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The HfP chat thread – Wednesday 13th October

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Comments (601)

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

  • Louise says:
    13 Oct13 October 07:37

    My IHG card seems ot have stopped working already! Have now got the horizon card out of the draw

    • Harrier25 says:
      13 Oct13 October 08:58

      It’s probably blocked. A quick call to Creation should sort.

    • Andrew says:
      13 Oct13 October 09:10

      Prize Draw?

    • xcalx says:
      13 Oct13 October 10:56

      Don’t forget Horizon card T & C changes on the 15th OCT re cash like transactions.

    • Greg says:
      13 Oct13 October 17:12

      My IHG Card stopped working using contactless a few weeks ago, They said to use it with a PIN as it gets blocked after 100 uses with contactless.

    • Louise says:
      14 Oct14 October 07:12

      Thanks everyone ill try it wth a pin, will also keep an eye on the horixon charges!

  • Ls says:
    13 Oct13 October 07:38

    Morning. Looks like HSBC WE card has formalised its reduction in fee for the first year for new applicants. But it is only giving £50 off (ie £145 rather than £195). They have also changed the design , which I am not too partial to.

    • Harry T says:
      13 Oct13 October 07:48

      I quite like the new design. I’ve actually lost my physical card – does anyone know how long the HSBC dinosaurs take to send you a new one?

    • Zana says:
      13 Oct13 October 08:17

      Unfortunately discount only applies to those who doesn’t have an existing HSBC credit card. I downgraded at the start of the pandemic to the free Premier MC as can’t use LoungeKey; suspect many who qualify for the WE already has the free card…

      • meta says:
        13 Oct13 October 08:42

        I still have PWE and they refunded me the fee for this year and I also have it in writing that they won’t charge me in January 2022 either. So 2 years of no fees.

    • Sina says:
      13 Oct13 October 10:42

      ugh! that’s no design! slapping a logo on something is never design!

      I quite liked the previous lion design and think a lot of thinking and innovation went into it! and I hate all vertical cards, IDK why all banks are doing it!?

  • J says:
    13 Oct13 October 07:56

    Morning all. Curious to know what you make of this.

    I booked an IHG points redemption at Kimpton Fitzroy for later next year. Need a twin bed, but the only redemption options showing were Double or Standard. So I booked Standard and added a note asking for a twin if possible (not a massive problem if they can’t).

    Got an email from the hotel shortly afterwards offering me a confirmed twin (“superior 2 double”) for a £90 per night supplement. Whereas the difference in rates online between standard double and superior 2 double is £41. I queried this and was offered a reduced supplement of £40, apparently due to my IHG status meaning I would have been upgraded to a superior double anyway. Yet the rate difference between superior double and superior 2 double is only £16…

    I don’t necessarily object to paying a supplement per se (and I get that certain room types may be sold out hence not available for redemption, and prices are based on demand etc) but trying to charge a supplement that’s more than the actual rate difference doesn’t sit well with me – feels slightly money-grabbing, as if they’re trying to squeeze some extra revenue out of a points booking.

    Not the end of the world – it’s fully cancellable, and there are plenty of other redemption options in London, and plenty of time to choose. But it has left me with a negative impression of the Fitzroy (where I’ve stayed before and liked – probably won’t go again now). Am I wrong to think this is slightly bad behaviour from them?

    • Don says:
      13 Oct13 October 08:08

      I stayed there 2 years ago. The room was small but clean. The breakfast was a scrum. Personally I wouldn’t stay there again. Maybe find a hotel who would appreciate your business. There are plenty of other hotels in London. With points bookings for IHG Spire (whatever that actually means) they just seem to give what they’ve got anyway. I’m struggling to remember the last time I got any special treatment as a Spire member.

      • J says:
        13 Oct13 October 08:11

        My thinking exactly – doesn’t feel like they particularly want my booking.

        • John says:
          13 Oct13 October 08:30

          IHG hotels only wants points bookings when they are more than 95% full otherwise they don’t make any money

    • Harry T says:
      13 Oct13 October 08:11

      Hotels shouldn’t charge you more to just change from a double bed to twin beds, in the same category.

      • J says:
        13 Oct13 October 08:16

        Indeed. I think the issue here might be that there are seemingly no standard twin rooms available so they’re effectively upgrading me a level – except that the price they want is a lot more than the actual rate difference. Which grates, in my view.

        • TGLoyalty says:
          13 Oct13 October 08:20

          What “actual” rate difference are you looking at? The same date or another? Is it the best flexible you are comparing each day?

          • J says:
            13 Oct13 October 08:39

            Same dates, best flexible rate. Variously comparing the cash price of the Standard (double) room I’d get on a points redemption against the twin room they’re offering, and then the cash price of the double room they say they’d upgrade me to against the offered twin room. The key point is that the supplements they’ve offered are more than the cash price difference, hence effectively devaluing the points redemption. Not a huge big deal but a point of principle, I feel. Just seems like poor behaviour, to me.

          • TGLoyalty says:
            13 Oct13 October 08:45

            Strange on random dates I pick I see £36 diff between superior double and twin.

            £18 between urban (the room youll actually be booked into on points) and superior doubles.

      • Ken says:
        13 Oct13 October 08:40

        The standard rooms there are so small that I’d doubt you’d get twin beds in, unless they were the width of youth hostel beds.
        I just can’t imagine any twins at all in first (and possibly) second category of rooms.
        Easy to forget how small double (as opposed to King etc) are

      • Lady London says:
        13 Oct13 October 08:41

        Twin being less popular anyway

    • J says:
      13 Oct13 October 09:15

      @TGloyalty – exactly. They initially wanted £90 to go from urban to twin (cf £18 + £36 per your example, £41 on my dates), then lowered it to £40 taking account of the status upgrade (cf the cash rate difference of £36 on your date, £16 on mine). Granted, not much in it, but it’s the principle.

    • Anna says:
      13 Oct13 October 09:16

      I sometimes need a 2nd room with 2 beds for my son and his cousin so I usually work out the difference in price then contact the hotel and offer to pay that for the room. I’ve always ended up getting the room I need and not getting charged extra!
      Having said that, I’ve got a stay at The George coming up with a friend with the Ambassador free night and we’ve asked for 2 beds and been allocated the Superior Twin which is technically ungrade from the standard double but not a brilliant one as far as I can tell! We’ll see if it improves at check in but we won’t actually be in the room that much so it’s not an issue.

      • J says:
        13 Oct13 October 09:29

        I think if they’d just asked for the price difference in the first place, I’d probably have accepted it, for the certainty of knowing we’ll have a twin room. But I don’t really fancy paying more than the rate difference 😉 Plus it just feels like they’re trying it on.

        • Anna says:
          13 Oct13 October 09:37

          Absolutely they shouldn’t be charging you more than the going rate, it’s not a cheap hotel (either in cash or points terms) so it’s pretty woeful of them to try this. You would hope they want you to have a positive experience and return on a paid stay!

      • David says:
        13 Oct13 October 09:36

        You get a one category room upgrade as Ambassador, including points bookings.

        • Anna says:
          13 Oct13 October 09:37

          I know that’s all they have to give you but I usually do a lot better than that!

          • Sandra says:
            13 Oct13 October 09:55

            They may be getting busier now and I’m guessing, if so, that Ambassador’s paying cash rather than points/free night voucher will be offered the better upgrades first with everyone else getting the ‘normal’. Although I agree in the instance above they shouldn’t be charging more than the going rate to have twin beds rather than a double.

        • meta says:
          13 Oct13 October 10:52

          @David this is Kimpton so Ambassador benefits don’t apply. The only thing that applies is that until the end of the year, you can use the free weekend night voucher.

          And the upgrade doesn’t necessarily apply on points bookings as per T&C.

          16. On IHG® Rewards Reward Nights and Free Nights, the guaranteed upgrade benefit is not applicable and is subject to availability. Refer to IHG® Rewards terms & conditions.

          So you can’t claim compensation on points bookings. Generally the hotels will upgrade you, but I had one or two rewards stays in the past where they didn’t due to hotels genuinely being full.

          In any case, on cash rate, they can always give you 10k and not give you upgrade and 10k and not give you late checkout and not have to explain themselves.

    • Andrew says:
      13 Oct13 October 09:43

      Be careful about what you request. A “Twin Bed” is the international name for a “Double Bed”.

      For clarity, it’s always best to ask for two beds.

      • Anna says:
        13 Oct13 October 10:26

        I’ve never known anyone in the UK confuse twin (single) and double beds, but I do usually ask for 2 beds in the hope that they’ll give us 2 doubles, and explain that it’s for 2 teenagers or 2 lady friends!

      • kitten says:
        13 Oct13 October 12:45

        A Twin Bed is the international name for a Single size bed

  • Dan says:
    13 Oct13 October 08:02

    Morning all! Signed up to the Sainsburys credit card over summer for the 10,000 nectar points sign up bonus when spending £400 at Sainsburys. Hit the spending target immediately but no sign of the points yet… anyone else?

    • RJA says:
      13 Oct13 October 09:32

      Same, no sign….I think I remember someone here saying they got them after their 3rd statement had been generated…..

      • FatherOfFour says:
        13 Oct13 October 10:11

        Yes, I asked previously and think one poster answered that it was after the 4th Statement. I seem to be getting the double nectars through ok on my Nectar statement, the day after statement generated.

    • Britbronco says:
      13 Oct13 October 13:46

      I contacted them recently and they told me I’ll get the points within 60 days of the end of the promotional spend period (the 2 months you have to spend £400 at Sainsburys)

    • Greg says:
      13 Oct13 October 17:14

      Same here. I guessed I need to wait, and thanks to those who confirmed that.

  • Lee says:
    13 Oct13 October 08:06

    Has anyone received newly applied Virgin card recently? It’s been 2.5 weeks since approval. There were a lot of comments about delay but no one said they received card. Just wondering if Virgin has stopped issuing new card recently.

  • Toppcat says:
    13 Oct13 October 08:08

    Has anyone been able to fund Ernie with Che debit card recently? I have done so in the past, but had two recent attempts rejected, despite everything being okay at the Che end. Apologies if I have missed some news on this.

    • Harry T says:
      13 Oct13 October 08:10

      Check the address on your Che account matches the one on Ernie.

      • Toppcat says:
        13 Oct13 October 09:25

        Thanks Harry. Just checked and they didn’t precisely match. Now fixed on Che, but still not working. Transactions showing as ‘reverted’ in Che. Will give it 24 hrs…

    • xcalx says:
      13 Oct13 October 08:53

      Same. Not worked for me in the last week. 4 attempts

      • Toppcat says:
        13 Oct13 October 09:28

        :/

      • xcalx says:
        13 Oct13 October 16:10

        Strangely I was in Sainsburys this afternoon and ot a call from Creation asking if I had tried a number of times to send money to Che. Sheepishly I admitted I had. OK says the guy I have cleared the block on your card. Excellent CS 🙂 Tried a cheeky £5k all good.

    • Anna says:
      13 Oct13 October 09:19

      Use another bank account as an intermediary? I don’t think it’s a great idea to provoke ernie at the moment!

      • Toppcat says:
        13 Oct13 October 09:27

        Thanks Anna. Trying to move the funds out of Che using the debit card so that Che at least earns something from me. Think they will get quite grumpy if I keep funding with CC and then transfer out! Unless there are other bank accounts I can fund with a debit card??

      • xcalx says:
        13 Oct13 October 17:01

        Sound advice.

  • Karl says:
    13 Oct13 October 08:16

    Anyone know why BA would cancel all flights to TFS on a Monday in December? There are two flights going most days that month and at least one every other day I can see.
    I’m a bit miffed with BA about this. I changed a Tuesday-Saturday trip to Mon-Sat for the BA Holidays double tier points promo. Cost £560 extra which seemed a decent deal for 160 more tier points x 2 passengers.
    CE has sold out the previous day and
    I can’t move a day forward due to work. Seems the only options are:
    1) Ask for a reroute which undoubtedly won’t be forthcoming and presumably won’t be issuing 320 tier points.
    2) Go Tue-Sat which is essentially the same holiday as originally booked, albeit costing an extra £560 (with perhaps a bit off for 1 less night hotel) and no additional 160 tier points.
    If only I could get through with a simple phone call to try and sort this out…..

    • J says:
      13 Oct13 October 08:22

      Re your (1), if you did get a reroute, I believe you could then seek Original Routing Credit, to get whatever miles and points you would be entitled to had you flown as originally booked. Never done it myself and not sure whether it’s dependant on anything specific, or how much hassle you’d face trying to get it, so maybe others can better advise, but could be worth looking into.

      • Karl says:
        13 Oct13 October 10:05

        Thanks J. I am intending of asking for the original tier points and miles to be maintained but the World’s Favourite Airline are hardly renowned for their goodwill in such circumstances.

        • Nick says:
          13 Oct13 October 12:02

          ORC is specifically intended only for irrops scenarios, i.e. on-the-day disruption, and never applies if a change is published and agreed in advance. Your best bet really is to call BAH and discuss with them, their agents have a bit of flexibility in cases like this to find something mutually agreeable. It’s in their interests to do so as you’re now eligible for a full refund.

          Having a strong dislike of the really long flight (even in CE), I personally would be tempted to ask for LHR-MAD-TFN – you can keep your days and the double points if it’s booked on BA code, although the downside is slightly fewer TP (120 rather than 160).

          • Karl says:
            13 Oct13 October 12:54

            Thanks for the suggestion Nick ,that seems to be the only viable reroute option. However it comes to the point where the two flights and a 90 min bus transfer from TFN vs a direct flight and 30 min bus from TFS becomes a bit too much hassle for a 5 day holiday.

            I could rebook the same holiday with Easyjet and save about £350 pp which will go a long way towards a couple of weekend breaks in Catania/Istanbul/Sofia/Athens to recoup the TPs. Will see what BAH have to say.

  • Nicky says:
    13 Oct13 October 08:17

    Having major problems with a well known cruise travel agent: they have changed my itinerary 3 times now: what should have been 2 nights and one and half days in Venice has ended up as 1 night and half a day and one of the cruise stops has been changed completely. They are telling me this is an insignificant change so no option for a refund. This package is not the one I booked. I have been told to basically accept. Any advice on this anyone?

    • Paul says:
      13 Oct13 October 08:56

      escalate up the chain – email management. Failing that, MCOL them for the price difference between these bookings?

      • Nicky says:
        13 Oct13 October 09:07

        Have sent registered letters to directors as I cannot find their e-Mail addresses anywhere. Second holiday they have messed up (booked them very close to each other so didn’t realise how bad they were). Never allowed to speak to a manager on the phone. This is now a step too far..they are telling me that even though I have paid £6,000 that is irrelevant, I will do what they dictate and rely on their dubious t and c’s

    • Anna says:
      13 Oct13 October 09:22

      Hasn’t Venice recently changed the rules about accepting cruise ships for environmental reasons? If so that’s not the cruise company’s fault but they should offer an acceptable alternative or concede that they can’t deliver the trip they offered you.
      Would chargeback be an option in this case?

      • Peter Taysum says:
        13 Oct13 October 11:27

        You can’t sail through the lagoon, there’s a purpose built terminal now instead. Gone are the days of “disembarking” at St Mark’s Square.

        How is it paid for? Can you not claim money back from credit card company?

        The port change (as already mentioned) will be the Cruise Ship’s choice, or over booking the birth etc.

    • Jody says:
      13 Oct13 October 10:18

      I’m not sure you’ll get anywhere with the change of port. This happens a lot on cruises, for all kinds of reasons.

      Not sure why your stay has changed though, there surely must be some control over that?

      After our experience with cruise nation last year, I’d be very wary of booking a cruise package with anyone (not just them) again.

      • Anna says:
        13 Oct13 October 10:29

        https://europeforvisitors.com/venice/articles/venice-cruising-changes.htm

        Big changes to cruise stays in Venice in the offing.

        • Nick says:
          13 Oct13 October 12:09

          Cruises are sold with the ‘cruise’ as the primary function, any stops are typically incidental to the package, and T&C typically reflect that. So you’re unlikely to get anywhere with a refund, but should be able to escalate for a gesture if you express how disappointed you are, etc.

          It’s similar with flights – if the catering offer changes (for example) between booking and travelling, you can’t demand a full or partial refund, but you can expect some kind of reasonable recompense for something you had expected to receive but now won’t.

          Not saying it should be like that, just explaining how it is in reality. Obviously in this case if the cruise itself is now shorter than it was, that’s a different story. And as said above, if it’s caused by Venice authorities changing their rules then it’s not exactly the cruise company’s fault.

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