The HfP chat thread – Sunday 11th April

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• The Original Nick. says:

  11 Apr11 April 09:26

  Morning all. Can someone advise me on how I can find out how close or if I have an upgrade voucher from my Virgin Atlantic CC please?

  • Harry T says:

    11 Apr11 April 10:15

    It should appear on your statement when you have attained one. You can also see it in the activity section of the new Virgin Red app. Unfortunately, I don’t think there is a way to track your progress towards a voucher without manually adding up your spend (Virgin money are a bit rubbish sometimes.

    • Alex says:

      11 Apr11 April 12:25

      If you phone the number on the back of the card, they can give you a “year to date” spend so you know how much you have left. I have done this a few times without issue

  • Pid says:

    11 Apr11 April 12:49

    If you WhatsApp virgin Atlantic they come back pretty quickly to confirm if you have a voucher and it’s expiration date.

• Nick M says:

  11 Apr11 April 09:32

  Had anyone recently made an Amex – Radisson transfer recently? What turnaround times are we looking at? (I think I have linked the accounts but need to double check)

  • Rob says:

    11 Apr11 April 10:53

    I did one last month so I could redeem for a cheap gift card. Took 7 days.

    • Nick M says:

      11 Apr11 April 21:13

      Super, thanks

• GERRY says:

  11 Apr11 April 10:00

  Any recommendations for Cardiff/Wales hotels, looking at Hilton/IHG chain ideally

  • TGLoyalty says:

    11 Apr11 April 10:04

    Voco is well regarded.

    • Rob says:

      11 Apr11 April 10:51

      Rhys has reviewed if you search.

  • Kai says:

    11 Apr11 April 10:12

    Do we know if hotels in Wales actually start accepting leisure travellers from Monday?

    • Anna says:

      11 Apr11 April 12:35

      Yes, and from the whole UK, although of course not all are open and of the ones which are, many are only offering room service and limited leisure facilities until the rules ease again.
      Ironically, there’s nothing to stop you staying in a hotel just over the border in Wales then doing all your activities and eating on the English side if you feel like it! (Not that you would, of course, as Wales has more than enough to offer 😊)

      • Kai says:

        11 Apr11 April 12:43

        Thank you

  • Jay says:

    11 Apr11 April 10:41

    Hilton is fine, small Exec Lounge (probably closed). Rooms not fantastic but do the job and even after the soft refurb a few years ago, is not high end. Parking expensive at £30 a night (or may still be £25 self park). Good location for the Castle, town, parks etc. It is still my go to Cardiff hotel. Voco is fine if you have a car, no way is it 5* like they promote. Having said all that there aren’t any real top notch hotels Cardiff…. shame really.

  • Anna says:

    11 Apr11 April 12:38

    I didn’t find any of the Cardiff options that appealing on price so ended up booking 3 nights in a suite at the Marriott St Pierre near Chepstow which looks to be in a gorgeous setting. 1 bedroom suite for 3 of us with breakfast is £150 pn which is the price of the Voco for a double room with no breakfast!

    • Jay says:

      11 Apr11 April 13:07

      @Anna – Marriott St Pierre near Chepstow is a great location and building. However, like any other Marriott of that style (Breadsall Priory, Forest of Arden etc), it is tired and sells itself on the location. A lot of the country club style hotels have had very little investment over the years and still rely on onsite golf clubs and group bookings to see them through. It will be rough round the edges and in need of a good refurb, but at £150 a night for 3 will be OK providing you don’t get breakfast in a bag overlooking the lake (assuming you booked the lake view suite).

    • Anna says:

      11 Apr11 April 13:54

      Thanks Jay, yes the reviews mention it looking a bit tired but it’s going to be a base for exploring the area and walking so it’s not the end of the world if it’s not 5* luxury. Though anywhere we don’t have to cook or clear up is going to feel like 5* luxury!

      • Jay says:

        11 Apr11 April 15:24

        Ah OK…. hope you have a great time. Plenty to see and do for 3 days. If you want to visit Cardiff for a bit of shopping, you’re next to M48 / M4 so be there in no time. As a base it is actually really good. Even close to Costco over the bridge if you fancy a bulk buy shop on the way home 😉

  • Jonty says:

    11 Apr11 April 14:30

    HI Cardiff North has rooms with the sitting room with sofabed/bathroom/bedroom setup. Good for families with small children. Otherwise nothing special or aspirational about it but it did the job for us visiting Cardiff, st fagans, national showcases etc

    • Rupert says:

      11 Apr11 April 16:29

      Also, a bit further afield, Holm House hotel Penarth. Easy transport via train, or walk across the Bay to Cardiff. The New House hotel, north of Cardiff has fine views, but out somewhat.

• memesweeper says:

  11 Apr11 April 10:06

  Slightly obscure ’on business’ question:

  I’m unable to use my OB points to book a one-way redemption in September. There’s no Avios availability in economy, but the selling class for cash is ‘M’. I’d have thought that would work — is there published guidance anywhere?

• Keely says:

  11 Apr11 April 10:17

  Morning all I have just received the Sainsbury’s credit card . No mention in the literature about spend £400 and get 10000 nectar points and no tracker on the app. Is this normal or do I need to call them …? Thanks

  • Craig says:

    11 Apr11 April 10:42

    It didn’t appear for me either, two statements since the £400 spend and no 10k Nectar points either. Going to chase it up this week.

    • Keely says:

      11 Apr11 April 11:48

      Oh….might give them a call tomorrow then…

• FlightDoctor says:

  11 Apr11 April 10:22

  Advice please. We have flights booked to Vancouver this coming July for a family holiday using Avios with 2x companion vouchers and a GUF2. Due to it becoming clear that Canada is slow vaccinating we decided to spread bet and booked redemption flights to the US using 2x companion vouchers over the same period. My questions:
  1. Should we risk cancelling the Canada flights at this stage (as we will get back over £3K in taxes which would be handy) or should we hold off given the rapidly changing situation?
  2. If we cancel the Canada flights (as opposed to a travel voucher) do we get the companion vouchers and GUF2 back or do they become void.
  3. Is there any way the GUF2 could be transferred to the US booking and we get a refund of Avios on two of the tickets….or is that way too complicated!

  • Tracey says:

    11 Apr11 April 10:44

    If you cancel you get the vouchers and GUF2 back.
    I’m not sure, but I would think you could use the GUF2 on the US flight to move up a class now if availability was there. Using them as part payment for the Avios on an existing booking would be trickier, you may have to cancel and rebook and hope there are reward seats available.

    • FlightDoctor says:

      11 Apr11 April 11:43

      Thanks Tracey. I think both the companion vouchers and GUF2 were close to expiry dates so would they get extended do you think?

      • Anna says:

        11 Apr11 April 12:45

        There haven’t been any further extensions mentioned to companion vouchers so think carefully before you cancel. I am in this position with summer flights to MIA where the 241 expires in October. If we can’t take this trip I think I would have to accept a FTV to extend the 241, however of course that means tying up the cash until I make a new booking.
        Otherwise, if your Canada voucher expires significantly earlier than the one you used for the US, and there’s still still US availability (which I think there would be to the cities served by many flights per day), you could cancel everything and use the older voucher to rebook the whole thing!

• xcalx says:

  11 Apr11 April 10:31

  I noticed talk yesterday re the ability to refer from new cards. mrs xcalx has a new plat business card and is able to refer for 18k . I did notice that the 5k offer for the first five supps has vanished this morning.

• ChrisA says:

  11 Apr11 April 10:54

  I’m sure this has been much discussed before, but I was a little surprised to be unable to ‘downgrade’ from BAPP to the free BA Amex this morning.
  I had done the reverse (upgraded) in early Feb to trigger 241 voucher and have had two statement dates since.
  I will try again in a week or so, but otherwise am inclined to simply close the card, as my year isn’t up until late Nov.

  • TGLoyalty says:

    11 Apr11 April 11:18

    Why downgrade? Cancel and reapply via a referral link when you want another 2-4-1

    • ChrisA says:

      11 Apr11 April 11:30

      I need to wait at least a few months before another application – my credit file has taken a hit of late!

  • Blenz101 says:

    11 Apr11 April 12:17

    Why were you unable? You can just apply online for the free card and the result of this is that your BAPP is closed/transferred.

    The application usually results in something about not being able to give an immediate decision online but a few days later your new card will arrive.

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