[dst87]

They even list the cards that don’t support Apple Pay and this isn’t listed. I joked that we might have another Creation-level of competency on our hands here and I’m thinking I may have been right!

https://www.barclaycard.co.uk/personal/apple-pay

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u07ch wrote:

Have a reply from Barclaycard finally

“Thank you for contacting Barclaycard in
relation to Apple Pay. Unfortunately at the moment the new Avios card doesn’t
support this feature”

Doesn’t support the feature? What the heck are they playing at? Apple Pay and Android Pay should be table stakes for any modern bank. Its available on their other cards so this makes no sense to me at all. What a waste of time.

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I’ve checked into two different UK-based hotels now with the railcard rate and haven’t been asked either time. I have my railcard digitally anyway, so I’ll always have it to hand if I am asked.

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Comrade Chag wrote:

If you have Curve Metal, you can pay your American Express Card(s) with Curve using the fronted option with the Virgin card as underlying.

Curve is a hit or miss sometimes.

Any idea if Curve Fronted works well with Barclaycard? What are the fees like for this?

[dst87]

I got an email today telling me all about the features of my new card. Very much worded in a way that the recipient should already have the card. I wish they’d stop with all of these emails!

Still no card. Still no PIN. Still no app access.

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CarpalTravel wrote:

Why do you find that Apple Pay is essential? Not arguing or being critical, genuinely interested in case I am missing out on something!

Late to the party here, but in addition to the added security I find it the most convenient payment method via Apple Watch.

I can pay with basically no limit (unlike contactless, though admittedly that’s £100 now) and I know I’m not going to be asked for my PIN (which I might not remember given how infrequently I use it and then have to fumble about looking it up in 1Password). Contactless requiring a PIN after so many transactions or so much value of spend is an annoying (albeit necessary) limit that always seems to strike at the least convenient time.

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Sheesh, I remember when I ordered my Monzo debit card I received it within 24 hours. Barclaycard have years of experience here and I’m astonished that they’re unable to ship cards promptly. It’s been 7 days now!

(Plus, given I was unable to add a supplementary cardholder during the application, I assume I’ll have another long wait to get my husband’s card through. 😆 You have to laugh…)

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I can only speak for myself, but I don’t think it’s about being offended. The language just isn’t very inclusive to anyone who doesn’t experience life through the stereotype described.

I like HFP and using descriptions and phrasing that is needlessly gendered risks alienating some members of the audience. Look how much discussion has emerged around this one silly comment rather than the remainder of the informative article.

Actually, the article would become more informative. Rob has relied on the reader’s interpretation of “feminine seating positions” and doesn’t describe what he means by that. Moreso in the edited version:

I think that it is a very feminine seat, to the extent that it works best in the sort of seating positions that women are more likely than men to adopt for anatomical reasons.

What, specifically, does that mean? Is there a thigh width issue making it harder to sit open-legged? Is there no space to cross ones legs? I don’t think this description conveys any meaningful information.

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I think this rather pointlessly gendered comment of seating positions on the Finnair article this morning.

I think that it is a very feminine seat, to the extent that it works best in the sort of typical seating positions that women are more likely than men to adopt (you rarely see a man curled up on a sofa, for example)

Instead of saying that the seat is more comfortable for anyone who wants to curl up, that position was needlessly assigned to women.

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+1 for multiple useless emails and no sign of any card. I’m remaining optimistic that these are teething problems but I already don’t have much faith in Barclaycard’s IT systems.

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can wrote:

Exactly. I’ve got the card, activated it, used it, but still cannot change the PIN from the app and cannot even add it to my ApplePay.

Welcome back to 90s…

Oh dear. 🤦‍♂️ I hope we don’t have another Creation on our hands. Nobody can be that bad… can they? Apple Pay is a must though, so I really hope they get that sorted quickly. I don’t have my card yet, so I’ve got this fun to come.

Another surprise to me was the (unless I missed it) inability to add a supplementary cardholder during the application.

[dst87]

Classic legacy bank. Tech isn’t their strong suit!

Terrible security for the login system, and no way to sign in until after receiving your card.

The modern approach would be to let you start using the card via Apple Pay immediately!

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Ditto! I tried pricing some existing bookings in the app and prices were (surprise surprise) around the same or more than what I paid.

I’m beginning to think that it’s the hotel equivalent of the DFS sale!

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Rob Burgess wrote:

It will stop your points expiring, that’s about it.

Welcome amenities for elite members are being scrapped next month anyway, so the only tangible benefit for Gold was going anyway.

What are they leaving in? 🙈 I’m interested to see what the tier benefits are next month. Has anything been announced, or are you letting some pre-releases info slip?

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Actually looking at the email again it appears that it comes from Creation rather than IHG. Still pretty badly worded.

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Andrew. wrote:

It’s been over 10 years since I visited, and things may have considerably improved, but 2 nights would be too long for me.

That’s interesting. I was worried we wouldn’t have long enough, but I also suspect that I’m not too interested in most of what the immediate area around the falls has to offer.

[dst87]

Thank you everyone for the suggestions, and for the link to the review. The suite mentioned in that review does look really lovely, though appears to have a second double bed in addition to the main King bed – feels like a bad use of space for us, but may still be the best option.

Appreciate the tips, thanks!

I was just checking the Marriott app and it looks like the Sheraton Fallsview has been recently refurbished – didn’t see it before. The rooms look lovely, but it doesn’t looks like it’s as close as the other options.

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The hotel page has this to say:

Crowne Plaza Edinburgh – Royal Terrace will be undergoing refurbishments. We want to thank you for your understanding and patience. Additionally, we want to apologise for any inconvenience that might be caused. Thank you.

For any inquiries, please contact us on +44 (0)131
557 3222.

Our new gym facilities will open as we rebrand the hotel to voco™ end of Quarter 1 2022.

It suggests the refurb is ongoing and targeting maybe April for the rebrand?

[dst87]

Sounds like the 1152 + 1152 you have is base + Spire bonus. In my experience the promo bonus points don’t credit until a little while later as a separate transaction.

[dst87]

Agree with the comments above. Another tip is to have a separate browser used for this. I use Firefox (which isn’t my normal browser), have all of the privacy / security features turns to the minimum, and I have it set to clear all browser data every time the browser is closed. It makes it quick and easy to jump into a clean browsing session and know that there are no other cookies likely to interfere.

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Steven wrote:

Try asking them, it is free to sign up to.

I mentioned it to my HR person today so fingers crossed!

Technically my husband and I still have our own company… I wonder what would happen if I tried to register that? 🤔 Perhaps available perks scale based on the number of employees?

[dst87]

For what it’s worth, I’ve been able to search for these rates using the mobile app, too. I think after doing a search while logged in on desktop it I was able to tap “Best Available” on mobile app search and change to “Corporate Rate” instead. I may have had to manually enter the rate code… if so, that’s 786996886.

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Thanks for updating with the terms. I find 3 day cancellation window is almost always sufficient for my use (exclusively leisure travel) but I can see it being a problem for some.

I thought I’d read that deposit would be taken at three days before arrival, though that hasn’t actually happened for me in practice (on any rate supposedly requiring a deposit; I’m not sure why!)

[dst87]

Now I’m sad my employer doesn’t offer this benefit. It sounds quite valuable.

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Yeah, still waiting, though this month it’s only 23 points so I hadn’t really noticed. Statement says they’ll be transferred though and they’ve been removed from my Creation app already.