The HfP chat thread – Sunday 2nd May

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• James. says:

  2 May2 May 10:23

  Still confused with the new IHG rewards nights. I have booked Brighton for 2 nights and it cost me 38,000 in August.

  If I were to book the same now it would cost me 106,000.

  That’s a massive jump.

  • ChrisC says:

    2 May2 May 11:26

    What are the dates and what are the cash rates?

    Their dynamic pricing is a bit (understatement) quirky at the moment.

  • Andrew says:

    2 May2 May 11:33

    It’s a complete mess. You’ve got hotels with lower cash rates than one down the road but charging twice as many points. Seems not to be linked to the cash price at all from what I can see.

    • Anna says:

      2 May2 May 11:40

      It’s all a bit all over the place! When I booked the Kimpton Charlotte Square breakfast was £18 per room. They’ve now changed this to £18 per person and that’s what’s showing on my bill so far! Fortunately I have an email showing the original price. This looks like a blatant cash grab by IHG as later in the year the price goes back to £18 per night …

      • BP says:

        2 May2 May 13:43

        Rates at the Kimpton have been jumping from 42,000 to 75,000 and back for the same dates. The dynamic pricing is all a bit odd.

• JB says:

  2 May2 May 10:25

  Nearest Heathrow T5 hotel in the IHG chain group (Holiday Inn, Staybridge, Crowne)?

  Hello. I need to spend some IHG points. My flight gets in at 23:10 into Terminal 5 at Heathrow. I was reading and looking at the article/map on “How to avoid the Heathrow Hotel Hoppa fee by travelling on local buses for free” my plan (not being a cheap skate or anything) is Plan B is to take a free standard London bus late at night to the IHG hotel but which bus? Do I;

  1. Get a connecting train from T5 to T2,3 and then get a bus? – which bus 555, 285, 111, 140, 105, U3, 7? from the Central Bus Station and Terminal area to which IHG hotel?

  2. Get a connecting bus 350, 423, 7 from T5 (if I can) to which IHG hotel?

  Thanks in advance, I know HfP readers like a bit of a challenge.

  • ChrisC says:

    2 May2 May 11:08

    Check again because I believe the free bus zone has been suspended so you have to pay the £1.55 fare (card/contactless only. No cash).

    There is a HI and a CP at T4 as well.

    Which bus to get depends on which hotel you want to stay in.

    • JB says:

      2 May2 May 11:57

      Hi there. Thanks for your reply. I’m travelling this year in October. Hopefully, all the restrictions will be lifted and everything is back to normal…..It doesn’t matter which hotel – just convenience.

      “There is a HI and a CP at T4 as well…..” – thanks for this info CC
      Crowne Plaza® London Heathrow T4 hotel and Holiday Inn Express® London Heathrow T4 is directly linked to Terminal 4 by a covered pedestrian bridge.

      I will probably book into one of these two hotels if I can get the shuttle train from T5 to T4 at around midnight?

      • John says:

        2 May2 May 12:11

        No trains are running to T4 as it is closed, which may still be the case in October.

        You can take a bus (paid or beg) and then walk from the outside.

  • Memesweeper says:

    2 May2 May 11:10

    There’s an adequate holiday inn express serving T5, but unless your destination the following day is Slough you’ll be waking up in the wrong area.

    In normal times the best for connecting back to London are the HIX and CP at T4. But are they even open? If not Bath Road is the best choice.

    • JB says:

      2 May2 May 12:01

      In normal times the best for connecting back to London are the HIX and CP at T4 – awesome, thanks Ms.

    • Lyn says:

      2 May2 May 19:09

      I think Rob has done a review of the CP at T4.

      Agree that the question is whether the CP, HIX and T4 train will even be open in October.

      We stayed at the HIX part of the hotel a couple of years ago and it was fine. The T4 train connection with T5 worked well even with some luggage, thanks to advice from helpful HfP commenters, and was easier than the local buses, which tend to get crowded in the evenings. Really good customer service at the hotel. We were given a high level room (as Spire) with interesting views (for my OH anyway) of bustling plane activity at the time.

  • Blindman says:

    2 May2 May 11:42

    Free zone has been suspended

    https://www.businesstraveller.com/business-travel/2020/11/19/heathrow-suspends-free-travel-zone/

    Very good guide:

    https://www.milesfaster.co.uk/heathrow-hotels-london.htm

  • The cyclist says:

    2 May2 May 12:45

    JB, The 140 is a good option from the central Bus station as it travels along the northern perimiter Road/Bath road, but not upstairs at the back, as it will likely smell of p!ss, the usual upshot of late night revellers.

• MCO says:

  2 May2 May 10:38

  I have an Offer on my Amex for Ermenegildo Zegna. When you click on valid participating locations it says Bond street and Bicester. But the offer terms say “Outlet stores are excluded from this offer.”

  Didn’t get a email when I used the offer. Thoughts on which one of the t&c’s would supersede the other?

  • MCO says:

    2 May2 May 10:43

    Just to clarify I used at Bicester and got the email for £50 off from Bicester village but not the Zegna offer email. They should both stack right?

    • Andrew says:

      2 May2 May 11:13

      If it’s listed as a location then it should track, the outlet bit is probably just standard offer wording. Emails are hit and miss so wouldn’t take that as an indication.

      • MCO says:

        2 May2 May 11:44

        Didn’t get a email. Would it still process automatically or does that normally involve a phone call?

        • Andrew says:

          2 May2 May 12:02

          Will still likely process automatically – emails are 50/50 at best – so just because you didn’t get an email doesn’t mean you won’t automatically get the credit in a few days. To note, the Bicester offer credits as the name of the shop, not as “Bicester”, so you will see a £50 Zegna credit.

        • MCO says:

          2 May2 May 17:20

          Thank you

• The Savage Squirrel says:

  2 May2 May 10:51

  It’s been so long since I’ve done it that I”ve forgotten….
  Train tickets: (LNER or Cross Country tickets if that makes a difference). What’s the situation re: loyalty options or ca$hback. From memory they had basically reached nonexistent with the demise of LNER’s scheme?

  • Craig says:

    2 May2 May 10:57

    LNER now has their own loyalty system, there’s also a 5% Amex offer on some cards.

  • Pete M says:

    2 May2 May 10:59

    I tend to go via Chiltern on on TCSHBK – 0.85% on non-Chiltern tickets, although LNER Perks is not terrible if you use them once in a while (2% back to use on LNER).

  • The Savage Squirrel says:

    2 May2 May 11:06

    Thanks! forgot LNER replaced with its own scheme (it’s something albeit a boring one). Decision made 🙂

    • Sandra says:

      2 May2 May 11:19

      They were also giving a one off £5 credit to use against a ticket with the new LNER scheme, not sure if that’s still the case as I used mine over a month ago. The LNER credit and the Amex 5% both appear quickly and Amex credits on other train company tickets bought via LNER too (I usually buy a TP Express with the LNER as it’s cheaper that way than a through ticket).

    • John says:

      2 May2 May 12:12

      Make a new account and get another fiver every time

      • bafan says:

        2 May2 May 22:29

        Wait this works? I guess why wouldn’t it…

  • bafan says:

    2 May2 May 15:12

    Or find a friend with access to UniDays and get 40% off the cost of a ticket…

• YC says:

  2 May2 May 10:56

  Is it possible to see if / how many/ who has requested a hard credit check with the free Experian account?

  • Optimus Prime says:

    2 May2 May 11:12

    I do see them on the Experian report provided by MSE Credit Club. You can also see them on ClearScore (Equifax) and Credit Karma (TransUnion).

  • Manny_D says:

    2 May2 May 11:21

    YC were you looking to check if Amex did a hard search for a new application? Would be good to know whether they did (if you have applied for another card that is).

    • Jay says:

      2 May2 May 11:29

      IME Amex only ever do a soft check if you currently hold an account. In fact the last search Amex did was soft even though I didn’t have a card at the time before applying for the Bus Amex.

    • YC says:

      2 May2 May 13:03

      Yeah was just out of curiosity. No hard search for Amex on equifax but current account does so need to be careful with switching game

  • John says:

    2 May2 May 12:22

    Yes, but not all lenders use experian

• Benilyn says:

  2 May2 May 11:07

  Anyone follow Etihad redemptions? Seems like they release 2 J award seats per fight but wondering if anyone knows their typical strategy (if there is one) to release more. Trying to make J booking for 4, AUH to LHR.

• Newbie says:

  2 May2 May 11:39

  Any hints at what Che is?

  • DT says:

    2 May2 May 11:40

    Revolut

    • Lord Doncaster says:

      2 May2 May 14:38

      Lol the steps these bendy people go to 😂

• Mighty Hunter says:

  2 May2 May 12:11

  I posted here on Friday that I’m unable to pay for BA flights with Amex, who confirm there’s nothing wrong at their end and no transaction has been requested by BA.
  Tried again today, same result, so thought I’d try Paypal and at least get the BAPP 1.5 points/£, better than nothing.
  However, when I go to pay, Paypal removes the option to pay with Amex, which is my normal way with them. This suggests that BA’s systems are unable to process Amex for at least the last 3 days.
  Has anyone else successfully used a BAPP Amex to pay for fights since Friday?
  Thanks

  • Sam G says:

    2 May2 May 12:17

    IIRC you can’t use Amex via PayPal for BA (and other merchants, it isn’t BA specific)

    Are you using the correct billing address and name on card? I’ve noticed some merchants are checking this now (though Amex should/would see it as a decline)

    • Sam G says:

      2 May2 May 12:17

      *some other

  • Doug M says:

    2 May2 May 12:51

    Paid BA directly with an Amex BAPP last night without problem. Initial problem I had was Android app keep chucking me out, not payment issue, just app reverting to start of process. Did it again on an iPad, process continued to payment screen where all was fine.

  • Travel Strong says:

    2 May2 May 18:16

    Paid BA with Amex (Nectar) yesterday no problem.

  • @mkcol says:

    2 May2 May 18:47

    Are you certain you’re on the BA site?

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