The HfP chat thread – Wednesday 29th September

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sunguy says:

29 Sep29 September 11:30

All – just as an FYI – looks like JPMs Chase bank UK is about ready to open:

https://www.chase.co.uk/gb/en/

They are promising fee free banking including FX transactions – so thought it might be of interest here….
- Reney says:
  
  29 Sep29 September 11:32
  
  Any feedback from fellow HFPers on their experience so far? I have received the invite code but on the fence whether to open now or later.
  - Crafty says:
    
    29 Sep29 September 11:52
    
    Why’s everyone so excited about this?
    - TGLoyalty says:
      
      29 Sep29 September 12:13
      
      S75 really isn’t much use for restaurants / bars / groceries abroad.
      - Rob says:
        
        29 Sep29 September 12:55
        
        Still relative peanuts though.
    - Youllnever says:
      
      29 Sep29 September 12:45
      
      Agree with TGLoyalty, it’s not really relevant if you’re travelling.
    - Reney says:
      
      29 Sep29 September 13:46
      
      That’s how I feel, too many exclusions to get excited about and I don’t need another current account to manage.
    - TGLoyalty says:
      
      29 Sep29 September 13:49
      
      Cash withdrawals at USA atms might be a big draw.
      - Rob says:
        
        29 Sep29 September 13:53
        
        And you would need cash why?
      - stevenhp1987 says:
        
        29 Sep29 September 14:42
        
        @Rob – How do you tip the hotel staff who clean your room?
        
        When we’re in the US we leave a few bucks on the pillow.
        
        Cash is always useful for tipping over there!
        
        Also useful if you’re in Vegas and fancy sticking some money on Red!
      - Rob says:
        
        29 Sep29 September 15:25
        
        I might need $50 but we’re not talking hundreds and multiple withdrawals are we? I have $50 sitting around at home. If I need to withdraw something I’ll stick it on my normal debit card and swallow a couple of pounds of fees on a $50 withdrawal.
      - TGLoyalty says:
        
        29 Sep29 September 20:37
        
        Everyone has different vices Rob.
        
        Anyway I find I need for tips and fewer places like CC’s. I had one bagel shop examine my curve card to make sure it was a debit!
    - Harrier25 says:
      
      29 Sep29 September 13:49
      
      Looks fairly dull to me and the 5% interest is only on the rounding up on purchases to the nearest £, so not much interest to be had there.
    - BJ says:
      
      29 Sep29 September 14:02
      
      Pie in the sky six figure US-style SUBS.
- Graham Walsh says:
  
  29 Sep29 September 11:59
  
  Got my invite code today. Not sure whether to sign up for it or not.
  - Beardless Hipster says:
    
    29 Sep29 September 12:37
    
    Wait until they come up with a £200 switching offer
    - Graham Walsh says:
      
      29 Sep29 September 12:40
      
      Indeed, that was my thinking. Just thinking about Barclays too.
- Nigel W says:
  
  29 Sep29 September 12:02
  
  I signed up over the weekend, not used it much so far but no complaints as of yet!
- Harrier25 says:
  
  29 Sep29 September 15:00
  
  If you are going to withdraw money from a cash machine in the US, or in any other foreign country, then you’d want to link it to Curve which offers the true interbank rate of exchange (on weekdays) rather than the less competitive MasterCard rate of exchange that Chase is offering.
Michael C says:

29 Sep29 September 11:31

For the BA Holiday double tier points offer (if it works!), do you have to start your trip by 31 March, or have ended it by then? Cheers.
- Rich says:
  
  29 Sep29 September 11:53
  
  T&C say start by 31st
  
  https://www.britishairways.com/en-gb/flights-and-holidays/holidays
  - Michael C says:
    
    29 Sep29 September 12:13
    
    Thanks, Rich.
Shaw West says:

29 Sep29 September 11:35

Could someone suggest me a good hotel for Alicante?
- Richie says:
  
  29 Sep29 September 11:52
  
  There’s a Melia if you want to take advantage of recent offers as highlighted in recent weeks here on HfP
  - Shaw West says:
    
    29 Sep29 September 12:27
    
    Thank you. Offers on Meila? Amex ones?
    - David says:
      
      29 Sep29 September 12:41
      
      If its after 26/11 melia usually do a Black Friday deal on amazon.es – buying points which can work out very well.
  - Michael AC says:
    
    29 Sep29 September 14:43
    
    Been a few years since I’ve been to the Melia Alicante but I can recommend. Good location, plenty of places to eat nearby. I remember the hotel bar was nice, and surprisingly busy but not uncomfortably so.
  - elguiri says:
    
    29 Sep29 September 17:28
    
    Also liked the Melia for location, but seem to remember the entrance to the bathroom being partially obstructed by the sharp granite corner of the basin table – got numerous bruises to show for the couple of nights.
- Robman says:
  
  29 Sep29 September 12:27
  
  I’ve stayed at the Casa Alberola Alicante, Curio Collection by Hilton.it has only been open a few weeks at the time. Great location, beach opposite, a good breakfast, nice staff and lovely rooms. Not sure what pricing is like now, but would highly recommend.
Babyg says:

29 Sep29 September 11:36

Amex ICC question, anybody know of a better way to pay this card off, compared to the “normal” Amexes this card feels very 1980s, with old school forms, direct debts etc required… vs paying via debt card on normal amex… etc..
- Rob says:
  
  29 Sep29 September 11:57
  
  I just do mine via my HSBC current account – terrible FX rate but then I never spend on the card, just the $136 of annual fees, and use it to launder MR points when the rate is better than the UK MR scheme.
  - Babyg says:
    
    29 Sep29 September 15:00
    
    will be hitting the 30k bonus spend by spending 5K, so need a decent FX rate… will see if they let me downgrade to green and pro rata refund shortly too.. thanks rob
  - CH says:
    
    30 Sep30 September 13:40
    
    I pay mine via Wise, from an EUR account.
- Memesweeper says:
  
  29 Sep29 September 12:43
  
  I tried to use my US bank account and they wanted to send a cheque!
  
  Used the Revolutionary option instead. Bounced twice, worked third time. I’ve no idea why.
  - Babyg says:
    
    29 Sep29 September 14:57
    
    Thanks Memesweeper… never had a Rev card… currently use curve (+vigin) and wise (with EU bank acc) and a real EU bank accounts (needed for visa app).. i assume the Rev card has an EU bank account, and you can just top Rev up by various means.. ill look into it.
SteveJ says:

29 Sep29 September 11:45

Airtime Morrisons question:

I could’ve sworn Airtime had Morrisons at 10% back until Sunday 12th, inclusive.

Transaction didn’t track, tried to raise a claim but blocked as supposedly “no offer was running on the date selected”. Muggins here didn’t take a screenshot of course. Anyone able to confirm or deny the 12th Sept date?
- Reney says:
  
  29 Sep29 September 11:51
  
  Mine on the 12th tracked but I don’t have a screen shot of the offer. Not sure it was the same dates for everyone thou. I only had 7%, so seems possible that it is customer specific.
- RobL says:
  
  29 Sep29 September 11:55
  
  I can confirm. I have raised a ticket direct. They said they would add it manually.
  - SteveJ says:
    
    29 Sep29 September 12:12
    
    Brill, thanks will raise a ticket
    - RobL says:
      
      29 Sep29 September 12:53
      
      Just looked. Has been credited and is immediately available! Ticket was raised on 27th.
- A says:
  
  30 Sep30 September 22:42
  
  Yeap. I had the 10% too but unsure of dates. Pretty sure I had a couple of transactions within the period though. I’ll raise a request.
Hereforthepoints says:

29 Sep29 September 11:52

Quick question – I have access to 2 priority passes through Amex (my own platinum and a supplementary one), can I use them to guest in two people that I’m travelling with?
- Rob says:
  
  29 Sep29 September 11:56
  
  No, because the person named on the supp is presumably not there to guest someone in. You’d need to pay £20 for them.
  - Hereforthepoints says:
    
    29 Sep29 September 11:56
    
    I am the name on both cards but I have two travelling companions
    - Sam G says:
      
      29 Sep29 September 12:25
      
      Shouldn’t be possible as you shouldn’t be allowed to use two cards in your name but it’s worth asking as it’s not unknown for it to be allowed (in my experience in Asia anyway) Otherwise they can swipe for three and your Amex will be charged £20
      - Chas says:
        
        29 Sep29 September 13:57
        
        You can have 2 cards in your name – your own one, and a supp on Player 2’s account (if say, Player 2 opened up an account in their own name to take advantage of a SUB). Whether or not the lounge will be happy to let the OP guest in 2 people in that situation is far from certain, but if they’re getting paid per person (by swiping both cards), I can’t see why not.
- Lady London says:
  
  29 Sep29 September 16:10
  
  Maybe they’d need to bill for 4 entries across the 2 cards to make it right.
  - Hereforthepoints says:
    
    29 Sep29 September 16:57
    
    Thanks all! I will report back
Paul says:

29 Sep29 September 12:40

I have just £70 left to spend with IHG by tomorrow on my Amex to earn the £50 statement credit offer. Any bright ideas to hurriedly take advantage?
- Peter K says:
  
  29 Sep29 September 13:08
  
  Book a mattress run?
  - Paul says:
    
    29 Sep29 September 13:27
    
    Yeh I’m maybe holding out for a bright idea I’m not going to get! A case of booking something for in advance and asking the property to take payment before Friday.
    - Anna says:
      
      29 Sep29 September 13:53
      
      There are plenty of pay in advance options atm, it’s just knowing which hotel will actually take the payment as some of them don’t.
      - Paul says:
        
        29 Sep29 September 14:04
        
        Exactly! It is solely down to the individual property if they wish to take payment in advance?
Alison Day says:

29 Sep29 September 12:41

Travelling to Spain with my 12 years old daughter in November. Reviewing the guidance, it differs if 12 years + and fully vaccinated. Any-one know if the one dose offered in the U.K. is equivalent as “fully vaccinated” for travel? Googled but no wiser…
- Anna says:
  
  29 Sep29 September 13:55
  
  No, over 12s are only being offered the first dose of Pfizer at the moment so they are not classed as fully vaccinated for travel purposes. You have to show proof on entry that you’ve had both doses where that’s the full course (as opposed to the single dose vaccines which aren’t being generally offered here).
  - Anna says:
    
    29 Sep29 September 13:59
    
    Apologies, yes, assumed you meant for entering Spain, at present anyone unvaccinated needs a negative test to enter. Daughter won’t need to quarantine on return as she’s under 18. I think there will be quite a few changes to test requirements to re-enter UK by November so it’s best to check periodically.
    - Alison Day says:
      
      29 Sep29 September 14:38
      
      Thanks Anna. Yes she will have just had the one Pfizer dose (scheduled 20th October via her school) with no plans of a 2nd dose from what I hear. Keeping an eye on all the regular places for travel updates (fly on the 5th Nov so hopefully we may benefit from the changes).
      - Tracey says:
        
        29 Sep29 September 14:48
        
        No plans for second doses for anyone under 17yrs 9 mths, unless they are CEV, have autoimmune issues or live with someone that does.
        Most other countries won’t consider this fully vaccinated. The only outside chance is that some countries consider one vaccine plus recovery from covid as fully vaccinated, so if she has had covid itself that may be ok for some countries.
- TGLoyalty says:
  
  29 Sep29 September 13:55
  
  I suspect you’re asking about entering into Spain? Therefore it’s what Spain considers FV and not U.K. and you need 2 Doses right now.
  
  All under 18’s in U.K. are exempt from isolation and day 8 test regardless of vaccine status.
  
  November is a long time away with covid and things could change on that front (either no test to enter Spain, U.K. give dose 2 or Spain consider 1 under 18 as FV etc)
  - Alison Day says:
    
    29 Sep29 September 14:39
    
    Thanks… yes valid point as the friend (Spanish and also 12) has had 2 dosages. Will keep an eye on the FCO site for updates…