says:

    6 Apr6 April 14:33

    They say up to 14 working days, but usually it is much less (up to five from memory)

    • gareth says:

      6 Apr6 April 15:24

      Thanks both

• V says:

  6 Apr6 April 14:18

  Hi, hoping someone can offer some advice. Sorry if this is not in the correct thread

  I booked a package holiday with a well known travel company in February 2020. I am due to travel June 2021

  I have today contacted the travel provider asking to cancel the holiday under the terms that when I booked I would not be subjected to any form of quarantines or the additional charges of testing etc now likely required.

  The holiday company have advised my only options are:
  1. To cancel and lose £400 deposit, this will continue to increase every 10 days
  2. To amend the holiday to a later date, which I am reluctant to do because I do not want to enter in to new terms booking knowing quarantine and testing will likely still be around next year
  3. Get a solicitor

  They advised they have no complaints or escalation process when I tried to pursue this further.

  Do i need to just accept a £400 loss? This is a lot of money to me, I book holidays so far in advance as I have to pay them monthly.
  I have travel insurance who are currently advising if the FCO says we can go they will not do anything.

  Thanks in advance

  • Rob says:

    6 Apr6 April 14:46

    This sounds reasonable, unfortunately.

    For a start, you don’t know what quarantine, if any, would be required in June. Even if this was grounds for cancelling, which it isn’t, no-one is clear what will be required.

    Secondly, what has this got to do with the holiday company? It’s like asking BA to refund a non-refundable flight because you’ve moved house and Heathrow isn’t convenient any longer, or because you’ve got a lot on at work. It’s not their problem.

    However …

    IF the country you are going to DOES require quarantine in June, there is a very high chance that the flight will get cancelled due to low demand. This allows you to get a full refund from the holiday company.

    The sensible thing to do is sit tight until the last minute when you have to pay the balance and hope for the flight to be pulled.

    • V says:

      6 Apr6 April 15:03

      Yeh my concern with waiting is i have already paid the full balance and the nearer it gets to the holiday the less they will refund

      With your second point because I booked the holiday before covid was an issue I didnt know If i could argue on the basis that I was booked before terms and conditions changed etc

      Thanks

  • will says:

    6 Apr6 April 15:01

    Amend to a later date is a decent option, travel is likely to be ironed out or blocked completely for leisure depending on how things develop so that should give you either a holiday or refund in that case.

    If you are not keen on that than depending on how you value your time you could:
    – Take the £400 loss and pursue through small claims process.
    – prepare to go on holiday and take a calculated risk that either it will be OK to travel by then and the testing/quarantine arrangements will be reasonable or that it will be cancelled by the operator.
    – Read the terms of your insurance and see if you will be compensated for any quarantine / testing requirements (assuming it covers from date of booking and not a post covid policy)

    • V says:

      6 Apr6 April 15:04

      Thanks

  • Lady London says:

    6 Apr6 April 15:14

    Wait till the last minute for a change or cancellation by airline within the holiday that will mean you are entitled to a refund. If you are then in UK holiday purchase rules they are obliged to provide that refund in 7 days.

    It sounds like moving to another date isn’t going to cost you more at the last minute if they don,’t cancel anything, than now. So I would wait it out.

    A clue as to destination, holiday provider or airline involved might help us take a more precise guess.

    Meanwhile read the t’s and c’s provided to you at time of purchase, carefully. They can’t claim any conditions now in existence, apply. The small print you bought under is what applies.

    Please let us know how it turns out.

    • V says:

      6 Apr6 April 15:20

      Thank you for your reply, its spain we are supposed to be going to.
      I did ask what the outcomes are depending on what list spain ends up on but the company wouldnt answer anything and said if i wasnt happy to contact a solicitor. Its not possible for us to quarantine for 2 weeks on return even if that is at home and I never wouldve booked a holiday if that was ever likely to be the case.

      • Lady London says:

        6 Apr6 April 15:48

        It’s who blinks first.
        Holiday companies and airlines are staring you out hoping you will crumble and either pay to cancel/lose money to cancel or pay fees to rebook sooner than any part of your holiday will be cancelled or so significantly moved that they will have to refund you.

        Know those t’s and c’s in detail so you can demand a refund as soon as there is a change on their side or any other condition qualifying you for a refund in your t’s and c’s gets fulfilled. Have a backup date or two to move to if this doesn’t turn out.

        I’d definitely keep staring them out right now.

      • WaynedP says:

        6 Apr6 April 16:04

        @V

        So sorry to hear your unfortunate story – you could never have foreseen this situation, and I can’t see that you could have acted any more responsibly than you have done, and continue to seek to do in light of your circumstances.

        Advice given is quite correct (it isn’t anyone else’s problem, legally) and best option is probably to wait it out in hope of flight cancellation (=full refund) or re-book closer to departure date with more information. For example, Prime Minister has spoken about his ambition to reduce testing costs for leisure travel.

        But I can understand your anxiety at potentially facing re-booking options that put you no better off (quarantine-wise), and tie up your funds for even longer.

        It is morally wrong for someone trying to be financially responsible (and civilly responsible by being willing to forego holiday rather than try to circumvent stay-at-home isolation obligations) to be so harshly penalised in such unforeseeable circumstances.

        If you judge it to best to pull the trigger and cancel now, I will donate £200 to reimburse you for half the cost of your lost deposit, preferably anonymously via Rob if you provide him with your details for me to forward a cheque to you (subject of course to Rob’s agreement).

        If Rob is unable to, then we can pursue other options that could still preserve your anonymity.

        If you choose this option, I would approach the holiday company with details of your circumstances and tell them that someone has offered to meet half the cost of the forfeited deposit, and could they possibly assist further with any goodwill gesture that they might be able to afford.

        • Lula says:

          6 Apr6 April 17:13

          That’s incredibly kind of you WaynedP! What a lovely offer.

        • V says:

          6 Apr6 April 17:58

          What a lovely gesture thank you for even the thought.

          Thank you everyone, I thought booking before all this would have left me in a better position but it seems it doesn’t. I will wait until the 12th April to see what Boris announces and then most likely have to cancel and suffer the loss. The holiday is with Tui so is atol protected but this doesnt come in to it as you rightly said, if Boris says we can go then insurance etc wont help. I have looked at rebooking for either later in the year or next year but it adds on hundreds plus the cost of potential testing on top I just cannot afford it.

          Thanks again, much appreciated

        • WaynedP says:

          6 Apr6 April 18:39

          Well my offer still stands. I’ve made arrangements with Rob, so all you need do is drop him a note with your details, which I won’t see.

          Hopefully 12 April still falls inside of the next ten day step so that your fee isn’t increased if you decide to cancel then. Good luck, we all hope things improve for all of us on the holiday opportunity front.

      • Rob says:

        6 Apr6 April 17:06

        I’d be more concerned about the new law which makes it compulsory to wear a mask on the beach and even in the sea ….

  • TGLoyalty says:

    6 Apr6 April 16:34

    You’re massively jumping the gun.

    Are they ATOL / ABTA protected? If so you’re protected for the cost of the holiday. RE quarantine if it’s applicable it’s likely it’ll be on the FCO no travel list and your holiday won’t go ahead anyway.

    • WaynedP says:

      6 Apr6 April 17:06

      Not so sure.

      If govt introduces traffic light system and Spain still on amber in June then FCO advice likely to be a “qualified” travel permitted. So holiday COULD go ahead (not cancelled) and probably on FCO terms that fall outside of reasons for V to claim on Holiday Insurance T&Cs as they were in Feb 2020 🙁

      • TGLoyalty says:

        6 Apr6 April 18:04

        Amber and red are today’s status which is FCO no go

        Only Green are likely to be a go.

      • Lady London says:

        6 Apr6 April 19:46

        I agree with Wayne. If anywhere is open no matter how foolhardy it is still to travel, it will be Spain. Boris knows too many ordinary working people aka voters, go to Spain it will be a country they may allow when they shouldn’t. Greece close to that too.

        If it was July or August I would feel barring new variants it’s likely to be allowed. June a bit more iffy so I would stare them out.

        • kitten says:

          6 Apr6 April 19:59

          This is a perfect example of where Boris’s ripoff £200 per head pricing for PCR tests for anyone returning from even a green list country, is shown up to be a real ripoff. That’s more than twice the price it is in Europe for a PCR test and adds £400 to the cost of any holiday. Plus whatever testing is required by the destination country.

          The least Boris could do is regulate the pricing of all tests so that it is no more than the going rate in other countries.

• Andrew says:

  6 Apr6 April 14:20

  AerLingus email just arrived to say they are deleting saved card details for all passengers as part of their commitment to PCI compliance.

  Someone’s clearly been doing a bit of risk analysis.

  It is handy to have the cards saved though, especially when I’m booking colleague’s flights.

  • Phil W says:

    6 Apr6 April 19:27

    Having worked with PCIDSS compliance in the past, it actually sounds to me like Aer Lingus can’t be bothered to pay for the appropriate security to maintain the card details securely so have just decided to remove the functionality and give the hassle to the customer.

    • kitten says:

      6 Apr6 April 19:32

      silly really as now they have to be really secure at the point of payment as lots of people will choose to type in their card details

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