The HfP chat thread – Wednesday 9th June

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.

egold says:

9 Jun9 June 12:17

Looking for a nice hotel in Manchester for 1 night midweek with an in room Jacuzzi if that exists, for not too much £
Any ideas?
- Super Secret Stuff says:
  
  9 Jun9 June 13:07
  
  Not sure about in room Jacuzzi’s but there are a fair few hotels in Manchester on Travelzoo, some of them have excellent deals
- Anna says:
  
  9 Jun9 June 13:28
  
  I’d imagine that only the Hilton Deansgate and a very few others might have that level of decadence!
  - Super Secret Stuff says:
    
    9 Jun9 June 13:29
    
    +1
Aston100 says:

9 Jun9 June 12:30

Could I please have some recommendations for mid-range hotels in Cape Town.
Along the lines of Crowne Plaza and Double Tree.
Solid 4 stars (We don’t spend much time in hotels so won’t benefit much from the services & facilities).
Obviously there isn’t a CP, and the only DT is in what seems to be a bad area, but you know what I mean.
Doesn’t need to be IHG or Hilton.

By the way, anyone know why IHG and Hilton are so badly underrepresented there? I note the Hilton shutdown last year and the only IHG options are a HI and a HIX.

Thanks.
- WaynedP says:
  
  9 Jun9 June 12:50
  
  Not cheap and independently run so no loyalty points, but can’t recommend The Vineyard Hotel highly enough.
  
  Consistently high standards and good reviews and really ideally situated in Newlands which means quick, direct access (by hire care, essential of course) into CPT central (and Waterfront) via Rondebosch, then further along Atlantic seaboard out towards Camps Bay/Twelve Apostles out as far as Llandudno and Hout Bay.
  
  Equally direct access in the opposite direction to the (slightly) warmer waters off St James, Kalk Bay, Fish Hoek onto Simons Town and the jackass penguins at Boulders Beach.
  
  When we got married, our British family and guests stayed at The Vineyard and were really impressed regardless of whether they were elderly in-laws, or of our own age with young children at the time.
- 747_Brat says:
  
  9 Jun9 June 13:07
  
  Radisson Blu Hotel Waterfront is a good option. I was personally planning to stay here this summer, but unfortunately the trip got cancelled and we had to move it to next year.
  - Yorkieflyer says:
    
    9 Jun9 June 18:46
    
    The Red is good too
- Genghis says:
  
  9 Jun9 June 17:13
  
  There’s better Marriott representation after their take over of Protea / African Pride. I’ve a booking at the Westin for Feb (moved from 15 on Orange as it’s now closed down). Location not ideal in my eyes but negotiated a suite upgrade with lounge access (OK for breakfast, I guess, and we’ll pop back to the room early afternoon for kid afternoon naps if we’re just in town). That’s if ZA opens, of course.
  
  There’s some MAMS properties (IHG) in the winelands but good luck with availability . We’ve a booking at Grande Provence – got a fantastic deal at 30k points / n so locked it in, as well as at Protea Franschhoek in a family room. We’ve stayed there before and like it.
Bigmaggot says:

9 Jun9 June 12:52

A lot of chat about vaccines recently. Just booked my second jab after text from doctors using https://accurx.thirdparty.nhs.uk/ Just checked and my booking is only 7 weeks, 1 day from my first. I’m not high risk and infections are low in the area. Anyone else offered before 8 weeks? I was thinking 12 weeks for best protection, but was also planning an amber country holiday on 4 July which means I don’t need a test to enter, decisions decisions
- BuildBackBetter says:
  
  9 Jun9 June 13:42
  
  12 weeks seems to be recommended for AZ. 8 weeks should be ok for Pfizer. Some European countries were giving second shots after 4 weeks.
  - Rhys says:
    
    9 Jun9 June 13:59
    
    The vaccines were originally licensed for second dose after 3 weeks so I imagine that is the minimum
    - Bigmaggot says:
      
      9 Jun9 June 15:08
      
      My first was AZ. Phoned doctors who didn’t have a clue. Think I’ll get it done, make travel simpler 🙂
- Mouse says:
  
  9 Jun9 June 15:46
  
  The longer you wait (up to a point) the higher the efficacy with almost all vaccines so 12 weeks is better than 7 weeks is better than 3 weeks. But you need to consider that you’d be more at risk whilst remaining single-jabbed between week 3/7 and week 12 if you wait. Also if your main concern is getting a vaccine passport then fairly minor differences in efficacy are neither here nor there.
  - Jonathan says:
    
    9 Jun9 June 17:45
    
    For AZ difference is 62% vs 90%. If you’re young & healthy (ie. won’t e getting an autumn booster) then I’d be very wary of prioritising a vaccine passport over boosted efficacy/duration of protection.
- PerkyPat says:
  
  9 Jun9 June 17:13
  
  Dont you still need a fit to fly test for an amber country?
  - TGLoyalty says:
    
    9 Jun9 June 17:28
    
    You need one to come back to the U.K. regardless.
    
    Up to the country you are entering as what their requirements are
TOBIAS L says:

9 Jun9 June 13:27

Many thanks to Blenz101 and BJ for tips yesterday re new Wayfarers Classics (lets hope that forum comes soon!).

I’ll be looking at the recommended options – are Fashioneyewear and Maverick and Wolf trustworthy resellers? Always dubious about these…have seen horror stories of counterfeits on Amazon as well (even when dispatched and sold by them).
- Aston100 says:
  
  9 Jun9 June 13:55
  
  I got my last couple of Raybans from Sunglass Hut. There is often a funds return option through voldeportal, and sometimes promo codes (which may or may not stack).
  I might be wrong, but I feel they were on the list of Amex card offers at some point.
  - Super Secret Stuff says:
    
    9 Jun9 June 14:06
    
    They were but have now disappeared (I think?)
    
    Never got to use it as I require prescription lenses
  - Navara says:
    
    9 Jun9 June 15:17
    
    Still £20 off £100 on mine expires in 7 days
Andrew says:

9 Jun9 June 13:36

TSA are also now also looking for volunteers:-

https://www.washingtonpost.com/transportation/2021/06/09/tsa-checkpoints-summer-travel/

If you don’t have a subscription, this is probably the most important content if you prefer not to queue:-
“Five of the nation’s largest airports were short at least one-tenth of their projected necessary staff: Detroit Metropolitan Airport, Denver International Airport, Dulles International, St. Louis Lambert International Airport and Boston Logan International Airport.”
- Super Secret Stuff says:
  
  9 Jun9 June 14:02
  
  Well that’s not at all concerning, they were bad enough before Covid, hopefully they don’t get any worse!
Rich says:

9 Jun9 June 13:41

Thanks for the advice re IHG refund yesterday. Hotel has emailed back – very politely, including an even more polite internal email chain – and points now back in my account. No clue why it wasn’t automatic.
- ankomonkey says:
  
  9 Jun9 June 13:51
  
  Was this Claudia at HI Algarve?
  - Rich says:
    
    9 Jun9 June 14:03
    
    Yep!
    - ankomonkey says:
      
      9 Jun9 June 17:26
      
      I had a pre-stay e-mail from her when connecting redemption and cash bookings, and she checked us in. Good to have someone on-the-ball amongst hotel staff!
Sina says:

9 Jun9 June 14:04

I got a reward booking at CP Gerard Cross which shows as upgraded to Club room online, does this mean I have access to their lounge, or is it just the room? Anything else I should know about CP? this is my first stay with this brand!
- Kai says:
  
  9 Jun9 June 14:12
  
  No, totally at the hotel’s discretion.
- Dave says:
  
  9 Jun9 June 14:28
  
  Stayed there twice. Pretty certain having club room will give you the access to the magic swipe card
  - Sina says:
    
    9 Jun9 June 14:30
    
    Thanks, what the magic swipe card?
    - xcalx says:
      
      9 Jun9 June 14:54
      
      You room key card that opens the lounge door.
      - xcalx says:
        
        9 Jun9 June 14:58
        
        * Your
      - Sina says:
        
        9 Jun9 June 15:14
        
        right, thanks!
      - Super Secret Stuff says:
        
        9 Jun9 June 16:01
        
        P.s. you can also use your room key to open the booze fridges in most CP Lounges if you know how 🙂
Super Secret Stuff says:

9 Jun9 June 14:07

IHG seem to be very trigger happy with the app notifications recently, tbh it’s very annoying
- Phil says:
  
  9 Jun9 June 17:43
  
  Yep same notification every day for 4 days now