The HfP chat thread – Monday 6th December

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Ryanfozzie says:

6 Dec6 December 11:17

Morning all!

What are people saying to get Platinum Charge Card retention offers via chat? Are you asking for a cancellation or a retention offer? Is it a specific department? Not having much luck myself.

Cheers!
- Anna says:
  
  6 Dec6 December 11:28
  
  Git 50k via chat a couple of months ago when I was genuinely trying to cancel! They asked what was the most important benefit for me and I replied that it was collecting points, which seemed to do the trick!
  - Ryanfozzie says:
    
    6 Dec6 December 12:11
    
    Thanks!
- Can says:
  
  6 Dec6 December 11:57
  
  50k as well in September via chat.
  Create a good narrative, complain about lack of travel.
  I also told them “a friend” got that..
  - Ryanfozzie says:
    
    6 Dec6 December 12:12
    
    Cheers 🙂
- Js says:
  
  6 Dec6 December 12:43
  
  Tell them you are after the retention offer, they should transfer you to that department (In working hours) no need to beat around the bush
- BuildBackBetter says:
  
  6 Dec6 December 13:00
  
  Should be easier now given the latest travel restrictions?
Pete M says:

6 Dec6 December 11:17

Any tips/tricks/discounts/benefits on booking car hire directly with Enterprise rather than via Holiday Autos? Identical price and T&Cs. Holiday Autos have always been good to me and the rate on the Voldemort portal is 4x that for Enterprise, but maybe I am missing something?
Max Williams says:

6 Dec6 December 11:22

Morning all! Just wanted to see if anyone had any inside knowledge whether Plaza Premium at Heathrow T5 will be extending it’s opening hours past the early finish of 5.30pm, considering the T2 lounge closes at 9pm daily? The final departures are around 10pm at T5 so it just seems a little early in my opinion. Many thanks!
BJ says:

6 Dec6 December 11:41

My partner sent supporting documents for his passport application which the Passport Office received 30 November according to Royal Mail Track & Trace. However, passport tracking at gov dot uk is still showing status as ‘submit documents’
seven days later. Is this normal, perhaps letter still sitting in a stack of mail at the Passport Office, or has something likely gone wrong? Thanks.
- Sam G says:
  
  6 Dec6 December 11:51
  
  I’m going to have an upcoming complicated passport requirement and our solicitor says it’s a nightmare at the moment for anything complex – she’s got first child passports that have taken 12 weeks and counting
  - BJ says:
    
    6 Dec6 December 12:06
    
    I think anything involving first applications for minors and young adults get very close scrutiny and interviews these days which is regrettable but understandable. Passport Office stats for week ending 28 November suggest 6 weeks for renewal and 7 for first adult but anybodies guess how they define average. Comments from readers last month seemed to be suggesting 5 or 6 weeks for renewals too though.
- Can says:
  
  6 Dec6 December 11:58
  
  Could be normal. My passport application was/is still a nightmare. Got the passports, waiting for the supporting documents for 3 weeks and counting.
  One good thing, they pick up the phone quick if you call outside the rush hours.
  - BJ says:
    
    6 Dec6 December 12:11
    
    Thanks, I imagined if he calked they would dimpky tell him to call back if he heard nothing within 10 weeks. I think receipt of passport and supporting documents by end of January will be a good result.
    
    Good luck to you, Sam and others with their own.
- FatherOfFour says:
  
  6 Dec6 December 12:16
  
  I did a renewal recently for one of the kids. There was definitely lag between Royal Mail delivering and the passport office acknowledging it as “processing”. We followed up with a “please help us letter” to the PO and received a phone call from somebody there the following day. Whilst she couldn’t help, she at least managed our expectations!
  - RJA says:
    
    6 Dec6 December 12:28
    
    +1 on kids renewal and lag (had a tracked signed for receipt but passport office update as received 5 days after that date), then requested a new photo but eventually issued passport probably 15 working days after they acknowledged they received application. Then had FOUR WEEKS fun and games with TNT trying to deliver it. TNT said we were out when they tried to deliver it and supplied a distant shot of our front door. I said we were in and offered to share the CCTV footage of their delivery driver stepping out of his van, taking a snap and getting back into his van…..never heard back from them, passport then got lost in their “system” and eventually got delivered 32 days after the first delivery “attempt”………
  - BJ says:
    
    6 Dec6 December 13:20
    
    Thanks both, sounds like patience needed and hope for the best on both processing and delivery.
- Neil says:
  
  6 Dec6 December 13:06
  
  https://www.passportwaitingtime.co.uk/
  - BJ says:
    
    6 Dec6 December 13:22
    
    Cheers Neil.
    - Danny says:
      
      6 Dec6 December 15:05
      
      Getting the passports is the easy bit; getting it delivered is another issue…
      
      https://uk.trustpilot.com/review/tnt.co.uk?aspects=passport
      
      https://uk.trustpilot.com/review/www.tnt.fr?aspects=passport
- Chrism20 says:
  
  6 Dec6 December 18:03
  
  I was 11 days last month for the bog standard adult renewal but used the digital service at the Post Office which was rather handy as you don’t need to fill out the form and they take the photo there and then.
Mco says:

6 Dec6 December 11:43

Anyone parked their car at Sofitel T5? How tight are the parking spaces? Can they fit a big SUV?

Also is there anyway to get a discount on the Heathrow at terminal parking? I know there is much cheaper parking elsewhere but with its easier when you are travelling with plenty of bags.
- jj says:
  
  6 Dec6 December 12:43
  
  Spaces vary in size but most are huge. Height is more restrictive, though, so check carefully if you have a bike rack.
  
  Sofitel is a great option for parking. Short stroll from T5 arrival, all indoors with no faff.
  - Mco says:
    
    6 Dec6 December 16:45
    
    I can’t seem to find any park and fly rates for Sofitel and they wan’t £50 a day.
- MrHandBaggageOnly says:
  
  6 Dec6 December 14:20
  
  As Rob correctly reminded me last week, if you have a good stash of Heathrow Rewards points, they are a great way of reducing your parking fees for terminal parking.
  - Mco says:
    
    6 Dec6 December 16:36
    
    I can’t seem to log into my Heathrow account. Is it 1:1 for this?
    - MrHandBaggageOnly says:
      
      6 Dec6 December 22:59
      
      250 points is £5 for parking. If you haven’t logged in to your HR account for a while it can be a pain. Can’t remember now if there was a need to leave a space between ever four numbers or something silly like that.
Anna says:

6 Dec6 December 11:46

Anyone know how to get onto Amex chat in an online account (not the app)? There’s an option to start Live Chat but it won’t open.
- Youllnever says:
  
  6 Dec6 December 11:52
  
  Works for me – do you have an adblocker installed? Maybe try a different browser?
  - Anna says:
    
    6 Dec6 December 12:10
    
    I’m trying to do it on my ipad – I can’t install the app, possibly because my ios is too old? No idea bout adblocker!
    - BuildBackBetter says:
      
      6 Dec6 December 13:04
      
      Check safari settings. You might have disabled pop-ups
- Mco says:
  
  6 Dec6 December 12:19
  
  Its not opening for me either. Been on wait for 70mins this morning with Amex travel.
  - Mco says:
    
    6 Dec6 December 13:37
    
    1hr 45 mins wait before someone answered.
  - FCP says:
    
    6 Dec6 December 13:39
    
    I am 3 hours into a call back request, so far..
- SteveJ says:
  
  6 Dec6 December 13:58
  
  Often gives me trouble using a tablet, but works fine on a laptop. Must say Amex’s mobile browser implementation is quite laggy.
  - GaryE says:
    
    6 Dec6 December 18:45
    
    I found it depends on the type of card you have – Platinum card goes straight into chat but Gold card rarely starts
ShopBig says:

6 Dec6 December 11:52

John Lewis gift card redemption is down?

Sorry, the gift card service is temporarily unavailable
You can try again later or alternatively, proceed with your order and save your gift card for another time.
- Grant says:
  
  6 Dec6 December 12:02
  
  I used it this morning and it worked fine
Charlotte says:

6 Dec6 December 12:02

Will need a pre departure PCR over Christmas period… any recommendations for reliable providers? Thanks all!
- GeorgeJ says:
  
  6 Dec6 December 14:29
  
  Where from!
  - Charlotte says:
    
    6 Dec6 December 15:04
    
    From the UK