Bits: Virgin redemptions with infants, Qatar increasing Scandi frequencies, Amex and Ryanair

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• mark1980 says:

  29 Nov29 November 15:32

  Re: Shop Small – how accurate is the map? If you know a local offy or grocer takes Amex but its not on the list – will it automatically register or is it a case of if its not on the list, you dont get it? Thanks.

  • Nick_C says:

    29 Nov29 November 15:44

    I was wondering that as well. Our local garden centre was on the list last year, but isn’t this year. But oddly, if you search by name, it then appears.

    I plan to pop in anyway at the weekend and get £10 of fire wood. If it triggers the cash back, I’ll go back with the other three cards.

  • mark2 says:

    29 Nov29 November 17:03

    Q. how accurate is the map? A. Not very including correspondence between map and list as above.
    If a shop is shown on the list/map but do not take Amex then CS will give you the £5 credit.
    Have never tried it the other way round.
    Shops do need to register, I believe, but many have had no contact with Amex as they only deal with the terminal owner like Worldpay or Barclays who are probably not interested in ShopSmall.

    • the real harry1 says:

      29 Nov29 November 17:53

      got most of my Shop Small buys LY from outlets not on the map, but which I remembered from the previous year – did a test, worked fine so did the rest

    • Gavin says:

      29 Nov29 November 23:29

      I found that maybe 20% of the places I went into (mostly corner shops for oyster top ups) that were on the map did not take Amex, or didn’t want to, but as you say I claimed them all back via message on Amex website. Might be more hassle now that they have removed the messaging function though – don’t really fancy ringing up and listing a load of retailers/addresses.

      • the real harry1 says:

        30 Nov30 November 06:07

        I did my claims on the phone and it was really quick – don’t fancy Chat much as that takes longer, but is another option

• The Original Nick says:

  29 Nov29 November 17:50

  O:T, I’ve made an Avios redemption on Aer Lingus in Business Class via BAEC. Dies anyone know how to pre-assign seats? I managed to do it 2 1/2 years ago but for the life of me cannot remember how to do it now.

  • memesweeper says:

    29 Nov29 November 21:25

    I have given up on managing my EI seats online/onapp booked through BA. Phone ’em up, they’re pretty helpful in my experience. I have some BA status but I don’t think that’s relevant.

    • Lynx says:

      30 Nov30 November 01:06

      Agreed, I couldn’t see how to do it on the EI or BA apps, so I rang BAEC and they booked my seats quickly and easily for free.

• Rob says:

  29 Nov29 November 18:30

  O/T – Amex Platinum question re car hire excess insurance, do you have to pay with the Amex Platinum card for the insurance to be effected or is it ok to pay with a different card. Where are the rules stated for this?

  • xcalx says:

    29 Nov29 November 19:17

    I contacted Amex a while ago and they confirmed that if the rental company did not accept amex I would be still covered using a Visa/MC card.

  • Alan says:

    3 Dec3 December 15:54

    The T&Cs don’t require payment on the Amex for this benefit. Personally I still do it (or at least use the Amex Plat for the deposit) to make it easier to claim if there are any issues.

• The Original Nick says:

  29 Nov29 November 19:02

  That’s handy to know. LTN is only 45 minutes away from me.

• Roger Wilco says:

  29 Nov29 November 22:37

  O/T. Off shortly to Domes of Elounda on a Marriott 7 day travel package. That gets you B&B only. Half board looks half ok, but is a 40 Euro pppn add on for an evening buffet only. Am only Marriott silver. Gold gets access to the Exec lounge. That’s beer, wine, champagne, soft drinks and snacks free apparently. I’ve just closed my MR account and am in fallow period so gold is hard to get. Who has been to The DofE (aka HfP’s place in the sun) and is it worth my OH applying for a plat just for the exec lounge?

  • Alex says:

    29 Nov29 November 22:43

    Just a reminder that it takes few weeks to get gold Spg status after applying through amex plat- keep that in mind.

  • Jonny says:

    30 Nov30 November 09:27

    Exec lounge is only for Marriott Platinum (I’m gold and I didn’t have access). Though might be worth getting Marriott Gold to give you more of a chance of a decent upgrade (which we were lucky enough to get).

    Evening buffet is very fresh and varied- didn’t get bored when staying for a week though obvs depends what you like. If you contact them directly, they may offer a lower price for the buffet if you add in advance.

    Drinks not cheap there but not exhorbitant either given the nature of the resort.

• Roger Wilco says:

  30 Nov30 November 22:31

  Thanks both. Appreciated.

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