The HfP chat thread – Saturday 5th June

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Craig says:

5 Jun5 June 08:16

Has anyone had the Amex credit for Economist offer yet?
- Andy says:
  
  5 Jun5 June 08:32
  
  No and I haven’t had the email to say I’ve used my offer yet
  - Craig says:
    
    5 Jun5 June 09:50
    
    I haven’t had an email for the last few, they have though appeared on the website under savings a good few days before the credit posted.
Tazzy says:

5 Jun5 June 08:25

Any hotel recommendations for Jersey? I have no abandoned all hope of getting outside the U.K. before late august!
- Yuff says:
  
  5 Jun5 June 08:33
  
  Longueville Manor
  Great location for St Helier and relais & chateaux
  Offer on Amex as well
- Tracey says:
  
  5 Jun5 June 08:56
  
  Pomme D’Or in St Helier is a reasonable hotel in a great position.
  - TJ says:
    
    5 Jun5 June 10:37
    
    I believe Longueville Manor is actually part of the the Relais & Châteaux Amex deal. Couldn’t find The Atlantic on the SLH list which is a shame.
    - Rob says:
      
      5 Jun5 June 11:08
      
      Correct, sorry.
  - Tazzy says:
    
    5 Jun5 June 13:57
    
    Thanks Rob. It’s not coming up as a participating hotel on my offer?
    - Rob says:
      
      5 Jun5 June 14:07
      
      Ah ok. Didn’t check the list before making the comment. Sorry.
- E says:
  
  5 Jun5 June 09:46
  
  Hope you get to Jersey but it’s not part of the UK. It’s a Crown dependency and part of the British Isles.
- Guernsey Globetrotter says:
  
  5 Jun5 June 15:18
  
  The Radisson Blu in St Helier is quite decent too – next to the marina so in a nice seaside setting. A little (5-10 minute) walk to the start of the main ‘town’ areas. Also near to the waterpark / cinema complex if you have kids with you 🙂
- George1976 says:
  
  5 Jun5 June 18:29
  
  Check their red list before booking
Lisa says:

5 Jun5 June 08:35

Are there any good non curve options to pay a tax bill?
- Ian M says:
  
  5 Jun5 June 08:40
  
  There’s BillHop but they charge a fee
- Pid says:
  
  5 Jun5 June 08:55
  
  Do you have the old Tesco debit card, although it is no longer available for new customers.
  - WillPS says:
    
    5 Jun5 June 10:16
    
    Clubcard Pay works the same in this regard.
    - Reney says:
      
      5 Jun5 June 11:57
      
      WillPS have you actually tried this? It has been asked a few times over the past few weeks but don’t recall anyone actually tried it and earned points.
- Reney says:
  
  5 Jun5 June 11:56
  
  Che+ Sohill paid off straight away *in theory* should work
james says:

5 Jun5 June 08:36

Got a real shock when I checked car rental prices for a September trip to the USA, massive supply and demand issue with prices 300% of what they would normally be.
Anyone got any suggestions? I am also looking at the Turo service which seems a bit cheaper but of course you are not getting new vehciles
- Anna says:
  
  5 Jun5 June 08:47
  
  I got a 7 seater for £450 ish for 2 weeks in August at MIA via ba.com, everything else was at least £200 more. I’m going to be cancelling for a voucher but the plan was to ask if there was anything a bit smaller when we got there!
  - james says:
    
    5 Jun5 June 08:54
    
    I think now that 7 seater would be £450 for 3 days !!
    
    And if the tourist market opens up even more.
- Louise K says:
  
  5 Jun5 June 09:09
  
  Try renting from a city location rather than airport sometimes that works out better.
  
  Have you looked at Expedia? Costco if you are a member and HappyTours?
  - DarrenS says:
    
    5 Jun5 June 12:14
    
    I have just booked a 8 day rental in Valencia. Railway station office £300 less than the airport.
- Jimbob says:
  
  5 Jun5 June 10:40
  
  Try Virgin holidays for a rental car quote, lots of reports on other forums that they are currently one of the cheaper options
  - james says:
    
    5 Jun5 June 16:01
    
    I tried Hertz through Virgin Atlantic and the quote was $3539 for ten days,, LOL
Ian M says:

5 Jun5 June 08:42

Good morning all,

Do you still have to book the day 2 and day 8 tests if you’re only going to be staying in England for 5 days?
- Anna says:
  
  5 Jun5 June 08:47
  
  I think you do, you have to prove you’ve paid for them before you can get back in the country.
  - Rob says:
    
    5 Jun5 June 09:07
    
    Yes, references numbers must be put on your Passenger Locator Form.
- Tracey says:
  
  5 Jun5 June 08:55
  
  Some suppliers will allow you to book the 2 day test only.
  - Anna says:
    
    5 Jun5 June 08:56
    
    That’s interesting – can you do this if you’re planning to do the day 5 test to release?
    - Ian M says:
      
      5 Jun5 June 08:58
      
      I’ve just read that you must take the day 8 test even if you use the test to release option and have a negative test on day 5: “Even if you get a negative result from your Test to Release and can end quarantine, you still need to take a test on or after day 8 to check that you do not have COVID-19.”
      
      https://www.gov.uk/guidance/how-to-quarantine-when-you-arrive-in-england#testing-in-quarantine
      - Anna says:
        
        5 Jun5 June 09:03
        
        This really is a colossal cash cow, isn’t it?!
        If this workplace “pilot” currently being exploited by Michael Gove so he doesn’t have to isolate (unlike all the other football fans) is a success, they will need a very good explanation for not dropping the PCR test and isolation requirement and allowing everyone to take a daily lateral flow test instead.
      - kitten says:
        
        5 Jun5 June 09:40
        
        Gotta ensure they leave no door open to someone not paying their full fine/graft amount for friends of govt
  - Ian M says:
    
    5 Jun5 June 09:00
    
    That’s interesting thanks.
    
    But reading through the rules for ‘Quarantine and testing if you’ve been in an amber list country’, it doesn’t seem to mention anywhere that you’re allowed to leave your place of quarantine to leave the country.. Is this no longer allowed?
    
    https://www.gov.uk/guidance/how-to-quarantine-when-you-arrive-in-england
    - Rob says:
      
      5 Jun5 June 09:03
      
      The Government can’t stop you leaving the country.
  - Ian M says:
    
    5 Jun5 June 09:03
    
    However I’ve just read the rules for if you’re transiting,
    
    If you will be transiting landside through the UK, you need to do the following when you complete your passenger locator form.
    
    – select ‘Stay in the UK’ under the Your travel plans section
    
    – reply ‘No’ to any questions about whether you are required to complete COVID-19 tests on arrival
    
    – reply ‘No’ to the question ‘Have you visited a Red List country within the past 10 days and/or are required by law to quarantine in a government approved facility?’
    
    When you transit through the UK:
    You do not need to quarantine or take a COVID-19 test on arrival or on day 2 and day 8.
    
    This applies if you are transiting ‘airside’ or ‘landside’.
    
    So if you’re transiting landside you don’t need to quarantine or book day 2 & 8 tests.. But what’s the government definition of transiting? It doesn’t say how soon after arriving your next flight must be
    - Anna says:
      
      5 Jun5 June 09:09
      
      I would interpret transiting as not leaving the airport, to be honest, but obviously have no idea what would happen if you did!!
      - Ian M says:
        
        5 Jun5 June 09:12
        
        Your outbound flight could be from a different airport though. I guess to be transiting you’d definitely also need to be flying onward to a different country (not the one you flew in from).
    - TJ says:
      
      5 Jun5 June 10:54
      
      Passing through a UK airport while on the way to another country is called ‘transiting’
      
      https://www.gov.uk/uk-border-control/layovers-and-transiting
Zoe P says:

5 Jun5 June 08:54

For anyone interested: Dominican Republic have changed entry requirements again. Now they don’t require negative PCR for entry. The requirement to have one lasted 5 days. Our vaccination rates changed their minds.
Anna says:

5 Jun5 June 09:00

I thought I’d try and call BA to cancel my MIA flights but have obviously got up a bit late and presume I am now in a massive queue. I also need to get a FTV for a car hire booking but MMB says I have to call for that as well! It continually baffles me that they continue to make so much extra work for their CSAs (not to mention the frustration for customers) but not reinstating the facility to cancel online.
- Louise K says:
  
  5 Jun5 June 09:10
  
  If you have a Twitter account the team there will cancel for you.
- Ash says:
  
  5 Jun5 June 10:47
  
  I don’t think they want to make it that easy to cancel when they know people are booking multiple holidays that they don’t intend on taking
  - Anna says:
    
    5 Jun5 June 10:51
    
    This has been the case for over 12 months now, Ash, check your facts before making snide comments!
  - Lady London says:
    
    5 Jun5 June 10:57
    
    …just as till very recently at least, British Airways appeared to be still offering and taking money for many, many flights any fool could see were not going to take place. However still selling them.
    
    I’ll be kind to BA and say they have suffered the same uncertainty as all of us and may not have had enough resources to cancel flights ahead promptly when the fate of those flights was very much clear … but we’re all trying to do our best just as British Airways is.
Benilyn says:

5 Jun5 June 09:00

First time parent question… baby cribs provided by hotel… should I ever be worried they won’t have any left at check-in? I know it feels like a how long is a piece of string question, just feeling a bit antsy travelling with a new born.

Also any other tips for baby hotel stays welcome 🤗
- Rob says:
  
  5 Jun5 June 09:04
  
  Yes, you should be worried – because obviously they don’t have unlimited supplies. You need to flag it in advance.
- Anna says:
  
  5 Jun5 June 09:06
  
  I’m assuming you’ve contacted the hotel and asked them to add the request to your booking, in which case you should be fine.
  
  It depends how old the baby is re the tips!
- Genghis says:
  
  5 Jun5 June 09:20
  
  Tell the hotel in advance. MAMS Middleton Lodge made up a nice little bed for my son last weekend but of course he just wanted to sleep with us in our big bed.
  - Nick G says:
    
    5 Jun5 June 10:38
    
    I assume your son isn’t a baby? If so you should never sleep in a bed with a baby it’s a recipe for a lifetime of pain.
    - Genghis says:
      
      5 Jun5 June 10:55
      
      No longer a baby. I know.
      - Nick G says:
        
        5 Jun5 June 11:24
        
        I only say it out respect sadly it still happens more than you think….back to collecting points and trying to use them!
- BuildBackBetter says:
  
  5 Jun5 June 09:22
  
  Check in as early as possible. Even if room isn’t ready, just drop off your bags and check in as hotels usually provide them on first come first serve basis.
- Benilyn says:
  
  5 Jun5 June 09:40
  
  Yes I flagged in advance on booking, email and call!
  
  LO is coming up to 3 months!
- Michael C says:
  
  5 Jun5 June 10:09
  
  My tip is don’t book into the Nautilus Miami Beach with its white linen and carpets theme if your baby has a dodgy stomach!!
- Memesweeper says:
  
  5 Jun5 June 10:09
  
  We used to carry our own pop up one. Very small and light, and great for sleeper trains, and poorly equipped hotels.
- A says:
  
  5 Jun5 June 10:13
  
  Let hotel know in advance and you’ll be fine. Don’t stress even if they don’t have – worst comes to worst little one can always sleep in your bed for a night while you/hotel source an alternative (suboptimal but still a solution)
- John says:
  
  5 Jun5 June 10:37
  
  We used the Phil and Teds travel cot. It’s super-light (so manageable when carrying around airports, train stations etc) and means you don’t have to worry or mess around with cribs provided by accommodation.
  
  Are you flying long-haul? If so, embrace the jet lag – your baby will adjust on their terms, so find ways to make the most of their schedule. For example, in Singapore we were able to stay out nice and late, because my son was still on UK time.
- A says:
  
  5 Jun5 June 10:48
  
  Also Turkey and the Seychelles are great places to visit because the time difference means if your kids normally go to bed at 7 UK they go to bed at a sensible time local time if you keep them on UK time
- Michael C says:
  
  5 Jun5 June 13:51
  
  Also: many airports have “family security”: might not be faster, but avoids all the huffs and tuts behind you!
  -Yoyo pushchair: collapses to a size that fits into one of those carry-on bag size testers.
  - Doug M says:
    
    5 Jun5 June 20:29
    
    Manchester has this, they call it Fast Track 🙂
- Toby says:
  
  5 Jun5 June 14:00
  
  Yes, be worried! We ended up buying a babyBjorn travel cot which took the stress out if it. Well worth the money as it removed stress, and our son was comfortable as he knew what he’d be sleeping in. Easily paid for itself on a long trip around Japan when he was 6 months. He still uses it when we travel and he’s over 2 and a half!
  - The Savage Squirrel says:
    
    5 Jun5 June 16:24
    
    +1 that a lightweight pop-up travel cot removees all worry from the equation.
- The Savage Squirrel says:
  
  5 Jun5 June 16:29
  
  Other baby tips …
  Just ask the staff nicely for anything you need; lots of people travel with kids so they’re often very able to help.
  Main one; provided you’re being a considerate parent trying their best then if anyone tuts or huffs or says anything about baby noise etc then give them the death stare or the middle digit and savour their their annoyance – f**k ’em – if they didn’t want “the public” (with their associated sights and sounds) at the place they stayed then they had the choice to book private accomodation and failed to make it.
- Andy D says:
  
  5 Jun5 June 19:12
  
  We always contacted in advance and our request was always met with a suitable cot or crib. But asking in advance is probably key to success!
  
  I find that hotels are always super nice to parents. It makes a lot of effort go away. As a family we love to stay away.
  
  Our little one is now 2 so likes to crawl into bed with us when we are away.
  - Benilyn says:
    
    5 Jun5 June 19:46
    
    Thanks ball!
    - Benilyn says:
      
      5 Jun5 June 19:46
      
      Thanks All* !