Maximise your Avios, air miles and hotel points

The HfP chat thread – Thursday 30th 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 (587)

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

  • SG says:

    Evening all
    Need some help please
    Booked a Sandals Antigua stay with Ebookers thus morning,when contacting the property to arrange airport transfers they could not see my reservation and asked me to go back to Ebookers.Their chat has contacted the resort which are saying that their reservation system has not yet been updated and to get back in a couple of hours.£3000 booking,wife is getting a heart attack when Ebookers not answering what they’ve going to do if this doesn’t get sorted.Any advice please on what to fo next if not resolved!Booking non refundable,starting this Saturday!
    Much appreciated

    • Anna says:

      I would imagine some time would be needed for a 3rd party booking to show on a hotel’s system. It’s still office hours in Antigua so they may well get back to you today.

      • SG says:

        Hi Ana
        Thanks,I think you are right,they’re saying it can take up to 24 hours for them to see the reservation and not to worry!Uhh..my first experience with Ebookers and was getting quite worried !

  • David S says:

    Received 6 emails alone today from BA relating to upcoming flight changes . Grrrrr. I’m losing the plot on where I’m flying from , at what time and what my seat numbers are.

    What Lounge facilities can you access in LHR T3 as Silver ? That’s where most of my ex LGW flights have been moved to

    • Gruntfuttock says:

      Join the club!!

    • Rob says:

      BA lounge is open, let’s see what Cathay / Qantas / American are doing next Summer.

      • Liam says:

        I wonder what it will take for AA to re-open their lounge. Am I right in thinking their JFK flights are still landing at LHR T5? If so, it’s probably going to require those switching back to T3 to generate the necessary traffic. The BA T3 lounge is quite uninspiring.

  • ankomonkey says:

    1. Has anyone had an e-mail from Curve today?
    2. What’s the cheapest Day 2 PCR test?
    3. Has anyone got the link to upgrade from PRG to Platinum?
    4. What’s Rob doing with his VS miles?
    5. If I cancel my flight will I get an FTV?
    6. Which Tesco branches have 3V cards?
    7. Are credit card points IHG status qualifying?

    Thanks for anyone’s help with these burning questions 🙂

    • Mike says:

      8. Is there a HFP Christmas party this year.
      9. What type of trousers does anyone recommend when travelling (must have zips in the ankles)

      • Mike says:

        10. Does anyone have a phone number for BA that will get me through instantly

        • Gruntfuttock says:

          Laughed like a drain emoji

          • Greg says:

            I have no idea what a laugh like drain emoji is but just thought you were mental asking such a question. My only suggestion is The Samaritans.

          • Gruntfuttock says:

            Greg, this is the closest I could get to a laugh like a drain emoji 🤣🤣. But I still don’t think it does justice in describing my amusement at reading the top questions list compiled in the preceding posts. I hope that clarifies things for you. No question was intended. By the way, I believe the Samaritans are currently working from home and but calls are important to them. 😁

        • Lady London says:

          Why does my Solihull not work with my Bendy today

    • BJ says:

      Funnily enough, the answer to your prime numbered questions are all yes!

    • Andrew says:

      11. Has anyone else got spend £1 get 100 Avios on their Amex. I’m so insulted by this offer!

      • Peter K says:

        12. Why don’t Centre Parcs invest in their kettles?

        • Peter K says:

          13. I’ve got X card, do I get the sign up on Y card?
          14. I’ve got the bends for bonding with Che and the Beardies. Will I pay a fee for chipping the seagulls?

          • Aston100 says:

            15. Anyone got a referral code for MetroOctoBulbAirPAWs?

          • BuildBackBetter says:

            16. There was no kettle in my room. What compensation can I ask for?

          • CarpalTravel says:

            17. Has anyone ever suggested setting up an HfP forum?

          • Sandgrounder says:

            18. Do BA carry spare trousers in case I foul myself mid-air? #flyingwithdiarrhea

          • planeconcorde says:

            19. How long does it take for Virgin points to transfer to Hilton?
            20. What’s the best time to call BA?
            21. If I apply for AMEX Plat can I get the £200 dinning offer?

          • Lady London says:

            Sandgrounder: No and you’ve been told not to eat the food even in J

  • Andrew H says:

    I’ve seen people complaining about the £10,000 Fronted limit per month on Curve. What are you people on? You presumably are the same people that have caused the issue in the first place with ridiculous amount of recycling (because that was exactly what you were doing – no one was buying tens of thousands of premium bonds a month and keeping them). Just be grateful that it’s still doable and that you didn’t screw it for everyone else. e.g. 15,000 Virgin points a month for free (or £14.99) and you are moaning?

    • Babyg says:

      exactly this…

    • Harrier25 says:

      What’s laughable is that they all shout from the rooftops boasting about how much MS they’re doing and then complain when their routes are shut down. Here’s an idea….find a route, do it moderately and keep your mouths shut.

    • Paul says:

      Who gets it for free and who doesn’t going forward? Are there some who aren’t paying the fee for Curve Metal (fronted)?

    • Steven says:

      To be fair, there will be people, like me, who never did any MS but will be impacted by the change when it comes to using curve for tax payments.

      • John says:

        Agreed.
        I pay £30000 a month to HMRC via Curve – no recycling

      • Muhammad Abdullah says:

        Its not MS to pay Brighton

      • Andrew H says:

        However the cost of this is incurred mostly by Curve – they pay the credit card handling charge and get a fraction of it back from the debit card charge which is a lot less. Do you want Curve to be in business with some restrictions, and you are still getting free points even now?

        • Muhammad Abdullah says:

          Not on Commercial, Personal to HMRC yes.

        • NFH says:

          On Curve commercial cards, Curve has a hefty profit margin between the uncapped commercial fee it receives and the capped consumer fee that it pays.

          • Muhammad Abdullah says:

            Exactly. A lot of posters don’t have a clue. It won’t be Curve who wanted to stop all this, it will be the card companies. They’ve been filling their pockets, -OK the “investors” have been the biggest contributors.

      • CarpalTravel says:

        +1

    • Doug M says:

      NS&I have products other than Premium Bonds. Given paltry interest rates pretty much everywhere the card points represent a better return.

      So those using Curve to pay HMRC or Amex, using an underlying credit card somehow morally superior to the sneered at MS? In the case of Amex using one credit card to pay another is legit?

    • Char Char says:

      The big elephant in the room is they are now practically one of a handful of cards that work with buying crypto with no 10k limit LMAO!

    • r* says:

      Is it actually still doable tho? While you might have fronted which will give you the 15k VS per month they can still want the bank statements and close the acct, no?

      • BP says:

        Yes. But once the current situation dies down Curve may turn a blind eye if commercially advantageous. The new T&Cs may be to appease NS&I.

    • ThePenguin says:

      Of course they are moaning!

      Now, explain exactly how they continue to make the most of it……and it aint fair to use codes words that against “wokey” ideals, so just simple language explanation (I daren’t say English, I’ll get called a racist”

  • HH says:

    I may hold the distinction of being the first person Curve ever blocked, way back in December 2016. For a single ATM cash withdrawal I made as my first transaction while changing the PIN. Bizarrely they still email me (e.g. today’s £10k limit message) as if I’m still a customer, even though my account was never unblocked and card eventually expired.

    • Char Char says:

      Curve 100% are breaching some guidelines, I have unsubscribed about 20 times and still get the emails with an unsubscribe link

  • David says:

    There are some very grumpy people on here today – I’m really sorry you can’t make millions of Avios which you can’t spend on limited availability flights without spending loads on pointless charges and taxes and that you can no longer indulge in BAs very average premium class service. Playing really really small violin.

  • Chris says:

    Re Curve – does it look like it’s now a free for all up the 7th Oct???!

  • BJ says:

    Called amex for a refund of my balance on a closed card, CSA had bother finding it, said I had so many cards it was like looking for a needle in a haystack… best I could do was say I had been a customer for many years. Getting to the point it’s too embarrassing to call them.

    • Peter K says:

      Always keep a note of the last 5 digits of your amex.

      The card type and last 5 digits makes it much easier for the CSA to find the one you want

    • Polly says:

      That’s why chat isn’t sooooo useful, we have lists of cancelled cards. It’s embarrassing even looking at our online account.

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