Booking a hotel this week? Here’s a summary of the current promotions

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• Ann says:

  28 Dec28 December 09:01

  I hit 15k spend on my gold Amex this year and am waiting for Feb anniversary to trigger the 10k MR before cancelling and getting pro-rata refund. If I upgrade to Platinum after 1 year anniversary to get the 20k MR do I still get the fee refund for gold and then get the pro rata refund for Platinum in due course?

  • Genghis says:

    28 Dec28 December 09:07

    Wait for 10k to post then upgrade. Prorata refunds will apply

• BLT says:

  28 Dec28 December 09:37

  OT – Cn’t see it mentioned anywher, got a 100 off 1000 spend at Trailfinders on my Amex Platinum. I know a few people have used this before.

  • Tom Cook says:

    28 Dec28 December 10:21

    Yep – also got spend £600 get £200 back from American Express travel too which looks like a good offer

• Optimus Prime says:

  28 Dec28 December 10:13

  OT – any hotel recommendations for Rome in February? Would like to stay nearby Piazza Navona or Pantheon. Has anyone been to Palazzo Navona?

• Andrew (@andrewseftel) says:

  28 Dec28 December 11:03

  OT – Saw Sainsburys selling £25 Uber gift cards for £20 until 9th January. Can be redeemed for GBP-denominated travel or Uber Eats.

• Alan says:

  28 Dec28 December 11:12

  All this talk of referring partners has reminded me that we need to do something a bit different as we are mid-churn on our Gold cards (spending target of current card met but still waiting for 6 months to expire for wife to be re-referred).

  Can you still cross refer from the Gold Card?i.e. can I refer my wife to a BA AMEX card (free card) from my gold card and get the 9000 MR points?

  Thanks

  • Polly says:

    28 Dec28 December 17:24

    Alan
    No..you can only cross refer from Plat atm..so perhaps upgrade briefly to Plat.. get your 20k MRs for 1k spend.. refer get your 18k MRs. Don’t waste a bacc referral..if you can go for the bapp you get 18k she gets 26k.then pro rata refund and cancel or when drop down to free bacc…see what suits…

    • Alan says:

      29 Dec29 December 12:06

      Thanks Polly, that’s very helpful. Am I correct in thinking that a couple of months ago you could do a Gold card referral to different cards?

      If you follow the referral link that you are given it does have the “See our other cards” tab.

      Presumably though, that would mean only the person you referred would get the account opening bonus – unless you are referring from a Platinum MR card. But misleading.

      • Genghis says:

        29 Dec29 December 12:21

        Previously you could only refer within the same family of cards. I.e. Amex Plat->Gold, BAPP->BA Blue. Now you can refer between different card families. The person doing the referring gets their relevant bonus depending on the card they hold (eg. 18k MR for Plat / 5k SPG for SPG) and the person applying for the card gets the bonus relevant for the card they’re applying for (eg 26k avios after £3k spend on BAPP, 11k SPG after £1k spend on SPG Amex in 3months).

    • Alan says:

      29 Dec29 December 12:17

      Just live chatted with AMEX and they reckon you can cross-refer from the Gold Card and receive the 9000 points. Obviously, the platinum card gives you more points but it does require spending money!!

      • Genghis says:

        29 Dec29 December 12:22

        Prorata refunds available.

      • Alan says:

        29 Dec29 December 12:34

        I appreciate that Genghis, still requires payment first though! I’m a mere amateur at this and, compared to many on here, am a pauper – the cost, even for a short while, does make a difference to monthly budgets.

        I know its a balancing act (points v cost) and its also a mental thing whereby paying for a card seems just plain wrong to my old-fashioned way of thinking. Maybe some counselling will get me over that!

      • Genghis says:

        29 Dec29 December 12:39

        I completely understand. This is only a hobby and should not affect “real life”. But paying for a card usually unlocks another benefit which could be worthwhile for you. Eg. 241 on BAPP / Reward night on IHG Black etc. Need to run the numbers / pros and cons for your circumstances.

      • Alan says:

        29 Dec29 December 13:11

        Thanks Genghis. We are currently using MR points for Virgin miles but we can only churn through the MR cards every 6-7 months. This leaves some spending available for other cards and getting the extra 9000 MR points wouldn’t go amiss either. I think it would be useful to get Avios (for short haul) or some hotel points – not sure which is the best way to go yet. I’m not particularly loyal to any single hotel chain – I just look for value when booking a hotel.

        Could always go for Nectar again I suppose, that’s easily usable as cash (my wife uses ebay a lot!).

        Hmmm. Decisions, decisions.

• the real harry1 says:

  28 Dec28 December 11:21

  O/T just messing with flight options on ba.com & saw this message: ‘The web site can only accept bookings up to 355 days in advance. Please contact your Executive Club Service Centre if you need to book for more than one year ahead.’

  so can you actually phone them & book more that 355 days ahead?

  also, fwiw, Xmas school hols fall awkwardly next year, looks like state schools break up on Friday 21st December

  • Rob says:

    28 Dec28 December 11:58

    I don’t think it is physically possible because the flights are not loaded into the system!

  • Yorkieflyer says:

    28 Dec28 December 13:57

    I have booked Cathay redemption flights using Avios at 358 days out by ringing BAEC

    • the real harry1 says:

      28 Dec28 December 15:53

      cheers Yorkie – didn’t know that was possible

      could be a semi-secret way to beat the fast-fingered at midnight T-355

      or might explain why your incredibly popular redemption has always disappeared at a few seconds after midnight

  • Anna says:

    28 Dec28 December 16:13

    I’ve known package holidays be advertised for dates more than 12 months in advance, not sure if this applies to BA though.

  • Polly says:

    28 Dec28 December 17:59

    Good discovery..could well be useful….

• the real harry1 says:

  28 Dec28 December 11:32

  O/T prize for whoever turns this into a points-earning opportunity: big Ebay discount —>
  •20% discount on all items 12 to 6pm 28/12/17
  •£20 minimum spend
  •£75 max discount
  When you checkout there’s an option to input code
  •Code: PNY2018

  racking my brains, I wouldn’t buy Avios on Ebay as too risky, can’t think of anything else, the Tesco vouchers look over-priced

  • JamesB says:

    28 Dec28 December 13:36

    Are gift cards excluded? If not you could try getting them for certain shops, make a purchase, return the purchase for a cash refund to a debit card…

    • Andrew (@andrewseftel) says:

      28 Dec28 December 13:44

      Category exclusions are Property, Cars, Motorcycle and vehicles

      • the real harry1 says:

        28 Dec28 December 14:57

        pretty sure this is hitting all-time record heat on the deals site, currently nearly 10,000 degrees C

        still haven’t worked out how to optimise for points

      • the real harry1 says:

        28 Dec28 December 16:20

        ‘£150 Amazon Gift Card for £111.20!’

        sounds decent, happy with my boots 🙂

      • Rob says:

        28 Dec28 December 17:04

        The Real Harry1, where are you seeing this Amazon gift card deal on Ebay UK site? I cannot find it at all. 🙁

      • the real harry1 says:

        28 Dec28 December 17:10

        as reported by others, no reason to doubt it – they might have got the only one?

        happy with my -20% Berghaus boots! 🙂

      • the real harry1 says:

        28 Dec28 December 17:53

        £25 PSN currency card for £19.19

  • Louise says:

    28 Dec28 December 17:44

    Great day selling my tesco lego! Stock nearly all gone!

• Gill says:

  28 Dec28 December 11:32

  O/T
  I’m looking for any advise on where to start with hotel points.
  We’re heading east in October, returning from HKG with no decision on where we’ll fly to as yet. We’ll probably spend at least three nights in HK.
  Is there any hotel points program worth targeting or avoiding for Hong Kong redemption?
  Thanks

  • Rob says:

    28 Dec28 December 12:01

    Easiest option is a Hilton Visa for you and your partner. That is two free weekend nights. HOWEVER the voucher is only good for 6 months so you don’t want to apply until May. Conrad in Hong Kong would be a good place to use them as HK is very pricey.

    Rest of Asia is better value, except Tokyo, so paying cash is fine. There are some excellent redemptions out there if you dig around, eg the Doubletree in Kuala Lumpur is 10,000 Hilton points per night (so the Amex Gold sign-up bonus would get you 4 nights) and has a great reputation. In places like Thailand and China you might as well just pay.

    • Brandon says:

      28 Dec28 December 14:32

      OT too… I managed to book some BA flights to the Seychelles in June (thanks to the Rob/HFPs – my 1st First!),

      Can anybody please tell me what is my best option for getting accommodation with Hilton in the Seychelles is please? I have a load of virgin miles 300k (which id prefer to keep), but wondering if i can do the Hilton VISA x 2 (i am there for 2 weekends – June 20 – July 2nd)- I have a couple amex offers to help ease the pain (Amex Travel – Spend £200 or more, get £50 back etc).. would love some amazing hilton beach front action, so any advice welcome

  • Scott says:

    28 Dec28 December 12:05

    I would say Marriot for HK. Hilton has poor coverage as you do not want to end up in Mongkok at the Hilton Garden Inn and Conrad is pricey on points but very nice. You can’t go wrong with the JW Marriott or Renaissance. Both good locations but JW is still overall better in terms of luxury and location. Also both decent point redemptions. Do not rule out the Marriott Courtyard also which is an area many people would not think of staying but very local and where a lot of expats live. Great food around the hotel and fun area. Starwood is OK in HK but all none of the properties have both a great location and quality hotel. There is also IHG for being in the iconic harbour hotel but unless you have status or willing to pay an uncharge will not get any decent view. Just shout if have any more questions re HK. Used to live there and miss it every day!

    • New Card says:

      28 Dec28 December 16:49

      Any experience of the Ritz-Carlton HK? Pricier (in Marriott points) than the JW Marriott – but worth it?

      • Scott says:

        28 Dec28 December 18:51

        Stunning hotel and rooms. Club lounge is probably the best in the world. I would say JW is still better location. ‘OZone’ bar at the the top of the RITZ is worth a visit as it it highest bar in the world. Be warned though it gets busy, expensive even for HK and tough to get good photos. Head to ‘ RED Bar’ instead which is outside and would argue has better views.

  • Gill says:

    28 Dec28 December 12:37

    Thank you both. Two nights at the Conrad on the Hilton Visa would work as we’ll be there over the weekend – in the diary for April.
    I was planning to start ramping up on Marriott / SPG. We’ll be there at least 4 nights so hotel hopping is definitely an option. Plenty of options for me to look into more.
    thanks

    • JamesB says:

      28 Dec28 December 13:24

      Throughout Asia there is also a separate Hilton program that can offer excellent value. Cannot recall the name but Rob covered the Thai version here on HFP a couple of years ago so try searching Hilton Thailand on the HFP search field. If you have avios then recommend flying return flight frim HFP due to low taxes. If you are planing on revenue flights Finnair has many Asian destinations exUK at the moment ranging from £1449 to £1999 which you could use for open jaw. Bookings through 15 January IIRC

      • Gill says:

        28 Dec28 December 15:20

        Thanks – we have the return flight from HKG booked using our Lloyds voucher + avios but we’re still on the lookout for either redemption or exUK outwards in that general direction.

        Looks like the Hilton Premium Club Asia for anyone else who is interested.

      • New Card says:

        28 Dec28 December 17:16

        Great point – although some of the benefits appear to have been cut back since the HfP post about it (especially the free dining) – unless I am missing something…

    • Polly says:

      28 Dec28 December 23:48

      Gill
      Totally not point related hotel The Harbour Grand Kowloon is a very nice place good prices fab breakfast right by the waterside. Stunning rooftop pool great lounge servings..

  • Cate says:

    28 Dec28 December 22:32

    Just to add to what Scott said, with Marriott you can also book four nights on points and get the 5th night free.

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