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The HfP chat thread – Wednesday 22nd September

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We are running this daily chat thread on Head for Points during the coronavirus outbreak.

Historically, the daily ‘Bits’ articles were the de facto repository for random comments and questions.  With the news flow being lighter, we are running fewer ‘Bits’ articles.

The comments under this article are where you should post questions about travel and, indeed, anything else on your mind.  At this tricky time, and given that many of you are at home, we want the HfP community to have a place to chat.

Please only comment under the main articles on the site if your comment is directly related to the topic of the article.  This has long-term benefits as it keeps the commentary relevant for people who read those articles in the future.

Old chat threads are hidden from the HfP home page.  If you want to look for something in an old thread, click here.  This brings up all the articles in our ‘General’ category which includes the chat threads.

Category

General

Comments (644)

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

  • Adam says:
    22 Sep22 September 14:11

    My return flight from DXB to UK departs 03.10 and arrives LHR on 04.10. Will I still need to take a pre departure test?

  • Dan says:
    22 Sep22 September 14:26

    I’ve got a (Lloyds upgrade) BA flight booked to Grand Cayman in February in the hope that they will be open to tourism by then. The flight stops off in Barbados on the way. If Cayman is not open can I just get off/on in Barbados instead?

    • Anna says:
      22 Sep22 September 14:52

      Hi Dan, are you sure it’s not Nassau where it stops, this is the usual route?!
      But, no, you can’t, from what I’ve been told previously, they won’t offload your luggage (and you may well not be be compliant with whatever covid requirements they have in place.)
      You probably wouldn’t be allowed to board either, as your ticket will be to GCM, which would not be the destination.

      • Anna says:
        22 Sep22 September 14:55

        Also if it was still flying to GCM (e.g. for repatriation), you wouldn’t be allowed to board as you wouldn’t have (presumably) the required authority from the Cayman Islands government plus quarantine accommodation arranged.

      • Rich says:
        22 Sep22 September 14:57

        Even if you could get off, with hand luggage perhaps, and meet Covid requirements, you’d probably find your return booking cancelled if you don’t board the first leg.

  • r* says:
    22 Sep22 September 14:34

    Am i being overly suspicious or is there some scam in play.. hilton toronto diamond breakfast is some dismal box of 3 pastries, menu has price of 9.95, plus coffee at 3. When the bill turns up, the values are crossed out but listed as 25. Are they hoping ppl tip based on the value of the inflated bill or something?

    • Guernsey Globetrotter says:
      22 Sep22 September 14:46

      That does seem like a COVID bait-and-switch! However, I’m more shocked by the idea that I should be tipping on hotel bill (Stateside or otherwise) – is this really a thing now?!

      • Anna says:
        22 Sep22 September 15:02

        Yes, they usually expect a tip at breakfast in US hotels, even when you get it free! We stayed at a HGI (as gold) a few years ago where the free breakfast was a self-serve buffet and we were presented with a hypothetical bill for $36 with the tip calculated!

      • JDB says:
        22 Sep22 September 15:09

        Yes, it’s definitely a thing. Even housekeeping seem keen on leaving out special envelopes for tips as well so they don’t miss out if you don’t see them.

  • Justin says:
    22 Sep22 September 14:39

    Chase UK account setup codes being rolled out to general public.

    I have recently received mine today and the setup was an extremely simple/painless process.

    The app itself is very simple and pretty easy to use at first glance. As the card they send contains no numbers, these can be copied from the app itself.

    There appears to be no optional overdraft facility as of yet (Not that I planned on getting one).

    When transferring test funds from my Barclays and HSBC (both Prem if that makes any difference)… they are currently unable to verify the account. However, that is probably because I sent these funds within minutes of setting the account up. Funds don’t instantly show up in the Chase account as of yet but do show within 1-2 minutes. Again, i assume this could be to the account being just setup.

    – Bank transfers seem to be capped at a daily rate of £10k (single and daily).
    – Domestic Cash withdrawals are £500
    – Foreign Cash Withdrawals are capped at £700 per month
    – No daily speed limit on the card itself

    It appears the Daily Card limits can be changed but it directs you to either chat or call support when selecting this option.

    • Justin says:
      22 Sep22 September 14:43

      Additionally, setting up multiple chase accounts within the app is extremely simple.

      According to Chase, there is no credit check for this additional setup process:
      “Having more than one account with us won’t impact your credit score. You can have up to 20 separate accounts at a time, including your initial account.”

      Please be aware, currently Chase does not support direct debits!

  • Shaw West says:
    22 Sep22 September 14:47

    Do AC Hotels in Madrid provide breakfast for Titaniums?

  • KS says:
    22 Sep22 September 14:55

    Can someone please remind me how long it takes for first transfer from Amex MR to Virgin FC? I believe it was couple of weeks but cannot find any article/relevant chat thread on it.

  • BJ says:
    22 Sep22 September 15:01

    So what do HfP City readers think about inflationary pressure driven by energy sector and others? Is it likely to be sustained long enough to drive increases in the base rate and would any such increase be reflected in any significant increase in savings rates? Have a ‘lifetime’ of cash ISA coming to the end of an OK fixed rate with VM next summer but I’ m anticipating a headache with a decision then.

    • Simon says:
      22 Sep22 September 15:24

      Electricity prices are roughly 2% of the basket for RPI. Let’s assume gas is about the same. So back of a fag packet analysis – we are talking about max 5% of total inflation calculation…. Is that enough to move the needle? Probably not. Will these effects have fallen out the data by next summer? Possibly so. Would the MPC be inclined to raise rates if there was a HUGE energy price increase that was crippling some households? Probably not. Are all cash ISAs paying a negative real interest rate? Absolutely definitely.

      • Super Secret Stuff says:
        22 Sep22 September 16:06

        What about the secondary impact? Phone towers are run off electricity, which is there main variable cost. Could costs go up?

        Just one example of a secondary impact

      • JDB says:
        22 Sep22 September 16:12

        There are also knock effects of higher electricity prices on lots of industries that will result in higher prices/inflation. On top of that wages (+ employer taxes soon) are going up which suppliers will seek to recoup as well as higher costs of transport and fuel. Car prices up etc. etc. There are basically a whole lot of inflationary things going on, but for the time being central banks and many economists suggesting these pressures will be temporary, but we will see.

        • Yorkie Aid says:
          22 Sep22 September 16:17

          Ultimately just about EVERYTHING is a derivative of energy prices so there will be huge effects going forward unless the price rises really do end up being very temporary.

          • BuildBackBetter says:
            22 Sep22 September 18:30

            EVERYTHING is NOT a derivative of energy prices.
            Suppliers will try to cut costs elsewhere or increase efficiency before passing on additional costs. There’s something called competition.

          • Yorkie Aid says:
            22 Sep22 September 18:38

            BBB – name anything that doesn’t have an energy component somewhere

    • Anna says:
      22 Sep22 September 16:24

      I have a very low lifetime tracker mortgage so don’t want rates to rise!

  • Mart says:
    22 Sep22 September 15:14

    I had avios flights to aus (booked in 50% off sale) due to depart October 2021. Ba have very kindly rescheduled to October 2022. I used a companion voucher which expires in March 2022, lady confirmed on phone this didn’t matter and flight would still be a “241” using the voucher.

    However it’s since occurred to me – what happens to voucher if travel to aus is still not possible by October 2022? Technically my 241 voucher will have expired then.

    Thanks all

    • G says:
      22 Sep22 September 15:48

      interesting, I was in a similar situation for flights to Tokyo. BA were happy to reschedule up to 12 months from original departure (September 21) meaning September 22. However, the companion voucher expires in March 22 and the BA agent was adament that we had to therefore fly prior to the expiration of the companion voucher.

    • Anna says:
      22 Sep22 September 15:56

      If your new flights are cancelled you will still be entitled to re-routing, regardless of the expiry date of your voucher.

      • Anna says:
        22 Sep22 September 15:58

        So, the usual BA BS! Just don’t accept a refund if this happens, insist on re-routing rights.

    • Umba says:
      23 Sep23 September 07:15

      I’m probably being a bit thick here but are Oct 22 flights on sale yet?

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

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