Bits: 1p per Nectar point with Virgin East Coast, tour the McLaren factory with Hilton

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News in brief:

Get 1p per Nectar point with Virgin Trains East Coast

Last weekend I wrote about the widely targetted offer of 40,000 Nectar points for getting the American Express Nectar credit card.

I said that, whilst 40,000 points is usually worth £200, occasional deals lifted that to 1p per point. Here is one such deal.

Until 12th October, you can redeem your Nectar points for Virgin Trains East Coast vouchers and get 1p per Nectar point. Vouchers can only be used for First or Standard Class Advance tickets.

Full details are in this Shopper Points article from yesterday.

McLaren Technology Centre

Visit the McLaren-Honda factory with Hilton HHonors

Hilton HHonors has arranged another tour of the McLaren-Honda factory at the Norman Foster-designed McLaren Technology Centre in Woking.

Last time I wrote about this offer, HFP readers bought the seven available packages by 9am. If you are interested in this – there are 4 packages available as at 7pm Saturday – do not hang around.

The date is the afternoon of Wednesday 9th November. The cost is 75,000 Hilton HHonors points for two people which is a 50% price rise on the previous trip.

The factory is not normally open to the public so this is a rare opportunity to take a look inside. It is a shame that the timing won’t work for children who will be back at school by then.

You can redeem your points for a pair of tickets here.

How to earn Hilton Honors points from UK credit cards (December 2020)

There are various ways of earning Hilton Honors points from UK credit cards. Many cards also have generous sign-up bonuses!

Do you know that holders of The Platinum Card from American Express receive FREE Hilton Honors Gold status for as long as they hold the card? It also comes with Marriott Bonvoy Gold, Radisson Rewards Gold, Shangri-La Golden Circle Jade and MeliaRewards Gold status. We reviewed American Express Platinum in detail here and you can apply here.

The Platinum Card from American Express

30,000 points and an unbeatable set of travel benefits – for a fee Read our full review

Did you know that the Virgin Atlantic credit cards are a great way of earning Hilton Honors points? Two Virgin Points can be converted in three Hilton Honors points. You can apply here.

You can also earn Hilton Honors points indirectly via American Express Gold, the American Express Rewards Credit Card and – for small business owners – American Express Business Gold and Business Platinum.

Click here to read our detailed summary of all UK credit cards which can be used to earn Hilton Honors points.

(Want to earn more hotel points? Click here to see our complete list of promotions from the major hotel chains or use the ‘Hotel Promos’ link in the menu bar at the top of the page.)

Category

Hilton Honors

Matt says:

9 Oct9 October 16:07

I’d be surprised if trains didn’t become fully automated in the next 10-15 years. Still, who needs a job for life these days!
Simon says:

9 Oct9 October 17:55

Off-topic but I hope someone can help.
Signed up to the Moneycorp Mastercard on this site – £20 free arrived at last – to make my balance £72.00.

Tried to take money out at Tesco Cash point – was declined.
Tried again at Barclays cashpoint – declined as well, checked the balance and it was £0.50CR!

On calling them up they said that the original transaction was rejected because a supposed ATM fee was payable on top of the MC £1.50 fee – therefore over the £72.00 balance. The kick in the balls is that they said the money won’t appear back into my account until the 15th!

So my question is, where can I withdraw this money without incurring an additional charge over £1.50? If I try again and I get it wrong, the money goes missing for another week….

Tried to point out to the guy on the phone that the Tesco machine has ‘free withdrawals’ over it, but he was unable to help.
- Daniel says:
  
  9 Oct9 October 19:38
  
  Exactly the same 2day with me as I tried to draw the 70… I have taken a real dislike to the company after the email to activate the card best came and had to deal with a far eastern call centre that were pretty close to a chocolate teapot and now this….
  - Genghis says:
    
    9 Oct9 October 19:43
    
    I put £52 on card, got the £20 added then withdrew £70 from co op ATM, less the £1.50 ATM fee and I have 50p left on the card
- Daniel says:
  
  9 Oct9 October 19:39
  
  I’m thinking..draw 60 and dump the balance a week later to amazon…
- Daniel says:
  
  9 Oct9 October 19:40
  
  Less 3 percent card charge to moneycorp of course
- Wally1976 says:
  
  10 Oct10 October 09:03
  
  Sorry to hear about your this…I did the same and withdrew the £70 at a Sainsbury’s ATM no problem.
- Alan says:
  
  10 Oct10 October 23:09
  
  I took mine out of an RBS machine (at a Tesco!) without an issue a couple of months ago – was it a Tesco Bank machine or a high street bank one? To avoid any issues I’d go with the latter I guess, but it really shouldn’t be a problem (it isn’t with any other non-Moneycorp card at least!)
Rosina says:

11 Oct11 October 01:38

Simon, which “site ” where you signed up for MasterCard do you mean? Thanks for answering.
Simon says:

11 Oct11 October 15:35

I signed up here from Raffles link, I don’t think the offer is running anymore.

Alan I can’t remember if it was a Tesco Bank one or not, but it was just one of those machines outside a massive superstore. But I have taken money out of that machine on debit card before and there is definitely no ATM-owner imposed fee like their customer service suggested.

Perhaps something has changed – there is a Mastercard withdrawal fee as well as a Moneycorp fee? That seems to be the only explanation to me.

Probably won’t use it after this, always am disappointed when you have to call up customer services and they end up knowing absolutely nothing.

But the more pertinent reason: If you were stuck abroad with a high percentage of your liquid funds on this card (which is what they promote it for after all?) and for some reason you try to take it all out of the ATM, forgetting the fee, your transaction is then declined, and the money that you withdraw is also unavailable for you to use anywhere else (for example, paying on card) and it takes them up to a week to reconcile and post back the money.

It was no issue for me here, but potentially if someone was abroad, they could be caught out very nastily by this, especially if they had no other source of funds.