The HfP chat thread – Monday 4th October

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• Tazzy says:

  4 Oct4 October 05:32

  Hoping to buy a Chanel handbag and a Cartier bracelet (1 a gift for me, 1 a gift for my mum). I am guessing Heathrow is going to be cheapest (flying to St Lucia)?

  • Andrew says:

    4 Oct4 October 06:02

    No, Heathrow will be exactly the same price as Harrods or Bond St now: tax-free shopping ended at the start of this year. A Harrods rewards card will give you points back on your purchases (as well as your standard Amex points) so best to be there IMO – and you might also have an Amex offer.

    • Will says:

      4 Oct4 October 06:42

      Decent Selfridges and Harvey Nichols Amex offers should be available

      • Andrew says:

        4 Oct4 October 06:52

        Neither Cartier nor Chanel are sold at Harvey Nics.

      • Tazzy says:

        4 Oct4 October 07:14

        So duty free no longer exists flying London to Caribbean?

        • Andrew says:

          4 Oct4 October 07:27

          Correct. HMRC abolished all tax-free shopping as of 1 January 2021 – this was sort of separate to Brexit, more that the government wanted to stop people coming to the U.K. to shop and not pay VAT on it – very odd policy as 20% of nothing is still nothing as people won’t be doing their usual shopping tourism and it will cost countless jobs in the U.K. luxury retail sector. Only exception is that you export the goods from the U.K. to the purchaser’s home country directly by courier from the retailer – but of course then may incur import duties to that country.

        • Jonathan says:

          4 Oct4 October 07:43

          Duty Free no longer exists for anyone departing the U.K.

        • Anna says:

          4 Oct4 October 08:03

          You can now bring back 4 litres of spirits pp though, don’t know if other limits have been adjusted as well. Looking forward to finding out when we re-start long haul travel!

        • Memesweeper says:

          4 Oct4 October 11:25

          Correct, unless you transit via EU

    • MarkS says:

      4 Oct4 October 06:43

      On the plus side, tax free shopping from the EU now??

      • Andrew H says:

        4 Oct4 October 07:01

        Really? Online, you’ll pay more with import duty and incur charges from couriers handling the duty payment. In person you can bring in £390 of goods, above that you pay VAT and duty on the lot. But you’ll have to find them tax free in the first place, or claim the tax back when you leave the EU. So, no. No benefits from Brexit on this. Or anything.
        https://www.gov.uk/bringing-goods-into-uk-personal-use/arriving-in-Great-Britain

        • Andrew says:

          4 Oct4 October 07:11

          Goods which are made in the EU (which these items will be) and bought in the EU, being brought into the U.K. from the EU, will not be subject to this threshold.

        • JDB says:

          4 Oct4 October 09:32

          @Andrew where you refer to goods being made in the EU etc not being subject to the £390 threshold, I believe that it only applies to duty; you still have to pay VAT and as Andrew H said, once you go over the threshold you pay on the lot. On the basis that for these higher value items you will want a proper receipt (for future repairs under guarantee, insurance claim etc), evading the VAT may come back to bite you.

        • John says:

          4 Oct4 October 09:33

          *GB as NI is still part of the EU customs area

    • Andrew H says:

      4 Oct4 October 08:14

      There is Heathrow Rewards….?

    • Gary says:

      4 Oct4 October 09:50

      Involve personal shopper at Harrods for 2 reasons. 1) they can sort all export / posting of items to anywhere w an address (eg HKG is VaT free , maybe also Caribbean?) they are v well rehearsed. 2) if your purchase will bring you to Harrods black tier – they can upgrade you on the same day so the 1st 10k u spend also gets the enhanced points (rather than just after)

  • Anna says:

    4 Oct4 October 06:53

    Much of the Caribbean offers duty free shopping, not sure about St Lucia?

    • Spurs drive me mad says:

      4 Oct4 October 07:19

      @anna according to TA St Lucia is not a duty free island very limited in designer stuff. Did try to post a link but it wouldn’t post but google it.

      • Anna says:

        4 Oct4 October 07:54

        http://www.destinationsaintlucia.com/activities/duty-free-shopping/

    • John says:

      4 Oct4 October 09:35

      But you have to pay duty and VAT when you bring the items to the UK, if you want to comply with the law. And the prices probably include the cost of importing items to a tiny Caribbean island even if they waive their sales tax

      • KBuffett says:

        4 Oct4 October 09:45

        This was the same requirement on reentry when buying from UK duty free

  • BuildBackBetter says:

    4 Oct4 October 07:26

    There used to be some discounts for Bicester village, not sure if still available.

    • Andrew says:

      4 Oct4 October 07:28

      If only Chanel and Cartier were at Bicester!

      • Andrew H says:

        4 Oct4 October 08:01

        (Why do some messages not allow replies – this is to your earlier one about thresholds

        Much (most?) stuff bought in the EU will not have been made there. For no duty they have to be provably made there of have enough EU sourced components. Online it seems to be £135 threshold. Who knows exactly…?

        complication over what was a very effectively functioning system. For what benefit?

        • Andrew says:

          4 Oct4 October 08:13

          I was just referencing the original post which was to purchase a Chanel bag and a Cartier bracelet – both of which will be made in the EU. Proof required is the label in the product.

        • John says:

          4 Oct4 October 09:33

          There’s a maximum comment nesting level

        • JDB says:

          4 Oct4 October 09:43

          @Andrew – I can’t speak for the two specific products referenced, but it is a big assumption that all these types of luxury goods are being made in the EU. I have visited a lot of Chinese factories that manufacture fashion, leather goods etc. for top British/French/Italian brands. Those goods then come back to specialist facilities in the UK/EU for ‘finishing’ and labelling. There are not many that exclusively manufacture in Europe. I’m not going to name names, but you would be amazed and anyone in the industry will confirm this.

        • Anna says:

          4 Oct4 October 10:20

          Agree with JDB (for a change!). As long as one component is made in the EU, they can label the entire item as such. Among other things this perpetuates very low wages in the developing country where leather etc is processed and creates an extraordinary mark up for the companies with the brand names.
          Some years ago I was approached in Paris by a Chinese lady who tried to hand me a wad of euros and asked me to buy her a Louis Vuitton bag. I thought she was trying to pass off counterfeit currency but apparently designer shops refuse to sell more than a certain number of items to customers who appear to be from the Far East because they suspect they will use them to help in the production of “copy” items.
          For the record, I don’t have a huge amount of sympathy with anyone who buys or sells a handbag costing 4 figures!

        • Doug M says:

          4 Oct4 October 10:43

          Certainly on expensive bicycles made in means assembled in at best. So long as value is added they can use the made in label. So that £8K bicycle could have just had the branding added in Italy that allows the made in claim.

        • Yorkie Aid says:

          4 Oct4 October 11:39

          The EU tax system does not function effectively. That is why it is abused by so many multinational companies to reduce their effective taxes to almost zero.

• ChrisC says:

  4 Oct4 October 05:54

  With the Sainsbury’s move to discounts for using smart shop app many of us thought that the normal weekly nectar bonus points offers had gone but no they had just hidden where to find them.

  At the bottom of the “my nectar prices” part of the app is another tab saying “have you checked your Sainsbury’s offers?”. Tap on that and they appear and you can then save as normal.

  Just found mine and I have 15 offers all for stuff I usually buy. Previously I’d only get 5 or 6.

  No cross over between the two sets of offers though.

  • Rui N. says:

    4 Oct4 October 07:29

    My offers are on my main Nectar screen on the app like they’ve always been… i haven’t checked the website.

    • Brighton Belle says:

      4 Oct4 October 08:07

      Totally gave up with nectar offers. Paltry offers and far too much complexity to save 50p. If Sainsbury’s think they incentivised me to visit their shops it’s the reverse.

  • BuildBackBetter says:

    4 Oct4 October 08:05

    They are gradually moving to discounts on smart shop. In the short term, nectar bonus points will continue.

    • Chrism20 says:

      4 Oct4 October 10:19

      Recent internal comms do not suggest the bonus points are going anywhere soon

  • IanM says:

    4 Oct4 October 08:36

    The my nectar prices are a shambles and so confusing to have 3 different pricing systems.
    I got overcharged in Sainsburys (not uncommon) on a reduced price item because the reduced price was lower than the my nectar price – so the app charged me the higher price.

  • Mike says:

    4 Oct4 October 13:06

    I have a partner offer for 100 nectar points for purchasing 45 lites of ESSO fuel – er if only I could !!!

• QwertyKnowsBest says:

  4 Oct4 October 06:51

  Question re Avios BA 241 and open jaw booking.

  Booked separately outbound Toronto inbound Vancouver. No problem (other than usual long call wait) getting agent to link bookings and refund Avios. However, advised no refund of additional fees due. When trying dummy bookings as variations of returns, looks to be that I have paid circa £200 more in fees than one return.

  Any thoughts on if I am due a refund?

  • Anna says:

    4 Oct4 October 06:58

    I had this with You First when I wanted to add the return to my BOS trip. The CSA and her supervisor both refused point blank to adjust the taxes and I ended up having to cancel & rebook (with £100 fees for doing that!). I submitted a complaint but BA just brushed it off, as I expected.

    • Anna says:

      4 Oct4 October 06:59

      Obviously I would have been way more than £200 out of pocket as the taxes from the US are astronomical so cancelling & rebooking was the lesser evil!

  • Peter K says:

    4 Oct4 October 06:59

    From reports on here from pre-pandemic the agent was correct, no refund.

    It’s book it all online in one go with the fees there, but risk losing the outbound waiting for the inbound to be released, or book each leg separately, ring to combine but have to pay the full fees each way.

    • QwertyKnowsBest says:

      4 Oct4 October 07:11

      Ok thanks Anna Peter K. On the chin it is then.

      BTW – one for Anna as I recall you mentioning MAN flights. Do you know if can use fast track with BA business ticket now BA have moved terminals at MAN?

      Shame that they have moved, was never the best lounge but used to enjoy the relaxed atmosphere of BA T3 lounge.

      • Anna says:

        4 Oct4 October 07:57

        I liked the lounge, it was never remotely full, unlike the LHR ones. The only thing lacking was the bacon rolls!
        I’ve only been out of T1 since lockdown ended (can’t remember where BA is flying from), didn’t notice a fast track queue but it was all so quick and efficient I might just have missed it. Our next BA flights aren’t till the end of March so we’ll see how it all is at that point!

    • Jonathan says:

      4 Oct4 October 07:17

      If you call up to book the inbound then they will add it as a return leg & correct the surcharges to reflect this.

      If you book online then call to add a 241 voucher then they refund the Avios but the surcharges remain as if it’s 2 one way bookings.

      It depends on your destination as to which option is best but USA in particular is expensive in the 2nd scenario.

      Might be worth setting up a Seat Spy alert & then if there is further availability you could FTV & rebook as a return with lower fees.

      • QwertyKnowsBest says:

        4 Oct4 October 07:39

        Thanks Jonathan. Probably going to leave it, spent more time on BA.com and BA Tele Q’s than actually flying.

      • Anna says:

        4 Oct4 October 07:58

        Except that wasn’t my experience …

        • pauldb says:

          4 Oct4 October 09:20

          But Anna had you already booked the inbound at full-avios?

        • Anna says:

          4 Oct4 October 10:26

          No, as I said I wanted to add the return leg. I was completely taken aback when the CSA refused (as did her supervisor when I tried to push it). I was absolutely furious that I ended up £100 out of pocket with all the phone charges involved, but I was desperate not to lose my F seats with so few of them being released at the moment. Fortunately they did go straight back into the inventory when she cancelled them but in future I’m only going to book full returns to the US, it’s not worth all the hassle!

• Mark says:

  4 Oct4 October 07:02

  With Creation going, and Virgin giving out laughably low limits, does this make the Chase debit card the best non-Amex for everday spend?

  1% return is far better than I can see on any other card, and not too worried about S75 as I’ve never had to use this for groceries, fuel or restaurant purchases 😉

  • Peter K says:

    4 Oct4 October 07:09

    It’s 1% back, but only for a year remember.

  • Olly says:

    4 Oct4 October 07:11

    HSBC premium world elite also gets you 1% if you can meet the criteria

  • Natasha says:

    4 Oct4 October 07:37

    Can you not pay off the virgin credit card early in the month and renew your credit limit??

    • Rob says:

      4 Oct4 October 07:38

      You can but you don’t earn points beyond your limit.

      • Natasha says:

        4 Oct4 October 07:49

        Does this rule apply to every other visa/mastercard points card?

        • Harrier25 says:

          4 Oct4 October 08:00

          No.

        • BuildBackBetter says:

          4 Oct4 October 08:07

          Not every credit card issuer is dumb like creation.

        • BuildBackBetter says:

          4 Oct4 October 08:09

          Wanted to say ‘dim’, not dumb.

        • Rob says:

          4 Oct4 October 08:47

          No, just Virgin.

        • Youllnever says:

          4 Oct4 October 09:06

          It’s a Virgin thing for now.

  • Anna says:

    4 Oct4 October 08:01

    I got £11,600 limit when I applied on Friday, this isn’t unusual for me and my OH. Healthy but not massive household income, compared to a lot of people on here, so I can only put it down to a mix of being middle-aged, lowish mortgage payments and the fact that I do make very regular payments to all our credit cards!

    • BuildBackBetter says:

      4 Oct4 October 08:07

      Got £8400 limit last week.

      • BP says:

        4 Oct4 October 08:37

        Got 20k last year. They don’t always give out small limits.

        • jj says:

          4 Oct4 October 09:28

          £25K given to me last week, so they do hand out generous limits on occasion. I alway pay credit card balances in full each month, so they aren’t necessarily looking for people who will borrow on the card.

    • Andrew H says:

      4 Oct4 October 08:13

      Making regular FULL payments is not necessarily what CC companies want! I only got £4K limit back in April (generally get £10k+ limits) and once have had the resulting 6000 point cap. Have to wait 6 months to get new limit.

    • Harry T says:

      4 Oct4 October 10:23

      I always get piddly credit limits with Virgin after initially being rejected, and my income is on a level with Rob’s core SW1 readership demographic. First time I had the card, I received £1500 limit. Second time, I had to appeal again and specifically mentioned I had largely closed the card previously due to terrible limit – given £6300 limit after my application was eventually approved.

      By comparison, I usually have 5 figure limits on Amex and HSBC gave me a £30,000 limit on the WE CC this year. So Virgin can definitely screw you over, even if you are well regarded by other lenders.

    • Doug M says:

      4 Oct4 October 10:49

      I think a bigger factor than incoming/outgoing is the sum of your existing credit limits.

      • barnaby100 says:

        4 Oct4 October 17:43

        My virgin x 2 are about £20k each. I probably have at least £150k of limit across all of my cards?

  • Andrew says:

    4 Oct4 October 08:41

    All depends on the fund return offers. My goto credit card for everyday spend is still the legacy MBNA Horizon Card.

    If you’re going to use a debit card for grocery shopping, might as well speak to your Union and get an Ode (Spree) card and get 3-5% on every purchase.

• Andrew H says:

  4 Oct4 October 08:04

  Dumb question from someone hoping to ski in Austria in December. Do you have to book the Day 2 PCR within a certain time before return (so effectively from abroad) or can you just prebook in U.K. before you leave?

  • ChrisC says:

    4 Oct4 October 08:21

    You can book it any time you like up until the point you need the code for the PLF for your return flight.

  • Tracey says:

    4 Oct4 October 08:29

    Could book now if you wanted. Most test have an expiry date a few months ahead. By December we expect the rules to change to allow LFTs rather than PCRs, so the price may well drop, though by how much is debatable. Overheads+postage+raw test costs are around the same, the PCR obviously has lab work too, but I can’t see the difference being that great. If NWP can do PCRs for £40, how much lower would LFTs be?

    • Andrew H says:

      4 Oct4 October 08:38

      Thank you both.

      I did read somewhere that shortage of LFTs means PCRs are continuing… but it’s a better test so surely it should be maintained if they want to do it properly

  • Rob says:

    4 Oct4 October 08:45

    Whenever you want. The ones we uses in early Sep was bought for a cancelled trip in July.

  • Phil W says:

    4 Oct4 October 09:08

    We’ve just returned from Austria (Friday) and I bought our Day 2 tests on the Wednesday from Nationwide Pathology (£40 each – recommended by a few HFPers and worked well for us).

    Personally I’d wait much closer to the time to see how the rules change.

    • EvilDoctorK says:

      4 Oct4 October 10:11

      Yes – don’t purchase tests for a trip months a way .. reasonable risk you’ll end up wasting money .. you only need the code for the test when you fill up the PLF .. so there’s no real advantage to purchasing them more than 48h before you fly back , and definitely potential disadvantages of doing it 2+ months out.

      Being organised does not pay off in this case !

• Ant says:

  4 Oct4 October 08:14

  My NOW Entertainment offer of £5 pm has come to an end. Anyone has a code or a better offer than the standard £9 a month? Can’t find any online.

  • Sandgrounder says:

    4 Oct4 October 08:23

    Didn’t they offer you a cheaper deal when you cancelled? I’ve had 2 extensions on my 1/2 price

  • Spurs drive me mad says:

    4 Oct4 October 09:02

    Try going through the cancellation process online good chance you will be offered half price discount for 6 months, I’ve done this several times.

    • BuildBackBetter says:

      4 Oct4 October 09:19

      +1

• Andrew says:

  4 Oct4 October 08:15

  Thinking of booking a Virgin Atlantic flexible ticket . If i cancel , do I receive a full refund – t’s and c’s don’t explicitly confirm this . Any other pitfalls to look out for ? Thanks

  • Rob says:

    4 Oct4 October 08:44

    There may be a nominal admin fee (BA charges £15 IIRC) but apart from that the cash should return in full quickly.

• Damian says:

  4 Oct4 October 08:15

  I received two emails from the avios e store this morning saying; Unfortunately, your purchase no longer qualifies for 20,408 Avios and We’ve removed 20,408 Avios. Booking_com UK has informed us that your purchase no longer qualifies for the 20,408 Avios I had the same email for another stay where 6658 avios have also been removed.

  Has anyone else had something similar and who is it best to pursue this with, booking.com or the avios store?

  • Damian says:

    4 Oct4 October 08:16

    I meant to add, that I completed both stays at the respective hotels.

  • Craig says:

    4 Oct4 October 08:18

    Persevere and be blunt, having screen shots of the offer helps a lot. If you’ve got no proof then it may be tricky but keep pushing back. Long thread on FT about it somewhere.

    • Damian says:

      4 Oct4 October 08:23

      I have literally just received two emails saying Good news – you’ve collected 20,230 Avios and Good news – you’ve collected 6,634 Avios. So it looks like they have recalculated the amounts, I will have to check the price and work out what they should have earned.

      • Anuj says:

        4 Oct4 October 09:34

        They do this a lot, must get them so may customer queries from people who don’t notice both sets of emails.

      • Mattb says:

        4 Oct4 October 09:55

        We get that with John Lewis orders my wife returns and they recalculate. Got 30k pending from booking.com myself so could fingers crossed for us both.

  • Rantallion says:

    4 Oct4 October 08:30

    I’d wait until the end of today before contacting the e store. Sometimes the retailer has notified the e store that an adjustment needs to be made to the original credit. The e store handles this by removing the original credit with a subsequent credit following for what the retailer regards to be the correct amount.

  • Anna says:

    4 Oct4 October 10:30

    I gave up on the e store some time ago as I got so fed up with this happening. I did claw some back but it’s not worth the time and effort. Be aware that if you’ve used any other offer with your booking they can take back the avios, or some of them – even if it’s as trifling as a code to get free P & P on something you’re ordering!

  • Damian says:

    4 Oct4 October 16:41

    Thanks everyone. Looking back through what I actually paid it’s probably to do with exchange rates. The initial avios are presumably estimated on the quoted price in £ based on the exchange rate of the booking day. Looks like when I paid the balance the £ to Euro rate was more favourable so they have clawed back some of the avios.

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