The HfP chat thread – Wednesday 11th August

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• Harry T says:

  11 Aug11 August 08:20

  I think it’s best to focus on the long term costs and the general features of the platform. There’s no point earning some points/miles if you lose significant returns over time due to higher fees.

  • Mr. AC says:

    11 Aug11 August 14:46

    Failed to clarify that this is a YOLO investment that I won’t likely hold on to more than a couple of years at most, so fees won’t have time to add up. I don’t use up my ISA allowance per year so might as well use it. I do, however, use up my capital gains allowance every year.

• Nick B says:

  11 Aug11 August 08:22

  Hi there. Is anyone having luck in contacting BA Holidays. We are booked for a holiday to the Seychelles in 4 weeks time and it is still red list. Will BA move the dates for us or will I have to cancel and accept an FTV. It would be nice to be able to talk to BA just to understand our options. I could wait but we have to pay the full amount in a couple of days and don’t want to tie up that amount in a voucher of at all possible.

  • Lady London says:

    11 Aug11 August 12:21

    check your flights even still exist first. good chance they don:t and good chance nothing near they could force you on to. If so then expect them to contact you 3-2 weeks ahead with your refund.

  • ChrisC says:

    11 Aug11 August 14:12

    I’m due to pay balance of a trip to SFO next week.

    I last rebooked (because of cancelactions) just before the policy change from ticketing date to flight date so now I’m relying on (AA) either cancelling some of the connections or moving them so I can rebook due to schedule change time being unacceptable.

• Joints&Piles says:

  11 Aug11 August 08:22

  Chronomics customer service is non-existent and their IT is dire. Anyone found a way to contact them to cancel an order? Emails and support tickets just go unanswered.

  Conversely, GHA Discovery customer support is superb. Unlike Hilton or IHG, someone actually reads your message and gives a helpful reply instead of sending an irrelevant canned response and bouncing you around in circles.

  • Harry T says:

    11 Aug11 August 08:48

    If you’ve done your best to contact them, you could consider a chargeback, if the terms and conditions of Chronomics say that cancellation is permitted.

    • Lady London says:

      11 Aug11 August 12:29

      doesnt matter about their ts and cs. If they didnt provide what was purchased or a key aspect that was clear such as timeliness, you are entitled to a refund regardless of their ts and cs. Because any ts and cs attempting to allow them to get away with this would be regarded as unfair contract terms/ thrown out of court anyway. So chargeback should work.

  • Pablo says:

    11 Aug11 August 09:14

    You can cancel online.

    • Joints&Piles says:

      11 Aug11 August 10:11

      It says you should be able to but there is nowhere in the account or on the order to cancel it.

  • Eric the Half a Bee says:

    11 Aug11 August 09:18

    Agree. I emailed them several times to cancel with no reply. Initiated chargeback with Amex in the end.

    • Joints&Piles says:

      11 Aug11 August 10:12

      Paid through Curve. Can I still do a chargeback?

      • Eric the Half a Bee says:

        11 Aug11 August 11:28

        I would contact Curve CS, they should offer a similar service even bough they aren’t the original CC company.

        • Eric the Half a Bee says:

          11 Aug11 August 11:28

          *though

    • Aliyah says:

      11 Aug11 August 10:33

      Same experience. No way to get through despite the phone numbers. I sent the kits back recorded delivery as I got overcharged by £60! Sent them with a cover letter but I doubt I’d get my postage cost back. Absolute nightmare a day before travel. If not refunded, will do chargeback. Not worth the hassle to save some money.

  • Lady London says:

    11 Aug11 August 12:29

    doesnt matter about their ts and cs. If they didnt provide what was purchased or a key aspect that was clear such as timeliness, you are entitled to a refund regardless of their ts and cs. Because any ts and cs attempting to allow them to get away with this would be regarded as unfair contract terms/ thrown out of court anyway. So chargeback should work.

• krys_k says:

  11 Aug11 August 08:24

  Forgive the dumbo question…
  Re. Virgin Atlantic Credit Card and Awards…
  Where can I find my live points balance ?
  How close I am to achieving new voucher (as per Amex sliding scale) ?
  Accrued voucher details ?
  I spent 90 minutes waiting to get through to virgin Atlantic and gave up.
  Thanks

  • Blair says:

    11 Aug11 August 08:30

    Points balance shows in the VA app. Not the VM CC app. Also shows in V Red app I think. Accrued vouchers show as a lowkey mention on the statement in the month which it was accrued. Also shows under Activity in the V Red app.

    • Robert Darby says:

      11 Aug11 August 22:58

      Thanks for the suggestion of looking under acitivy in the virgin red app – it is showing that I have qualified for 5 credit card reward vouchers (on the 30th Nov, 7th Dec, 14th Dec, 21st Dec and 28th Dec) – does this make sense – can you earn 5 vouchers in a year?

      • Rob says:

        12 Aug12 August 07:55

        No!

  • Reney says:

    11 Aug11 August 12:17

    There is no where that tracks how close you are to your voucher, so you need to look through your statement with a calculator by your side.

    On accrued vouchers no easy place that is displayed. My app’s accrued history doesn’t go far back enough to show all the voucher and expiry date. I have sent VA a whatsapp request for the details, it has been 1 day and waiting for a response so far.

    • krys_k says:

      11 Aug11 August 12:18

      Thanks !

• Benilyn says:

  11 Aug11 August 08:35

  @Neil – who stayed in the Shard this weekend gone, did you need to pay for the room with the bath tub in the room? Thanks

• The Savage Squirrel says:

  11 Aug11 August 08:44

  Exactly as above; especially with any longer term investment. Forget points. Little advantage to paying multiple annual fees and plenty of downside; pick a low cost self select wrapper that works for you long term and ditch the rest.

  • Ed says:

    11 Aug11 August 09:11

    Yours and Harry’s comments rather undermine the whole point of this site. Yes of course you should look at the long term costs of the platform, but these should be considered in the round with any joining bonuses. *Not* to take these into account would be economically irrational.

• SteveJ says:

  11 Aug11 August 08:49

  Someone was staying at the HGI Snowdonia recently and was going to write up a review, any recent updates?

  How are they handling brekkie since freedom day? Local restaurant suggestions? Any recognition for Hilton Gold? etc

  Thanks!

  • The Savage Squirrel says:

    11 Aug11 August 09:14

    HGI Snowdonia. There right now; 4th day of 5. Overall positive but not perfect.
    – location excellent in stunning Welsh valley and Snowdonia stuff all within 30 mins drive.
    – Room finished to good standard and new. Passes HFP test with Smeg kettle/fridge and good quality nickable hangers.
    – Toilet and shower mini cubicles opening to main room. Sharing a room with someone you wouldn’t want to see you unclothed would be tricky.
    – Every room in the hotel is interconnecting – great for families with Hilton guaranteed interconnectedness; good double door soundproofing so downside minimal.
    – View out front of surf school great and entertaining. View of bins at back. Given ever changing entertainment at front this is one of the few times that paying for view may be worth it.
    – Crowd very family based. No sign of rowdy stag dos.
    – Brekkie back to standard buffet. Solid but not special. Will do eggs and omelettes to order. Comparable to most UK Doubletrees I’d say.
    – Limited housekeeping due to pingdemic (was warned at checkin and can phone to request if needed).
    – Restaurant menu simplified and limited to improve service during pingdemic. Very dull (bogstandard room service type menu. Burger, club, fish and chips etc) with zero local flavour; not even lamb!. Service acceptable but a few iffy moments. Would eat here only for convenience in evening. Requires booking as very busy. Hotel missing a trick by turning away restaurant guests – could shove pizza oven in a large unused 2nd bar and rake it in…
    – local pubs much better. Bull 1 km north, Old Ship Inn 2km south. Both very good pub food. Would eat here if you can. Small brasserie south as well, haven’t tried as limited opening days.
    – spa no idea. Not seen anyone use it. Very small and partly in shed so wouldn’t expect much.
    – kids LOVED surf school. Instructors are great and very friendly. Loads of beginners so feel welcome. Very likely to return for this reason.
    Anyone looking for a clean modern hotel (in an area where other modern options are limited – nearest older hotel looks like wooden shack) to explore area and use Surf/Adventure Park will be happy. Anyone visiting for spa/dining of hotel itself not so much. Very good for less than 30k Hiltons per room per night. You’d be a lot less satisfied at £200+. ££90-120/ night in normal times “feels” fair.

    • Tom says:

      11 Aug11 August 09:21

      Thanks for this. I’m going in October. Which type of room are you in? I’ve booked the king with lake view for October – reviews on Trip Advisor implied that the more expensive king deluxe rooms actually overlook the bins.

    • Eric the Half a Bee says:

      11 Aug11 August 09:22

      Every room being a connecting room sounds horrendous. This is usually the first thing I make sure I avoid at check-in.

    • SteveJ says:

      11 Aug11 August 09:36

      Brilliant, thanks SS! I’ve managed to bag it months ago for £110/ngt so I’m definitely pleased, heading there next week.

      Do you have Hilton status? If so : Did you get the room you booked or did you get any special treatment?

      • The Savage Squirrel says:

        11 Aug11 August 10:32

        No upgrade. Standard king and double rooms. We have interconnected rooms so this is standard – we don’t ever expect upgrades when asking for interconnected as a two room block is much rarer than a single room; so didn’t ask, especially as hotel full and we’re staying several nights.

        Gold status. Free brekkie credit seems to be given to both rooms (as it is usually). Will see for sure at checkout.

        Interconnected room with single normal door between them is indeed very bad. Here we have two doors and they are nestled in soundproofing padding, and well away from bed at bathroom end. To be honest they’re just as soundproof as the wall.

        I’d definitely take the better view over a minor room upgrade.

    • Memesweeper says:

      11 Aug11 August 13:50

      You checking out tomorrow or Friday? Checking in late PM tomorrow…

  • Jake Taylor says:

    11 Aug11 August 09:42

    Sorry for the plug (think of it as a recommendation), but if you do go to North Wales please do have a look at the rather wonderful range of outdoor activities offered by my friend’s business, Bearded Men Adventures. It operates from Llangollen which, even in itself, is well worth a visit.

  • Aston100 says:

    11 Aug11 August 12:45

    Nice review.
    I stopped outside this hotel last week, on my way from Betws to Llandudno.
    I did not like what I saw.
    The hotel looks out of place.
    This area is the least stunning in the greater Snowdonia region (IMO).
    Going ten minutes south or west takes you into areas of amazing natural beauty.
    I opted to stay in a decent b&b in Betws and did not regret it.

    • Memesweeper says:

      11 Aug11 August 14:15

      You checking out tomorrow or Friday? I’m checking in late PM tomorrow…

      • The Savage Squirrel says:

        11 Aug11 August 16:30

        Checking out Friday 🙂

        • Memesweeper says:

          11 Aug11 August 17:42

          I’ll buy you a pint if I see you at the bar 🙂

          memesweeper
          @
          protonmail
          .
          com

    • The Savage Squirrel says:

      11 Aug11 August 16:37

      Worth noting that hotel and surf school were not built on scenic green fields. Redevelopment of an abandoned and derelict former hydroelectric aluminium works (more than likely with some major development grant funding). Compared to that, it’s obviously a major improvement in both aesthetics and much needed economic prospects for the area.

    • SteveJ says:

      11 Aug11 August 20:23

      But they scraped the croissant on your armpit, surely that made your glass half empty?

      • SteveJ says:

        11 Aug11 August 20:23

        ^ @Aston

    • Dave says:

      11 Aug11 August 20:24

      Must say that I was surprised when I looked on Google Maps to see it was only 20 minutes from Llandudno!

      • SteveJ says:

        11 Aug11 August 20:40

        Is that a good thing or a bad thing?

        • Dave says:

          11 Aug11 August 22:57

          Well it’s barely Snowdonia.

          Reminds me of Holiday Inn Chester West, which isn’t even in the same country!

• Diydegsy says:

  11 Aug11 August 08:59

  Received an email yesterday to say I’d won 1000 points for Virgin recall game draw on the app. I was beginning to think no one wins. Better than nothing I guess.

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