The HfP chat thread – Friday 27th August

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• Tim Rogers says:

  27 Aug27 August 07:22

  Is there a trick to buying a PCR on Expert Medicals? I fill in the form and submit and end up back at the same page. I think I’ve read stories of other people facing similar flakiness…

  • Sandgrounder says:

    27 Aug27 August 07:25

    My dad spend about 2 hours trying to do it last night after the announcement and failed at the same point. I am travelling elsewhere next week and ordered a kit from Randox in about 2 minutes. I suppose it all depends on how much you value your time, but I’m happy with my choice.

    • Tim Rogers says:

      27 Aug27 August 07:35

      Randox is my backup. I’m just wondering if there is a knack to it save £30 😅 (which can be much better spent on holiday!)

      • Pete M says:

        27 Aug27 August 08:23

        From what I’ve seen the website seems to come and go – wonder if they turn it off when they have too many orders and can’t process them?

        • Eoc says:

          27 Aug27 August 17:36

          Unlike their product. Which doesn’t actually come at all…

      • A says:

        27 Aug27 August 10:28

        Save even more: https://0044covidtest.com/products/day-2-oc

  • MW says:

    27 Aug27 August 09:52

    I think it works but only sometimes. Really depends on how much time you want to spend on it.

    Took me a couple of days of intermittent trying and it effectually worked. My guess it’s to do with availability or their shopping capacity.

    If you have a password manager like Bitwarden, you can automate some form filling so you don’t have to re-enter the data from scratch.

  • C says:

    27 Aug27 August 10:33

    After a week of trying, I gave up and went with Randox in the end – took 2 minutes as mentioned above and confirmation email received straight away. Yes would have preferred to spend the extra £30 on a nice pizza out on holiday, but after so much messing around I wanted to be confident that the tests would actually arrive and not worry about it on our first holiday in 18 months 🙂

    • MW says:

      27 Aug27 August 12:26

      If it doesn’t arrive, do a chargeback and forget about it? (Unless coming from an amber country and not double-vaccinated)

• krys_k says:

  27 Aug27 August 07:28

  Question re Hilton Honors qualification requirements to earn status. To get Diamond in 2021 it’s – 30 nights, 15 stays or 60,000 points. If I’m Gold thanks to Amex Platinum, is that 30 more stays etc to qualify. Or just 10, given that to get to Gold one would have needed 20 nights stay etc. Thanks.

  • Mr(s) Entitled says:

    27 Aug27 August 07:31

    You start from zero.

    • Harry T says:

      27 Aug27 August 07:52

      This is correct, sadly.

      • krys_k says:

        27 Aug27 August 08:01

        Thanks

        • roberto says:

          27 Aug27 August 10:37

          Unless you stayed in 2020 in which case you will have had some rollover from last year to kick-start your 2021 progress..

          Check on the app.

• Pid says:

  27 Aug27 August 07:51

  Thanks Meta for the detailed SSDV review yesterday, only saw it late last night so thought I would comment today as will be arriving there in a couple of days. I hope the cobwebs have been cleaned and the drainage fixed before we arrive! Kids are going to love the free ice cream before dinner.

  Also looking forward to a return visit to the IC Porto the night before SSDV. Afterwards we are also booked at the Boeira Gardens Curio Collection for one night – how bad is it? Might change back to the IC if it is really bad.

  • Eric the Half a Bee says:

    27 Aug27 August 08:27

    We stayed at both the Six Senses and Boeira Garden recently (as well as IC Cascais and now at Conrad Algarve). SSDV we thought was close to perfect – including cleanliness (had rooftop vineyard suite), staffing/service, breakfast and attention to detail in general. Free (home-made) ice cream by the pool was 3-6 pm every day, and we were very happy with the stay.

    Boeira Garden was fine, albeit quiet when we were there. Rooms are modern (hotel only opened recently) and staff seemed professional. Breakfast was an assisted buffet with a good choice of quality items. Outdoor pool was great, indoor spa pool also available if you prefer.

    Hope this helps.

  • meta says:

    27 Aug27 August 08:42

    Please do yourself a favour and go to IC. Boeira Gardens is one of the worst five star hotels I’ve been. Rooms are not cleaned properly and they are struggling with staff. We had to move rooms on arrival at 3:30pm as in our initial one the bathroom wasn’t cleaned properly. They had to clean it three times (yes, you read it correctly!) and still didn’t get it right. First we went to the pool and when we came back it still wasn’t fully cleaned. Then we went for dinner, it still wasn’t cleaned. Then again we asked them to clean it and went for a drink. Still missed lots of spots. Yet the hotel is plastered all over with Hilton CleanStay stickers.

    They suggested they can move us to a new room, but then reneged and said not until next day. No cleaning staff in the hotel after 1pm. But they promised first thing in the morning. We said after breakfast is fine. The next day after breakfast at 11am, our new room still wasn’t ready. So waited another hour. Spoke to GM who was apologetic, but you can see that he knows about all the problems and doesn’t do anything about it.

    No concierge, most of the time one person at reception. I believe the front of house person tried to clean our initial room himself.

    Yesterday, they cleaned our room, but left the balcony doors wide open. Anyone could have come in. Also not enough sun loungers. Only 10-12 max for cca 60 rooms? People had to spread their towels on the grass and on the concrete. Pool bar only has one person working. We ordered drinks, but then he said he’s going on a break and do it when he comes back in half an hour. So incompetent all around!

    Hard product is nice, but you can see that it’s going to fall apart in a year or two. Very cheaply done. They moved us to a suite and all 1-bed suites (one below highest category) overlook a wall and air-conditioning units. It’s one of the rare hotels where I’d refuse an upgrade. I could go on… And we were not the only ones complaining…

    • meta says:

      27 Aug27 August 08:45

      @ Eric the Half a Bee I think we stayed at a different hotel (Boeira Garden). Breakfast was self-serve buffet. Not even coffees or juice was brought to the table. Have they sacked the staff or has the staff left in the meantime?

      • TGLoyalty says:

        27 Aug27 August 10:02

        Genuinely the hotel is selling rooms for 104EUR a night even if the hardware/facilities are 5* the service absolutely won’t be.

        • meta says:

          27 Aug27 August 10:06

          So true. If my partner didn’t need few night to requalify as Diamond, we would have stayed at the IC.

        • Eric the Half a Bee says:

          27 Aug27 August 10:06

          Yep, couldn’t justify points here.

      • Eric the Half a Bee says:

        27 Aug27 August 10:04

        @meta – sounds like a very different experience. Agree re: the sun loungers by the pool – not enough. Our room (2 or 3 categories from the baddie rooms) was spotless and I’m very picky about hotel cleanliness. The staff in general couldn’t do more to help whenever we had a query and gave the impression that they were grateful for our business.

        At breakfast, all items were laid out as a buffet but with the staff serving individual items from the displays (Portuguese regulations currently prohibit self-serve), with tea/coffe etc. brought to the table. One morning they offered to give us a sampling of all breakfast juices at the table so we could decide which we preferred.

        Overall very pleased, although I had limited expectations given the newness of the hotel. Had we stayed at SSDV first we may have noticed some more shortcomings at Boeira Garden, but in general I was happy.

        @Pid – obviously YMMV!

        • Eric the Half a Bee says:

          27 Aug27 August 10:04

          Baddie = basic!

        • Eric the Half a Bee says:

          27 Aug27 August 10:05

          Baddie = basic

        • meta says:

          27 Aug27 August 10:07

          No, they don’t prohibit! Both IC and Boeira have self-serve albeit with gloves!

        • Eric the Half a Bee says:

          27 Aug27 August 10:08

          @meta – must have changed in the last 10 days then

        • David says:

          27 Aug27 August 11:21

          Imagine some of the difference in experience will be down to how each of you managed your relationships with the staff and general attitude.

        • Pid says:

          27 Aug27 August 14:38

          Luckily I have a couple of nights to make a decision as I have had both the Boeira Garden and IC Porto booked for some time. Fortunately it would only be for one night anyway. Got a good points rate on the IC as booked a while a go but could swap it to a free night certificate as might not use it otherwise. Like Meta the benefit of the Boeira Garden was a further night to getting Hilton Diamond so will need to decide if I can get that nght on another occasion.

    • Lady London says:

      27 Aug27 August 14:15

      Did you get your first night comped meta?

      • meta says:

        27 Aug27 August 16:36

        @Lady London My partner got 20k points plus we got free bottle of port and chocolates in the they made us pasteis de nata. We also moved to a suite from second night which costs 400+ euros, so we left it at that. Will need to see if the points actually materialise.

        @David we were very polite and understanding, but the staff apart from GM repeatedly lied. They should have just stated that they don’t have staff instead of “sending staff” to clean it. Also we weren’t the only ones complaining. A woman at the same time complained that they gave her daughter dirty room.

        • r* says:

          28 Aug28 August 10:33

          When I was there the service was very different between the two stays, the thurs night status was recognised and upgraded, the mon night neither happened and we got a worse room than the first night even tho the booked room was a higher tier than first syat. Did get port and chocs in the room (tho we then asked to be moved as the view was a cement wall). Some staff seemed new as the reception lady had to get help to do the checkout.

• Ben says:

  27 Aug27 August 07:53

  I see BA holidays no longer have a requirement for 2 pax for the double tier point offer. “ f. For departures prior to 24 August 2021, the booking must be for a minimum of 2 passengers. From 24 August 2021, there is no minimum number of passengers required.”

  • Andrew says:

    27 Aug27 August 08:24

    That’s correct. And the offer goes on until 22 March 2022 to book and travel at least the outbound – inbound can be after that date.

• Luke says:

  27 Aug27 August 07:55

  Before I drive 20 minutes to my nearest Morrisons, are there any decent giftcards other than Amazon? Are visa giftcards still a thing? What are the favourite ones?

  • Jonathan says:

    27 Aug27 August 08:19

    John Lewis is always at my local Morrison’s.

    While we’re on this topic has anyone else noticed that John Lewis gift cards appear to have vanished from Sainsbury’s ?

    • Pete M says:

      27 Aug27 August 08:25

      I tend to get M&S there

    • Andrew says:

      27 Aug27 August 08:26

      Maybe too much conflict with all the brands in their group – Argos, Habitat etc.

    • Brighton Belle says:

      27 Aug27 August 09:09

      Yes, been to 3 Sainsbury’s. None. Empty tag showing “John Lewis”.

      Intended to swap £500 of my Sainsbury’s gift cards for John Lewis ones.

  • Reney says:

    27 Aug27 August 08:31

    No visa gift cards in my store. For this round so far I have purchased: netflix, amazon, one4all (mixed reviews on here due to £100 limit but i like them), b&q (home renovation coming up), m&s and morrison (apparently you can used them to buy gift cards in the future, not tried it yet).

    The only one I don’t recommend is Boots as they can only be used in store.

    Others seems to like John Lewis.

    Depends on how you spend money, i recommend buying ones you are sure you will use/ shops you do regularly shop in. I would not speculate e.g i might spend there at some point. I would not buy more than you will spend at those shops in the next few months.

    • TGLoyalty says:

      27 Aug27 August 08:41

      Fine to speculate with some Morrison’s GCs though.

      • Reney says:

        27 Aug27 August 08:44

        yes, but I actually shop there. if they stop letting you buy gift cards with them, what will you do with them? I meant something like uber when you don’t live somewhere with it but might travel to a place with

        • TGLoyalty says:

          27 Aug27 August 10:02

          They haven’t stopped in 2 years but everyone needs food

    • Paul Pogba says:

      27 Aug27 August 08:52

      Foot Locker can also only be used in store which is a horrendous experience (Marble Arch and MK).

  • Andrew says:

    27 Aug27 August 08:52

    Visa/Amex Gift Cards tend to have an additional charge, so around £104 for a £100 card. They occasionally turn up on PAW at £100 for £100 with a 2% WOW return.

    • Reney says:

      27 Aug27 August 08:55

      oh i have never seen that. will look out for it in the future.

    • s says:

      27 Aug27 August 09:23

      are you sure about Visa/Amex? I’ve seen Mastercard for 1% but never visa or Amex.

    • Char Char says:

      27 Aug27 August 10:02

      Well effectively £90 + £4 fee isn’t that attractive for a £100 spend vs £90 if buying just a gift card as its 40% more.

      • Luke says:

        27 Aug27 August 10:11

        Well it’s only worth the fee if you can use it for recycling or paying taxes

    • Reney says:

      27 Aug27 August 11:42

      I think I tried to pay amex with one those and that didn’t work.

  • Reney says:

    27 Aug27 August 09:03

    make sure the card you are using is linked to whatever reward system before you go i.e. it is not on ‘pending’ status. Airtime in particular make you wait a day.

  • SteveD says:

    27 Aug27 August 09:44

    We frequently get 7-10% off MrsD’s Next Directory bill…

• GaryE says:

  27 Aug27 August 07:57

  Hi – Can someone give me a quick reminder – paid for flights with Avios plus cash – if I need to cancel do I get the Avios back into my account and voucher for cash amount or voucher for the whole amount – thanks

  • John says:

    27 Aug27 August 08:11

    Voucher

  • Andrew says:

    27 Aug27 August 08:29

    Depends. If it was cash with Avios (where you reduce the price of a cash ticket with Avios) then yes, a voucher for the original full cash price and no Avios back. If it was an Avios ticket which you reduced the number of Avios required by paying more cash then it’s an Avios and cash combined voucher. If BA cancel the flight and you apply for a refund then your Avios come back and the cash element is refunded.

    • GaryE says:

      27 Aug27 August 08:42

      Thanks – it was Avios ticket were I reduced the Avios and paid more cash – in this case if I cancel what happens?

      • Andrew says:

        27 Aug27 August 08:53

        It becomes a voucher comprising of Avios and cash.

• HBommie says:

  27 Aug27 August 07:57

  @HarryT did you get the fee returned on the WE MasterCard? I signed up for the card last month and got back from a trip yesterday to a shiny new card with the letter attached detailing the annual fee as £0.

  I’ve been charged the fee but wondered if I have any chance of getting this comp’d?

  • TGLoyalty says:

    27 Aug27 August 08:27

    Both Harry and myself were successful in getting the fee refunded

    Hope you kept the letter the card came on.

    • Reney says:

      27 Aug27 August 08:46

      i’ve not been charged yet, what wordings/ argument did you use?

      • TGLoyalty says:

        27 Aug27 August 10:04

        Letter said it’s £0 some I’m expecting it to be £0 this year.

        Took all of 2 mins after I sent a picture of the letter to them.

    • Harry T says:

      27 Aug27 August 08:58

      I can confirm the annual fee refund has hit my account. I just rang up and said that the letter implied it would be fee free. The agent asked me to send him a copy of the letter, whereupon he conferred with his manager, who said they have been granting a fee free 12 months since April, or words to that effect. They promised to refund me the card fee and they have.

      • Reney says:

        27 Aug27 August 09:03

        thx

    • HBommie says:

      27 Aug27 August 12:15

      Thanks both for the reply, and yes I have the letter. Hopefully I’ll get the same result.

      • HBommie says:

        27 Aug27 August 12:39

        Fee refunded after a quick call, result.

        • Polly says:

          28 Aug28 August 05:41

          Yes, same here.

• GaryE says:

  27 Aug27 August 08:01

  Hi – Another question if I cancel a Avios plus Cash flight within 24 hours of booking do I get the full refund under the 24 hours cooling off period?

  • John says:

    27 Aug27 August 08:11

    Yes

  • Andrew says:

    27 Aug27 August 08:36

    But you need to ring up to do that. Cancelling on line will just issue a voucher.

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