Exclusive Head for Points / Avios / Kaligo hotel bonus promo starts tomorrow

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• Jon says:

  30 Jun30 June 04:46

  OT as Bits: Has anyone else had their Curve card compromised recently?

  Just had a bunch of fraudulent transactions in the space of a few minutes (most failed as I locked the card as soon as I saw what was happening – luckily I had my phone in my hand when the first one came in!)

  I’ll wait to see what the fraud department has to say on Monday, but looking back at my own transactions and thinking about where/when my card could have been skimmed or cloned or whatever, and looking at the nature of the fraudulent ones (various different UK online web sites), I’m inclined to think it’s an automated hack – either someone using software to generate ‘valid’ card details, or someone’s got access to Curve’s database. And presumably an army of minions to make near-simultaneous online purchases 😉

  So just in case it’s not just me – if you have a Curve card, do keep an eye on the app for any dodgy transactions…

  Out of curiosity – I recall Rob saying before that a lot of HfP readers come from financial services backgrounds – does anyone have any insights into:

  – Is there typically a particular length of time between card details being stolen/hacked/acquired, and used? (Eg do they tend to get used immediately?)

  – Is there any correlation between place of compromise and place of fraudulent use? (Eg any significance to the fact that all my fraudulent transactions are on UK web sites, yet the vast majority of my own genuine ones have been overseas…)

  – Aren’t e-commerce sites, or at least their payment processors, supposed to check that the buyer’s billing address matches the card address? (I can only think of one purchase I’ve made recently where I’ve explicitly given my address, and that was by phone to the call centre of a well-known UK airline… Presumably in-person contactless and PIN purchases don’t transmit physical address?)

  The physical card is still safely in my possession, so I’m curious to know where and how it got compromised (though I suspect I may never find out) or whether there’s a more widespread breach going on. Or is this just another normal day in the world of credit card fraud? 😉

  • Kieran says:

    30 Jun30 June 05:09

    Hi Jon,

    It sounds to me like someone has hacked a database/website with your credit card details. I also have a Curve card and report no suspicious purchases to date.

    As all purchases were online, it doesn’t sound like your card was skimmed (not an expert though).

  • Larry bamana says:

    30 Jun30 June 05:21

    Time can vary, but probably depends on scam type. I recall someone on holiday having their details copied and the scammer waited to use their card until they took their flight home.. the places these people use it tend to be where the scammers originate as they can access the services in these areas.

    I don’t know anything about how curve works. Companies that hold credit card info are supposed to use tokens to ensure this info is kept secure. A big airline was exposed last year for failing to do this.

  • NigelthePensioner says:

    30 Jun30 June 07:26

    Jon – sorry to hear this but good that you noticed quickly. The (only) bonus of the curve card is that you can instantly switch it on and off (imho)!
    Answers –
    Q1) There is almost always a delay so that your own spending continues and you get longer and longer or further and further from the event or hack. Hence one often cant remember what one has have done in previous weeks. Early December is a classic time for fraudulent transactions as card companies put the atypical spending down to Christmas shopping and it doesn’t trigger a possible fraudulent transaction.
    Q2) No. No correlation between breach and spending. Foreign Uber rides and O2 phone spend was a firm favourite for some reason.
    Q3) Only certain elements of address, name on card, CVV and exp date are matched. It would be better for shipping to be to registered address only, but that is impractical when send things genuinely to other people. The new email / sms codes sent by card companies now, to validate transactions are I think a pretty unbeatable way of dealing with the issue. However if you are one of those “hip” souls who keep their credit card(s) in your phone wallet and you lose your phone, you are actually losing a credit card with the equivalent of the PIN written on the back of it!! Try getting refunded when this happens. Just don’t do it. Do NOT keep any credit (or charge) cards in your phone wallet.
    Im afraid it does sound like a hack of a credit card company and I fear it may be Curve – watch this and other spaces.

  • John says:

    30 Jun30 June 07:39

    I do not have any insider information about addresses, but I have taken to entering random addresses online to see whether transactions get approved. In most cases, the address has not been verified at all, and in other cases the 2 or 3 numerical digits in the postcode are all that is required.

    Adding and using cards with paypal usually works with any address, unless you trigger a paypal internal flag.

    Amex seems to be the most secure as they send me an email with a code whenever their computer decides a transaction needs further verification – even though entering any old address may get the transaction approved in other circumstances.

    Most of the banks I use have sent me messages saying that in the future all online purchases may need to be verified by a code sent via SMS.

  • Jovanna says:

    30 Jun30 June 11:06

    Logging in to my Lloyds App, I see something along the lines of:

    ‘We stay alert 24/7

    Our fraud prevention technology is constantly helping you to keep safe whenever you bank.’

    That’s complete nonsense. I’ve had to notify Lloyds the last two times my details were compromised. If I recall correctly, Lloyds wouldn’t even acknowledge that there had been a breach on the first occasion even though many readers of this site and elsewhere reported the compromise.

    • Roberto says:

      30 Jun30 June 14:10

      My curve was blocked yesterday. Declined in the US and curve contacted me to confirm whats what. Lets hope it gets sorted asap.

      I used it too quickly aparantly. Uber and Lyft as well as parking in the space of an hour. All declined..

  • Jon says:

    30 Jun30 June 16:12

    Thanks all for the replies. I hadn’t thought about a third-party web site being hacked – that narrows it to perhaps four or five possibilities… You’d think by now sites would know how to (or not to) store credit card details, but I guess not…

    Good point also re address checking – sounds like something that really ought to be beefed up. They go on at us about keeping things secure yet they don’t even properly validate basic details…

    Ah well. Will see what the fraud team says tomorrow…

    Thanks again.

• Jamie says:

  30 Jun30 June 05:12

  “the Shell Drivers Club website says that points not redeemed by Sunday will not be lost”
  Actually the website says “You won’t be able to collect points from 30th June 2019”.

  “Shell Drivers’ Club is closing
  Any points you’ve earned will not be lost, but make sure your card is registered. Click Sign In above, and Register Now!”

  • Hydebear says:

    30 Jun30 June 06:26

    The email I received from Shell on Friday about the closure reads “Any points you have earned up until 30th June will be sent to you through your chosen reward in the August statement.”

    • NigelthePensioner says:

      30 Jun30 June 07:04

      Correct Hydebear.

• BJ says:

  30 Jun30 June 05:34

  OT @Harry/Others: When using the amex25off code at Amazon on more than one account at the same address does the account holder surname need to match the amex cardholder surname?

  • John says:

    30 Jun30 June 07:42

    No and you don’t need to give a real name to amazon in any case

    • S says:

      30 Jun30 June 08:17

      Is it still working? I keep getting error since yesterday.

    • BJ says:

      30 Jun30 June 09:19

      @John, thanks 🙂

      @S Worked for me Friday and again yesterday, before that I couldn’t get it to work at all.

      • SG says:

        30 Jun30 June 11:29

        @BJ,was it twice on the same account with the same card,or different accounts?
        After I used it once in the main cardholder account,when signing in to Amazon a banner “Save £25 of £40 spend when using your Amex Membership points was displayed”
        Tried it again,it did not work!Did not screenshot unfortunately and so had no ground for a claim!

        • Shoestring says:

          30 Jun30 June 11:31

          in theory it’s once per account – same Amex card can be used on multiple a/cs

        • BJ says:

          30 Jun30 June 14:06

          Yes, as Harry said different accounts for me, 3 in 3 days so I’ll just leave it there. Covers my green fee so I feel patient to wait on platinum upgrade now at optimum time having been caught with the £4k debacle. Not sure why it works for me now but didn’t do before Friday, I ‘m not doing anything different.

        • Harry T says:

          1 Jul1 July 00:04

          I managed to use it on two different accounts tonight. Nearly managed it on a third account tonight but the code expired whilst I was changing the delivery address. I challenged Amazon about this and they said that all the codes must have been used.

• Matt says:

  30 Jun30 June 06:14

  Will the kaligo promotion include Asia?
  I need to book some hotels in Vietnam from tmrw and was wondering if it’s worth me waiting

  • BJ says:

    30 Jun30 June 10:12

    Don’t see why not, it worked for Asia in the past.

  • Rob says:

    30 Jun30 June 11:15

    Yes

• Tim says:

  30 Jun30 June 06:27

  This is what Shell stated in their email about the old scheme a couple of days ago: “Any points you have earned up until 30th June will be sent to you through your chosen reward in the August statement.”

• Keith says:

  30 Jun30 June 06:30

  After my last experience booking with Kaligo for Christmas in Las Vegas, I’d recommend extreme caution. They advertised a room at the Rio All Suites Hotel as being full board. I booked this hotel on that basis because it was a good deal for meals to be included. Not unrealistically cheap but good enough value compared to room only and B&B rates for other Las Vegas properties advertised on the website. My booking confirmation stated it was full board. Turns out it’s really just a $13 credit (per day) to redeem at Starbucks. I didn’t know that until I arrived at the ptoperty. It’s blatent false advertising, I don’t even drink coffee and I wouldn’t have booked the room at that particular hotel if I had known it wasn’t really full board because it’s not located on the strip and taxis are required to get to/from all attractions.

  Despite numerous complaints back and forth, all they provided was a messily £55 refund. The customer service, although polite were not very helpful at all and the company took no further responsibility for their own misleading false advertising other than to advise they were changing the wording on their website for the hotel. They even made me feel like it was my own fault for making the booking.

  The company is based in Singapore so you don’t get any consumer protection such as ABTA and ATOL as you would booking with an EU based company. There was therefore no arbitration route to go down to escalate my complaint further when I reached a dead end with Kaligo

  My previous Kaligo bookings were made on the back of the last Headforpoints 10k Avios promotion towards the end of 2018. It’s all well and good they generate money for the owner of this website through promotions so he can become wealthier and we consumers can earn a few extra Avios. However, when things go wrong due to Kaligo’s own mistake, there is no recourse when they don’t resolve the issues properly. Long story short, I feel ripped off after my last experience so won’t be rushing to book with Kaligo again.

  • Dawn says:

    30 Jun30 June 06:39

    I had a similar problem with Kaligo when booking in USA last year. I booked in order to get the points but when I arrived at the Hotel it was not as advertised, no fridge in the room and very sub standard. In addition to this I realised I’d paid well over the odds compared to my usual Hotels.com bookings, presumably this was just to cover the 2000 bonus Avios points. I will personally never use Kaligo again and will stick to Hotels.com with whom I’ve always been very happy.

    • TGLoyalty says:

      30 Jun30 June 08:12

      With everything you need to shop around a compare the total package. The additional Avios probably won’t be free but you have to decide if buying Avios at that price represents value to you.

    • John says:

      30 Jun30 June 09:06

      Honestly you should always check every hotel on multiple booking sites, including booking direct.

      I would normally say not to rule out Kaligo but I have been checking them for years and never found any good value deals even after factoring in the price of the miles, vs hotels’ own schemes, vs 9.1% return of hotels.com plus a few extra % from elsewhere, so I stopped bothering with them.

  • NigelthePensioner says:

    30 Jun30 June 07:13

    Regrettably the obsession of Avios often obscures the fact that you are paying for them with the likes of Kaligo and other similar sites. They are never the cheapest – nor, it seems, the best. I always start with Trivago and Hotels Combined, then check the hotel website for full room options. Hotels.com DO offer an enhancement with their loyalty scheme but remember that if other offers are also offered you have to choose between collecting loyalty points or the other deal.
    When using a foreign based broker for your hotel room it’s caveat emptor I’m afraid; however, I have found trip.com to be excellent on price and accuracy of product……let’s hope that continues at the Faena Hotel in just a few weeks time!

  • The other Kevin says:

    30 Jun30 June 07:16

    I’ve used Kaligo numerous times and never had any complaints with the hotels or their prompt customer service. You do have to check their prices just like anywhere else but they are not always dearer as some people think.
    Look forward to the promo tomorrow.

  • Doug M says:

    30 Jun30 June 10:19

    Kaligo price for me has always been paying over the odds for the Avios. My only real hotel problem was dealt with so superbly by hotels.com, they offered more than I’d have asked for, that along with their rewards scheme they’re my go to booking route.

  • Shoestring says:

    30 Jun30 June 10:33

    @Keith you would have a pretty good case to use S75 protection or chargeback to force a proper level of compensation

  • Rob says:

    30 Jun30 June 11:15

    Did you email me to see if I could help with this? I don’t remember it.

    You would be surprised how much we quietly fix behind the scenes in the average week.

    • The Original David says:

      30 Jun30 June 11:37

      Might be a long shot, but do you have any contacts in Air China? I currently struggling to get much traction with customer services about an involuntary downgrade…

      • Rob says:

        30 Jun30 June 11:41

        No, never dealt with them at all

      • Lady London says:

        30 Jun30 June 17:38

        Was the downgrade on a flight departing Europe? In that direction non-EU airlines are also bound by Eu261 so compensation cAan be ordered even if Air China refuse or if they refuse to communicate etc. It could be a respectable sum .

        If you handle it yourself and no resolution after 8 weeks of your first approac h including ideally at least 3 requests on your side or they gave you a ‘final answer’ …then after that go online to moneyclaim dot gov dot UK and claim. If you don’t want to do it yourself then try someone like Bott & Co who will deal with it and take a percentage of the results.

        • The Original David says:

          30 Jun30 June 19:54

          Sadly it was on the return, CTU-LHR, so out of scope for EC261 I believe. Amex chargeback is my next idea if CA keep ignoring me…

• NigelthePensioner says:

  30 Jun30 June 07:30

  I have just filled our cars up with their last tanks full of Shell petrol, as the new scheme has nothing to entice me.
  Could Rob remind us – I believe that any Tesco supermarket forecourt will give Tesco Clubcard points obviously, but what about the petrol stations with a Tesco Express? Do ALL of them give Clubcard points, or is it all except Esso (or whatever)?
  A reminder would be timely and appreciated! I don’t want anymore (worthless) Nectar points!
  Many thanks

• Jim ware says:

  30 Jun30 June 07:37

  Any Petrol Stations with a Tesco Express will give club Card point but but less 1 point for every £3 pound spent, but at a Tesco station it is 1 point for every £2 spent

  • John says:

    30 Jun30 June 07:43

    Or 2 points per £1 if you use a tesco debit card

    • The Original David says:

      30 Jun30 June 11:38

      Or 2.25/£ if you use Pay+ (linked to a Tesco debit)

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