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The HfP chat thread – Wednesday 12th May

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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.

Please only comment under the main articles on the site if your comment is directly related to the topic of the article.  This has long-term benefits as it keeps the commentary relevant for people who read those articles in the future.

Old chat threads are hidden from the HfP home page.  If you want to look for something in an old thread, click here.  This brings up all the articles in our ‘General’ category which includes the chat threads.

Comments (409)

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

  • @mkcol says:

    Has anyone been able to fund their Binance account with any of the usual points-earning credit cards either directly or Curve-fronted?

    • Anuj says:

      The fees are like 3% by card so not worth it. You could top up revolut by card and then transfer to binance buy bank transfer.

    • Mike says:

      Have you considered crypto.com, free credit card funding. However you should be aware of the difference between the app and the exchange.

  • Crafty says:

    I’ve now twice had my Curve Metal swallowed by an ATM. Phoned up today and the operative admitted he’s had it happen to him too – “there’s some kinds of machines it doesn’t work with”. It’s very clearly a manufacturing issue. If you want to avoid hassle, I’d recommend not withdrawing cash from an ATM using your Curve Metal card – or, if you establish that a certain machine does work ok with metal, keep using that one.

  • Oliver says:

    Question for the experienced CC spend target folk. I realised today that using Paypal, for no fee, I can do a personal money payment, using a credit card, to ‘a friend’ or in this case my wife. The £10 arrived in her Paypal account and she instantly put it into her current account, again for no fee. I am assured she will return the money to me. Shows up on my Virgin MC as a ‘purchase’. Will this count towards a minimum spend target?

    • Rob says:

      Yes – but if you do much of this, PayPal will freeze your money and shut you down. Not worth the risk.

      • Alex says:

        I do a monthly payment so it looks regular hidden amongst many other payments and haven’t had any issue in the last year or so. It’s only a few hundred though.

  • AndyGWP says:

    Couldn’t find one by Googling, but is there a magic special phone number for Virgin Atlantic Gold folk to use to get in touch with VS?

  • James says:

    The 3 week ‘check it again’ rule is bonkers. Why 3 weeks? Why not weekly reviews?

    Spain is already safe – but won’t go green until June 7th.

    Crazy – it’s safer than northern England. Not that I would go there in the first place.

    • James says:

      Tad rude…

    • Jamie says:

      Oh Harry

    • Anna says:

      Don’t! We have now been identified as an Indian variant hotspot and threatened with further local lockdown measures. I’m just waiting for an edict to the effect that anyone living in my borough is barred from foreign travel (including the CTA) for the rest of the year.

  • Tariq says:

    FYI vaccination booking site opened to under 40s (news said expanding to 38/39 year olds this morning) – site still says 40+

    • James says:

      Group 6 (carers) opened up a long time ago.

      Surely you care for somebody?

      • James says:

        My wife went a bit early for her vacc, on the basis she’s also a carer. They asked: ‘are you the main carer?’

        as she is too honest for her own good, she said: ‘no, I’m the secondary carer.’

        so they said (wrongly): so you don’t qualify to get your vacc in Group 6.

        Then they said: kindly wait 5 mins and you can get your vacc anyway, happy to help.

      • Joe says:

        As a 34 year old who remains unvaccinated – waiting my turn in accordance with the JCVI priority list – it is frustrating to hear about people jumping the queue (or suggesting that others do so).

        • TGLoyalty says:

          There are many 40-18 that have already had it and it was very much dependent on the area and where GPs were in their lists.

          I imagine there isn’t long to wait until you get your text as a 34 year old.

          • meta says:

            My local authorities has up to now organised three mass vaccination weekends. No questions asked, no appointments necessary. It was even advertised in other boroughs (some of my partner’s colleagues came to our area to get their shot). There are so many ways now to get vaccinated at any age without being dishonest and there is no reason to wait for online system to open up.

          • Ron says:

            Definitely depends on area and GPs, I’m 36 and had mine on Good Friday and 2nd one booked mid June. A lot of my friends around the same age had their first one as well.

          • James says:

            I think we (nearly) reached the stage where if you turn up, you’ll get vaccinated.

            was a bit more hairem scarem on January 6th but I did it!

        • James says:

          Surely you can do better in your efforts to look after your family and No.1?

        • Rob says:

          Just pitch up at the centres and ask. Works fine here in London. No need to wait.

          • Tracey says:

            Turning people away in Hertfordshire today. No one under 40 is getting AZ, whereas up to Saturday you could agree to be risk assessed and still get it. Also strictly minimum of 8 weeks between doses.

          • Rob says:

            What is ‘risk assessed’ meant to mean? If you are happy to take a 1 in 100,000 chance of getting a blood clot (which can be quickly cured as long as you spot the symptoms) I’m not entirely sure why you shouldn’t get it.

        • Chris Heyes says:

          Joe Turn up an hour before it shuts, just ask if there are any left at the end of the day. would it be possible to have one rather than it thrown away.
          Most people are to idle or lazy to queue for a hour (or crazy they would rather moan)
          Its being done every day almost everywhere and so it should
          Unless you think its better that they are wasted !

  • Drennan Duplooy says:

    With no Amber-to-red ‘watchlist’ what risk level is involved in travel to Amber destinations? Cancun booked for 2nd June departure and concerned that there’s no guidance on how much notice there will be on amber to ‘hotel quarantine’ once out there. Anyone in similar position or equipped with info?

    • MKB says:

      +1
      I’m due back from Cancun on 6 June, so looking carefully for any signs that it could make the red list while I’m out there.

      • meta says:

        More than last year. So it will probably be 1-2 weeks.

      • TGLoyalty says:

        I don’t think there’s even a review until 7th June.

        • meta says:

          Yes and then the big one is on 28 June where they will be revieing the traffic light system as a whole.

          • TGLoyalty says:

            Yup where you’d expect data on positive test % after arrival from green countries to be reviewed to see if it’s actually worth the hassle but then it’s the government …

  • Zoe P says:

    Hello all – back with stupid question. Yesterday I asked what date in 2022 you could book a flight if they are released 355 days in advance. Rob wisely advised to look at a London – Amsterdam route was and that would give it away. Latest flight is 28 April 2022. Now my maths may be off, but if it is 355 days in advance shouldn’t I be able to book something for 2 May 2022 – given there are 365 days in the year?

    • James says:

      01 May bookable right now, 02 May after midnight.

      Is there an extra day in the year going forward?

      • Zoe P says:

        what flights are you looking at because I have checked loads now and can see nothing after 28 April 2022.

        • James says:

          Not your route – my normal route is fine. So it could be that your route has issues.

        • SM says:

          Paris would be a good option to check.

    • TGLoyalty says:

      You need to check more than just the 1 route Rob advised.

      Try a few other European routes with multiple daily flights.

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