Goodbye Virgin

But what can they do ??

As a Silver member in BAEC, the most valuable benefit to the ÒJÓ traveller, is being able to pre-assign seats in advance of the +24h OLCI deadline. (This of course is resultant of a truly despicable seating policy IMO. But that's not for this thread, or perhaps even this forum)

BA Gold will give a ÒJÓ passenger access to the FIRST lounges. While of certain benefit at LHR T5, not so much at the outstations, but nice nonetheless. Other than that, I'm not sure what other benefits BA Gold holds for their regular passenger.

VS, however, have no ÒFirst ClassÓ with a higher level lounge than the Clubhouse, so what can they offer a frequent UC passenger ???

Not an awful lot really, that I can think of anyway !!

[Nottingham Nick]

Originally posted by kered
.....so what can they offer a frequent UC passenger ???

Top of my head... guest passes to Clubhouses / Revivals, valid for family / friends when the card holder isn't necessarily flying.

Extended membership validity of Gold card when TPs necessary for renewal are exceeded.

Guaranteed seating preferences (subject to equipment changes).



I am sure there are other benefits that others could think of to make Gold UC passengers feel more valued.


Nick

Originally posted by Nottingham Nick

Top of my head...

guest passes to Clubhouses / Revivals, valid for family / friends when the card holder isn't necessarily flying.

Does any other airline offer this ?

Extended membership validity of Gold card when TPs necessary for renewal are exceeded.

Good one [y] But again, are any of the others offering this ??

Guaranteed seating preferences (subject to equipment changes).

Not sure I get you on that one.

BTW I'm just asking, if the above reads/sounds critical, it's not meant that way [;)]

Originally posted by Nottingham Nick
Top of my head...
guest passes to Clubhouses / Revivals, valid for family / friends when the card holder isn't necessarily flying

VS already does this.

Extended membership validity of Gold card when TPs necessary for renewal are exceeded

Not in agreement on this one, that removes an incentive for frequency.

As an aside, one of the selling points of Flying Club to offset the weaknesses in terms of alliances, x-airline benefits etc., was the 'generous' miles scheme. Say you fly in a discounted fare on BA in Y to JFK, you get 25% of the miles flown compared to 100% for VS, plus TPs on VS and none for BA. While still different by a good margin. the recent reductions in miles earning for different fare codes (instead of increasing them for higher fare codes which might be one differentiator) watered down this difference and was retrograde in my opinion.

As I dont reside in the UK, no chance of ever reaching VS au. Highest I got was Ag, benefit wise virtually zilch. If I want UC then it is dig deep in the pockets time. I usually fly BA to the UK but again their prices for Club Europe can be crazy. I was pleasantly surprised when *A awarded me silver all be it I did travel this year quite a bit on their network, but from what I worked out it was just for reaching a specific number of miles.
If a scheme works for you then go for it. I love VS and this site has a lot to answer for [:D], but at the end of the day you takes what best and for me at the mo that is *A

Iain

Sorry for repeat post [ii]

Here are some other benefits some airlines offer:

- increased reward inventory for higher tiers (e.g. BA but that only applies to economy)
- prebook exit row seats in Y and PE (e.g. AA)

[Scrooge]

Just to point out, you no longer get to full miles and 2 TP's for flying in Y to JFK except on the higher fare brackets.

This has morphed into one of the oldest discussions on here, what to do with the gold level members once thy have qualified for gold again.

The only thing that I can really think off is space available upgrades, not just opup's, but then you will start to get to the point of most American carriers where FF's feel they should be upgraded no matter what.

The other way of dealing with this of course could be to raise the number of TP's required for gold in the first place, however now really isn't the best time for any airline to do such a thing as alienating your best customers in a recession is pretty much business suicide.

[Nottingham Nick]

Originally posted by Scrooge
Just to point out, you no longer get to full miles and 2 TP's for flying in Y to JFK except on the higher fare brackets.

You still get two TPs for every transatlantic bucket except N.

Q X and V only attract 50% miles now, but they haven't reduced the TPs earned (yet) [;)]

See here, for details.

Nick

[RichardMannion]

Let's not forget that all FF programs are not equal, and each have their own pros and cons.

BA Ag is in my book equivalent to VS Au - let's not try to match Silver to Silver. Earning VS Ag is not that hard, there are plenty of people I know that aren't frequent flyers that have VS Ag, and in some cases VS Au (bearing in mind it can be kept with just 3 UC returns). Where I do see a benefit to VS, is that practically everyone can begin to accumulate miles and start to feel like a regular customer and therefore loyal. BA EC isn't interested in the everyday leisure passenger unless you travel on full fare or in a premium cabin.

As a VS Au that travels in UC, then I totally agree that there is little benefit. I do value the access to the Premier team though, and for the times that I may travel in PE (which I am happy to do for the East Coast) then Au is a great thing as I've become very used to the CH family and am quite partial to Revivals.

We could enter the old adage of business spend vs. personal spend - Why reward the employee travelling on business as such other than the benefits they are already getting? Unless of course the employee in question has some authority over travel choice. But even then, what should VS offer?

How could VS improve Au for passengers that travel in UC - sure we've discussed that before.

[Scrooge]

Thanks Nick, I thought they had lowered the TP earning as well.

How about Limo transfer in all UC fare classes for Au?

FM

Originally posted by FamilyMan
How about Limo transfer in all UC fare classes for Au?

FM

and/or being a AU and flying UC, priority receiving a treatment in the CH over others ?

HG

Originally posted by FamilyMan
How about Limo transfer in all UC fare classes for Au?

FM

Re the limo, I find it strange that the only way you can get the limo (other than through full fare J/D)is to be on a reward fare meaning you get the limo for 12.5K miles. This works out exceptional value for the likes of me who only ever pays a few hundred quid for Economy and uses miles to upgrade to UC....I'm guaranteed the limo every time for 12.5K miles [:)]

However VS customers parting with hard cash for revenue UC fares are denied the opportunity to purchase the limo..neither with money nor miles [:?]

I only fly VS in UC, so AU has not been worth much to me. Given that there is no arrangement in place with Virgin America, I get no benefit in the states. In addition while I get miles on Continental, I get no other benefits, such as lounge access, or priority check in.
I was thinking about heading to the UK for a week next year in Econ or PE and hoping for an upgrade as an AU - but judging by reports on this thread, that may not be a solid plan.
AU is good if you don't fly UC, but after that it's not worth that much.
On limo's I never would use 12.5k - I live 55 miles from SFO and a limo is $200, the miles cost is more than double when factored against a free UC ticket.

Originally posted by napamatt
On limo's I never would use 12.5k - I live 55 miles from SFO and a limo is $200, the miles cost is more than double when factored against a free UC ticket.

See what you mean Matt. Here in the UK though I think the limo is worth every one of the 12.5K miles, especially if you have no other use for the miles. Not only is it a free ride to LHR but also the totally brilliant drive-through experience [:)] Just odd that VS rules say you have to be on a reward fare to get the limo, as if I paid for a Z I wouldn't be allowed!

Originally posted by Vegascrazy

Originally posted by napamatt
On limo's I never would use 12.5k - I live 55 miles from SFO and a limo is $200, the miles cost is more than double when factored against a free UC ticket.

See what you mean Matt. Here in the UK though I think the limo is worth every one of the 12.5K miles, especially if you have no other use for the miles. Not only is it a free ride to LHR but also the totally brilliant drive-through experience [:)] Just odd that VS rules say you have to be on a reward fare to get the limo, as if I paid for a Z I wouldn't be allowed!

So if you book a CDC with miles you can use drive thru checkin at LHR ?? I didn't know that.

Thanks,

HG

Originally posted by hackneyguy
[

So if you book a CDC with miles you can use drive thru checkin at LHR ?? I didn't know that.

Thanks,

HG

You bet [y] We always use miles for the CDC, and always use drive-thru...and never pay for a Z [:)]

[RichardMannion]

Yep, the use of mileage for a CDC on a G but not on Z or an R has always been baffling to me.

quote:Originally posted by hackneyguy
quote:Originally posted by FamilyMan
How about Limo transfer in all UC fare classes for Au?

FM


and/or being a AU and flying UC, priority receiving a treatment in the CH over others ?

HG

quote:As an aside, one of the selling points of Flying Club to offset the weaknesses in terms of alliances, x-airline benefits etc., was the 'generous' miles scheme. Say you fly in a discounted fare on BA in Y to JFK, you get 25% of the miles flown compared to 100% for VS, plus TPs on VS and none for BA. While still different by a good margin. the recent reductions in miles earning for different fare codes (instead of increasing them for higher fare codes which might be one differentiator) watered down this difference and was retrograde in my opinion.
Sorry, beg to differ. There are several class codes where you only get 50% of your miles flown. Some of the lowest Y fares on VS do NOT earn you miles. So it's not all fabulous with FC either.

If you want a generous FF scheme - AirFrance's FrŽquence Plus scheme was just absolutely awesome. Depending on where you lived (i.e. where your statement was sent) you got some stunning benefits. I was an FP Rouge member (the highest level) by simply flying ORD-CDG-JNB twice a year in Y. Try THAT with VS in Y and you won't make it to FC Au.

S.

[Nottingham Nick]

quote:Originally posted by VAFFPAX
[quote].... Some of the lowest Y fares on VS do NOT earn you miles.

Err, which ones? Even N class fares are points earning. The only time a Y fare doesn't earn points is when you have used some points to buy it. Not giving points on redemption tickets is hardly being ungenerous.

Nick

There were certain fare classes that Air India used on VS300 and VS301 that didn't earn miles. According to V-Flyer they are no longer used. I believe fare class 'O' is one of them, it's still listed on the VS site as not earning miles, but it is now marked on the VS site as 'reward flight'.

S.

12 months ago I had a choice to make, my job was changing to involve a large quantity of long-haul travel with a mix of regional short haul travel once in a region.

I'd flown with Virgin a few times prior as holiday trips and they were my first choice to look at quite happy to give my business to the beardy one (over 100,000 physical miles flown in about 9 months so far).

For the regular flyer BAEC and being part of a major alliance appears to out-strip any benefit that Virgn is able to offer, their flying club membership just has too much of a Virgin-centric approach. When travelling in region (currently working out of Asia-Pac) I can fly on Cathay, Japan I get the benefits of lounges and improved service.

I got stranded in LAX once and the BA desk was besieged with unhappy customers, I was able to walk up to an AA desk and they treated me as if I were one of their own and sorted everything out getting me on the next flight out. Same here in Oz when BKK was closed, Quantas looked after me when my BA10 flight through BKK was cancelled.

I'd love to put my business through Virgin, but until they realise that there's a whole world outside of Virgin Atlantic there's just no reason for me to do so. If you live only inside the Virgin world, of course FC makes sense, but sadly that's not for me Right now I've reached BAEC Gold and until I see a reason to change, I'm afraid that's where I'll be staying.

.... now if Virgin were to join OneWorld, that would be interesting ! let's see where the frequent international business traveller puts their business then !

Hmm, probably get flamed for that post, oh well[:#]

Ed

quote:Originally posted by teamstorm
If you live only inside the Virgin world, of course FC makes sense, but sadly that's not for me

...

Hmm, probably get flamed for that post, oh well[:#]


Well, you seem to be in a flaming mood, but given your situation I would stick with where you are.

That said, if I had a choice and could accrue the status on both airlines, I'd still prefer to fly VS over BA any time. Many do.

quote:Originally posted by teamstorm

now if Virgin were to join OneWorld, that would be interesting !let's see where the frequent international business traveller puts their business then !




The whole VS alliance question is a bit of a crucial one during this economic downturn. As I posted elsewhere, some believe, that VS policy (which incidentally is the same as that operated by EK and EY) of avoiding alliances and relying on O&D money may come to haunt them. Hence the reason why VS is now 'cozying up' with LH and potentially *a.

It is also worth noting that VS do have a lovely range of partner airlines, which is rather extensive. Certainly the relationship with SQ and NZ, helps the carrier an awful lot. There is nothing to say that all your miles have to be from VS flights, indeed a large chunk of mine are courtesy of NZ from when I lived in Christchurch.

The jury is of course still out on One World and its reach also, I have heard many a frequent flyer flame One World. Its reach across Africa is very poor.

It strikes me that to a certain extent you are stuck within the One World/BA world, exactly like many on here are in the Virgin world. This is of course the intended nature of airline loyalty schemes, to keep you from looking elsewhere.

I think it is worth remembering that VS have done pretty darn well to make it to just under 25 years of service, when you think back to the mid 80's and what exactly they were up against.

Btw QF is spelt Qantas not Quantas. [|:)]