The HfP chat thread – Tuesday 8th June

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Si says:

8 Jun8 June 05:35

Morning all,

I’ve made a large, very speculative IHG booking for April next year (~£2k). Booking is fully refundable without charge until 3 days before the stay. Because of this, can I assume they won’t try to take the money until much nearer the date?

It hasn’t shown up as pending on my card or anything.
- Scott says:
  
  8 Jun8 June 05:53
  
  I find IHG either take the money immediately, at some point or when you check-in or leave.
  Doesn’t seem to get a pattern to it even with stays at the same hotel and being told “your card will be charged immediately” on booking.
  - BJ says:
    
    8 Jun8 June 06:26
    
    Pretty much my experience too. I’ve seen them charged about a week or two before stay also but random charges when least expected seem unusual.
  - SteveJ says:
    
    8 Jun8 June 07:25
    
    +1 don’t assume anything with IHG. The hotel will take money in advance. How much in advance is pure speculation.
- John says:
  
  8 Jun8 June 12:36
  
  For a flexible booking they won’t take money until it becomes non-flexible – I assume they get charged to process and refund a payment. The others replies are talking about prepaid bookings where the hotel chooses when to take the money – it is a manual process sometimes involving the night receptionist typing the card numbers into the card reader…
TokyoFan says:

8 Jun8 June 06:04

Morning all – I asked the other day about the likelihood of BA swapping 2-4-1 vouchers on an existing booking. I rang the silver line yesterday and the very helpful agent did it in seconds with no quibble at all. At pains to stress that this was *only* during the pandemic, but delighted to help!
- Anna says:
  
  8 Jun8 June 06:09
  
  That’s a great result – did they have to cancel and rebook or could they just move the vouchers around (I didn’t know it was possible with BA IT)?
  - TokyoFan says:
    
    8 Jun8 June 07:23
    
    Literally swapped the vouchers in seconds; I could see the longer-life voucher immediately back in my account with a quick log-in/log-out. It didn’t seem to faze her; and was definitely not the first time she’d been asked!
    - Reeferman says:
      
      8 Jun8 June 08:04
      
      I had the same experience. All very quick and no need to cancel/rebook – merely a voucher switch.
      - KBuffett says:
        
        8 Jun8 June 08:38
        
        Can I ask why one would need to do a voucher swap?
      - Anna says:
        
        8 Jun8 June 08:57
        
        I think the OP accidentally applied a newer voucher to a booking and wanted to change it for one with a shorter expiry date.
    - TokyoFan says:
      
      8 Jun8 June 10:05
      
      In response to Anna and KBuffett, it was because I had multiple bookings made in the right order which were then subsequently cancelled leaving me with the remaining (furthest away) booking on the newest voucher and the older vouchers reissued. Quick swap!
Anna says:

8 Jun8 June 06:12

Morning all. Has anyone taken out a travel insurance policy with Staysure? I’ve priced up a couple of quotes for different dates and selected the option to add Foreign Office advising against all but essential travel cover. I then get a message saying this has been added but when I receive the email quote there’s no mention of it whatsoever. I don’t want to go ahead and buy the policy unless it’s definitely included.
- BJ says:
  
  8 Jun8 June 06:32
  
  Check with @Lady the underwriters. Check also if Direct Travel Insurance are offering the same. They, according to Lewis site, are the better travel insurer along with LV.
  - Anna says:
    
    8 Jun8 June 06:49
    
    Thanks BJ – had a quick look at Direct Travel but can’t see a reference to FCDO advice and also the medical screening is a bit OTT (e.g. “have you ever suffered from anxiety”?!!)
    I’m going to call Staysure when they open later. Premiums look pretty reasonable if they do indeed include this cover.
    - WaynedP says:
      
      8 Jun8 June 06:57
      
      Please keep us posted of the outcome, @Anna
      
      Would provide helpful clarity on an issue that I suspect may be around for longer than all of us would ideally want or expect.
      - roberto says:
        
        8 Jun8 June 07:14
        
        Staysure on snapcracklepop.
        I have an expat annual policy with them.
      - Anna says:
        
        8 Jun8 June 09:00
        
        I’ve just phoned but the call centre operator didn’t seem to have much of clue to be honest and just kept wanting to go through all the details of the application which I didn’t have the time or patience for!
        I’m going to wait until the next review and see if FCDO advice changes at that point.
    - JDB says:
      
      8 Jun8 June 08:13
      
      I assume you are travelling in Europe? The FCDO extension with Staysure is annoyingly only Europe. @EvilDoctorK below mentions the Nationwide Flex (Plus) which seems like one of the better mainstream options that cover ‘all but essential’ travel.
    - Lady London says:
      
      8 Jun8 June 10:24
      
      defo volde-sites for Staysure.
      
      and never, ever renew automatically. wait about 3 offers to take one if you want to renew.
      
      Staysure are the only travel insurance company, ever, that has emailed me mid-term demanding I update them on any doctor visits or change/arrival of anything medical that had occurred since the start of the policy and to certify that there had been nothing/no change. I don’t have any particular medical conditions, had declared honestly and I resented this. They sold a policy for a period for a stated risk at a price and I had already “seen off” my motorbike insurers who had sent out a mass update deleting cover for helmet and leathers mid-term.
      
      Even at 25% discount I have not been willing to choose Staysure again since but their rep is they are excellent on accepting existing conditions provided they are notified when the policy is taken.
- EvilDoctorK says:
  
  8 Jun8 June 07:08
  
  I still believe that Nationwide Flex insurance ( bundled with their paid current account ) covers you for the important stuff if travelling to a destination that’s advised against ‘All But Essential’ travel
  
  https://www.nationwide.co.uk/support/travel/important-travel-information
  
  You won’t be covered for Disruption/Cancellation ( I think you’ll struggle to find an insurer that will help with that given current nonsense ) .. but you are covered for the important stuff like medical which is what you really need the insurance for .. In my view the cancellation/disruption stuff isn’t that necessary in the current environment with very flexible booking policies.
  - Anna says:
    
    8 Jun8 June 09:05
    
    Agreed, we could cover our own expenses if we had to return early or lost a phone or whatever, what always concerns me is if one of us was seriously ill and needed repatriating. I’ve not much sympathy with people who don’t get cover then resort to GoFundMe!
    - EvilDoctorK says:
      
      8 Jun8 June 09:33
      
      Yes, but the whole point of what I’m saying is that’s not the case – the important stuff is still covered with Nationwide Flex regardless of the traffic light status or if FCDO advises against ‘All but Essential’
- Erico1875 says:
  
  8 Jun8 June 07:18
  
  Guy from Staysure was on LBC at the weekend.
  Advised current gov cobid restrictions are only advisory and wouldnt affect cover.
  Only travelling outwith FO advice would null your cover.
  At the same time he indicated if FO adbice were to change and you had to cancel a trip as a result then they would pay out for that.
  Over all, my impression was very positive of their general flexibility under the current condifions
  - Anna says:
    
    8 Jun8 June 08:35
    
    But this is the problem! Currently FCDO advises against travel to pretty much anywhere. For example, a 60 year old with multiple health issues could get cover to go to Tenerife but a fit and healthy 25 year old couldn’t get cover to go to Mallorca without an add on policy.
    There’s also going to be the complication of if FCDO advised against travel at the time you booked (or re-booked).
    - EvilDoctorK says:
      
      8 Jun8 June 09:03
      
      At least for Nationwide no ‘Add On’ policy is required
      
      The advice is not against ‘All’ travel to Majorca .. only against ‘All But Essential Travel’ ( which is totally stupid but that’s another story! )
- TJ says:
  
  8 Jun8 June 08:28
  
  I booked with Staysure the other day to cover impending trip to Spain. FDCO add-on worked ok and appears clearly on the insurance certificate. From shopping around, Staysure seem to offer the best product for the money.
  - Anna says:
    
    8 Jun8 June 08:37
    
    Yes, the premiums quoted seemed pretty reasonable. The existing medical conditions thing is insane though, when I added that OH has arthritis (very occasional and mild in his hands, doesn’t affect any daily activities), the price went up 20%!
    - Jody says:
      
      8 Jun8 June 10:38
      
      I found Staysure more expensive for our variety of conditions than other policies, so I guess it’s swings and roundabouts. I’ve had extensive bladder reconstructive surgery and bouts of sepsis that I have to declare, husband has a heart condition (that has now been fixed but still has to be declared) and high blood pressure.
      
      @LadyLondon, I’ve never been contacted by a travel insurance company to ask about new medical conditions, drs visits etc mid term, however I think it is a condition for all of them that you’re supposed to update them. We took out an annual policy recently to cover us for all the staycation cruises we’ve booked, and after taking it out my husband had to go to the Drs for what he thought was haemorrhoids that were refusing to go away (had been treating them for a couple of weeks with over the counter stuff). Dr had a panic, wasn’t sure what they were, and he was referred under the 2 week pathway. Ended up having a sigmoidoscopy 2 days before our cruise and it turned out that yep, they were haemorrhoids! I contacted travel insurance and it was all fully covered because it took place after the policy was bought, but they had to make a note of it (which reminds me, I must contact them to update them off the result!).
      
      I am highly suspicious of travel insurance, so I would much rather over declare than risk them not paying out, so if that means I update after every single GP visit, then so be it!
      - Lady London says:
        
        8 Jun8 June 13:02
        
        Yes Jody that requirement to update was creeping in before Covid. Previously policies didn’t specifically say you had to update.
        
        I knew Staysure had that kind of term and had made a note to update them if relevant (not expected as I avoid doctors). What I resented was a sudden email out of the blue demanding I re-confirm when the policy was already clear enough they might be able to deny or reduce a claim if anything arose and you hadn’t informed them.
- Birdy says:
  
  8 Jun8 June 09:38
  
  I took out a Staysure annual policy last week (I’m in Ibiza now). The quote emails don’t refer to the FCDO extension but the policy certificate does.
- Aaron says:
  
  8 Jun8 June 16:23
  
  Staysure seems to be reasonable for a single trip with the FCDO “add on”. It is annoying as we are already insured but that policy isn’t cover “all but essential” travel. The medical benefits of the Staysure policy seem sound and that is really all I want it for at present.
Anna says:

8 Jun8 June 06:15

There seems to be an Amazon Kindle offer – get £5 credit if you spend £15. Might be handy for summer reading.
- BJ says:
  
  8 Jun8 June 06:22
  
  Thanks Anna, I need to renew unlimited but waiting to see if prime day brings anything useful. If not this is good for non unlimited reads while I wait.
EvilDoctorK says:

8 Jun8 June 07:02

Shop Small notification emails – anyone else getting them? .. Did a few transactions yesterday, card has the offer … previously email has almost always been instant .. not this time ?
- Amy carpenter says:
  
  8 Jun8 June 07:05
  
  Yes got two instants yesterday.
- Peter K says:
  
  8 Jun8 June 08:32
  
  Got one instantly yesterday.
- Kevin C says:
  
  8 Jun8 June 08:49
  
  I did an SS yesterday and didn’t get an email.
  - KBuffett says:
    
    8 Jun8 June 09:29
    
    I don’t get emails when I use my plastic AmEx Platinum Charge Card. Works fine when I use the metal one. I had to swap this in my Apple Pay too in order to get it working.
- Duncan says:
  
  8 Jun8 June 09:50
  
  I’ve found there can often be a difference depending on how you pay. If I use Apple Pay or Chip & PIN, the email is normally instant. If I use contactless with the card, there’s a larger delay.
  
  Could be coincidence, of course. Not a huge sample size!
- Tom says:
  
  8 Jun8 June 14:06
  
  Split a bill yesterday paying in exactly the same way, friend’s free BA card got the email, my BAPP didn’t.
BSI1978 says:

8 Jun8 June 07:10

Re those that availed of the Economist offer last week; have you received the Amex email confirmation that it’s tracked successfully?
- Sam says:
  
  8 Jun8 June 07:40
  
  Nope, no confirmation but also the payment is still pending on my BAPP
- Kirsty says:
  
  8 Jun8 June 08:00
  
  No not yet. Transaction still ‘pending’ so am hoping that’s the reason.
- JP-MCO says:
  
  8 Jun8 June 08:50
  
  Same here – still pending.
- Phil W says:
  
  8 Jun8 June 08:52
  
  I’m not optimistic. I always receive the email saying a transaction has triggered an offer and didn’t receive one this time unfortunately.
- JDB says:
  
  8 Jun8 June 09:05
  
  Still not received anything, but the transaction posted after 4 days. Have been on to Amex – although I subscribed online, the transaction has posted as ‘mail order’ so is excluded under the T&Cs. Not sure how Amex will proceed, but looks like there may be a generalised problem. No email on use, offer still shows in app as ‘saved’ rather than ‘used’ and no credit applied, so not looking good! One suspects The Economist didn’t want the Amex offer to stack with the Avios offer.
  - BSI1978 says:
    
    8 Jun8 June 13:39
    
    +1, and appreciate the other responses.
Super Secret Stuff says:

8 Jun8 June 07:13

Bit OT, anyone ever had success with official Samsung repair price match guarantee?

Thinking we might be able to use Carphone Warehouse as the competitors
Polly says:

8 Jun8 June 07:33

Curve q pls.
Have a Stamp duty bill coming up. But only have the original free curve. If l upgrade to the paid curve for a couple of months, is it possible to downgrade to my free curve ongoing, as don’t need the benefits from paid curve. Is it an annual contract?
Or is it worth paying the % fee using my free curve? Thanks.
- Gary says:
  
  8 Jun8 June 07:55
  
  “£50 if you cancel during the first 6 months and ordered a physical card” & subscription will be refunded pro rata. I cannot remember if there was an option to not order metal card when I upgraded via the app.
  - KBuffett says:
    
    8 Jun8 June 08:40
    
    I’m contemplating applying for a Curve at my parents address or in my wife’s name for this purpose. My friends are using their spouses underlying cards with no issues.
  - Peter K says:
    
    8 Jun8 June 08:52
    
    I thought they changed their t&c’s recently and there was a minimum time you can hold the metal card now.
    - Nigel W says:
      
      8 Jun8 June 09:54
      
      I thought it was 6 months minimum for Curve Metal?