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My experience has been excellent also. My last small claim was automatically approved and send for payment. All I had to do with submit the online form.

For a bigger claim with MRI scans and multiple hospital visits it was also no problem and they even phoned asking could they upgrade my wife to business class to help on the return journey (we were already flying business).

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I’m hoping that having my mortgage with HSBC will continue to count as an investment product.

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I used Sixt Ride from the IC RAK to DXB as I needed a larger sized taxi with car seat. It was not a good experience. The evening before the driver was allocated and the car was shown on the app as a Merc V-Class. However, come pickup time the Merc was still tracking as being in Dubai and what turned up was an old, dirty, smelly Honda with an ancient (likely unsafe) carseat.

I needed to get to the airport so I had no option but to take it as at 4am there wasn’t any other option. The driving was atrocious and I had to tell the driver to slow down a number of times. Driving at 100kmph when there’s zero-visibility fog was just madness!! He was also on his phone while driving at that speed!

I complained and got a full refund. The CEO responded to me personally so I will give them another try as they have taken action and apparently terminated the relationship with that transport provider.

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Maybe pay a visit to the airport food court for some cheap and very tasty authentic Thai food? It’s called “Magic Food Point” and is on the 1st floor.

Most dishes are 100thb or less so it’s very cheap.

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Any feedback on the Waldorf Luasail? Looks like a great option with kids

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I love the IC Bangkok. The location is superb – Lumphini Park and several shopping centres are nearby. There’s a covered walkway to the BTS station. Central World nearby has a massive selection of restaurants. There’s also a number of small streetfood markets if you walk towards Wireless road.

And if your Scottish then the upmarket supermarket at the top of Central World has Irn Bru (even the diet stuff!!) 🙂

The lounge is excellent with great mojitos. Breakfast is great also with a large selection of foods and I particularly like the Indian foods. Can’t beat a curry for breakfast 🙂

The only downside is that taxis will refuse to use their meter when picking up at the hotel.

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I’m sure it was reported on here when it happened. Calling it Glasgow is a bit of a stretch. It’s in Cumbernauld which is about 10 miles outside of Glasgow. It must be fairly quiet out with the weekends. It’s popular for weddings and for spa days but the leisure facilities – pool, jacuzzi, sauna were in need of a complete upgrade the last time I visited. The local council facilities were nicer!!

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BA Flyer IHG Stayer wrote:

Worst hotel arrival gift?

Usually this may be a bottle of wine, water, some fruit or chocolate (maybe even a combination) but when I checked into the hotel I’m currently at in Berlin (not one of the major chains discussed on here – it only has one UK property for example) I was handed a package as well as the usual drinks voucher. I’m in the mid tier of their 3 level loyalty scheme.

Opened it yesterday and my initial thoughts it was something like a wash bag or shoe bag. Maybe even a Landry bag for dirty washing.

But no. It’s a table cloth. A table cloth with a Christmassy design in gold.

And the name of the loyalty programme slap bang in the middle of it!

I feel it may be left behind.

What’s your worst welcome gift?

A box of Midget Gems at the IC Singapore as a Diamond Ambassador felt a bit stingy.

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There’s loads of great riads to stay.

Dar One was excellent. In particular the Chicken, Lemon and Olive tagine was memorable. The room with the rooftop seating was great.

Riad Cocooon. This was a nice place but maybe not as nice as Dar One.

Riad Nashira. This was the nicest of the lot with a great Spa, Indoor Pool and bigger rooms.

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The commercial clause has been in there since I can remember. I rented a pickup truck in Thailand and phoned Amex beforehand to confirm that it wouldn’t be classed as a commercial vehicle. The agent said it was fine as long as I wasn’t using it for commercial purposes. I just wanted a car that was large and 4×4 for going up the steep hillside roads to a villa in Koh Samui.

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If you fancy something slightly different, how about Langkawi then onwards to Ko Lipe? Arriving off the boat, jumping into the water and clearing customs on the beach was an experience! It’s somewhere I’d love to return to.

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I did see a service offering nights for something like £30 a night. I assume the person behind the service has contacts with hotels willing to put through phantom nights for a small fee. Unfortunately I cant remember the name of the site and have no idea if it’s genuine.

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Barceló Margaritas Royal Level in Gran Canaria. I enjoyed my stay here – the pool area wasn’t crowded, the food was very good and the drinks were excellent with top brand spirits included. The Royal Level is adults only but the rest of the resort is more suited to families. The rooms aren’t luxurious but were clean and comfortable.

I actually stayed with kids before they made the Royal Level adult only. Had they not made that change I would have returned!!

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I know a Dr who stepped up to help on a Virgin flight. He was offered a business upgrade for the rest of the flight and when he declined he was given a stack of miles instead – enough for a replacement flight as I understand it.

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Breakfast at Indigo Cardiff is very nice too with an al-la-carte menu and small continental buffet. Unfortunately they rarely upgrade Diamond members!

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Rooms in the Even hotel midtown are compact and functional rather than luxurious. It’s right next to a police station and noisy 24/7 too.

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This would make a good article. Platinum vs HSBC Prem vs some packaged bank accounts (VM, Natwest etc..)

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The Virgin Money Club M account covers the cost of airmiles and points for cancellations which is interesting. Many policies say these have no value.

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I use HSBC Premier and have never had a problem with claims of any size (most is probably £3000ish). The last small value claim went straight to payment after automatic approval. I’ve found them to be good and they even offered to upgrade a flight to business class after my wife hurt her back but we were already flying business.

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Wasn’t hugely impressed with Ocean House by Melia. Rooms were fairly basic – 3* standard. Breakfast was poor, food in general wasn’t great. The Play:Bar was nice and the rooftop adults-only pool was relaxing but service was poor – you’d be lucky to see the waiter once every 20 minutes.

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Samui is am amazing island but it is large and taxis are expensive. I spent a few months living there and even got married at the Intercon. If you want to be out exploring then more remote hotels like the Four Seasons, Conrad and Intercon aren’t ideal. Ritz, Melia, Kimpton, Samujana, BanyanTree are better located. W and Six Senses have OK locations.

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Zing has better rates than the HSBC Global Money account!

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I chased and have been told they won’t consider extending me as my Silver status was as a result of a COVID status extension, it wasn’t earned by TPs.

Anyone had their COVID extension further extended by the paternity benefit?

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Didn’t get a reply to my request from May and my status has now been downgraded.

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Guernsey Globetrotter wrote:

What I’d like to know from you @gadgetzmo is when they say “Been a customer for 7 years and shocked to receive…” and also “might be to do with use of Paypal for FF but not sure” do you really mean “have rinsed hundreds of thousands of MRs from Amex via Paypal FF cycling over the last 7 years, Ming the Merciless stylee, and am now indignant that I have been found out”?!

Aren’t Paypal known for being trigger happy on account closures with excessive FF payments?