[HughM]

I’ve received Radisson Rewards from Europcar, this year and previously.

[HughM]

The Hampton, Corby, had been steady on 20,000 for a few years: gone up now to 27,000. My favourite regular freebie for 12 years; less regular now. Used to be 5,000. If I’ve got to pay, I’ll be looking at Peterborough.

[HughM]

Lille: not really a summer holiday area, from the French point of view. So at this time of year you find quite a lot of shops and restaurants closed. Not all, but I found it a bit limiting.

[HughM]

I’ve always got time for Stuart Kirk. Others?

[HughM]

Name: Radisson Red Gatwick South
City: Lowfield Heath, Crawley
Upgraded? paid for runway view; elevated to top floor
Lounge Access: No lounge
Breakfast: Yes, 3 free breakfasts based on 2 rooms.
Welcome gift: no.
Late checkout: not required.
Stay duration: 1 night
Extras: overnight hotel parking £12 (parking eye not Radisson)
Service quality: friendly and helpful.

[HughM]

Waitrose is the dearest supermarket. It can afford to offer perks, which used to include a free newspaper on a certain spend. Now the coffee’s back, but the paper is not.
Rather than any particular club benefit, I find the perk in BA is one suitcase included in ticket (or two if flying Club World – I can’t carry them anyway). As a short haul flier, I attach less value to other comforts.
I normally go to Waitrose just for the coffee, an acceptable brew off a Swiss machine; one visit out of three, I may spend up to £50 there. The system flags me as a low spender: I no longer get the vouchers as well (£1 – £2 per week).
Sainsbury’s offer a free ‘day pass’ for their WiFi; you have to log on each time. Waitrose log you on automatically to BT WiFi – a dearer store, less hassle. Points, by nature, are fiddly: in Waitrose, there are no actual points …
In Waitrose, I have found dry cleaning items added to my groceries, which I never bought, apparently ‘transmitted’ from the Johnson’s stand in the store: Waitrose refunded the extra £30.
The problem of inflation at the till not yet reflected in the price tag on the shelf is common to both Waitrose and Sainsbury’s. Tesco, I find more reliable: you do normally pay what it says on the shelf. Not to be taken for granted.

[HughM]

“But I do think Monzo should have handled this situation better than it did.”
In my experience, going solo, it’s hard work getting to that point with the FOS. You stood your ground and won eventually.
A group of aggrieved customers carries more weight: see ‘pile in on Creation!’

[HughM]

I had this with Europcar at Rome FCO last year: your flight was late (guess who?) and we gave your car to someone else. After a bit of a chat, and mention of Executive Privilege, we were conceded a larger car for the same money.

Perhaps the mood has changed with the modified loyalty benefits, axeing the annual free fourth rental. Six weeks ago, again in Rome FCO, I ended up paying twice the price of the original reservation, a Peugeot 30 something, for a VW Golf diesel. That sort of one-level upgrade used to be free. It felt a bit of a rip-off.

A bit, it depends who you get, and where you are. My local Europcar have been generous with chunky vehicles that might otherwise not sell at a weekend. I’ve also found that same airport hire desk will stick around in the small hours, if they know you are delayed, after checking that you are no a no-show. That’s value, even at £30.

Finally, that scheme where you return a car to an airport for one euro/£ isn’t on at the moment, because they don’t need it. Hires are flying off the shelf.

[HughM]

Old threads never die!
A phone call reveals:
minus £5 means Creation owe me for the cancelled IHG premium card. They will credit me in 7 days. Amazing.

[HughM]

Don’t know about giving – it certainly keeps on going. Four years after Creation’s unilateral withdrawal of my IHG Rewards Club Premium card, and final closure of my account, they e-mail me to say my latest statement is available to view in My Account (closed long ago) with a negative balance of £5 payable on 14 April 2025. My former log-in details are not recognised. At the time, I accepted the ombudsman’s generous compensation award, and that should have ended the matter. They are a nuisance. Ignore?

[HughM]

Oh dear! Europcar switching to a revenue-based reward scheme. No more free weekend after 3 hires. One point per euro spent (and in the UK?) There will be ‘surprises’ (sounds like Nectar …) Four bands by spend (Discoverer, up to EUR 999; Traveller, 1000 – 2999; Adventurer 3000 – 9999; Navigator from 10,000 euro spent). No more roaring off in the Mercedes when I only booked a Ford Focus. Ah well, it was nice while it lasted. Time to review whether Avis President is better, but for how long?

[HughM]

High demand. Will try later.

[HughM]

Gatwick offers a couple of Radissons: a Red, for which the Tripadvisor reviews are not rave; and an Individual at Charlwood, round the perimeter, where the VIP upgrade might make more difference. I have never noticed Radisson at Gatwick before. I’m not flying; it just offers more choices than Brighton. So I would be interested if anyone tries their premier.

[HughM]

Update: I sent screenshots, showing the website I had used (IHG) and the list of restaurants at 150 points each that I had seen. This was accepted in retrospect, and I have now received 800 points. I’m assuming that breaks down into 500 for first time at OpenTable, and 300 for booking as Platinum. Anyway, it’s a good method of preserving a small points balance. I’m mildly surprised I still have platinum, a relic of the withdrawn Creation/IHG card.

[HughM]

On 4 and 13 November I made bookings through OpenTable at a local restaurant, using the link with the headforpoints article on how to preserve IHG one rewards points. I used a desktop to access the IHG/One Table platform.

On both dates, we duly turned up and ate at the reserved time, but the points never showed up.

After Christmas I asked IHG about it, using their form for points missing from partners backed by the e-mail confirmations I had received from OneTable. I received the following reply: “I’m sorry to learn about your missing points from your OpenTable. I’d like to share that OpenTable’s partnership with IHG allows IHG One Rewards members in certain countries to earn points when they make online reservations with OpenTable through the IHG App. May I ask if you reserve through OpenTable in the IHG App? You may also send us a screenshot so we can further check.”
The booking confirmations do not mention IHG, and I have no screenshots of the booking process. Using the app was never an option. So, not lucky on this occasion.

[HughM]

I used to subscribe to use a local hotel pool, as an outsider (it’s now the Leonardo). I just wanted to swim. Outsiders commonly complain that the water in a leisure pool is ‘too hot.’ Personally, I don’t swim fast enough to feel the heat, but as a regular I did tire of the dimensions. The advertising you read definitely lists indoor pool as a benefit open for the length of your stay, like no smoking and universal WiFi. They don’t list spa in the same way. The problem lies with ‘poolside’, no clear division between pool and jacuzzis, where the jacuzzis are actually part of the pool, not set aside. You have been misled and treated unfairly. But Hilton may claim to be using price as an instrument of crowd control. Wishing you luck.

[HughM]

Only time I have redeemed Avios for Club was around last Easter, when all the economy reward flights were fully booked. That would be my only reason for Club, ever. My destination was Rome, Fiumicino, where I enjoyed the BA lounge as a treat, certainly didn’t need the in-flight drinks!

[HughM]

Just hung on for FOS decision. Will now move on.

[HughM]

We had a reply from the Ombudsman: “I’m persuaded that Starling have been fair and reasonable … from the information I’ve seen on Starling’s website literature, it’s clear they’re not currently offering a euro account for new customers” (our contention was that it isn’t clear, either from the website or the online help). Starling haven’t offered this account to new customers since January 2024. At the time of application for this account (February), the euro account wasn’t actually being offered by Starling. It wasn’t offered and then taken away – it wasn’t available. They’re under no obligation to offer a euro account. They’re currently on hold, and this is clearly displayed on their website. They do plan to one day change this decision. No date is currently planned.

[HughM]

Like you, I’m blue. I have only ever done Club on Avios, when all economy Avios flights were taken. Avios availability, only that, would tip me into Club.

[HughM]

I too was a Club first timer a few months ago. I’m not vegan, but I would tend to hedge my bets. Try and get in the lounge before check-in and grab something suitable. On-board, I think of it as a top-up to the lounge.

[HughM]

I did this (downgraded back to the free Avios Barclaycard I had before the big Avios offer). After about six months, I received an e-mail from Dragonpass explaining that I would no longer receive the free lounge passes but can still get in to Plaza Premium for £18.50. In my opinion, that’s still not bad. At Heathrow Terminal 5, there’s also 15% off at Giraffe, airside, and I’ll suss that out tomorrow. On the Barclays free passes, I never needed to book at Plaza Premium: they just wave you in, but it may be standing space only. Eventually a chair frees up. Nice while it lasted, unlimited chicken Korma and Chilean red. Find a niche for the wine glass and balance the curry till a chair frees up. You do need to book Club Aspire, and I’ve no experience of that.

[HughM]

You are in luck. Free admission to all state museums on 3 November, first Sunday of the month.
More information: https://www.turismoroma.it/en/events/first-sunday-month-free-entrance-state-museums
My pick is Villa Borghese – I happen to be there on free Sunday of October.

Vatican, not state, is free on last Sunday of the month. You can’t win ’em all.

[HughM]

At Rome-Fiumicino, Europcar offered me a compact car with no parcel shelf. Fortunately I noticed: it’s good to cover your luggage. It’s not an item they keep in stock; it meant going back to reception and restarting the hire process. They were supportive of my decision.

Tip if doing a vid: include the car roof outside.

[HughM]

Thank you for the tip-off. I’m tied to Rome, haven’t booked yet for next year. Don’t have to find accommodation, at least. At http://www.iubilaeum25.va under ‘what is the jubilee?’ it explains. Yobel was a ram’s horn trumpet, a blast from which launched a ‘year out’ (7 x 7 years)+1 = every 50 years in ancient Israel. Land left fallow, undue debts cancelled, general chill-out. Has run in Rome since 1300, first every 100 years, then down to 50, now every 25. Complete a few simple tasks for sort of bronze rather than blue status, heavenward-bound.