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The HfP chat thread – Tuesday 12th October

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General

Comments (585)

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

  • xcalx says:
    12 Oct12 October 09:28

    Anyone that signed up for the Sainsburys energy 2 year fix get the 12k Nectar. I received 6K this morning.

    • BuildBackBetter says:
      12 Oct12 October 09:34

      Was it for both gas and electricity? I signed up both for one year and got 6k.

    • KP says:
      12 Oct12 October 09:48

      I just had a look at their rates and they are easily 2X what I’m paying currently on my EDF variable rate

      • Ed says:
        12 Oct12 October 09:49

        They would be now, all fix rates are currently £££ higher than the variable rate. If you signed up a month or so ago, the rates were better than the current price cap, and will be a lot cheaper than the projected April price cap rate.

        • KP says:
          12 Oct12 October 10:00

          right ok. I missed out. I will wait patiently on my current tariff and then look to switch once prices stabilise (whenever that is…)

          • Ryan says:
            12 Oct12 October 10:06

            Every variable is on the price cap, which lasts until April (when it will go up again)

      • xcalx says:
        12 Oct12 October 09:52

        They came in top spot for me for a 2 year fix about a month ago.

      • Rich says:
        12 Oct12 October 10:05

        There is nothing on the market at the moment which beats the variable rate. The variable rate, with its price cap, is effectively acting as a 6 month fix right now.

        Fixed rates don’t have to adhere to the price cap, and represent what the market foresees over the next year or so. Plus a bit extra to dissuade you from switching to them!

    • Genghis says:
      12 Oct12 October 10:39

      I switched on 27 Sep and 12k (2 x 6k) posted on 29 Sep.

    • Lawro says:
      12 Oct12 October 11:00

      Yes, took just under 3 weeks from signing up to (12k) points posting.

  • Hugh says:
    12 Oct12 October 09:36

    Did I read somewhere that BA have temporarily waived the £35 for amending an Avios booking, or did I imagine that?

  • George K says:
    12 Oct12 October 09:45

    Hey folks – thank you to those who responded to my Marriott BRG conundrum a couple of days ago. I’ve messaged them back to see if the 25% discount can be applied to the whole of the booking and this is what they wrote back:

    “Claim comparisons are made net of any taxes, fees, or gratuities. This rate is only lower than ours on October 17. The approval is only for the last night of your stay. ”

    It all feels… wrong, considering they ask for the total paid on the claim form and the comparison is done on that basis. Wondering if I should hold my ground, but stay is tomorrow…

    I’m also grateful for getting something rather than nothing.

    • Harry T says:
      12 Oct12 October 09:48

      Try ringing the BRG phone number (US) via Skype. That can bring a quicker resolution. The number is on the flyertalk thread wiki.

      • George K says:
        12 Oct12 October 15:08

        Thanks Harry. Just spoken to them. Same story. They are adamant that they look at the AVERAGE nightly rate and that needs to be lower across all nights (as opposed to comparing just the total spent).

        I might let this one go…

  • Anna says:
    12 Oct12 October 09:57

    Is the postal address for Amex John Street, Brighton? They seem to have taken it off all cards and the website!

  • Triath5 says:
    12 Oct12 October 09:58

    With the recent news about Thailand opening up for December, I’m looking at potential travel for the Xmas period. Plenty of availability via Singapore to BKK.

    Apart from PCR tests required for in-transit passengers for Singapore, does anyone know of any other major hurdles to be aware of? Looking at their website looks like UK citizens can transit through Singapore without major issues.

    Thinking of a week or so in Koh Samui as well….Unpredictability of the Thais clearly factored in, but I’m OK with only having alcohol at restaurants, etc.

    • Memesweeper says:
      12 Oct12 October 10:21

      Treatment of transit pax in SIN looks a bit crappy.

      • Sam G says:
        12 Oct12 October 10:41

        I read somewhere that this is going to be relaxed but maybe only for transit passengers coming in on the VTL flights. No way they’ll be able to manage such tight control over the numbers of arrivals and transits as the schedule continues to ramp up!

    • Richie says:
      12 Oct12 October 10:25

      Does the Samui Sandbox still apply?

    • Wollhouse says:
      12 Oct12 October 12:30

      Triath5 – when i was there a few months ago, and restaurants weren’t allowed to serve alcohol, everyone asked for their beer in a teapot…… An awful lot of tea was being drunk in the middle of the day 🙂 the locals in KS were so happy to see tourists and couldn’t have done more for you. Be aware, KS is VERY different. Chaweng no longer really exists; very little in Lamai or Fishermans and no tourist weekend markets. But, it is still a lovely island and I am hoping to get back as soon as they allow entry with negative PCR. Just be sure to book your flight to samui onto the same PNR (unless this has changed in the last few days) as they shuffle you straight from your intl flight onto SPECIFIC Bangkok Airways flights to Samui. BA’s flights into BKK arrived AFTER the specific flights, but they may now have adjusted this!

      • Triath5 says:
        12 Oct12 October 13:05

        Thanks for the response! Good to know about the ‘teapots’…I do appreciate a good workaround to restrictions 🙂

        Could you elaborate a bit more on Chaweng no longer existing? Presumably Chaweng & Lamai beach are accessible and the hotels still operating? I imagine rates could potentially be more attractive as well.

        Good shout on the PNR – I had intended on spending a few days in BKK before heading to KS but by the sounds of it it may just complicate things…

        • Wollhouse says:
          12 Oct12 October 13:41

          Chaweng – it’s simply a dead zone. shops, restaurants, massage, clubs etc – all gone. everything boarded up or just sitting empty with dust. tumbleweeds blowing down the street. they could film an apocalyptic movie… it’s very sad. Lamai – has a bit more as their local food market is still open, and the local cafes etc were open. Yes, beaches open – many of the hotels were closed as there were no tourists; Fishermans has a few restaurants and shops open – the Green Light Cafe had a really nice vibe and great food. )we were staying in Elysia so it was our onsite restaurant 🙂

          i don’t know about staying in BKK and then flying – if you do this, would you post as it says you can’t connect unless it’s on the same PNR, but this perhaps no longer counts as “connecting” – let me see what my friends there say. but regardless, don’t forget to do your COE and your insurance and at the moment, you need one week in an SHA Plus hotel but you can move around after the first day.

          PLEASE don’t let this put you off going. Samui is still lovely, and the people are delighted to see you. Just be aware it will be much quieter than the last time you were there

        • Wollhouse says:
          12 Oct12 October 13:51

          wait! i’m being silly….. at the moment, if you go to BKK you have to quarantine, regardless of vax status. KS and Phuket have the Sandbox scheme which circumvents this. You mentioned Xmas travel, so just keep an eye on things as they’re talking about making a sandbox scheme for BKK, maybe 1 Nov. But if they don’t, then you probably want to just transit straight to KS.

          • BP says:
            12 Oct12 October 14:21

            There’s an AMAZING local weekend market on Samui. Down the road the locals call the “Ghost Road” from Chaweng to Bangrak. Near a lake (not Chaweng lake) is all I know. We were the only tourists in sight. The food was incredible and it was very clean and trendy compared with the tourist markets!

  • KP says:
    12 Oct12 October 10:02

    No news yet from Biden & CO. as to when the US will re-open. I have tickets booked to DC for 19th Nov.

    BA prices have stayed put at the exact same amount on my dates for the past few weeks. Looks like even BA is sitting tight and waiting to see what happens before they increase or decrease the prices…depending on the confirmed dates to allow people in

  • YC says:
    12 Oct12 October 10:10

    There is a kimpton flash sale running so worth re-running the numbers for any up coming bookings. From my sample of 1, prices are reduced by c.25% vs last week

    • ChrisC says:
      12 Oct12 October 11:13

      Just picked up a suite at the NYC Eventi for £200 a night in January. They wanted that the other day for a lesser room

      Checked a De Witt in AMS for december but my Emyr rate is cheaper.

      Now checking a few other bookings.

      Am noting in the app when running a search it appears but then a couple of miniutes later rerunning it it disappears and then appears again so worth persiting.

  • Js says:
    12 Oct12 October 10:13

    Hello
    I was flying from man to tlv with tk I was not let on the plane because they said I was missing covid papers which turned out to be the airlines mistake and they put me on the next flight and I arrived 6 hours late.
    Can I claim compensation under EU rules?

    • KP says:
      12 Oct12 October 10:21

      Yes you should be able to under involuntary denied boarding. But some of the more experienced commenters here may give more info

    • Lady London says:
      12 Oct12 October 12:55

      Yes. Denied boarding is what it qualifies under (as it was incorrect). Google denied boarding EU261 to find the text it’s well organised and readable.

      Claim on both counts – delay and denied boarding. Sounds like you should get at least one.

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