An Avios windfall for anyone who has a Tesco Bank mortgage

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• Qwertyknowsbest says:

  14 Sep14 September 09:34

  I know much has been said here about currency conversion companies for personal use. I am looking for a better business offer on currency purchases and making overseas payments than currently we get from our bank. Better still if also a points earnings opportunity. Currently considering Fxpert, who beat our bank on exchange rates and costs for payments.

  Any other suggested players for consideration would be appreciated.

  Thank you.

  • Shoestring says:

    14 Sep14 September 09:39

    It’s easy to beat rates offered by most banks. I used to use HIFX a lot (now XE) – very fair rates & excellent service. They are currently in second place for me behind worldremit – who not only offered better rate and transaction fee but also periodically offer up to £55 discount for new customers (I’ve had it 4x).

    Also worth exploring this outfit https://www.currencyonlinegroup.com – which I’ve not yet used but when I did a dummy transaction, were the best on the market for rate.

    • Harry T says:

      14 Sep14 September 11:22

      Go on, Harry – how are you managing to be a new customer four times? I need to transfer over some more Aussie dollars.

      • Shoestring says:

        14 Sep14 September 11:30

        self, wife, son 18+, cheeky self again on different discount program

        they didn’t care that I was transferring money to the same overseas bank a/c or that we all live in the same house – but I did use different email addresses

        • boi says:

          14 Sep14 September 19:59

          Harry please send me a referral for worldremit. I want to try it out

        • Shoestring says:

          14 Sep14 September 20:18

          tempting – £20 each – unfortunately they use first names as part of the referral code & I’m too shy – I think it would stop you getting your £50 discount though so probably better to wait until that pops up again

          or maybe Raffles could get in on the deal, ie sign up to WR, send £s to Germany, after that generate referral codes @£20 a pop for both parties

    • Mr(s) Entitled says:

      14 Sep14 September 13:36

      I’ve moved hundreds of thousands in USD/GBP through XE without compliant over the past decade. The rate is good and for larger transactions you can get marginally better if you call to place the order. I would recommend them.

    • Qwertyknowsbest says:

      14 Sep14 September 17:51

      Thanks Harry and all, much appreciated.

  • Rob says:

    14 Sep14 September 12:20

    Midpoint – https://headforpoints.com/2019/01/02/how-to-earn-avios-with-midpoint/

    Amex also offers MR points on currency conversions when doing it for a business.

    • Roger says:

      14 Sep14 September 16:17

      Any link please?

      • boi says:

        14 Sep14 September 19:01

        I have used xendpay- they are the closest to rates on revolut (eg revolut GBP/USD 1.250 and I got 1.2496 with them). If you want I can refer you and we both get £10.
        Also used currencyfair-referral is 30 euros. very quick transfer and you can set a future rate to trigger automatically.
        I found the 2 above better than xe.

• Benylin says:

  14 Sep14 September 11:03

  OT: Best place to buy Marriott points? Need c9k
  Is it worthwhile?

  • Shoestring says:

    14 Sep14 September 11:14

    https://headforpoints.com/2019/04/20/how-amex-membership-rewards-members-can-buy-miles-for-up-to-50-off-3/

    you can buy them direct though Marriott or else buy Amex MR points, apparently not much difference in cost (links to buy on both sites in article)

  • Rob says:

    14 Sep14 September 12:19

    You can buy them off Marriott you know!

    Or if you’ve got the SPG Amex refer someone from one of the free Amex cards and bank the 9k referral bonus.

• rob says:

  14 Sep14 September 11:28

  I am scheduled to fly HKG – DUB on 13th February. Booked using Alaska Miles.

  Rung Alaska and they said my flight is still showing as confirmed. What should I do here as my flight is evidently not going to happen. Is there any obligation to rebook me?

  • Shoestring says:

    14 Sep14 September 11:32

    why is your flight not going to happen?

    • Peter K says:

      14 Sep14 September 11:42

      Assuming it’s on Cathay it’s because they have ended that route over the winter months.

      • Shoestring says:

        14 Sep14 September 11:57

        oh right – it doesn’t come under EC261 as it’s a non-EU carrier flying *into* Europe

        you’d have to check Cathay’s T&Cs as they are the operating carrier

        or ask here for an expert answer https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/cathay-pacific-marco-polo-club-487/

      • rob says:

        14 Sep14 September 12:43

        Hi peter

        Yes that’s exactly the point I was making. It’s Cathay which is now apparently cancelled. Except I’ve had no confirmation of that.

        • Peter K says:

          14 Sep14 September 13:02

          It was mentioned on OMAAT yesterday as well as here today. It’s contact Cathay (maybe via live chat or better still, email) asking if the flight is on and for confirmation if not. Via email you can then send this to Alaska as proof it is not running and then get them to chase for you.

• Chris says:

  14 Sep14 September 11:45

  O/T but anyone tell me how the Virgin Credit card companion voucher works. Wondering if it triggers on spend or at next statement cycle. Also once it’s triggered where do you find the ticket?

  • stevenhp1987 says:

    14 Sep14 September 12:04

    Supposed to trigger right away. Mine took around 3 weeks.

    Appears as a line item on your flying club statement online. “Virgin Atlantic Reward+ Credit Card – Reward Qualification”

• Sk123 says:

  14 Sep14 September 12:47

  OT: Have I missed the deadline for the Tesco – Virgin auto convert to get 1000 miles?

  • Clive says:

    14 Sep14 September 12:55

    Won’t hurt to try

• Rain333 says:

  14 Sep14 September 13:43

  O/T

  Looking to rent a car for a week in Oman. What do you savvy folk use to get the best value rentals? I usually go for kayak and/or priceline as aggregators, but I recall seeing suggestions on some other more obscure websites and/or codes.

  I’m an Amex Plat/Marriott Plat and have checked with Hertz but prices are much higher than kayak is offering me even with 15% discount, and no real need for an additional driver.

  Any input appreciated!

  R

  • Ken says:

    14 Sep14 September 14:43

    Before I would even consider Hertz Ii would make absolutely sure that location is covered by both upgrade and free additional driver.
    I barely value the 5 star that comes with Platinum at anything

    • Rain333 says:

      14 Sep14 September 15:07

      Yes I don’t think I’ll be using Hertz anyway.

      Random question, does Amex Plat car insurance cover going off-road? I’m going through the documentation and there’s nothing explicit about this as an exclusion, but they do have this as a clause:

      However, certain sports and activities are excluded. If You are going to take part in any sport or activity that could be considered dangerous or may fall outside usual holiday sports, please call American Express Platinum Card Services in advance of undertaking any such activity”

      TO be fair a lot of sports / activities could be considered DANGEROUS? Anyone have any experience with this?

      • Chrisasaurus says:

        14 Sep14 September 20:21

        Whether or not the Amex insurance covers it, the car rental agreement will quite specifically forbid it.

  • Rob says:

    14 Sep14 September 15:16

    Australian Hertz site with Plat CDP

  • Lady London says:

    14 Sep14 September 20:34

    If you’re staying at a decent hotel I’d look at booking it through the hotel or at least asking them. Oman may be the kind of place where a quality local player with a reputation to protect would be better. For sure I’d only use Hertz if it’s a Corporate, I.e. Hertz-owned rather than franchised location.

  • EwanG says:

    14 Sep14 September 21:21

    @Clive (and any others using Easyrentcars.com)
    I’ve not been impressed by them so far, except on price. In short I think they are from the Accor (loyalty) school of customer service which is reply fairly promptly to emails but they’ll not answer the explicit question being asked, make it up as they go along and not look at it from the customer perspective (even if they are wrong).
    I’m not inclined to use them again.

  • pauldb says:

    14 Sep14 September 23:20

    You could also try dollar.com and orbitz.com – essentially accessing US rates, possibly without insurance. I’ve never had problems booking with either.

• boi says:

  14 Sep14 September 19:04

  OT: Is there a way to earn bluebiz on virgin flights with the virgin/flying blue merger?
  Also is there a refer a friend for the fyingclub?

• Clive says:

  14 Sep14 September 19:44

  Rob any reason why my reply to the car hire question was not posted?

  • Rob says:

    14 Sep14 September 21:02

    I will look in spam for it.

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