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The HfP chat thread – Friday 16th April

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

Historically, the daily ‘Bits’ articles were the de facto repository for random comments and questions.  With the news flow being lighter, we are running fewer ‘Bits’ articles.

The comments under this article are where you should post questions about travel and, indeed, anything else on your mind.  At this tricky time, and given that many of you are at home, we want the HfP community to have a place to chat.

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Comments (258)

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

  • Nick G says:

    Re Marriott bonvoy. I’m currently silver which no doubt will not renew by the end of the year for obvious reasons. I want to book a redemption for next may when i can.

    If I drop to member am I still eligible for using the 5 for the price of 4 nights using points as a bottom tier reward member?

    • Russ says:

      Interesting question. I’d be tempted to book it anyway as you’ve got till next May to get the answer from Marriott customer service in writing.

      At a slight tangent, perhaps our token ‘silver for life’ chap could tell us if anything has changed for him now he’s received this honor. Is silver lifetime status worth anything more than what’s advertised or is it just business as usual?

      • TGLoyalty says:

        It’s worth nothing other than silver for life 😂

        You just need to be silver and above to book 5 nights for 4 you don’t need to be silver when you stay.

    • Harry T says:

      If you’ve already paid for the redemption with points, why would it matter what your status if when you stay?

      • Nick G says:

        That’s what I was thinking but wasn’t sure….I also need to (probably buy if there’s another promotion) enough points to complete the reservation.

        As an aside just booked 2 nights next month at St Anne’s Manor DTH. Any feedback on the hotel and breakfast as I’m Hilton gold what I can expect (I’m guessing it will be like a lot of places just reopening)

      • Russ says:

        Because Marriott has peak/off peak rewards pricing, Category changes and points breaks.

    • BuildBackBetter says:

      If u r really worried, get the Amex bonvoy card before your stay which should give you silver status. Cancel the card after the stay.

  • TicknBash says:

    Just had an email from Bendy reminding me to adhere to their core values which is to only use for ‘day to day spend’.
    They’ve stopped my game time and are waiting for me to explain the company I keep.
    I did go recycling a few times in an hour – so probably not wise.

    • Pete M says:

      What sort of amounts?

    • Alex says:

      What was underlying also? Was it all the same

      • TicknBash says:

        Was hanging out with the same company and underlying.
        <5k in <20 minutes actually.

        • TGLoyalty says:

          🤣

        • Chrisasaurus says:

          I think you need to accept you’ve been hoisted by your own petard, that was a very still move and at the least your card is marked

          Possibly worth closing the account and moving on, not worth risking a CIFAS Mark…

    • Jenny says:

      What did you do?

    • Alex says:

      Metal bendy or regular?

    • The Savage Squirrel says:

      A few times an hour 😀
      Fair enough though; Curve won’t last forever – might as well be in for a good time, not a long time 😉

    • TicknBash says:

      Just to add that it isn’t unusual values for my free bendy – have done more but admittedly not in this short space of time.

      Either timing is sensitive or there’s more watchful guardians to the bendy world 👀.

      Either way, bend safely HfPers and don’t get bent !

    • Benilyn says:

      What do you mean recycle? How does Bendy know it’s the same cash or what am I missing…

  • James says:

    Is there a way of finding out if our BA CW 787 is the new or old product? Thanks.

    • Alex says:

      Look at a revenue ticket for your flight, same day and time and then go to purchase a select seat and you’ll see the plan. If it’s in a 1-2-1 layout you’ll know it’s new.
      Equipment changes are going to be more frequent now due to smaller fleet and changing circumstances so keep an eye on it and it could change for better/worse depending on what you see.

    • TGLoyalty says:

      It normally says it’s a 781 (787-10)

      All others are CW.

  • Fk says:

    Is it possible for me to upgrade green amex to gold/plat and get a bonus for upgrading?
    Or is this route now gone?
    Thanks

    • TGLoyalty says:

      You need to phone to discuss

    • Harry T says:

      You can upgrade the green charge card to the platinum charge card, but you need to ask amex over the phone if you want to receive an upgrade bonus. Unlike the good old days of a 1k spend, you also need to spend 4k to get the 20,000 MR.

      • Fk says:

        Thank you!

      • Fk says:

        Just to update for anyone that’s in the same situation, they said if you have taken part in the offer before ( I did 2 or 3 years ago) them you cant get the bonus, upgraded to gold instead (no bonus, but gives me the higher referral bonus)

        • TGLoyalty says:

          Yes unfortunately they changed the terms a couple months ago. Thankfully I got in before the change.

        • Manny_D says:

          Did you upgrade straight from the Green to Gold Charge? Didn’t realise that was an option. Been contemplating upgrading to the Platinum but can’t see the value atm. Might find some out of the Gold though.

          • Fk says:

            Yes when they said I wont get the upgrade bonus for plat, I asked for gold and they processed it, worked out great because I get the green card fee which went through couple days ago pro rate refunded,
            First year freenfor gold

  • Reney says:

    Question:

    1. If I buy a Tesco gift card in-store, should I expect to receive clubcard points?
    2. If I brought groceries in-store using that gift card would I receive clubcard points?

    Thx

    • Anna says:

      1) No
      2) Yes

      • rob(staaaar) says:

        @Anna Thx – didn’t know that. Nice one 🙂

      • Genghis says:

        It used to be that way for sure but now I don’t know. In the last Xmas saver, as an example, you earned cc points on topping up, not on spending. It was the other way round previously. Obviously gift cards are different.

    • Chris says:

      My local Tesco gives points on Tesco Gift Cards. I buy gift cards and then use them to buy my shopping. You need to leave 24h between purchasing them and using them.

      • Reney says:

        I was wondering if it was a fluke that I got points today when I brought the card. Why do I need to leave it 24 hours to use the card?

  • mutley says:

    My wife has the Plat Business card, am I right in assuming that any spend I make as a supplementary Gold on the account, counts towards the 10K spend target for 100000MR?

    Thanks for any advice on this.

  • FatherOfFour says:

    Anyone ever had this problem paying council tax with Amex in Co-op? Worked last month. Today- cashier added first £100 to my shopping. Paypoint went through. She then tried a standalone transaction for the extra £122 that makes up 1 month payment. Passed on card terminal (and shows pending in Amex) but rejected on pay-point terminal and no receipt given. They tried again, then told me to try post-office next door!

    • mutley says:

      I paid £200 and then £120, for the remainder earlier this month. ( I know crazy amount for one month!) The limit is apparently £200 in one transaction for Council Tax in the Co-op.

      • rob(staaaar) says:

        Yep, confirmed – £200 max. but multiple times as required; I used to go in the evenings so I wouldn’t be holding up the queues 😉

        • FatherOfFour says:

          Last month they did £200 then £22 on the same bill. I wonder if the fact it was 2 x separate co-op transactions, rather than 1 like last time that caused the issue. Hoping the pending payment drops or it might be Amex CS. Once it has, i’ll try again at a less busy time with different staff!

          • rob(staaaar) says:

            Yep, that works; sometimes they enter the (upto £200) payments separately on the PP machine, then the total amount to be paid on the PIN pad thingy. Just depends which cashier you have…

          • Genghis says:

            It’ll drop as pending. I did it a few months ago when I forgot how it worked.

    • rob(staaaar) says:

      I had a similar issue in a few months ago. Some co-ops are changing back-end software to Paystation; I now use a different co-op on the way home from work. Also try One Stops with Paypoint, although, if like my nearest One Stop, limited to 1 transaction/day.

    • Genghis says:

      You can make multiple paypoint payments on one transaction, ie 2 x £200 = one £400 payment. What you can’t do is make two payments on the same day.

      • Genghis says:

        Using payment and transaction interchangeably there probably didn’t help. For clarity, you can’t put your card into the card machine twice.

        • rob(staaaar) says:

          Always worked for me at coop with PP; sometimes 3 times to achieve the total. Just depended on the cashier; some knew what to do to allow just the one PIN pad entry; others put it through 200 + 200 + x

      • rob(staaaar) says:

        Yep, works at co-op with Paypoint (not Paystation); My local One Stop with PayPoint couldn’t handle it, ie doing the 2nd £200 (to go through as one £400). Went back the next day to complete…

    • C says:

      I’ve had an issue where the store had hit its paypoint limit so the transactions wouldn’t go through. The store manager had to ring paypoint up and get the limits increased and it went through fine

  • rob(staaaar) says:

    Anyone else having issues with the recent Morrisons instore transactions not posting?

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