The HfP chat thread – Saturday 30th October

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Jonathan says:

30 Oct30 October 10:12

Thanks for the advice yesterday on Orlando hotels. Today, I am after recommendations for a hotel to stay at in Miami in October please with 2 little ones (5 and 2 to)? I have ihg points & spire status, Marriott points & gold and Hilton gold status. Also have lots of Amex MR points I could transfer elsewhere. TIA
- Terri says:
  
  30 Oct30 October 12:31
  
  I have done the Miami/Orlando trip a number of times with young children. I have never found Miami that great for kids – its busy, lots of traffic, rooms on the small side, expensive to park, more dodgy looking people hanging about down by the beach.
  
  Last time in Miami stayed at the Marriott Doral which shares facilities with the Trump Doral over the road- there was a shuttle to take you over upon request or a 5 min walk. Hotel is on the airport flight path, so you need to like planes. Marriott has two bedroom apartments and free parking – it is not in the Miami hip area – that’s about 30 mins drive away.
  
  Unless you are desparate to be in Miami have you thought about Boca Raton, Lauderdale on the Sea or Fort Lauderdale which are all not far away amd much more family friendly.
- ALEXANDER BARCLAY says:
  
  30 Oct30 October 13:17
  
  marriott doral is great we have booked there for january before travelling to orlando
- Elguiri says:
  
  30 Oct30 October 22:50
  
  We have done the Homewood Suites by Hilton Miami-Airport/Blue Lagoon after arriving late in Miami, with a toddler it worked out fine.
  If you are happy to not do hotel there is an amazing Airbnb we have stayed at twice just north of Miami, near to oleta (inland) beach called Roxy’s endless summer cottage. Great base to travel up or down coast from.
Marie says:

30 Oct30 October 10:30

I have a 2 for 1 expiring in July 22 that I feel I won’t be able to use to it’s full potential so I was going to book a one way GLA and FTV it. Do we know when are BA going to withdraw this ability ? Is there any benefit in doing this today versus 3th July 2022 ? Many thanks
- AJA says:
  
  30 Oct30 October 10:42
  
  We have no idea when BA might withdraw the FTV route. If you are remotely likely to be able to book a trip using the 2-4-1 in the normal way by next June then I would not exchange for a FTV. But if you really don’t think you’ll be able to use it then I’d change it sooner rather than later. Remember if you do exchange for a FTV you tie in the passengers and also will have to call to redeem it. This is a big disadvantage along with the fact that you tie up a minimum of 4500 Avios and £17.50 assuming you book the cheapest option.
  - Marie says:
    
    30 Oct30 October 10:49
    
    Thanks. I am reassured that this is probably the best course of action .
Keely says:

30 Oct30 October 10:38

Is anyone else suffering Pre Flight Covid Test Syndrome ,…symptoms of which are anxiety and panic in case one of us tests positive on the day….
Jamaica requires an in person LFT regardless of vaccination status . I’m sure it’s a real thing !
- Yuff says:
  
  30 Oct30 October 11:10
  
  Yep so much so I cancelled Etihad flights in business for premium economy on BA.
  I am now waiting for 9 business class refunds from etihad 8 and BA 1
  - Keely says:
    
    30 Oct30 October 11:52
    
    This is a holiday where we are meeting other family out there (they’re flying from different airport) …likely to be the last time we are all together due to ages of kids etc . The closer it comes (we fly in three weeks) the more nervous I become !
- Grimz says:
  
  30 Oct30 October 12:02
  
  Yep and I only require a LFT for USA
- Andrew says:
  
  30 Oct30 October 14:11
  
  Yes. I’m hoping to travel out to the US on the 27th November, but my mate doesn’t want to book anything until we’re both tested clear 48 hours before flying.
  
  I can see the logic in it. Hopefully there’ll be a last minute bargain.
- John Gallagher says:
  
  30 Oct30 October 14:15
  
  Assuming you are in the UK, order an NHS LFT and pick it up from a chemist. Put your mind at rest at least 🙂
  - Keely says:
    
    30 Oct30 October 16:01
    
    Yeah I have loads here as use to visit care home, will be doing that before we go!
  - TGLoyalty says:
    
    30 Oct30 October 16:32
    
    No need to order you can just walk in to local chemist and pick up
- Can says:
  
  30 Oct30 October 15:10
  
  I always use one of the nhs lft to ease my mind
- Lyn says:
  
  30 Oct30 October 17:32
  
  Definitely a real thing, and a good description of the syndrome, Keely! Especially when away from home. Double vaccination doesn’t seem to help in the least with the syndrome, but it definitely helps lessen the chances of a positive test.
- Darko says:
  
  30 Oct30 October 19:03
  
  I get you. That’s why I have a box of free NHS tests with me so I can test myself before taking the Fit to fly or Day 2 return test. It calms the nerves knowing the result won’t be any different!
Pete1968 says:

30 Oct30 October 10:39

Looks like Bulb is either going bump in the next few days or else will be taken over for a song. I personally feel that whilst the energy price cap has a place, the 6 month interval between reviews is not fit for purpose. 3 months would be acceptable but every 2 months better suited to rapid market movements in the wholesale price of gas/ electricity.

Ie currently all suppliers with customers on the energy price cap will be losing huge amounts of money on very unprofitable customer a/cs – and even more on the majority of customers on fixed rate deals arranged prior to about 4 months ago. Absolutely certain huge losses, as mandated by the government, it’s not surprising so many suppliers are throwing in the towel. I feel it’s a real shame to see popular suppliers like Bulb going under – I was on a great fixed deal with another highly rated supplier Avro but got switched to Octopus when they went bump, so at least I’m on the loss-making current energy price cap deal (minus about £10, I think 🙂 ). Avro were great – nice customer service and deals, what a shame they are no more.

You could argue (I suppose) that the gas/ elec suppliers should have been hedging with forward contracts – most probably did to some extent – but the current turmoil in wholesale energy prices was unforeseen by 99% of people on the planet.
- Nick says:
  
  30 Oct30 October 10:55
  
  They absolutely could and should have modelled what happens in the case of rising prices. They were idiots for not doing so.
  
  But as it happens, the big companies are rubbing their hands with glee at the moment, because they can think further ahead than 3 months and have enough cash/investment to ride it out. After the next review, the cap will rise massively. It’ll then be in place for 6 months, during which wholesale prices will likely fall rapidly. The small challenger firms have disappeared and can’t be resurrected at short notice. So for a lot of those 6 months the big firms are effectively expecting a licence to print money.
  - Will says:
    
    30 Oct30 October 11:04
    
    British Gas took over some of our family accounts a month or more ago from PFP. All sounded super efficient on the telephone and super friendly. Took my meter readings. However a month later nothing is properly set up and meter readings online are not showing and I can’t enter new ones. All front and no substance?
    - Anuj says:
      
      30 Oct30 October 12:36
      
      Exactly the same experience
  - BuildBackBetter says:
    
    30 Oct30 October 11:08
    
    The big companies are happy not because of cash, but because they have long term contracts with suppliers and hedge their prices.
    
    Ofgem is just stupid and lazy. Have they not stress tested these scenarios? What do they do as a regulator? Now they are launching a public consultation on piece cap. Sure, the lay man would know more than an industry expert.
- TGLoyalty says:
  
  30 Oct30 October 10:58
  
  Sorry but they have a price cap for 6m set in advance, a number of customers on fixed deals and a number of expected new acquisitions … it’s not hard to hedge price movements.
  
  Either they didn’t bother, did it badly or decided they were just going to roll the dice and lost.
  - Lady London says:
    
    30 Oct30 October 11:09
    
    +1
  - GHT says:
    
    30 Oct30 October 11:23
    
    This, a thousand times this. These businesses chose not to hedge prices to try and reduce costs given the fairly high cost of acquiring new customers. It was a one-way bet with serious moral hazard created by the system – if the market goes down, we win; if the market goes up and we’re out of pocket the regulator and other suppliers step in.
    
    Failure to hedge is absolutely bonkers.
    - J says:
      
      30 Oct30 October 11:30
      
      It’s not bonkers, it was just a high risk business model and they are rightly paying the price having called it wrong.
  - Will says:
    
    30 Oct30 October 11:24
    
    Exactly. Price cap is fine, 6 months is fine.
    OFGEM should have regulated that all customer fixed contracts must be hedged and variable rate customers must be hedged against the price cap.
    
    Of course now there’s going to be an issue if the price cap is below the wholesale rate for a significant time.
    - Will says:
      
      30 Oct30 October 11:25
      
      Also should have to ringfence overpayments,
      
      Looks like avro energy transferred millions in advance payments from customers to a company owned by the director for years prior to it folding.
      
      It has negative value as a company before covid even started
      - Pete1968 says:
        
        30 Oct30 October 14:26
        
        I read that about Avro as well – but they were very good to deal with as customers. They had some of the very best fixed deals in the market the past few years. Then – as an existing customer – when your fixed term came to an end, you had the opportunity to re-fix for another year at a rate that was better than anything else Avro themselves were offering to new customers. Invariably as good or nearly as good as anything else available from competitors – a great way to retain loyalty.
        
        A lot of businesses could learn from that, ie reward loyalty.
  - Anuj says:
    
    30 Oct30 October 12:39
    
    Exactly, surely the theoretical ‘social contract’ of privatising an industry (that shouldn’t be imo) is that they have the potential to make profits but at the risk of potential losses. If we subsidise them just as they make some losses we may as well just nationalise the lot. What value do these companies add apart from duplication of the same business functions times however many energy companies there are ?
    - TGLoyalty says:
      
      30 Oct30 October 12:54
      
      At the end of the day energy supply shouldn’t be private enterprise
      
      If ever there’s a case of private profits and public losses it’s utilities and public transport.
      - JDB says:
        
        30 Oct30 October 13:27
        
        When these businesses were run by government they did a terrible job if you recall! One of the reasons for privatisation was that the government did not want to pay the huge bill for renewal of the grid and local networks that needed to be done and has in fact been very successful; both are now much more resilient and flexible. The retail end is much more complex and in reality the last thing government wants to take on, for all the rhetoric and it is much easier for the government to get the private companies to add all the climate change levies on to bills but for the private companies to take the flak for the overall bill going up. It’s not intended to be a political point, but historically, all over the world, governments are by and large the most appalling managers of businesses, partly because like the government, companies they control run on electoral cycles/political interference which is usually a fiasco. Good companies are planning much further ahead than the electoral cycle and allocate capital more sensibly.
      - TGLoyalty says:
        
        30 Oct30 October 16:35
        
        @JDB government still subsides the cost of energy produced at new nuclear plants
        
        National rail is still responsible for maintaining, renewing and expanding railways.
        
        A car business (bought so it didn’t go bust) is very different to utilities and rail.
      - JDB says:
        
        30 Oct30 October 17:05
        
        Good points @TGL! They tried on rail, but Railtrack went bust…the level of debt in Network Rail at c. £55bn is pretty scary (which is why they wanted in the private sector but the private sector struggled) but as ever some sleight of hand has been arranged, whereby it doesn’t quite officially count as public debt.
        
        On nuclear, I fear it looks as though they are about to change the model so that we will get a new nuclear levy on all our bills up front rather than the government guaranteeing the future price at a high level (as at Hinkley Point) and the state effectively still guarantees the decommissioning.
      - JDB says:
        
        30 Oct30 October 17:14
        
        @TGL – for what it’s worth, I worked on the privatisation of EDF and it was, unlike most utility IPOs, a real struggle; investors really struggled with the risks of nuclear and there had to be a lot of arm twisting by the French govt to get it done as well as retail in France and Japan getting stuffed. The costs and risks are of a size/nature that only states can properly support.
    - Lady London says:
      
      30 Oct30 October 13:23
      
      Wow privatised profits users and taxpayers subsidise losses so payments can continue to shareholders for a moment there I thought you were talking about Heathrow.
      - JDB says:
        
        30 Oct30 October 13:50
        
        @Lady London the taxpayer used to bear the enormous losses generated by British Leyland/Rover! Was that a good thing? They made a complete horlicks of trying to run a car business that is a highly capital intensive industry and takes very long term planning.
    - JDB says:
      
      30 Oct30 October 13:40
      
      The big companies do make losses that are borne by the shareholders. Look at Centrica (British Gas) for example; that has not been a happy ride for shareholders. The small players now going bust are small fry that should never have been there. If you want to see the public and/or subsidised model in practice, look at Argentina. The government is being bankrupted by huge utility subsidies, or propping up the ones it owns so has to reduce the subsidies (as it has no money left) so there are riots and inflation goes through the roof as electricity is a big component. France is the lucky ones as the vast majority of electricity is nuclear so not affected by current prices, but water is largely privatised and incredibly expensive.
      - Pete1968 says:
        
        30 Oct30 October 15:07
        
        JDB – new round here so I don’t know your agenda, can I switch back to UK and gas/ elec suppliers?
        
        I’d have thought most right-thinking people would be happy to see suppliers making a small or medium profit over time, as they are in business to make a profit; take the business risks; save us all money by being more efficient than state-owned enterprises; give us choice.
        
        Here’s my model (Ofgem take note):
        – yes, energy price cap, but reviewed every 2 months
        – built in / straightforward calculation to work out the cap each review – ie fair standing charge (the cost of actually getting the power to your home), unit rate charge per kWh of gas and electricity that reflects the wholesale market, small margin for supplier to cover overhead etc and make a profit
        – 2 month reviews? easy these days to either do nothing (no change) or email changes to customers, just pressing a button
        – supplier wins or loses in the short term according to short term changes in wholesale pricing but doesn’t need to look 6-12 months ahead/ can & should still hedge with forward contracts to avoid volatility
        – but suppliers would be much less unlikely to go bust because wholesale prices turned against them significantly overnight
        – preserves the idea of challenger cos doing OK & keeping the big 6-8 on their toes/ more competition
      - JDB says:
        
        30 Oct30 October 15:26
        
        @Pete1968 what you say sounds eminently sensible! The price cap was well intentioned but doesn’t work so well in practice. The concept of adding competition to the big 5/6 was good except that you need to be big enough to weather the volatility in markets which these little players couldn’t. I suspect they couldn’t or didn’t hedge enough because hedging costs money. P.S. I don’t have an agenda; I fully understand why many people think utilities should be public but the real world experience of nationalised companies is generally not good and they are starved of capital because there are more politically expedient uses for the cash.
      - Pete1968 says:
        
        30 Oct30 October 18:25
        
        Bulb is an energy company that should never have been forced to go bust or be taken over for a song. Popular and right for so many reasons:
        – The best kind of energy – 100% of Bulb’s electricity is renewable
        – Trusting your energy supplier – great service is first, last and everything (yes, great service)
        – Fair prices that stay fair (and yes, prices were/ are always fair)
        – No bull about switching – Bulb paid any fees for you to switch away from a competitor to them – plus levies no charges if you want to switch away from Bulb
        – Doing the right thing – for every new member that switches to Bulb, we donate £2 to Bulb Foundation which makes grants to charities and social enterprises tackling the climate crisis head on.
        
        Thanks, Ofgem for messing up.
- Paul Pogba says:
  
  30 Oct30 October 21:33
  
  You can buy nat gas futures to (at least) Sep 2023 so you could argue the cap could be bi-annual but the cost of the contracts would need to be reflected in the cap.
Chris says:

30 Oct30 October 10:45

Random question; i am coming back form a work trip and going on vacation next week. I need a hair cut … does anyone know if the barbers in T5 arrivals still open?
- AJA says:
  
  30 Oct30 October 11:14
  
  I never knew there was a barbers in T5 but a quick search on Google reveals that it is open between 8am and 7pm every day
  
  https://www.heathrow.com/at-the-airport/lounges-hotels-spas/bradley-smith-hair-express-bar
- den says:
  
  30 Oct30 October 15:43
  
  I was in there a few weeks ago waiting for my wife and kids who were delayed and noticed the barber standing outside with no customers so it’s definitely open.
Jim says:

30 Oct30 October 10:47

Anyway of getting a US number from the UK?
- Nick says:
  
  30 Oct30 October 10:56
  
  Skype?
- A says:
  
  30 Oct30 October 13:48
  
  Google voice
- Can says:
  
  30 Oct30 October 15:10
  
  Skype is good. We used it for a while
Will says:

30 Oct30 October 11:01

Has anyone received the 750 Clubcard points from the Hotels.com promotion a few MO the ago. I think mine are due now but haven’t seen them. Prob a call to Tesco bank. Or a call to Hotels.com. Or a call to Clubcard. Either way could be a long haul.
- John says:
  
  30 Oct30 October 12:16
  
  Mine also due soon.
  Not seen anyone post points have been received !
Adam says:

30 Oct30 October 11:03

I am not a creation IHG card holder but out of curiosity; has anyone posted their account closure, fee and missing points and voucher, issues to times money trouble shooter (troubleshooter@thetimes.co.uk) to investigate?
- BuildBackBetter says:
  
  30 Oct30 October 11:17
  
  And also provide the details of the MS they’ve done?
  - J says:
    
    30 Oct30 October 11:25
    
    I doubt those who did MS are too fussed about losing a free night voucher/fee refund. But clearly many who never touched MS are being screwed over by Creation. Seems a decent suggestion from Adam.
    - Char Char says:
      
      30 Oct30 October 11:42
      
      Both should be entitled to what they have paid for from the card anyway, its Creation who failed to regulate their cards use.
      - J says:
        
        30 Oct30 October 11:45
        
        Sure, but I’m not sure there would be much media sympathy if Creation can reply that the person cited has churned millions.
      - Char Char says:
        
        30 Oct30 October 13:27
        
        The MS are likely not the majority of creation customers, so it is pointless people keep referring to the few or 1 person who ‘churned millions’
      - J says:
        
        30 Oct30 October 14:49
        
        As I said in my first post here, it was a sensible suggestion – but best communicated by someone who is in the unfairly treated majority. Surely you can see that it matters who puts in the individual complaint as to how the response is handled?
  - Tw33ty says:
    
    30 Oct30 October 11:33
    
    Not all have ms’d who are getting their accounts closed.
    It’s just that a vocal few who did are on here, so everyone gets tarred by the same brush.
    I personally know off two people I work with who are getting their accounts closed, and both don’t use hfp and have never heard of curve.
    One puts about 40-50k through his ihg black with zero ms and all genuine spend, and the other has the white card they only use for a lot of ihg hotel stays and nothing else.
    Both these account will be making creation a loss due to their spend patterns, I believe this is why they are being closed.
    The assumption that everything is down to card holders misuse is both wrong and will only flame tensions on here.
    - J says:
      
      30 Oct30 October 11:42
      
      I suspect you’re right. Has there actually been anything communicated to anyone (apart from by clearly confused customer support workers) that a) Curve was a factor b) Pro rata refunds won’t happen c) Free night’s won’t credit d) Points won’t eventually transfer.
      - Char Char says:
        
        30 Oct30 October 11:43
        
        The letters don’t mention Curve however all the other points have been confirmed in responses to queries in emails.
      - J says:
        
        30 Oct30 October 11:49
        
        But equally many on here have mentioned emails saying the opposite. (Customer service is clearly a mess there.) Eg. Cardholder choice of refund or voucher; Points transfer is a temporary glitch; Creation closing all accounts.
      - Tw33ty says:
        
        30 Oct30 October 11:56
        
        With regards to point d, I have a letter from creation, a reply to my complaint, and in it, it states I can still earn points up to the 3rd off December. So that throws even more confusion into the mix.
      - Char Char says:
        
        30 Oct30 October 13:29
        
        @J
        What sort of communication are you referring to if replies from their customer services, letters and emails don’t count?
      - J says:
        
        30 Oct30 October 14:47
        
        @Char Char: Anything that has been escalated beyond front line support and is consistent across customers. As far as I can tell the letter most of us received is the strongest, most consistent communication to date. Most of the rest seems to be muddled, and often from front line support who appear just as clueless to Creation’s intentions as anyone else.
    - JDB says:
      
      30 Oct30 October 12:33
      
      Did the people you mention maybe use the card for business expenses that aren’t permitted under the T&Cs? The £40-50k sounds quite a lot for personal spending on a MasterCard.
      
      Curve appears to be just a common theme, not a reason for closure in itself.
      - Tw33ty says:
        
        30 Oct30 October 17:24
        
        Yeah the 40-50k was a director renovating his second home( maybe even third)
        The white ihg via hotel spend was business hotel spend in Uk and Europe, but his ihg hotel account wasn’t linked to a corporate account and no corporate codes etc used.
        I’ve never checked terms for actual business spend rules, but if you’ve ever stayed at a hotel and join the morning corporate check out I’d the big chains, most are using hotel branded cards or avois earning cards.
    - Alan says:
      
      31 Oct31 October 06:58
      
      My wife’s white card is being closed. She very rarely used it (she had a companion card on my black account). She did use it with her Curve card but only for actual purchases no MS. The only reason I can see for them closing her card is that she used it with Curve.
      For the record, my black card is also being closed but my record is less pure (although always within the Ts&Cs of the card). There may have been a small amount of MS mixed in with genuine use.
  - Char Char says:
    
    30 Oct30 October 11:41
    
    “And also provide the details of the MS they’ve done?”
    Sounds like someone missed out!
    - Will says:
      
      30 Oct30 October 11:56
      
      I have not had any letter saying card account to be closed. Points credited this month (around 25th) and I have used with curve but never did excessive MS. I have paid off other credit cards in the past (think with virgin or Hilton) but not since the added fee became payable. The note above says all creations closing. Assume that is not true, or is it??? Should get spire this month so just holding on for the November credit!!
      - J says:
        
        30 Oct30 October 12:06
        
        Someone in the chat yesterday said they had been told they were closing all accounts. But the messaging all seems very mixed atm, so I doubt anyone really knows what’s going on – especially Creation Customer Support.
  - Adam says:
    
    30 Oct30 October 12:02
    
    It doesn’t matter if MS was done or not. If everything was done by the books and according to T&Cs etc you are within your rights to what was agreed as per T&Cs.
    MS was a loophole which they should have caught and blocked longtime ago. Similar to how people take benefits of tax loopholes…
    - J says:
      
      30 Oct30 October 12:08
      
      You’re right on the legal side, but not in terms of whether or not it is the smart call to seek media support.
      - Adam says:
        
        30 Oct30 October 12:38
        
        What’s there to lose in any case?
        If they cite MS then at least they will have to do it, publicly.
        Unless there is a fear media attention will draw other companies to do a mass purge?
        In that case bendy will disappear…
      - Char Char says:
        
        30 Oct30 October 13:32
        
        It’s not helpful when people cite the MS abusers at every point taking action against creation, they are clearly a small amount of the total creation customers affected.
      - J says:
        
        30 Oct30 October 15:05
        
        @Adam: What is there to lose by having someone who didn’t do MS place the complaint with The Times? All I’m saying is that, to me, it makes more sense to have someone with ‘a clean record’ make a complaint, than someone who Creation could paint in a bad light.
  - QFFlyer says:
    
    30 Oct30 October 15:20
    
    Why not, it doesn’t violate any T&Cs. All these people on their high horse about MS smh.
- Benilyn says:
  
  30 Oct30 October 12:19
  
  This Creation debacle is nearly bad as the 500 Avios bonus for linking your Nectar & BAEC account, it’s generating nearly same amount of posts.
  - Char Char says:
    
    30 Oct30 October 13:33
    
    How so? When people are literally going to be in some cases £100’s out of pocket, if thats not applicable to you then move don’t respond to the comments.
    - John says:
      
      30 Oct30 October 14:45
      
      Think that was a joke