The HfP chat thread – Tuesday 11th May

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BuildBackBetter says:

11 May11 May 14:00

Natwest Rewards Black account – any reviews? Does a joint account get us two free dragonpasses?
- Gary says:
  
  11 May11 May 19:06
  
  Two passes for joint account. Costs £31/m, but claw £10 back with 2DD. Travel insur w usual pre-existing and Covid exclusions like most others. Generally 0.5% cash back or higher w certain retailers. One could apply for free black credit card once account open… no Fx + 0.5% back on foreign spending. Can exchange any cash back earned at £1 for 0.587 avios. Genuine 10% discount on hotel booking & road side recovery not bad. Nothing premium about the service/financial advisor, but stayed for the perks.
  - Tracey says:
    
    11 May11 May 19:30
    
    They will cover pre- existing conditions with an extra premium.
- Tracey says:
  
  11 May11 May 19:29
  
  Yes. We made my account joint for that reason. Also no foreign exchange fee in their credit card if you hold a reward account. Plus well rated travel insurance and other bits and bobs.
Paul says:

11 May11 May 14:10

Has anyone noticed Creation (or Bendy) are slow to bill? I made a savings ‘top up’ recently and it’s yet to debit the monies from Creation’s end a week on! Unsure if the Creation ‘balance available’ is telling me the truth of it’s just not reflected yet.
- Raveon says:
  
  11 May11 May 14:26
  
  Yes, seems to be taking at least 3 days recently. It’ll get there eventually!
- Roy says:
  
  11 May11 May 14:27
  
  FWIW I find Creation can be a bit random as to whether pending transactions show up in the app. But IME, the balance does update to reflect the (invisible) pending transaction. YMMV.
  - Paul says:
    
    11 May11 May 14:33
    
    Great, I assumed it would be correct at the back end as the funds are definitely at the receivers end now. The issue is I am looking to settle Creation and it won’t allow me to do so until the balance reflects at my end.
    - Connor says:
      
      11 May11 May 15:19
      
      Can always pay by bank transfer.
    - mark2 says:
      
      11 May11 May 15:42
      
      Many times I have paid Creation including pending purchases; the amount is free format. Or as @Connor says pay by bank transfer.
      - Paul says:
        
        11 May11 May 15:52
        
        What do you mean by free format? The app only gives me the option to pay the billed balance!
      - Sean says:
        
        11 May11 May 16:05
        
        free format online (rather than App) as allows you to input any amount
      - Aston100 says:
        
        11 May11 May 18:17
        
        Like Connor said, you can pay (any amount) by bank transfer.
- stevenhp1987 says:
  
  11 May11 May 23:38
  
  It appears that Curve are no longer settling transactions immediately.
  
  I did a Go Back in Time yesterday and they just cancelled the pre auth on the card rather than settling and refunding.
  
  Not settling straight away means it takes longer for the payment to process on the underlying card.
ringingup says:

11 May11 May 14:38

Just called Amex to explore options and potentially cancelling my Platinum card and have been offered 50,000 MR points to keep it! I accepted them!
- James says:
  
  11 May11 May 14:57
  
  First time you’ve tried this or second? I called up last night and wasn’t offered anything, just informed to keep it as there is likely something coming up after July. I was offered a retention bonus last year though.
  - ringingup says:
    
    11 May11 May 17:44
    
    Secondo time. Last time was around May last year, when they were giving MR points to most people.
    - James says:
      
      11 May11 May 19:04
      
      Did you go straight in for the kill or did they take some breaking down? Can’t believe they never gave me the option, cheeky swines!
      - Magic Mike says:
        
        11 May11 May 19:20
        
        I got a retention bonus (35k?) last August, phoned yesterday and was offered zilch on my Plat with the excuse I can only have one retention bonus per year. So I cancelled. I already have an ARCC to preserve the points, for now. Will probably start a 2 year exile soon while we do Player 2.
Pete M says:

11 May11 May 14:55

Does anyone know if you can bring a guest to Star Alliance lounges if you have TAP gold? Can’t find anything clear online…
- Rob says:
  
  11 May11 May 16:40
  
  1 guest if on same flight.
  - Pete M says:
    
    11 May11 May 17:09
    
    Thanks Rob!
Ammar says:

11 May11 May 15:03

Sorry – but which is the best value for money option – I cannot seem to figure it out for RFS:
1) 41250 Avios + £ 1.50
2) 39000 Avios + £ 13.50
3) 36000 Avios + £ 30.00
4) 27750 Avios + £ 52.50
5) 18750 Avios + £ 136.50
6) 12750 Avios + £ 181.50
- Sean says:
  
  11 May11 May 15:17
  
  depends how YOU value an avios. If you value at 1p then option 1 costs £414, option 3 £390, option 6 £309 etc. Option 6 v option 1 you are buying 28,500 avios for £180.
  - TGLoyalty says:
    
    11 May11 May 15:41
    
    Agree on 1p and You’d be mad to value them at anything less than 0.8p as that’s what you can swap them for food in nectar.
    - Benilyn says:
      
      11 May11 May 16:01
      
      Unless you buy food cheaper at Aldi/LIDL? :p 😉
      - Aston100 says:
        
        11 May11 May 18:19
        
        And if you get it from a food bank, would the avios have a negative value?
      - TGLoyalty says:
        
        11 May11 May 18:37
        
        Ofcourse. Though there’s still lots of branded items you can’t get at the discounters.
Kilburnflyer says:

11 May11 May 15:21

Common travel area question (for pre-17th May): For travellers coming from Dublin (actually from Dublin NOT transiting through Dublin) to London, are there any UK entry requirements to produce a negative PCR test?

Can’t find any conclusive information on CTA (across the Irish sea from DUB=}LON) on the GOV UK website. Thanks in advance
- Ian says:
  
  11 May11 May 15:36
  
  No tests or home quarantine required, see here – https://www.gov.uk/guidance/red-amber-and-green-list-rules-for-entering-england
illuminatus says:

11 May11 May 15:36

I referred my wife for a Platinum card; can she now refer me for one, and get the referral bonus? I have Gold but not Platinum.
- TGLoyalty says:
  
  11 May11 May 15:41
  
  Yes she will get the bonus and no you wont
  - illuminatus says:
    
    11 May11 May 15:56
    
    Thanks. And Amex does not frown upon that, right?
    - TGLoyalty says:
      
      11 May11 May 16:09
      
      No but why get platinum?
      
      You could choose one of the free cards and she will still get 24k.
      
      2 charge 3 credit seems to be the limit at the moment.
- Rob says:
  
  11 May11 May 16:39
  
  Yes, but you won’t get a bonus. She might as well refer you for a free card – you won’t get the bonus on that either but at least its free! She will get her 24k.
  - 747_Brat says:
    
    11 May11 May 17:21
    
    Is the bonus for referring someone for ARCC from Plat also 24k? I thought the enhanced bonus is only for a limited set of cards mentioned in Rob’s article.
    - TGLoyalty says:
      
      11 May11 May 17:24
      
      Yeah no matter what card they apply for
      - TGLoyalty says:
        
        11 May11 May 18:38
        
        Obviously from the list of available referred cards.
    - Rob says:
      
      11 May11 May 17:48
      
      Ah, yes, good point. Better make it the free BA card.
    - Aston100 says:
      
      11 May11 May 18:20
      
      Yes it is 747_Brat.
      Did that very thing not so long ago.
      24k posted.
      - 747_Brat says:
        
        11 May11 May 19:35
        
        Thanks Aston & TGL
MariaJ says:

11 May11 May 15:42

Hi, is there a way to know if BA has taken down a flight? I don’t seem to get any results when searching for it. Thank you!
- Alex says:
  
  11 May11 May 15:47
  
  Which destination is it?
  - MariaJ says:
    
    11 May11 May 15:59
    
    LCY-EAS (San Sebastian)
- Rhys says:
  
  11 May11 May 17:00
  
  BA stopping selling a flight is generally always a sign that something is up.
  - MaríaJ says:
    
    11 May11 May 17:12
    
    Thanks Rhys!