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The HfP chat thread – Monday 22nd November

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General

Comments (429)

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

  • Mick S says:
    22 Nov22 November 14:41

    Does anyone have any opinions on closing an AMEX Gold, just after the bonus points have awarded and then almost immediately re-applying? Obviously wont get the sign-up points, but is saves the annual fee and my wife will get the referral points.

    • Jody says:
      22 Nov22 November 15:39

      I’ve just done this. Cancelled my last Amex Gold about a month and a half ago, then got my husband to refer me on his so he got the referral points.

      TBH that’s our strategy with gold – refer each other for one, add a supp, keep it for a while, then refer the other party to do the same. Probably get as much doing it this way as we would if we waited 2 years in between each time.

      • Anna says:
        22 Nov22 November 15:55

        I do this with gold but normally wait 3 – 6 months for decency’s sake lol!
        OH had a 2 year break from MR then applied for Plat in April and got a bumper crop of nearly 150k points from sign-up, retention bonus, referral and spend in 6 months of holding the card.

        • Mick S says:
          22 Nov22 November 16:14

          so 1 day might be taking it a bit too far then 🙂
          in two minds whether to press reset and sit out a 2 year break.

    • Aston100 says:
      22 Nov22 November 18:06

      I’m slightly annoyed that I’d have to keep the PRG card for 13 months in order to collect the 10k MR bonus for £15k spent in year 1. Would lose a months fee when the pro rata refund arrives after cancelling (after the 10k MR lands).

      Doesn’t feel right to me.

      • TGLoyalty says:
        22 Nov22 November 18:58

        Doesn’t feel right you need to give Amex something to get something?

        It’s a bonus for keeping the card open past year 1. You’re just exploiting a loophole to get it for as little a fee as possible

        • Aston100 says:
          22 Nov22 November 19:49

          “It’s a bonus for keeping the card open past year 1”
          Are we talking about the same thing here? 10k bonus MR for hitting a 15k spend during your card year?
          Is the BAPP companion voucher (for 10k spend) an incentive for keeping that card open past year 1?

      • Doug M says:
        22 Nov22 November 19:05

        Deliveroo credit, bonus points, 2 lounge passes for 1 month’s fee. Yep they’re really milking you….

        • Aston100 says:
          22 Nov22 November 19:52

          Lounge passes (Priority Pass) will get cancelled as soon as the card is cancelled.
          Deliveroo credit? ok maybe I might get 2 takeaways inside that 13th month, but I don’t rate the Deliveroo credit highly given a lot of it is offset by delivery and handling fees.
          Bonus points? what bonus points? the 10k MR I am due for having hit £15k spend inside the first 12 months?

      • Polly says:
        23 Nov23 November 01:25

        Might take til the 2nd statement to get the bonus. But in the meantime, you could squeeze in using the 2 passes maybe, in normal times!
        Deliveroo, agree, total waste when fees are counted. We have done the charity route with our gold cards..at least someone benefits..

  • Tazzy says:
    22 Nov22 November 14:44

    I’m unable to check in on line to my flight. I have uploaded all documents to VeriFLY and check in opened at11.55 but when I try on line it keeps saying I can’t. But disappointed as I wanted to select out seats

    • Mart says:
      22 Nov22 November 15:54

      Can’t offer much help but what info is required now for check in 24 hours before flight departs? Presume it isn’t as simple anymore as passport details etc…I fly for the first time in 2 years in dec

      • Rob says:
        22 Nov22 November 15:58

        You don’t need anything to leave the U.K. Life continues as normal. Obviously your destination country may require certain things.

      • Tazzy says:
        22 Nov22 November 17:02

        Going to Saint Lucia. All documentation in order and vaccine passport, negative PCR and st lucian authority submitted on VeriFLY. I’m guessing in club suite seating is less important than in old club

    • Grimz says:
      22 Nov22 November 15:56

      Where are you going? I was the same last week to Miami it’s all to do with Covid checks. It would be good if BA told us that online check in is not available.

      • davefl says:
        22 Nov22 November 16:36

        I’ve flown a few times over the last month and even with verifly i’ve not been able to print a boarding pass for european destinations.

        The only one that would was iceland on Easyjet in July and they did a covi check on your paperwork and marked your boarding pass in the bag drop queue or at the gate.

        The thing that really annoyed me yesterday (and this is a result of brexit not covid) is that we can’t now use E Gates anywhere in europe but at MAN coming back they’ll let EU/US/CA/AUS etc citizens in the UK immigration queue. So basically spent 30 mins at HEL queuing to depart and looking longingly at 20 empty e-gates. Then at MAN 45 mins queuing at the UK border behind 2 planes of mostly EU citizens and 6 out of 10 of our e-gates were broken.

    • meta says:
      22 Nov22 November 18:34

      You can select seats without checking in at 24hrs. Just go to Manage my Booking – choose seats.

  • Simon says:
    22 Nov22 November 15:31

    Just received gold status with BA , do they often upgrade gold members when booking in green economy or premium or is that a thing of the past (never got upgraded on silver or bronze)

    Also do you get free seat assignment on QR flights booked on flight numbers direct with QR

    • Sam G says:
      22 Nov22 November 15:40

      BA only upgrade when it is commercially required (i.e. they’ve oversold the back of the bus). They use a algorithm to determine who should be upgraded ,it isn’t straight forward by status – they try to “showcase ” premium product to those they think may be possible future customers for example. It’s very possible on a flight for a Silver to get an upgrade and a Gold not too. So I wouldn’t expect it & be happy if you do!

      I believe that a Gold / Emerald would always get free seating on QR even on the “promo” fares – it’s the lounge that would still be impacted (only the “First” lounge in Doha, not the proper business one and no QR lounge at outstations – though these may be impacted by COVID currently anyway)

      • Shaw West says:
        22 Nov22 November 15:56

        Also the route of Travel. Some routes are GGL heavy. Never ever got upgraded on a LHR-JFK but upgraded Premium economy to Club on almost every flight towards east

  • Simon says:
    22 Nov22 November 16:01

    Do JAL avios redemptions have P/OP periods?

  • Mike says:
    22 Nov22 November 16:09

    My gut feeling is based on a reasonable understanding of what is possible based on the market for similar tokens. You get many people saying X or Y coin will go to a dollar but since they have no understand of market cap they don’t understand that would mean, for example, that it would be worth more than the entire economic output of the world.

    My x4 is based on what I think is achievable over the next few years; yes, the bubble could pop, but crypto as a concept will survive. The main reason for the x4 is to point out a lot of the growth has already happened so not to expect a moonshot.

    Personally, I’ve took single digits thousands to my current 6 figures in crypto. Since the original investment is low, I’m happy to carry on. If one is worried by risk, crypto is a bad idea, that will change over time…

  • Mikeact says:
    22 Nov22 November 16:14

    @Rob or AnOther. Anything, public domain or other to share with us from last weeks Loyalty bash ?

    • Rob says:
      22 Nov22 November 17:37

      A growing issue for Flying Blue is frequent flyers who want to keep their status secret. Not only do they not want gold baggage tags, they specifically do not want any sort of recognition to be given to them on the aircraft if they are travelling with other people, in a way which would make the other people realise that this person was a heavy flyer.

      70% of Emirates business and First Class passengers are not member of Skywards and do not collect miles.

      • Amy C says:
        22 Nov22 November 17:51

        Why would that be?

        • Paul Pogba says:
          22 Nov22 November 18:27

          I’d guess climate shame.

          • Tom says:
            22 Nov22 November 18:46

            Speaking personally, I wouldn’t dream of dangling an airline branded / status baggage tag from my carry on. It makes me cringe when I see others doing so. I don’t dangle my Tesco Clubcard from my reusable shopping bag so why would I do the same when stowing my rucksack on an aircraft?

            As for personal welcomes from the cabin crew; false, scripted and occasionally insincere in my experience.

            I love my tier points and miles (as we all do here, presumably) – but it’s a no to baggage tags and no to “welcomes” in front of other passengers, for me, thank you!

          • Doug M says:
            22 Nov22 November 18:51

            The baggage tag thing always makes me smile, it seems such a marmite issue.

          • TGLoyalty says:
            22 Nov22 November 18:52

            I was with you EXCEPT over years of flying I’ve found having that visible tag means I don’t get challenged at premium check ins and don’t get singled out for checking my hand luggage.

          • ChrisC says:
            22 Nov22 November 21:09

            Not every thing is about the climate Greta

            Some one did once try to shame me because I did 3 US holidays one year. ‘Think of the environment!’ she almost screamed at me. She soon shut up when I mentioned the 2 cars her family had (me = 0) and her 3 kids (me = 0) nd her several weekends away in Europe and that she had just dumped her coke can in the normal bin and not the recycling bin next to it so who was it who was causing the most harm?

            it could be just be for personal preference.

            And if your mega rich it would be seen as a little cheap in some circles to collect miles and book reward flights. It might cause doubt over how much you’re worth.

          • Rob says:
            22 Nov22 November 22:43

            Flying Blue is climate shame.

            Emirates is ‘too rich to care’ 🙂

          • Lady London says:
            22 Nov22 November 22:38

            Excellent, Chris C!

        • Babyg says:
          22 Nov22 November 20:31

          dont want to guest their boss into the lounge?

        • Lady London says:
          22 Nov22 November 22:36

          Don’t need anything extra and can’t be ar$ed.

          Service on the aircraft had better be on point though – business travellers tend to notice. If it’s the families then more demanding. Their team takea care of the rest.

          Just a guess as to why not.

      • TGLoyalty says:
        22 Nov22 November 21:17

        Can you credit emirates elsewhere?

        Tbh I’ve taken emirates flights and the scheme seemed so rubbish I did contemplate not signing up.

        • Lady London says:
          22 Nov22 November 22:47

          Wheretocredit dot com. Got an idea Emiratea has some interesting tie-ups. Plus didn’t I read something about their miles having some kind of cash conversion opportunity?

          • Rob says:
            22 Nov22 November 23:27

            No, that’s Etihad.

            Emirates = Arsenal tickets, Heathrow Rewards credit (not convertible onwards to Avios), easyJet flights, hotel rooms via Rocketmiles (TBC)

        • Jon says:
          23 Nov23 November 03:37

          I vaguely recall Alaska being a good option for crediting Emirates flights, now that they’re part of OneWorld. Highest earning rate as I recall, but not sure how that translates to redemptions.

    • Travel Strong says:
      22 Nov22 November 19:45

      Landing in Perth with Emirates priority tags: immigration diverted me for a check, noticeably clocked the tags, and redirected me away again.

      Absolutely sure I was heading for screening related to visa/immigration (based on my council estate appearance and quantity of luggage), and was seemingly waved off again based on the tags (£5k tix suddenly made
      for lower likelihood of being a degenerate perhaps?!)

      • Lady London says:
        22 Nov22 November 22:43

        I have noticed class of travel does seem to make some officials in the odd place consider me for a stop then change their mind

        Though I do find airline status baggage tags make me cringe – trying too hard. Just like something similar sent by Harrods in the earlier days of their loyalty progran – never in a million years want that kind of identifier.

  • Clive says:
    22 Nov22 November 16:33

    Up To 5500 Bonus Avios Points with British Airways Store / American Express (£30 Qualifying Transaction)

    Boost your Avios balance and collect up to 5,500 AviosFor your first 10 online shopping transactions of £30 or more between 8th November & 31st December, we’ll reward you with increasing amounts of 100 Avios with each purchase – the more transactions you make, the closer you’ll get to your next flight. Exclusions, terms and conditions apply.

    Transaction 1 – 100 Bonus Avios
    Transaction 2 – 200 Bonus Avios
    and so on until Transaction 10 where you get 1000

    You need to spend £30 per transaction excluding VAT and postage. You need to shop via the BA store by logging into your BA account (note website is down until 17th November for upgrades) You can actually shop using ANY card but you will of course get more Avios for spending on your Amex via your AMEX statement points.

  • elguiri says:
    22 Nov22 November 17:01

    Got the Spend £1 collect 50MR points on my Amex Plat, valid til end of year.
    I was offered 100 last time, seems like I’m not as popular with them any more.

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