The HfP chat thread – Monday 15th November

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Karl says:

15 Nov15 November 13:11

Just had a Amex chat agent tell that offers aren’t for cumulative spend unless explicitly detailed in T&Cs. I suggested it was the other way round as per pretty much every offer I’ve previously done.

So for the Martston’s get £10 off £25, I would have to buy 7 pints in one go to get the tenner off🤷‍♂️

Not long ago this would have been an instant £10 credit from CS. Now all you get is an insincere apology and told that maybe there will be some good upcoming offers.
- Craig says:
  
  15 Nov15 November 13:27
  
  My local Marston’s doesn’t allow you to charge to a table so it’s impossible to use the offer unless eating.
  - Karl says:
    
    15 Nov15 November 17:40
    
    Unless you’re in a big group it’s difficult to hit £25 in one go without food.
    Never seen anyone eating in my local Marston’s, the sort of place that makes Wetherspoons look like La Gavrochre.
Rachel Robinson says:

15 Nov15 November 13:33

Am I right in thinking that there are no test or vaccine requirements in order to exit the UK or to board a flight, other than the entry requirements of the destinations? We’re going to Mexico, and they have no testing requirements, but I just wanted to double check there’s nothing additional to board the plane. Thanks!
- Rob says:
  
  15 Nov15 November 13:37
  
  Correct.
  - Rachel Robinson says:
    
    15 Nov15 November 14:18
    
    Thank you!
- JDB says:
  
  15 Nov15 November 14:44
  
  We travelled to Mexico last week and you don’t even need the health form for check in. If you use the online health form for a QR code on arrival or for a domestic flight, you will automatically get an extra health check, but seemingly not if you have a paper one. Although masks are not compulsory outdoors in Mexico City, almost everyone wears one. They are compulsory on public transport and shops, museums etc. require them and will check temperature and/or oxygen on entry.
  - TGLoyalty says:
    
    15 Nov15 November 15:53
    
    How do they oxygen check?
    
    Are they using an oxymeter?
    - Gary says:
      
      15 Nov15 November 16:05
      
      Well correlation to smoking status would be required for oxygen saturation to be meaningful
    - JDB says:
      
      15 Nov15 November 16:51
      
      Yes, they use a pulse oximeter at the airport and a few hotels/restaurants, as well as the temperature check which is standard for entering most buildings.
      - TGLoyalty says:
        
        15 Nov15 November 17:13
        
        Very odd. Theatre for sure
        
        Temp checks very rarely actually pick up covid. I know of one site that did in excess of 1.5m (most staff were mostly WFH) of which 450 were higher than expected range and only 5 were positive for covid after PCR
Tony says:

15 Nov15 November 13:38

Flying out of T3 at LHR on Wednesday – any recommendations for reasonably priced airport parking? I was a fan of Purple Parking on Bath road, but can’t find it anywhere to book now.
- Andrew H says:
  
  15 Nov15 November 13:57
  
  I always use MBW parking – they are a standalone company whereas most of the rest (certainly at T5) are basically the same company with different names. MBW also seem better than the others.
  
  This close to departure though I doubt you’ll get much that’s cheap
- Andrew says:
  
  15 Nov15 November 14:30
  
  Just checked the PAW parking offers for this Wednesday for a week, they are all a bit toppy!
  
  Surprisingly Heathrow Official parking is coming in at just £85 – around £30-£40 less than the competition.
SC says:

15 Nov15 November 13:45

I wondered if anyone has received a response from Creation regarding the card closure or escalated to the FOS yet. Mine is due to close on 3/12 and they charged me the £99 fee today after telling me they wouldn’t. They are also refusing to refund the fee or honour the free hotel stay if I were able to spend the £10k within 2 weeks.
- Anna says:
  
  15 Nov15 November 13:58
  
  Keep every scrap of evidence you have. I think the standard response is that they will give you an answer within 8 weeks and after that you can go to the FOS if you’re not happy.
- Anna says:
  
  15 Nov15 November 13:59
  
  When is your statement date? I’m hoping they will charge me the fee (m year end was Oct 23rd) as IME this will make it much for difficult for them to justify withholding the benefits.
  - SC says:
    
    15 Nov15 November 14:37
    
    I checked my previous statement and they charged me on exactly the same date last year – 9th November. Had i known they were going to charged me i would have cancelled myself as my free night credited a couple of weeks ago. I had called them and they told me i wouldn’t be charged as within the cancellation notice. I will complain to FOS as it’s completely unfair to take the fee when i will not be able to earn points or get the free night stay.
    - JDB says:
      
      15 Nov15 November 14:48
      
      You need to complain to Creation first – you can’t go directly to the FOS. Someone else posted here earlier saying they had called and had the fee refunded, so worth a try, particularly if you haven’t used the card since the fee was charged.
      - SC says:
        
        15 Nov15 November 15:06
        
        I have already complained to Creation, unfortunately i used the card in Tesco. I thought it was worth asking if anyone had got a response from Creation yet as some people logged a complaint when the letters first came out in September.
    - Anna says:
      
      15 Nov15 November 16:41
      
      You got the letter but your free night has posted?
      - Anna says:
        
        15 Nov15 November 16:43
        
        I put in a complaint specifically about the free night as I had planned to use it immediately and been told to wait up to 8 weeks for a response.
Andrew H says:

15 Nov15 November 14:01

I’m thinking the Day 2 LFT test requirement on re-entering the UK isn’t going to go away any time soon?

I like to be prepared; off to Austria in 4 weeks (yes, I know they are locking down unvaccinated, but I can’t see them cancelling their skiing season) and SimplyTestMe tests can be ordered weeks in advance
- Mel T says:
  
  15 Nov15 November 15:26
  
  We are off in 5 weeks and I sorted the simplytestme over the weekend. Figured even if they decide we don’t need it, its not a huge amount to loose. Now just waiting to book the vaccine booster before we go.
  - Andrew H says:
    
    15 Nov15 November 16:07
    
    Talk on skiing forums (from people who live in Austria) that they may introduce 2G+. The + is PCR testing on top of double vaccination or recovery…
    
    My booster is Thursday for the full house (double jabbed, then caught it…)
    - TGLoyalty says:
      
      15 Nov15 November 16:27
      
      How long ago did you catch it?
  - Tracey says:
    
    15 Nov15 November 18:00
    
    There are always walk in clinics.
- John says:
  
  15 Nov15 November 16:33
  
  The earliest it would end is in March or April but likely to go on for a while longer IMO.
- Harry T says:
  
  15 Nov15 November 16:59
  
  I can definitely see them cancelling the skiing season or making testing requirements onerous.
  
  On topic, I can’t see the day 2 test going away before 2022.
  - GeorgeJ says:
    
    15 Nov15 November 18:23
    
    They didnt cancel skiing last year so they are not going to do it this year (anyone legally in the country could ski last year, it was essential exercise). The objective is to remain open for the current season and allow foreigners to visit, its such a critical part of the economy. The bigger risk is that the Bavarians close the border again (despite whatever the Federal Government requests).
Anna says:

15 Nov15 November 14:12

DP Amex/Esso offer – bought petrol on the 10th, the £5 credited on the 13th. Be sure to check the list of participating fuel stations as only about half of the ones in our local area are actually on it.
- Gavin says:
  
  15 Nov15 November 15:35
  
  Spent on the 5th, still waiting here and I went to a garage on the list
Alex says:

15 Nov15 November 14:39

Is Perks at Work Visa/MC only?
- Reney says:
  
  15 Nov15 November 14:43
  
  yes
  - Alex says:
    
    15 Nov15 November 15:33
    
    Thanks Reney!
- Sloth says:
  
  15 Nov15 November 22:43
  
  Can use PayPal now…
VickyTM says:

15 Nov15 November 14:57

I asked this yesterday but didn’t get any responses – I guess because it was a Sunday…How long on average do the supervised Prenetics lateral flow results (paperwork) take to come through please?
Many Thanks