The HfP chat thread – Saturday 26th 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.

Rahaney says:

26 Jun26 June 16:10

Looking to book Marriott via their app, the only options I always see for points is the most basic room? Does what you see depend on your points total or?? How’s it work? I’m gold from Amex plat. Cheers
- Rob says:
  
  26 Jun26 June 16:23
  
  Many hotels offer better rooms with a small cash upgrade, which is all guaranteed at time of booking. It depends on the hotel though.
  
  If you look at JW Marriott Venice for 1st August for example, a base room is 50k points. The junior suites (which are great, sleep 4 for a start) are 98,000 points or 50k + €200. As I value Marriott points at 0.5p I’d be taking the €200 option in that case.
  - Harry T says:
    
    26 Jun26 June 17:34
    
    Sometimes you can only see the points and cash options Rob is describing when you use the desktop site to book.
    - TGLoyalty says:
      
      26 Jun26 June 18:38
      
      You sometimes see better rates too!
Paul Pogba says:

26 Jun26 June 16:40

Doom Report (26/06):
Daily Cases 18,270 (54.4%)
Daily Deaths 119 (60.8%)
Patients Admitted 1,557 (10.3%)
- TGLoyalty says:
  
  26 Jun26 June 16:42
  
  What are the percentages of?
  
  The admitted and deaths is the total in last 7 days not the daily.
  - Paul Pogba says:
    
    26 Jun26 June 16:53
    
    increase in last 7 days, https://coronavirus.data.gov.uk/
    - TGLoyalty says:
      
      26 Jun26 June 17:04
      
      Would have been better if you put the percentage of total deaths and all patients admitted in the past 7 days. To show just how small a percentage it is.
      
      You realise it’s all deaths within 28 days of a test regardless of what they died of and all patients that have been admitted testing positive regardless of why they were admitted.
      
      All it says to me is this shouldn’t rule our lives anymore.
      - Paul Pogba says:
        
        26 Jun26 June 17:22
        
        Its the gov figures, I have no input into the methodology. I posted as it might have implications regarding our domestic reopening and how other nations risk assess our entry.
- Sussex bantam says:
  
  26 Jun26 June 17:16
  
  You’ve quoted daily cases and weekly deaths (despite calling them daily deaths) which is just plain wrong !
  - Paul Pogba says:
    
    26 Jun26 June 17:37
    
    Youre right, I wish I could delete the post.
    - Lord Doncaster says:
      
      26 Jun26 June 17:50
      
      You belong on Twitter, Paul
      - Super Secret Stuff says:
        
        26 Jun26 June 18:23
        
        You belong in Dongcaster 😉 🤣
      - Super Secret Stuff says:
        
        26 Jun26 June 18:24
        
        When I make a joke I should really know how to spell… clearly I belong in a spelling lesson 🤣
Alex says:

26 Jun26 June 17:02

Just received (yesterday) my IHG card and added my membership number over the phone. How long till the account gets Gold Elite status?
sloth says:

26 Jun26 June 17:04

Hi, does anymore have any experience of the Amex SLH offer being triggered on multiple purchases? Was forced to pay on check in for some reason and was going to charge dinner to the room to trigger the spend on checkout but looks like I will now be paying separately…
- TGLoyalty says:
  
  26 Jun26 June 17:07
  
  Why didn’t you split it at check in? It’s cumulative.
  - sloth says:
    
    26 Jun26 June 18:05
    
    Sorry I didn’t explain very well…I’m only here for one night, £250/night, so wanted to add dinner to the bill on checkout to make it over £300 to trigger the Amex offer but they forced me to pay for the room on check in, of £250, so wondering if when I pay for dinner tomorrow on checkout, if that, plus the £250 will trigger the offer. Assuming you are saying it’s cumulative then it will be fine. Thanks
    - TGLoyalty says:
      
      26 Jun26 June 18:39
      
      Yeah it should work fine. I’m baffled why a preauth wasn’t enough
      - Sloth says:
        
        26 Jun26 June 21:02
        
        No I didn’t understand that either, esp as the card used to auth the booking is the same one I paid with. I did query it but they insisted it was normal to pay up front..
Luke says:

26 Jun26 June 17:37

Have just noticed the travel insurance for AMEX Platinum only covers medical up to £2m. While that sounds a lot, a lengthy stay in a North American hospital can cost millions….

A little disappointing considering NW FlexPlus costs £13/m and covers £10m, whereas the £500+ AMEX is limited to £2m.
- Harry T says:
  
  26 Jun26 June 17:45
  
  Don’t think many people need a lengthy stay in ICU though!
  - Luke says:
    
    26 Jun26 June 18:18
    
    … until you do.
    - Super Secret Stuff says:
      
      26 Jun26 June 18:26
      
      Amex tend to be quite flexible on there rules from previous reports. Not sure if someone has tested it this far but I wouldnt worry too much
    - AG says:
      
      26 Jun26 June 18:59
      
      ICU runs at about $5k per day. It’s not an area where even the biggest insurers get much of a discount. Everything else is on top.
- Rob says:
  
  26 Jun26 June 19:35
  
  I read an article on this a couple of years ago – the biggest recorded insurance claim by a British tourist in the US was surprisingly low, I just can’t remember what it was. That said, Which? does recommend £5m.
  - The Savage Squirrel says:
    
    26 Jun26 June 21:46
    
    I’d guess that for a quite low threshold of iCU or high-dependency stay, it’s cheaper to fly you home, where you can then be dumped on the NHS, even if this involves a private jet charter and a full medical support team to make the transfer. Even for recovery from devastating injuries, insurance will try to do it as soon as it’s reasonably likely not to kill you…
Anna says:

26 Jun26 June 18:01

Harry T, is it you who likes air conditioning? I’m at the Kimpton Clocktower and noticed this time that it’s the best i’ve experienced!
They’re not doing social hour at the moment “due to Covid”, which is a complete swizz as the bar and dining areas are full and they were doing it last autumn.
Breakfast courtesy of Emyr is excellent- full buffet plus a la carte. My welcome amenity is a box of local fudge & a cuddly Manchester bee. (plus room upgrade). As Spire they gave me £20 raid the bar tokens (the bar staff don’t know what these are, you need to explain).
Manchester is heaving, presumably as everyone has had to cancel their holidays to Scotland 😂
- Super Secret Stuff says:
  
  26 Jun26 June 18:27
  
  Hahaha glad you’re enjoying it, thanks for the mini review!
- Harry T says:
  
  26 Jun26 June 19:52
  
  @Anna
  Thanks, I’ll make that my first choice for Manchester next time I visit! Air con isn’t too bad up here in Edinburgh but it’s not perfect.
  - stevenhp1987 says:
    
    26 Jun26 June 21:05
    
    Do you even need air con in Edinburgh?
    - Lou says:
      
      26 Jun26 June 22:36
      
      Funny you should say that… I was at a conference in Edinburgh 2 years ago. It was 28 degrees and no air con. It was target unpleasant
    - Brian W says:
      
      27 Jun27 June 00:45
      
      When it’s warm yes, same as anywhere else 🙄. Junior comment.
- Aston100 says:
  
  26 Jun26 June 20:05
  
  Hey, I was at the HIX across the road!
John says:

26 Jun26 June 18:08

Yeah.

Although fading often = dire

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/26/business/tourism-britain-coronavirus-bognor-regis.html?smid=url-share
- JDB says:
  
  26 Jun26 June 18:20
  
  Yes, the faded ‘glory’ is dire. After BA cancelled our flights to Greece, then Sicily, we have given up trying to go abroad until the autumn, so went to Lyme Regis this week. We won’t be returning! It’s a lovely setting but…
- Super Secret Stuff says:
  
  26 Jun26 June 18:30
  
  I mean Bognor Bingo is a bit harsh, there’s a nice chippy near the beach 🤣
- Rachel Robinson says:
  
  26 Jun26 June 20:18
  
  No comment from Chris Heyes? He’s always bigging up Bognor! But fading definitely = dire in the case of Bognor Regis. It’s a dump. Some of the surrounding places are lovely. But Bognor itself is not.
Optimus Prime says:

26 Jun26 June 18:15

Hancock finally quits

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/hancock-finally-quits-nrkrgss2t
- Luke says:
  
  26 Jun26 June 18:19
  
  BJ should have sacked him.
  - Sukes says:
    
    26 Jun26 June 18:40
    
    BJ probably knows how much dirt Hancock has on him. But I agree with you
  - Aston100 says:
    
    26 Jun26 June 20:07
    
    He’d have to sack himself as Hancock is only following his leaders example.
- Super Secret Stuff says:
  
  26 Jun26 June 18:31
  
  Finally being the emphasis word
- @mkcol says:
  
  26 Jun26 June 18:37
  
  I do not understand why Boris is so scared of sacking underperforming team members. Surely he’d want the best in his team.
  - TGLoyalty says:
    
    26 Jun26 June 18:42
    
    he needs a fall guy for next years inquest?
    - Tariq says:
      
      26 Jun26 June 22:16
      
      I get that impression. We saw a preview in the select committee a few weeks back.