The HfP chat thread – Wednesday 19th May

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• Peter says:

  19 May19 May 14:02

  Amex retention data point.

  Offered 35k retention for a plat card had 3 months. But they were playing a bit of hard ball and I had to be on it with replies to rebuff the numerous lines of dialogue they went down before giving the points. They said the points were if kept the card until renewal… Though how they will police this I’m not sure.

  In my case I would have cancelled without the offer, so it did have the required effect, but be aware that though the offers are there, you have to work a bit for it.

  • Super Secret Stuff says:

    19 May19 May 14:27

    Yeh you do have to be on it but its entirely possible for majority of people.

    Also, transfer it out and then cancel, nothing they can really do about it once its in another scheme

  • Tariq says:

    19 May19 May 14:31

    7 minute call just got me 50K. Had card since 2012 though. Used the ‘thinking of cancelling, what can you offer to justify the cost of the fee’ approach.

    • Super Secret Stuff says:

      19 May19 May 14:55

      Glad it worked for you. I know it wouldn’t be a wise idea for HfP to do an article on how to do it, but I wish more people would do it.

      The tactic used above (which is my personal recomendation) has the highest success rate with minimal effort

      • Andrew says:

        19 May19 May 15:36

        I think most of us have now passed the 1 year point from the first time Rob did an article about it last May and they were handing out 20k (as the points had a double cash value then) so we are much more likely to be offered something now rather than in the same 12 month period, although I know people have. 50k seems to be the norm for anyone calling up now.

        • Amy Carpenter says:

          19 May19 May 15:51

          Anyone got their annual fee refunded too? Boyfriend rang up yesterday, has has the Platinum for 7 years, pays off monthly. Got 35k not to cancel and £575 annual fee returned.

        • Super Secret Stuff says:

          19 May19 May 17:17

          @Amy having the fee refunded is very, very rare (first i have heard of it). Are you sure they didn’t mean use the points to offset the bill? That seems to be there go to line

  • Tony1 says:

    19 May19 May 16:44

    Are these for the Personal Plat ? I have been offered nothing for the Bus Plat ….

    • Super Secret Stuff says:

      19 May19 May 17:19

      Really shouldn’t matter, you just have to push and best results seem to be when using my tactic

      • Amy carpenter says:

        19 May19 May 17:54

        @super, just checked with him. He says that’s what they said but he’s waiting for it to appear on statement.

        • Andrew says:

          19 May19 May 18:21

          I think he’ll be waiting a while. Never heard of an annual fee being refunded.

      • Lord Doncaster says:

        19 May19 May 18:34

        Hmm I had 15k last May with a further 20k before my annual fee hit in October. They know I was up for renewal at that point. Maybe I’ll try again soon and see what they say…

        • Super Secret Stuff says:

          19 May19 May 18:51

          I did a similar thing and got away with another one a couple months ago

        • Toby says:

          19 May19 May 20:51

          I got the annual fee refunded in by bus Gold card. Didn’t push hard at all!

• Laura says:

  19 May19 May 14:18

  Was due to stop in the Park Plaza Waterloo on Saturday and they’ve just emailed to say it’s ‘unavailable’ and we’ve been rebooked to the Park Plaza Westminster Bridge.

  Annoyingly, the sauna/steam at Westminster Bridge is closed, and we were looking forward to that because its not reopened yet at our gym!

  • Kai says:

    19 May19 May 14:52

    I doubt any hotel’s sauna/steam is open at the moment.

    • Rhys says:

      19 May19 May 14:53

      Aren’t they allowed to re-open as of Monday?

      • Harrier25 says:

        19 May19 May 15:57

        The saunas & steam rooms reopened on Monday at my local Bannatyne’s.

      • Anna says:

        19 May19 May 16:09

        The Langley thermal facilities have reopened. I found out they are allowing multiple families in at once though, which I don’t think is a great idea (especially in a steam room or sauna where the whole point is that there is no ventilation), so I’m probably going to cancel our slots.

        • Paul says:

          19 May19 May 17:32

          I’ve been there for a couple of nights this week, you are limited to an hour and half and it was empty

        • Anna says:

          19 May19 May 18:28

          Thanks Paul – I specifically asked and they said there were other guests booked in at the same time as us. I’m assuming the hotel will be busier then as it’s school holidays!

  • The Savage Squirrel says:

    19 May19 May 19:14

    Don’t be too annoyed though. That’s a definite upgrade in terms of hotel, location (for narly everything) and general facilities.
    It’s also nearer Waterloo 😀 😀

    • meta says:

      19 May19 May 21:38

      At Langley they had the same system last December and they made it seem like it’s your own slot in the email, but there were at least five other groups using facilities at the same time.

    • Laura says:

      20 May20 May 00:03

      Yup, hotel definitely looks nicer!

      I got it in the £89 sale too, so super cheap.

• Liz says:

  19 May19 May 15:24

  https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-57170601
  Lovely gesture by this guy on Saturday proposing to his girlfriend while landing on Barra beach. We were there on Thursday and watched the wee plane land and take off again. We have just come back from a 2 week island hopping trip across the Western Isles. We did the flight back in 2016 and it’s well worth it – a great bucket list trip to do!

  • Ja says:

    19 May19 May 15:48

    My OH and I did 3 nights on Barra after reading Rob’s article about 2 years ago. Fantastic experience

  • Genghis says:

    19 May19 May 16:34

    Very good @Liz. Thanks for posting. We’d like to do an Outer Hebrides trip some day. I remember our day trip to Barra fondly – good fudge and tasty hot smoked salmon sandwiches at the airport cafe. Quickest “security” I’ve ever had. Off to Skye over the summer so hopefully get some good weather. Need to buy a proper carrier so I can take my son walking.

    • Liz says:

      19 May19 May 16:51

      We hired a motorhome for the first time – very expensive – as we didn’t want to take our caravan on all the islands. This trip has been on our to-do-list for a long time and despite all weathers we had a great time. We also got our trip out to St Kilda which is also worth doing but the boat trip is not for the faint hearted – we were the first tourists of the year. The roads were still very quiet and aot of stuff hadn’t opened yet but the beaches and scenery are spectacular! Heading up to Dornoch and Dunnet Bay at the very top of Scotland soon in the caravan!

      • Genghis says:

        19 May19 May 17:02

        Great to hear you had a good trip and have some future travels planned! I for one have missed your posts about your trips and discussing Scotland with BJ / James67.

        • Liz says:

          19 May19 May 17:14

          I’m still lurking here in the background. We managed 3 caravan trips around Scotland last Aug/Sept and got a few more booked for this year. We will be cancelling our Canadian Rockies road trip for Aug/Sept unfortunately. Who would have thought caravaning and motorhoming would become so popular. We were at our local dealer yesterday and their forecourt is bare!

      • Anna says:

        19 May19 May 19:26

        Sounds heavenly, Liz. I have a Scottish road trip planned once the OH retires, taking in lots of the places we still haven’t managed to get to!

      • Jill ( Kinkell) says:

        19 May19 May 20:22

        We are already seeing a rise in camper vans in our area ( north of Inverness). I shudder to think what the roads will be like later on in the summer . We have Bristol visitors venturing on the NC500 in midJune and whilst booking up accommodation well in advance, some of their preferred b&bs/ Hotels had already been fully booked..
        @Liz: Enjoy Dornoch and the beach at Embo, and hopefully you’ll see Orkney from Dunnet Head on a good day!

• Leigh says:

  19 May19 May 15:25

  Just booked the Voco St David’s Cardiff at 25,000 points per night in June. Used to be 50,000 points. Rhys reviewed the hotel in 2019
  https://hfp2022.headforpoints.blog/2019/03/03/review-voco-st-davids-hotel-cardiff/comment-page-1/#comments

  • Aston100 says:

    19 May19 May 15:50

    It is over 60k some nights in early August.

  • Benilyn says:

    19 May19 May 15:57

    Good location for tourist?

    • Andrew says:

      19 May19 May 16:41

      Cardiff isn’t big anyway and not much to see for tourists so it’s a perfectly fine location. It’s by the bay and all the rooms have balconies looking over the water so makes for a nice location.

    • Jay says:

      19 May19 May 17:18

      Not if you want easy access to the city, castle, shopping. Better to stay in the city, park up and enjoy your stay.

  • Super Secret Stuff says:

    19 May19 May 17:22

    Do welsh tourism rules stop you from visiting? I honestly don’t know

    • gillydee says:

      19 May19 May 17:43

      Nope, we’re at level 2 now. Accommodation is open, as are visitor attractions. Pubs and restaurants are open for indoor dining for tables no greater than 6…

  • Degsy says:

    19 May19 May 21:07

    In a similar vein, I recently booked the Kimpton Clocktower in M/cr for 22k points on a Saturday night in June. Now presenting at 69k. Cash price is approx £160

• GeorgeJ says:

  19 May19 May 15:31

  Those of you with Amex Platinum travel cover may be irritated by a change which is imminent. Earlier this year Amex changed its wording to delete any reference to FCDO advice and substituted the following general exclusions:
  14) Trips in, or booked to, locations where a government agency has advised against travel (except in relation to pandemics or known events – see exclusion 15) or which are officially under
  embargo by the United Nations other than as specifically covered in Section 3.2 sub-clause (h).
  15) Any claim resulting from travel restrictions imposed by Governmental Offices relating to Trips
  booked after the World Health Organisation declaring a pandemic or known event.

  Basically this provided medical and other cover as per normal but excluded claims for travel disruption caused by government action due to the pandemic. It was obviously a useful change as it meant the policy was now worth having for anyone who was doing any travelling. I am travelling and I kept my card subscription.
  I have a forthcoming trip to Greece and called Axa/Amex to check a few matters and was told as of midday today that there will be no cover for any “non essential” travel to amber or red listed countries. Apart from the legality of a change to an existing policy for which I have paid money, I wouldn’t have found out if I hadn’t called them. I have lodged complaints with both organisations as a first step.

  • meta says:

    19 May19 May 15:41

    That’s not a new wording. It is there since last year. It just mean that if any governement agency advises against travel, then you’re not covered. Amex Platinum insurance is thus useless at the moment for amber&red countries. However, you should be covered for medical emergencies in Greece via EHIC or GHIC if you have a valid one (if not appy for it). Otherwise there are other insurance companies that have travel against government advice policiles.

    • GeorgeJ says:

      19 May19 May 15:57

      Not quite Meta, it did allow travel for any purpose except where a government agency advises against any travel (of which there are a few destinations), that is not the same as “non essential” travel which certainly covers all the amber destinations and some of the reds. However I agree that the change notified to me today has now potentially made Amex useless once again. As you say I will use my EHIC and self insure the rest.
      I haven’t read a specific policy covering amber destinations which I can understand so just assumed they are worthless.

      • meta says:

        19 May19 May 16:30

        Government is currently advising against travel to amber and red countries as follows: “You should not travel to amber list countries or territories.” It doesn’t specifiy the type of travel and any travel includes both essential and non-essential. They just clarified it to you. The terms haven’t change as they would have to notify us in advance of change of policy. There is nothing on Amex/Axa website.

        • GeorgeJ says:

          19 May19 May 16:57

          Not the case meta, I had a long discussion with the Axa rep about whether my Greek trip could be classed as essential (eventually decided it wouldnt), however another to Mexico later this summer was probably ok (though I will check again nearer the time). So irrespective of what you say, Axa/Amex are covering some trips to Amber destinations.

  • George K says:

    19 May19 May 15:45

    Keen to hear more about this. I’ve got a return leg of an amber trip cancelled and next available flight is two days later. Was going to put all extra costs to Amex (after BA paid whatever it wanted to pay). Would that not work anymore?

    • GeorgeJ says:

      19 May19 May 16:02

      George K
      I don’t think Axa can change your cover whilst you are away, did you check your cover with them before going?
      If you haven’t left yet I would give them a call.

      • George K says:

        19 May19 May 16:49

        Thank you – I’m afraid I’m left high and dry here. Flights were booked last year and that specific word was in place then, for sure (I think it was added in June last year). I just have to pray that FCO guidance changes in our favour before (or during) our trip, and/or BA pays out at least a part of the cost under their duty of care. Last time this happened, Amex was invaluable in covering the full costs (especially accommodation and transportation) that BA only covered a fraction of…

        Drat…

      • George K says:

        19 May19 May 17:01

        Would anyone know how you can find what FCO guidance was in place at the time of booking? (so can you go back and check historical advice?)

  • Optimus Prime says:

    19 May19 May 16:19

    Some places are in the amber list but FCDO doesn’t advise against travel such as Crete. Would you be covered for a trip there?

    • meta says:

      19 May19 May 16:32

      No, as government advises against travel to amber countries. There are now two lists you need to monitor for your choses destination – the government one and the FCDO one.

      • Optimus Prime says:

        19 May19 May 16:55

        Thanks, so I guess if you wish to go there you need to take out insurance from Staysure or Battleface.

  • Sukes says:

    19 May19 May 17:01

    I can’t prove it as didn’t take screenshot but I think the Gov has changed the wording on https://www.gov.uk/guidance/red-amber-and-green-list-rules-for-entering-england?step-by-step-nav=8c0c7b83-5e0b-4bed-9121-1c394e2f96f3#history? 12 May we discussed on this chat how the text stated ‘you should not travel for leisure purposes’. All I see now is a ‘You should not travel to amber list countries or territories.’ & no mention of purpose of travel. If so, then Amex would now be able to invalidate cover to amber & red for essential in addition to non essential reasons. It could also use this to invalidate cover where FCDO does not have advice against travel.

    • Sukes says:

      19 May19 May 17:11

      I wasn’t goin nuts… via internet archive a snapshot on 10 May of same page shows wording was not ‘you should not travel to amber’ but instead ‘ You should not travel to amber list countries or territories for leisure purposes.’ George K you may wish to use Internet Archive to search for historic changes to FCDO country pages.

      • meta says:

        19 May19 May 17:33

        Oh wow! This is what happened then. It explains then Axa’s advice to GeorgeJ. In any case no-one should rely on Amex Plat insurance until the pandemic is over and just ask the Amex to give points in lieu 😀

      • GeorgeJ says:

        19 May19 May 18:20

        Sukes, very useful. The government is clearly trying to institute a travel ban to amber territories without actually legislating for it and this rewriting of the rules is part of that. Just listened to Hancock say that advice is unchanged, it clearly isn’t. Oddly, Axa were somewhat in between in their approach with me since they indicated I would be covered for an essential journey, lets see how they respond to my complaint.

        • Sukes says:

          19 May19 May 19:13

          Keep us informed GeorgeJ of what they say. Gov has made an absolute balls of this situation.

  • egold says:

    19 May19 May 17:25

    I emailed Axa with this specific query and received the following response on 27 April 21:

    (my question) 3) Would travel insurance cover travel to a country which the foreign office advises to avoid due to covid?
    Is this different for non-medical cover? – (AXA Answer) Once restrictions have been lifted and you travel to a country which the FCO advises against all but essential travel and your trip is not essential , you will have no coverage for CVOID related incidents -Cancellation ,delays ,Medical related to CVOID.

    • GeorgeJ says:

      19 May19 May 18:26

      egold, that response isnt even consistent with their own policy wording (general exemption 14 at the start of this thread). It is the response I had myself to the old policy wording (and where to be fair they covered me for two long and essential trips).
      It is clearly all a mess.

• The cyclist says:

  19 May19 May 16:08

  @Anna,
  booking holidays from work 12 months in advance???

  • Anna says:

    19 May19 May 16:12

    Plenty of people have to do that, especially in the public sector and needing to travel in school holidays!

    • meta says:

      19 May19 May 16:34

      Even in private sector. For example, my partner needs to book Christmas holidays 12 months in advance, though for all other periods 2-3 months in advance is generally fine.

      • Anna says:

        19 May19 May 16:47

        I know it can be as difficult, if not worse as obviously some small businesses only have a few staff to start with. Because of contingency planning for OH’s job (and my former one!), all leave has to be applied for in August/September for the following April – March, so 18 months in advance in some cases! In 30 years we’ve never had leave at Christmas because it’s so competitive. One year we WILL celebrate it on a beach (but not the cold wet UK variety lol).

        • David D says:

          19 May19 May 18:58

          And here was me thinking you would be in the Kimpton Charlotte Square for the Portobello Loony Dook over a Christmas period.

        • Jody says:

          19 May19 May 19:34

          I remember those days well. Single parent when I was in the police and a very unhelpful ex-husband meant that I had to be extremely well organised with leave.

          At one point I did manage to negotiate a mainly term time working contract after going part time, and that was amazingly helpful (I say mainly, I only had 2 weeks of the summer holidays and also had to work the Christmas holidays so had to go in the pot for everyone else for getting annual leave).

          They did eventually stop people from doing those kind of hours, but it did help me out massively at the time when kids needed full on childcare when not at school.

  • Chris Heyes says:

    19 May19 May 18:34

    The cyclist We plan and book holidays 12 months in advance if fact have one booked for 2023 already (Sorrento) plus 3 for 2022
    We always pay before we go as well
    I can even now remember the look on the Americans face when he asked me how many dollars I’d brought and i said 100, he said what ! for 3 weeks lol

• Amy says:

  19 May19 May 16:22

  With all the talks of retention bonuses recently, I am feeling a bit left out but I only have ARCC at the moment, having cancelled all my other cards. Is it possible to get a retention bonus on ARCC?

  • Andrew says:

    19 May19 May 16:41

    Apply for Platinum and bag a 50k retention bonus in a few months.

  • Youllnever says:

    19 May19 May 16:53

    Since the ARCC has no annual fee nor travel-related benefits, I don’t see why there would be any retention offer for it.

  • Super Secret Stuff says:

    19 May19 May 17:26

    Try it and see? Worst comes to the worst, cancel it and see what Amex welcome offers you can get. Some targeted higher offers at the moment as well

• The cyclist says:

  19 May19 May 16:23

  Ah public service annual leave! A delightfully old fashioned concept!

  I was once a civil servant myself in the mid eighties, we all did b*gger all work, started at 9.00 left at 16.00 and had a two hour lunch break usually spent in the Sherlock Holmes on Northumberland Avenue, or in the summer aboard the Tattershall Castle on the embankment.

  • Anna says:

    19 May19 May 16:50

    Sounds fabulous. I can just envisage you in your old school tie downing a few glasses of Pimms while reminiscing about Oxbridge.

  • Lord Doncaster says:

    19 May19 May 18:36

    It’s probably changed very little 😂

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