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The HfP chat thread – Wednesday 22nd September

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Comments (644)

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

  • Mark says:
    22 Sep22 September 07:37

    Are there any couriers than can deliver from Zone 1 to Zone 6 in London same/next day? Package is worth around 3k, so ideally would like some insurance on it. (It’s a watch, which Royal Mail excludes from memory)

    • Memesweeper says:
      22 Sep22 September 08:16

      Addison Lee

    • Olly says:
      22 Sep22 September 08:18

      @Mark, I don’t know why you think that RM excludes watches because they don’t. I’ve received and sent watches through Royal Mail parcels using their Special delivery Guaranteed however they’ve not been over the £2,500 maximum insurance limit. I’ve found their service excellent and for the sake of the £500 difference,personally,I would take the risk.

      • Mattb says:
        22 Sep22 September 08:21

        I doubt they would pay out as you would be under insured.

        • AL says:
          22 Sep22 September 08:29

          It’s bad enough trying to get them to pay out when they lose £300 of stuff, never mind anything else.

          AddLee, CitySprint, Gopher are options and Absolutely were my go-to for years when needing 1-3 transfers.

          • Olly says:
            22 Sep22 September 11:42

            We sent a watch, £1000 in value about 6 weeks ago vid Royal Mail. When it arrived the buyer complained about the condition of the outer packaging so we had to give him a pay refund. We claimed against the insurance, Sent some pics and got a cheque for the £69 back in about 4 days covering what we refunded the buyer to replace the box.

        • ken says:
          22 Sep22 September 14:52

          Value of a watch is subjective. £3k, £2.5k not much difference.

          I don’t think you are buying an insurance policy, but the right to compensation.

          If you opt for the compensation up to £2,500, you will get paid but there will naturally be an investigation.

  • Paul says:
    22 Sep22 September 07:51

    Have those renewing their BAPP this month with an August Anniversary and billed the new fee of £250 on the first statement generated in Sept. successfully had it reassessed? I’ve called twice now to no joy. Have seen some comments here suggesting otherwise albeit maybe they are mostly from new applicants taking out the card in August?.

    • Jen T says:
      22 Sep22 September 08:44

      I upgraded to BAPP from free card around 25 Aug (statement date is 20 Aug) – I earned the companion voucher as I upgraded. Card fee charged this week. Companion voucher collection year ends 23 December. I was expecting the fee this month, but perhaps it depends how long you have been on the free card?

  • Chrism20 says:
    22 Sep22 September 08:07

    Park/stay/fly rates in Aberdeen. Any recommendations? Normally use the HIX or CP however neither have availability for that rate on the website and none of the Marriott properties have this rate either.

    Airport want £66 for parking alone and normally I can get a better deal by booking it combined but can’t seem to find any.

    The cost to park has thrown me a bit as I’ve been parking for approximately £30 a time at EDI recently so was surprised ABZ was so much.

    • IanM says:
      22 Sep22 September 08:12

      You should try GLA – rates have gone through the roof!
      I think it is that a lot of the off site operators have gone out of business or not reopened – that is not the situation in Edinburgh so prices still very competitive

      • Chrism20 says:
        22 Sep22 September 10:24

        Yeah I had a quick look at Glasgow and thought that as well. Aren’t GLA & ABZ the same owners these days? I can’t keep up with it.

    • BJ says:
      22 Sep22 September 08:14

      Hilton or Aloft at TECA?

    • Rich says:
      22 Sep22 September 08:56

      Which dates. The Moxy has park and stay rates for a random date I looked at.

      You could also check Holidayextras – no points though.

  • Mikeact says:
    22 Sep22 September 08:18

    eSim question.
    I’m looking be in the US for 2/3 weeks. Does anybody have any experience/recommendations for an eSim supplier ? Both data and calls for hotel availability etc while on the road. I can obviously purchase a local Sim, but an eSim would be so much easier.

    • Olly says:
      22 Sep22 September 08:27

      Have you thought about getting a PAYG SIM from Three where the USA is included with 12th for contracts,not due about PAYG so might benefit calling them (Just do it before the 1st October, which is the date new Three customers have to pay for roaming.I’m presuming the PAYG are the same as a contract.

      • KBuffett says:
        22 Sep22 September 08:47

        Three data speeds abroad are a joke. Especially in the USA, practically unusable.

        • Yorkie Aid says:
          22 Sep22 September 08:52

          Obviously totally depends on your exact location. I have never experienced a problem with Three speeds in USA.

          • Olly says:
            22 Sep22 September 11:46

            I’ve found if you pick your own network provider from the list instead of the phone found it automatically it makes a huge difference. Last week we were in lake Como and I was getting less than 1mbps from the auto but 74mbps coding it myself after looking up Three’s Italian partners

        • Mikeact says:
          22 Sep22 September 08:58

          There’s better ways of calling back home than 3, and to call locally in the US is chargeable with them. Tmobile seems to be a good local US provider for an eSim, but it’s the faff of setting up an account when there, via the UK is not an option. An eSim fires up on landing. Another alternative is if someone has a ‘half used’ sim they no longer require and I’ll buy it, maybe.

        • Graham Walsh says:
          22 Sep22 September 10:19

          Agree Three in the US is particularly terrible. There was some mobile journalist comparing them on YouTube ages ago showing how throttled back 3 roaming is. Time to leave them I think now that roaming charges are back.

        • John says:
          22 Sep22 September 12:56

          Disagree.

    • ianM says:
      22 Sep22 September 09:39

      Whats the difference with a SIM and an eSIM?
      I used to use Roam mobility but they went bust, maybe Ting Mobile?

      • AL says:
        22 Sep22 September 09:50

        A regular, physical SIM contains a chip with data that the card reads in order to authenticate the device to the network. An eSIM puts the required physical aspect in the phone already, making shifting network easy – scan a QR code or click a link.

        Dual-SIM iPhones use regular and eSIMs to do this in practice.

        If your phone takes two SIMs – an eSIM and a regular SIM – buy a second physical SIM in the US (cheap on various smaller networks, most of whom MVNO on T-Mobile, ATT or VZW) and transfer your existing SIM to an eSIM before you go.

    • Oh! Matron! says:
      22 Sep22 September 12:25

      T-Mobile do an eSim for travellers. Was $30 for a month. Now that they own / partner with Sprint too, you should be fine :

      https://esims.io/providers/t-mobile/tourist-plan

    • Wollhouse says:
      22 Sep22 September 15:47

      Depending on your current provider, you can get them to convert your physical sim into an Esim. Then you can remove your current SIM card and buy a cheapie SIM card when you get to you destination.

  • annaZ says:
    22 Sep22 September 08:27

    Morning, any news on when the Amex Lounge at LHR will open???

    • Rob says:
      22 Sep22 September 09:18

      Not heard anything, no. It is all furnished – one of the designers had some images on their website.

  • AL says:
    22 Sep22 September 08:32

    My BAEC Silver collection year ends in December. The card expires in Jan 2023. When do I need to have made up the remaining TPs I need by in order to ensure Silver again, and when does my Silver expire?

  • Andrew H says:
    22 Sep22 September 08:33

    My Hotels.com free nights run out by the end of the year… so have had to book NY for next October – and paid the balance with my Amex to trigger my bonus…

    Just wondering (if I find a better hotel deal) what happens to the nights if I then cancelled AFTER I use Hotels.com for a Sofitel stay at T5 in Feb… that would count as keeping my nights in my account normally?

    Just (also) wondering what happens if by March I have cancelled my free BA Amex (to start the 2 year clock rolling again) – where would Hotels.com send the refund. And would Amex want my 2000 Avios back, somehow…?

    • Rob says:
      22 Sep22 September 09:16

      Just book a £3 hostel in Delhi for tonight and be done with it.

      • stevenhp1987 says:
        22 Sep22 September 10:04

        Can also find £3 hostels in Bangkok.

        Did this earlier this year to extend my days.

      • Barraclough says:
        22 Sep22 September 10:48

        I’ve booked on a similar basis in South East Asia twice in recent weeks but the free night was not added so I assumed Hotels.com must have started requiring actual check in.

  • MinR says:
    22 Sep22 September 08:35

    What’s the UK entry requirements for travellers who’ve had mixed vaccine doses? Are they classed as unvaccinated and therefore need to quarantine?

    • Sam G says:
      22 Sep22 September 09:26

      Can’t see why if they are both approved vaccines

      • MinR says:
        22 Sep22 September 09:46

        Ah found the snippet on the gov site. Before the 4th, yes they would need to quarantine.

        After the 4th, mixed vaccines will be accepted as per the snippet.

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