[dst87]

I remember reading that Amex will promptly sent a replacement card anywhere in the world if necessary – is it worth asking them? I don’t know how fast that is, or if there’s a cost involved, but it might be a solution if you’re desperate to use the card before you get home. Perhaps someone else here has used this service before and can share their experience.

[dst87]

I know it doesn’t help you now, but I keep all of my credit cards in my password manager. That way card information for all of my cards is available anywhere I go, along with logins etc.

I’ve used 1Password for over a decade now and love it (I also now work for them, full disclosure) but any similar system will allow you to store and access credit card information as well as logins and other sensitive information.

One thing that may help… have you ever asked any of your web browsers to save card information before? Some are quite keen to remember them for you, and you may be able to access the full card information that way.

[dst87]

memesweeper wrote:

I sent back a bag at 99 days to swap for one of a different colour which wasn’t available when I purchased. No quibble, they even sent the new bag before receiving my return to ensure my travel wasn’t disrupted. That’s the kind of customer service that has me on a forum at the middle of the night promoting Away Travel. And the bag itself is bomb-proof.

Skip the battery though. You don’t need it.

Good to know, thanks! I’m tempted to get the one with the battery as I can imagine it being useful sometimes and although I’m astonished they haven’t updated the battery to be all USB-C, I figure I can upgrade in the future if they release an update (which surely must be round the corner…?)

Plus… the one without the battery is out of stock. 👀 I agree though that I’m most likely to have a small rucksack with me that I’d keep one of my existing batteries in anyway, but I don’t know that getting the case with the battery will be much of a downside.

[dst87]

I’ve enjoyed reading all of the responses and discussion around benefits of various bags. Thanks for the input everyone.

We re-examined our checked luggage and I don’t think they’re in as bad nick as I remembered. I think I just wanted something new and was pretending they need replaced when really I’m just being an obedient little consumer. I’m going to stick with those for now (Antler cases, and they’ve served us very well to be fair).

That said, we do legitimately need better hand luggage and I’m now considering the Away Carry On Aluminium edition. I think the extra rigidity sounds good, as does having clasps instead of a zip. If it doesn’t appeal I can always put their 100 day return policy to the test!

[dst87]

mark2 wrote:

I have bought gift cards here https://www.paypal.com/uk/gifts/all in similar offers.
Not the best selection: I would only buy garden centre cards but others will have different view!

Oh nice! I had no idea PayPal sold them directly… it looks like you can add multiple smaller gift cards to your card too, which I assume are processed in a single transaction?

This should be perfect, thank you!

[dst87]

Reney wrote:

Paypal spend £100 get back £20 (on my plat card only) – ideas on how to use this pls!

eBay would be one option, but I’m guessing there are places selling gift cards who accept PayPal… that’s my hope.

Hoping someone has a list of nice cash-like options.

[dst87]

Interesting, that S’Cure range wasn’t on my radar but I’ll check it out. I’m not keen on paying a fortune for designer luggage really, I just want something practical that’ll last. The Away / Horizn stuff has some neat-sounding features and aren’t badly prices, but hearing real-world experience is helpful.

@SteveJ I’m curious about the preference for clasps over zips; is this a reliability / durability concern or something else?

[dst87]

It’s great to hear a positive experience. It sounds like they’ve done a good job of working out all of the new product kinks.

I’ve certainly got no issues with the card a few months in.

[dst87]

I’ve seen so many comments with issues recently – what’s changed? Are more people using lounges than before? Reduced capacity? It all seems to have gone to crap and I’ve not got a clear understanding of why.

[dst87]

Rui N. wrote:

That’s another matter. Rob’s comment was about people having so many MC/Visa cards, not that they are actually used, let alone on Curve.

Ah, fair comment. I missed that important context.

[dst87]

For reference: https://www.headforpoints.com/2022/06/22/american-express-preferred-rewards-gold-changes/

[dst87]

Rui N. wrote:

I’d be very surprised that the average HfP reader doesn’t have plenty more than 3 cards that they can add to Curve. You just need a couple of current accounts and a couple of CCs to be above that…
Among the general population, of course that would be different, most probably only have 1 debit card and that’s it.

True, but how many HfPers are putting any spend through those cards? For anyone starting out today, I’d imaging that the Avios Barclaycard, a Virgin Atlantic card, and maybe a Chase debit card would be in the wallet and worth spending on – am I missing something else?

[dst87]

I’m still on the Legacy Black card which is free and there’s almost no information about. Any word on changed to that?

[dst87]

There’s a fantastic Italian restaurant near Cathedral in Glasgow called Celentano’s. Highly recommended!

[dst87]

No, not just you. I’ve found the same all morning. Seems their service must be having some trouble.

[dst87]

rk1 wrote:

An update – I called Amex again and they credited me £50. My first call was with a trainee and the information he gave me was wrong.

It’s good they helped credit you manually, though I’m fairly sure they didn’t _have_ to based on the T&C.

Definitely pay direct for future offers and save yourself the headache!

[dst87]

If you open the Amex app, switch to your BAPP card (if necessary) then tab the Membership tab at the bottom, that gives you the tracker showing how close you are to the target.

That’s on iOS. I’ve no idea about Android, though I’d be surprised if it was much different.

[dst87]

AnotherUser wrote:

As Diamond, do you have to choose between free breakfast or drink vouchers? In some hotels, free cocktails might be a better option than breakfast…

You have to choose which amenity you want – welcome drink, points, or breakfast.

For more than a one-night stay, the value of the breakfast is certainly going to be higher.

Rob’s advice certainly still holds true: it seems to be worth picking drink or breakfast. In both of my stays since the change I was awarded points in addition to the other amenity anyway.

[dst87]

Oh, yeah the unexpected and noisy renovations sound really unpleasant. At first I thought you were avoiding the hotel purely on the grounds of the 9:30 end to breakfast, which seemed a bit of an overreaction. Hopefully once the renovations are complete it’ll be worth visiting again. Seems unfair to not notify guests in advance through a notice on the website.

How have management responded to your complaints?

[dst87]

Kowalski wrote:

Finally my advice for anyone thinking of staying at this hotel is AVOID AT ALL COSTS!

For midweek, 9:30 doesn’t seem too bad. Do they serve breakfast later at weekends?

Besides the breakfast times, what other problems have you faced?

[dst87]

rk1 wrote:

I used paypal linked to my platinum card to use my Harvey Nics cashback. Called Amex to ask if using paypal was ok – did show paypal Harvey Nics on the statement. Amex kept me waiting 35 minutes trying to figure it out before I got disconnected.

Does anyone know if using paypal linked to offers on the amex card is ok.

I would say almost certainly not – transactions made via “payment facilitators” are explicitly called out as being exempt from the promotion. PayPal charge your card, not Harvey Nichols themselves. This is true for every Amex offer I’ve used.

[dst87]

If you choose the corporate rate option and enter 786996886, that’ll apply the railcard rate.

The rate is not available for all dates at all hotels, so if you don’t see the rate mentioned that’ll be why. At least in the app it tells you that the selected rate isn’t available.

[dst87]

BuildBackBetter wrote:

Avoid curve for transactions that are authorisations in nature – the TfL tap and go or the temporary charge at a hotel check in. Most of these transactions don’t result in issues, but I wouldn’t use curve for them.

Frustratingly, Curve specifically call out the hotel authorisation scenario as being supported. It was something I was worried about going wrong and while it worked correctly in some cases it definitely didn’t in others. Unreliable, and who can be bothered dealing with the mess left behind?

[dst87]

You definitely need to use the same card or device. TFL mention this on their website about the capping feature:

If you use contactless, always use the same card or device. If you don’t, we can’t cap your fares. For example, if you pay with a mobile device on Monday and a contactless card on Tuesday, these fares won’t count towards a weekly cap.

Semi-related to the Curve issue you’re facing here, I found that while some Hotel pending charges didn’t reconcile correctly when the final charge was processed and I’m still trying to unpick the mess and work out who to get to fix it. For anything clever like this, I’ll avoid using Curve in the future. I don’t trust it, and I suspect getting them to fix it will be a real headache.

• This reply was modified 53 years, 3 months ago by .

[dst87]

I’ve used Apple Pay many times when redeeming an offer. It’s never caused a problem or delay and the cash back has always been posted.