Maximise your Avios, air miles and hotel points

The HfP chat thread – Wednesday 8th December

Links on Head for Points may pay us an affiliate commission. A list of partners is here.

We are running this daily chat thread on Head for Points during the coronavirus outbreak.

Historically, the daily ‘Bits’ articles were the de facto repository for random comments and questions.  With the news flow being lighter, we are running fewer ‘Bits’ articles.

The comments under this article are where you should post questions about travel and, indeed, anything else on your mind.

Please only comment under the main articles on the site if your comment is directly related to the topic of the article.  This has long-term benefits as it keeps the commentary relevant for people who read those articles in the future.

Old chat threads are hidden from the HfP home page.  If you want to look for something in an old thread, click here.  This brings up all the articles in our ‘General’ category which includes the chat threads.

Category

General

Comments (452)

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

  • Anna T says:
    8 Dec8 December 06:30

    Good morning! Any tips on maximising points / Avios please? Buying a small buy-to-let property. Hoping to use curve / Hsbc WE card on conveyancing fees / stamp duty 🙏 many thanks

    • Jonathan says:
      8 Dec8 December 07:28

      HSBC doesn’t give points for payments to HMRC for personal/corporation tax anymore. Presume this will also apply to SDLT.

      Virgin will although Rob made a comment the other day about Virgin & Curve heading for a messy breakup.

      • Blindman says:
        8 Dec8 December 08:11

        Virgin will although Rob made a comment the other day about Virgin & Curve heading for a messy breakup.

        Rumours?

        Wild speculation?

        Scare mongering?

        • Ali M says:
          8 Dec8 December 10:08

          it could be any of those things. Its the future so guess would just have to wait and watch this space 🙂

        • dougzz99 says:
          8 Dec8 December 13:38

          I missed Rob’s comment as I’m away. I honestly don’t see Curve have a viable product without gaming, so it’s only a matter of time before it gets dumped by other providers. Slightly surprising Mastercard haven’t been more active in some of this. You’d think that they’d want to protect their legit card members from an outlier. Just like the Amex legal case went quietly into the night, so will Curve.

      • Reney says:
        8 Dec8 December 08:19

        when was the comment? I missed it.

  • Vin says:
    8 Dec8 December 06:53

    Update from travel MAN-LHR-TFS yesterday.
    Spanish Health declaration and vaccination record checked in MAN.
    Keep paper copies – makes the process much faster.
    No further checks at T5.
    Club Europe had been extended to row 12 and was full with perhaps 20% of economy occupied.
    Arrival in TFS – was permitted to use Egates (with UK passport) and then the QR code from Spanish health declaration was scanned without any further checks.
    Out of airport within 30min of landing – can’t complain 🙂

    • Blair says:
      8 Dec8 December 13:52

      How badly off were people at back of CE cabin for meal choice?

      • Vin says:
        8 Dec8 December 19:08

        I’d picked the exit row at the back of the section for the leg room – and had my choice

  • Tom says:
    8 Dec8 December 07:05

    Hello from Abu Dhabi.
    An example here of how to do things properly. Free PCR on arrival in airport facility. Results in under an hour. Tests capped at 50AED. Fantastic experience so far.
    Take note U.K.
    P.S Max Max Max Super Max Max Max.

    • Jonathan says:
      8 Dec8 December 07:32

      Should the tax payer be picking up the tab for travel related testing?

      I don’t think the current or previous setup works well here but I do think the traveller should pick up the costs involved.

      • Jitesh says:
        8 Dec8 December 07:50

        It should be capped pricing. Companies don’t need to make so much money from a global pandemic

        • Harry T says:
          8 Dec8 December 08:02

          I agree, the government should regulate and keep the prices at a more affordable level.

          • rich says:
            8 Dec8 December 09:09

            It’s already competitive though, with plenty of lower cost providers.

          • Lady London says:
            8 Dec8 December 12:07

            Other governments have capped test pricing.

            Other governments also used government purchasing power to get fair prices for quarantine hotels instead of ripping off people desperate to see loved ones before they die.

      • Harry T says:
        8 Dec8 December 08:02

        I would be happy for them to use my egregious amount of taxes towards something useful instead of ineffectual track and trace and failed briefing rooms for number 10.

        • meta says:
          8 Dec8 December 09:14

          Or parties in the midst of national lockdown…

        • Yorkie Aid says:
          8 Dec8 December 10:33

          “my egregious amount of taxes” – Hilarious Harry! You’re obviously not old enough to remember the 98% rate of income tax then under the last “real” Labour government of the 1970s.

          • Rob says:
            8 Dec8 December 11:10

            I’m guessing you weren’t actually a tax paying adult at the time or you’d know that the combination of income sources required to trigger this was highly unlikely to occur.

      • Tariq says:
        8 Dec8 December 08:02

        They do, via general taxation. NHS Test and Trace is already paid for, may as well use it to the max.

        • Jonathan says:
          8 Dec8 December 08:14

          There is still a marginal cost for every test. I agree though that they could use the capacity they have to offer tests at around £25 & still generate a positive return though.

          Unfortunately this government has consistently demonstrated that it will bend over backwards to facilitate it’s cronies ripping off the public & taxpayer while spouting off about “levelling up”.

    • Harry T says:
      8 Dec8 December 08:01

      You can also have tests conducted at your hotel room for around 100-150 AED in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. Very convenient and demonstrates proper logistical planning and consideration towards tourists.

      • AJA says:
        8 Dec8 December 08:42

        To be fair the entire UAE is considerably smaller than the UK in both land mass and population but at the same time incredibly wealthy due to fossil fuels. And the number of visitors to the UAE (all Emirates) is somewhat lower than international arrivals just at LHR. And London alone has over 9000 hotels compared to 1100 in the whole of the UAE. So somewhat easier to organise logistics.

        • rich says:
          8 Dec8 December 09:00

          You forgot the part about what people get paid there, the ones from Asia. Cheap labour plays a massive part in their success.

          • Cranzle says:
            8 Dec8 December 09:06

            How did England become prosperous and successful?

          • rich says:
            8 Dec8 December 09:17

            Uhh, I’m in the current and looking forward Cranzle, not tearing down statues and obsessing about the past. I don’t believe price controls for testing are either required or even desirable.

          • The Savage Squirrel says:
            8 Dec8 December 13:46

            “How did England become prosperous and successful?”
            By leveraging the advantages of leading the industrial revolution; if you want to wedge an immensely complex subject into a 9 word summary 😀

    • rich says:
      8 Dec8 December 09:03

      You do know that behind the scenes the work force is low paid. That is one reason they can keep state controlled prices down. I don’t have an issue with that, just with the take note UK part. And also with the Max, Max part lol.

      • rich says:
        8 Dec8 December 09:04

        Repeat comment because first one was subject to moderation, then released.

    • Yorkie Aid says:
      8 Dec8 December 12:34

      In response to Rob’s comment above, do you really think it was highly unusual for a top rate tax payer to receive some income from investments or savings, thus triggering the 15% surtax on “unearned income”? Although I was a kid at the time I had friends whose parents ran their own businesses who had to keep turning work down because they would have been effectively taxed at 105%. That was probably more unusual I guess.

    • Blair says:
      8 Dec8 December 13:54

      Is everyone missing the headline here? After Polly’s Singapore experience, I wouldn’t touch ANY destination with ‘test on arrival’ with a bargepole.

  • Marie says:
    8 Dec8 December 07:11

    Great click and collect from Randox. Picked test kits up on way to airport and stashed tests in car . Arrived back to LHR, did PCRs, dropped at their Heathrow dropbox at 4pm yesterday. Quick McDs and home. Result 5am today . Good service for good price .

    • Mirp says:
      8 Dec8 December 07:29

      Where is the Random dropbox at Heathrow?

      • Marie says:
        8 Dec8 December 07:42

        Behind Raddison Blu on Bath Road. They have a big compound- the dropbox I used was in the compound . Looking at their website they suggest it was nearer the McDonalds. Not sure if there are 2 , hey ho it worked .

    • Ali M says:
      8 Dec8 December 10:09

      hey thanks for this – will need.
      so the number can be used for PLF?

  • Marie says:
    8 Dec8 December 07:13

    Drive through McDs .Not a deliberate rule breaker but going home to empty fridge .

  • Iain says:
    8 Dec8 December 07:29

    Morning. Received a 100 Avios BA multiplier bonus this morning. Can’t think what it’s for. BAPP Avios don’t post until later in the month. I did take a reward flight last week but presumably can’t be for that? Any ideas?

  • Jitesh says:
    8 Dec8 December 07:48

    Hi. Anyone know if guests can be brought to the covent garden Amex lounge?

    • Rob says:
      8 Dec8 December 09:14

      Isn’t it open to the public? Feedback has been terrible so far, it’s NOT the Centurion Lounge operation of previous years.

  • Rob says:
    8 Dec8 December 07:50

    Quick heads up – the spam filter on the comments has become more aggressive for some reason, almost certainly linked to the forum launch. We will release comments as quickly as we can but bear with us. Thanks.

    • Lady London says:
      8 Dec8 December 12:11

      Every comment I’ve made since logging into and out of the Forum has been moderated. Controversial, moi?

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

New to Head for Points?

Welcome!  We’re the UK’s most-read source of business travel, Avios, frequent flyer and hotel loyalty news. Let us improve how you travel. Learn more on our About page.

VAA

Latest comments

Latest Forum Posts

Get 30,000 points bonus with American Express Platinum

Amex Gold

Check reward flight availability instantly for free!

See a whole year of reward seat availability on one page at SeatSpy.com

Booking a luxury hotel?

Our luxury hotel booking service offers you GUARANTEED extra benefits over booking direct. Works with Four Seasons, Mandarin Oriental, The Ritz Carlton, St Regis and more. We've booked £1.3 million of rooms to date. Click for details.

Get 20,000 bonus points and your first year free with American Express Gold

Amex Gold