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The HfP chat thread – Monday 1st November

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Comments (449)

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

  • Tarmohamed says:
    1 Nov1 November 02:15

    Amex Travel Spend £400 offer, dated 24/10 still awaiting credit.

    Anyone recently apply/renew their british passport using the standard service? What was the turnaround?

    Anyone doing crypto apy staking?

  • MarkS says:
    1 Nov1 November 05:40

    Currently in a bit of a dispute with Amex who state that the LHW offer from a few months back (spend 350 get 100 back) only applied if you settled the bill in pounds. This was news to me as I recall. Reading the t&cs and only seeing the Co version had to be above 350 pounds and you would be charged fx fees etc.

    I don’t suppose anyone took a screenshot of the offer t&cs?

    • TGLoyalty says:
      1 Nov1 November 09:36

      HUACA make sure you speak to a Brighton agent because all AMEX are billed in local currency (they don’t allow DCC) and will convert back to GBP

  • Lou says:
    1 Nov1 November 05:48

    Hi everybody, would love your collective wisdom!

    I’ve started a new job which due to reasons means I’m looking to open a SIPP (been enrolled into Nest, looks pretty rubbish for anything beyond the minimum to get employer contribution). What are your recommendations? My initial research seems to suggest to go with Vanguard, but I know you all have some amazing knowledge stop would love to hear your thoughts. Thank you!

    • Genghis says:
      1 Nov1 November 06:25

      Vanguard are decent. Reasonable fee cap of £375 but ad valorem while accumulating. ii good too for large pots but £240 fixed.

      Look a bit more into workplace scheme setup. Does new employer pay Er NI saved if salary sacrifice? Even then, if a basic rate payer, Ee NI saved could be worthwhile paying extra into workplace scheme. If higher or additional, Ee No saving currently just 2% but going up as you’ll be aware. Also there’s the timing of the cash flows to consider (with workplace pension cash goes into the pension sooner). Also if higher / additional, need to remember to claim back tax through tax code / tax return. See if you can do partial transfers out once a year to SIPP if Nest not ideal for you.

      • Lou says:
        1 Nov1 November 08:05

        Unfortunately there is no PSE with the EE & ER NI going in. One can but dream! Nest also charge you for the government loan used to set it up, and has mediocre returns. I don’t see a good reason to pour money into that scheme. What is ii? And thank you!

        • Britbronco says:
          1 Nov1 November 08:47

          Interactive Investor

          • Andrew H says:
            1 Nov1 November 08:52

            ii *used* to allow Lloyds Avios behind Curve, but I can’t get VACC+ to work with it. Tesco did but applied a cash handling fee

    • TimM says:
      1 Nov1 November 06:42

      There is a handy comparison of low-cost SIPPs on MSE:
      https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/savings/cheap-sipps/

      I have the AJ Bell SIPP and I am very satisfied. Share-type investments (including investment trusts) can be bought and sold instantly while unit trust and OEIC trades get executed once a day but at the lower £1.50 per trade fee. Major overseas markets and shares have a good coverage but incur an additional FX charge.

      • memesweeper says:
        1 Nov1 November 07:40

        +1 for AJ Bell

        Depending on your contribution levels/portfolio interests others might be better of course.

      • Doug M says:
        1 Nov1 November 08:09

        I have AJ Bell and I’m generally very happy with them. I would offer one word of caution. Once you take some money from your pension they do not separate the two pots of money remaining. They simply apply a percentage split. This means you cannot adopt a different strategy to the investments within the crystallised and uncrystallised pension pots. The percentages do not change unless/until you make further contributions, so valuing the two pots is easy.

      • The Savage Squirrel says:
        1 Nov1 November 13:40

        +1 to TimM’s excellent summary. Happy AJB customer and the low maximum caps on % fees mean it’s generally a very competitive option if you either have a decent pot size or are making large enough contributions to grow one. Likely to be very suitable for anyone (like me) with a relatively simple long term investment strategy mostly based on ETFs

    • BuildBackBetter says:
      1 Nov1 November 07:46

      Start with identifying what you want to invest in. Then look at cheapest platforms for those products.

      • Andrew H says:
        1 Nov1 November 09:18

        I am 60 so am only leaving playing around with shares to my ISA at ii. I have an old company pension in Aegon, and two others – on at Nutmeg (that I pay in to, both personally and my own company does), and one that I’ve consolidated 4 others in to at Pension Bee. I am not experienced enough to go SIPP; I guess I could stop Nutmeg payments and try a SIPP through my ii account, but would I do any better than they do?

        • BuildBackBetter says:
          1 Nov1 November 09:35

          Pension Bee is nothing but an SIPP. they call it ‘personal pension’ perhaps to not intimidate those unfamiliar with pension products.
          My suggestion (not advice) is to consolidate all pensions into one – any platform you are comfortable with and then work out how you want to invest. Everyone has been in the learning curve at some point and it’s not very complex to invest through SIPPs.

          • Pete1968 says:
            1 Nov1 November 11:14

            There are still some very good advantages in holding ‘small pot pensions’. Some people have them by default ie pension pot from a previous job. They are defined as pots under £10K. At 55, you can take the 25% tax free element plus withdraw the rest (taxable at your highest / marginal income tax rate unless the payment pushes you into a higher tax bracket) – without triggering the money purchase annual allowance limit of £4,000 pa on future pension contributions (which in your ‘big’ pension is triggered when you take any sum (even £1) from your pension over & beyond the 25% tax free amount).

            It might give you a lot more future flexibility to have the maximum number of small pot pensions (3) – but you would have to contribute an amount (say, if you are approaching 55, £8K gross each = £6400 from you and £1600 from HMRC) in order to give some headroom for the pot to grow to something under £10K in a few years. Once it goes over £10K you can’t treat it as a small pot pension, but you could start again with another small pot.

          • Pete1968 says:
            1 Nov1 November 12:07

            So if you’re in a relationship, the two of you can hold nearly £60K in 6 small pot pensions. After you hit 55, that’s quite a lot of money to take back without triggering the money purchase annual allowance limit, ie you are still free to contribute up to £40K pa into your pension. £15K tax free; and another c.£10K of it was upfront tax relief.

          • Lady London says:
            1 Nov1 November 12:12

            Pete1968 do the small pots have to be separate and/or with different providers. I had understood they did but I’ve got one of the major providers telling me the pot can be 1 sipp that is up to 30k, it doesn’t have to be separate pots, and the limitation is you’re allowed 3 withdrawals in lifetime , each max
            10k but can be from that same pot and does not have to be separate pots.

            As breaching the MPAA would make a big mess could you clarify please? It’s one of the big 4 telling me this

          • Pete1968 says:
            1 Nov1 November 12:57

            There are two different sets of rules here: triviality and small pots, see https://adviser.royallondon.com/technical-central/frequently-asked-questions/triviality-and-small-pots/

            In particular: Q: Can I take benefits from my money purchase plan using the triviality rules? A: …Taking this option will trigger the Money Purchase Annual Allowance of £4,000.

            So the small pots should all be held separately AFAICS and that’s not difficult, eg check out all the usual suspects (providers) plus we are using Virgin Money, Nutmeg, ReAssure (got moved there by Aviva), Wealthsimple – all doing fine with decent platforms but you don’t get the same hands-on investment choice as with AJ Bell, ii, HL etc. The lack of ‘bigger’ choice probably doesn’t matter that much, all let you choose your investment approach to some extent so you are not too limited.

          • BuildBackBetter says:
            1 Nov1 November 13:22

            @Pete, it’s highly likely these small pensions are run by old pension firms costing more than popular platforms and also highly likely to be invested in poorly performing funds (some invest a big % in FTSE100 for example).
            You are sacrificing long term gains by holding them in outdated providers with limited fund choices or voluntarily investing them in low return funds.
            Don’t let the tax tail wag the (pension returns) dog.
            Keep it simple and invest in what works for you.
            You never know when the small pot benefit can be withdrawn by the govt.

          • Lady London says:
            1 Nov1 November 13:27

            So Pete1968 have I understood you correctly each small pot sipp (so dc) must be under 10k AND should not hold more than 1 pot planning to use as a small pot so max 10k, with the same provider?

            It’s hl telling me the the mpaa is not breached even if pot is up to 30k provided no more than 3 withdrawals in person’s lifetime of max 10k each are made. They are saying all 3 small pots withdrawals can all be from that same 30k pot and mpaa will not be breached. When I had previously instructed them to split the pot and send the other 2*10k each to different other providers.

          • Pete1968 says:
            1 Nov1 November 13:33

            Doesn’t sound right to me (HL explanation). They are experts in the field but the weakest link (possibly your interlocutor) might have got it wrong.

            Yes: 3 x small pots under £10K each when you come to withdraw the funds, held with different providers, would DEFINITELY satisfy the small pot rules.

          • Pete1968 says:
            1 Nov1 November 14:15

            @BuildBackBetter – that’s probably true for some ‘legacy’ pension pots you might hold. If fees are too high, easy and quick to transfer the pension (money purchase, at least) to a new provider and – yes – consolidation might allow you to be more strategic with investment choices.

            But I’m perfectly happy with the level of fees charged by the 4 providers I mentioned above, plus AJ Bell, ii and HL would also be low-cost choices for your small pot pensions.

            The advantages of maintaining 3 small pot pensions under £10K each are worth having, though, especially if you intend to contribute more than £4K a year into your pension beyond age 55 and want to access the £30K without triggering MPAA.

          • Lady London says:
            1 Nov1 November 14:41

            Thank you Pete1968

        • Anuj says:
          1 Nov1 November 11:21

          I would just combine all the pensions into one using pension bee then transfer to AJ Bell or whoever is cheapest for your pension pot value. Invest in a fund that is appropriate for your age and planned retirement date. Funds such as vanguard target retirement automatically rebalance towards your chosen retirement date. There may be others that have lower fees. DYOR

  • PhilipB says:
    1 Nov1 November 06:16

    I wanted to see if anyone else is having an issue making a booking with BA using an Amex companion voucher.
    Every time I enter the information it just returns an error message. I have tried on multiple routes, classes and across all four of my outstanding vouchers. Same error each time.
    I know there is availability because the avios search (without selecting a voucher) works and I can see the seats I want.
    Trying to understand if this is a general problem or specific to my vouchers.
    Many thanks

    • Nigel says:
      1 Nov1 November 08:58

      Same here, yesterday and this morning. Get an error message only when trying to include 241 in the search. Does anybody know a solution to this?

  • Zara says:
    1 Nov1 November 06:44

    Hiya to Nick. Did you go to Hilton dalaman last week and how was it?

  • Ming the Merciless says:
    1 Nov1 November 06:52

    I’m in the process of MCOL against BA for new flight costs. My Avios flight (booked March 2020 for March 2021) was cancelled and they refused to rebook me further than 1 year from booking rather than than 1 year from date of travel. As such I booked fully flex flights in Jan 2022 and I applied to the man in a wig for the costs (ok,ok, I know they don’t wear wigs and there’s a very slim chance it’s not a middle aged white man).

    Date for hearing came through yesterday June 2022!

    Unfortunately I have also been forced into needing to change my flights to august 2022 which is beyond the 12 months from my original flight date which I see as the bench mark of reasonableness.

    I’m thinking of either
    1. cancelling MCOL, accept Avios refund and walking away,
    2. Change flight dates to July 2022 and continue MCOL
    3. Keep existing flights for as long as possible and try a negotiated settlement before March 2022 flight date and cancel if not successful.

    Any tips? Thanks in advance.

    • memesweeper says:
      1 Nov1 November 07:56

      “As such I booked fully flex flights in Jan 2022 ”

      I assume you mean you booked in Jan 2021? Or you booked for Jan 2022 travel? If you’ve booked with BA I’d have booked one of the cheaper ticket types that are refundable, not fully flex, as that’s most easily and directly comparable to the Avios terms… although that ticket type might not have been available in Jan 2021. It’s a fairly new thing.

      IANAL but it might the reasons you cannot now fly and need to move the date back further to August might be relevant as to the reasonableness of your request to move the dates of your proposed replacement BA booking. EU261 seems to be open ended on the requirement to fly you when you need to fly. Change flight dates to July 2022 and continue MCOL might seem lower risk, however, what if they ticket you for July 2022 in the next few weeks and refund the flex fare in the light of your request? You are in danger of suing them for performance of something you don’t now want.

    • JDB says:
      1 Nov1 November 08:24

      @Ming – not entirely clear on the timeline here to try and help, but it sounds as though your need to change the flights to July may have happened after issuing your MCOL? If so, you need to amend your particulars of claim which requires the permission of the court (with an appplication fee). Either way, the balance of risks has changed and you may prefer to know where you stand and not wait eight months (and so close to travel) for an uncertain answer. In terms of reasonableness, without a good reason, say medical, the extra seven months might be a stretch. Presumably you have seen BA’s defence; you could try to negotiate something with them, making a fair proposal, citing the long delay to a hearing, but also ask them to confirm within xx days that they don’t intend to rely on any other information/cases/precedents beyond those in the defence. They shouldn’t be allowed to anyway, but they are slippery. While unfortunately the delay slightly plays into BA’s hands as they will guess you want certainty, equally if the court found the n your favour, the remedy might cost them more.

    • Grimz says:
      1 Nov1 November 08:40

      Did you raise this with the legal department at BA before taking the MCOL route?

      • meta says:
        1 Nov1 November 10:07

        If OP is already at the hearing stage, it will have certainly reached BA’s legal team.

    • Lady London says:
      1 Nov1 November 11:54

      What JDB says.

      Try to negotiate with them based on disappointing hearing delay. See if they will offer you the newer ticket type that’s refundable or has a bit more flex, as now someone’s told you this newer ticket type is available and would be lower value than the MCOL claim needed to be. Obvs you’ll leave the existing claim in place if they’re not interested. Your proposition is to save them time, give them the chance to settle at a lower amount (gives you certainty and saves your cashflow) and let them get the claim ticked off their list. Otherwise you’ll wait for the court outcome.

      I’d also imagine some people that wanted to reroute to January, now finding their hearing is delayed till June, might feel forced to wait for the outcome in June, foregoing their desired date of travel in January until the court outcome is known in June then rebooking. Perhaps then they would have to rebook the following January (which wil not be a cheaper ticket) if they are only able to do the trip around that time of year baving missed January 2022 due to court date 🙂 e.g. If cashflow for such an expensive trip has meanwhile become uncertain so you need to be sure you have the positive court outcome in June so will now have to delay your travel (leaving existing claim in place).

      Check carefully other currently available ticket types before you suggest accepting a new type of ticket that is now cheaper. You know your aim is to get a ticket you can change to August so make sure you don’t open the door to accepting something that wouldn’t allow that.

      I’d head anything you write or say about this (ideally “say” only, if you can get a phone call with Legal) “Without Prejudice” until you have agreed a settlement. You will only get max one conversation about this. As it’s about saving them time and getting it off their desk (or so far, less urgently for them, off their list of pending claims). So get your ducks in a row and have any supporting information about the new lower refundable/flexible ticket type price for your journey ready to send so they can decide quickly if you’ve got their attention.

      Not sure why you’d want to holiday in Oz in August though. Weather is not amazing mostly it’s low low season depths of winter vs January school holidays hot peak.

      I wouldn’t drop the mcol or change anything – particularly the amount – unless there’s a settlement.

      Follow JDB’s advice and let us know what happens.

  • captaindave says:
    1 Nov1 November 07:02

    Hi all ,

    Any experiences of the Millenium Hilton Bangkok ? Hoping to visit my son and his mrs in the new year. Its about 5 mins walk from where they live, so very convenient if nothing else.
    Probably would be a points booking.

    • Chris says:
      1 Nov1 November 07:26

      Before everything shut used it for a mattress run. Normally stay in the embassy district rather than by the river.

      There is a free ferry service to the sky train which is useful as the hotel out of the way for most things so its an essential connection to the rest of the city. That aside its an average hotel in a city of nice hotels.

      My room looked over the river which was good for just watching the world go by. Bed was good, ac was good, lounge was ok. I was upgraded as a diamond. The rooftop bar has a good view and was a nice place to relax after work. That aside there are many many far better hotels in bkk.

      If the peninsula is in budget it is just down the road and more of a step up in luxury and garden space.

      • TGLoyalty says:
        1 Nov1 November 09:41

        well ofcourse its a step up it charges 3-4x the price on any given day!

    • John says:
      1 Nov1 November 07:29

      Several reports on flyertalk – ask your son to do a staycation

      Normally advice is to stay where you want to be in the city, so if you want to be near your son’s house then it’s fine

      Like all Thai hotels suffering from reduced tourism so have needed to target locals

    • Wollhouse says:
      1 Nov1 November 07:35

      If you have IHG points, I stayed in the IC during lockdown. I am Ambassador and they looked after us really well. Daily credit which we used in the very good Italian onsite; excellent breakfast with all the upgraded options. We stayed twice- first stay all dining had to be in room and the lounge was closed so they sent afternoon tea to the room and offered non alcoholic cocktails at another location. The second time, things were a little more open and we had a beautiful afternoon tea in the lounge; they upgraded our room to a lovely suite both times.

      • BP says:
        1 Nov1 November 08:02

        Despite being a little older, I really like the IC BKK. Service always good and excellent location.

    • Michael C says:
      1 Nov1 November 08:17

      A few years ago now, but we had a great “value for money” stay there: not the most most luxurious in the city (still nice), but massive rooms, ferry shuttle was actually fun as opposed to a trial, and as others have said, location is everything in this case!

    • Terri says:
      1 Nov1 November 11:20

      Hi Captain Dave, I had a stay at the Millenium Hilton Bangkok in Sept 19 partly on a points booking – I booked the first night on points in an exec room so I could use the Exec lounge to check in – my following nights were booked at the lowest cash room rate – as a Hilton Gold I was given an upgrade to an executive room for the cheaper nights I booked and then staff offered at about £35 pn an upgrade to a panoramic river view one bedroom corner suite – it was great value for a great room.

      There is the hotel’s own ferry across the river to the metro. The new metro line should now be finished, which is overhead at the end of Hilton’s drive.

      The exec lounge pre covid was excellent – had an upstairs viewing platform and an outside deck – loved sitting out there in the evening with a cocktail and nibbles. There was an afternoon tea about 4pm. Staff were helpful and friendly.

      Breakfast was very extensive. I liked sitting at the outside tables overlooking the river – a super start to the day.

      The only downside I found was the pool – its quite small and situated mostly under the building. It gets the sun in the early morning and is in the shade the rest of the day. Even with the Thai heat the pool is chilly unless you go for a pre-breakfast swim.

      I would stay here again if I return to Bangkok.

    • Oh! Matron! says:
      1 Nov1 November 13:30

      Stayed there with work a few years ago. As others have said, the boat to the sky train was a lovely touch. The views along with river are exceptional too. The buffet breakfast (at the time) was the biggest I’d ever seen! Don’t remember much else, sadly.

    • Clive says:
      1 Nov1 November 21:02

      If you have flexibility Conrad is offering very good rates presently circa 1750 Baht

  • captaindave says:
    1 Nov1 November 07:28

    Many thanks Chris !

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