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The HfP chat thread – Monday 10th May

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

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General

Comments (363)

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

  • Craig says:
    10 May10 May 08:07

    BA 241 expires Feb 22, what are our gut feelings about further extensions? Or should I book and cancel for an FTV?

    • Alex says:
      10 May10 May 08:34

      Depends if you’re willing to use it in 2021? If you don’t want to travel at all before ‘22 for safety concerns then I’d go FTV. If you’re happy to travel in Sept/Oct this year then I’d hold out

    • Genghis says:
      10 May10 May 10:30

      Do you think BA will give notice for stopping bundling bookings into a new FTV? I don’t think they would.

      • Craig says:
        10 May10 May 11:08

        No, I don’t think they will either?

        • TGLoyalty says:
          10 May10 May 23:13

          Therefore go for it now

          Just need a cheap Paris hop for least Avios & cash outlay

  • James says:
    10 May10 May 08:08

    Front page of the DT: Free NHS lateral flow tests may be invalid for holidays

    Not too surprising as self-administering & reporting the free LFTs was clearly wide open to cheating.

    • cinereus says:
      10 May10 May 08:10

      Was there ever an indication that they would be valid?

      • James says:
        10 May10 May 08:36

        Shapps said yes they were going enable this to reduce the costs of travelling for hard-working families (in a Sky interview last week – Sunday/ Monday?).

        But by Friday afternoon press conference, he’d obviously realised that anybody with the wrong result would just lie to get on the plane home.

  • Graeme says:
    10 May10 May 08:21

    Edinburgh gets a lot of love on here, but what about Glasgow? We’re going for the Bank Holiday weekend and in this era of booking tables outside pubs, I was wondering whether anyone had any good tips for pubs to sit outside? Any other tips very welcome too – my two trips there have been for football so on the slightly less cultured side of things.

    Thanks!

    • Chris P says:
      10 May10 May 08:30

      I wouldn’t always recommend them but the Glasgow double deck city bus tour from George’s Square is very good and informative plus takes you out to the Transport Museum and the Clyde so not just the city centre.

      • Graeme says:
        10 May10 May 08:42

        We were actually going to book this to guarantee some ‘tourism’ given that we can’t be sure what else we can do. Good to know it’s worth it – thanks!

    • Genghis says:
      10 May10 May 08:31

      No 16 restaurant is excellent. We made a trip once just to visit. Small inside though and no space out the front so no idea how they’re handling covid restrictions.

      • Graeme says:
        10 May10 May 08:41

        Thank you – you can eat inside but only drink outside at the moment (might change on the 17th), so I’ll look into that now.

        • Genghis says:
          10 May10 May 08:46

          If you wanna trip – I’ve had a nice deep fried Mars bar from Merchant Chippie before.

    • James says:
      10 May10 May 08:43

      Take the tube/ subway out to the West End (Hillhead, 10 mins from centre) and mosey around Byres Rd, Ashton Lane etc – full of pubs & restaurants, villagey & lively.

    • Peggerz says:
      10 May10 May 08:44

      I was at the Kimpton Blythswood two weeks ago. Bo & Birdy resto there is nice if you’re staying or not.
      Hootenanny Bar on Osbourne Street has 80 or so outside seats, booking is essential. But you are also having a cultural pint because the John Byrne Mural of Sir Billy Connolly is on the wall above it. It’s part of the Glasgow Mural trail. Café’s/resto’s around the Byres Rd are good too.
      Also go to the Riverside Museum which I was v impressed with.

    • chris1922 says:
      10 May10 May 09:13

      Barolo Italian bar and kitchen have outdoor tables on Gordon St, and on Gordon St itself, their is the Bier Halle, which does some good food too. As other have said, Ashton Lane is awesome, and if you’re not fussy, The Counting House (a Wetherspoons pub) has plenty of outdoor seating on a closed road of George Sq. Also checkout Merchant Sq., an outdoor but indoor area, with too many options to mention.

    • Sandra B says:
      10 May10 May 10:19

      Restaurants: Six by Nico Finnieston. Crab Shakk Finnieston.
      Cafe Gandolfi Merchant City. Cafe India Merchant City. Amarone Nelson Mandela Place. Mother India’s Cafe across from Kelvingrove Art Gallery serve tapas type dishes. A local institution but don’t take reservations unless changed due to Covid regs. Worth the wait.
      Princes Sq is a nice shopping centre.
      Plenty to do/see and HoHo Red bus will be the best way to get around if just there for the weekend. Subway/underground good for getting around too. Take a brolly for every season in a day! 🙂

      • Sandra says:
        10 May10 May 11:28

        Tantrum doughnuts – on Old Dumbarton Road and also Gordon St (round corner from Central Station), if you pass them they are delicious for a snack, too many flavours to choose from 😋 The Willow Tea Rooms for afternoon tea if you are interested in Charles Rennie Mackintosh, Sauchiehall St is the original but they are also on Buchanan Street – you can book on their website and will probably need to as they get very busy.
        Kelvingrove Museum – check website as currently need to book a ticket 24 hours in advance (free)

    • BP says:
      10 May10 May 12:51

      The Finnieston area is pretty cool these days. Lots of outdoor tables and cool bars/restaurants. A bar crawl on Argyle Street from Lewbowskis to BrewDog will hit many great bars and restaurants including Six By Nico, Crabshakk, The Gannet, The Finnieston, Mother India’s Cafe.

      Byres Road/Ashton Lane are a 5-10 minute walk from BrewDog. Bar Soba & The Record Factory are a few cool places along the way. The food in Soba is great!

      The Cranside Kitchen is another cool place in the Finnieston area with a large outdoor space. Also the Dockyard Social for street food and drinks in the same area.

    • Graeme says:
      10 May10 May 15:37

      Thanks all, there are some great tips in there – I’ve noted them all (and bookmarked the thread) and will investigate every single one. I suspect that I’m going to need to book really soon.

      I’ve had the Mars Bar on a previous visit, Genghis – wouldn’t rule out another though!

  • wilsnunn says:
    10 May10 May 08:30

    Having some issues with the AMEX Gold Deliveroo credit. I saved the offer to my card the day that it was announced on HfP and made two Deliveroo transactions that same day. Neither triggered the credit and the customer support line chat is telling me that they cannot see it saved to my card and asking me for proof that I saved it before I made the transactions. They are not telling me how I can prove that though.

    • Rob says:
      10 May10 May 09:41

      I assume it shows as ‘Saved to Card’ now?

      You can’t prove when you saved it. More likely that Amex hadn’t set their system up properly at first.

      • wilsnunn says:
        10 May10 May 09:44

        Yes shows as “Saved to Card” but they said that isn’t enough. I will try calling them again today to get this sorted.

      • M says:
        10 May10 May 11:06

        I have a new Gold card and can’t see it – is it worth calling Amex?

    • John says:
      10 May10 May 09:52

      Same issue for me – signed up on the day it was released, can see the offer in my ‘saved offers’ section, but a purchase yesterday didn’t result in the “you’ve used your offer” email.
      Not a big deal – sometimes I don’t get the email even if I have triggered the offer – but for safety’s sake I chatted Amex today to confirm they see the offer saved. They don’t. Have submitted a screenshot as proof so they can ‘follow up with the correct team internally’.

    • David D says:
      10 May10 May 11:44

      That’s strange – sounds like AMEX systems not updated. I can’t see the Offer on my PRG – any idea how I can view/save it?

  • Mikeact says:
    10 May10 May 08:41

    Re Iberia.
    At first glance it seems that Iberia have cottoned on to the cost of flying Madrid to the US using Avios. Checking quickly last night for our regular flight from Madrid, both Avios and charges seem to have been increased.
    One for Rhys maybe.

    • Harry T says:
      10 May10 May 08:44

      Yeah, this happened yesterday. There’s a discussion on flyertalk.

      • Alex says:
        10 May10 May 08:48

        Yeah this is odd because when I checked it hadn’t changed so didn’t know if it was a glitch for me or them

      • Gtellez says:
        10 May10 May 09:14

        It seems that is more expensive only if you buy one way. For example, looking at MAD-LIM: it used to be 42.5k avios in business one way off peak. Now it shows 51k for September; however if you try round trip (although shows 51k each way in the first screen), it allows you to get both ways for 85k (same as before).

    • marcw says:
      10 May10 May 10:57

      If you proceed to the payment page, old Avios values apply.

  • C says:
    10 May10 May 09:09

    Has anyone received the bonus points for adding a supp on ARCC going via the normal supp page rather than via Offers? The offer was originally showing in my Offers section, but the page crashed when I clicked on it and now it’s no longer there. Hoping I’ll still get the bonus if I now add a supp via the normal route!

    • Matthew says:
      10 May10 May 09:20

      Did normal route via APP last night and supp bonus points posted immediately.

    • TJ says:
      10 May10 May 14:01

      Yep, same thing happened to me with the supp on a Bonvoy card. Went down normal route and points posted about a week later.

  • VJ says:
    10 May10 May 09:21

    Any recommendations for PCR (fit for travel) test in Central/South East London.

  • M says:
    10 May10 May 09:49

    I have an IHG free night cert currently attached to a booking for the bank holiday weekend.
    (think this one was the one expiring at the end of last year)
    If I’d to change the date of the booking would I loose it?

    • Benilyn says:
      10 May10 May 10:14

      Yes I think so. afaik hotel’s can’t move the dates as well

    • Genghis says:
      10 May10 May 10:32

      Yes. And IHG wouldn’t restate for my wife, even though others got another voucher valid until Aug. Only got 10k IHGs in lieu.

    • Anna says:
      10 May10 May 12:05

      It depends on how much patience you have. By persistently emailing IHG (and politely pointing out that treating members well will result in them feeling more inclined to put business their way), we’ve had 65k “goodwill” points, an extension of Ambassador status (including the weekend free night) plus an extension of the offer for a 40k free night after completing a qualifying stay.

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