The HfP chat thread – Monday 9th August

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• MarkS says:

  9 Aug9 August 05:58

  Amex offers, can you use them across both your main and supplementary cards? Supposed to be staying at a LHW property soon so considering applying the bill across a few cards to take advantage of the 100£ offer

  • BJ says:

    9 Aug9 August 06:09

    Yes, each card has its own offer. Furthermore, you can sometimes persuade merchants including hotels to split bills between different cards. However, in the case of hotels you can simply achieve the same result by making multiple reservations if staying more than one night. The later can also help if your OH is staying as they may have their own card offers, and it may also allow to better explore the benefits of some hotel loyalty scheme offers at the same time.

  • Andrew Mc says:

    9 Aug9 August 06:10

    Each card has its own offers. If you can see the offer on both main + supps, and save the offer to both cards, there is no reason splitting the bill won’t work.

    • Roy says:

      9 Aug9 August 20:04

      Splitting payments to double dip promotions has got people’s accounts closed before now IIRC, at least with Shop Small. Caveat emptor.

  • Andrew says:

    9 Aug9 August 06:21

    But you need to save the offer to the supp cards – the offers aren’t automatically available or saved on all cards you hold on that account.

• Chris Heyes says:

  9 Aug9 August 06:40

  Anna Are you up ? 5 more days of quarantine for us
  Then off to Portsmouth, Hopefully not back into quarantine as off to Avisford Park more Hilton points build up, Arundel Castle as well
  I hope your up ?
  Because Donald Russell £60 spend £10 back has appeared on cards this morning !

  • Andrew says:

    9 Aug9 August 06:47

    Did it ever go away? DR offers are about as omnipresent as Betty.

    • Peter K says:

      9 Aug9 August 07:05

      Ever worsening though. I’m sure it was £10 off £40, then £10 off £50, now £10 off £60.

    • Chris Heyes says:

      9 Aug9 August 07:16

      Andrew Went away on my cards We had it on 6 cards last year used it on all 6 cards, combined it with Donald Russell’s own tv offer of £29 steak offer worth £55
      Just added more steaks to get value up to minimum spend
      Not seen the offer on any of our cards since October
      Was £10 off £40 back then

      • Louise K says:

        9 Aug9 August 08:15

        Went on mine too, thanks for the heads up.

  • Craig says:

    9 Aug9 August 07:20

    £10 off £50 on mine.

    • Andrew says:

      9 Aug9 August 07:23

      +1

  • Anna says:

    9 Aug9 August 08:02

    Hi Chris, yes I’m up having coffee on the terrace, watching the sunrise over Golf del Sur and wondering if I can be a beach bum for the rest of my life!
    I did fill up the freezer before we went away but I’ll save the offer for next time, thanks.
    You were so unlucky to get pinged, why have you still got the app?!!

    • Chris Heyes says:

      9 Aug9 August 08:40

      Anna Partners Fault I’ve never had the app, don’t use them wouldn’t know how lol
      We used a walk in centre in Bognor early last year, Partner reg both of us
      Phones were switched off, but when we got back on Fri from Brighton switched phones on Partner had text messages and on house answer phone lots of messages lol luckily 10 days started from contact not from Friday
      So def blaming Partner, lol

      • Chris Heyes says:

        9 Aug9 August 08:54

        Anna After thought If we’d stopped another week in Brighton We’d have got the message to isolate when we got back, we couldn’t have been fined for not isolating if we hadn’t read the message until the 13th
        Or could they trace us through switched off phones ?
        Or would they ?

        • Tracey says:

          9 Aug9 August 09:03

          Theoretically you could be traced from where you last had your phone switched on. I don’t think you can be found from your phone’s location if it is switched off. There are also other ways of tracking people down of course….

      • Nick says:

        9 Aug9 August 09:18

        If you’re getting calls and text messages it’s nothing to do with any apps. It will be from either a flight to the UK you took, or someone who has tested positive giving your name/number as a ‘close contact’.

        • Tracey says:

          9 Aug9 August 09:59

          Agree with this. They have your contact details from your GP registration, that you agreed to share with the NHS. This is reiterated in the blurb you are given when you receive your vaccine.

    • Pablo says:

      9 Aug9 August 09:22

      Deutsche Bank doesn’t charge for cash withdrawals in Spain. Tried and tested with Halifax Clarity and Curve. Download the DB España app to see ATM locations. In Tenerife there’s one in Los Cristianos.

      • Lyn says:

        9 Aug9 August 10:03

        Good suggestion. I think Deutsche Bank is part of an ATM alliance with Barclays and several overseas banks as well.

        • Bill says:

          9 Aug9 August 10:24

          DB is free withdrawals is correct. I vaguely recall using the Los Cristianos ATM last year now that it’s been mentioned

      • Anna says:

        9 Aug9 August 10:57

        Thanks – also need to locate one in Mallorca next! In some of the more rural areas cash is still very much king …

• Manya says:

  9 Aug9 August 07:18

  Anyone here bank with Santander? I hold a 123 lite account and the related zero fee fx card. Despite always calling up in advance to inform them of my travel plans I find it annoying when the card doesn’t work when abroad – I get that it’s an automated fraud prevention system but having to verify in app or via OTP each time isn’t possible when I don’t have Wi-Fi etc. Also don’t see the point in having to do it every time. Also annoying that whilst the credit card gets blocked the debit card, which comes with additional fees for non-£, goes through immediately.

  Anyone been able to find a way to get the credit card to work seamlessly?

  • Dani says:

    9 Aug9 August 07:22

    Perhaps not the answer you were expecting… But I’ve used the Halifax Clarity card all my life and not had issues… A one off bit of hassle to apply.. but works for me.

  • Chris Heyes says:

    9 Aug9 August 07:36

    Manya, I bank with Nationwide, plus Amex of course I ring both of them up.
    Tell them where I’m travelling to and for how long
    I also inform them that my phone will be switched off for the duration of my holiday (it’s a quark of mine phone off day before we travel until we get back, don’t want any bad news to spoil hols)
    Never had a single problem, but they do note it on my acc, also it’s mainly card spend don’t take much currency with me

    • Super Secret Stuff says:

      9 Aug9 August 07:54

      For nationwide, if you use the card at the departure airport Post security it automatically gets flagged as going abroad for up to 30 days

      • The Savage Squirrel says:

        9 Aug9 August 08:26

        Thanks. That’s a very useful tip!
        Although thinking about it, mine has languished in obscurity ever since the Horizon card arrived. 😀

        • Super Secret Stuff says:

          9 Aug9 August 15:21

          It is! Makes travel so much easier, one less thing to worry about the day before. I have my current account with them, always treated me well and like this example, very efficient!

      • Paul Pogba says:

        9 Aug9 August 10:15

        Nationwide used to have the option of notifying them that you were going abroad on their online banking with a drop down list for the country you were visiting. Not sure if its still there because I’ve not left the island.

  • Harry T says:

    9 Aug9 August 08:12

    Halifax Clarity doesn’t require this and always works well abroad. If you go via Money Saving Expert, you can get £20 too. I’ve had my card since about 2017 and used it all over the world.

  • BP says:

    9 Aug9 August 08:22

    I have a Santander Zero CC which I’ve used for over a decade for travel. I just submit the dates and destinations on online banking and off I go. Even when I don’t submit my travel plans I don’t get blocked.

    • SteveJ says:

      9 Aug9 August 08:52

      +1

  • SteveKicks says:

    9 Aug9 August 08:32

    I’ve got the Santander Zero card, it’s never crossed my mind to call them up when I go abroad, and I’ve never been blocked. Maybe try not telling them next time 🙂

  • Anuj says:

    9 Aug9 August 09:15

    You could connect it to curve, then set curve to pass on the currency paid after/if you’ve used up the curve card fx limit

  • Andrew says:

    9 Aug9 August 09:24

    I haven’t called for years (pre-pandemic), most of my banks don’t need the call anymore.

    The only thing I make sure I do, is to use my key cards (Virgin Atlantic and MBNA) at the UK airport. I’ve no idea if there’s anything in the algorithms, but if there’s a human eye reviewing it’s probably helpful to see “Boots Heathrow, T5” or “Superdrug, Edinburgh Airport” ahead of the international transactions

• gary treen says:

  9 Aug9 August 07:37

  This is a follow up to a question I posted yesterday. I have 3 first class flights to the US at the end of August and I am trying to get organised for the likely cancellation or not being able to travel. They are all Avios/Companion Voucher bookings and so assuming we are not allowed into the US my preference is to roll them over to next year and hope to get the same seats.

  My flight out (to SFO) remains at the moment but the return flight (from LAX) looks like it will be cancelled by BA in due course.

  My question is this- when one gets the flight cancellation email how long can one wait before taking action? My thoughts being that if the US still isn’t allowing us in I would try to roll over the bookings and seats to next year, but if they do happen to change the rules on entry i would try to move to an alternative BA flight back (from LAX).

  Hopefully someone has some ideas on this. cheers

  • Blenz101 says:

    9 Aug9 August 08:24

    You just need to wait for any flight in the trip to be cancelled and then you can call up and discuss your options and move to a still operating flight next year.

    If the flights do still operate for freight and/or US citizens coming to U.K./Europe then you will need to proactively cancel yourself before departure. As I think you know, just because you can’t get in doesn’t give you any rights should the flights still depart.

  • Sam G says:

    9 Aug9 August 09:01

    You can just leave it and call in nearer the time. As your outbound flight will operate you need to have called in before that departs (and don’t leave it too late considering how it’s sometimes hard to get someone on the phone lately!)

• Anna says:

  9 Aug9 August 08:08

  Following on from finding out that most Spanish ATMs now charge completely rip off fees for cash withdrawals – what the best way of spending abroad these days (it’s been a while!)
  Currently putting most spending on Revolut after topping up creatively and converting to euros – this doesn’t seem to be attracting any charges. I’ve got a trip to Mallorca booked for the end of this month so will continue with this strategy if it’s the most cost effective. (I’ve hit all Amex targets for the year and holding off triggering the 241till Sep).

  • Harry T says:

    9 Aug9 August 08:15

    I tend to use Curve during the week, and the Virgin paid card at the weekend, if paying in euros (Curve charges at weekends, Virgin does not charge for euro transactions in person). Revolut also good but I don’t bother with the palaver of topping it up via points cards these days. Halifax Clarity is my back up. I’ll use amex gold if I have an extra points/retention offer that tips the balance in my favour (so the recent extra point per pound helped). I’ll use Bonvoy amex for Marriott hotels, as I consider it good value to buy their points for 0.5p.

  • Chrisasaurus says:

    9 Aug9 August 08:16

    Do you even need to convert to euros? Or just use the gbp balance and let them (Rev) convert?

    • Blenz101 says:

      9 Aug9 August 08:30

      They will do the conversation automatically in my experience but not across currencies.

      You must have sufficient in a single currency for the whole transaction.

      I.e. if you are buying something for $10 but have £5 and €5 it will fail. You would need to convert all into one pot either in USD or another currency where it converts to at least $10.

      • Harrier25 says:

        9 Aug9 August 08:39

        Are you benefiting in any way by moving funds to a Revolut Euro account rather than allowing Revolut to convert to GBP for you?

        • Ryan says:

          9 Aug9 August 09:32

          Benefit of locking in a rate that you’re happy with / removes risk of a worse rate at the date of transaction… same goes for if the rate improves though

        • John says:

          9 Aug9 August 13:19

          Also avoids weekend markup

    • MD says:

      9 Aug9 August 08:40

      @Chris Only need to pre-convert into euros if you’re planning on spending in euros at the weekend. Convert during the week beforehand instead and you the avoid the weekend markup.

      I use Revolut for most things abroad these days. Don’t forget you’re getting an extra 0.1% back on euro spend and 1% on non euro, so in addition to the points from topping it up creatively it can really rack up.

      • Harrier25 says:

        9 Aug9 August 09:24

        Do you just simply select the Euro account in the Revolut app to spend from it?

        • Anna says:

          9 Aug9 August 10:58

          Yes.

        • Harrier25 says:

          9 Aug9 August 11:23

          Cheers Anna

  • Bill says:

    9 Aug9 August 08:27

    Halifax clarity
    Creation everyday
    Debit – starling and revolut
    Travel card for titsa
    Cabify or radio taxi elche apps
    Don’t bother with cash at all

  • JanM says:

    9 Aug9 August 09:14

    IberCaja does not charge. And I think Sabadell only charges something like 85 cents? There are a few lists online but even tend to be out of date. You can almost always pay by card in Spain though.

• Harry T says:

  9 Aug9 August 08:18

  Any recent data point on how long it takes to transfer Amex MR to Flying Blue? I transferred some last night to pay for flights from Paris to Amsterdam – there’s an awards promo on.

  By the way, I’m still having the issue where I can’t book KLM/AF flights with virgin miles on their website or app – the booking always fails but they charge my card for the taxes anyway. @Rob – any ideas when they will fix this? It happened to me in January too and it’s not convenient to contact Virgin at all. Poor service for redeeming on partners IMO.

  • Blair says:

    9 Aug9 August 10:15

    Instant for me.first transfer Amex phone agent assisted me. They don’t claim to be instant but my experience since then is closing the KLM app and reopening shows the points transfer.

    • Harry T says:

      9 Aug9 August 12:14

      Thanks, seems slower for me!

  • ZW says:

    9 Aug9 August 21:35

    Used to be 3 working days pre-covid

• Mark says:

  9 Aug9 August 08:23

  Cheapest in person PCR? Randox is £60 but full for the week it seems…

  • Rhys says:

    9 Aug9 August 08:42

    ExpressTest offers fit to fly tests from 59

  • KP says:

    9 Aug9 August 14:12

    I have just looking. The best I have found for in person PCR is Collinson with BA discount or amex discount

• Paul Pogba says:

  9 Aug9 August 08:52

  Does anyone know whether Chase are likely to be launching in the UK before 30 November?

  • Andrew (@andrewseftel) says:

    9 Aug9 August 09:40

    Publicly at least, they appear to have everything more or less in place. It’s not inconceivable that someone’s 2021 objectives involve a launch (and traditionally nothing particularly serious happens in retail financial services in December due to a combination of IT change freezes, customers being distracted and festive hangovers).

  • Youllnever says:

    9 Aug9 August 10:45

    Don’t get too excited. They’ll likely be launching with just current accounts to start.

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