UPDATED: Tier Point Guide v2.01

Thanks for an excellent guide which really should be published on the VS website.

I do however have a query regarding Tier Point Lifespan, where the new Tier Point calculator seems to disagree with the guide. According to the guide:

quote:Originally posted by RichardMannion

Tier Point Lifespan
For Moving Between Tiers
For the purpose of moving up a tier, Tier Points are only valid for 12 months. So if you earned 5 TP for a qualifying Upper Class flight on 8th May 2004, they will expire for purposes of moving up a tier exactly 12 months later, 7th May 2005.

My last flight was on August 4th in Y, for which I earned 2 tier points. According to the guide, these tier points should expire on August 3rd 2005. If however I use the tier point calculator to tell me how many TPs I need to reach Silver by August 31st 2005, it calculates that I need to earn 13 - 15 less the 2 I earned on August 4th 2004.

So essentially it appears that the TP calculator expires TPs at the end of the 12th month rather than exactly one year after the points were earned.

Is the VS TP calculator or the TP Guide correct in this case? This could be quite a significant difference for me as I'm on the borderline of reaching Gold in the next year.

Regards,
Barry

[RichardMannion]

Hi Barry,

I think you will find that the calculator is wrong.

The points to remember are the differences between TP validity for the purpose of moving up a tier, and then for the purpose of retaining status.

The official T&C's would back up my guide:
http://www.virgin-atlantic.com/en/gb/fr ... /index.jsp

2.14 To reach silver status you must earn 15 tier points in a 12 month period. Once you are a silver member you will need to earn 10 tier points in every silver membership year to retain your silver membership status. If you are unable to renew your silver membership, you will automatically become a flying club red member and will subsequently be sent a red membership card. Please refer to section 3.23.

Hope that clarifies that. But then you never know, I'm not a VS employee and cannot confirm for 100% if the guide is correct, only VS themselves would be able to tell you.

Thanks,
Richard

Hi Richard -

That's how I would read 2.14 also - the calculator does seem to contradict the T&Cs. Doesn't matter a great deal though - I'm just trying to work out how many additional trips I would need to reach Gold. I'm booked on a number of flights already, and based on the extra flights I know I will be on I'm pretty close to reaching Gold by next June.

I guess if it looks like I may be on the borderline I should give FC a call to get clarification.

Regarding the T&Cs though, when I read 2.15 ("to reach gold status you must earn 40 tier points in your silver membership year") I interpreted it as saying that the 40 points needed to reach Gold are in addition to the points needed to reach Silver. Is that the case, or is my interpretation of your guide correct in that it is 40 points in a 12 month period that is required for Gold?

Regards,
Barry

quote:Originally posted by bplatt_uk
Regarding the T&Cs though, when I read 2.15 ("to reach gold status you must earn 40 tier points in your silver membership year") I interpreted it as saying that the 40 points needed to reach Gold are in addition to the points needed to reach Silver. Is that the case, or is my interpretation of your guide correct in that it is 40 points in a 12 month period that is required for Gold?

Regards,
Barry

Hi, from previous posts I take this to mean that you must reach a total of 40 points in your Silver year (as opposed to an additional 40 points) ie your existing points balance is not zeroed when you hit Silver so you can then go on to make Gold using this balance.

This is unlike many other airline programmes where once you hit Silver (or equivalent), you drop to zero and have to work even harder to get Gold.

As I said, this is my understanding and I plan to use this to get Gold myself!

Cheers,

Sahajesh.

[RichardMannion]

Its total of 40 TP, not an additional 40 TP.

This isn't no normal FQTV program! BMI zeroing you down and that....

Thanks,
Richard

The new diagram on the VS site doesn't make that distinction very clear. Maybe you should be offering them your services?

[RichardMannion]

But then there is always the guide here on this site.

VS offer a good overview of the program on the site - I think most people are not that interested in the mechanics behind it.

Thanks,
Richard

I'm sure they're not. I just happened to be looking at the 'moving up is easy diagram', and it did give the impression that you needed an additional 40 points to move from silvr to gold. But then I work much better with words than I do with diagrams.

HelenF - I assume you're referring to the diagram at the bottom of http://www.virgin-atlantic.com/en/gb/frequentflyer/whatsinforyou/tierpoints/index.jsp.

That confused me also - it seems to be consistent with 2.15 in the T&Cs, but there are enough Gold members on this site that I assumed it probably was confusion on the part of VS.

Which was my point really - there is a lot of information on the VS site, but it isn't particularly clear and is in some ways contradictory.

I will be interested to see what the tier point calculator says after my next flight (in PE) in about two weeks - currently it is showing '3 points' needed for Silver.

Regards,
Barry

[RichardMannion]

Hi!

I see what you mean about the diagram, I never really took much notice as I understand the thresholds to qualify and maintain Ag and Au status.

Let me have a think and see if I can put a more logical diagram together in Visio to compliment the guide.

Thanks,
Richard

Right now I'm really confused....

Just chatted with Flying Club about the expiration of my TP's as I'm thinking about the KUL>SIN leg again early next year to make gold.
By the end of the year I'll have approximately 21 TP's (maybe a couple more if I upgrade) They told me that once I get to 15 and make AG I'll go back to Zero and I'll also go back to zero at the end of March, which is 13 months since first lot of valid TP's that I can still use.

This seems to go against everything I was told on here which seems more logical.

I was led to belive that once I make AG I'll not reset to zero, I'll have till march to make AU. Otherwise you basically need 55 to get gold (15 to make Silver then 40 to make Gold). Also if I have 21 TP's by March, after then I'll only loose the TP's I earned a year ago, not all since then. Otherwise I could theoretically lose all the TP's made on a UC flight the month before...

Hope this makes sense, nay help would be great!

Cheers!

Dean

p.s might ring flying club again.

Rang Flying Club again and this time they said that you don't reset to Zero once you make Silver only Gold, which to me makes sense. They used the great analogy of making Gold is like a journey.

Your travelling up the M1 from London (red) to Newcastle (gold). Once you get to Leicester services (silver) you don't turn back and start again....

This, i hope the correct advice does make a lot more sense otherwise they're penalising us for going for gold.

Dean

quote:Originally posted by Wolves27
Your travelling up the M1 from London (red) to Newcastle (gold). Once you get to Leicester services (silver) you don't turn back and start again....

I'm sure our Southern members would turn that the other way round

Cheers,

Sahajesh.

[RichardMannion]

Oh yes - it does get confusing for all, VS staff included.

There are some really smart people there that really do know TP well now though.

I know when I phoned up recently about a TP question, they know it was going to be a difficult one![:0] But the usual chicks came through and provided the answer.

Thanks,
Richard

Another Tier point question. I am right in thinking that if I flew from LHR to KUL on SQ I would get tier points for both legs of the trip? 2 for EC LHR>SIN and 1 for SIN>KUL. If this is the case I can do that final bit in F , get a total of 7 TP one way and then would have only one KUL>SIN round trip to do on the holiday to get to Gold.

Cheers

Dean

quote:Originally posted by Wolves27
Another Tier point question. I am right in thinking that if I flew from LHR to KUL on SQ I would get tier points for both legs of the trip? 2 for EC LHR>SIN and 1 for SIN>KUL.

Yup, that's correct - that's how I booked it, see the summary of what's posted so far on my TR, here

Cheers

Michael

Oh yeah. Didn't think about completely splitting it into two different flights.
Saves a whole day travelling. When doing SIN>KUL or KUL>SIN first class can I use posh lounges at both airports?

Dean

Dean

I didn't book it as two seperate flights - just booked LHR>KUL via SIN

Yes, when doing the First Class bits, you get to use the SQ lounges at both KUL & SIN - although the KUL lounge is nothing to write home about. See the various SQ Trip Reports for details

Cheers

Michael

I have a query someone may be able to help me with.

I've got a frequent flyer account (though I haven't actually gone on my first flight yet[:(]) And I'm aware that I won't actually receive a membership card until after my first qualifying flight. However depending what you read, it seems that the trigger for generating the card is to add miles to your account, not necessarily making a flight. Other paperwork reads differently.

To cut a longer story short, I have an FC credit card (not used it yet either) which earns miles, and I'm wondering that by using it and generating miles will I receive a card, or does the account just accrue miles and only generate a card after the first flight?

[RichardMannion]

Good question!

I understand it to be after your first flight. But why else would you need your red plastic card beforehand, you don't need it to spend or earn miles?

Thanks,
Richard

Thanks Richard,

I'm just being greedy I guess!

Stu

How many points do non-revs get?

[RichardMannion]

quote:Originally posted by VS045
How many points do non-revs get?

None - so any MilesPlusMoney, Reward, Companion, Complimentary, Select flights etc do not qualify for miles or TierPoints.

Thanks,
Richard

Has anyone ever tried to get them to 'bend' the rules? It's just my husband and I flew to Florida last August and then NYC in April and currently have 7 points each. However, we're going to Florida again in October but we will drop 4 points in September according to the points calculator on the website. Then we're off to California in June next year and again will fall one or two months short and lose points. We just feel like we'll never get to Silver at this rate. Any tips? (Bar flying Upper class - can't afford it, but we will have enough miles to upgrade for California, only to Premium though).

And one more thing whilst I am trying to bend the rules... do you collect Premium miles i.e. 150%, if you have upgraded with miles rather than paying the full fare?

Newbie!