The HfP chat thread – Saturday 11th September

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Stephan says:

11 Sep11 September 15:22

Anyone ever had a rental car downgrade? Just picked up my Hertz rental and was given an Aygo when I was due to get a proper 5 seater with boot space. No apology or partial refund offered by guy at the desk just stated as a fact.
- Yorkie Aid says:
  
  11 Sep11 September 15:36
  
  Welcome to Hertz. I stopped using them in 2006 because they were too problematic.
  - Stephan says:
    
    11 Sep11 September 19:25
    
    Like them as they were the only rental that used to offer no fee for cross border travel in Ireland but that has now changed so will have to review
- Allan says:
  
  11 Sep11 September 15:37
  
  That’s not unusual – you need to be creful when picking up and check the booked group against rented group.
  - Stephan says:
    
    11 Sep11 September 19:24
    
    Yes notes that afterwards. Guy at the desk had initially said that was the right car for that class.
- Anna says:
  
  11 Sep11 September 15:44
  
  That’s completely unacceptable – what if your luggage didn’t fit in it?!
  - Stephan says:
    
    11 Sep11 September 19:20
    
    Family of 4. Tight fit and had to leverage if friends and family..
- Richie says:
  
  11 Sep11 September 16:04
  
  Aygo’s are awful to drive, very underpowered. Bad service from Hertz.
- Rich says:
  
  11 Sep11 September 16:39
  
  If they’re out of cars, they’re out. But you should get an upgrade rather than a downgrade. Or an offer to swap tomorrow (if practical).
  
  I would speak to them when you return it and ask for a partial refund. If they refuse, take it up with corporate/ your credit card.
  - Stephan says:
    
    11 Sep11 September 19:26
    
    Sent an email but will follow up tmr
Ukgeorge says:

11 Sep11 September 15:24

What determines the membership start date on a Amex card? Is it possible to find out this date anywhere? My statements go from the 11 of the month but my card was not approved until the 15 of the month. Can my membership run from before my application was approved? I have been a bit lax and I am right on the line if the membership runs from the statement date rather than the approval date for the signup bonus.
- Ukgeorge says:
  
  11 Sep11 September 15:26
  
  Also, if a Amex transaction goes from pending does the purchase date count as the date the payment was made or the date the transaction moves from pending? Thanks
  - John says:
    
    11 Sep11 September 17:10
    
    Date of transaction
- Nick G says:
  
  11 Sep11 September 15:38
  
  I just did this with the on line chat….they told me straight away. Plus I keep a note on my phone of all referral dates…..albeit I’m already a month later than I should have referred myself for a gold card as we’ve been so busy!
Nick G says:

11 Sep11 September 15:36

Been a year since I last did this so my wife just referred me for a gold card. This time the referral bonus is 15k MR points or £75 credit. Not a bad bonus considering…..and also get a further 10k for spending over £15k in the past year on it. So all in when they hit and she cancels next month we should be good for about 38k points and only a month or so of an annual fee to pay.
Aston100 says:

11 Sep11 September 15:38

Once you hit the 1 year anniversary on an Amex PRG, can you cancel immediately and still get the 10k bonus turn up eventually (for having hit the £15k spend target within that first year), or are you obliged to keep it open for another month or two pending the 10k bonus to land, and thus forced to pay pro-rata for the time until those points land?

Thanks.
- Anna says:
  
  11 Sep11 September 15:47
  
  Do you mean the gold MR card? If so, yes you have to keep the card open will the points land (not sure how you’d transfer them otherwise), then get a pro-rata refund of the fee. Last year mine landed around the same time as the fee was charged so it was only 1 extra month.
  - Aston100 says:
    
    11 Sep11 September 16:26
    
    Thaks Anna.
    
    By the way: “not sure how you’d transfer them otherwise” I have more than one MR account for some odd reason. Was great for exceeding 90k MR referrals.
Triath5 says:

11 Sep11 September 15:45

Noobie question.

BA Silver traveling on reward Iberia flight booked through BA with my status – what’s my baggage allowance?

Is it 2 x 32kg as per BA’s website for their own flights? Have an upcoming trip departing from Spain and am already pre-empting intransigence from staff at the airport 🙂
- Andrew says:
  
  11 Sep11 September 16:00
  
  Silver gives you one extra bag to whatever your ticket would give you throughout the One World Alliance. A few exceptions: BA hand baggage only, still nil bags and I think AA have adopted this too.
  - Jonathan says:
    
    11 Sep11 September 20:13
    
    Gold always gives you 1 extra bag ie. 4 in F, 3 in J, 2 in Y.
    
    Silver just gives you 2 bags so only extra if flying Y. Weight limit is increased to 32kg per bag though.
    
    If your flight has an IB code then allowance is as per Iberia policy
Sean says:

11 Sep11 September 16:04

issues with txs from 1/2/3 sept before and after Ok so for reason.
- Alex says:
  
  11 Sep11 September 16:11
  
  Interesting – thanks for mentioning. Hadn’t seen anything about those dates mentioned before.
  - Peter K says:
    
    11 Sep11 September 16:39
    
    Issue here with transactions on 1st sept as well. Rang Amex and given spiel that it could take up to 90 days.
jek says:

11 Sep11 September 16:06

Heading for Bath tomorrow for the Vault on points stay at the indigo but the booking has just switched from king vault suite to premium vault twin. What is the best strategy at checkin? Have others that haven been similarly downgraded received compensation? I read that some have preferred the premium room over the vault suite, but at least it should be king not twin.
- Andrew (@andrewseftel) says:
  
  11 Sep11 September 17:54
  
  I’d call up now. Later you leave it, less likely it will be resolved to your satisfaction.
- jek says:
  
  11 Sep11 September 22:34
  
  Had an email from them and it seems that they are holding a vault suite and a special premium for us to choose from as the vault are a matter of personal preference as they are underground. We’ll see.
Roger says:

11 Sep11 September 16:23

Is there any discount code I can use on IHG booking, similar to Mastercard 30% rate which doesnot seem to work anymore.

Have IHG offer on my Amex but no discount.
- Pablo says:
  
  11 Sep11 September 21:07
  
  There’s MasterCard 10% off, 2 nights minimum stay: https://www.ihg.com/content/gb/en/deals/partner-offers/mastercard