The HfP chat thread – Thursday 27th May

Links on Head for Points may pay us an affiliate commission. A list of partners is here.

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.

Category

General

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

Phil says:

27 May27 May 11:08

This has probably been mentioned but Laithwaites are offering £40 off and free delivery for new customers, easily found if you search for “Laithwaites Discount Codes” on Google. This stacks well with the Amex Laithwaites offer of Spend £120 get 30% back. In addition, Laithwaites have some discounts on cases of wine. I was able to put together 24 bottles for £161, with all the discounts in works out at £3.53 a bottle.
- SteveJ says:
  
  27 May27 May 11:38
  
  Amazing, thanks for sharing! TBH I was ignoring the offer I had on the card, but this changes the economics 👍
- GaryE says:
  
  27 May27 May 13:51
  
  Different offer on my Platinum card £25 off £100 spent – plus the voucher £40 off new customers works out if you spend £140 will cost £75 inc free delivery.
John says:

27 May27 May 11:10

Well worth reading if you’re considering heading to Scotland (and even if you’re not).

https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/scotland-is-open-and-desperate-for-english-tourists
- WaynedP says:
  
  27 May27 May 11:26
  
  Come back, Sassenachs ! (Nearly) all is forgiven 🙂 🙂
  - Anna says:
    
    27 May27 May 12:00
    
    But not if you are a leper from in a town starting with the letter B 🤣
    - Chris Heyes says:
      
      27 May27 May 12:04
      
      Anna you mean Bognor ! lol
    - The cyclist says:
      
      27 May27 May 13:14
      
      Blackburn , Blackpool and Burnley are all infinitely worse than Bolton which is quite nice in comparison IMHO
      - Anna says:
        
        27 May27 May 13:22
        
        I’ve lived and/or worked in all of them, there’s not much between them.
        
        Blackpool is not on Nicola’s naughty list so folk from all the above towns will probably be mixing freely with Scots as we speak!
- stevenhp1987 says:
  
  27 May27 May 12:05
  
  Spent a week in Scotland the first week of May.
  
  Everything was empty. Was great to photos of castles etc. with no-one else in the way!
- Dave says:
  
  27 May27 May 13:14
  
  Remember that Glasgow is still under extra restrictions and has been for 269 days now.
  The Scottish vaccine rollout is lagging behind all other nations in the UK. Half of vaccine appointments in Glasgow are no shows. In Scotland we cannot book our own jab but instead have to wait for a letter in the post, with many letters going to wrong addresses. I’m almost 40 yet can’t get my jab yet.
  I’d wait off visiting the area for a few months yet.
  - Anna says:
    
    27 May27 May 13:24
    
    Dave, if you can get to Bolton or Blackburn undetected you can just turn up at one the surge vaccination clinics and get jabbed! The irony would be delicious.
    - Phil says:
      
      27 May27 May 15:50
      
      Actually I wouldn’t recommend that. I looked into it but was advised that my NHS number wouldn’t track a vaccine taken in England when it came to booking a second jab or obtaining a vaccine passport in Scotland. This Scottish Government is an absolute shambles, though tbf so is the UK government on almost every count except the vaccine rollout!
      - Tracey says:
        
        27 May27 May 16:37
        
        Given that I have seen patients arrive for their second vaccine in England, where they had their first in North Cyprus, Ireland, Barbados and America, I find it unlikely that you couldn’t be booked in for your second in Scotland, having had your first in England. It may well be that the appointment would need to be booked in by your surgery rather than the national booking system and there may well be some delay in getting a vaccine passport – but it must be possible to complete your vaccine course, which is the priority.
  - Andrew says:
    
    27 May27 May 13:39
    
    There’s been a few stories about this. Seems to be rather a lot of ghost patients.
    
    Perhaps ghost voters too?
    - Dave says:
      
      27 May27 May 16:00
      
      My wife got her appointment in the post. The only way to change the date/time was to phone up. She then found out she was 800 odd in the queue! She gave up trying. The Scottish system is an absolute shambles.
      No doubt Sturgeon will soon claim they’ve ‘offered’ everyone the vaccine
      - Peggerz says:
        
        28 May28 May 00:04
        
        Not true. I did it online. Very easy.
    - ChrisC says:
      
      27 May27 May 18:46
      
      Ghost patients are still real people. They just don’t live at the address their GP has for them hence the returned mail.
      
      The rate can be high in areas with a lot of residential turnover – university towns with students and where people are on short term lets.
      
      As a former GP practice manager we’d regularly get our letters inviting patients for vaccinations or various health checks returned with ‘gone away’ written on them and then there was a process to take them off the list. And that was before the NHS did similar list checking exercises.
      
      The electoral register is more accurate because of the annual process of people having to confirm their addresses
  - Sandra says:
    
    27 May27 May 17:09
    
    Our daughter has just finished year 2 at Glasgow uni & now been told to register but if letters go out over summer when she, like many of her friends, is unlikely to be there it will be missed. As she lives near the SSE Hydro I’ve suggested she just turns up & asks since I assume they have to do something with the thousands that aren’t being used due to the no shows but she’s reluctant to do that. The planning is badly thought out!
JDB says:

27 May27 May 11:17

Can’t believe the Curve crowdfunding (closing today) has raised £8.7m from c. 10,000 investors vs the £1m target. The new shares are not EIS eligible and without voting rights, pre-emption rights on an issuance of shares and ROFR (Right of First Refusal) on a transfer of shares.
- mr_jetlag says:
  
  27 May27 May 12:58
  
  fomo, one born every minute etc…
- the_real_a says:
  
  27 May27 May 13:34
  
  Most have thrown in £10- 50 for fun…
- Tariq says:
  
  27 May27 May 18:19
  
  And now Curve are spending it on increasing the referral bonus!
David D says:

27 May27 May 11:18

I’m fairly new to hotel loyalty schemes – are there ever any sign up offers/deals for new members across the schemes to potentially look out for this year?
- Travel Strong says:
  
  27 May27 May 11:39
  
  New starter things to look out for:-
  – Status matches from any other type of loyalty scheme if you have status in anything else – e.g. another hotel or even airline status
  – Status challenges if you are planning a lot of nights in the next few months
  – Status effectively purchased through things like credit cards (lots of different options here)
  
  There are articles on this site which tell you what each loyalty scheme offers, but probably the most important thing is targetting the right chain for what is important to you as far as the hotels themselves. E.g. cost? Location? breakfast? gym?
  
  In terms of current offers – most schemes have cut the stay requirements right now, so easier to build status by staying.
- Harry T says:
  
  27 May27 May 12:47
  
  It’s worth looking around because the major chains often give you some kind of free night or extra points if you sign up for the first time via a special link. I’m unsure what is currently being offered though.
- BuilBackBetter says:
  
  27 May27 May 13:11
  
  Marriott usually offers one night free after first two stays
- Lou says:
  
  27 May27 May 13:41
  
  Also Hilton offering Gold in 4 stays within 90 days if you’re an athlete/administrator in a sports club
Jan M says:

27 May27 May 11:49

Anyone knows whether it is possible to renew the TAP status match? I only managed to use it twice this past year. (And that was with Lufthansa, not even TAP itself.) Wouldn’t mind paying a second time of necessary.
Shub says:

27 May27 May 12:12

VA Companion vouchers – Used my companion voucher to book a return flight in Upper class as a Red member for 1 adult and 1 child and they charged me the points for only 1 Adult. I was expecting a 50% Discount on miles for 2nd ticket. Not sure if I just got lucky or if there’s a change of rule.
David says:

27 May27 May 12:28

With a virgin upgrade voucher ( given due to a flight cancellation) does there have to be reward availability ? Is there an idiots guide somewhere ?
- Gary says:
  
  27 May27 May 12:41
  
  Yes in the cabin you want to travel in whether paying with cash or miles.
  https://hfp2022.headforpoints.blog/2020/08/20/how-to-virgin-atlantic-credit-card-vouchers-work/
  - David says:
    
    27 May27 May 12:47
    
    Thanks !
Rich says:

27 May27 May 12:48

Any experience bidding for upgrades on TAP short haul? I’m flying on an a Embraer operated by Portugalia, so not expecting anything much from the seat, but I may need to add a checked bag to my basic economy fare anyway, so could be worth it. LIS-MAN
- Pete M says:
  
  27 May27 May 14:00
  
  The cheapest starting bid I have seen was EUR150 (BER-LIS), which is crazy IMHO!
- Rich says:
  
  27 May27 May 14:28
  
  Wow. I have zero interest at that sort of price!