The HfP chat thread – Monday 15th November

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Yorkshire Rich says:

15 Nov15 November 07:00

Spend £250, get £50 pound back on my Amex this morning
- SteveJ says:
  
  15 Nov15 November 07:14
  
  What card?
  - Peter K says:
    
    15 Nov15 November 07:18
    
    Spend on what?
    - APPL says:
      
      15 Nov15 November 07:31
      
      Might be Accor. Also on my Platinum, but only on spend in Mercure and Novotel in limited locations in Europe.
      - DarrenS says:
        
        15 Nov15 November 12:10
        
        Very limited locations
- The Streets says:
  
  15 Nov15 November 07:21
  
  Selfridges? Has anyone had their Selfridges credit yet.. its been nearly two weeks now for me and not yet received
  - Andrew says:
    
    15 Nov15 November 10:03
    
    Selfridges was extremely slow for me too. Waited 2 weeks then the offer moved to used, then another 5 days to credit. Amex offers seem a bit clunky at the moment. Amex travel one was about 3 weeks too.
- elguiri says:
  
  15 Nov15 November 09:50
  
  Got this for Accor, Novotel and Mercure ends 31st Jan. On my BAPP
  - Guernsey Globetrotter says:
    
    15 Nov15 November 11:05
    
    Thanks for highlighting.
    I’ve got the same here on my Bus Plat (& Mrs Trotter’s supp) – £50 off £250 – expires 31/1/22 and covers UK and European (well Austria, Belgium, Germany & Luxembourg only) Mercures & Novotels. Was looking to do a Christmas market with a view to also boosting to Accor Platinum so a cumulative £100 off £500 may come in handy!
captaindave says:

15 Nov15 November 07:23

Apologies if this has been covered before, considering applying for the Sainsburys nectar credit card.
For the £400 required spend, are gift cards purchased from Sainsburys ok for this ? I was thinking to get Amazon GC if they stock them.
Assuming petrol from Sainsburys pumps wouldnt count.
Thanks
- Rui N. says:
  
  15 Nov15 November 07:40
  
  Gift cards bought at sainsburys do count, but they don’t sell Amazon gift cards.
- Brighton Belle says:
  
  15 Nov15 November 07:59
  
  Sainsbury’s GC are a money trap. Once you have them you can only use them to buy Sainsbury’s goods and they expire at 12 months unless topped up. Fuel and buying other gift cards are disallowed. They’re not nearly as flexible as Morrisons cards. Avoid
  - Char Char says:
    
    15 Nov15 November 08:57
    
    I suspect he wasn’t referring to their own brand cards as an initial purchase
    - Rui N. says:
      
      15 Nov15 November 09:26
      
      And sainsbury gc work fine as well, I’ve been using them for several years. And until last month you could use them at petrol stations (now they don’t work).
  - Andrew says:
    
    15 Nov15 November 09:32
    
    It’s a 24 month expiry.
    
    If you are a regular Sazbo’s shopper, it should be quite easy to spend £400 in the space of 24 months.
    - Degsy says:
      
      15 Nov15 November 10:08
      
      Sazbo’s! 😀
      Might start using that instead of Sainsbo’s
  - Hulk says:
    
    15 Nov15 November 10:34
    
    Do Tesco allow fuel and other gift card purchases with Tesco Gift Cards?
    - Jpa says:
      
      15 Nov15 November 12:53
      
      Fuel they blocked years ago. Mix some shopping in with a gift card to try….
    - Reney says:
      
      15 Nov15 November 14:38
      
      I pay for my fuel with tesco gift cards brought in store. Doesn’t work with ones brought at PAW.
      - Hilly says:
        
        16 Nov16 November 09:27
        
        To get round this you can buy a tesco gift card in store and pay for it using a PAW bought tesco gift card. Then use the in store bought gc in the petrol kiosk.
- DJ says:
  
  15 Nov15 November 08:48
  
  If you have some DIY to be done, then you can buy B&Q gift cards … £400 won’t last long in B&Q …
  - captaindave says:
    
    15 Nov15 November 17:04
    
    Cheers for the info and ideas folks !
MLB says:

15 Nov15 November 07:27

Any recommendations for same day PCR tests at Heathrow T5 or around Paddington station?
- Rob says:
  
  15 Nov15 November 09:24
  
  You’d be wanting the same day (3 hour) PCR test centre in Terminal 5 then ….
Steve says:

15 Nov15 November 07:40

Does anyone have any suggestion for ways to give regular smallish sums of money to a South African resident from the UK without attracting the attention of the SA authorities?
- John says:
  
  15 Nov15 November 08:04
  
  Crypto? Some kind of prepaid card that you top up from the UK?
- Ty says:
  
  15 Nov15 November 09:31
  
  If you can get them a Revolut account that is opened in the UK, and the card delivered to them, you can easily perform card transaction in SA without any hassle by wither converting at the spot or before use.
- Lady London says:
  
  15 Nov15 November 09:49
  
  A friend of mine supported his elderly mother in New York while he was working in London by simply giving her the cash machine card to one of his accounts
- BuildBackBetter says:
  
  15 Nov15 November 14:05
  
  Starling allows additional account to be set up for a fee. Transfer regularly and give the card to that account to the SA resident?
Jo says:

15 Nov15 November 08:11

Good morning. Have some people been able to use their BAEC over the weekend? I am (patiently?!) waiting to book our return flights, which became available yesterday, once the system is up and running again however I noticed on seatspy that only 2 of the guaranteed 4 club world seats for our flight released yesterday are still available. Wondering how they have been booked when the facility hasn’t been working? Is there a way to book avios seats that I am not aware of? Thanks!
- Niall says:
  
  15 Nov15 November 09:08
  
  Iberia is still going isn’t it
  - meta says:
    
    15 Nov15 November 09:16
    
    Basically all OW airlines, so take your pick. People might also deliberately book via OW with a view of cancelling and rebooking with Avios. It’s for situations like this that I have diversified my points…
- Andrew says:
  
  15 Nov15 November 09:24
  
  Don’t forget that when you’re planning these kind of implementations or upgrades, it’s simpler to say that a system will be down for 72 hours than to explain that it’ll be up and down a few times during system testing, they hope to have it done in 48 hours but are allowing an extra 24 hours for roll-back just in case.
  
  So don’t be overly surprised if people have logged in.
- Jo says:
  
  15 Nov15 November 11:17
  
  Thanks everyone- I’d forgotten about other OW options. Frustrating!
Chas says:

15 Nov15 November 08:20

Looking for ideas for NYE in Paris…. Family of four (incl 15 & 17 yo), staying at Indigo Opera, and want to be somewhere that’s walkable back afterwards. Our own research is coming up with a dinner cruise along the Seine, but apart from the (inevitable?) extortionate cost, the limited-choice set menus will be a problem, esp for Mrs C who is a fussy veggie (not the easiest combination in France at the best of times…).

Anther apparently popular option is to cram yourselves in with the revellers along the Champs-Élysées to watch the light show and fireworks, but we’d prefer something more civilised.

Are there any options we are missing? Is our best bet just to book a nice restaurant for the evening? If so, can anyone recommend something suitable given the location and dietary options mentioned above? Somewhere with a nice view would be a bonus.
- Michael C says:
  
  15 Nov15 November 08:26
  
  We hadd a similar gang a few years ago, Chas: did the (simple) restaurant option, but in Montmartre, so gorgeous views over the city and stroll back.
  - Chas says:
    
    15 Nov15 November 16:36
    
    Thanks Michael C – sounds like a decent plan. It’s certainly walkable, and the views should be good. Just need to find the right restaurant, both in terms of the menu and the location (for the view).
Roger says:

15 Nov15 November 08:50

Is amex business gold insurance that use less.
£200 for flight delay and it does not say per traveller or for the whole booking irrespective of number of travellers

https://www.americanexpress.com/content/dam/amex/uk/legal/business/the-american-express-gold-business-charge-card-insurance.pdf
GaryE says:

15 Nov15 November 09:00

QQ: Flying out of the UK for the first time in two years to Tenerife is the only things I need to complete is the Spanish PLF which I can only do 48 hours before flight, and on return complete the UK PLF 48 hours before flight stating the reference number of my Day 2 Lateral Test. Can these all be done online or do they need to be printed? If I can do the UK form online (won’t have access to printer) can I use the E-Gates when returning to LHR or do I need to go to the Passport desks? I have hard copies and also on phone my Vaccination certificates. Thanks
- Shaw West says:
  
  15 Nov15 November 09:03
  
  When we travelled to Alicante in October, all they needed was the form to be completed and QR code to be shown EITHER in Mobile OR as a Printed copy.
  - GaryE says:
    
    15 Nov15 November 09:23
    
    The QR code is this something you get once you have completed the form – sorry for my ignorance? I presume it is one QR code per person and not by family?
    - Shaw West says:
      
      15 Nov15 November 09:26
      
      You get the QR code once you have completed and submitted the Spanish PLF.
      - GaryE says:
        
        15 Nov15 November 09:33
        
        Thanks
- Gavin says:
  
  15 Nov15 November 09:46
  
  Went to Tenerife last week, everything on your phone is fine both ways. Coming back, you’re fine to use the e-gates – if they’re operational! They were all turned off when I came back on the 11th.
  - GaryE says:
    
    15 Nov15 November 09:51
    
    Thanks
    - Anna says:
      
      15 Nov15 November 09:54
      
      Not sure who you’re travelling with, but adults need separate PLFs for return to the UK, children can go on one of the adults (and you don’t need to enter their day 2 test codes).
      - GaryE says:
        
        15 Nov15 November 11:48
        
        Thanks – just 2 adults!