The HfP chat thread – Friday 3rd December

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• Thywillbedone says:

  3 Dec3 December 10:11

  Have a non-refundable night in Renaissance Warsaw Airport on 17/12. Booked through Expedia. Assuming there is no way of getting a goodwill gesture out of Expedia(!), could this night be transferred to a third party?

  • Pete M says:

    3 Dec3 December 10:56

    Try asking Expedia? They’ve been very good for me a couple of months ago, admittedly I couldn’t travel because of Covid, but they didn’t ask for any proof.

  • Sam G says:

    3 Dec3 December 10:57

    Expedia will try with the hotel and likely get you a refund IME

  • Thywillbedone says:

    3 Dec3 December 11:35

    Helpful folks, thanks – would have expected a PFO from Expedia but will try. Also a Gold Member so may help.

• Phil says:

  3 Dec3 December 10:42

  Testing cheat to enter the US:
  Just read this on the Telegraph…

  Travellers crossing the US land borders with Canada and Mexico will be exempt from the testing requirement and the Government is reportedly considering granting temporary exemptions to countries where access to same-day testing is limited.

  • StevieKicks says:

    3 Dec3 December 12:29

    Would it be worth the extra hassle? Surely a test is easier to do

• bitolux says:

  3 Dec3 December 10:45

  A quick easyJet advent calendar question:
  Has anyone been through the process of redeeming one of the flight vouchers yet?
  I was wondering what the timescale is like for going through the booking process as it’s unclear from what’s written within the advent calendar itself:
  “To redeem this voucher simply email advent.calendar@easyJet.com including the reference code below. We’ll then be in touch to arrange your booking.”

  • Tom says:

    3 Dec3 December 12:40

    I’m still waiting for delivery!

    • David D says:

      3 Dec3 December 14:38

      Me too – sigh

    • Christian says:

      3 Dec3 December 17:47

      Also still waiting for delivery – spoke to a chat agent again this afternoon. Asked for my reference ID and said it will be with me in 48 hours!

• Pete M says:

  3 Dec3 December 10:48

  Amusing anecdote if you ever need to claim compensation for a delayed Deutsche Bahn train: this can only be done by getting a printed form from the train manager or printing it out yourself, filling it out by hand and sending it off by post (at your own cost) to their Frankfurt office. The cherry on top is that you need to also print your digital ticket to attach to the claim form. It’s almost like they don’t want to pay out! 🙂

  • Rich says:

    3 Dec3 December 13:03

    By contrast, when I claimed for a delayed Hungarian train a decade ago, I submitted my details to the ticket office in Switzerland (I think?), and had a cheque (in GBP) and letter in English waiting on my doorstep when I got back to the UK.

• Alex says:

  3 Dec3 December 11:17

  I remember reading comments of people on here getting the annual fee for their HSBC Premier World Elite credit card waived for the first year. Was there a specific promotion happening earlier in the year? What were the grounds for the waiver?

  • Polly says:

    3 Dec3 December 11:33

    They sent a letter early summer time. Think it was to compensate for not using travel perks

    • Alex says:

      3 Dec3 December 11:39

      Makes sense. Thank you. Guessing they wouldn’t waive the fee on new accounts on that basis.

      • Polly says:

        3 Dec3 December 11:42

        Worth asking, now we have the new variant! Say you would love the card, but not worth the fee without using the benefits?

        • Alex says:

          3 Dec3 December 12:07

          Makes sense. Will give that a try when I sign up for one. Still need to wait for 6 months from holding a prior HSBC CC to expire before I sign up.

  • Blenz101 says:

    3 Dec3 December 11:37

    Saying you couldn’t use many of the benefits due to Covid was the reason.

    Many got letters stating the fee would be £0 as well when they applied so were able to cite that in addition.

  • Andy says:

    3 Dec3 December 12:42

    I received a letter when the card was finally delivered saying the annual fee was 0 – at the time I assumed that was a goodwill gesture because it took them a really long time from the day I applied to the card to actually getting it (more than a month) and I had complained to customer services a few times chasing up the delay. In the end I had to file a complaint to get them to waive the fee, as it turns out it was just a mistake on their side. You might be in for a battle / they might have fixed the typo by now

    • Polly says:

      3 Dec3 December 13:50

      I also waited almost a month. They waived the fee, but added back again x 3 times. Unreal. But each time, they credited it back. Really weird IT systems in place, and very old fashioned way of going about things…if it wasn’t for the obvious, would have cancelled long ago😉

• xcalx says:

  3 Dec3 December 11:33

  I had a Nectar to BA 250 bonus show in my BAEC account yesterday, no idea where they came from.

  • Rui N. says:

    3 Dec3 December 11:55

    Do you automatic conversion to avios activated on Nectar?

    • xcalx says:

      3 Dec3 December 14:42

      No, I only used the Nectar account once for the initial signup/transfer bonus and don’t shop in Sainsburys. I did get 12000 nectar for the utilities swop.

• Dee says:

  3 Dec3 December 11:37

  Anyone know if you get a Happy Hour at the Six Senses Laamu when booked with points?

  • Dee says:

    3 Dec3 December 11:55

    I’ve found it mentioned there’s 2 for 1…. but I’m wondering if you get free evening drinks; like you would in the Conrad Rangali or Intercontinental Maldives. Wasn’t sure if it might be an Ambassador benefit.

    • Benilyn says:

      3 Dec3 December 12:34

      IC Maldives is “club” for all, so all patrons get the happy hour free drinks 5-7pm

      • NC says:

        3 Dec3 December 17:03

        Think they’ve been moved to post-dinner slot now.

      • Dee says:

        3 Dec3 December 17:07

        Sorry, I meant in the Six Senses Laamu. Yeah was lucky to get a week in IC Maldives Nov 2020, though drinks were 9-11pm back then.

        Looks like Laamu doesn’t do anything complementary like evening drinks…. pity

• Therooster says:

  3 Dec3 December 11:38

  For entry into Dubai do I need to do an in person/supervised PCR test or is one in the post acceptable?

  • KP says:

    3 Dec3 December 12:22

    In person or supervised

    • Blenz101 says:

      3 Dec3 December 13:49

      Although home testing kits are not accepted so up to you if you think a supervised test will meet the requirements.

      Plenty of reports of supervised tests being accepted but as you will no doubt be aware things are being tightened worldwide.

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