The HfP chat thread – Friday 9th April

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• AnotherUser says:

  9 Apr9 April 10:09

  Anyone having problems with the IHG Android app? It’s hanging when I search, even after an uninstall/reinstall.

• Imran says:

  9 Apr9 April 10:16

  My wife is a new immigrant to the country, and doesn’t have a good credit history. If I open a new joint account with her, would it affect my own credit history?
  I am planning to get a mortgage soon so want to take it very cautiously.

  • Genghis says:

    9 Apr9 April 10:22

    You’ll be “linked” in your credit report. If she doesn’t then default on anything etc, that’s not a bad thing. I’m no expert on building credit history etc but I guess start by getting a few things to go on credit reports: put her joint name on energy, water etc, own phone bill, own credit card etc.

    • Imran says:

      9 Apr9 April 10:32

      Thanks Genghis.

      I have already started building her history. She now have few sole current accounts and credit cards, which appear on her credit report. I guess as they age, her credit score would improve.

      But is linking a bad thing then? If a partner applies for a mortgage or too much credit in a short span of time, does it bring the other partner’s score down too?

      • Genghis says:

        9 Apr9 April 10:44

        I don’t know the answer to your exact question.

        However, remember that in the UK there is no universal credit scoring: the “credit score” from the different agencies is only their opinion on you. It doesn’t mean that you’ll then not get credit from credit institutions.

        I’ve been linked to my now wife since 2011. Back in the proper Amex (and other card) churning days we were both hammering through applications, say 8 a year each + new current accounts, energy / phone co etc. We’ve never been refused credit get the best rates and our “credit scores” now (though we do much fewer applications these days) are all excellent, 999 on Experian, and they stay there.

      • Russ says:

        9 Apr9 April 10:58

        They will look at overall household income, employment tenure, position held and the credit history of all applicants so yes it might. Truth is no one actually knows for sure what underwriters are looking for so it may be worth going through a freebie broker who can scout out the land for you.

  • Andrew says:

    9 Apr9 April 11:06

    Most important thing is the voter’s roll.

    Then it’s the little things. Maybe switch one of the utlities to her name. Thames Water, BT and Talk Talk usually report to agencies. Definitely a full contract mobile.

    Nobody really needs a joint account, so hang off that one for the moment. But an account with a “proper” bank in early course is for the best. After 6 months or so with a salary going in, they’ll probably offer her a guaranteed credit card as an existing customer.

    When you get the mortgage, then get the joint account with the same lender if possible to service it as a “household” account.

    • Imran says:

      9 Apr9 April 11:49

      Thanks everyone for the replies.

      I will stay away from joint accounts for a while. I did enroll her for the electoral roll, and have received a confirmation from the council, but surprisingly it doesn’t appear on credit reports even after 4 months of enrollment.

      It is a really good idea to get her on utilities. My BT contract is expiring soon. I will get the new contract in her name, which will help boost her credit score.

      @Andrew: I share your thinking about getting an account with a “proper” bank. 🙂 That’s the reason, I opened her account at Lloyds.

  • Phil says:

    9 Apr9 April 12:36

    Each financial institution will take the data cube provided by the credit reference agency(ies) (CRAs) it uses and will then manipulate the data to assess an individuals credit risk to them. Some financial institutions will be duel or tri-bureau. Some will also use other sources of data (e.g. at Sainsbury’s Bank sometimes use nectar data for assessing the risk of potential customers, though more for insurance products then credit products).

    Creating a joint account will create a relationship in one or more of the CRA data cubes on you. It is almost impossible to determine how a future financial institution will assess that now.

• Anna says:

  9 Apr9 April 10:18

  So we’re booked in F to BOS next March, seat selection showing it’s a 777 with 8 seats. Is this the new First suite? Can we finally start getting excited about travel again? 😂

  • Alex says:

    9 Apr9 April 10:23

    That is the new first class yeah – 2 rows in a 1-2-1 layout.
    Should be an enjoyable flight, although anything flying related will be great!

    • Anna says:

      9 Apr9 April 10:38

      Fingers x’d then!
      Just for info, 2 F seats to BOS are being released each Tue & Wed at the moment, there only seems to be a tiny number of routes with F being released at all just now.

      • Aston100 says:

        9 Apr9 April 10:47

        Great, but that gives BA almost a year to do an equipment change though?

        • Anna says:

          9 Apr9 April 10:49

          Of course, but that’s always a possibility! We could be in a 5th wave by then with new variants not responding to vaccines. You have to take the Pandora’s Box approach and stay hopeful.

      • Ja says:

        9 Apr9 April 10:49

        Love Boston. Last time I went first of all had a problem with the machine trying to read my fingerprints as my skin was too dry. Then it took an hour for the first luggage to arrive at the belt. It was an A380 and they couldn’t get the cargo doors to open. Engineers had to crank them open by hand. But after that great time.

        • Rupert says:

          9 Apr9 April 11:29

          Agree. Boston is great. My family are there. Try to get out of the city. Not far are lovely beaches, both the north shore and south shore. Quiet apple pie towns such as Lexington and Concord.

  • Aston100 says:

    9 Apr9 April 11:55

    So what is the attraction of Boston in a nutshell?
    I can go followup on Trip Advisor and such, but what would you look to get from a week or two?

    • Anna says:

      9 Apr9 April 12:00

      We’ll only be there 3 days but for a longer trip Cape Cod looks very appealing. Boston itself is a delightful city with the excellent museums, galleries and food you’d expect in a cosmopolitan US destination.

      • Anna says:

        9 Apr9 April 12:00

        Also the whale watching harbour trip is definitely on my to do list!

      • mr_jetlag says:

        9 Apr9 April 12:03

        Loved Boston when I was last there, but P-town / the Cape really surpasses it on many levels – seafood, beach life, coupled with New England levels of politeness.

        I feel the same about the Florida Keys – seems like there are really great vacation spots in the US that don’t get a lot of press here.

      • Aston100 says:

        9 Apr9 April 12:07

        Hmm… would 7 nights in May half term next year be about right in terms of duration and time of year?

        • Sandra says:

          9 Apr9 April 13:42

          I would say 7 days in Boston is ample to see everything. Harvard and museums there (if you are interested in museums), historic dockyard, Paul Reveres house & old town etc, lots of shorter and day boat trips including to Salem although it’s a bit touristy with plenty of tat relating to witches. Weather end of May should be fine. Food is great and varied, as well as seafood we especially like the Italian choices.

        • Anna says:

          9 Apr9 April 14:04

          Lol Sandra, I live near Pendle so am used to touristy tat relating to witches!

    • GaryC says:

      9 Apr9 April 14:15

      I’ve visited Boston countless times for work, and a few times for pleasure. The attraction? It’s got a cool vibe, way more laid back than NYC, a good chunk of history – Freedom Trail, Old Statehouse, some great museums, beautiful bay, decent food, some great craft beer (love Trillium), easy enough to get around on foot. If I was staying first time for a week, I’d probably do 3 nights in Boston and then 4 nights out on Cape Cod, and plan to visit New Bedford (Whaling History) and Providence on my way back to Logan for the evening flight home. I’d avoid Salem – apart from the historic graveyard, I think it’s quite trashy.

      If you have 2 weeks to spend, then I’d do the above and either spend the extra time exploring New England. Or take the Amtrak down to NYC for a few days there (the coastal route is pretty). Or cut west to Albany and drive down to NYC through the Hudson river valley.

      • Sandra says:

        9 Apr9 April 14:40

        Don’t disagree about Salem Gary C, I was trying to be polite 😂 There are also a few nice buildings there as well as the graveyard. Think you’d find it way trashier than Pendle though Anna!

      • Aston100 says:

        9 Apr9 April 15:30

        Thanks Gary.
        Will add to my shortlist for May half term next year. Can only spare 7 nights.

• GEORGE says:

  9 Apr9 April 10:19

  Does anyone know if BA is changing its summer schedule? Just went to look at flights (including the one I am already booked on) and it says that ‘No flights are operating on this date’ – travel is early July 2021.

  • GEORGE says:

    9 Apr9 April 11:17

    Update: Just spoken to BA and they have advised this is a widespread issue as agent has had numerous callers on this (with multiple different destinations) – could not confirm if cancelled or system glitch.

  • ChrisC says:

    9 Apr9 April 11:19

    BA is always tinkering!

    Would be helpful if you gave the actual date and destination though so others can try and replicate this

  • Babyg says:

    9 Apr9 April 12:42

    loads of flights were moved from LGW to LHR… think you may have been booking whilst that was happening

• Alan says:

  9 Apr9 April 10:27

  Any thoughts on which of my many policies i shiuld claim for a damaged phone on. I have Cover with Nat West Black, Curve Metal, Amex Black and Hiscock.

  Phone got a good soaking weeks ago and has problems with charging. Ideally i would just want a cash payout as I fancy an upgrade to 5G rather than aswap or repair.

  • Youllnever says:

    9 Apr9 April 10:30

    Why not pull up the policy document for each of them and compare?

    • Alan says:

      9 Apr9 April 11:14

      They don’t have the info I want.
      I.e. will they replace with the current newer mode, offer a cash settlement, replace with a second hand phone (as Natwest apparently does) or try to repair the phone.

  • Aston100 says:

    9 Apr9 April 10:48

    Can you claim on multiple polices concurrently?

    • Lady London says:

      9 Apr9 April 11:03

      You are just being naughty @Aston100 🙂 .

      Even if you thought you could, the insurance industry shares much more data now.

      • Greg says:

        9 Apr9 April 11:40

        Naughty? That’s fraud 😅

    • Tariq says:

      9 Apr9 April 12:39

      They’d want to pro rata the claim across each cover.

    • Anuj says:

      9 Apr9 April 14:23

      They will ask you of any other policies which cover the same so they can share costs. Correct me if I’m wrong but you can have multiple life insurance policies so you can claim concurrently sometimes.

      • kitten says:

        9 Apr9 April 20:06

        ‘you’ can claim concurrently on life policies @Anuj? 🙂

        • Aston100 says:

          9 Apr9 April 21:09

          Presumably Anuj believes in reincarnation?
          🤷

  • KBuffett says:

    9 Apr9 April 11:20

    Do you find your get good value from your AmEx Centurion?

  • Phil says:

    9 Apr9 April 12:40

    A few years ago I worked for a Mobile Phone Insurance company and they had a clearly defined approach; Repair > Replace Recondition > Replace New > Cash. Generally that was the order based on the most efficient cost to resolve. I would imagine that if all your cover is with packaged accounts it’s likely they will take the approach above.

• Optimus Prime says:

  9 Apr9 April 10:34

  Jet2 cancels trips until mid-June – https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-health-coronavirus-jet2-idUKKBN21P1MS

  • Ed says:

    9 Apr9 April 10:52

    Not got anything booked with jet2, interested to see what happens re eu261 since they’ve automatically refunded all customers. No option for rebooking on alternative airlines or later date…

    • Lady London says:

      9 Apr9 April 11:06

      In the case of Jet2 I hope people just bear with them and take their flights with them when they are available.

      Such a nice airline that all reports have said has treated their passngers fairly and decently since Covid.

      • Yorkieflyer says:

        9 Apr9 April 23:31

        Dreadful airline that resembles an old style charter set up with appalling package holiday makers in my view. Cancels at the drop of the hat and useless to the VFR travel community in my view

  • Niall says:

    9 Apr9 April 21:29

    Am I going crazy or is this article from last year?

• The Lord says:

  9 Apr9 April 10:39

  £250 for 5 days car hire in July from Manchester Airport. No wonder people would rather go abroad with these rip off prices. Can hire a car in Greece for 2 weeks for that price.

  • Aston100 says:

    9 Apr9 April 10:48

    That’s not a bad price TBH.

  • Char Char says:

    9 Apr9 April 12:08

    Don’t know why you would bother flying into Manchester domestically and then need to hire a car

    • Char Char says:

      9 Apr9 April 12:09

      Secondly, a holiday in Manchester?

      • TGLoyalty says:

        9 Apr9 April 14:14

        Wouldn’t need a car if it was just Manchester 🙂 somewhere within driving distance like the lakes etc

    • The Lord says:

      9 Apr9 April 14:03

      Can be at Heathrow in about 30mins and then heading to Lake District. Cheaper and easier than the train

      • Andy says:

        9 Apr9 April 18:09

        It can’t possibly be easier than the train. Takes 2 hours from Euston.

        • Aston100 says:

          9 Apr9 April 21:10

          Probably takes an hour just to get to Euston though.

• Doug M says:

  9 Apr9 April 10:50

  Quite random comment. As I’m on Dell XPS right now and not iPad I thought I’d offer that Rob’s remark about finger oil on the trackpad surround whilst correct on the older models, has been addressed. Dell changed the textured pattern of the carbon fibre and it doesn’t seem to happen on the latest models. This doesn’t change how poor it was in the first place.

  • Rhys says:

    9 Apr9 April 10:57

    Which model do you have> I have a 2019 model and it still does it, albeit perhaps not quite as bad as older models

  • Aston100 says:

    9 Apr9 April 11:57

    Dry skin causes havoc with fingerprint scanners at Boston.
    Moist skin causes havoc with trackpads.

    Damned if you moisturise; damned if you don’t.

    • mr_jetlag says:

      9 Apr9 April 12:06

      “Have a moist finger and a dry finger for every eventuality.” – Gandhi, probably

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