Maximise your Avios, air miles and hotel points

The HfP chat thread – Wednesday 14th April

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We are running this daily chat thread on Head for Points during the coronavirus outbreak.

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Comments (338)

This article is closed to new posts. Discussion continues in the HfP Forums.

  • Jonny says:

    Domestic USA connection add-on to Avios LHR-MIA ticket – correct Avios amount – who is right?

    Booked LHR-MIA-LHR outbound online with return leg added by phone when within T-355. Waited until required redemption domestic MIA-EYW flight within booking window (AA T-331? plus further 2 days for BA to load to Avios inventory).

    Called BA to add in. Agent previously told me there would be no Avios to pay as LHR-EYW within same mileage band as LHR-MIA, just £4.10 tax extra. New agent said 9,000 Avios. But standalone MIA-EYW is 7,500 Avios. Agent said low-band 7,500 domestic AA flights only available to standalone bookings, 9,000 is minimum for multi-flight itineraries – but added this rule was crazy.

    So is it 0, 7500 or 9000 Avios? Agent settled on 7500 but will have to repeat to add in EYW-MIA when comes within booking date range – where it will become a connecting flight so single PNR preferred. Thx

    • Maciek says:

      BA charge per sector, only UK domestic connections are “free”. If a sector is 7500 avios standalone, it should be 7500 avios as add on to LHR-MIA.

    • Anna says:

      I’ve never heard of internal US flights being added as a “free” domestic add-on! So was this actually done for you, it’s not clear from the post? A dummy booking for the route would show the amount of avios required though.

  • Paul says:

    What if any paperwork do you need to complete if flying LHR GLA LHR. I thought there was something but I can’t find it. The BA app said I had to fill out something but did not link to it

    • TGLoyalty says:

      No paperwork for travelling within the CTA after April 12th from England. Don’t know if Scotland requires something for landing as they haven’t “opened” the border for free travel.

  • Tim says:

    Anyone else not seeing any news sainsburys nectar offers in the app? Mine have been appearing weekly every Monday but not this week.

    • Andrew says:

      Mine are there, but the usual rubbish – 5 points for buying an onion etc.

    • chris1922 says:

      Mine appear on Thursdays, and are pretty good, 10, 20 or even 50 for items I buy anyway, such as milk, fruit, wraps. I can get 400 points on my offers and shop. I’m a fairly new customer though.

    • Pablo says:

      I got only one offer this week: £2 off a £20+ shop

      • Tim says:

        I’ll correct my statement. I did one offer this week of 3x pts if I spend £140 (unlikely!) but no food offers.

    • ChrisC says:

      Some people reported problems with the app over the weekend starting Friday so it might be connected to that.

      Recall some comments in Saturdays chat thread about it

      • old bob says:

        I am getting 300-400 points weekly after a slow start, nothing on alcohol though so far, I was hoping that some points would be available for medicines but unfortunately that hasn’t happened either, whilst on the subject thanks Chris C and LL for your suggestions a few weeks ago on laxatives, very helpful.

        • TGLoyalty says:

          Nectar aren’t offered on some alcohol and as alcohol promotions aren’t allow in Scotland I doubt you see any offers.

          • TGLoyalty says:

            Ah should have read the bit about medicines … I see what you did there!

          • lumma says:

            I’ve had 150 points on a bottle of wine in the past. I don’t live in Scotland though

          • Chrism20 says:

            Nectar is offered on beer and wine in Scotland and I regularly get app offers for points on TTD wine.

    • Andrew says:

      Got new ones yesterday, they are ok, but as I have a £8 off £40 spend voucher from M&S, I’ll be doing my grocery shopping there this week.

      5X Points when you spend £50 in store.
      200 – TTD 5% Beef Mince
      90 – Breaded ham
      20 – Jazz Apples
      20 – Salami
      10 – Wholemeal Bread
      20 – Cereal
      20 – Jam
      10 – TTD Pure Bitty Orange
      10 – TTD Pure Smooth Orange
      10 – Crackers
      10 – Soup
      10 – Crisps
      10 – Cake
      20 – Ready meal
      10 – Biscuits
      20 – Melon
      180 – Blueberries
      20 – Custard Slices
      10 – 1pt Milk

      Quick mental add up and I think that’s 700.

  • TicknBash says:

    No offer for onions but I’ve got £13.50 off for £90 spend online.

  • xcalx says:

    Is it possible to pay Very with paypal (someone mentioned yesterday that they had) I have a purchase to pay for but I can’t see paypal. I can see paypoint but that is limited to £99 per transaction.

    • Benilyn says:

      Yes you can. I see it on page “3. Payment”, either 1) New credit / debit card, or Pay By PayPal. It has always been there.

  • KBuffett says:

    8% cash back at Tesco at the site that can’t be mentioned

    • TGLoyalty says:

      Lovely.

    • Raveon says:

      No amex sadly

      • KBuffett says:

        Why does that matter, if you are getting 8% ?

        • Raveon says:

          Spending targets to hit!

          • KBuffett says:

            You could book a fully refundable BA First ticket and kick the can down the road. The Tesco offer would only have taken you £185 further along your spend target anyway

    • Andrew says:

      Open for 10 days, or until offer budget is reached.

      One transaction per day per member. You can never be sure which one triggers, so careful with a newspaper or “meal deal” spend at lunchtime and a big shop in the evening.

    • 747_Brat says:

      It is worth highlighting that they have restricted it to maximum 1 transaction per day, and max CB is £15. So you can use the offer for a max spend of £187.5, which is decent amount if you are indulging in groceries, but not so much if you are indulging in gift cards like Morrison’s!

      • TGLoyalty says:

        Thanks. Saves me reading the finer details

      • AnotherUser says:

        Tesco offer is in-store.only, too. Nice offer, though!

      • 747_Brat says:

        There is no reason why you can’t use the Tesco debit card, as long as it is a Visa or a Mastercard.

    • Alex says:

      Any reason why it can’t be mentioned? Seems counterproductive given HfP doesn’t exactly get referral revenue from Tesco…

      • MKB says:

        Agree. It seems I fell foul of this when I tried to make a helpful reply to a question about B+W mattresses. I do hope that person realised she can triple stack.

        What feels discourteous, is not being told what the posting rules are, to save us wasting our time. I do realise that people will try and circumvent rules, but that will happen regardless, and that’s why manual moderation will always have a place.

    • Optimus Prime says:

      Some people are getting more than a 8% rebate: https://www.mirror.co.uk/money/i-ordered-apples-iphone-tesco-23909942

  • David D says:

    Amex Gold: I’m a first timer to Amex and considering signing up but I’m worried I might not hit the £3k spend in 3 months mainly due to lower spend from current restrictions. Any hints and tips to get there? What different types of spending can one move over to Amex? Most of my bills are on direct debit for example.

    • DarrenS says:

      I topped up Amazon to hit the 3K

      • James says:

        Supermarket bought gift cards the the like of Amazon, John Lewis etc, council tax if your council allows Amex payments online or via PayPoint in Coops, many utility providers allow standalone top up payments by card too…

    • Reney says:

      In case useful, I’m lining up the dates so that I can include: annual MoT and service, car insurance, house insurance, professional fees, two courses i want to go on, replacing tablet and phone of two family members, someone needs new glasses, will stock up on contact lens, all general spending, maybe a big costco shop and buy supermarket gift cards if i still don’t make it – we’ll get through those.

    • Chris Heyes says:

      David D If you have family its very easy to hit 3k spend in 3 months
      We (3 Adults) took 3 Platinum Cards out between us.
      Hit spend target on two Platinum cards within 1 month
      By timing spends all family using our Cards for their spends, hit it easy
      last platinum Card took six weeks to hit target spend

  • Jody says:

    Disney Cruise Line are currently demonstrating how not to run a staycation cruise campaign! They were one of the last cruise lines to announce they were going to be running UK cruises over the summer. Marketing galore in March, said more details would be released in April (no date). Hype has been going crazy.

    Friday they dropped onto their website details of cruises from 4 different ports in England, along with dates of 2 night, 3 night and 4 night cruises. Booking was supposed to be from today for their highest loyalty club members, and Monday the 19th for general sale.

    Monday they changed their site, removed 2 out of the 4 departure ports and all sailing dates. Also removed booking details for loyalty club members, and now just says booking from the 19th. No details of whether vaccination is required etc.

    People have been contacting customer services to try and find out what is going on, and even up to yesterday evening were getting emails back still with all 4 ports on and bookings from today. Of course, no further update today, loyalty club members have been phoning in and being told by cast members they have no further information, but hope to start bookings on Monday.

    Absolute shambles from a company that considers themselves to have impeccable customer service and offer a premium cruising experience compared to other lines.

This article is closed to new posts. Discussion continues in the HfP Forums.