The HfP chat thread – Thursday 15th April

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• Mouse says:

  15 Apr15 April 05:57

  Morning everyone. Can anyone tell me is it possible to make an Amex referral from a supp card and get the bonus?

  • Genghis says:

    15 Apr15 April 06:35

    Primary account holders only. No link on supp accounts. Supp holders don’t get points.

    • Mouse says:

      15 Apr15 April 09:53

      Thank-you

• Blue Mountain says:

  15 Apr15 April 07:38

  Regarding the switch into Halifax Reward Current Account and the qualification option of spending £500 on the debit card each month. Would paying off a credit card bill with the debit card qualify as spend?

  • Harry T says:

    15 Apr15 April 07:43

    Should do.

  • mark2 says:

    15 Apr15 April 08:02

    yes

    • Blue Mountain says:

      15 Apr15 April 08:05

      Thank you Harry T and mark2! I guess I’ll confirm this in a few weeks time when the account is live.

  • Peter K says:

    15 Apr15 April 08:40

    Can confirm it does with both amex and Barclaycard.

    • Blue Mountain says:

      15 Apr15 April 08:57

      Brilliant! Thanks for confirming Peter K!

  • The real John says:

    15 Apr15 April 12:04

    Anything except actual cash withdrawals works. Ernie, other savings accounts, not tried rev but it should do too

  • James says:

    15 Apr15 April 15:23

    Reads that you don’t need to have DDs or SOs on account being transferred? Do others agree or have I completely missed this?

• Liz says:

  15 Apr15 April 08:31

  What is usually the problem with Curve and IHG card as the underlying card when transactions get declined for insufficient funds. Hubby’s card appears to have stopped working even though the IHG is ok. 2 transactions and an ATM withdrawal declined recently.

  • Lev441 says:

    15 Apr15 April 08:34

    Limits on cash like transactions… £700 a week, £500 per 3 days, £300 daily limit.. something like that

  • TGLoyalty says:

    15 Apr15 April 08:35

    What type of transaction and How much has been spent on those types of transactions in the past 4-7 days?

  • Harry T says:

    15 Apr15 April 08:41

    Worth saying they sometimes randomly block me for doing completely innocent, legitimate things.

    • Liz says:

      15 Apr15 April 08:46

      A £10 purchase and our normal £200 atm withdrawal – nothing else. No MS spend on his card at all.

      • Liz says:

        15 Apr15 April 08:50

        Is it Curve we need to contact or IHG?

        • Jonathan says:

          15 Apr15 April 09:06

          Creation. They get twitchy about Curve transactions occasionally & block for no obvious reason. Call them Mon-Fri 9-5 as sometimes you need to speak to security team who don’t work evenings/weekends.

        • Liz says:

          15 Apr15 April 09:16

          Thanks very much – will give them a call.

        • memesweeper says:

          15 Apr15 April 12:27

          I’d try a couple of chip and pin transactions with the actual card at a bricks and mortar retailer. If that fails, call Creation.

        • Sean says:

          15 Apr15 April 13:54

          agree with memesweeper – whenever I’ve had a problem a single tx using the physical debit card in store seems to unblock it.

• Rob says:

  15 Apr15 April 08:41

  The BA ‘50% bonus’ sales are about 1.1p per Avios. Current Spectator offer is 1.2p.

• Reney says:

  15 Apr15 April 08:56

  Hi, new Nectar Amex just arrived, can’t see the bonus tracker online. Has it gone or does it appear later? I am sure we qualify for the bonus.

  • Steve says:

    15 Apr15 April 20:37

    Same happened to me. It doesn’t appear, just gotta cross fingers and hope it posts (and track the spend manually)

• Tazzy says:

  15 Apr15 April 09:01

  Booked club world return to LA in September. Have been to LA, San Diego and Vegas about 20 years ago! Need ideas for a 2 week southern Cali driving itinerary and places to stay!

  • Jill (Kinkell) says:

    15 Apr15 April 09:22

    Why not google some road trip ideas and / or look at the road trip itineraries that Trailfinders offer. I use them as a starting point for our trips and modify .As regards accommodation….it’s just HIE for us or equivalent. No point is splashing out for a one or two night stay then moving on. These kind of trips ,for us, are about the sights, Culture, history , geography. etc. I push the boat out for our other hols!

  • Liz says:

    15 Apr15 April 09:31

    Like Jill, we love our USA road trips. If you don’t mind the drive you could head out to Death Valley, go over to Utah and see Zion and Bryce Canyons, then down to the Grand Canyon and down to Flagstaff and join Route 66 back towards LA. The USA National Parks are all amazing.

    • Rhys says:

      15 Apr15 April 09:41

      Joshua Tree is a fantastic National Park too – much smaller and very accessible from LA, either as a day trip or a one-nighter. If you want to venture north then the Redwoods national/state parks are fantastic too – more interesting than the Sequoias, which have a similar sort of vibe to parts of Yosemite.

      • Anna says:

        15 Apr15 April 10:46

        +1 for Joshua Tree – we stayed in Palm Springs for a week years ago as a base for exploring the area – it was 40 C in May, though so be prepared for the heat and make sure your car has good air con!

        • Frankie says:

          15 Apr15 April 13:18

          Palm Springs California is worth a visit. Visit Liberace’s house and the house for the setting of Slim Aaron’s painting ‘Poolside Gossip’ It’s also just a fab place with it’s own Walk of Fame! If you like casinos try Laughlin Nevada. A down at heel much poorer version of Vegas and I just love it. Always do a couple of day there.

    • Chris Heyes says:

      15 Apr15 April 13:33

      Liz, Tazzy, Plus try to add Lake Powell marvellous views Horseshoe Bend view from the top, ride the Colorado River at the bottom on a raft (perfectly safe no rapids) Visit Antelope Canyon Upper and Lower on Indian Reservation.
      Lower run by Indians and Indian Guide only underground accessed by ladders
      Plus Boat trips on Lake Powell, or hire a boat for a day or two ?
      I Don’t rate Lake Powell Resort Hotel but we always stop there for the views
      60s stile Hotel needs modernizing, but right on Lake Powell coach trips stop there

      • Rhys says:

        15 Apr15 April 13:54

        If you’re going to Lake Powell and Horseshoe Bend then I can highly recommend doing the Glen Canyon Dam tour – not something you get to do otherwise. Then you also have Antelope Valley in the area, although these days it is massively oversubscribed and you feel like cattle being herded through the canyon. Still, it’s one of those things one ought to do whilst there…

      • Liz says:

        15 Apr15 April 18:24

        We did all that 2 yrs ago. Our booking for Antelope Canyon was cancelled on the day due to a heavy rain downpour which flooded out the canyon – so we will have to go back one day.

  • Njb says:

    15 Apr15 April 09:53

    We did this Summer 19:LHR -LAX – SFO – LHR
    First out, Club return
    .
    IC Century City LA 3 nights. Easy driving access to West Hollywood/Observatory/Santa Monica Beach. Free house car within 1.5 miles which takes you to Rodeo Drive. Great shopping mall next door to hotel.

    Drive to Malibu for lunch at Malibu Farm. One night stop in Santa Barbara Kimpton. Wish we had stayed two nights.

    Drove inland to Paso Robles and stayed at a winery 🙂

    Back onto Pacific Highway with two nights at Avila Beach – surf town

    Drove to Big Sur and stayed at Big Sur Lodge in Redwoods. Rough and ready but beautiful.

    Took 17 mile drive through Pebble Beach and 2 nights in IC in Monterey – see the aquarium next door

    drove to San Francisco with 3 nights at IC San F. Returned car to Avis rental nearby.
    Was out last pre covid trip and just amazing.
    Used 241 voucher/points/ ambassador certificates and had upgrade/welcome gifts at every hotel except Monterey.

  • Doug M says:

    15 Apr15 April 09:59

    My advice would be plan carefully. At times from Ventura to San Diego feels like one continuous traffic jam. Google maps pretty good with traffic planning. As a city I really like San Diego, got a good vibe, +1 for Joshua Tree. So much depends on what you like, luxury hotels and shopping, nature, bars?

  • Blindman says:

    15 Apr15 April 11:43

    Try to “win” a place to go to the Wave
    https://www.thewave.info/index.html

    https://www.thewave.info/CoyoteButtesNorthCode/Permits.html

    Absolutely awesome

  • James says:

    15 Apr15 April 14:53

    Palm Sprungs as others have mentioned, Kimpton Rowan is very nice there. Do the cable car up Mt Jacinto, bit touristy but once you get out of the visitor centre and walk on the trails some of the views are fantastic. From PS Joshua Tree national Park very accessible.

    San Diego is a great city. We stayed a few nights at IC on the waterfront, then moved for a couple more to the Del (Hilton Curio) on Coronado Island for some beach time. Both very good. Balboa Park, little Italy in city with a visit, thought gas lamp district a bit touristy. Just outside city.limots La Jolla and Torrey Pines nice areas, excuse spelling, going from memory.

    Did 3 nights at Kimtpon La Peer in LA which was also good, and near busy route (😷) for getting around city easily without car.

    Depends how far you want to go. We did route 1 and the big sur up to SF, stopping at Santa Barbara, Cambria and Monterey on the way (IC there is good with ocean view room). I’d try and get in Yosemite, not hotel, but would really recommend you check out AutoCamp Yosemtie for something a bit different but offered boutique like experience and was genuinely really impressive.

    • James says:

      15 Apr15 April 14:54

      * near bus route

  • Chas says:

    15 Apr15 April 15:22

    We did a 3 week road trip a couple of years ago which was awesome, and also took inArizona, Utah and Nevada. I did a *lot* of driving, but it was one of my most enjoyable holidays. If you’re really looking to do just California (are you sure you can’t be tempted with the Grand Canyon and Vegas?), then our highlights were:
    – Yosemite (book your accommodation a year in advance, as limited options in the Park which is where you want to be to avoid spending a couple of hours each morning driving in) – the Sequoias are awesome
    – Death Valley (not necessarily everyone’s cup of tea!) – lovely lunch at “The Inn at Death Valley” in Badwater. The dining room and grounds had a bit of British Empire feel to them, although we didn’t stay there
    – Driving down the Big Sur, and doing a whale trip from Monterrey. Stayed at the IC there which treated us well as Ambassadors.

    Found San Fran really underwhelming. My teens loved LA, although I could happily have spent less time there.

  • The Savage Squirrel says:

    15 Apr15 April 19:41

    Flee from LA as fast as possible.

    A possible itinerary I made off the top of my head with zero checking (so may not even be geographically correctly ordered but would be awesome).
    1) Santa Barbara – beautiful beachfront; great place to stop on 1st night
    2) Morro Bay or SLO – both very pleasant
    3) Hearst Castle – overtouristed but you have to
    4) Route 1 Big Sur – although so many landslides you’ll end up redirected often – once ended up going through a Full-Metal-Jacket style military base as a result which was … interesting.
    5) Monterrey Peninsula – so cool; worth more than a day; aquarium great, Pacifi Grove better than Monterrey to stay. Or blow out, stay (and play) at Pebble Beach if you’re into that.
    6) SanFran. Some don’t like it. I love it. Golden Gate hHotel with much eccentricity, hotel cat and city’s oldest lift is modest but lovely.
    7) Sacramento – State Capitol; cool railroad museum
    8) Yosemite; overcrowded but still amazing. Ahwahnee nice but hyperexpensive
    9) Tioga Pass across Sierras. Beyond awesome
    10) Mammoth: nice walking resort in summer when the skiers are absent
    11) Death Valley: all US national parks are pretty great (something the US does really well). Death Valley is one of the best
    12) Vegas baby, yeah! It is what it is. Marmite: you love it or hate it. I love it.
    13) driving i5 back to LA is boring, ugly and prone to crashes so either fly return from Vegas or fly Vegas-LA

• Jenny says:

  15 Apr15 April 09:07

  Tide question – what is their real bank name (to set up payments) is it ClearBank or Tide?
  I understand they have no fixed branch address right?

  • Andrew says:

    15 Apr15 April 09:25

    Go to:-

    http://www.fasterpayments.org.uk/sort-code-checker

    Key in your sorting code and it will give you the official title of the bank and “branch”.

    • Jenny says:

      15 Apr15 April 09:44

      Cheers, looks like it is CLEARBANK LIMITED and Branch/Office: Tide Platform Ltd

• AnotherUser says:

  15 Apr15 April 09:46

  Yes, I do

  • Wally1976 says:

    15 Apr15 April 11:12

    Thanks AU

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