The HfP chat thread – Friday 4th June

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Steve says:

4 Jun4 June 09:46

I got approved for a new Amex Platinum last week, and apparently it was mailed out on Tuesday but has yet to arrive, so I think there’s a decent chance it’s gone missing. Meanwhile I really want to pull the trigger on booking some expensive flights on BA, and I would like to have the travel insurance coverage (and obviously the spend).

I don’t want to wait too long in case prices go up – is there any trick I’m missing with booking them now on another card, and then cancelling and rebooking on the Amex when it shows up, if prices haven’t gone up? Or will that be a big pain?
- Andrew says:
  
  4 Jun4 June 09:51
  
  As long as you book on an Amex card account in your name (issued by Amex not a third party) you’re covered. So you can book on say the BA Amex and still be covered by Platinum insurance as long as you hold the Platinum card.
  - Steve says:
    
    4 Jun4 June 10:07
    
    I don’t have any other UK issued Amex cards, but I do have US issued cards (dual nationality) – do you know if that would work (or where I could check)? I looked on https://origin-gem2.americanexpress.com/content/dam/amex/uk/benefits/UK-Platinum-insurance-documentation-July20.pdf and e.g. on p9 it seems to say that the Platinum card must be used.
- Genghis says:
  
  4 Jun4 June 09:56
  
  An option could be to hold the BA flights for 72 hours for the £5 / £10 fee (refundable when booked) if you actually want to spend on the Plat but also lock in the price. At least it buys you a bit more time to get the card.
  - Steve says:
    
    4 Jun4 June 10:08
    
    Ah, that sounds useful, thanks!
    - Harry T says:
      
      4 Jun4 June 10:13
      
      And you could also ring Amex and ask them to expedite sending a replacement card.
- ChrisC says:
  
  4 Jun4 June 10:29
  
  Not sure of the rules but does all the cost have to be on THE AMEX?
  
  Could Steve not book this as a BA holiday (adding in only a nights hotel say at LHR the night before departure) in order to lock in the flights for a deposit only then pay the balance closer to departure on his AMEX?
- Chris Heyes says:
  
  4 Jun4 June 13:41
  
  Steve Ring Amex, when my Amex went missing on a Friday (Lost/Stolen)
  A driver pulled up and hand-delivered a new one on the Monday (this was 2 years ago)
Jack says:

4 Jun4 June 09:48

Interesting announcement from United yesterday evening. They’re planning on reintroducing supersonic flights

https://www.washingtonpost.com/transportation/2021/06/03/united-boom-supersonic/
- Rhys says:
  
  4 Jun4 June 09:58
  
  …first passenger flights in 2029.
  
  And how many airline orders did Concorde have originally?…it was more than just BA & AF!
  - Jack says:
    
    4 Jun4 June 10:18
    
    A little over 100 options to order Concords were created from memory.
    
    Nevertheless the entire commercial landscape has completely changed since then, obviously United see it as being somewhat feasible
  - Ls says:
    
    4 Jun4 June 13:51
    
    There was a Singapore one I remember.
    - Bob says:
      
      4 Jun4 June 18:54
      
      Was a British Airways one.
      
      On one side the BA colors, on the other the SIA ones, but the plane was owned by BA.
- BuildBackBetter says:
  
  4 Jun4 June 10:30
  
  Costs have to come down substantially before it can become feasible.
  If it has significantly reduced emissions, can see government subsidies making it viable, like electric cars.
  - Rhys says:
    
    4 Jun4 June 14:05
    
    Hard to see how supersonic transport can have reduced emissions vs slower planes. This is true in the ground or on the air – law of diminishing returns & increasing air resistance!
    
    Any improvements in emissions achieved on SST will likely also apply to slower planes.
- Lady London says:
  
  4 Jun4 June 11:33
  
  literally pie in the sky. a puff piece to make them look good. 2029 is a very long time away in this sort of context.
  - TGLoyalty says:
    
    4 Jun4 June 16:35
    
    I suspect it’s not when it comes to the development process for a supersonic jet.
Simon says:

4 Jun4 June 09:51

AAdvantage Spin The Globe game • I was curious if anyone had yet received their points for playing this game?

(I appreciate that this was intended for US residents, but sometimes these things slip through the net and so I just wondered whether anyone might have been lucky yet? Royaume Uni. nul points so far at this end.)
- meta says:
  
  4 Jun4 June 09:54
  
  Officially the terms said 6-8 weeks. So end of June/early July.
  - Simon says:
    
    4 Jun4 June 13:32
    
    Thanks, Meta. Let’s see then. 🙂
- bafan says:
  
  4 Jun4 June 09:57
  
  I did a shopping bonus challenge in April for the AAdvantage store and I just got the email this morning about this bonus miles finally posting. They really do seem to wait for the last possible minute on these types of things.
- Blair says:
  
  4 Jun4 June 10:03
  
  Nothing yet. I did a similar one around New Year that posted a month later so I remain hopeful.
  - Pete M says:
    
    4 Jun4 June 10:56
    
    Had 500 miles randomly appear yesterday – have a feeling I may have won that in Spin The Globe, but not sure…!
    - meta says:
      
      4 Jun4 June 11:42
      
      There was not 500 miles option on Spin The Globe, only 400.
      - JP says:
        
        4 Jun4 June 14:24
        
        I don’t have any points yet, but I did get the miles expiry extension for playing the game. Although that was only supposed to be from July to September but has been extended to April 2022 now on two accounts,.
idontfly says:

4 Jun4 June 10:04

I booked a Randox green country pack but wont be leaving Portugal until after it turns Amber. Has anyone had any luck getting them to swap to a 2 day and 8 day? Currently any recommendations for the cheapest 5 day test and release? Many Thanks
- Joe says:
  
  4 Jun4 June 10:16
  
  You can book a separate Day 8 test on the Randox website, to add to your Day 2 one.
  - meta says:
    
    4 Jun4 June 10:28
    
    There was a banner on top of the page last night to click on for those who need to change.
    - idontfly says:
      
      4 Jun4 June 11:06
      
      Thank you, I think the issue is that we dont get the discount, so it will cost £120 instead of an additional £60 as it where. Many thanks for the tips @joe and @meta
      - Louise K says:
        
        4 Jun4 June 12:55
        
        They are very good at replying to emails if you reach out to them.
bafan says:

4 Jun4 June 10:12

BA are offering free rebooking on Funchal, and moved the flights back to London to much later on Monday (I think they were early-ish). Tempted to do a 2 night city break at this point and beat the deadline.
Alex M says:

4 Jun4 June 10:15

Quick one: if I book RFS for XXX avios and 1£, will it cost just 1£ to cancel the flight or will BA want 17.50£ from me?
Thx!
- ChrisC says:
  
  4 Jun4 June 10:20
  
  the £1
  
  but remember you can cancel for an FTV to retain the £1!
Anna says:

4 Jun4 June 10:22

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9651453/Michael-Gove-AVOIDS-quarantine-Champions-League-Covid-alert-joining-testing-pilot-scheme.html

Apologies to those of you who get distressed at any mention of the DM but I can’t find another comprehensive account of this story! @meta flagged it up earlier, but it’s worth looking at the details – if this pilot is rolled out to all workplaces the government can’t justify continuing to insist on quarantine AND expensive PCR tests for people returning from holiday. (Though they probably will because it makes money for their mates).
- meta says:
  
  4 Jun4 June 10:29
  
  I saw it on Sky News.
  - Anna says:
    
    4 Jun4 June 10:42
    
    Sorry @meta, I wasn’t suggesting you read the DM 🤣The news channels only seem to have an abbreviated version – there is quite a lot of detail in this article, though of course there’s guarantee it’s 100% accurate!
- ChrisC says:
  
  4 Jun4 June 10:43
  
  Aunty might be more palatable to some!
  
  https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-57355599
  
  But to be honest the last person you want on this sort of test is a senior cabinet minsister because of the risk of who else they could expose to the virus and the harm that could pose to the functioning of the government.
  - meta says:
    
    4 Jun4 June 10:53
    
    @Anna I do read it sometimes to check what other side thinks/reads😂
    
    @ChrisC It’s apparently also a scheme only for government ministers. Very scientific, not!
    
    Next, in a few weeks time, we’ll find out that those on the pilot scheme were actually allowed to travel to amber countries and not required to self-isolate…
  - Anna says:
    
    4 Jun4 June 11:29
    
    I did check the BBC but again it’s a much shorter account! One risks missing the bigger picture if one completely excludes specific media outlets. And of course as meta says, it can be useful to know what the other side is thinking!
- TGLoyalty says:
  
  4 Jun4 June 13:53
  
  This “pilot” has been going on for about 2 months ..
BuildBackBetter says:

4 Jun4 June 10:34

Is it possible to book rooms for others using Amex FHR or Virtuoso and prepay before check-in? Would like to book a premium hotel stay for parents but dont want them to pay using their credit card.
- Benilyn says:
  
  4 Jun4 June 10:42
  
  Not sure, but you could always give them a supplementary card to pay for it as an alternative if you can not.
- Diydegsy says:
  
  4 Jun4 June 10:44
  
  Hi yes it is through Emyr I booked Park Hyatt Auckland for a friend and he sent me a pre paid form for the hotel which I only had to pay 48 hours before the stay, he was very efficient.
- Anna says:
  
  4 Jun4 June 10:46
  
  I’m sure you could negotiate this with the hotel, but they will want a card to guarantee any incidentals as well. Emyr does take card details, so it may be possible to ask the hotel to charge everything to that.
  
  Sort of connected, when I got my final bill at the Kimpton Fitzroy there was no mention of the $100 credit, and a few items were missing. I asked about this and they said they had automatically deducted F & B charges up to the $100 but it seems odd that the bill wasn’t fully itemised and the $100 then deducted.
  - Rob says:
    
    4 Jun4 June 11:10
    
    This is normal. Amex FHR credit is processed the same way.
    - Anna says:
      
      4 Jun4 June 11:30
      
      Lol thanks, I will know next time! It was the first time an Emyr booking had actually gone ahead …
- Rob says:
  
  4 Jun4 June 11:11
  
  Amex FHR now allows prepay but Amex processes it, not the hotel, and when the cardholder fails to show they may get grumpy.
- Harry T says:
  
  4 Jun4 June 11:39
  
  I reckon Emyr would be able to do this for you. He can send a secure form to take card details. He can also liaise with hotels to smooth out the details.
  - KBuffett says:
    
    4 Jun4 June 12:17
    
    I have £1200 on credit at Corinthia and haven’t stayed yet. I wanted to avail of AmEx offers across multiple cards and Corinthia were happy to hold it on account. Booking was via Emyr.