The HfP chat thread – Wednesday 14th July

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Craig says:

14 Jul14 July 12:02

Just visited one of the BPs on the Amex offer list, transactions is pending as Esso!
- Harley says:
  
  14 Jul14 July 13:22
  
  The BP head office in St James is also on the list 😂
Ali says:

14 Jul14 July 12:04

Before I go all out and buy heaps of gift cards, do we now know if BP offer works on gift cards?
(Apologies if it has been answered before.)
- mark2 says:
  
  14 Jul14 July 12:48
  
  Surely not a very big heap at £30 per card?
- Toaster says:
  
  14 Jul14 July 13:28
  
  Someone (sorry can’t remember who or on which day) confirmed it worked for purchasing M&S Gift cards. My local BP is part of an M&S and I cannot find gift cards for anything other than M&S.
  - Aston100 says:
    
    14 Jul14 July 14:10
    
    A nearby BP/M&S station sells gifts cards for Amazon and Argos.
    I’ve purchased one Amazon gift card per qualifying Amex.
    They’ve appeared on my statements with the same wording as the fuel I purchased.
    So I’m confident I’ll receive £10 statement credits for each in due course.
John says:

14 Jul14 July 12:56

Just got email from Lloyds about my ex-avios card, opt in for 3 months of 0.5% extra cb = 0.75% up to £4k then 1%

Looks like I’ll be using it a bit more than I planned
- Paul Pogba says:
  
  14 Jul14 July 13:58
  
  I cancelled mine on Tuesday – d’oh!
- Toby says:
  
  14 Jul14 July 14:16
  
  Oh great! How do you opt in? I’ve just logged in and there is no obvious way to do so, fingers crossed I get the offer….
- CH says:
  
  14 Jul14 July 14:34
  
  I tried ringing them twice last week to see if there were any offers, to which the answer was there’s only the (seemingly always running) balance transfer one. Then offered to put me through to retentions which turned out to be the Cardnet team who obviously then didn’t have a clue about personal cards!
  Had semi-given up. Maybe time to try again!
  - CH says:
    
    14 Jul14 July 14:44
    
    On this retentions point, has anyone ever managed to speak to such a team at Lloyds? The first line CSAs seemed confident they were putting me through to said team.
Reney says:

14 Jul14 July 13:24

So I have St Honrone Paris booked for August bank holiday using the IHG certificate that is capped at 40k. Points price has sky rocketed so I can’t move it. Since I would be double jabbed I think I will go ahead with the trip. I live 2 hour outside London (have family that I can crash with if taking early/late transport). Is eurostar the easiest way to get to Paris (i have never been)? The weekend price for eurostar is much higher so tempted to make the trip longer, I may have an uncapped hilton free night, an 35k capped Marriot free night, IHG 40k capped free night and hotel.com free night (£66), any recommendation for hotels near the eurostar?
- Rob says:
  
  14 Jul14 July 13:43
  
  You can walk (down a hill) from Eurostar to Kimpton in about 30 minutes, pretty much idiot proof route – out of station, cross the road and follow the hill. You hit the Opera House at the bottom and Kimpton is behind it.
  
  If for some odd reason you flew you can – assuming it is running during covid – get something called the Roissy Bus from the airport. This is a non-stop bus service which drop you at the Opera House, next to the InterCon, and therefore very close also to Kimpton.
  - Reney says:
    
    14 Jul14 July 13:54
    
    Thanks Rob, it looks like the hotel is still not opened yet! Has anyone tried to move their stay?
    - Bob says:
      
      14 Jul14 July 19:38
      
      Roissy Bus is running now.
      
      It re-started in june or july 2020.
      
      The ex air france buses or bus direct has been definitively cancelled and will not restart.
      The drivers have been re-assigned to the other SNCF owned sisters bus companies.
    - Bob says:
      
      14 Jul14 July 19:48
      
      I walk everyday in front of the Kimpton.
      
      I am still surprised there is no sort of life in the building. Doors (the guest entrance I guess) are closed.
      Surprising since there was some PR stuff about openning in july.
      
      I have of course not a single information.
      
      At least there is the flag Kimpton on the first floor.
      
      I wonder if all reserved guests are not going to be accomodated at the Intercontinental in front of the Kimpton.
      
      The works at the Intercontinental (facade cleaning) is now fully completed. There are no more scaffolding.
      (even at the Scribe hotel)
      
      There are still lots of independant hotels who have not yet re-openned since march 2020 in Paris. But the chains seem to do better in term of re-openning.
  - Lyn says:
    
    14 Jul14 July 20:47
    
    The Roissy Bus is running, but CDG airport itself is an absolute mess. Terminals 1 and 3 and much of Terminal 2 are closed. Occasional strikes at CDG mean that the Roissy Bus doesn’t always run to schedule or even always stop at all the normal stops at CDG.
- Harry T says:
  
  14 Jul14 July 14:29
  
  All going well, I’ll see you there that weekend! I booked it with points when it was 40k a night.
  - Reney says:
    
    14 Jul14 July 14:36
    
    As long as the hotel is open, I figured out the best price way to get there and what tests I need.🤣
    
    I guess no point booking transport when it is not clear if the hotel is opened yet. Am I risking large price increase for the euro staring i wait?
    - meta says:
      
      14 Jul14 July 15:51
      
      Eurostar has reduced service. I believe still only 2 trains per day and return times are early in the day around 4-5pm which is not good if you want to stay longer and have dinner before coming back.
      - Rob says:
        
        14 Jul14 July 16:12
        
        I got an email recently saying there are adding a 3rd service.
bafan says:

14 Jul14 July 13:26

The TAP offer today,
“Spend £250 or more with TAP Air Portugal , get £40 back”

“Save to card to get a £40 statement credit when you spend £150 or more online at TAP Air Portugal by 8 August 2021. Valid once per Card for the first 15,000 Cardmembers to save. Terms and Conditions apply.”

I assume it’s £250…£150 is interesting af.
- Track says:
  
  14 Jul14 July 13:31
  
  by 8 August 2021…
  
  who designs these offers?
  
  or clearly an attempt at nudging an impulsive purchase. There is no such thing as “refund’ on TAP, only a voucher.
  - meta says:
    
    14 Jul14 July 15:52
    
    You can get a refund, but you’ll need to do S75 or chargeback.
Rob says:

14 Jul14 July 13:41

You need the app, I think
- Simon says:
  
  14 Jul14 July 20:09
  
  Many thanks, Rob
Simon says:

14 Jul14 July 13:56

My offers do show up on the desktop website – once you’re logged in to your account, on the first page you see there’s a box on the left which says “Our Products and Services”. Below that are listed Credit Cards / Loans. Below that is a blue box which says Smart Rewards – just click on the yellow button that says “View all offers”

That appears on my home page anyway!
- Simon says:
  
  14 Jul14 July 20:10
  
  Simon, thank you! I shall certainly give that a whirl — sounds promising. 🙂
DAJ says:

14 Jul14 July 14:24

Apparently Malta has now changed rule on AZ Indian vaccination and will now accept this.
- DAJ says:
  
  14 Jul14 July 14:28
  
  That was for batch numbers:
  
  4120Z001
  4120Z002
  4120Z003
  - Laura says:
    
    14 Jul14 July 15:11
    
    Just checked and my first jab was part of 003. How big were these batches?! Loads of people seem affected
    - DAJ says:
      
      14 Jul14 July 15:32
      
      Apparently up to 5 million doses were produced.
  - HBommie says:
    
    14 Jul14 July 15:47
    
    That’ll be me!
    
    So have the batches been recognised by the EMA?
- Harry T says:
  
  14 Jul14 July 14:30
  
  Tbh it always looked like the issue was with gate staff in the UK…
- Aston100 says:
  
  14 Jul14 July 14:44
  
  I have to admire the determination of people trying to get away abroad in the coming weeks no matter what the hassle or headaches.
  
  I’ve given up planning to leave the country until at least October. Am I in the minority?
  - Harry T says:
    
    14 Jul14 July 14:51
    
    We are going to Spain on Saturday! It’s a ball ache, to be fair, but I fancy a getaway whilst we are still allowed in. Massive case rates could lead to further restrictions on UK travellers entering Europe.
  - Toby says:
    
    14 Jul14 July 14:51
    
    I’ve come around to this way of thinking Aston100! Just not worth the hassle
    - Rob says:
      
      14 Jul14 July 14:58
      
      It is exceptionally cheap though. You will never be able to do a European holiday in August again for so little. Our Porto flights for next week were £19 return on Ryanair.
      
      Even with paying for 10 covid tests across the four of us, it is substantially cheaper than it would be otherwise and that’s before you factor in the cheaper hotels.
      - Pete M says:
        
        14 Jul14 July 15:21
        
        And when you get there, most places are empty and super keen to have you!
      - Harry T says:
        
        14 Jul14 July 16:25
        
        @Rob luggage costs are silly at the moment with Ryanair though. Our Barcelona flights were £16 return each, but adding a 20kg bag each costs £240. They are playing a clever game!
      - Lady London says:
        
        14 Jul14 July 20:44
        
        Plus as you said, Rob, many always mobbed tourist destinations (Dubrovnik, Venice…) are going to be empty-to-reasonably-populated this year. Will be once in a lifetime (we all hope).
  - Chas says:
    
    14 Jul14 July 15:25
    
    We’ve decided the same Aston100 – just not worth the hassle and stress, plus keeping an eye on constantly changing requirements. Teenage kids aren’t that impressed, but they rarely are anyway…
  - jj says:
    
    14 Jul14 July 15:26
    
    If you’re vaccinated, the ‘hassle or headaches’ are an hour to fill in forms, an hour of your holiday lost in a visit to a test centre, and £100ish per person for tests.
    
    If that’s enough to stop you going away, presumably you don’t place much value on travel?
    - Rob says:
      
      14 Jul14 July 15:40
      
      If you do an ‘at airport’ test on return then it is over and done with quickly and adds literally no more than 10 minutes to your trip home. Job done. I don’t see these going away for a couple of years, so get used to it.
      
      The only issue is the ‘fit to fly’ test, which is a faff even if you do it with Qured. I expect these to be scrapped sooner rather than later as they add very little if you are vaccinated.
      
      Assuming you are going somewhere where the vaccinated just flash the NHS app at immigration and you are in, that’s it.
      
      The problems start when (for example, as we have next week) Portugal still insists on a negative test result even from the double vaccinated, and the test centre at Stansted closes so early it is virtually useless.
    - The Savage Squirrel says:
      
      14 Jul14 July 22:39
      
      I think it’s more an issue of uncertainty – and it’s quite rational for many of us given the number of short-notice rule changes already. If you’re in a business where face-to-face is the only way, you are at the mercy of rule changes. Your two week holiday isn’t quite so cheap if, on your return, you have to isolate for 10 days and suddenly have two weeks enforced further holiday, lost income, and several dozen pissed-off cancelled clients.
  - Navara says:
    
    14 Jul14 July 16:17
    
    Me too Aston. Reduced my hours and enjoying Peak District walks every morning and building up my points balance’s in the afternoon.
    Looking to book 4-6 weeks away in the winter sun.
- Rob says:
  
  14 Jul14 July 15:11
  
  Slightly unfortunate for those people denied boarding at Manchester yesterday!
  - HBommie says:
    
    14 Jul14 July 15:53
    
    …and a risk averse better half who is supercautious to look at any country where this has been an issue. i.e France and Italy.