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The HfP chat thread – Saturday 22nd 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 (289)

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

  • Pete M says:

    Out if interest – those of you who had no/minimal side effects from the first dose of the AZ jab, was it the same after the second?

    • Alan says:

      Absolutely nothing.

    • ChasP says:

      me too – very minor first -arm sore to touch and 24 hrs feeling a bit ropey 2nd jab nothing at all – not even sore injection site

    • Harry T says:

      I can’t speak from my own experience, but amongst my heavily vaccinated colleagues it is common anecdotal knowledge that the first dose of AZ gives the worst side effects but the second is fine. Pfizer is the opposite.

      • WaynedP says:

        +1 both for me & Mrs dP

        Both AZ jabs around same time 6-ish pm and all in left arm.

        1st dose had trouble falling asleep that night (v unusual) and mild headache & muscle ache (body and arm) for about 18 hrs. 1x400mg of Nurofen did the job, but Mrs dP was affected a little more severely than me.

        2nd dose absolutely no side effects for me, very mild upper arm ache for Mrs dP.

      • Linda says:

        Harry T, I can second that. I volunteer at a vax centre and a nurse there told me the same thing.

      • @mkcol says:

        Blimmin’ hope so, as I had the most awful reaction & was off sick for a week.

      • Steve S says:

        Had 2 Pfizer jabs no problems with either

      • SM says:

        Yup, agree with the Pfizer comment, not much following first dose but noticeable SE following second.

    • Russ says:

      Leg fell off.

    • Andy D says:

      I had no side effects from either AZ

  • The cyclist says:

    Yes, had my 2nd AZ yesterday no side effects

    • Erico1875 says:

      Me too. Not a sniffle

      • Nicky says:

        I had no side effects after first AZ, had to google that if no side effects whatsoever had it worked, because everyone I know suffered something. Going for my second tomorrow.

  • Aliks says:

    I have the MBNA Horizon Visa card, which promised no FX transaction fees when it was launched a couple of years ago.

    I havent used it for at least a year, so I went online to check if they are still fee-free. Unfortunately the “when-travelling-abroad” page has disappeared from their website.
    Does anyone know the current state of affairs re FX fees?

    • the_real_a says:

      No FX fees and no Cash/Cash Advance fees (e.g. ATM`s). On cash transactions interest payable from date of transaction, not statement date.

  • Tracy says:

    Madeira update. Got on the flight ok, no PCR test, just a doc letter saying recovered from covid in last 90 days. Madeira airport checked the letter and waved us through. All very easy.
    TUI trying to arrange for antigen tests at hotel or in the local pharmacy for €20.
    A sunny 24 here today, well worth it….

    • Harry T says:

      Glad your journey was uneventful in the end. Enjoy your trip!

      • Tracy says:

        Thanks Harry T, must have used a full tree printing out proof in case I need it 😂

    • bafan says:

      Well done – thanks for updating us, glad to see they know their stuff at the airport anyway. Have a great trip 😊.

      • Tracy says:

        Thanks Bafan, all that worry and stress for nothing 😂.

  • TedL says:

    Data point – completed the £4k spend on Platinum yesterday and received the 50k MR points this morning.

  • Amy says:

    Trying to add a supp on an existing Amex online account, but have been getting this error for last 3-4 days. Any clues what’s the issue?

    “Unfortunately, the Card you entered cannot be linked to your existing Online Services. Please create a new User ID and password below.”

    • Travel Strong says:

      Suddenly happening a lot more – easiest just to create a new account (seperate user name) for activating the card.

    • Rob says:

      Weird. My wife has a supp and a main card on the same account. Is one a Business card?

      • Erico1875 says:

        Me too
        I have a sup and my main on a single login

      • Amy says:

        Hi Rob

        No, it’s not a business card but a personal one (ARCC). I have other Supps on the same account but this one in particular refuses to be added in.

        To add to the misery, the ARCC card I received in the post is “bent”. I tried to straighten it but it resulted in the card layers to drift apart. Poor workmanship from Amex vendors, who make and emboss the cards.

    • Aston100 says:

      Amy, this has happened to me twice this year.
      In both cases the Amex live chat people were useless (as they are at everything) and insisted I need to create a new account.
      However, in both cases, the cards eventually magically appeared on the correct accounts 2 or 3 days later.

      • Aston100 says:

        Robert, this happened to us a couple of weeks ago i.e. trying to add a supplementary ARCC and hoping for the 2k bonus MR.
        We rang and an Amex agent manually added the supplementary card for us.
        They also gave us 2.5k MR in lieu of the 2k MR we were potentially losing (by not adding the card ourselves).
        A few days later, we still received the 2k bonus MR anyway.

    • Sandra says:

      Yes I’ve tried to do it this afternoon with a supp gold card. First it said it couldn’t be added to the existing account (quite possible as that was for a BAPP card that’s now cancelled) and I needed to create a new account. Did that and it said it didn’t recognise the new card, it then asked for primary cardholders birth year which I added and it told me it was wrong, it wasn’t, and it finally locked me out telling me to call the number on the back of the card. I’ve just left it for now and will try again tomorrow/Monday! I also had to make several attempts each time to get the authentication code – the text service didn’t seem to be working and I had to request again by email.

  • Alan Todd says:

    When joining IC Ambassador, should I have received a physical welcome pack, or is it now all digital? TIA

  • Tom says:

    Two questions about AMEX Hilton cash back

    I have 3 cards + 1 supplementary. The offer appeared on 1 of mine and the supplementary. I have saved the offer on both but it no longer shows on the supplementary. Did Amex change the ‘rules’ and removed one saved cash back from the card?

    Also, did anyone use the Hilton cash back at 100 Queens Gate (Curio) in the past? It’s not on the list – but it’s address is listed under DoubleTree Kensington, while Curio Shoreditch is listed twice on the list.

    • Jay says:

      Still shows on all my supps.

    • DT says:

      Just checked out of Hilton York with a BAPP and it’s Supp to use the offer twice, no problems at all

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