Page 1 of 1
Giving Miles Away

Posted:
20 May 2006, 11:59
by PGoodall
No this is not an offer of FC miles!!
My father has around 15,000 miles which he has no use for. Is there anyway he can give these to me to add to my account? This would take me up to the 120,000 i require for 2 upgrades from economy to upper class.
Advice much appreciated
Pete

Posted:
20 May 2006, 12:30
by Nottingham Nick
I can't think of any way that could happen.
I know VS will allow reward flights to be paid for from two accounts split 50/50, but points are non transferable in these circumstances AFAIK.
Nick

Posted:
20 May 2006, 12:31
by ChuckC
Pete,
Welcome to V-Flyer. We are delighted to have you with us and hope you will take advantage of becoming a member. For details simply click the link below.
As to your question, unfortunately Virgin Atlantic does not permit members to transfer miles between accounts. Complete terms and conditions of your membership in Virgin's Flying Club can be found
here.
Again, welcome.
Chuck-

Posted:
20 May 2006, 17:23
by Bazz
The only way you can benefit is if your father uses his miles to purchase a ticket for you! He could purchse a one way leg, it doesn't have to be a return, with you pruchasing the other segment. Not sure if he could use his miles to upgrade a ticket in your name or not but that may be another option?

Posted:
20 May 2006, 19:56
by p17blo
How come no one has suggested that either Pete or his father could BUY the required miles as part of the new offerings from VS. I know this is not the answer to the original question, but if I was 15k short of 2 upgrades, I wouldn't mind someone pointing out that I could buy them for £240.
Paul

Posted:
20 May 2006, 20:01
by honey lamb
Originally posted by p17blo
How come no one has suggested that either Pete or his father could BUY the required miles as part of the new offerings from VS. I know this is not the answer to the original question, but if I was 15k short of 2 upgrades, I wouldn't mind someone pointing out that I could buy them for £240.
Paul
I suppose we're not used to the idea of buying miles - it never occurred to me. That seems a good suggestion

Posted:
20 May 2006, 20:18
by Nottingham Nick
Good point, Paul. I was only thinking about how the OP could use his Dad's 15K miles.
Nick

Posted:
20 May 2006, 21:13
by mcuth
Originally posted by p17blo
How come no one has suggested that either Pete or his father could BUY the required miles as part of the new offerings from VS. I know this is not the answer to the original question, but if I was 15k short of 2 upgrades, I wouldn't mind someone pointing out that I could buy them for £240.
In fact, Pete's Dad could gift him the miles under the gifting scheme for £30....
Cheers
Michael

Posted:
21 May 2006, 10:16
by p17blo
Originally posted by mcuth
In fact, Pete's Dad could gift him the miles under the gifting scheme for £30....
Cheers
Michael
Can it work that way? Are you saying that Someone can 'gift' their own existing miles for a handling fee of £30? I didn't realise that, will be off to check that out.
Paul

Posted:
21 May 2006, 11:13
by PGoodall
Thanks for all the information. I had a feeling there would be no easy way of transferring the miles. If I have to buy the miles it still gives me a bargin price for 2 upgrades from Y to J
I tend to fly J with the "other" British carrier so am looking forward to comparing the 2 products.
Thanks again
Pete.

Posted:
21 May 2006, 12:07
by RichardMannion
Hold on - you don't need to buy miles.
If your father has 15k miles, then he can pay for 50% of a one way Y-J upgrade (which is 30k). You pay for the other half, and then you pay in full for the other 3 one way upgrades, at a cost of 105k to you.
Remember you can split rewards down into one ways (half the mileage), and also do 50/50.
Thanks,
Richard

Posted:
21 May 2006, 12:55
by mcuth
Originally posted by p17blo
Can it work that way? Are you saying that Someone can 'gift' their own existing miles for a handling fee of £30? I didn't realise that, will be off to check that out.
Nah, scrap that - I think I was doing things the wrong way on the website [:I]. When I was selecting the amount to gift & recalculating, I hadn't entered a valid recipient, so I think that was having an effect on it. Re-reading the Ts&Cs also points to only being able to buy them as a gift for someone too [:I] Not the first time I've been wrong, and probably not the last either

Still, Pete's Dad could buy him the miles as a gift anyway

Cheers
Michael

Posted:
21 May 2006, 20:46
by PGoodall
Thanks Richard, I will give your suggestion a go.
Looking forward to my first upper class flight in the suites. Last time I flew upper was around 10 years ago so things have changed a bit!!
Pete.

Posted:
22 May 2006, 12:08
by AndyRabbit
I have a similar situation...
My Gran went to SFO on a Y ticket and I upgraded her. She then earnt 10,714 miles and I got 3,000 for referring her.
Unfortunately, she is unlikely to fly VS again as she usually flies to Canada and wants direct flights.
Spending the miles seems difficult - to get most non-flying rewards you need 12,500 miles. If she were to buy the extra miles it would cost her £45 and then she could buy a £50 voucher - not really worth it!
Anyone got any creative ideas for these miles?
Did I read somewhere that they can be donated to a kids charity?

Posted:
22 May 2006, 13:20
by ChuckC
Originally posted by RichardMannion
Hold on - you don't need to buy miles.
If your father has 15k miles, then he can pay for 50% of a one way Y-J upgrade (which is 30k). You pay for the other half, and then you pay in full for the other 3 one way upgrades, at a cost of 105k to you.
Remember you can split rewards down into one ways (half the mileage), and also do 50/50.
Thanks,
Richard
Excellent, Richard! I paid for a family member's upgrade recently; should have thought of that option.
Chuck-

Posted:
22 May 2006, 23:23
by RichardMannion
Originally posted by RichardMannion
Hold on - you don't need to buy miles.
If your father has 15k miles, then he can pay for 50% of a one way Y-J upgrade (which is 30k). You pay for the other half, and then you pay in full for the other 3 one way upgrades, at a cost of 105k to you.
Remember you can split rewards down into one ways (half the mileage), and also do 50/50.
Thanks,
Richard
After double checking for my own sanity, this is no longer possible (going 50/50 on a one way award). However if its an upgrade from Y_J you can split it into two, so one person does the Y-W and the other w-J. So 10k for the first, and 20k for the second.
Used to be a possible to do as I had previously mentioned but a recent system change (along with the overdraft limits) has put paid to this. Buying miles is the way forward.
Of course you can alway split your roundtrip rewards into two one ways, so can still do 50/50 that way.
Thanks,
Richard