More British Airways routes getting the new Club Suite business class

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• Qwertyknowsbest says:

  14 Dec14 December 12:34

  Anyone know of an Amex platinum bonus/incentive for adding supplementary card holders?

  Thanks

  • Rob says:

    14 Dec14 December 13:38

    Does anything show under ‘offers’ online? Promos are normally there.

    • Qwertyknowsbest says:

      14 Dec14 December 17:29

      Thanks, but nothing showing.

      • Algor says:

        14 Dec14 December 18:07

        Don’t do it on the app and log in on amex website.

      • Shoestring says:

        14 Dec14 December 18:16

        https://www.americanexpress.com/uk/benefits/supplementary-cards/

• Shoestring says:

  14 Dec14 December 12:35

  O/T 15 year gilts – could any professional working in Finance/ Economics who needs to take a view on 15 year gilts *as part of their job* please let me know their thoughts on where they see them going in 2020 & the next couple of years – thanks in advance.

  • Rob says:

    14 Dec14 December 13:37

    History shows that a monkey from your local zoo can predict the result as accurately ….

    • Lady London says:

      14 Dec14 December 14:18

      Yes but Rob your finance industry experience will tell you that most of the time it’s not about what’s right or wrong it’s what the market thinks. I suspect that is what @Shoestring is gathering intell on.

      • Shoestring says:

        14 Dec14 December 14:38

        yep have a look at the 3Y and ‘ALL’ (=10Y) options on these (you need to press the option to the right of Advanced Charting) https://www.marketwatch.com/investing/bond/tmbmkgb-15y?countrycode=bx

        the trend on 10Y is pretty obvious – and as it happens September 2019 was a 10Y low (or 10Y high from my POV). Not far off the 10Y low/ high right now

        is the 10Y trend going to continue? would be a key question to consider – nobody here knows the answer – but might have a view that is more informed, working as a professional in the sector (and there are a few HFP readers in there 🙂 )

  • Lady London says:

    14 Dec14 December 14:14

    Can anyone can mention the name of a good IFA or highly intelligent ethical independent-thinking pension managing firm ?I know that’s a bit of a tall order. Have followed up an earlier recommendation to Fidelity (lost the other one and can’t find it sgain, sorry) but am struggling on finding independent-thinkingness combined with a good dose of competence.

    • Craig says:

      14 Dec14 December 16:13

      Not a specific recommendation but have a look at vouched for?

      • Lady London says:

        14 Dec14 December 19:45

        Thanks @Craig, will take a look

• Tom says:

  14 Dec14 December 12:55

  Not had any notice from Virgin. So maybe not for me?

  Have around 31k credit limit between my two Virgin Money cards.

• jimA says:

  14 Dec14 December 13:06

  Another example of poor virgin CS, 30 days notice are clearly required for any change to T&Cs but which date ?
  As the miles are awarded at statement time presumably you should have had notice 30 days before or in your last statement

• Henry says:

  14 Dec14 December 13:14

  I was using my Virgin card and the points it generated for Hilton redemptions as I am a diamond member the perks are pretty good and I can get v good overall value with the upgrades etc
  When I break the math down though the horizon cash back card at 0.5% isnt far off in terms of value as by paying cash I accumulate points and it would mean it works out very similar to an average redemption anyway

  5000 spend on virgin+ = 7500 virgin miles which convert into 11250 hilton points

  5000 spend on the horizon =25 quid cash back
  So let’s do a quick search
  Hilton Chester is 30000 hilton points per night or £76 in cash plus when paying cash I would earn arond 3500 points back.
  Maybe as more and more obstacles are put infront of points earning cash back cards are the way forward.

  • Henry says:

    14 Dec14 December 13:25

    Plus I can put as much spend as I want through my Horizon card… That’s know not the case with the Virgin one……..

    • Henry says:

      14 Dec14 December 13:25

      Now*. bloody phone.

  • Rob says:

    14 Dec14 December 13:35

    Using VS for Hilton does lose about half the value vs using them for flights.

    An Amex Rewards card (free for life) gets the equivalent of 2 Hilton per £1 if you convert the Amex points.

    • Henry says:

      14 Dec14 December 13:38

      I agree but I can only use the visa/mastercard route for the spend I generate.

  • John says:

    15 Dec15 December 03:58

    If you only stay when hotels are cheap or at cheap hotels, using points is not a good deal. DT Chester can be £200 sometimes

• Cat says:

  14 Dec14 December 13:14

  Totally and completely O/T (sorry) – I wanted to get my OH an incredible bottle of Japanese whisky for Christmas, and I suspect this may well be an area that the wonderful HfP community has a wealth of knowledge (because I really don’t)!
  For reference, my OH worked for a Japanese company in Tokyo for 3 months a couple of decades ago, and more recently got flown out (business class) courtesy of Shimadzu for a conference in Kyoto, so he has enjoyed quite large quantities of very good Japanese whisky on seemingly bottomless expense accounts over the years. I, on the other hand, know nothing. I do know that when he’s buying the home distilled stuff, he goes for the peaty stuff and loves Lagavulin 16yo, Laphroaig and Ardbeg.
  Budget up to £200, all advice gratefully received! Obviously it would need to be something available in the UK, and I know I’m leaving it a bit late!

  • Shoestring says:

    14 Dec14 December 13:26

    or get him a bottle each of Laphraig 10YO, Ardbeg 10YO and Lagavulin 16YO for £77 with both those discounts

    • Cat says:

      14 Dec14 December 13:46

      All brilliant suggestions (thanks Harry), but oddly I never got the supermarket statement credit offer, and I tend to bring him bottles of all of the above, courtesy of duty free, pretty regularly (teacher holidays rock!). I wanted to get him something special, that he doesn’t get to have often..

      • meta says:

        14 Dec14 December 15:32

        If you want it delivered, Ocado has Hatozaki Pure Malt on offer for £40. Also you can order via Amazon so can use any of the codes. I think Amazon prices are also cheaper. Other than that you can also look what’s on offer with Japan Centre, they deliver all over UK. However, their delivery charges are a high, but there are promo codes floating around for free delivery.

  • Craig says:

    14 Dec14 December 13:31

    Hibiki would be my favourite.

    • Cat says:

      14 Dec14 December 13:56

      Thanks Craig, this does seem to be a popular choice!

    • Lady London says:

      14 Dec14 December 14:37

      T3 Dufry was doing tastings on a promotion BN ofh Japanese whisky a couple of times. I go for same smoky/ peaty style as your OH and Hibeki was the name I recall liking. (The lighter styles end up cooked in bread pudding with marmalade in this house!)

      I hope you get your answer from a real Japanese whisky specialist Cat! There are a couple of US websites run by fans that would have tasting notes.

      • Cat says:

        14 Dec14 December 17:27

        I’m not entirely sure what the difference is, but I do know that OH is less keen on blends and has always preferred single malts, and the various different Hibiki bottles of different ages seem to be blends. I did get him a Japanese whisky tasting set (whisky by the dram), and that had a dram of Hibiki Japanese Harmony, as well as various other blended offerings. He described the set as entry level stuff.
        He really is quite difficult to buy for when it comes to F&B, but the way to his heart is definitely through his stomach, when I get it right (he was definitely a fan of being taken to the Fat Duck for his birthday, and the Mazzer mini coffee grinder I got him 8 years ago is still going strong).
        After a lot of reading around I’m thinking Yamazaki 12yo and Hakushu 12yo. Maybe. possibly.

      • Cat says:

        14 Dec14 December 17:44

        Also, I remember telling him excitedly about ANA first class (it’s on my list…), and the £500 bottle of Japanese whisky they have on board. His comment was there’s much better stuff out there for a lot less, and looking it up, it’s the Hibiki 21yo, which now seems to be retailing for £850!
        He did come back from Kyoto raving about the night one of the Shimadzu big cheeses put a £500 bottle of Japanese whisky on their expense account, I wish I’d made a note of the name now, as that would be a good starting point.

        • Craig says:

          14 Dec14 December 18:14

          From my experience the Japanese single malts are generally quite sweet. They don’t seem to have the depth and variety of Scotch. The majority of Japanese whiskeys are blends and a very good blend is every bit as good as a single.

        • Shoestring says:

          14 Dec14 December 18:17

          sez you

        • Craig says:

          14 Dec14 December 18:18

          There are some tasting sets on Amazon, maybe one of these with a voucher to buy one of his choice?

        • BJ says:

          14 Dec14 December 18:32

          Don’t believe a word of it, in blind tasting the whisky that frequently comes out tops is a cheap and cheerful blend…Grouse!

        • Shoestring says:

          14 Dec14 December 18:46

          Grouse might do well when 3YO blends are blind tasted against each other – but it doesn’t remotely compare in quality to the aged single malts

          Even a brand (of single malt) with no age statement – eg Glenfiddich – will be a bottling of various ages of single malt, typically a lot of 3-4-5 YO but also some older, to make it smoother/ give it the distinctive Glenfiddich flavour – and will pretty much always beat 3YO blends (such as Grouse) unless you get some rogue result/ small number of blind tasters etc

        • BJ says:

          14 Dec14 December 19:06

          Actually it does Harry, my nephews FIL works in the industry and they have lots of fun with this.

        • Shoestring says:

          14 Dec14 December 19:17

          blended Scotch has 70% or so grain whisky in it (ie a different alcohol to malt whisky, 30%) and stands out a mile when you compare a 3YO blend (70% grain/ 30% malt) with an aged single malt (100% malt)

          if you’re saying that a lot of people can’t tell the difference and indeed prefer the blend in a blind tasting/ find the blend easier to drink, that wouldn’t surprise me – they are probably not particularly used to the different tastes you get with whisky

        • Cat says:

          14 Dec14 December 19:25

          Most people probably wouldn’t be able to tell the difference – I certainly couldn’t.
          OH actually likes doing blind taste-testing. I think he sees it as a challenge. When I got him the 4 grappas last year, after he’d decided his favourites, he didn’t touch them for a fortnight and got me to do a blind tasting for him. He identified which was which easily. They all tasted like paint-stripper to me. We’ve done this with his collection of rhums, Islay whiskies, gins and various regions of wine.
          Yes, I know how absurd this is.
          Incidentally, he hates being called a foodie. That’s how much of a foodie he is.

        • BJ says:

          14 Dec14 December 19:55

          No, that’s not what I’m saying Harry. It is not about what is the best whisky, the events I am referring to are about introducing people to the whisky industry and the different types/regions of whisky, and identifying what they like. They do this blind to avoid any brand recognition but it does include everything from supermarket own labels through widely available premium single malts.

        • BJ says:

          14 Dec14 December 20:05

          @Cat, you could once you know what you are ‘looking’ for, for example once you have tasted Laphroaig you would never confuse it with any other whisky as it is so distinctive. You would also be Anne to distinguish between Islay and Speyside malts quite easily, or between grain whisky and single malts as Harry has just indicated..

        • Cat says:

          15 Dec15 December 00:51

          Well, in that case BJ, I should probably go to one, I don’t have a clue!

  • Jonathan says:

    14 Dec14 December 13:35

    Forget the Japanese whisky ,try a 21 year old Springbank . The Rolls Royce of whisky

    • Rooster says:

      14 Dec14 December 14:16

      Not sure if you meant a 21 year old on spring break?

    • Cat says:

      14 Dec14 December 17:32

      He’s never really shown an interest in Springbank, and from what I read online different bottlings from different years can be of varying quality, I’m not sure I know enough to risk that. Thanks so much for the suggestion though Jonathan!

      • Shoestring says:

        14 Dec14 December 17:42

        I noticed the 3 Smokehead Islay malts the other day https://www.smokehead.com

        They are distilled by one of the traditional Islay malt distilleries but to Smokehead’s peating / maturation requirements. A bit different. Proper single malt Scotch whiskies, though (not blends).
        On Amazon at a fair price.

        • Cat says:

          14 Dec14 December 18:48

          Ooh, they do look interesting…

        • Lady London says:

          14 Dec14 December 20:27

          I guess you saw the smokehead is £26 on amazon till, I think, tomorrow? they are saying it will arrive by Christmas. Could maybe make a start with that, and search around for anything else.

        • Lady London says:

          14 Dec14 December 20:28

          *PS Use Rob’s link on here, and pay your subscription ! 🙂

        • Cat says:

          15 Dec15 December 00:52

          Already done LL!

  • avstar says:

    14 Dec14 December 14:24

    yamazaki 12, you may be able to get 2 bottles for 200 total if you hunt around. failing that, get him one bottle of yamasaki 12 and one of nikka from the barrel. one for special occasions, the other for more everyday drinking

    • Cat says:

      14 Dec14 December 17:34

      He’s less keen on the blends, so prob not Nikka by the barrel.
      I am thinking of getting Yamazaki 12yo (thanks so much for the suggestion, I think that might be up his street) and Hakushu 12yo with it (have you ever tried this one?).
      Much appreciated Avstar!

  • Isolde says:

    14 Dec14 December 14:41

    Nikka (“Blue”) 12 YO is a favourite amongst Japanese colleagues. About £95 a bottle.

    • Cat says:

      14 Dec14 December 17:37

      That does seem like a massively popular choice. He’s less keen on the blends though, I think. Sorry, I should have said!

  • BJ says:

    14 Dec14 December 18:15

    He’s probably drunk mostly Suntory whisky. What you want is Nikka Taketsuru, either blended or pure malt. You will also find that major retailers like amazon and niche merchants like master of malts sell Japanese whisky tasting selections. For both, check out Fortnum and Mason and Harrods if you have the amex offers. If you want to throw in a bottle of the real thing but something more unusual that he is unlikely to have tried before then my recommendation is something from Scapa distillery in Orkney. A premium bar of chocolate or two is also recomnended as whisky is best enjoyed in the company of cocoa.

    • Cat says:

      14 Dec14 December 18:39

      I got him the drinks by the dram Japanese whisky selection last year (along with several bottles of grappa, which he’s similarly obsessed with, and I’m totally baffled by), idly thinking about buying him his favourite this year, but he wasn’t terribly into any of them (I suspect because they’re blends). I remember him mentioning the Orkney distillery at some point, I think he’s had a bottle of that before.

      He really is a picky PIA (albeit one that I adore)!

      Thanks for the suggestions BJ, much appreciated (as always)! I may well get some chocolate though, it may also have the added benefit of keeping him TF away from the truffles my family will probably buy me! I assume 70%+ dark is the way to go…

      • BJ says:

        14 Dec14 December 18:52

        I guess so if he’s as fussy about chocolate as whisky lol; actually whatever he likes. Personally I like Green & Black’s milk chocolate but this week I’ll be treating myself to some Colombian from my local chocolatier thanks to shop small.

        • Cat says:

          14 Dec14 December 19:12

          You can’t even imagine. He’s a phenomenal cook (a skill he learned from his mum, who throws a 5 course feast with multiple choices for each course, usually culminating in 7 – 10 incredible choices for dessert), I’ve yet to find a restaurant that does a better eggs Benedict than him and the carbonara in Rome wasn’t a patch on his (although I did find a moussaka on Santorini that was marginally more marvellous than his).
          It does make it rather difficult to go out for a meal somewhere that’s affordable, as it’s just not worth it if he can do better at home.
          Also, I am most definitely not a phenomenal cook.
          That’s not him being picky, that’s just reality!

    • Dave says:

      15 Dec15 December 00:26

      I can definitely vouch for the scala they had in my local Waitrose a while back. Beautiful smooth what I would call a session whiskey.

  • Alan says:

    14 Dec14 December 18:26

    Has he been to visit Ardbeg, etc? If not then perhaps the gift of a trip to the distillery would be of interest? Depending on how far you’re travelling from it could be a nice we holiday…

    • Shoestring says:

      14 Dec14 December 18:30

      good idea

      Laphroaig, Lagavulin & Ardbeg distilleries are all a stone’s throw away from each other (well, if you are a good thrower) and so would make an excellent trio of visits, all on the same afternoon wd be very feasible

      • BJ says:

        14 Dec14 December 18:40

        Except Islay is hardly a stone’s throw from Oban never mind London 🙂

      • Cat says:

        14 Dec14 December 18:40

        Ooh, that’s an interesting idea…

        Thanks Alan and Harry!

        • Cat says:

          14 Dec14 December 18:48

          Except he gets horribly seasick, and swore he would never get on a twin-prop plane again after flying white knuckle through bad weather to and from Roatan a few years ago!

        • Shoestring says:

          14 Dec14 December 18:56

          I presume that was diving as well? I was there for a couple of weeks (diving) back in 1996. Great island, too many sand fleas, delicious cheap lobster (plate of 2 lobster tails & the trimmings was USD 5), loads of little turtles when you dived (size of a side plate) as they were captive breeding them to a survivable size before release, makes you wonder why other places with endangered turtles don’t do the same – plus despite belonging to Honduras, all the locals spoke a lazy American drawl as their first language!

        • Cat says:

          14 Dec14 December 19:18

          Actually no, OH is not mad keen on the sea (near drowning as a teenager in rip-tides). Snorkelling and kayaking right by the shore turn him in an anxiety-ridden, snappy sod. Being 18m under with an oxygen tank, and a lengthy list of things that can go wrong is never, ever going to happen!
          We went to Roatan mostly to lie on West Bay beach, drink cocktails and eat lobster for our first Xmas away together.
          We succeeded in this aim admirably!

        • EwanG says:

          14 Dec14 December 19:53

          @Cat I think if you could twist his arm to get on a plane, have a couple of nights at The Machrie Hotel and visit some distilleries he’d thank you for doing so!

        • Liz says:

          14 Dec14 December 20:03

          My hubby is a very keen whisky drinker. He did the Islay distilleries a couple of years ago and met a Japanese surgeon on a distillery tour. Hubby asked him which Japanese whisky would be a good one to buy and he recommended Yoichi 12 yr old. He hasn’t tried it yet though so I can’t offer a taste recommendation but might be worth checking out.

        • Jill (Kinkell) says:

          14 Dec14 December 21:03

          You ant the Macallan Distillery in Speyside. Award winning new architectural designed distillery and centre. …and the whisy’s not bad!

        • Cat says:

          15 Dec15 December 00:56

          This has certainly given me a variety of ideas to explore! Thanks all, seriously, the HfP community is just wonderful. You guys rock!

  • RTS says:

    16 Dec16 December 10:31

    Hakushu – 18 yr. He won’t regret it.

• Rooster says:

  14 Dec14 December 14:14

  Well Capital On Tap support had told me I could pay it off as many times as I wanted, glad they declined me if thats the case on the limit was rubbish.

• Rooster says:

  14 Dec14 December 14:15

  Well the Virgin action goes to show what I said the other day, nobody can spend 6 figures on the Virgin card a month, the only solution is Amex charge cards but this doesn’t ever seem to be mentioned on the site granted that the scope of reader would be limited that could benefit.

  • Ben says:

    14 Dec14 December 14:35

    Indeed – my Amex platinum charge card is where I spend £30k or so per month (especially with a double points for 6 months offer that I recently got added), but I still use around £10k-£15k a month through non-Amex which is currently the virgin Atlantic premium cards which has the stupidest £1,500 credit limit! As far as I’m aware there’s no non-Amex points earning charge cards…

    • Rooster says:

      14 Dec14 December 17:25

      Feel sorry for you with such a low limit I used to have 20k which they had seemed to match another card I held but nowhere to spend the Virgin miles so had to stock collecting them as couldn’t justify the fee over other cards available ie IHG or Amex

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