Maximise your Avios, air miles and hotel points

The HfP chat thread – Tuesday 28th 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.

Comments (515)

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

  • Mikeact says:

    Save hanging on the phone…anybody have an update on Lloyds/Avios vouchers…..still end of October deadline for booking ?

    • johnny_c-l says:

      I asked them on live chat earlier and they said they are not extending further than October…..”This is due to the world opening up for many of out members”.

  • davefl says:

    Just spotted this from “Social Joel” on the bendy forum:

    Hey everyone, thanks for the healthy discussion on this here and I’m sorry for any confusion caused by this email- I’m here to clear that confusion up!

    First off, I can confirm that our team made a mistake when bulk selecting which customers this email should be sent to which means that the email’s contents won’t apply to all Curve users who received the email. Speaking on behalf of Curve, we’re very sorry for this error and are working to contact the recipients of this email to clarify this mistake as fast as possible.

    In the meantime, if you’re unsure whether the email’s contents applied to you and your spending or not, please get in touch with our support team just in case by raising a ticket in the Curve app- the support team can then check there if they need to discuss this further with you or simply owe you a big apology!

    • Anna says:

      However, if you do query it we will demand to see all your personal banking info or shut you down!

    • John says:

      I haven’t done much ernie but I did withdraw everything a few months ago because I needed to use the money – they’ll probably claim it’s cash recycling so I guess I’ll just leave it

  • MM says:

    Just to let you know that though the rules require a test before departure no one is asking to see one at UK end. They only want to see your double vaccination proof. This has been the case for my last 3 trip in 4 weeks. I know it is not worth the risk not to have one. We used a local pharmacy which did the test for £20 and issued a certificate. Just FYI

  • Mjshort says:

    Ryan gave me an octopus referral code which I have asked them to apply after I opened up the account.
    They have asked for his address and postcode!
    Is Ryan around?

  • Craig says:

    Anyone got a link for the Creation/IHG overseas transaction free offer that ends today. Going to take a punt on a hotel bill in half an hour after this weekends transactions went through without a fee.

  • Andrew H says:

    Huge Avios offer on free BA…

    Spend £1 anywhere, get 50 Avios

  • Oh! Matron! says:

    Marriott Vacation club: Had an email through suggesting 15K points if I use one of those “tester” holidays at discounted rates.

    However, there’s also the “virtual” option, which sounds like a no brainer. Any gotchas, other than falling asleep, I should be aware of?

    • Anuj says:

      Is it possible for someone to sign up to this without having an email come through ?

    • Sean says:

      Only open to couples and both will need to attend for the full period – done via MS teams.

    • TJ says:

      I did the virtual pitch a while back. An easy 15k points. Only took about 40mins and my wife did not have to attend. For the record, the sales proposition was exceptionally poor. Even if you were in the market for a time share, the numbers just did not add up.

      • Dave says:

        I got the same email and deleted it but maybe it’s worth a look, 15000 points for 40 mins zoom call sounds pretty good!

    • Oh! Matron! says:

      Thanks peeps!

  • Paasan69 says:

    Hello. Wondering if others have similar experiences. I’ve recently had a few stays with Marriott properties (Moxy, Sheraton, Marriott) and they all seem to undercut the points that should be awarded. Latest example is from a UK Marriott property where the total spend before VAT was £124 ($169 approximately). I’ve been awarded 557 base points and 278 bonus as a Platinum member (+2.5k for promotion and welcome gift). I do believe that the correct amount should be 1690 base and 845 bonus. This was the worst example but all my other 5 recent stays the experience is the same, all stays when converting to USD, the base and bonus points are WAY off and never in my favour. I will naturally contact Marriott CS to have it corrected. Just wondering if anyone else has similar experiences?

    • Harry T says:

      Happens fairly often tbh.

    • TJ says:

      Very common in my experience. Occasionally it works in your favour.

    • Tariq says:

      Yes, I had one last week which was under-credited. Not as wide as your variance though, but will still email them to request reassessment.

      • meta says:

        I have this happening with IHG every time. They just don’t convert to USD, but never in currencies which are in dominations of 100s or 1000s only euros or pounds. 😂

      • Paasan69 says:

        Under-crediting at Marriott properties now seems more like the rule than the exception. Had a look at previous stays from this spring and I’d say that 4 out of 5 of these stays have been under-credited. It is a real shame, not to mention annoying, that one has to contact Marriott CS after nearly every stay to make sure you receive the correct amount of points. It may vary between a few hundred up to several thousands for a stay. This in turn may amount to many thousands of missing points over a year.

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