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The yellow cabs are now in on the app game so they’ll be the new players you’ll have heard of. I generally flit between Uber and Lyft with Lyft generally cheaper and the added bonus of some paltry Hilton points with every journey. Last week I did only use them for airport runs and late night downtown to midtown trips. Otherwise I used the subway – which is grim indeed but cheap and quick.

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Richard Peters wrote:

Don’t recall spirits but then wasn’t looking for them! plenty of wine and beer though

I don’t drink alcohol so have a blindspot when it comes to what was on offer in any given lounge; so I expect you are right.

[Blair Waldorf Salad]

You’re better paying cash then

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Have you got any status?

It’s BA’s shortest European route and thus service is one pass of the meal and drinks trolley. In fact, if in row 4 or further back, you may well be descending by the time your drink arrives.

What I’m therefore getting at is if you have status benefits already, CE merely becomes about the seat and the food service. And the service isn’t much cop.

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BA Flyer IHG Stayer wrote:

What’s the alcohol policy there BWS?

Eh, they serve it to over 21s?

Do you mean in the club lounge? Beer, wine and possibly spirits are self-serve from 17.00-20.00 each day.

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I’ve just left the IC Barclay after a 5-night stay. With the club lounge access, it really is representing great value for me in New York. It’s 3 food spreads a day and since self-service, no tipping opportunity arises. Always booked on points and on this occasion averaging 43K pn. I also managed to treat local friends to dinner there as a way of burning through IHG F&B milestone rewards due to expire. Burning feels the right word as the modest cheesecake dessert was $17.

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Julia wrote:

Can anyone tell me what the procedure is for paying VAT on items bought in the UAE? I was under the impression that if you bought an item with VAT already paid then you don’t have to pay it again when you get back into the UK. This would be very nice bonus given that VAT in the UAE is only 5% and UK is 20%. However I’ve also been told that if you buy something in the UAE the shop must take the VAT off and so you must declare and pay 20% when back in the UK.

Also, if I buy goods abroad and never bring them back into the UK i.e. pay for them to be stored there does that mean I never have to pay VAT?

Many thanks.

“ However I’ve also been told that if you buy something in the UAE the shop must take the VAT off and so you must declare and pay 20% when back in the UK.”

Not sure who told you this. Sounds utterly bizarre. 90% of Dubai residents are foreigners so the idea that shop assistants are differentiating between tourists and foreign residents is far fetched indeed.

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A SAR doesn’t have to be acknowledged upon receipt, though it is good practice to do so. It does however need to be responded to within a month unless mitigating factors are communicated to you.

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Go197 wrote:

I’m in the club lounge at the Phuket Intercontinental, which is very nice, but I’ve had to move seats 3 times.

If you are in a public place and you are watching videos on your phone without headphones or making video calls on speaker then you are an ass and you should be pilloried in the village square

The trick I read on here is to open voice recorder on your own phone, record a segment of their din, then play it back loud.

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U ok hun?

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chrischris2202 wrote:

Any suggestions for Marriott or IHG hotels in Barcelona and Madrid? Need to burn some points and my IHG Diamond is expiring end of the year..

I have stayed in the Marriott Madrid Auditorium when I needed airport access. But it’s so good and cheap I’d stay again for leisure albeit requiring a taxi in/out of city. Best Marriott brand lounge in Europe IMO.

I’ve also stayed at Aloft Madrid in a top floor room with massive balcony. Sadly those rooms have been co-opted into bar space and I’m not sure my good memory of the hotel would be the same in a non-balcony room. I recall breakfast being served in a totally unsuitable ‘sixth form common room’ type setting with a few low tables and ottomans and arcade machines.

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No, unlikely they’ll do for free as Avios seats book into something akin to the EI Saver fare type

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Too late for good morning from? In this case the DAA T1 Lounge at DUB. I couldn’t be bothered toying with the BA Gold access at the EI T2 Lounge and besides the food offering here is very good now. Good cheese and good cold cuts, a veritable smorgasbord of baked goods and a fridge full of wrapped sandwiches and potted fruit/yogurt just asking to be bagged for a flight.

Onwards to LHR T3 for a sojourn in the CX F Lounge before AA to JFK.

@Aston100, I am braving the IC Barclay having heard the legionella issue is behind them. 3 meals a day at the lounge is hard to dismiss.

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@IrishGlobeTrotter if you’re not my actual cousin, you are my spiritual cousin. Welcome to the site!

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You have to call Aer Lingus and get a phone agent to assign you seats – usually at a fee

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IrishGlobeTrotter wrote:

For context I am a Curve Metal plan holder
Going to the Curve Launchpad > Account > Manage your plan
Why are Curve stating that I get unlimited Fair FX when at the same time elsewhere they are stating that this is in fact limited to a £5,000 / 30 day rolling period? Does anyone else find their information, or lack thereof, absolutely ridiculous for a company that’s been around as long as them?

Can someone clarify? I’m living in Australia and using my Curve Metal to continue using my Barclaycard Avios Plus. I also use the Curve Fronted feature to clear my Amex every month. I guess that sooner rather than later the features I use Curve Metal for will be all but defunct.

Look forward to people’s input here.

Thanks

Where have you seen the £5000 per 30 days quoted? In the app?

The terms of service in effect now are dated 15 Sept and for Curve Metal the foreign currency FX free amount is marked as Free**

The ** refers you to the Fair Use Policy which says “ If you are a Curve Metal customer you benefit from fee-free currency conversion transactions up to €100,000 per calendar year.”

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I’ve just checked my photos from IC Estoril and the balconies there have glass rails. Granted you’d be outside rather than in the room but the view is unimpeded when seated and you can look in one direction and see Estoril and look the other direction and see Cascais.

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I get it every time on my laptop but when wearing my Apple Watch it just sends a “is this you logging in” prompt to the watch with the option of yes or no. That’s far preferable to typing in the code.

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I was caught in Euston Station mayhem yesterday at 15.00 with announcements that no trains would run north, so Manchester passengers ought go to Kings Cross and travel LNER to somewhere nearby (Leeds?!?).

I checked BA and the 19.05 LHR-MAN was £132 HBO. So I refunded the train ticket and off I went to Heathrow. A relaxing time in the new furniture of the F Lounge (I’m going to start calling it the Gold card lounge and see if I start a trend) was far preferable to engaging with packed trains.

Anyhow I mention because the train fare EUS-MAN was £189. At least I’ll know in future that for same-day travel I might as well just head straight to the airport.

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NorthernLass wrote:

Our stay wasn’t great, either! (Fortunately we had a lovely time apart from the hotel experience). There was no acknowledgement of Ambassador status or benefits at check in, and they had added a charge for our upgrade to the bill and tried to say I had agreed to this! I had to produce an email trail (which thankfully I could get from my phone) to prove that I hadn’t agreed to it, despite having been pestered several times to accept.

We were then allocated a very basic room, though at least it had a King-size bed so must have been 1 cat above what I originally booked. There was no welcome gift or letter in the room until several hours later when they appeared at separate times, which made me wonder if we’d originally been allocated a better room, then downgraded when we refused to pay for it!

I was offered the Diamond amenity choice (which was the very good buffet breakfast) and they did honour the 4 pm checkout so it wasn’t a complete fiasco but I’m not inclined to book again atm. I actually much prefer the Kimpton but of course you don’t get Ambassador benefits there any more and the location isn’t as convenient.

Phew, tbh I’d been waiting for your review before deciding where to use an expiring AMB free night by end of Jan. IC Lisbon it is!

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JDB wrote:

davedent wrote:

Morning – some advice please.
I booked a basic room at the Kimpton Paris and successfully used a confirmable suite upgrade voucher to upgrade to a king suite with balcony. I received an email confirming the upgrade and the upgrade showed online. The room has now been downgraded to a basic room by the hotel. Despite having contacted IHG and the hotel they both seem to be unwilling/ unable to sort the situation. This is clearly a breach of contract but what do I do ? Grateful for any help.

While it may be a breach of contract, the difficulty is enforcing it, so as a practical matter it comes down to negotiation and a bit of guile. I don’t know the terms or ins and outs of the upgrade voucher, but probably you will need to escalate at IHG (write to the CEO’s office) on the basis that they can’t allow hotels within the IHG system to go rogue, thereby damaging the whole premise of their loyalty scheme.

I agree with this, albeit I’d suggest using the Ambassador email address if you have Ambassador status. I’ve seen a marked difference in how IHG treated a friend with the same issue as me versus my legalistic request to them to sort out or confirm they are not sorting so I can progress legal channels.

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Some unusual definitions of Shop Small in the 01-03 December list. The British Library, the entire Euston food court. I see a vet near me is included; could pair nicely with pet insurance cashback. Now to go find a rabbit.

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executiveclubber wrote:

Blair Waldorf Salad wrote:

The immigration desk on arrival will hand you a Du SIM card with a metal pin for ooening an iPhone’s SIM tray.

Though it may be worth buying your own eSIM rather than one issued from a government that unjustly imprisons so many innocent people

Nearly 4hrs till the UN trundled along. That must be a HfP record.

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There’s Uber but also Careem which is a bit of an all-in-one app. Careem allows you to order regular cream coloured local taxis too, which are usually cheaper.

Wifi is ubiquitous in malls and restaurants and hotels. The immigration desk on arrival will hand you a Du SIM card with a metal pin for ooening an iPhone’s SIM tray. It comes with 1Gb or 5Gb; forget which.

Ensure you check the Marriott More Cravings website so as not to miss any additional dining offers beyond what’s in your HB plan.

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The W aims to be achingly hip and is not for families.

As per above comment, the Fairmont is on West Beach on the trunk of the Palm. That part includes a beach boardwalk and attracts lots of ex-pat locals walking/eating along it. The hotels there are large but packed tightly and Five is an influencer hotspot that blasts music all day.

Overall the footprint of the Palm hotels will feel quite tight relative to mainland hotels. I suggest you consider (budget dependent) a few of the following that are Palm-adjacent:
One & Only Royal Mirage
Westin Mina Seyahi
Le Meridien Mina Seyahi
Grosvenor House (not on a beach but free shuttle or walk to Le Royal Meridien’s ample beach)
Le Royal Meridien JBR
Ritz Carlton JBR
Doubletree JBR

The JBR hotels will give you a pedestrian-friendly strip to wander for family-friendly eateries if you think you’d like to get out of the hotel. However the atmosphere can be less than family friendly in winter, with prostitutes transacting openly and in abundance.

You could consider splitting your stay with beach and city if that keeps costs down on days you’re going to not be on the beach anyway. If so I’d suggest pricing up:
Intercontinental Ras Al Khaimah, in the northern emirate about 70 min drive from Dubai airport, as your beach hotel
Intercontinental Dubai Festival City, connected to Festival City mall and a short taxi hop to airport and sights, as your sightseeing hotel. It has an ample outdoor pool terrace that is not overshadowed.
The benefit of both of the above is that by purchasing Intercontinental Ambassador status, you could get one weekend night free and in both hotels benefit from 16.00 check out – which allows you to enjoy a pool and sun day up till say 15.15 before a shower and check out.