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The HfP chat thread – Friday 22nd October

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Comments (444)

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

  • Mick S says:
    22 Oct22 October 10:06

    QQ – what card can i use to top-up Rev (via Curve) which wont incur fees? Lloyds is now ruled out, along with Barclaycard. I’ve got Newday and HSBC at my disposal.

    • Mick S says:
      22 Oct22 October 10:06

      I’m inclined to “test the water” with HSBC, unless someone else has recently done this.

      • JDB says:
        22 Oct22 October 10:18

        If you value your relationship with HSBC, may not be a good idea. Also, you may not actually get any points in the same way they no longer give them for HMRC payments via Curve.

    • SteveJ says:
      22 Oct22 October 10:51

      Confused why you need to use Curve at all? As MCC is passed through should make no difference to how it’s treated?

      • Mick S says:
        22 Oct22 October 10:54

        i was charged £75 last week for using my Lloyds card, underneath Curve, for topping up Rev. This was after lloyds changed their T&C’s on the 15th. Previous top-ups were fine.

        surely if you top-up rev with a Credit card, and not use curve, then you will get charged a cash fee?

        • JDB says:
          22 Oct22 October 11:06

          The issue is that if the MCC triggers a cash advance fee, you will get hit with that, with or without Curve. Additionally, not sure if Rev allows HSBC directly or vice versa. HSBC has also found a middle way whereby some cash type transactions don’t attract a penalty fee or interest, but are ineligible for points. I think I read somewhere that Rev may inexplicably use two different MCC codes, one that usually triggers a cash advance and another that doesn’t.

        • Aston100 says:
          22 Oct22 October 11:43

          Mick, I don’t get charged by Solihull for funding Mr Guevara.
          That’s probably because I like to pay Solihull beforehand.

          That said, I don’t do it often so not sure if those who are professional MSrs would hit a limit of some kind.

  • Mike says:
    22 Oct22 October 10:19

    New £100 off £400 spend at AMEX travel offer on my plat…

    • Rhys says:
      22 Oct22 October 10:45

      Yep, is on Plats

      • Triath5 says:
        22 Oct22 October 11:40

        How do we feel about booking flights through effectively a 3rd party? Don’t people here usually recommend avoiding the OTA?

        I usually never book through Amex Travel anyway because it tends to be more expensive than direct with the airlines but curious to hear other people’s opinions.

        • Pete M says:
          22 Oct22 October 11:42

          Amex Travel is the only OTA I would consider, it’s probably worth it with this deal.

          • Aston100 says:
            22 Oct22 October 11:46

            Yes indeed. I’ve only ever had positive outcomes with Amex Travel, including refunds.

    • Andrew says:
      22 Oct22 October 11:59

      Only thing to remember is that you won’t get a BA eVoucher if you need to cancel – you’ll get an Amex Travel eVoucher locked to BA, so basically you’ll need to book another BA flight via Amex Travel to use it, not on BA directly.

      • Distichon says:
        22 Oct22 October 17:51

        Double checking since it’s been so long that I booked with a third party: if you book a BA flight, you still get avios and tier points, or not?

    • Stephan says:
      22 Oct22 October 12:22

      May ask amex CS as doesn’t appear on my account

      • Harrier25 says:
        22 Oct22 October 12:35

        On my Green got spend £200, get £50 back. Nothing on my Preferred Rewards Gold.

  • Martyn Ford says:
    22 Oct22 October 10:36

    After yesterday`s shenanigans, I`m thinking about transport in Mauritius. Can anyone tell me if having a car at The Intercontinental would be of any use please or should I be taking a taxi to and from the airport? Many thanks.

  • C says:
    22 Oct22 October 10:37

    Hi all. Looking for some winter sun in Jan before ending maternity leave. Most likely Europe, as will be our first flight with the baby. I’ve saw some comments on Tenerife (which looks to be our best bet for weather,!) here a few weeks ago, but struggling to find them again. RC Abama vs Sheraton – is the RC worth the extra 100 eur per night, or is the Sheraton fine (bearing in mind we wouldn’t be using the spa etc, will have a 9 month old, and just want to chill out for a few days). Also, do taxi/transfer companies there generally have baby car seats available? Would rather not hire a car for 4 days or so. Thanks!

    • Rhys says:
      22 Oct22 October 10:45

      How warm will it realistically be in Tenerife in January?

      • Elguiri says:
        22 Oct22 October 10:53

        Warmer than most other European destinations.
        4.5 hours is definitely more manageable than a 10 hour flight with a little one.
        if you go down hire car route: Cicar and Autoreisen both provide car seats for free on your rental. Hertz charges £50.
        One thing to note with Autoreisen (which was recommended to me by multiple people here a week ago) – it seems like you pay on pickup, which means you can’t prepay to hit amex targets beforehand (unless anyone has a way of prepaying with amex for it…?).

      • bill says:
        22 Oct22 October 11:39

        In January ensure you stay in the south of Tenerife rather than the north.

      • Laura says:
        22 Oct22 October 14:59

        We always went to the Canaries in January when I was a kid and it was always much, much warmer than the UK

    • Aston100 says:
      22 Oct22 October 10:49

      Agadir is probably a bit warmer and cheaper.
      Unfortunately it is also a bit rubbish, but useful for a cheap & cheerful short break in the winter sun.

      • Pete M says:
        22 Oct22 October 11:05

        Not certain Morocco will be accepting direct flights from the UK in January, though – would think Canaries are a safer bet.

    • Anna says:
      22 Oct22 October 11:40

      I’ve sunbathed in Tenerife in January, as long as you’re in the south you should get sun shine and temperatures in the mid 20s. Lanzarote and Fuerteventura are less reliable at that time of year IME.
      Yes no problem with baby seats – the easiest thing is to ask the hotel to arrange the transport and ask for the seat.

    • Thywillbedone says:
      22 Oct22 October 12:58

      Was looking at RC for half term but ended up choosing Royal Hideaway Corales Suites as lots of recent very poor reviews for the RC particularly around food and service.

      • C says:
        22 Oct22 October 16:28

        Thanks all. Definitely looks to be the warmest ‘short’ hop place that has good chances of welcoming us. My preference would have been SA or Florida, but not convinced enough to book anything for either of these at the moment with a bubba

  • Colin MacKinnon says:
    22 Oct22 October 10:44

    Phoned BA this morning about 08:20 and got through in 14 mins.

    Used a 241 embedded in a FTV to book INV-LHR-Houston, LAX-LHR-EDI in CE/CW.

    Now what to do in a pre-Xmas Tuesday night in Inverness?

    • KP says:
      22 Oct22 October 11:41

      Are you doing overnight in INV? Are therr cheap hotel options nearby? Thinking of INV option on a trip to BOM next year but dont want the INV stay to eat into the APD savings

      • ChrisC says:
        22 Oct22 October 12:28

        There is a Courtyard next to the airport. Very handy for the 7am BA departure and the 6am check in!

        If you flying ex-INV is only saving you the APD and not more over the ex LHR price then I wouldn’t have booked it to be honest. The real savings should be in reductions to the BA surcharges. Least I would consider doing an exINV would be is the savings was a minimum of £400 – £200 of which would be spent on the positioning flights and the hotel. YMMV

        • KP says:
          22 Oct22 October 13:29

          Yes meant APD and surcharge savings. When booking for two we can easily make £400£-500 savings and more. We would use avios to go up to INV so doesnt add that much cost

          • ChrisC says:
            22 Oct22 October 13:49

            Well yes. It only really works out if you save both the APD and a whack of the BA surcharges.

            But I have seen ex-INV prices that are only the APD amount lower than LHR.

            That’s if there are any ex INV offers that it …

        • Yorkieflyer says:
          22 Oct22 October 20:31

          Depends where you live……

    • Yorkieflyer says:
      22 Oct22 October 12:14

      Black Isle bar for great beer and pizza. Premier inn river ness fine place to stay

  • Rosie says:
    22 Oct22 October 10:49

    Using the first class lounge at t5 for the first time at LHR , do they offer a la Carte menu

    • Rhys says:
      22 Oct22 October 10:51

      Concorde Room? Yes

      • Rosie says:
        22 Oct22 October 10:55

        Hi , Not sure just been invited to use the first class wing and first class lounge as a gesture due to a recent customer service issue on a BA flight

        • Richie says:
          22 Oct22 October 11:01

          Are they including First check in?

        • John says:
          22 Oct22 October 11:39

          Is it Galleries First or Concorde Room you are going to, they are quite different. Technically GF is the “first class lounge” but if you were actually in First Class you would be allowed into the CCR.

          First Wing leads directly into GF so they go together. Complimentary CCR access seems unlikely for a customer service issue unless it was extremely bad or you were in F and are not in F this time

        • Jonathan says:
          22 Oct22 October 14:37

          It’ll be Galleries First, if it was CCR they would specifically say this. It’s ordering from menu for delivery to your table but I wouldn’t really call it a la carte. Recent offerings have been soup, sandwiches, tacos, chilli, salads rather than 3 course fine dining. Better drink options & slightly less manic than Club lounge. First Wing check-in & security is the bit I find far more valuable than the lounge itself.

          • TGLoyalty says:
            22 Oct22 October 15:19

            Pre covid there absolutely were a la carte offerings in the first class dining area.

            I recall eggs royale and BA burgers on a few occasions.

  • Simon says:
    22 Oct22 October 10:58

    Anyone have any promo codes or tips for Madame Tussauds tickets pls? Gonna brave it in half term for some reason!

  • J says:
    22 Oct22 October 11:02

    Virgin appears to have fixed the balance-not-updated problem we were discussing the other day. At least, mine’s now showing correctly; YMMV 😉

    • Anna says:
      22 Oct22 October 11:45

      I’ve just got the card and noticed this morning that 2 transactions I made yesterday just aren’t showing at all, even as pending. One payment is showing in United Utilities but I also made a holiday payment which just doesn’t seem to have gone through at all.

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