Win 75,000 Lufthansa Miles & More miles

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• guesswho2000 says:

  3 Oct3 October 05:33

  OT Amex ICC – Has anyone who’s taken this card out (Platinum) managed to actually obtain the Priority Pass card which comes with it?

  Unlike normal Plat cards, you have to sign up for it, no dramas there, except Priority Pass CS is the biggest shower of s… I’ve ever had to deal with – despite chasing it about a billion times, I never once get a call back or reply to an email. Should I moan at Amex? It’s not really their fault, so I don’t feel like I should…

  Other than that, signup bonus posted quickly, and amusingly the annual fee counts towards the spend target and accrues points. Paying the balance from Citibank credits the Amex card with US$25 less than you send, which I assume is the TT fee Standard Chartered charge, which is annoying, but I’ll only be making 2 payments, so I can suck that up.

  • Anon says:

    3 Oct3 October 05:43

    It sounds like you’re planning to cancel the card so presumably the PP access would cease at that point anyway? Also, if the fee counts towards the sign up bonus and you get a pro-rata refund, will Amex try to claw back the points?

    • guesswho2000 says:

      3 Oct3 October 05:54

      No, I won’t be cancelling it, but I doubt I’ll spend anything else on it this year (don’t foresee any further US$ spend). Keeping Amex Plat is much cheaper than buying all the insurances separately for me (I had a GBP Platinum I swapped out for this one for the bonus and lower fee, following the earlier hike – I don’t bother with the Aussie one, our fee is AU$1,450). The reason for only making two payments is because I hit the target in month two. But you’re right, PP would stop (so I wouldn’t bother).

      As for the fee, if you cash out the points first, there’s nothing to take back – but, they could negative your account (whether that matters going forward I don’t know). I had a small refund trigger a clawback before, luckily it was still within the 3 months, so they re-allocated the bonus within a few days.

  • Rob says:

    3 Oct3 October 08:19

    Must be a Citi fee. I pay from my HSBC current account and there is no fee. Bad exchange rate, but no fee!

    • guesswho2000 says:

      3 Oct3 October 10:05

      That’s even more annoying, as Citi constantly bang on about zero fees! Oh well!

      • John says:

        3 Oct3 October 11:20

        Citi can’t be responsible for fees from other banks.

        • Rob says:

          3 Oct3 October 11:26

          Why would Standard Chartered charge a $25 fee to Citi customers who pay Amex but nothing to HSBC customers like me?

        • guesswho2000 says:

          3 Oct3 October 11:45

          Thinking about it in fairness I agree, I don’t *think* it’s a Citi fee. I tick the box saying sender pays no fees (or whatever).

          I know a lot of banks charge for inbound TTs, Citi definitely don’t for my account, but most of my others do, so I assume SC do (or another intermediary bank?). I’d assume RBS NatWest would be the clearing bank for SC, but maybe it’s different for UK-US than AU-US (or maybe HSBC is an intermediary which doesn’t charge HSBC customers?).

          Thing is, I have a HSBC Global Currency account, but their outbound TT fees and poor forex rates are what put me off using it! Wonder if Revolut results in free transfers, might give that a whirl, or Transferwise!

        • guesswho2000 says:

          3 Oct3 October 11:46

          To clarify, I’m sending US$ directly from a US$ denominated account held at Citibank Australia.

        • Rob says:

          3 Oct3 October 11:57

          HSBC sends $ from my UK current account (in £). Not sure why it would make a difference.

    • Dev says:

      3 Oct3 October 13:21

      Rob and guesswho2000,

      There is a Citi quirk you might not be aware of. All European retail accounts are held at branches of Citibank NA. International USD payments between banks are handled by another Citigroup entity, which charges $25 per payment as a flat fee.

      So technically, Citibank NA, where the account is held, will not charge the fee but the NY entity will do it. Bank of America and JPMorgan have similar quirks. Likewise HSBC, but in Rob’s case it is a £ account being used to make a $ payment, and I think the HSBC US entity is bypassed.

      Hope this makes sense!

      • guesswho2000 says:

        3 Oct3 October 21:16

        Thanks Dev, that probably explains it then, I assume it’s much the same elsewhere, with Citi being a US bank, they probably have similar arrangements for their branches in AU, HK, SG, etc. too.

• Lee Thornton says:

  3 Oct3 October 06:37

  The Miles & More website is a joke. After trying to log-in to discover my membership number I am told my password has expired and needs to be changed but there is no link to change it! I then click on ‘forgotten password’ and change it only to be told when I log in again that the password has expired… ahhhhhh!

  • Oh! Matron! says:

    3 Oct3 October 08:11

    Frankly, it’s embarrassing. A 5 digit PIN to log in? Bloody hell… I don’t use it much: Have 18.5K miles in there from a prior hilton promo (that I don’t know what to do with)

    • Rob says:

      3 Oct3 October 08:15

      Heathrow Rewards vouchers or a 15k return Euro redemption (they drop to 15k within 14 days of travel).

      • Chrisasaurus says:

        3 Oct3 October 09:25

        If you can get the website to let you order the damn things…

      • Concerto says:

        3 Oct3 October 10:58

        Rob, I think Economy FlySmart awards are up to 20,000, still quite a good deal. It’s the mileage bargains which are 15,000 now, but those have to be booked further in the future (2 months or so). The FlySmarts have to be booked between 3 and 14 days before departure. I use these all the time and they are a good use of miles for European awards.

    • BJ says:

      3 Oct3 October 08:44

      Worth around £50 on hotel bookings.

  • Andrew says:

    3 Oct3 October 09:06

    I quite like M&M… A few years back I spotted an item sold at negative points. 😉

  • John says:

    3 Oct3 October 11:22

    I’m not able to book redemptions from my account and nobody can figure out why. I cashed out to vouchers (they were free from Hilton after all) and will probably try to delete my y account soon, sign up again later if I ever find it useful.

• Benylin says:

  3 Oct3 October 06:40

  OT: New Nectar app now let’s you carry your card on the app such that you can scan the barcode, vs previously needing to manually type it in.

  • Mike says:

    3 Oct3 October 07:16

    Useful option – but I prefer carrying the nectar card as it is much smaller / lighter than my phone.

    • Chrisasaurus says:

      3 Oct3 October 08:41

      Not useful for making calls tho

  • TGLoyalty says:

    3 Oct3 October 07:20

    Finally. Wonder what took so long.

    • Rob says:

      3 Oct3 October 08:17

      Needed to change every single till.

      • TGLoyalty says:

        3 Oct3 October 17:44

        You say that but M&S have the card on the app and the tills weren’t changed to scan that nor do the BP ones for the new BP reward scheme that has card on phones.

        None of the tesco fuel pay at pump can take the Tesco Pay app either.

        Just doesn’t seem like a reason not to implement earlier, especially as it could have been used to just tap in the short digit code.

  • Andrew says:

    3 Oct3 October 09:08

    You didn’t need to type it in, it was just a simple barcode.

    All you needed to do was to take a quick photo of the card, and store it in a card gallery.

• Simon says:

  3 Oct3 October 07:29

  Given the tech/university links with Cambridge, I’m surprised no one is taking a punt on a Boston – Stanstead route.

  • TokyoFan says:

    3 Oct3 October 17:57

    Pun(t) intended, presumably?

  • Crafty says:

    4 Oct4 October 07:51

    Won’t fit in hand luggage

• Andrew says:

  3 Oct3 October 07:53

  O/T (bits)… quick question if the good folk here can help… my folks were delayed yesterday on a flight BOD-LGW. not withstanding precisely what figure BA uses in determining the delay (we know it should be “doors open”) ba.com is showing the arrival-time delay of exactly 3 hours.

  Various posts online say compensation is due for delays of “more than three hours” (i.e a delay of EXACTLY 3 hours might not count). Others say “three hours or more”. Usually I’d not be bothering with such pedantry but this time round €500 may be paid, or not.

  What’s the view of the HfP community?

  • Matt B says:

    3 Oct3 October 07:59

    I’d go with the exact wording in the EU directive whatever that may be rather than a few online experts.

    • Matt B says:

      3 Oct3 October 08:12

      4.4.6. ‘Long delays’ at arrival

      As regards ‘long delays’, the Court has ruled that passengers, including delayed passengers, may suffer from a similar inconvenience as passengers whose flight is cancelled, consisting in a certain loss of time (41). Based on the principle of equal treatment, passengers reaching their final destination with a delay of three hours or more are entitled to the same compensation (Article 7) as passengers whose flight is cancelled

      Is this the correct section? I am clearly not an expert by the way!!

      • Andrew says:

        3 Oct3 October 08:23

        Quite possibly, thanks Matt. And you’re more of an expert than I!!

  • Shoestring says:

    3 Oct3 October 08:05

    get the ExpertFlyer arrival time first, don’t trust ba.com data – and don’t hang around, it’s only available for 48hrs – EF often also indicates cause of delay & a ‘Y’ if compo should be payable (or ‘N’ if not, though don’t necessarily accept the ‘N’) – obvs cause of delay is critical to compo success

    anything up to 180 mins and 0 secs – no compo

    after 180 mins, ie 180 mins + 1 sec – compo is payable

    • Andrew says:

      3 Oct3 October 08:17

      Thanks both. I’ve registered with EF but I’m probably being obtuse. Is anyone able to quickly see the length and reason for the delay to BA2789 of yesterday? STA was 21:35, actual 00:35+1.

      Crew said it was because the air con was broken on the outbound but would be good to know what the computer says!

      • Shoestring says:

        3 Oct3 October 08:22

        I’m not registered – Stu here is, or you could ask on https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/british-airways-executive-club/1948451-2019-ba-compensation-thread-your-guide-regulation-ec261-2004-a-80.html

        who normally give a quick answer

        • jc says:

          3 Oct3 October 08:46

          You can also type it into any of the delay compensation claim lawyer websites that give an instant verdict of whether the delay is eligible. Says yours is.

        • Andrew says:

          3 Oct3 October 09:36

          Thanks Shoestring
          @jc – thanks also. Interesting I had one saying the delay was eligible for EU261 and another saying the opposite!

          I guess will wait and see what FT folk say and either way nothing for my folks to lose
          I guess…

        • Shoestring says:

          3 Oct3 October 09:47

          looks like they qualify for compo to me, as you say probably <1 minute in it but you can't be half pregnant

      • Ali says:

        3 Oct3 October 09:37

        Someone might be able to make sense of this

        Comments:
        DOBA2789/02OCT
        * OPERATIONAL FLIGHT INFO * BA2789 -1 WE 02OCT19
        CITY INFO HOUR (LOCAL)

        BOD ESTIMATED TIME OF DEPARTURE 2345
        LEFT THE GATE 0000
        TOOK OFF 0012
        ESTIMATED TIME OF ARRIVAL 0040 LGW
        LGW AIRCRAFT LANDED 0026
        ARRIVED 0035
        *1A PLANNED FLIGHT INFO* BA2789 -1 WE 02OCT19
        APT ARR DY DEP DY CLASS/MEAL EQP GRND EFT TTL
        BOD 2100 WE JCDRI/M YB/G 320 1:35
        HKMLVNOQSGX/G
        LGW 2135 WE 1:35
        COMMENTS-
        1.BOD LGW – MEMBER OF ONEWORLD
        2.BOD LGW – DEPARTS TERMINAL A
        3.BOD LGW – ARRIVES TERMINAL S
        4.BOD LGW – 9/ NON-SMOKING
        5.BOD LGW – ET/ ELECTRONIC TKT CANDIDATE
        6.BOD LGW – CO2/PAX* 87.44 KG ECO, 87.44 KG PRE
        (*):SOURCE:ICAO CARBON EMISSIONS CALCULATOR
        CONFIGURATION-
        320 C 12 M 162
        >

        • Anna says:

          3 Oct3 October 10:40

          Broken air con definitely counts for EU261, but you might have to fight for it! I had to go to CEDR twice but BA did eventually pay up.

        • Shoestring says:

          3 Oct3 October 11:37

          if it’s WEather, ie you think BA will resist paying – and you or your folks don’t want the hassle of taking it forward after first refusal, remember the paid lawyers eg Bott & Co are no win, no fee

          but try it online with aircon as the reason, get the almost certain first refusal and challenge the first refusal decision, all this takes 5 mins of your time

          only then, hand over to Bott & Co or else steel yourself for more of a fight

        • Andrew says:

          3 Oct3 October 12:11

          Fabulous – thank you all. Will pass on to my folks 😀

          HFP community to the rescue as ever!!

• Jenni says:

  3 Oct3 October 08:32

  OT: I have a free compensation night certificate from Doubletree, how do i book that please? I know the voucher itself says to call a US phone number but is there a way to avoid that?

  • Rob says:

    3 Oct3 October 08:57

    Is this a ‘Be My Guest’ certificate? I think you just book in at Best Flex Rate and hand it over at check out. We gave a couple away in a competition last year.

    • Jenni says:

      3 Oct3 October 08:59

      It is yeah, had a pretty bad experience so they gave it me as guest recovery (ironically I will be using it in the same hotel who I got it from…).

      Thanks Rob I will book online!

• jason says:

  3 Oct3 October 08:32

  OT any recent data points on Amex cash back offers not triggering on cumulative spend? looking at the Marriott offer spend 200 and get 50 back and it makes sense to split the transaction to maximise benefit across multi cards

  • Crafty says:

    3 Oct3 October 08:39

    Bear in mind (I’ve just checked) this is European hotels only, which scuppered my plans.

• Sprout7 says:

  3 Oct3 October 08:48

  O/T – I’m toying with getting a Monese card (£15p/m version) and was wondering if anyone could tell me if there is a limit for topping up at the post office or Paypoint in a single transaction? I think I recall paypoint having limits of around £150 for topping up prepaid cards? thx

  • Harry T says:

    3 Oct3 October 08:52

    £500 a time at Post Office. £249 per transaction at PayPoint. They’ve got a table on the Monese website.

    • Sprout7 says:

      3 Oct3 October 08:58

      Thanks Harry – think I’ll give it a try.

      • Axel says:

        3 Oct3 October 14:16

        Theres a page on monese explaining everything.

        £5k monthly limit also mentioned.

    • Matt B says:

      3 Oct3 October 10:04

      I’ve seen paypoints at co-ops mentioned here a few times, I assume other stores with paypoint facilities eg tesco/spar are fine too for monese?

      • Rob says:

        3 Oct3 October 10:51

        Only Co-Op has forgot to train its staff not to allow card payments ….

        • Simon says:

          3 Oct3 October 12:49

          Budgens too

        • Mark2 says:

          3 Oct3 October 12:52

          and Tesco but some Extra stores only. I believe ASDA take PayPoint but have not tried.

        • memesweeper says:

          3 Oct3 October 18:19

          and my local Londis

      • TripRep says:

        3 Oct3 October 16:01

        My local co-op and Tesco Express both allow Council tax payment by Credit Card Via Paypoint.

  • Tilly71 says:

    3 Oct3 October 11:52

    £500 P.O. & £250 PP.
    Be very careful with Monese, they KYC me after two months of top ups and didn’t like my answers so closed my account, took four weeks to get my funds back.

    • JPa says:

      3 Oct3 October 13:06

      Does PO allow Amex for PP?

  • Ben says:

    3 Oct3 October 13:23

    It’s £500 limit at post office but this is a per transaction. I’ve topped up £2k today…

    There is a hard £5k per month limit.

    • Young L says:

      3 Oct3 October 15:02

      Interesting, on their website it says “Cash topups via Post Office: £500 per transaction per day”.

    • JPa says:

      3 Oct3 October 16:47

      Is that with an Amex?

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