The HfP chat thread – Tuesday 25th May

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roberto says:

25 May25 May 11:37

Data point:
Avios-Nectar still not showed up ..Did the transfer via the phone line on the 16th of May.
Not happy at all.
- meta says:
  
  25 May25 May 11:40
  
  10 working days is the timeline. It’s only been 7 working days since 16th May.
- Andrew says:
  
  25 May25 May 11:46
  
  This is the standard timescale. They will arrive in the next few days.
- Anttelli says:
  
  25 May25 May 13:58
  
  Still waiting for mine from 12th May!
Tiger says:

25 May25 May 11:50

Does anyone here uses Crypto debit cards? 1% ca$# b@ck without any investment and 2% CB with a £300 investment seems too good to be true!

Crypto debit card CB rate is actually more than any Amex CB rate. Am I missing a trick here?
- S says:
  
  25 May25 May 11:59
  
  Depends what you plan to spend on. Sadly it’s not very gameable (at all) but for organic spend it’s not bad.
  
  You’ll probably get tempted into trading crypto and lose more than your cryptoback gains in day trading losses.
- Rich says:
  
  25 May25 May 12:03
  
  Many questions. What do you get? BTC? Another currency? A basket of currencies? Some weird thing which isn’t really BTC but is tied to its price (like Revolut) and can only be exchanged through the company who’s offering it to you? What rate, and what’s the spread? Will you ever get anything tangible out of it, or if it just numbers on a screen?
  
  For sure if you have a transaction that won’t earn anything elsewhere, then I suppose you have nothing to lose. Quite possibly nothing to gain either…
  
  No way in a million years would I ‘invest’ £300!
- the_real_a says:
  
  25 May25 May 12:11
  
  Dont you get the 1% back in the cards own Crypto token? Its like a giant ponzi scheme – the more card users use the card the more the “value” of the socially useless token is pushed up. And then you dont get to cash out for 6 months (watching your pointless token deteriorate in value). As with all ponzi schemes, those getting in early profit and make all the social media noise.
  
  Having said that, If there is no capital investment only opportunity cost downside.
- Joe says:
  
  25 May25 May 13:15
  
  Don’t forget that each time you spend on it, you make a capital gain or loss – all of which reportable for CGT purposes!
Patrick Cold says:

25 May25 May 12:07

I`ve just been sent a 500 bonus point promo code from Virgin Red that doesn`t work!
- Mzb says:
  
  25 May25 May 12:24
  
  Same here
- BJ says:
  
  25 May25 May 12:38
  
  My partner and I just got ours too, worked fine.
- Craig says:
  
  25 May25 May 13:02
  
  Same, not working.
- Craig says:
  
  25 May25 May 13:56
  
  Confirmed by Virgin Red on Twitter it’s a mistake. Duplicate codes for those of us who had the 500 point sign up bonus.
  - Patrick Cold says:
    
    25 May25 May 17:19
    
    Thank you. Hard to believe there`s been an error by Virgin but there we are.
Tim says:

25 May25 May 12:12

Never booked a BA Holiday before. Interested in this new double tier points offer. If you book Trav + hotel for Europe trip (ie. 160TP route like Greek islands) will a pro-active online upgrade be offered just like when booking a ticket only?
- AJA says:
  
  25 May25 May 13:10
  
  I have never done that with a BAH. I just book the Club cabin in the first place. I think you can upgrade from economy (depending on the booking class of the underlying airfare) to business but don’t know whether BA offers an upgrade in the same way as it does with flights.
  - Tim says:
    
    25 May25 May 15:51
    
    Very often POUGs offer hundreds of pounds savings on just booking directly into Club. Granted it’s not all the time. But peak to Greek Islands or Canaries can be a good way to maximise double TPs. Just need to know if they’re offered!
    - AJA says:
      
      25 May25 May 16:05
      
      Yes I know. Have done it on flight alone. Never tried with a BAH booking.
- Jonathan says:
  
  25 May25 May 17:51
  
  99% sure BAH don’t get POUG’s. Same as other complex bookings eg. multi carrier, connections etc.
  There’s also a limit to the number of times they will let you POUG.
  Lots more info on FlyerTalk.
Benilyn says:

25 May25 May 12:53

Anyone have the IHG UK Free Night url – thanks.
David says:

25 May25 May 13:05

Any recommendations for a night away next Sunday? 1.5/2 hours from London, £150 or so (or points equivalent).
- David says:
  
  25 May25 May 13:16
  
  Considering Abbey Hotel Bath or University Arms Cambridge (Marriott plat).
  - Memesweeper says:
    
    25 May25 May 14:06
    
    Both excellent choices 😊
  - mark2 says:
    
    25 May25 May 15:22
    
    +1 for UA
- The Savage Squirrel says:
  
  25 May25 May 14:05
  
  York is under 2 hours by nonstop train. £150 on a Sunday night goes a long way. Hotel du vin there is very pleasant and within budget. You might even squeeze into the Grand for this on a Sunday night. Or for points and a very central location try the brand spanking new Hampton on Piccadilly that opened this week I believe.
  - Super Secret Stuff says:
    
    25 May25 May 14:50
    
    Covid prices mean you might be able to afford the Holiday Inn last time I looked
    - meta says:
      
      25 May25 May 15:43
      
      Check hotels on Amex offers. There are several going around – Hotel du Vin, Red Carnation, Handpicked hotels,…
      - Super Secret Stuff says:
        
        25 May25 May 16:37
        
        None of which apply when you spend £150 or under….
    - The Savage Squirrel says:
      
      25 May25 May 16:52
      
      “Covid prices mean you might be able to afford the Holiday Inn last time I looked”
      
      Look a bit harder ;). Midmarket options are under £80 that night including the Doubletree and the Park Inn (tired but nice river views) in chainland, As you mentioned it … the Holiday Inn in the centre is £68 and the skanky one near the Knavesmire is under £60 😛
    - DarrenS says:
      
      25 May25 May 17:32
      
      In my experience Sunday prices in Youk are much lower than Fri/Sat.
- David says:
  
  25 May25 May 21:41
  
  Thanks everyone. Booked Cambridge. 25k points is good value. Now q is to use an SNA or see what upgrades are offered.
  - MKB says:
    
    26 May26 May 00:28
    
    As Titanium, I got one category upgrade from base room. Using an SNA on my next stay, I got a park-view suite. YMMV
Ja says:

25 May25 May 13:12

Just received the email from BA about double tier points. So I started thinking and confused myself.

I’m BA gold and my year finishes 8 July. So I know I’m ok until July 22 as they ‘extended’ it. However, how many points do I have to earn July 21/July 22 to retain gold?. Is it 1125 or 1500?. Thanks
- Andrew says:
  
  25 May25 May 14:19
  
  It says on you exec club page or on the app
  - Ja says:
    
    25 May25 May 14:33
    
    That’s for 20/21 not for 21/22!as I understand it
    - WaynedP says:
      
      25 May25 May 18:10
      
      It’s poorly worded by BA, so open to interpretation.
      
      “we’ve continued to reduce the amount of Tier Points needed to reach each Tier by 25% for those aiming to reach a tier up to June 2022” appears on the BA website at
      https://www.britishairways.com/en-gb/executive-club/tiers-and-benefits
      
      A pessimistic interpretation would be that it only applies to Tier Years ending 8 June 2022, and if your Tier Year ends any later than that, you will have to earn the full, unreduced TPs.
      
      But the last FAQ at the very bottom of that webpage reads:
      “What measures are in place for memberships expiring in 2022 ?
      As per the explanation at the beginning of the FAQ section, we decreased the amount of Tier Points needed by 25% for members upgrading to higher Tiers until 30 June 2022. This is the same for upgrades thresholds too, making that next Tier more achievable.”
      
      The fact that the FAQ isn’t limited to memberships expiring “on or before June 2022” (but rather seems to imply inclusion of the entire 2022 calendar year) and more pointedly mentions 30 June 2022 (not 8 June 2022) leads me to believe that you would stand a good chance of arguing that the T&Cs allow you to upgrade to Gold provided you earn 1125 TPs and 4 flights on BA metal between 8 July 2021 and 30 June 2022 in your case.
      
      But it may be one of those things that can only be put to the test in practice to see what happens in reality. Even if you query it with BA, I wouldn’t be surprised if you get contradictory replies depending on who you contact, leaving you none the wiser.
      - WaynedP says:
        
        25 May25 May 18:14
        
        *allow you to RETAIN Gold* (into 2022/23 Tier Year)
Joe says:

25 May25 May 13:17

Data point. New Virgin+ CC – credit limit £14k. So I needn’t have worried about them giving out skinny limits !