The HfP chat thread – Sunday 14th November

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• N says:

  14 Nov14 November 16:37

  Just did my in-clinic antigen test for USA. Got the certificate but I noticed it doesn’t specifically state it is ‘in-person’. It is just signed by a professional saying that the patient’s test result is negative. Would this be a problem on arriving in the US?

  • Aston100 says:

    14 Nov14 November 17:17

    Who did you use?

    • N says:

      14 Nov14 November 17:25

      DAM Health

  • TGLoyalty says:

    14 Nov14 November 17:17

    The whole “in person” thing is such a red herring

    Hardly any test clearly says it was at home or in person.

    • N says:

      14 Nov14 November 17:26

      Exactly. Very annoying!

  • ianM says:

    14 Nov14 November 17:49

    In person isn’t required, the requirement is ‘supervised’

    • TGLoyalty says:

      14 Nov14 November 17:59

      They don’t say that on the cert either

      • Jonathan says:

        14 Nov14 November 22:23

        Not always true. Testing for all certificate clearly states “Unsupervised Rapid Antigen Teat” in the box at the top where name, d.o.b., passport no etc is. There’s no way anyone looking at the certificate could fail to see it. Whether that could cause an issue at check-in/border I don’t know but I’d pay the extra few quid for Qured or similar where you are sticking to the letter of the law.

    • N says:

      14 Nov14 November 18:00

      Correct but I assumed the ‘supervised’ part is highlighted in reference to self tests. If it’s done in a clinic then the supervised part is surely a bit redundant

      • ianM says:

        14 Nov14 November 18:42

        Who knows, I know people who have had a text from the free NHS service accepted at check in

        • N says:

          14 Nov14 November 18:54

          I’m less worried about check in, more about checks in the US. I expect them to be extra careful!

      • James says:

        14 Nov14 November 19:08

        Arrived in USA yesterday. Nil checks. All done at Heathrow. Just photo and questions at immigration at ATL

        • N says:

          14 Nov14 November 19:28

          Ah thanks, that’s very reassuring! Verifly have accepted my documents as well so hopefully should be fine

        • Ryan says:

          14 Nov14 November 22:42

          So if it says “unsupervised” just edit your PDF to say “Supervised”? Not that difficult with converting to word…

• Wally1976 says:

  14 Nov14 November 16:50

  Hi, I’m looking at booking a special trip to New York for my wife and I in February 2023. Neither of us have ever flown anything but economy and my wife has never been to the states.

  I have quite a few Amex MR and Avios and want to book the best value (by which I mean cheapest in cash terms) business class trip.

  I’m thinking of going out via Madrid on Iberia.

  Coming back I’d like to fly direct to LHR to save time. Looking at the options, I have come up with:

  AA at 115000 miles which would represent 190000 MR transferred via Marriott (hope my maths is right).

  Delta at 240000 miles which would represent 240000 MR.

  United at 191600 miles which would represent 303000 MR transferred via Marriott (again, I hope my maths is right).

  So based on this, AA represents the best value (assuming the business class products are more-or-less equal).

  My question is, are there other (better?) options I am missing?

  Many thanks in advance.

  • Jonathan says:

    14 Nov14 November 17:06

    The best Business class seat you can get for this route is BA’s Club Suite, you’re limited on what times of your can fly to get hold of these seats though, since not all aircraft have it yet.

    A BAPP 241 voucher will be good for you for a redemption like this, I’m not too sure why you’d want to fly to NYC via Madrid, minus of course a marginal saving on taxes, but you sacrifice your time and a little bit on a cash ticket to Madrid for the connection

    • Wally1976 says:

      14 Nov14 November 17:14

      Thanks for the reply Jonathan. To be clear, I am not able to pay the amount of taxes and fees that BA charge, hence why I am looking at flying out with Iberia (much lower fees) and flying back with one of the US carriers (who all charge around a fiver in taxes and fees!). Even if this means I need quite a few more points and can’t use a 2for1.

      • ianM says:

        14 Nov14 November 17:50

        You might find US carriers charging a fiver back to UK in pretty short supply.

      • Shaw West says:

        14 Nov14 November 18:02

        You might want to try virgin redemption on delta from europe. Or finnair out of helsinki for very low tax for redemption

      • BuildBackBetter says:

        14 Nov14 November 18:38

        Why not fly Aer Lingus from Dublin? Can use avios and avoid immigration on landing.

    • BuildBackBetter says:

      14 Nov14 November 18:36

      Best seats for crossing the Atlantic are on Singapore airlines FRA-JFK.

  • Mirp says:

    14 Nov14 November 17:24

    I would look at cash rates. Maybe a BA Holiday or Virgin Holiday on sale. February is a miserable time to visit NYC in my opinion but the good news is that airfares cane be low and hotel occupancy also low so I think you can get a bargain.

  • The Savage Squirrel says:

    14 Nov14 November 18:32

    Nicer seats on the plane is great and all, but unless your wife is VERY understanding or a flying enthusiast, then, if the trip really is for her and meant to be special, don’t make her do two rounds of check in, two unnecessary flights, and two extra sessions of hanging round airports. You could easily end up spending 7 hours in airports for what is only a 7hr flight. If you’re really not able to pay BA redemption fees (rather than not wishing to – which is fair enough but is possibly shooting yourself in the foot here) then are you sure New York (not exactly a value destination 😀 ) is the right place to be heading? You may be better flying econ’ for cash and spending what you save on a hotel that will be special for her?

    • Fazzy Bear says:

      14 Nov14 November 18:52

      I agree with Savage Squirrel. If its a special trip then don’t bother faffing about with a detour to Madrid. Not worth the headache.

  • Anna says:

    14 Nov14 November 18:55

    What about doing RFS to JFK direct, and back on the day flight so sleeping not an issue? Pay for exit seats and lounge entry and on a relatively short flight the experience isn’t going to be that much different tbh! Plenty of cash left over for hotel and spends, which will be significant in NYC as others have pointed out.

    • Wally1976 says:

      14 Nov14 November 21:35

      Thanks for all the replies; plenty of food for thought!

• Colin MacKinnon says:

  14 Nov14 November 17:10

  Sometimes cash can be your friend – especially since Amex points can be moved 1 for 1 to avios, which can then be converted to Nectar points for Argos, Sainsbury, Ebay etc. Summary, Amex points and Avios worth at least 0,8p in pseudo cash.

  Prices for 2023 are obviously unknown as yet, but you can – for example – get MAD-LHR-LAX-LHR/LCY-MAD for about £1200 cash in July/Aug 2022.

  Note the last leg is from London City, so they have to give you your bags back at LHR – and then there are lots of hassles between LHR and London City so that you might – cough, cough – miss your final flight to Madrid!

  You’ll even earn a few more Avios too!

  Moral: price your reward ticket with taxes, fees, etc and multiply the Avios by 0.8p. Then compare to cash price from non-London – such as Madrid – and add in cost of flight to Madrid (and maybe a hotel for the night) and subtract Avios earned.

  • Richie says:

    14 Nov14 November 21:40

    BTW LCY-MAD flights ceased some time ago.

    • Colin MacKinnon says:

      14 Nov14 November 21:55

      BA selling them for 18th August!

      • Colin MacKinnon says:

        14 Nov14 November 22:32

        Ooops.My bad. The return is LCY-DUB the following day, but less than 24 hours after the LAX arrival.. Got confused, I’m not going to be on the last leg!

        So MAD-LHR-LAX-LHR LCY-DUB for £1247 in Business.

        • Richie says:

          15 Nov15 November 08:47

          Thx for the clarification.

• SM says:

  14 Nov14 November 18:53

  Evening, after some advice from HfPers knowledgeable about life in DXB. Moving to DXB for a year on a sabbatical, planning to open a HSBC prem account (prem here in UK), also Amex plat, is it worth opening a Amex plat in UAE as the perks seem to be the same, are there better offers to offset the anual fees, I plan to hold on to the UK one in any case or go down to the the rewards card for the period I am away. Plan to travel back every 6/52 or so and would be looking at Emirates for a direct flight back, which travel rewards credit cards should I be looking at? Came across an RAK one offerring Emirates Skywards silver (lounge access) with fast track to gold and miles for opening an account, is this a good one to have in the wallet? Any other tips and advice much appreciated, thanks.

  • Rob says:

    14 Nov14 November 19:01

    In general, UAE card bonuses are amazing BUT cards are often restricted to existing bank customer. One benefit of Amex and HSBC is that both have global transfer so they will give you accounts immediately, so you are covered until your local banking details are arranged.

  • Blenz101 says:

    14 Nov14 November 19:18

    What is your visa situation if this is a sabbatical? As you are hopefully aware you can’t just move to the UAE as that is going to have a major impact on your ability to get a bank account and credit. What income will you have locally?

    HSBC and Amex will assist with your account openings but before you get any real facilities until your visa and Emirates ID (EID) will need to be in place. Your EID links your central credit agency record, bank accounts, tenancy contract, mobile phone, driving licence etc. etc.

    Assuming all this is in place the best Skywards card is from ENBD, very good joining bonus and extensive perks if it is miles you want.

    Amex is as per the local website, its run out of Bahrain.

    Cheques are still a thing here and you will likely need to write a cheque up to your credit limit from your local bank account which your card provider can cash. You never want to be in the situation where the bank is calling in a debt by cashing that cheque.

  • BuildBackBetter says:

    14 Nov14 November 19:43

    Don’t change the address or phone number for any of your uk cards or accounts. Downgrade your uk phone contract to the cheapest pay monthly plan.

    • SM says:

      14 Nov14 November 20:48

      Thanks all. I’ll be on an employment visa, aware of the need for EID which the company will take care of. Planning to stick with HSBC for everyday banking. Re Amex – would it be worth applying for a Plat in the UAE? I’ll look at the ENBD card and plan to keep my current Vodafone contract, will go down to cheapest plan although I am only paying 11£ for unlimited mins etc..thanks again.

      • Blenz101 says:

        14 Nov14 November 21:13

        HSBC is fine for everyday banking and you will be able to link your UK account so you see everything globally via online banking as it is all one platform. HSBC exchange rate is terrible to GBP so use Revolut to cover that off if sending large amounts back. HSBC will convert AED at not far from the pegged rate to USD so if you are happy to hold your money in USD as the GBP rate moves around this is another option. You can get a USD account via HSBC Expat but I think the UK also offers them as well. The HSBC premier credit card is OK and you collect Airmiles, the original kind. You can either book travel via the Airmiles website or convert to ME3 miles plus lots of gift card type options. Earning rate in the UAE is great (helped the the massive spending required here!).

        Do look into your tax situation, if you are here for a year and employed at the very least you should be able to get split year tax treatment and should get a healthy rebate from HMRC assuming you are currently PAYE.

        I don’t know your spend patterns as to which Amex (if any) is best but all the options are laid out including “fee-back” if you are going to be spending a lot on the card. I can’t really see any advantage in paying in both the UK and UAE to get the same card with the same benefits. You may just want to be able to collect MR points without 3% forex fees though so a more ‘basic’ card could work? Also if you divert lots of spend to Amex you may miss sign-up bonuses on the local market cards. Amex is accepted pretty widely but smaller independents are even less likely to take than the UK so will depend on how much you think you will be spending in major malls and hotel bars.

        The lounge access with the ENBD Skywards card blows priority pass and HSBC out of the water so don’t get the Amex for that reason.

        As mobile phones were mentioned, you will need to get a local phone contract once you have your EID as well. If you aren’t here long term then Virgin is the best value. Almost everything here banking and government services is OTP driven to your mobile number linked to your EID.

        Not sure what you are doing for accomodation but typically rent is by single cheque up front for the best deal covering 12 months. Most landlords will negotiate more cheques but the price does go up. You will need a cheque book is the point unless you are planning to do AirB&B short term rentals / service hotel apartments.

        Any other questions just shout.

        • SM says:

          14 Nov14 November 21:26

          Thanks v much @Blenz101, didn’t know about the HSBC expat account, will look in to it. Was thinking of Wise guess Revolut might be a better option. Glad you suggested Virgin as I was considering getting a Virgin post paid Sim and pay for a year upfront to get 50% off. Yup PAYE, will look in to tax rebate too. Looking at serviced apartments, with the need for cheques upfront guessing there wouldn’t be an option to pay by CC also how much discount as a ball park figure can I expect if I were to pay by 2 cheques? If I have any other questions I’ll give you a shout! Thanks.

        • Blenz101 says:

          14 Nov14 November 21:38

          Wise ran into problems here and lost their local inbound account so the only way now to get your money to them is by credit or debit card for which they charge excessive fees (downside of no interchange cap!). Rev will give you the actual exchange rate less 30AED per transfer.

          Most people don’t leave all their money in a local account. The banks are constantly on watch for people potentially leaving the country with liabilities so are very trigger happy on freezing accounts leaving people with no access to their funds until some visa process or another is sorted.

          No option to pay a private landlord via card but if you are doing serviced hotel apartments then shouldn’t be an issue at all and you can pay month to month.

          In terms of renting a villa or apartment privately it’s just what you can negotiate but if your rent is listed at 100k agreeing to pay in 1-2 x cheques you could get it for 80-90k. Many companies offer housing loans, similar to season ticket loans in the UK. There is a culture of haggling and getting a deal, the landlord getting their money up front allows both parties to shake on a deal and neither lose face type thing.

• Always_in_the_air says:

  14 Nov14 November 19:22

  Hi!

  Does anyone have any idea if it’s possible to book a reward flight before the 17th! I’m pretty sure there’s availability for the flight I want for the 18th, but can’t find a way to book!

  • ChrisC says:

    14 Nov14 November 19:26

    Just not possible

    https://hfp2022.headforpoints.blog/2021/11/13/vueling-to-charge-for-larger-cabin-bags/

  • Andrew says:

    14 Nov14 November 21:14

    Just keep checking to see if BA finish their upgrade ahead of schedule.

    It could well be they’ve allowed extra time in case they need to do a roll back.

• Anuj says:

  14 Nov14 November 20:14

  I’m booking Hyatt place London east, it charges more for 2 adults versus 1. Is that normal ? I always thought you were booking the room and as long as you’re under max capacity there shouldn’t be any issues.

  • Blenz101 says:

    14 Nov14 November 20:20

    Are you including breakfast? This typically increase costs based on occupancy.

  • Rob says:

    14 Nov14 November 22:06

    This can happen if a room includes breakfast. Would be odd if room only.

• Mco says:

  14 Nov14 November 20:19

  How many personal amex cards are you allowed to have at the same time? Was it 4?

  • Aston100 says:

    14 Nov14 November 20:31

    I’ve got 4, plus a few supps.

    • Mco says:

      14 Nov14 November 21:04

      Thank you @Aston100. Would you know when the fees start? Day of approval or when you activate it?

      • Peter K says:

        14 Nov14 November 21:06

        When approved.

        • Mco says:

          14 Nov14 November 21:10

          Thank you Peter

• Roy says:

  14 Nov14 November 22:20

  How many Avios can you buy in a year? I see some references to a 35,000 limit and some to a 200,000 limit? Is the year a calendar year or a tier poitns year?

  • Rob says:

    15 Nov15 November 09:28

    Limit is 100k but this is occcasionally increased in bonus promos. It also excludes any bonus, so with a 50% bonus you’d be able to get 150k.

    • Roy says:

      15 Nov15 November 15:37

      Thanks.

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