The HfP chat thread – Sunday 9th May

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Jonny O says:

9 May9 May 09:45

How are all the Portugal Green List holiday makers ensuring they will be allowed entry into Portugal? At present for third country citizens such as UK, entry is for essential reasons only. Does anyone have special insight that this restriction will change next week? I hope so for anyone planning a May holiday… !
- Navara says:
  
  9 May9 May 09:54
  
  +1
- Joe says:
  
  9 May9 May 09:56
  
  Sure the Portuguese travel minister or equivalent indicated a change from mid May recently?
  - meta says:
    
    9 May9 May 10:09
    
    Yes, the current measures end on 17th May and indication is that vaccinated tourists, those who are immune (had covid in last 6 months) can enter without a test, all other with PCR.
    - Fred says:
      
      9 May9 May 21:19
      
      Curious. How does one ‘prove’ vaccination? The cards I’ve seen some people given look like handwritten Costa coffee cards (which prove nothing)
      - Graeme says:
        
        9 May9 May 22:41
        
        It should be in the NHS app. It is for me, my partner and colleagues.
      - Louie says:
        
        10 May10 May 00:22
        
        Have a look at this – https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/u-k-ireland/2035040-vaccine-passports-uk-citizens-international-travel.html
- Sukes says:
  
  9 May9 May 11:07
  
  The tourism minister Rita Marques has ‘announced that a plan for the reactivation of tourism will be presented on Thursday’ 13 May according to this Portuguese news article https://sicnoticias.pt/pais/2021-05-07-Corredor-aereo-entre-Portugal-e-Inglaterra-marca-inicio-da-reativacao-do-turismo-2733cb01
  - Pete M says:
    
    9 May9 May 12:00
    
    Having other passports apart from the UK one also helps…
    - bafan says:
      
      9 May9 May 15:41
      
      +1. I have 2 EU passports as well as my British one. At the time I got them people said “it’s all the same why would you need them”. I have had the last laugh 🤭.
    - Fred says:
      
      9 May9 May 21:20
      
      Can you elaborate pls? Thanks
Secret Squirrel says:

9 May9 May 09:56

Are there any ways of seeing your points totals as they build up through the month on the VA CC?
I’ve found on the app a total amount for the month you earnt previously.
- Alex says:
  
  9 May9 May 10:16
  
  Unfortunately not, I’ve phoned and asked virgin before if they can give me the total and was told to add up my transactions manually 🙄
Alex says:

9 May9 May 10:11

Have a question on the IC Ambassador benefits. Do those apply to Kimpton properties or not? The T&C don’t really make that clear, as the BOGOF certificate clearly works at Kimpton, but the rest of the benefits (room upgrade, etc) seem to only mention IC.
- TGLoyalty says:
  
  9 May9 May 10:25
  
  They don’t apply.
  - Alex says:
    
    9 May9 May 10:32
    
    That’s a pity. Thanks!
    - TGLoyalty says:
      
      9 May9 May 10:35
      
      You are still likely to get an upgrade or later checkout etc but there’s no guarantee and no points if you don’t.
      - Alex says:
        
        9 May9 May 11:00
        
        I’m already a Spire Elite… do you think adding on IC Ambassador will increase my chances?
      - TGLoyalty says:
        
        9 May9 May 15:34
        
        They can see the status so perhaps they’d bump you further up the who gets what upgrade list.
        
        But unless you can get value out of the voucher I wouldn’t bother.
Roger says:

9 May9 May 10:14

Amex Card issue

Card approval email came on 1st May but the Amex Gold Business card is not received till date. I assumed it was delay with may bank holiday but expect it should have arrived by now but no luck.

Anyone in similar situation with delay in receiving card?
- Andrew says:
  
  9 May9 May 10:26
  
  Cards usually arrive within 48 hours (often next day) so might be lost, so I would ring Amex and find out what’s going on to be on the safe side.
- Umba says:
  
  9 May9 May 11:00
  
  Amex PRG. Applied Wednesday 05/05, card arrived Thursday 06/05.
- FatherOfFour says:
  
  9 May9 May 11:46
  
  It will be sent to the business registered address, as opposed to the main card-holder address. (In case they are different)
James says:

9 May9 May 10:59

Flying to Portugal on May 24th. What are the cheapest/easiest options regarding our tests before & after? Thanks in advance.
- James says:
  
  9 May9 May 11:00
  
  Forgot to mention – Flying with BA.
  - Pete M says:
    
    9 May9 May 12:02
    
    https://www.britishairways.com/en-gb/information/incident/coronavirus/covid19-tests
    
    Decent discounts with Randox.
Z says:

9 May9 May 11:05

Bonvoy free night certificates have been extended until March 2022!
- Lyn says:
  
  9 May9 May 18:47
  
  I think this may be January 3rd, rather than March. (1/3/22 in the US).
Harry T says:

9 May9 May 11:07

Anyone else having difficulty logging into IHG? Can’t log in on the app or the website. I’ve tried several browsers too.
- Genghis says:
  
  9 May9 May 11:11
  
  Made some bookings fine earlier. Used Safari on Mac.
  - Harry T says:
    
    9 May9 May 11:35
    
    Thanks, Safari on Mac worked!
- Alan S says:
  
  9 May9 May 16:37
  
  Funnily enough, I’ve had the same issue with Chrome, IE and Edge. Tried clearing everything, restarting etc.
  
  Nothing.
  
  Sign in button doesn’t appear to take me anywhere…
John says:

9 May9 May 11:16

Any recommendations for places to stay in Bath for a few days in June? We’re two adults plus a four-year-old, keen to be fairly central (no car) but also ideally near a park / some green space. Typically we stay in AirBNBs with kitchen, but serviced apartments or similar would also work.

(Bit more context: We’ve decided to not plan ahead for any overseas trip for the next few months. Even as places start to open up, the uncertainty and hassles of PCR tests for my four-year-old son (plus potential airport queues etc) mean we’re going to book something for the UK, then maybe take a last-minute trip somewhere overseas later in the year if travel is more convenient.)
- Harry T says:
  
  9 May9 May 11:36
  
  Bath Indigo looks good.
- Cat says:
  
  9 May9 May 11:41
  
  I’d go with the Hotel Indigo, or the MGallery
  - Pete M says:
    
    9 May9 May 12:02
    
    Did the Indigo in December – 100% would recommend. I wrote a lengthy review somewhere on here in the comments.
  - Rob says:
    
    9 May9 May 14:49
    
    MGallery is directly opposite a garden square, and very close to the Royal Crescent (but this is Bath, so what I mean is ‘it’s 5 minutes nearer Royal Crescent than the Indigo on the opposite side of the city’).
- Tracey says:
  
  9 May9 May 13:59
  
  Bath is small enough that all central hotels would be near a park. For luxury, the Royal Crescent. For functional the Apex.
- TGLoyalty says:
  
  9 May9 May 15:36
  
  No one mentioned the Gainsborough abbey road is round the corner from indigo and has a nice bar with some decent outside space
- Jonny says:
  
  9 May9 May 21:39
  
  Stayed in the Indigo a few weeks ago for 1 night. Was upgraded to one of the Vault Suites. Was very impressed from start to finish, would recommend!