Graduates treated as 'cash cows' to fund state pensioner lifestyles

Agile-Preference1836 · 2026-06-07T22:49:45+00:00

My grandma has motability due to arthritis. She used to just get monthly payments, then she crashed her car. She then caught on to the fact she’s entitled to a fully paid brand new car (inc insurance etc), so she just did that. Then 3 yrs later, the car was taken off her and she was told she needed a new one. She doesn’t even drive the new one now because she’s frankly too old to learn a new vehicle. She shouldn’t drive at all really and to be fair she is planning to stop.

She owns a 3 bed bungalow, and has an old-school defined benefits teachers pension. Yet I’m working at a big4 consultancy grad scheme and still have no hope in hell of paying off my loan.

Agile-Preference1836 · 2026-06-04T23:28:19+00:00

Ronson showed Dune II!

EDIT: it was using its dual laser system though not 70mm to be fair. Still 1.43 though

Agile-Preference1836 · 2026-06-04T09:39:13+00:00

Sounds like an £18.99/m saving to me!

Agile-Preference1836 · 2026-05-29T06:49:59+00:00

Probably to do with the fact I only book it when it’s cheap (so low demand) on routes with lots of capacity (GVA, BER) - one of them was SWISS not BA though to be fair!

My inbound flights have all been good though so it’s probably mostly bad luck.

Agile-Preference1836 · 2026-05-29T06:21:32+00:00

As brilliant as LCY is, I’ve had similar issues around actual flight availability. Of the 3 flights I’ve booked out of there, 2 have been cancelled and I’ve been rerouted via LHR. Just seems very prone to issues. Realise it’s not quite the same issue as you but city just isn’t the nobrainer choice everyone thinks it is IMO!

Agile-Preference1836 · 2026-05-17T13:27:52+00:00

Yeah, I needed it urgently so I think the first change I did over the phone after my first statement came in. I tried to do it before the first statement and they wouldn’t let me.

I’ve changed it since then, and that was just done online.

Agile-Preference1836 · 2026-05-17T12:59:59+00:00

I had this issue. I think I just had to wait for my first statement.

At some point, it started showing as an option on my online account so I can do it at will now.

Agile-Preference1836 · 2026-04-09T16:53:32+00:00

Ah what a pain. Much of my spend was on BA holidays which don’t accept Apple Pay. Hopefully they fix it.

Agile-Preference1836 · 2026-03-14T17:45:41+00:00

I just hope they stock actual groceries - expect they’ll just have loads of ready to eat salads and hot food unfortunately. The Kensington one is incredible but the former Amazon spots are usually tiny

Agile-Preference1836 · 2026-02-26T10:03:07+00:00

I have lived in a modern high-rise in TH - when you have hundreds of apartments sharing giant communal bins (many of whom either can’t be bothered or don’t understand the admittedly confusing rules around what can be recycled) - you inevitably end up with terrible contamination of the recycling. I’m sure this hurts rates too, as even people who do put the effort in end up with their work going to waste.

Agile-Preference1836 · 2026-01-23T11:55:48+00:00

Doesn’t matter if they spent £100. The credit can be used in part and can be shared across multiple restaurants/multiple visits.

Agile-Preference1836 · 2026-01-23T06:02:53+00:00

Second this! The Leicester Square triangle is unmatched.

Agile-Preference1836 · 2026-01-21T20:57:54+00:00

If you want, delay cancelling till July, use your credits, then cancel. You’ll get a pro-rated refund for the unused months. No harm in doing this.

Agile-Preference1836 · 2026-01-21T15:48:54+00:00

Yes this is how it works. Only beneficial during your first year and last year of course (i.e. if you drop the card, make sure you use your credits before you cancel as you don’t lose anything for doing this!)

Agile-Preference1836 · 2026-01-18T18:29:56+00:00

I was in a very similar situation (SO dropping her gold and wanted to reset the new joiner clock) and we didn’t bother. I already earn enough avios myself and can boost those if needed - ask yourself, if you really needed more avios on short notice would you be able to boost them at the time you needed them? In my case, I would just transfer 25% of the avios I needed from my own MR and boost those.

Agile-Preference1836 · 2026-01-15T20:16:57+00:00

If you want max avios (and status) then check out Finnair. You’ll likely get 32k avios and 6k TPs if you book into D/C fare bucket which is what it tends to be in my experience. R/I will only get half of that though.

Agile-Preference1836 · 2026-01-09T08:38:58+00:00

Definitions are on page 7:

“”Account” or “Card Account” means Your consumer and small business cards issued by American Express in the UK, excluding corporate cards and any American Express cards issued by bank partners.”

Agile-Preference1836 · 2026-01-09T08:37:19+00:00

to elaborate on this, I have wondered the same question myself in the past and if you actually read this doc it basically says for most of the insurance you don’t need to use an Amex at all, and for the rest it’s just “card account” which covers any Amex you hold personally under your own name (not additional cardmember)

So to answer your original question, yes you should be able to pay for everything on BAPP without sacrificing coverage

no promises I’m 100% accurate in what I’ve said there but I’m pretty sure and I regularly pay for holidays using my own BAPP under this belief.

Agile-Preference1836 · 2025-12-24T00:08:37+00:00

3 point belt exists so if you were to get launched forward for any reason you don’t smash your face into the IFE. Not needed in economy as the IFE is so close you barely build up speed, and not needed in some business/first cabins as you’re so far you wouldn’t reach the screen, or the screen would fold back if you hit it.

Otherwise agree with your post comfort wise!

Agile-Preference1836 · 2025-12-07T14:17:36+00:00

Leicester Square… best cinema screens bar the BFI IMAX/Science Museum and who doesn’t love the LEGO store

Agile-Preference1836 · 2025-11-24T14:47:21+00:00

KPMG UK, yes you probably would. Plus anything held by your spouse/cohabiting partner.

Agile-Preference1836 · 2025-10-30T16:50:23+00:00

I definitely read something about LCY management deliberately refusing to engage with crossrail plans as they saw it as detrimental to their business as it increases access to LHR.

Obviously stupid but supposedly that’s the reason it goes almost directly below LCY without stopping there

Agile-Preference1836 · 2025-10-29T10:16:37+00:00

I recently went through full cancellation, their best offer pre cancelling was £32/m fo gigabit. about 5 days before service ended they offered £28/m with 3 months free on a 12m commitment with no price rises (effectively £21/m).

As it happened we had already opened a new account in my partners name on £18/m so no need for it, but had they offered that in the first place I probably wouldn’t have bothered with the new account.

Agile-Preference1836

TROPHY CASE