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The HfP chat thread – Monday 16th August

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Comments (290)

This article is closed to new posts. Discussion continues in the HfP Forums.

  • VickyTM says:
    16 Aug16 August 09:34

    What is the minimum length of time I can leave before a BA flight to cancel a cash booking to get a FTV? Do I have to do it before check in opens?
    Thanks

  • Benilyn says:
    16 Aug16 August 09:37

    KRISFLYER MILES CAN NOW BE POOLED FOR FAMILY UNITS
    We are pleased to share that we have launched KrisFlyer for Families this month, a new programme feature that enables families to pool miles so that family units can now enjoy rewards much quicker than before.

    Starting today, parents and guardians can link their children’s KrisFlyer accounts to theirs, and from 18 August 2021, they will be able to transfer miles from their children’s KrisFlyer accounts to their account. Up to 5 child accounts can be linked1 to one adult KrisFlyer account, and a cap of 50,000 KrisFlyer miles per child’s account each calendar year can be transferred. Service fees and other terms and conditions will apply for miles transferred.

    Parents and guardians who link their child’s account to theirs between now and 31 August 2021 will receive 500 KrisFlyer miles2.

    Parents and guardians will now have to consent to their child’s request to enrol as a KrisFlyer member. We hope the introduction of KrisFlyer for Families will make it easier to redeem for family holidays when travel resumes.

    • BJ says:
      16 Aug16 August 14:16

      Being Singaporre, it will be interesting to see if they are completely relaxed about non-traditional families.

      • Tim says:
        16 Aug16 August 18:11

        If not, Singapore legalised sex reassignment surgery in the early 1970s. So there is a loophole there if you are in need of Krisflyer miles 🙂 🙂

        • BJ says:
          16 Aug16 August 19:45

          I’m sure somebody here will probably try to figure out whether the cost of surgery would make it a good deal or not 🙂

  • Oliver says:
    16 Aug16 August 09:39

    I will have a £9k tuition fee bill next month. They don’t take Amex, but other credit cards are ok. Would be grateful to hear any suggestions on how to get the best return from the payment.

    Billhop to BAPP would effectively mean buying Avios for 2p, so not worth it. I have the free Virgin Atlantic card, but upgrading doesn’t seem worth it to me (don’t need yet another voucher). Then there are 0% interest cards, but not sure I want the hassle. Are there any other worthwhile options that I am missing? Thanks in advance.

    • meta says:
      16 Aug16 August 09:43

      If you qualify , then HSBC Premier World Elite card would get you 40k HSBC points straight away and you’ll need to spend another £3k to get extra 40k points. Currently there is no fee in the first year.

      • DJ says:
        16 Aug16 August 10:50

        I thought no fee is only for existing customers who already got the WE card. If that is not the case, then I will get my partner to open one too.

        • Sam G says:
          16 Aug16 August 10:56

          I just got charged the fee on a new card. 40k HSBC (20k air miles) after a £2k spend and then another 20k air miles next year when we pay the fee again (& have spent £12k). So you’re basically buying the miles for 1p each

          For us it only makes sense as we’ve got a lot of foreign spend this year we will do via Curve, otherwise wouldn’t bother, especially as we won’t get much/any use out of the lounge access

          • Reney says:
            16 Aug16 August 11:00

            Hi Sam, can I asked when you applied? Several people reported no fees on Saturday and they applied recently.

            By the way others have reported that HSBC hate curve, even for legit usage. Worth reading previous chat to see if a good idea to use the card with curve.

          • meta says:
            16 Aug16 August 11:17

            You get double points for foreign spend on HSBC, so if you’re chasing sign up bonus it might make sense using without Curve. As that’s an extra 48k (24k miles) if you do all £12k on foreign spend.

            My friend was approved in June and didn’t get charged. They told her no fee in the first year as limited use of lounge and insurance benefits due to covid.

          • Sam G says:
            16 Aug16 August 11:20

            Couple of weeks ago. Quite a few people reported being charged the fee even though the letter says £0, so sounds like it’s a bit YMMV !

            my OH has had the free card with Curve for years now and we use quite a bit – he got pulled up for topping up Revolut (legitimate to exchange not MS) but otherwise no issues with genuine use. They’ve closed the main MS / points routes now anyway from what I’ve read on here – HMRC etc don’t earn points

          • TGLoyalty says:
            16 Aug16 August 12:10

            There’s absolutely no need or point in using curve to top up Revolut. You can do it directly with the credit card.

      • Harry T says:
        16 Aug16 August 11:31

        If anyone is interested, I received my HSBC WE CC in August and I had opened the Premier bank account in June. I have not been charged the annual fee – the CC has been open since the start of August.

        • Red Flyer says:
          16 Aug16 August 16:19

          I upgraded from free to paid WE card in March this year. £195 fee paid with April statement and I just called now and they refunded the £195 to the card within 10 mins of the call and said fee will be waived in April 2022 too.

      • Oliver says:
        16 Aug16 August 17:59

        Thanks meta! If they will waive the fee for year 1, that seems like my best option. Will give them a call.

    • Harry T says:
      16 Aug16 August 10:04

      Take a student loan?

      • BP says:
        16 Aug16 August 11:07

        I’ve been using Curve with HSBC for a long time with no problems. Just don’t take the P with MS.

        • Reney says:
          16 Aug16 August 11:24

          thanks BP and Sam. Good to know legit use of curve works.

          Meta double points sounds great but what is the forex fee for foreign spending thou? Does it wipe off the extra point.

          • Reney says:
            16 Aug16 August 11:25

            sorry one last Q, how quickly do they charge the card fee if I am indeed charged?

          • Sam G says:
            16 Aug16 August 11:27

            just checked back, I first used the card on 20th July and charged the fee on 22nd July

            I don’t get the double point thing – you’re still spending against the bonus target with curve but paying ~3p for the extra point. only good for those claiming expenses !

          • Genghis says:
            16 Aug16 August 11:32

            @Sam G. “only good for those claiming expenses”. Even then I don’t recommend since the 3% fee is charged separately to the the main charge, e.g. two charges of 100% and 3% vs say 103% on Amex and Creation.

          • Genghis says:
            16 Aug16 August 11:35

            @Reney. When I first got the card a few ago now, a statement generated a few days after getting the card where I was charged the card fee.

          • Sam G says:
            16 Aug16 August 11:38

            @Genghis yes you are right. Depends on your employer & their system, this would have been fine everywhere I’ve worked as I would just add the two together, they never saw my statement only the receipts. Concur checks its within a tolerance IIRC

        • Rob says:
          16 Aug16 August 12:10

          No points now with HMRC via Curve.

  • mart says:
    16 Aug16 August 09:57

    i have noticed Turkish airline miles and smiles have some business promo awards
    Manchester to Dubai is 24.5k e/w plus taxes on various dates
    so my plan was to transfer amex to marriott to turkish
    does anyone know any reasons why this would not work ?
    i have never flown Turkish and not long opened my account

    • Sam G says:
      16 Aug16 August 10:15

      Turkey is currently red list so you need that to be resolved. Otherwise no problem with your plan & the Turkish onboard product/lounge in Istanbul are all very nice.

      Just crunch the numbers and make sure it’s good value – Turkish Airlines taxes are quite high and Lufthansa/Swiss often have good 2-4-1 deals for cash if you’re willing to connect

    • Jonathan says:
      16 Aug16 August 13:33

      Check what hard product you’ll be getting. Quite possibly both legs on short haul aircraft so no flatbed in which case you may as well fly direct in Economy on Emirates.

      • John says:
        16 Aug16 August 15:43

        Even the shorthaul J seats are reasonably comfortable, so it depends on the price differential (and the value you set on your miles)

    • BuildBackBetter says:
      16 Aug16 August 15:00

      aren’t their “promo” awards their basic redemption awards? Other airlines usually call them standard and premium. Turkish calls the standard ones as ‘promo’.

    • Tim says:
      16 Aug16 August 22:50

      The Star gold and business lounges at new IST are very good. Both are pretty much the same (neither trumps the other) and open 24 hours, though if on an overnight connection, the automatic gates won’t let you in until midnight. Get some carbohydrates from one of the food stands around midnight and a nice glass of red. Sleep like a baby for four or five hours on one of the comfy sofas at the far end – you’ll likely be awoken when the lounge gets busy about 0530 and can be on your way after a bit of breakfast. For a late in and early out connection, this is my preference now over a hotel. But I do sleep quite easily.

  • MilesOnPoint says:
    16 Aug16 August 10:17

    Are BA still yet to restart lounge agreement at Dublin airport?

    The executive lounge @ Terminal 1 has now reopened but lounge agent earlier this month said they were “still waiting to hear back from BA” about restarting access for Club/Status pax on BA

    BA still operating a very cut down schedule between LHR & DUB, so I’m guessing they won’t be in a rush to bring back lounge access @ DUB until September?

    • Pete M says:
      16 Aug16 August 11:31

      The Oneworld lounges page, which BA customer services seem to regard as the ultimate authority, indeed suggests no BA lounge at DUB at the moment…

      • EvilDoctorK says:
        16 Aug16 August 14:15

        10 days ago there was no access based on BA status/class of service anyway … They do take priority pass if that’s any use … Lounge is worse than it used to be, half closed and took out loads of chairs .. drinks delivered with a snarl after you press a bell to summon the attendant … Not missing much currently !

        Apparently the Aer Lingus lounge is reopening September .. so maybe the DAA lounge will improve and BA will restart access then

        • MilesOnPoint says:
          16 Aug16 August 16:58

          Thanks both. Certainly looks as if it will be September at the earliest then

  • Oh! Matron! says:
    16 Aug16 August 10:36

    Humph: There was a thread on the daily chat one day last week with a tonne of restaurant recommendations for a veggie. The chat pages disappear after a couple of days, so it appears to have disappeared in the ether…..

    • Jen T says:
      16 Aug16 August 10:45

      I recommended Tredwell’s – epic plant based menus, but also meat for those who prefer a carnivore lifestyle!

    • AndyW says:
      16 Aug16 August 10:49

      Scroll up, and click this

      Old chat threads are hidden from the HfP home page. If you want to look for something in an old thread, click here.

    • Genghis says:
      16 Aug16 August 10:49

      They’re still there. See ^

    • Oh! Matron! says:
      16 Aug16 August 11:20

      Thanks all 🙂

    • Cats are best says:
      16 Aug16 August 15:21

      Sagar is good for South Indian veg and vegan.

  • AnotherUser says:
    16 Aug16 August 10:45

    Thinking of paying a hotel bill in euros on amex plat (for the travel insurance benefits). It’ll be about £1k. Is it just a 3% charge amex would make, and no currency loading?

    • Ste C says:
      16 Aug16 August 10:57

      if you login to the Amex website you can check the fees and total cost:

      Benefits & Help > Check Foreign Transaction Exchange Rates

    • Harry T says:
      16 Aug16 August 11:44

      Just the 3%, as far as I’ve ever been able to tell.

      • AnotherUser says:
        16 Aug16 August 12:19

        Thanks! I’ll see when the hotel want paying, then – £30 on fees for insurance seems steep at the end of the stay (if nothing has gone wrong) and reasonable at the start!

        • Sukes says:
          16 Aug16 August 15:11

          Just in case it would affect your planning I’ll point out that the medical cover of Amex Plat is NOT dependent on use of the card (although Amex Plat CS don’t always seem to be aware of this). Cancellation cover, travel disruption cover etc is dependent on transport and/or accommodation being card purchased (either via the card, MR points or other loyalty pts + taxes on the card).

    • John says:
      16 Aug16 August 15:45

      The Amex rate can be -0.5% to 0.5% off the interbank rate which you’d get with curve etc., and obviously if the actual rate changes by more than 1% in a day the Amex rate could be quite different by the time it posts compared to the rate you might have received with curve etc. Amex rate is probably comparable to Mastercard rate. (Visa rate tends to be poorer, because it’s set in advance.)

  • AnotherUser says:
    16 Aug16 August 10:57

    In case it helps others, Amex plat insurance confirmed that they would cover my costs if Spain moves to red while we’re there (assuming it’s not red when we go there, and no FCO advice against travel there). Seems a pretty good policy 🙂

    • TGLoyalty says:
      16 Aug16 August 11:47

      With nearly 1m brits in Spain during august what are the chance? Where will they all be hotel quarantined?

      • AnotherUser says:
        16 Aug16 August 12:16

        Odds are low, I agree! I was thinking more about worst cases – e.g. catching Covid in Spain and being stuck there, with Spain on the redlist by the time I can return. I have a sunny, optimistic disposition, as you can see 😉

        I think there’s more chance that they’ll start insisting on PCR tests to come back or resume something like an amber plus list. Either if those would cause enough chaos, though!

        • TGLoyalty says:
          16 Aug16 August 14:08

          They’ve had backlash from amber+ and changing rules before. So I doubt it.

          Spain has more fully vaccinated people than the U.K. reality is that delta doesn’t care about the vaccine.

          “Cases” can’t be the only measure of what’s going on on the ground and sticking swabs up peoples noses at any chance you get is just fuelling the fear.

      • Harry T says:
        16 Aug16 August 14:36

        If Spain goes red, it will collapse the UK border and quarantine infrastructure in about three hours lol. Plus there’s literally no reason for one of the most vaccinated countries in Europe to go red. The government only invents new variants or variant concerns when it suits their political agenda (see recent silliness with France for an example).

    • Benilyn says:
      16 Aug16 August 11:55

      What is the relationship between Amber/Red list and FCO advice on travel?

      • TGLoyalty says:
        16 Aug16 August 12:13

        None.

        But Amex insurance is only valid if you book when there is no FCDO advice against travel in place at the time.

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