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SAVE THE DATE: Head for Points Christmas Party, Tuesday 11th December

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Better late than never, we can now announce the details of the 2018 Head for Points Christmas Party.

After the success of our expanded Summer Party, which allowed us to welcome 250 readers rather than the traditional 150, we are again going to take over The Glasshouse room at the Holiday Inn Camden Lock.

For those who didn’t come to the Summer Party, The Glasshouse is a big open plan room with large windows overlooking the canal – it is the ground floor space on the photo above.

The venue stretches over two floors with its own private bar and has a capacity of 250.

I apologise for the relatively short notice.  With increasing numbers of readers wanting to come, it is getting tricky to find a suitably affordable space over Christmas.  One four-star hotel wanted £15,000 to hire a space between 6.30pm and 8.30pm on a December Tuesday.  In the end, going back to a venue we know works was the logical choice.

As with the Summer Party, it will be a cash bar with normal Camden prices, which means £5ish for a beer.

We are still talking to a potential sponsor – if this comes off, your first drink will be free.  And if it doesn’t, your first drink won’t be free.  If any company reading is interested in sponsorship, let me know – rob [at] headforpoints.com.

Logistics

Because we need to ensure that people who ask for tickets turn up, we will be charging for tickets.

The party will be 6.30pm to 8.30pm on Tuesday 11th December.  The bar will remain open after 8.30pm for anyone who wants to stay longer (the last stragglers left very late in Summer …..) and of course there are no shortage of bars and restaurants in Camden if you want to carry on your evening elsewhere.

Tickets are £10 including VAT and will go on sale later this week.  There will be 250 tickets available.  We intend to sell half on Friday at noon and half on Saturday at noon.  They will go quickly based on experience.

The raffle

Everyone who comes along will be entered into the famous Head for Points Christmas raffle.

We will confirm the prize list nearer the time, but you should expect 10-15 prizes worth £50-£100+.  Last year we gave away airport transfers, a suit, a suitcase, frequent flyer miles, hotel points, train points, train tickets, a hotel stay, lounge passes ….. it really depends on what we can get together in the next fortnight.

If your company would like to donate a prize, in return for numerous plugs and links on HfP before and after the event, as well as on the night itself, please email rob [at] headforpoints.com.  You can also guarantee a free ticket for yourself this way.

We hope that you can come along to talk miles, points, credit cards and travel with other readers.  Bring a friend or come by yourself – you won’t struggle to find someone to share your stories with.

Information on how to get a ticket will be published on Friday morning, with the first batch sold at noon.

Category

General

Comments (67)

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

  • Following on behind says:
    28 Nov28 November 07:34

    Great. I hope an alternative to the first come, first served approach to issuing tickets can be overcome. This event sells out quicker than Glastonbury!

    • Rob says:
      28 Nov28 November 08:07

      One upside of the messing about with venues in recent weeks is that we have a plan for the Summer now which will potentially let us go even bigger. Christmas is getting painful so we may do a switch from next year and make the Summer event the big one – as we can get good venues on good terms – and downgrade Christmas.

      • Ian O says:
        28 Nov28 November 09:41

        And London again…..?

        • Rob says:
          28 Nov28 November 10:01

          When BA starts doing long-haul flights from the regions, we might start getting some more readers there!

        • Mr(s) Entitled says:
          28 Nov28 November 10:26

          A ray of hope….

          BA Domestic flights from Regions: Tick
          BA Short Haul flights from Regions: Tick
          BA purchase BE and have large Regional presence: Tick (maybe)
          OW Short Haul flights from Regions: Tick
          OW Long Haul Flights from Regions: Tick
          Other Alliance Short Haul flights from Regions: Tick
          Other Alliance Long Haul flights from Regions: Tick
          BA Long Haul Flights from Regions: Doh!

          We are so close, so close, to being able to buy Rob a drink (for less than £5) to thank him for his efforts. But in all seriousness, sorry I won’t be at the event but I do hope all that attend have a jolly good time.

        • Alex says:
          28 Nov28 November 11:33

          Surely your miles and points hobby can help you get to London for very little 😉

        • Mr(s) Entitled says:
          28 Nov28 November 13:14

          Alex – It wouldn’t be a good use of miles. For far less I can just go outside and suck on the exhaust of my Range Rover for a while.

        • Darren says:
          28 Nov28 November 16:12

          Hahaha

  • Shoestring says:
    28 Nov28 November 07:37

    Nice work on the party, Rhys!

    O/T – don’t forget 2 deadlines fast coming up:

    1. You have until close of play 30th November to redeem your 90K Iberia Avios or they will get removed from your Iberia a/c.. If you are stuck, at least move them to relative safety ie BAEC or AerClub.

    2. 30th November is also the last day to use the Amex/ Amazon £25 off £40 promotion, sold-by-Amazon items only and you must link your Gold/ Plat Amex card as a payment method & part-pay with MR points.

    • darth says:
      28 Nov28 November 07:48

      cheers Shoestring

    • Dan says:
      28 Nov28 November 07:48

      Still very confused by the Amex offer. Is there anyone that can confirm it has worked a) in the last day or two, and b) if you also used the previous £15 off £25 deal?

      • Jill says:
        28 Nov28 November 07:53

        Hasn’t worked for me – even using Harry’s previous (cleaning) tips. Indeed get message I don’t have MR card/account when I clearly do (AmexPlat)

      • Olly says:
        28 Nov28 November 08:03

        It didn’t work when I tried out a few days ago, with both codes but it may be because i did it last year with the16 code.

      • TGLoyalty says:
        28 Nov28 November 08:26

        Didn’t work with Amazon fire tv and some batteries two days ago. I tried a test purchase On the weekend and it applied to my account just fine, I wasn’t sure of what I need to push me over £40.

        Wish I’d pulled the trigger now.

      • Sam says:
        28 Nov28 November 08:31

        It hasn’t worked on any combination of eligible products for me on a number of accounts for days.

        However going on to live chat has got me £25 back one way or another each time (including one on an account that probably wasn’t eligible). I’ve had £25 gift certificates prior to ordering, gift certificates for my next order, and £25 refunds.

      • Jay says:
        28 Nov28 November 09:00

        Bought a PS4 game 2 days ago with it no problem and yes have used the £15 off £25 in the past as well.

    • Ant says:
      28 Nov28 November 08:37

      For me it worked on a Morphy Richards slow cooker but not on an Alexa Spot.

    • FlyingChris says:
      28 Nov28 November 09:00

      Can’t complain about the discount, but for the world’s largest retailer – what an atrocious website & user experience. Have been trying to get this promo to work for days and there’s no rhyme or reason to what items actually work. Found a £30 product that I needed to pick up for Christmas. Great, then I thought to bulk the order to £40, simple – I’ll pick up a notebook I need. Should be simple – filter by prime eligible, find ones shipped, sold by Amazon with immediate dispatch time.. but no – 95% of product combinations wouldn’t trigger the discount. Finally found one but changing the colour of all things – but what a faff.

    • Rob Walker says:
      28 Nov28 November 10:14

      Doesn’t work for me using the Miracle-Gro ‘test’ product posted above. I did use an offer like this once before, but it was quite some time ago. I would guess about two years ago.

      • Shoestring says:
        28 Nov28 November 10:24

        Did you (1) link your Gold/ Plat card to your a/c, (2) use 10 MR points to part-pay, (3) dummy pay the rest with your Gold/ Plat card & use the code?

    • AndyGWP says:
      28 Nov28 November 12:46

      Thanks for this – bought £40’s worth of booze (only 2 bottles admittedly) last night for £15.45 – happy with that 🙂

      • Mark says:
        28 Nov28 November 12:56

        I did the same – or tried to 🙁
        I added 2 x bottles of whisky and to my surprise got the discount with no problem. But realised I don’t need more whisky, and switched to 2 x Champagne.
        Amazon “Computer says NO!” And I have had no luck with anything since – not even repeating the original whisky order.
        I’ve give up trying now……………..

        • Shoestring says:
          28 Nov28 November 12:58

          @Mark that happened with me on 2 a/cs – a case of the missing £25 discount, there one second, gone the next! I got round it by closing browser and running CCleaner, then the code worked again.

      • Sussex Bantam says:
        28 Nov28 November 14:00

        I was also struggling with this so I talked to Amazon via live chat. The first operator told me that it must be that all the codes have expired. I tried again and the second operator told me that
        “it was a known issue and that if I placed the order she would manually trigger the refund”

        I’ve gone ahead and done that – if you are also struggling then you might want to try the same.

    • Jimmy Mac says:
      29 Nov29 November 05:06

      Thanks Shoestring, 4 bottles of absolut citron for £26.77 including delivery

  • Layerden says:
    28 Nov28 November 08:16

    Would love to come but about to complete my first points redemption. About to do a tour of Sao Paulo, Lima, Cusco, Buenos Aires and Rio De Janiero. Out in first back in biz. Most hotels paid with points too. Just checked the price for the BA flights and they were 23k!

    • Anna says:
      28 Nov28 November 09:10

      That sounds like an absolute dream trip, have a fantastic time! Can I ask if you’ve booked organised tours and if so who with? Argentina especially is on my post-retirement wish list but I’d also love to see Peru and Bolivia.

      • Layerden says:
        28 Nov28 November 09:17

        Going to organise when I get there. I speak local languages so makes life a bit easier when doing it that way.

        • Mike says:
          28 Nov28 November 09:46

          I did Rio, Santiago de Chile, Valpairaiso, Buenos Aires and Iguassu a few years ago (BMI miles using all the benefits of their scheme). Also walked across the bridge into Ciudad del Este (Paraguay). All I can say is it’s another stamp in my passport. Have a great time!

    • Simon says:
      28 Nov28 November 09:47

      Have fun – we are looking at doing the same in a couple of years time for my wife’s 50th, although probably Chile, Patagonia, Argentina. Would be great to hear how you get on – where you visited, what the travelling around the continent was like, recommendations!

      • Ron says:
        28 Nov28 November 22:50

        Did a very similar trip few years back. We did Bueno Aires, Santiago, Patagonia and Easter Island. It was great trip, would love to go back again with our little boy.

    • Blindman says:
      28 Nov28 November 10:01

      Did the exact trip a few years back-but the opposite way around.

      First out to RIo (BA 2-4-1) then AVIOS for internal flights.
      AirBnb for most places.
      Also added Iguassu falls (both sides) when in BA
      Also went to Machu Picchu from Cusco via the train

      All DIY, very easy to do IMHO.

      • Sussex Bantam says:
        28 Nov28 November 14:56

        Did a very similar trip in my backpacking days – Rio to Santiago via Ushuia/Tierra Del Fuego (southern tip of Argentina). Have also backpacked Bolivia and Peru.

        Machu Picchu at sun rise and Iguassu without doubt in my top 5 things to see in the world.

        Had an amazing time despite the absence of any first class flights, airport lounges or even hotels with hot water…

        Still – we get to go to Camden so we can call it even..

        • David says:
          28 Nov28 November 22:56

          What’s the best way to get to Iguazu Falls? We’re doing Buenos Aires, Montevideo, Santiago this year and would love to stick Iguazu in the middle!

          • Alan says:
            28 Nov28 November 23:27

            I flew from Buenos Aires. Really enjoyed it, stayed on the Argentinian side but also got a taxi for the day to visit the Brazilian side then back to get flight back to BsAs. Enjoy!

      • lev441 says:
        29 Nov29 November 01:06

        @David – I flew everywhere we went in Argentina.. iguazu is worth the expense and trip – definitely take the time and do a day at each side of the border. I stayed on the Argentina side, went to brazil side and flew from the Brazil side down to rio where i got my avios flight home (only paid £21.30 in taxes and surcharges!)

        • Polly says:
          29 Nov29 November 05:54

          Let’s hope we get a ticket this year..it’s a great opportunity to exchange ideas…

    • Lady London says:
      28 Nov28 November 13:29

      And you’re not prepared to cancel all that for the HfP Christmas Party? !!
      🙂

  • NFH says:
    28 Nov28 November 08:53

    Rob, why didn’t you find a venue that’s on Amex Shop Small? 😉

    • Rob says:
      28 Nov28 November 09:28

      A bigger worry was getting a hotel that gave reward points to non-guests on F&B spend, because it would have taken 5 minutes to process each beer. Luckily IHG Rewards Club does not allow that …

      • Andy says:
        28 Nov28 November 09:54

        Imagine the scenes if the card machine stopped working at the bar during a HFP event.

  • Bob says:
    28 Nov28 November 08:58

    OT: Is it just me or does anyone else think the chap in the Qatar advert at the top of the page looks rather like Bashar Assad (President of Syria)?

  • Alex Sm says:
    28 Nov28 November 12:08

    Thanks for making an effort to spread out the ticket sales and start them at noon and not at 6/7am!
    I still think that the ballot would be a better solution but understand the constraints – let’s see what happens

  • JohnT says:
    28 Nov28 November 14:17

    With such a great range of raffle prizes – how about “selling” raffle tickets to those who can’t make it (esp for prizes that are not for physical collection!). Not sure of the gambling rules associated with that but I would probably have a small punt on it as can’t go. Better odds than Virgin Red prizes?

  • Gael Wright says:
    28 Nov28 November 18:10

    Spare a thought for those currently standing on their heads in the Antipodes but who will be back in London by party date and would love to attend. 12.00 noon is 1.00 am in New Zealand.

    • Lady London says:
      28 Nov28 November 18:57

      Nope. Got up at that time in NZ often enough to get seats that just became available for booking on planes… no sympathy for them!

    • Peter K says:
      28 Nov28 November 21:52

      I’ve been up at 4am to do something online that only had a 15 minute window of opportunity. Surely you can do 1am if you really wanted to 😉

    • Shoestring says:
      28 Nov28 November 22:20

      Can’t see it’s that different from getting a reward flight @T-355 = 1am UK currently

      • Cat says:
        28 Nov28 November 22:46

        Or getting up at 1am twice – for the outbound 241 @T-355, and then 2 weeks later to add the return leg…

        • Cat says:
          28 Nov28 November 22:59

          …especially when you get up at 5:45am for work.

          Gael – if we both manage to get tickets, I’ll buy you a drink though – that’s dedication, and I love swapping traveller tales of New Zealand! I hope you’re having as amazing a time there as I had!

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