The HfP chat thread – Tuesday 19th October

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• TM says:

  19 Oct19 October 17:54

  What happens to the cash back when using the chase debit card with curve? Will it cover up the MCC or not?

  • Youllnever says:

    19 Oct19 October 18:32

    Curve always passes on the MCC to the underlying card, so there’s no point.

• Aston100 says:

  19 Oct19 October 17:58

  Guess I’d better stop making fun of my cockney cousins when they ask for “a boh-ul uh woh-ah” cos otherwise I’m a clearly a massive racist.
  Actually, is even calling someone a cockney likely to get me into trouble?
  oh no…

  • Aston100 says:

    19 Oct19 October 17:58

    Woops, I’ve gone and done a LadyLondon with the replies.
    Wait, is identifying Lady London as a Lady, and also from London going to get me into trouble? 🙁

    • JDB says:

      19 Oct19 October 18:01

      You’re OK, she’s only self ennobled.

      • Aston100 says:

        19 Oct19 October 18:37

        That means a lot to me, coming from the HfP Morality Officer.
        Thank you for the green light.

  • Rachel Robinson says:

    19 Oct19 October 20:56

    Don’t stop doing it because it’s racist. Just stop doing it because it’s not funny. First time maybe raises a faint smile. Second time, awkward laughter. Third and beyond just wishing you’d bore off but being too polite to say it.

    • r* says:

      19 Oct19 October 22:30

      I think he should do a new accent each day tbh! 🙂

  • Bazza says:

    20 Oct20 October 00:18

    no, you are alright. It’s ok to do it to English.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DWynJkN5HbQ

    We were given this video as training @ UCLH.

    Only the man was said to be behaving inappropriately, the ladies mocking was said to be just fine – but wouldn’t be if she had said the same when mocking African or Indian – and that was from the Head of Education!

• xcalx says:

  19 Oct19 October 18:00

  One for our Edinburgh contingent
  Which Edinburgh station for taxi to airport. I have done some searching and can get train to EDB with railcard for £32 for 2 people, the same time train but to Edinburgh Gateway for 2 people is £134. How easy is it to access a Taxi from EDB station to Airport ( tram no good, mobility issues ) Search says taxi £20-£25 is that about right.

  Thanks

  • H says:

    19 Oct19 October 18:09

    Uber is a bit less than that usually
    Depends if your train stops at hay market
    Or you could just buy an extra ticket to gateway which is 2.40 with a railcard

    • xcalx says:

      19 Oct19 October 18:44

      Thank you. Crazy how the price jumps £51 pp for a £2.40 ticket. No the only stop after Newcastle is Morpeth

      • John says:

        19 Oct19 October 19:03

        Not sure what you mean. Just buy the Gateway ticket separately if you really want to.

        Mobility-wise tram is the easiest option.

  • Chris says:

    19 Oct19 October 18:47

    Not sure what the mobility issues are but I would say the tram is physically the easiest option! All on the same floor, drop off is closer than taxi drop off

    • xcalx says:

      19 Oct19 October 19:03

      Stage 4 COPD and 4 cases between me and mrsxcalx

      • xcalx says:

        19 Oct19 October 19:13

        We’re usually first off the plane and last to passport control 🙂 this will be my first time flying with assistance. I think I may cancel it as Edinburgh and Barbados airports look manageable. Last flights were MAD and LHR and I struggled

        • Spurs drive me mad says:

          19 Oct19 October 19:36

          Don’t cancel why struggle when you don’t have to. Save energy and breath for doing nice things. Speaking as someone who also needs to use assistance.

  • David D says:

    19 Oct19 October 18:51

    Uber or taxi but as Chris has mentioned, the tram seems to be easiest from a convenience, cost and mobility standpoint.

  • Tw33ty says:

    19 Oct19 October 19:53

    Just get the tram. The team goes from the airport right to the centre and via hay market train station, tram is easy access too

  • Phil W says:

    19 Oct19 October 20:01

    It depends where you are coming from. If it’s an East Coast train, I’d check it whether it continues beyond Waverley (EDB) to Haymarket. If it does, you’d be better getting a taxi from there to EDI.

    The same is true from a Scot Rail/Transpennine Express train but it will go through Haymarket on it’s way to Waverley.

    From Waverley I would expect a black cab to be £25, probably £18 – £20 from Haymarket.

    Accessing taxis from Waverley has been an absolute pain in the posterior for the last few years as you’ve had to fully exit the station, and with mobility issues it won’t be easy with luggage. Haymarket will be easier but also no more difficult to access a tram… which might save you money depending on how many are travelling.

    Whichever station you are going to, contact national rail. They happily can help organise assistance for passengers with reduced mobility if they know which train and station it is required at.

    • EwanG says:

      19 Oct19 October 21:01

      Some excellent advice from Phil here.
      Just to add, although Edinburgh Gateway is considerably nearer to the airport it’s no easier to transit into taxi or bus or tram than you would do at HYM (and no public buses run to Gateway).
      My advice would be train to HYM then the airport bus (100). Lots of space for a wheelchair. Raised kerb and easy to get into at HYM. Bus drops you off considerably closer to the terminal at EDI. Cheaper than a taxi or tram too, not much difference in the time taken compared to tram too.

      • xcalx says:

        20 Oct20 October 09:11

        Thanks My mobility problem means I can only walk a short distance before becoming breathless.

  • TGLoyalty says:

    19 Oct19 October 22:08

    I get all of these replies and tram looks like it could be a real option. Everyone’s mentioned train to tram being easy but not mentioned how close the tram drops you to departures compared to a taxi.

    The day “price of everything and value of nothing” springs to mind here … do what feels best and if that’s an extra £20 on a taxi (and spending it is feasible) just do that. Especially if you both have heath concerns.

    • xcalx says:

      20 Oct20 October 09:04

      Thanks for all the replies, very helpful.

• Guernsey Globetrotter says:

  19 Oct19 October 18:33

  Solihull datapoint – My October statement for the Marriott card tells me that “When you renew, your Card will have an exciting look!” and the image of the card on the front page has changed to something very much resembling the white IHG card… not indicative of an organisation leaving the game altogether. At the very least, gives me some hope that the Marriott legacy card with its bonus status nights may survive a little bit longer!

  • Harrier25 says:

    19 Oct19 October 19:56

    …and they’re letting you keep the card past the 3rd December with your levels of MS, Guernsey Globetrotter? 😲

    By the way, how did you’re Che review go in the end?

    • Harrier25 says:

      19 Oct19 October 19:59

      Bloody auto correct…*your*

• GaryE says:

  19 Oct19 October 18:34

  QQ – Hilton Gold card holder – booking 2 rooms – do both rooms get free breakfast or only one room. One room has been booked with points and the other with money! TIA

  • John says:

    19 Oct19 October 18:55

    Officially member’s room only and for 2 people, but most hotels will grant it to everyone

  • Dean says:

    19 Oct19 October 19:18

    If you’re good through platinum then your supplementary card holder can also get gold.

• Patrick Cold says:

  19 Oct19 October 18:37

  If anyone wants a hotel somewhere hot next week with an excellent pool and doesn`t care about the local region and things to do other than sunbathe I strongly suggest you look at Hilton, Nicosia. I am there now – double Diamond upgrade and the hotel is as close to empty as I have ever seen one.

  • Gavin says:

    19 Oct19 October 18:54

    If you’re in Nicosia, I’d recommend crossing the border at Ledara street for some good coffee – don’t forget your passport. Quite eerie through the no mans land section.

    Also a visit to Piatsa Gourounaki for souvlaki is recommended but make sure you go with an empty stomach.

    • Patrick Cold says:

      19 Oct19 October 20:10

      Thank you Gavin, I shall explore your suggestions.

    • Sandgrounder says:

      19 Oct19 October 20:38

      Do Northern Cyprus require a test if you have recently arrived in the south from the UK?

      • Alan Todd says:

        20 Oct20 October 08:47

        as of a few weeks ago, no.

• FlightDoctor says:

  19 Oct19 October 19:32

  Need some urgent advice from folk please. Supposed to be flying to the Canaries first thing on Thursday with family. My youngest son, aged 11, does not need to show any negative test results for entry into Spain as the cut off is 12 years. HOWEVER, his school have this evening informed us that he is a close contact of an infected pupil and said we need to get a PCR test. We managed to find a walk in centre this evening and get it done.
  HOWEVER, I am completely paranoid that we won’t get the result make in time before we fly. Should we arrange a same day private PCR test tomorrow and if negative would that be sufficient to allow us into Spain and cover us from an insurance perspective. Nightmare situation!

  • marcw says:

    19 Oct19 October 19:35

    Tekae a rapid antigen test / lateral flow (your son). It’s not as sensitive as the PCR, but should be indicative/suggestive.

  • Jimbob says:

    19 Oct19 October 19:51

    My NHS PCR tests have all come back within 24 hours

    • Jimbob says:

      19 Oct19 October 19:53

      Having said that, I did get a text the following week, saying the test has been farmed out to one of Boris’s cronies in the West Midlands, and may have been a false negative #soznotsoz

  • Anna says:

    19 Oct19 October 21:41

    I don’t understand why they’ve asked you to get a PCR test as the incubation period can be a fortnight. My nephew had to isolate in the summer but didn’t test positive until day 10 when he was just coming to the end.
    Our results have always come back within 24 hours though. Good luck!

  • TGLoyalty says:

    19 Oct19 October 21:55

    The negative pcr test is a school requirement not legal.

    Not to be the barer of bad news but Spain has its own rules on being a close contact to a positive test before travelling and a negative pcr doesn’t get you round that (though no one will ever ask)

    Also it’s highly unlikely travel insurance will cover you unless one of the party is actually ill.

  • Memesweeper says:

    19 Oct19 October 23:27

    We’ve done many PCRs in our family. All but one back in 24h. By all means throw in a private test too but it’s unlikely to make a difference IMHO.

• elguiri says:

  19 Oct19 October 20:06

  If I book a hertz car rental in Spain via a third party site, do I get the benefits of president’s circle, or is it only for direct bookings?

  • The Original Nick. says:

    19 Oct19 October 20:32

    I wouldn’t of thought so. It’s worth a try when collecting the car but if they haven’t got your President’s Circle status already plugged in then you’ll be turning up as a NON Member.

    • elguiri says:

      19 Oct19 October 20:41

      Data point: if I go via hotels dot com I bring the price down from £406 to £274 – didn’t realise you’d get such a good discount via them, much better than any of the other discount sites.

  • Dubious says:

    20 Oct20 October 01:33

    I’ve never been able to get PC recognised on third party bookings. Hertz once told me there is no way to add it after the booking is made either….and sadly for two direct bookings I did make they decided they were ineligible too…

  • Aristeides says:

    20 Oct20 October 12:06

    There is no chance that your status will be formally recognised. They might throw you a bone if you tell them but not v likely either.

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