The HfP chat thread – Thursday 14th October

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• Peter Taysum says:

  14 Oct14 October 14:10

  Ooh, new BA Sale! 🥰

  • ChrisC says:

    14 Oct14 October 15:23

    Oh good. I’ve been lookign for a new sofa.

  • Damian says:

    14 Oct14 October 15:47

    Didn’t take long from the last one ending!

  • Laura says:

    14 Oct14 October 17:00

    Never anywhere that I want to go!

  • @mkcol says:

    14 Oct14 October 17:17

    Just happened to book Econ to YYZ & Club from YVR to LHR in June next year so thought I’d have a nose to see how dreadful a price I’d found (it was cheaper to book Club than Premium!) was – BA site can’t give me a price says there are no flights available.

    Odd.

    • Super Secret Stuff says:

      14 Oct14 October 18:06

      Someone’s about to have there flight canceled! 🙃

      • @mkcol says:

        14 Oct14 October 20:16

        That’s what I thought at first, yet when I look just for a YYZ return it’s there.

  • CarpalTravel says:

    14 Oct14 October 19:39

    2x CW ticket price has gone up by £130 from Monday. DFS-tastic. 🤷

• Simon says:

  14 Oct14 October 14:17

  Any top tips for Hertz deals? Amex Plat CDP only seems to give 10% off these days.
  And as soon as i log in to my account there is no availability for the dates I want next summer in Spain.
  So i need to book as a guest??

  • Js says:

    14 Oct14 October 14:24

    Flying blue givs you %15, Just sign up for Ivory and your good.
    You can also try QEEQ Diamond depending on how long your renting for it could be worth it.

  • JDB says:

    14 Oct14 October 14:44

    HSBC WE gives you a 15% discount which does seem to work.

  • Simon says:

    14 Oct14 October 14:52

    thankyou both

    • Don says:

      14 Oct14 October 19:18

      rentalcars.com is much cheaper though ime

  • SteveJ says:

    14 Oct14 October 15:16

    Any other 15%s? Usually use Platinum and Virgin, both of which are only 10%.

    Also, if you use a different CDP, but are logged in as Gold (obtained from Platinum Amex) I presume you still get the upgrade (i.e. not dependent on using the Amex CDP?).

    • Simon says:

      14 Oct14 October 15:20

      is the upgrade guaranteed tho? Can i risk booking a small car to get an upgrade to intermediate as a gold presidents circle member? its a moot point because when i log in, the car is no longer available anyway. very frustrating

      • Js says:

        14 Oct14 October 15:30

        Things are very tight with hertz in the uk in the last year, I am a pc and was downgraded more then once, best to call the location and ask

      • Js says:

        14 Oct14 October 15:36

        Did you search on hertz-europe website? there is ushaly better availability on the local website
        try cdp code 907026 for spain

  • The Urbanite says:

    14 Oct14 October 15:48

    If you have access to Xexec have a look on there!

• Harrier25 says:

  14 Oct14 October 14:27

  Chase are using the MasterCard FX rate.

  • Rob says:

    14 Oct14 October 15:13

    OK, so you’re worse off than using a card which uses the interbank rate (albeit frankly the difference is not huge).

• Paul says:

  14 Oct14 October 14:48

  I have some small Shangri-la Golden Circle balances to use across a few accounts. Whats the process to use them towards F&B at the Shard?

  • David says:

    14 Oct14 October 15:28

    Just look in the app. Very clearly tells you what you need to do.

    • Paul says:

      14 Oct14 October 16:57

      I had specially wondered how to use points within the app to make an ‘on the moment’ redemption, vs ordering an F&B award certificate

• RTS says:

  14 Oct14 October 14:48

  Hi all,

  I just booked a trip on the whim this morning to Jordan for 1st Nov for 2 weeks… Would be grateful if I can get some ideas for hotels, car rentals and the like.

  My itinerary is looking something like this
  Amman for 2 or 3 nights, then to the dead sea via mount Nebo and madaba. Probably do 1 night in madaba and 2 or 3 nights in wadi almujib. Then down towards Petra for 2 or 3 nights, before heading to wadi rum for 2 nights and Aqaba for 1. Then head back up north towards Amman via somewhere… Which we haven’t decided yet. Is there any other must see/stops that I have missed out on?

  Also, with car rental, does anyone have any recommendation? Also, is it worth taking the fully comp insurance? (We don’t have a platinum card at the moment).

  Thanks in advance

  • Memesweeper says:

    14 Oct14 October 15:30

    We were very happy with the Amman Marriott, but it’s a long walk to the ancient sites. Would definitely go again.

    Dead Sea also stayed in a very nice Marriott. Would go back, though, as it’s not a place I can see me visiting twice! Glad it did it… very out of this world.

    Petra one night, or two, is fine, tops. Movenpick has the choice location at the gates. Marriott is a touch out of town but taxis are plentifully and cheap.

    Wadi Rum is great, there’s decent tented places just outside the official park gates, and a fair few inside too. It’s an area where it pays to research thoroughly as the usual OTAs don’t really cover off Bedouin experiences properly. If you want to go nuts you can camel-caravan over several nights through the desert. I’d do that if I went back.

    Aqaba has some excellent snorkelling and decent beaches. Ugly town in places though, thanks to it having a dirty great port plonked in the middle of it… give it two nights at least or don’t bother at all would be my advice. The InterCon was showing its age badly, but the staff and service were delightful, and refurb had started when we were there… so could be great now if they’ve finished a comprehensive spruce up. Kempinski and Movenpick looked like decent alternatives.

    • Memesweeper says:

      14 Oct14 October 15:35

      You can one-way rent without a problem. We knackered a tire and wheel and we’re charged nothing. Avis, booked online while we were there. Car + driver is very cheap though, you may not want to rent.

      Aviod backtracking by flying back from Aqaba. EasyJet to the UK direct, or with a change using RJ or TK or others.

    • RTS says:

      14 Oct14 October 16:26

      Thanks – this is very helpful. Do you or anyone know whether i need to book for 2 adults at a marriot or if i booked 1 double room and we both turn up it is ok? We have Gold Status there.

  • Toppcat says:

    14 Oct14 October 17:03

    I went in Oct 19 – have the following observations:

    Min 2 nights at Petra. I could probably have done another one. Arrive late, check in, get to Petra first thing, and then do the same again the next day, before heading off in the afternoon. It’s an incredible place. We got an Airbnb at Petra – all the branded hotels were astronomical (though we did book late).

    No more than 1 night at the dead sea. It’s very cool, but an afternoon would be fine. Stayed at the Crowne Plaza on points. It was meh.

    Would recommend our other hotels though – W in Amman and Al Manara in Aqaba. Both were pretty great.

    Can’t remember where we hired our car from, so can’t help there. Apologies.

    Also – driving in Jordan is great fun… Speed bumps on the motorway, often entirely unmarked. Get a 4×4.

• Genghis says:

  14 Oct14 October 14:51

  I’ve been trying it out for basic spend for a week or so to see what it’d be like in a post Creation world and I’m quite happy with it.

  Currently on a fallow period at Amex (Plat and BAPP) but have the Nectar Amex.

  1p return cash with Chase is better than 1p of Nectar points and also benefit from the round ups. So far round ups are working out at about 10% of what I spend – but just on small daily spend, which at 2.5% blended average return over the year gets an extra 0.25%. I guess I could discount the alternative interest rate but now we’re talking basis points difference in return.

  Chase also beats HSBC Premier WE for me in my book for ongoing spend. I’m currently transferring avios to Nectar to spend at Sainsburys. Therefore, 2 HSBC points are worth 0.8p to me. Even with a HSBC-avios bonus, likely not as good as 1p cash.

  Different strokes for different folks.

  • Sandgrounder says:

    14 Oct14 October 15:58

    As I’ve said more than once, I like the free access to Chase ATMs in the US. I’m holding out for a switching bonus though, these are generally very good in the States and may be offered once the account is fully functional (still no DDs).

• Jo says:

  14 Oct14 October 15:02

  Hello
  Just wondering if I am in the right or wrong here!
  My BAPP card anniversary was in June. I have just been charged the new £250 fee yesterday. I queried this on chat and was told, repeatedly, that the correct fee has been charged as per T&C’s.
  I was under the impression that, as my card anniversary was before the first of September, I should be charged the old fee?

  • TGLoyalty says:

    14 Oct14 October 15:21

    Seems odd to be billed 3 months after your anniversary?

    Unfortunately renewals are a great area compared to new sign ups / upgrades prior to 1st September.

    We’re you sent a letter saying the fee was going up?

  • Sean says:

    14 Oct14 October 15:21

    Cannot see how card anniversary can be June if fee charged in October.

  • Britbronco says:

    14 Oct14 October 15:31

    I’m guessing the ‘voucher year’ for spending is misaligned to your card fee year. Did you upgrade to BAPP after starting with a free card?

    • Damian says:

      14 Oct14 October 15:48

      Mine is different too due to me originally upgrading from the free card.

    • Jo says:

      14 Oct14 October 16:48

      My card year and voucher year are the same, definitely in June, I confirmed this via chat before asking about the higher fee. I did receive an email about all the new card changes but presumed I would be charged before they came into force. I applied for BAPP direct several years ago.

      • AJA says:

        14 Oct14 October 17:39

        In my case the annual fee is charged the month after my card anniversary so if that applies to you I would expect that you should have been charged in July or August at the latest. Have you looked at the statements for Jul, Aug or Sep 2020 to see when you were charged last time? If you can show that previously you were not charged in Sep 2020 then I think you’d have a case to be charged £195 and not £250.

      • Anna says:

        14 Oct14 October 17:52

        Were you charged the fee in June?

        • Jo says:

          14 Oct14 October 18:16

          No I wasn’t charged in June, forgot all about it!

        • meta says:

          14 Oct14 October 21:22

          As a data point, in 2018, I was charged my Amex Platinum fee six months into the anniversary year. Nothing unusual, some sort of IT glitch.

• TJ says:

  14 Oct14 October 15:02

  Just wanted to check my understanding…my wife is applying for a Platinum card after cancelling her PRG card >24m ago. So even though she has a BAPP, she is entitled to the sign-up bonus points. But will she (and I) receive the additional points if I refer her from my PRG card (the terms say no if she has held ANY personal American Express Cards in the past 24m)?

  • Rob says:

    14 Oct14 October 15:11

    Yes

  • TGLoyalty says:

    14 Oct14 October 15:23

    But will she (and I) receive the additional points if I refer her from my PRG card (the terms say no if she has held ANY personal American Express Cards in the past 24m)?

    They don’t say that for the Platinum surely. They’ll be showing your the terms for a good credit. In any case the referrer gets the points regardless of the referee being eligible for a sign up or not.

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