The HfP chat thread – Friday 9th July

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.

QwertyKnowsBest says:

9 Jul9 July 13:50

Set off in plenty of time to catch ferry to Spain yesterday. Caught up in the start of M6 (Knutsford) massive tailback and 6 hours wait to being escorted off motorway, driving wrong way from Southbound side. Missed ferry of course; but someone died, so small problem in scheme of things.

Rearranging travel plans and just booked the Moxy Lisbon (cash not points) after reading June post from Rhys. Having now revisited the comments and cannot book the upper floor large rooms, I am thinking to cancel. Anyone have suggestions for better quality Hotel for two night stay? I am driving so access and parking is important. Sheraton seemed to receive a positive post? Many thanks.
- kitten says:
  
  9 Jul9 July 16:01
  
  Are you driving all the way to Lisbon? Cool.
  - QwertyKnowsBest says:
    
    9 Jul9 July 19:27
    
    Down to Med in Spain, home via Portugal and ferry Santander to Portsmouth.
    
    Done multiple times great roads (except UK) and road trip!
- David S says:
  
  9 Jul9 July 17:11
  
  Tivoli Avenue Liberade or Sofitel in same road. Lots of other hotels in this central area. Ask hotel for preferred parking
- BP says:
  
  9 Jul9 July 19:00
  
  I liked Iberostar but no idea about parking. Pool area was very nice and the hotel in general was great.
SJ says:

9 Jul9 July 13:52

Newbie question. Just received my supplementary card on my partner’s Gold card. I have my own BAPP. However I can’t link the new card to either of our Amex apps. Amex chat telling me I need to set up a second online account to manage this. Is that right?
- Rob says:
  
  9 Jul9 July 14:23
  
  Others have reported this but it’s not true. It seems that you simply need to wait a week or so for some odd reason. My wife has a Supp Plat on the same account as her BAPP and Gold.
- VerdantBacon says:
  
  9 Jul9 July 15:35
  
  I had this problem when trying to add my supp Plat to my online account and Amex told me the same thing, create a new account, I got that done over the phone and it’s a bit annoying to manage two accounts.
  
  When I got a supp BAPP for my wife, it arrived while we were away, by the time we activated it, about 4 days had passed and it went onto her account with her Plat card
- Nadeshka says:
  
  9 Jul9 July 16:08
  
  I’ve probably had almost every card or a supp on it (Platinum/Gold/SPG/Marriot/BA etc) at some point and always on the same account. Useful to keep closed accounts listed to monitor for refunds but can get unwieldly!
  Only time I have had to create a new account was when I had an amex issued by my work, then they said it had to be a separate MR account.
  I did have an issue trying to add a recent newly issued supp and it being denied, but as recommended here I waited a couple of days and was then able to add online with no problems.
  - SJ says:
    
    9 Jul9 July 16:43
    
    Thank you for your replies. I’ll be patient!
    - Matt says:
      
      9 Jul9 July 17:43
      
      2 or 3 days seems enough time to wait, fairly reliably.
    - Thom says:
      
      9 Jul9 July 19:44
      
      I created new accounts, but then at a later date removed the card from the new one and added to the main one!
- BuildBackBetter says:
  
  9 Jul9 July 19:56
  
  Login from a desktop and try. I received my card today and added it to my existing account immediately.
James says:

9 Jul9 July 13:56

Just did a antigen spit test for our return to U.K. test. Bought it from Corona Test Centre, did the test, sent it off to them via their website and got a fit to fly certificate 5 minutes later! Seriously good product & service and saves a load of hassle trying to find a test centre here in Crete. The link is https://store.coronatestcentre.com/products/home-test-antigen-fit-to-fly if anyone is interested.
- Eric the Half a Bee says:
  
  9 Jul9 July 14:13
  
  How do they verify the validity of the sample? Presumably this would be open to ‘creative’ sample taking…
  - TGLoyalty says:
    
    9 Jul9 July 14:31
    
    As would any home test.
- Alan says:
  
  9 Jul9 July 14:47
  
  I don’t call£45 for a meaningless pantomime, a good product.
  
  It provides no more accuracy/certainty than a self administered/reported free LFT (cost price 50p) test; as used for getting into UK events.
  
  I surely cannot be the only one getting tired of paying inflated prices for meaningless certificates whose only purpose seems to be to funnel cash to Boris’s friends and sponsors.
  - Char Char says:
    
    9 Jul9 July 15:01
    
    I’m sure he judges good product by the ability to use it and get a result not the whole farce of overpaying for tests.
  - TGLoyalty says:
    
    9 Jul9 July 15:08
    
    I read that antigen tests are 18 Euro in Greece/the islands/Crete and available at pharmacy’s / test centre everywhere.
    - LessCleverAndrew says:
      
      9 Jul9 July 15:59
      
      Heard similar. Am travelling to France (alps region) end of July. Tests at the local chemists are 15 to 30 euros according to my contact
      - Eligold says:
        
        9 Jul9 July 17:57
        
        Really? I’d love some more info on that
Mark says:

9 Jul9 July 14:16

Any restaurant recommendations for San Sebastian?

Would appreciate any recommendations for the North of Spain, nearby cities etc if anyone is familiar!
- Michael C says:
  
  9 Jul9 July 14:18
  
  There are literally 200!
  Nearby: Hondarribia and Zarautz both lovely, and pop into France to S Jean de Luz.
  - QwertyKnowsBest says:
    
    9 Jul9 July 14:31
    
    Second that!
    - QwertyKnowsBest says:
      
      9 Jul9 July 14:44
      
      Santander is a grand waterfront city, good for waterfront walks.
  - Mark says:
    
    9 Jul9 July 16:15
    
    Thank you! Bookmarked them all. How many days do you reckon is appropriate and should I base myself out of SS for example and explore the rest?
- Hennypot says:
  
  9 Jul9 July 15:00
  
  Worked there for six months (stayed at Maria Cristina- lovely) Pop along the coast to Getaria for turbot cooked over coals as now fashionable at Brat et al. Elkano is the famous place, but Kaia Kaipe also great- both have outstanding and bargain-packed wine lists. For steak drive to Tolosa and go to Casa Julian. Back in San Seb you’ll no doubt do the pintxoes in town- best to follow your nose. Rekondo is a little out of the centre and is a good change, and has one of the best cellars in the world (also great value).
- Lady London says:
  
  9 Jul9 July 15:55
  
  All of them.
  Ganbara Gambara? I think. It’s about the tapas. It’s tapas crawl heaven.
  - Mark says:
    
    9 Jul9 July 16:16
    
    That’s amazing, thank you! Considering Mugaritz…
    - Jonathan says:
      
      9 Jul9 July 17:06
      
      If you’re thinking of places like Mugaritz then I’d have a look at Etxebarri. I did them both 10 years ago & they didn’t disappoint but Etxebarri is a real one of a kind place whereas Mugaritz is just excellent food & service like you could find in London, Paris, NYC etc etc. It’s probably my number 1 dining experience.
      
      We got a taxi from San Sebastián as it’s in the middle of nowhere & neither of us wanted to drive.
- Oliver says:
  
  9 Jul9 July 16:34
  
  Mina in Bilbao was very good. Highly recommend the “barra” overlooking the kitchen.
- Tony1 says:
  
  9 Jul9 July 22:38
  
  Not the Mercure ( but the view is worth the effort ) Take the vernacular to the top, but avoid the restaurant !
Daniel Riley says:

9 Jul9 July 14:30

Is there a way in the UK to earn Qatar Airways points from credit card spend? Is doesnt appear to be an airline to credit AMEX reward points to.
- Rob says:
  
  9 Jul9 July 14:45
  
  Two options:
  
  1. Get the Marriott card (0.812 Qmiles per £1) – https://hfp2022.headforpoints.blog/2021/07/07/marriott-bonvoy-airline-partners
  
  2. Get the ICC Amex – https://hfp2022.headforpoints.blog/2020/12/21/american-express-international-euro-dollar-platinum-card/ – and move your UK Amex points across to it, then move to Qmiles
  - Jonathan says:
    
    9 Jul9 July 19:10
    
    I don’t think it needs to be a Platinum card, surely the green card would be fine ?
Ant says:

9 Jul9 July 14:39

Shangri La Golden Circle – my husband has 500 points & I have 250. We are in London next week & thinking of using them for some drinks at the Shard. Not sure if we will go Saturday or Sunday.
What is the best way of converting the points to voucher?
Online i can only see the option for 500points = $50. So not sure what to do for my 250.
Also how do they convert them to GBP?
- stairali says:
  
  9 Jul9 July 15:26
  
  You don’t have to convert them. You can just use them for ‘Instant dining’. I think you get 0.125USD per point so circa £22 for 250 points.
  
  You can redeem at the point of paying your bill and just flash your membership card (physical or the app).
  
  I believe it is only possible to redeem at Ting and Gong and perhaps Bar 31.
  - TJ says:
    
    9 Jul9 July 16:25
    
    +1 I’ve used points directly at both Ting and Gong in the past. They will deduct the cash equivalent from your bill and you’ll receive yet more points for any surplus amount on the bill.
AJA says:

9 Jul9 July 15:00

If anyone is interested I just did an online chat with nectar about the Esso competition where you received 99 points just for entering and gave them the link to the competition page that Rob posted in his article in May. They replied “Not to worry, I will add the points” and my Nectar account balance updated instantly.
- Chas says:
  
  9 Jul9 July 15:17
  
  Thanks for that. I wasn’t going to bother chasing, but you made it seem effortless so I have just done the same. Can confirm that it was incredibly quick, and they voluntarily said that they’d add some additional Nectar as a goodwill gesture for the inconvenience. My point haven’t posted yet, so I can’t confirm how many, but they said could be up to 24 hours.
Alex says:

9 Jul9 July 15:18

I remember reading discussions on here about electricity providers which accept credit card payments. Do any accept AMEX? Any recommendations for a reasonably priced provider in London? Need electricity only – renewable would be a plus, as would a decent signup offer.
- Rob says:
  
  9 Jul9 July 15:23
  
  Bulb and Octopus – see this article https://hfp2022.headforpoints.blog/2021/03/28/which-energy-suppliers-let-you-pay-your-bill-with-amex/ which contains referral links too.
  - mr_jetlag says:
    
    9 Jul9 July 16:10
    
    Rob, Avro energy also let you overpay with Amex.
    - thehornets says:
      
      9 Jul9 July 16:21
      
      And Igloo
    - Jody says:
      
      9 Jul9 July 16:51
      
      Do they let you reduce your DD? I’m with Avro, but couldn’t see anywhere on the website where I was able to do it. Happy to contact them if they’re amenable, but would rather know first if you’ve actually managed it!
      - John says:
        
        9 Jul9 July 21:57
        
        Next time when you switch just give a very low annual usage estimate so the DD gets set to almost nothing
      - Polly says:
        
        10 Jul10 July 20:33
        
        And peoples energy, with a £5 monthly.dd . I just prepay every month an amount more than the bill, so always in credit.
  - Alex says:
    
    9 Jul9 July 16:35
    
    Thank you! Will check out and go via the referral link provided 🙂
- SteveJ says:
  
  9 Jul9 July 18:07
  
  Green energy also let you pay via amex and reduce dd
- C says:
  
  9 Jul9 July 22:02
  
  Orbit energy were the cheapest for me and they take Amex
  - C says:
    
    9 Jul9 July 22:03
    
    And you can set a monthly payment by Amex rather than direct debit