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The HfP chat thread – Tuesday 22nd June

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General

Comments (280)

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

  • N says:
    22 Jun22 June 12:08

    Any reason to not apply for a Bonvoy card today? Any forthcoming offers, etc?

  • swifty says:
    22 Jun22 June 12:08

    Is there anyway of finding out how much £ credit you’ve built up with British Airways in FTV’s and companion vouchers. I can’t even remember whether my avios are tied to it. I’ve got a FTV expiring apr 22 and want to extend it again. Does this even work? Rebooking a ftv and then cancelling?

  • Aston100 says:
    22 Jun22 June 12:29

    Can an FTV from a BA holidays booking be used towards the taxes and fees on a rewards flight booking?

    • Anna says:
      22 Jun22 June 14:04

      I did this last year at the start of the pandemic but I don’t know if it’s still possible. People have reported more recently being told that they can only apply them to new holiday bookings, but of course there’s no guarantee that BA is telling you the right thing!

      • mr_jetlag says:
        22 Jun22 June 19:04

        I was able to apply a BAH voucher to a cash flight only booking 2 weeks ago.

    • bafan says:
      22 Jun22 June 19:34

      I think I asked that the other day and the consensus was no. I can’t even use it on a multi-city booking that reverts to the old interface FFS.

  • Tazzy says:
    22 Jun22 June 12:32

    Does anyone know if BA are cancelling flights to Prague? I need to travel to Brno in late July but it seems like lots of Prague flights have been culled. I could fly to Vienna but it reads like anyone from U.K. needs to quarantine for 5 days…. I’m only going for 3 days.

  • Luke says:
    22 Jun22 June 12:37

    Is there a points bonus for adding a supplementary cardholder to the AMEX Platinum? Sure I received 3000 points for adding one to my Gold card a few years ago.

  • Louisa says:
    22 Jun22 June 12:59

    In regards to my post yesterday about a shop recording a phone call and using it on their vlog. Spoke with ICO and was advised that they aren’t allowed to do that without my permission. FYI for any others that face this issue.

    • Mike says:
      22 Jun22 June 13:20

      Next time you try and sell something disguise your voice !

    • blenz101 says:
      22 Jun22 June 13:47

      Complete nonsense. The ICO is basically only concerned with the DPA and GDPR. This legislation is in turn only concern with personal data which basically means “any information relating to an identified or identifiable natural person”.

      Obviously we haven’t heard the call but an abstract extract of your voice alone down a telephone line is unlikely in the extreme to meet the definition of being personal data. It would need a court to decide.

      If some call centre agent at the ICO agreed with your point of view that they shouldn’t have published your call recording then great. But I wouldn’t take it as fact the company which recorded you profiteering have breached any legislation.

      • Louisa says:
        22 Jun22 June 14:07

        HUCA 3 different agents and they all say a company can not use your telephone call without your permission.

        • Anna says:
          22 Jun22 June 14:08

          Yes, but probably not because of the DPA or GDPR.

          • blenz101 says:
            22 Jun22 June 14:55

            Indeed. Even if you don’t want to take advice from someone with knowlege in the area. Go look at what the ICO is for on gov.uk / wikipedia etc.

            We also don’t know if there was an IVR saying ‘calls may be recorded’ or the jurisdiction involved.

            But regardless, if no ‘personal data’ was published then there was no breach.

      • Andrew (@andrewseftel) says:
        22 Jun22 June 15:31

        Disagree. As I recall, they were identified by the third party based just on the information the company published, so it must therefore be sufficient data to identify the subject.

        • Louisa says:
          22 Jun22 June 18:44

          No IVR message as it was a call to his mobile phone.

          Yeah they identified me from the information that was mentioned on the call plus the voice was the sealer.

      • MCO says:
        22 Jun22 June 18:46

        Just a quick google search brought this up

        Under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 (RIPA) it is legal for individuals to tape conversations, provided the recording is for their own use. However, legislation states that sharing information without consent, to a third party is a breach of this law. The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) was created as a guide on the safe sharing of data.

    • Anna says:
      22 Jun22 June 14:07

      Louisa, did you see my comment about RIPA yesterday? It’s worth quoting it to the company if they won’t remove the recording, though it’s unlikely that it would be enforceable if it came to that. But just being told might make them think twice!

  • Josh says:
    22 Jun22 June 13:23

    Welcome bonus just hit my plat amex so want to cancel the card. Any tips for securing a retention offer (card says member since ’19, but only owned plat card for 2 months)? Should I call Brighton at specific times or is it a standard offer atm?

    • sloth says:
      22 Jun22 June 13:31

      hopefully they tell you to poke it…thats just taking the p***

      • Josh says:
        22 Jun22 June 13:40

        Why is that taking the p*** when it’s an actively promoted strategy on this blog?

        • Rob says:
          22 Jun22 June 13:43

          Don’t think you’ll find an article on here about retention bonuses.

        • GS13 disciple says:
          22 Jun22 June 14:11

          It became a frequently discussed topic because people were cardholders pre-COVID and were no longer getting any value out of it with lockdowns / restrictions. Seeing those messages has unfortunately encouraged a bunch of people, like you it seems, to try to game the system

          • Josh says:
            22 Jun22 June 14:42

            Surely with that mentality, you’re also against churning then? I don’t really see this as gaming the system when they have complete awareness of my tenure and choose to make me an offer?

          • sloth says:
            22 Jun22 June 15:00

            of course its gaming the system, you took out a plat only 2 months ago, got the welcome bonus and now want to threaten to cancel in the hope of getting a retention bonus. If you can’t afford the card then just cancel it. if you can afford it then you are taking the p*** so soon after opening it. 95% of people on here (incl me) game the system to certain degrees but what you are suggesting is just blatant and ultimately causes all loopholes/avenues to be shut down for everyone

          • Josh says:
            22 Jun22 June 15:09

            Fair points – I won’t fight it. I’m obviously happy to cancel and wait 24 months to then be able to take advantage of the welcome offers so any efficiency gains from a points perspective I can grab whilst on the way out is definitely something I would ask about prior to cancelling.

            It’s a great ethical debate though. How would we rank MS’ing, Churning & maximising retention offers in order of most and least ethical? Are long term plat card holders that MS £££££’s a year better than those who churn welcome offers?

            What constitutes a long enough tenure with a plat membership to validate retention offer attempts? i.e. 6 months? 1 year?

            Btw im only half joking with the above 😀 my original question was only to decide whether I should cancel via chat (my preference) or if I should call to *maybe* get some additional points to make me stay longer before cancelling.

          • sloth says:
            22 Jun22 June 15:26

            eod people have different tolerances and what is acceptable for one, is not for another etc. As I said I game the system as well so im not trying to sit here whiter than white…I just think to myself if I “over-game’ the system how much do I value my relationships with these companies and how much do I want to cause myself possible future issues with being blocked from applying for new products in the future etc. just my opinion…

            also as I said if too many people go to far then the companies just block everything completely for everyone

          • GS13 disciple says:
            22 Jun22 June 16:18

            Not against churning, as I myself rotate between cards to benefit from the initial bonuses every so often, but at the same time I do not agree with taking it to the limit. As an example I recently took out a Plat card myself for the first time, certainly tempted by the enhanced bonus which helps to justify the first year fee, but will give it a fair shot to see if I can justify keeping it longer term, and if the conclusion is that it’s not worth it to me it certainly won’t be a retention bonus which changes my mind.

            MS is the worst for me, I find penny pinchers who can afford to pay cash for things but go through the hassle of MS just sad frankly…

          • Chris Heyes says:
            22 Jun22 June 16:36

            I game the system for my advantage and admit to it openly if I have a card for a less than a month or longer it doesn’t matter to me
            Maximum benefit for minimum cost is the game i play
            Rightly or wrongly that’s how we play it
            If the rules change so be it, if some miss out because of us, so be it
            Three Platinum cards between 3 of us bonus hit on all three, then cancelled was in our opinion the best way to accumulate points in 6 weeks max
            If some think we took the p*** tough ?

          • Super Secret Stuff says:
            22 Jun22 June 17:12

            If anyone is worried about the ethics of it, you are reading the wrong website and need to properly understand how capitalist societies work… just saying

          • GS13 disciple says:
            22 Jun22 June 17:26

            That’s a great points haul for 6 weeks – hopefully once the points are used up and the churn rules changed again you’ll still be able to afford a similar standard of travel!

    • TGLoyalty says:
      22 Jun22 June 14:44

      There is no “strategy” they will either offer you one or they won’t

    • Aston100 says:
      22 Jun22 June 16:32

      Got 35k each for not cancelling two platinum cards with minimal spend on them, and held for under two months each.
      I would (and do) actively hope to get the overseas people as they seem not to care and will just give whatever is available without making a song and dance about it .

    • Super Secret Stuff says:
      22 Jun22 June 17:09

      Ring and say you’re considering cancelling because it won’t work for you anymore. Give a reason like covid restrictions will probably come back.

      Don’t use chat. Do go through to Brighton. Overseas don’t know what they’re doing half the time. Brighton will be a bit harder to convince but if they believe you they’ll easily give you a renting offer if computer says yes

      • Super Secret Stuff says:
        22 Jun22 June 17:10

        *retention

        Forgot to say, one of there go too answers om their script is to pay the fee monthly. To which you can politely point out thats still the same amount of money

  • David says:
    22 Jun22 June 13:35

    Does anyone know if you get Ambassador benefits ie upgrade/ breakfast at a Kimpton ?

    • Neil Donoghue says:
      22 Jun22 June 13:37

      No! They work off your spire status but should get you a room upgrade depending on capacity

    • Rob says:
      22 Jun22 June 13:42

      You get some benefits, yes, but you’d need to check the Ambassador website for exact details.

      Emyr can get you free brekky and hotel credit on cash rates via the IHG Luxury & Lifestyle programmes.

      • David says:
        22 Jun22 June 13:47

        Need to use my sort of free but more expensive weekend night !

        • Anna says:
          22 Jun22 June 14:12

          IHG are so tight about breakfast, but sometimes if you check the standard room rates, they have a decent offer on breakfast and will honour it on a BOGOF booking if you ask nicely before you arrive. I did this at Charlotte Square a couple of months ago, so breakfast cost us £18 per room rather than per person, which was clearly much better value!
          Clocktower refused to entertain anything other than the standard price so I booked through Emyr and got it included plus $100 credit.

      • DJ says:
        22 Jun22 June 16:08

        Realised that I have two UK Credit card vouchers to use. So I used those to book a weekend 2-night stay at Kimpton Fitzroy.

        Although I have the Spire Ambassador status, I won’t get any benefits for this stay as it is a reward booking right?

        • Rob says:
          22 Jun22 June 16:10

          You get some benefits, not all of them. And a lot of hotels give the lot anyway. You need to look at Ambassador’s small print in the T&C to get the ‘official’ version.

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