The HfP chat thread – Friday 29th October

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• davef says:

  29 Oct29 October 10:23

  Booking MAN-HEL on Finnair site gets me a fare of 181, booking via BA the min fair it’ll show me is 679 (both for enconomy but obviously diff fare classes).

  Is there any way to get BA.com to show the enconomy light fare class and thus earn TP for the code share?

  • APPL says:

    29 Oct29 October 11:05

    You should still get the TP, regardless of where you book. Just include your BAEC number when booking.

    • davef says:

      29 Oct29 October 12:23

      That’s great thanks for the reply.

      Got a 40 off 180 on finnair and the fare is £180.98 so will use that and save the amex travel discount for something else

  • Paul Pogba says:

    29 Oct29 October 11:17

    The only advantage to booking the BA code share is that it’ll count towards 4 required BA flights, other than that Oneworld flights all credit the same.

    • davef says:

      29 Oct29 October 12:24

      Ah that’s great thanks. I thought it had to be codeshares. Will get my 4 on BA metal in dec

  • Sandgrounder says:

    29 Oct29 October 12:11

    That’s perfect for the Amex discount!

• SteveJ says:

  29 Oct29 October 10:30

  Attending an event at the Eventim Apollo (Hammersmith). I’m pretty certain the answer is “no”, but does anyone know of any loyalty program offering there, i.e. lounge access?

  Thinking Amex Platinum, Sky VIP, o2 Priority, that sort of thing (e.g. those have worked for me in the past at the o2 Arena / Wimbledon etc).

  Nothing I know of, but don’t want to miss out in case others are in the know!

  • Paul says:

    29 Oct29 October 10:33

    I don’t think there is a lounge there, might be wrong but don’t remember seeing one when I’ve visited myself

  • Rhys says:

    29 Oct29 October 10:39

    Accor has a partnership but not sure you can get access to the Lounge unless you book tickets via them: https://hfp2022.headforpoints.blog/2021/08/20/accor-live-limitless-hammersmith-eventim-apollo/

    • SteveJ says:

      29 Oct29 October 11:06

      Thanks both, glad I’m not missing a trick, have zero relationship with Accor so even if that was possible it’d be a dead end for me.

• Pthty says:

  29 Oct29 October 10:37

  Can’t recall exactly from all the different posts (another shameless plug for a forum soon!) but can I pay off Brighton with VA+ using free Curve?

  Is there a fee of any sort or will either of them close either account, or (scarily) some sort of a financial marker for paying a card with another card?

  I usually would do a ‘test’ with a small amount but time is of the essence as the upcoming payment is quite soon…

  Thanks all!

  • Rui N. says:

    29 Oct29 October 10:55

    You can do it, but you need to activate “Fronted” on the Curve app, and on the free Curve this incurs a fee (1.5%?).

• Aston100 says:

  29 Oct29 October 10:52

  Phoned and then emailed Creation a couple of days ago to enquire about card points points not transferring to IHG.
  My IHG card has stopped working today.

  Might be a coincidence. I know StevenHP had his card blocked after contacting Creation recently. I wonder if this is connected and if anyone else has found a problem with their card after contacting Creation?

  Like I say, might be a massive coincidence.

  • Rui N. says:

    29 Oct29 October 10:58

    I’ve asked about the wrongly charged interest (because of their outage) and my card was still working today (they haven’t replied yet). Haven’t asked about the missing points yet (waiting to resolve the interest issue first).

  • David says:

    29 Oct29 October 11:04

    Can you sign into the app ok? Recall the other guy said it showed on the app his account was blocked/closed (or similar).

    • stevenhp1987 says:

      29 Oct29 October 19:18

      Both app and website states my account has restricted functionality.

      @ Aston10 does it say this for you? If not then probably their anti fraud detection going into overdrive!

  • Graeme says:

    29 Oct29 October 11:34

    Not so good Aston100.

    I called them about my missing points that haven’t been sent over to IHG since statement date. I’ve been told that no points will be sent over from the date of the letter.

    They’ve added this to my complaint letter, this was never made clear in the letter.

    • Sprout says:

      29 Oct29 October 12:14

      Just for clarification – does it mean any points earned since the date of the letter or all accrued points that haven’t been transferred in total. Or, more likely, we don’t actually know they’ll make it up latter! 😉

    • Brighton Belle says:

      29 Oct29 October 13:00

      Their Ts & C’s give them the right to withhold points if your account is not in “good order”. Of course Creation haven’t told anyone their account is not in good order. No explanations, nowt. zilch. A decision which is deliberately opaque. Giving notice to close and breaking their own card terms doesn’t look awfully clever. They will get my letter next week.

      • NFH says:

        29 Oct29 October 18:26

        No, it’s far more specific than “good order“. See https://www.creation.co.uk/ihgcctermsandconditions/#2 where it states “Points earned on your IHG Rewards Club Premium Credit Card will be suspended if you default (arrears or over limit) on your account“. So they could do this only if you didn’t make a payment on time, and not for example if they failed to process your payment that you made on time, as happened recently.

• TheInsiderFly says:

  29 Oct29 October 10:53

  Amex retention offers – should these appear in your saved offers tab on the app or are they just in the background and you need to trust Amex have actually applied it?

  • Harrier25 says:

    29 Oct29 October 10:55

    Retention offers are not a thing. It’s just something you try your luck with. Sometimes asking for a retention offer works, sometimes it doesn’t.

    • Rui N. says:

      29 Oct29 October 11:00

      If they are not a thing, how come it works sometimes to ask for one?! They are very much a thing, and sometimes are even given without having to ask for one. Just because they are not given every time doesn’t stop them from being a “thing”.

      • Harrier25 says:

        29 Oct29 October 12:21

        @Rui N, how about reading my posting properly before replying to it and completely taking what I said out of context. I said it’s not a thing…..and here’s the important part of my posting that you clearly didn’t read….It’s just something you try your luck with. Sometimes asking for a retention offer works, sometimes it doesn’t.

        • Rui N. says:

          29 Oct29 October 13:36

          Then they are a thing… given that I’m currently going through 2 retention offers (one of them given to me unprompted), I know very well they are a thing.

  • Rui N. says:

    29 Oct29 October 10:59

    They don’t appear anywhere. If they were promised via chat, you can just print screen.

    • TheInsiderFly says:

      29 Oct29 October 11:01

      Thanks Rui

• Ben says:

  29 Oct29 October 10:59

  Trying to add my Raddison account to my Amex MR so I can do a transfer. Keeps saying not recognized. Does anyone have any tips. I remember before someone said to put 000 in front but that hasn’t worked.
  Any tips welcome before I call Amex

  • Paasan69 says:

    29 Oct29 October 13:32

    +1 Having the same issue. Not in a rush to transfer so haven’t bothered contacting Amex. Tips welcome.

  • Vin says:

    29 Oct29 October 15:31

    I had the same issue. Contacted Amex via chat and had it resolved but took a week for it to show on my account and a further week before my first transfer went through.

    • Ben says:

      29 Oct29 October 16:02

      I just got off the chat with them. They said its going to take 14 days to connect the account and then 10 to make the transfer. Will check back after a week

• Sina says:

  29 Oct29 October 11:07

  Just finished my trip to Phuket and stayed in InterContinental Phuket.

  What a nice hotel and staff and country! Wonderful people wherever we went!

  The hotel was new and we were upgraded one cat into Lagoon Villa with private pool/jacuzzi, and access to Lounge with Breakfast at lounge or buffet, afternoon tea with sandwiches etc and happy hour from 5-7 with cocktails and canape, snacks etc!

  Easy access to beach and two open restaurants, they also have a Sixt branch in the hotel which I picked up my car (£150 for 12 days!)

  I will definitely recommend and am planning another trip to phuket!

  I’m currently in Istanbul where everyone is trying to Rob/scam me! I hate this place!

  Literally from when I entered, till now, it’s one cheat/scam to the other, from banks to taxis and hotels!! staying in InterContinental Istanbul which is a dated old hotel. Definitely not worth £185/night!

  Promised myself this is the last time I’m coming to this country!

  • John says:

    29 Oct29 October 11:24

    Well I had the opposite experiences to you, nobody tried to scam me in Turkey (where I certainly wouldn’t pay £185 a night for any hotel – stayed in the main Hilton on points – though since they price in euros there is a bit of a scam in their lira conversion rate) whereas in Thailand everyone wants to get more money off me – that doesn’t stop me going to Thailand but just need to be alert.

    • Sina says:

      29 Oct29 October 11:42

      I’ll give you an example, I withdrew 1000 Lira from an ATM (with %6 fee) but one of the notes were almost torn in half, went to the branch behind the ATM with the receipt, and the banker refused to change the bank note! I demanded to talk to the manager who told me to go to another bank to change it!!! After I raised my voice as was very angry, they caved and changed it!

      Got a taxi who told me to my hotel was 300 lira(way too much but I agreed as was very tired after 20 hours of flight/transit) and when we get to the hotel he demands 400! Even though his meter shows 220!!

      I’ve only been here two days but can give you 100 more examples!

      • Aston100 says:

        29 Oct29 October 11:55

        Your Turkey examples are based on naivety and lack of research I’m afraid.
        Taxis in many countries the world over look to scam you where they can. In fact, isn’t Phuket (where you had such a wonderful time) one of the worst places in South East Asia for rip-off taxi and tuk-tuk pricing?

        • Anuj says:

          29 Oct29 October 12:30

          Yes I would never ever use a taxi without booking through an app in another country. Otherwise you’re just risking being scammed or ending up in a fake taxi or worse.

        • Sina says:

          29 Oct29 October 12:38

          In Duty Free picked up an overpriced grey goose for €62, went to checkout and they gave me a Lira price(with 10% on top) and when asked to pay in Euro they said they only accept lira!!! Just left without buying!

          Also read on Shoe Shine scam of Istanbul! Which I’ve seen twice now!

          And as I said, many many other examples, if it was just taxi, I’d agree with you!

          Also it was a taxi that was booked through airport, not anyone off the street.

  • Allan says:

    29 Oct29 October 11:41

    Agree. Couldn’t trust anybody in Turkey

  • Aston100 says:

    29 Oct29 October 11:53

    You should definitely avoid Marrakech then.

  • Craig Vassie says:

    29 Oct29 October 15:13

    The IC on Taksim Sq was already dated ten years ago! The lounge is pokey and the lounge food not that good, but the saving grace was that the lounge manager would always be able to find a spare bottle of red wine in return for a few $$. There are far better hotels than the IC! Its OK on points, and they give Spire Ambassadors a good upgrade, but I wouldn’t pay cash there.
    Istanbul is a great place. We’ve been back there several times. Just treat everything payable as having potential for a scam, and you won’t be left embarrassed / annoyed / frustrated. Simple words of greeting in Turkish, or Arabic, gain tourists enormous respect, and we’ve never ever felt threatened.

    • Sandra B says:

      29 Oct29 October 17:59

      +1

• Thomas says:

  29 Oct29 October 11:09

  Is AMEX CS chat still working? I have been trying to use it for a few days now but to no avail.

  • Andrew H says:

    29 Oct29 October 11:14

    Looks like it works on the app

    • Thomas says:

      29 Oct29 October 11:49

      I am not given the option in app either. I can only call them apparently.

      • Andrew H says:

        29 Oct29 October 11:57

        Top right hand corner in “Account” opens chat…but of course it may just say ring them if you ask a question.

        Chat in the browser hasn’t worked for ages

  • Aston100 says:

    29 Oct29 October 12:03

    Desktop browser (Chrome) chat works fine for me, last used yesterday.
    App chat (Android) also works fine, last used two days ago.

    • Peter K says:

      29 Oct29 October 13:13

      Used chat in Chrome 2/3 days ago no problem from a laptop.

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