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The UK takes the first step towards reopening
The plan revolves around the R number ( the reproduction rate – currently between 0.5 and 0.9), the number of new infections, and protecting the NHS. Long story short…the lockdown isn’t over, it’s just rolling back gradually, and will roll out via 3 steps over the next few months. The first step, which is laid out below, starts now, with those that absolutely can’t work from home are now encouraged to return to work, i.e. construction jobs, etc. Social distancing will continue to be enforced, and avoiding public transport is advised. He reiterated that quarantines of new arrivals ( 14 days ) will be enforced, and also laid out a 5 level alert system that is flexible and fluid depending on the R number, but didn’t define the various levels – apparently that will be part of a 50 page document released tomorrow.
5 tests that must be fulfilled:
These various tests must be fulfilled in order to proceed from one step to the next. I believe as they proceed through the steps the alert level will drop until the virus is completely eradicated.
- Protect the NHS.
- Continued fall in death rate
- Continued and fall in the rate of infection.
- Enough PPE .
- Keep the R number under 1
Boris lays out 5 alert levels
Johnson referenced these 5 alert levels, but reveal exactly what they were – we’ll learn those tomorrow. He did mention that the country was currently on level 4 and level 5 would have been the collapse of the NHS. Level 1, would be the complete absence of Covid in the UK.
- Covid-19 is no longer a threat
- will update
- will update – but essentially it’s the beginning of this current opening phase
- What the country is currently under with quarantines, essential workers only, 1 mode of exercise, etc
- The most critical – I.e. health system crashing.
3 steps of roll out
The following 3 steps, or phases really, are flexible and simply guidelines that could be rolled back if the R number spikes or the 5 tests fail. It’s important to note that each is dependent on the fulfilling those 5 tests, and if they do, the next phase would remain on schedule, if not, they would tighten the reins.
Step 1 – Currently rolling out
- Those that can’t work from home may return to work under specific conditions
- Public transport should be avoided
- biking, car, and walking encouraged
Step 2 – June 1st
- Shops may reopen
Step 3 – July at the earliest
- Hospitality reopens
You can watch the whole broadcast here
Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities.
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
Welcome Offer
Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
Annual Fee
$95
Points Earned
Transferrable Chase Ultimate Rewards
- 5x on all travel purchased through Chase Travel℠
- 3x on dining, including eligible delivery services for takeout & dining out
- 3x on select streaming services
- 3x on online grocery purchases
- (excluding Target, Walmart and wholesale clubs)
- $50 Annual Chase Travel Hotel Credit via Chase Travel℠
- The begins immediately for new cardmembers and after your account anniversary for existing cardmembers
- 2x on all other travel
- 10% Anniversary Bonus
- Every year you keep the card, your total spend will yield a 10% points bonus. If you spend $10k in a year, you’ll get 1k bonus points
- Chase Sapphire Preferred continues to redeem at 1.25c in the Chase Travel℠ and the slew of other benefits remain in tact including Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver ( primary ), purchase protections, etc.
- Points are transferrable to 14 Ultimate Rewards partners
- Redeem in Chase Travel℠ for 1.25 cents per point
- No foreign transaction fees
- Suite of Travel and Purchase Coverage
- Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver is my favorite
- Get complimentary access to DashPass which unlocks $0 delivery fees and lower service fees for a minimum of one year when you activate by December 31, 2027.
- $95 Annual Fee
We keep an up to date spreadsheet that lists the best ever offers: You can find that spreadsheet here.
Historically 80k is a very, very good offer and hit in both 2022 and 2023. In 2021, we saw the offer hit an all time high of 100k. Who knows if that will ever come back.
Main Cast:
Cards that earn flexible points and should be used on the bulk of your purchases.
Supporting Cast:
Cards that earn fixed points in the currency of the airline/hotel and can not be transferred at attractive rates. These cards yield benefits that make it worth keeping, but not necessarily worth putting a lot of your everyday spend on.
The Chase Sapphire Preferred® is exceptional starter card and offers transferrable Ultimate Rewards, and pairs well with other Chase cards.
If you carry this card alongside Chase’s cashback cards like the Chase Freedom Flex® and Chase Freedom Unlimited® or the business versions: Ink Business Cash® , Ink Business Unlimited® you can combine the points into Preferred account and transfer into hotel and airline partners
Annual fee is quite low at $95 a year + you get a 10% anniversary bonus on points + $50 hotel credit in Chase travel.
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