[tomjmu]

Wanted to apply for this card, but just checking conditions for bonus:
“you have had ANY Barclaycard credit card, Avios or non-Avios, including the ‘closed to new applicants’ Hilton Honors credit card, in the previous six months (in this case, you cannot apply at all)”
I currently have a barclaycard platinum (on a 0% spending offer for 18 months until July)
so I will have to close this card then wait 6 months before applying for the card is this correct?
thankyou

[tomjmu]

yes mine was also due to end in December, says status updating soon 25/12 (2025), if you click more details then on the app, it just takes you to hotel search!
so for now its still classing as VIP, hopefully we have had another year or two added like others

[tomjmu]

Yes I have recently signed up and god the Gold card again after a couple of years,
no offers showing yet, but as you say @Davefl, I thought this was likely with it being a new card and hopefully they start showing soon

[tomjmu]

Well @Go197 that does sound fantastic, and I will search about the Hua Hin road cycling race.
Day 2 of 2026 and have ticked off getting out in the Helicopter for a fly (not me flying it!) over site here in work in Africa, so a good start to the year

[tomjmu]

Oh some great sounding trips everyone,
I’ll continue to fly in and out of KL Malaysia for work with Emirates, breaks around asia lined up, Sri Lanka end of month for some of the cricket T20 matches, on cheap airasia tickets
Taiwan in March, using my reminaing Airfrance/flying blue miles to go KL to Taipei with China Airlines.
Collect enough emirates skymiles so I can upgrade when I do visit back to home in England later in year!

[tomjmu]

According to Tripit 155 days away which I think maybe more, Flighty has me on 100,900 miles for the year 2025!
Highlights:
getting to try Emirates first class (actually a relative ‘bargain’ to be able to upgrade to, as the very generous work contract pays for business fully flex tickets)
South Korea/Japan in October, great weather perfect temps for plenty of walking, and trying lots of new food
Lowlights:
Nothing major springs to mind, and to be honest maybe you could say getting overcharged a few dollars here and there in Asia, but I don’t have the energy to let that bother me or spoil trips when its minor like this.

[tomjmu]

Dealing with Lufthansa is a mixed bag I think its fair to say, you get a very straight forward response and they don’t seem to entertain further discussion.
I tired a claim a couple of years back for ending over 3 hours late back to UK, they claimed weather (snow/ice) out of their control, when in fact it was really waiting on ground grew to de-ice the plane. You could certainly argue the cold weather was expected at that time of year and they should be prepared for this, but I got nowhere with the complaint and gave up!
So I wish you good luck, but yeah it looks like its a tricky one unfortunately!

[tomjmu]

I was also shown an offer of 50,000 points for sign up, I just signed up the other day! I have screenshotted the offer when I signed up so hopefully it is not an issue when it comes to the time of receiving the bonus. I hope you can keep complaining and get somewhere with this

[tomjmu]

I should add however, that anywhere that sees particular large numbers of USA tourists, the prices and expectation of tipping soon distorts the original local pricing, ie Tulum, Puerto Vallarta, but hopefully it has not affected the value so much in Puerto Escondido.

[tomjmu]

I went a couple years ago to Puerto Escondido, it was noway near the terror or horror that is the place known as ‘Tulum’, so perhaps dont take that as gospel. It is spread over over the large southern surfing beach, the more local town in the centre, and then some smaller beaches on the west. Overall I found it a nice place to stay for several days, with a good mix of more touristy places by the beach and more local places in the town for tacos etc.

[tomjmu]

Yes the parade is pretty good in CDMX, dont expect it to be on time though, so no point rushing to be there early! up until several years ago day of the dead was more celebrated at home and with family in mexico, however there is more parades and public celebrations these days

[tomjmu]

@polly what was your renewal offer then? is it worth it? mine will be running out next month and would consider it if its reasonable!

[tomjmu]

should clarify my early statement, its plenty of time if using the transfer gate, ie not having to clear immigration, collect luggage and check in again. So if you only have carry on luggage, and not clearing immigration and customs, it would be possible if already checked in online for second flight

[tomjmu]

Providing flight on time, this is plenty of time to transfer at KLIA

[tomjmu]

I cant see how you we can loose out with rates going up and down as they both do? if using interbank exchange rate or mastercard/visa rates.
The Starling bank rate coverter is useful as it shows the baked in % on top of the mastercard exchange rate,for example on thai baht, the mark up in exchange rate is 0.82%, whereas for Japanese Yen the mark up is 1.04%, so would depend on how much value is on the possible points earning to offset the difference in rates. I know it all swings and roundabout in the end, but look after the pennies and all that!

[tomjmu]

Trading 212 debit card uses interbank rate and currently has cashback of 1.5% ( I think capped at £15 a month) offer
The mastercard/visa exchange rates most use have a baked in mark up % in the rate of between 0.3-1% compared to the interbank rate, so whilst is is a small percentage difference on the exchange rates, I guess it can add up abit over the year
so depends if you want points off a card or cashback?

[tomjmu]

Perkypat wrote:

We are in Vietnam in January. I was wondering about staying on during Tet, rather than moving on to Cambodia. Has anyone been during the celebrations? We would probably be in HCMC.

HCMC will be quiet as most people go home for Tet to be with their families, so some smaller business likely closed for a few days, likewise travel leading up to Tet is particularly busy, with buses and trains sold out in advance.

[tomjmu]

Hey @Gordan sounds a fantastic trip, I also use 12go asia, however I also like the Rome2Rio app, pretty quick to give u the diff options of travelling between 2 places etc and often has a good idea of bus frequency and price ranges etc.
When you get to Kanchanaburi, my recommendation would be to carry on a couple hours further North west and see the Hellfire Pass Interpretive centre, the local train gets you as far as Nam Tok, check local guesthouse Yayei Homestay, can take a scooter and drive yourself and also go up to Erawan National Park for the waterfalls.
Hadnt heard Vietjet had such a poor rep, have used them a few times before and no problems from my side!
Check the weather before heading to Sapa, can often be pretty overcast for days.

[tomjmu]

and if you are stopping at Riyadh or Jeddah, the Saudia lounges are very good if you have sky team status! The Riyadh one has a chef doing fresh eggs/omelettes etc in the morning, and pizzas later in the day, aswell as a desert and coffee bar

[tomjmu]

yes if on a UK (or EU) passport, its technically the e-visa waiver (which has the $40 fee you mention), this is good for visits up to 180 days, you apply and will have it within 2 days, make sure you go through the visit saudi webpage to land on the correct portal

[tomjmu]

Hi, my hilton app seems to be working fine (on iphone), so not experienced it for this side! sometimes these things happen, hopefully it clears next time the app is updated?

[tomjmu]

Re Taxis/Grab from KLIA: yes ive had a grab as low as 68rm plus tolls of around 12rm so 80rm in total, the trick for a grab is from arrivals go back downstairs to departures and go outside there, they are happy to let grabs drop off, but less keen on the waiting around at arrivals in the pick up/drop off lane. So when you get a grab (they are often waiting outside the airport parked up) they can come much quicker driving into departures and collect you. I always just book the cheapest/standard option and they are absolutely fine, never had any issues with rash driving.

[tomjmu]

Valladolid is definetely worth 2 days – 1 day for Chichen Itza trip (although I would say go early in morning as it opens before it gets too busy. But a second day for a trip or tour out to a few of the cenotes, this is a good day out, easily hire a taxi or there are a few you can cycle too. One cenote is even in the centre of Valladolid itself also worth going. A little outside the town to day trip to – Check out Cenote Samula & Cenote Zahamal, then Hacienda San Lorenzo Oxman (cenote, old Hacienda and food/drink). The Ek Balam ruins are also great and there is also a big cenote here X-Canche.

[tomjmu]

Gerry I can apologise for that not sounded abit more positive! The general recomendations of countries that most friends have enjoyed have been Guatamala & Panama!

[tomjmu]

Not been myself, only to Mexico which I highly recommend. A close friend has done all the way from Mexico through Central America to Panama. His words were “its alot of long bus journeys”, with also the sentiment he didnt differentiate massively between some of the Central American countries, but did enjoy Panama, seeing the famous canal and old town Panama City. Costa Rica being more expensive than the rest due to influx of USA tourists and their overtipping culture having distorted pricing.