How do people afford all these UC flights?

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#76588 by DavidM
10 Sep 2005, 13:59
Originally posted by GrinningJackanapes
I fly UCS for the old fashioned reason -- I'm rich.


LOL :D I thought rich brits normally described themselves as "comfortable". Unless (Good Lord - surely not!) you're really nouveau riche! [:0][:0]

Best wishes

David

#76594 by preiffer
10 Sep 2005, 14:40
Originally posted by DavidM
Originally posted by GrinningJackanapes
I fly UCS for the old fashioned reason -- I'm rich.

LOL :D I thought rich brits normally described themselves as "comfortable". Unless (Good Lord - surely not!) you're really nouveau riche! [:0][:0]
That would apply IF GJ was a Brit... ;)

#76600 by DavidM
10 Sep 2005, 15:04
Originally posted by preiffer
That would apply IF GJ was a Brit... ;)


Ah, I see. Jonny Foreigner, eh. Well, say no more.....;)

Best wishes

David

#76635 by daveos1
10 Sep 2005, 20:57
For those of you over here in "The Colonies" , a good card is the Delta SkyMiles Amex card. Double miles at lots of places, ie. supermarkets and gas ( petrol ) stations. One mile per dollar spent, you wouild be surprised at how fast they add up. I have one for business and one for personal. As I am in retail shipping I leave over $ 3000 per month at the Post Office, and its double miles.

#76641 by Chris
10 Sep 2005, 21:18
How do I afford UC?????


Rich Parents !!!!!!

#76652 by dom
10 Sep 2005, 23:33
this is a vey interesting question.
i imagine for pretty much each contribotor giving a trip report having flown in PE or UC, that passenger's first flight was in economy.
Somehow he/she has made it to uc ( or PE ) either by paying top dollar, op upgrage miles up grade.
BUT once you have turned left on an aircraft it raises the bar.
Me I've travelled longhall 6 times a year for the last 25. I discovered the delights of BA club around 1985 and virgin upper class around 2001. Ever since then I have made sure if at all possible I travel business.
With the current miles programe it actually is surprisingly easy to amass points. check out flyertalk.com
for example its cheaper to purchase several hundred beef burgers from tecso and use the BA miles to get a free J ticket ( or upgrade from wt+ to J)
I have always found virgin's redemption points very competitive ( eg Y to J skipping W or wt+) is 60,000 points. imho a bargain ).
you will be surprised how quickly you amass miles if you use credit cards ( again virgins £90 card gives you 2 points per £ ) is better that BA's amex ( 1.5 per £ )
use the websites to find partners with whom you can earn miles - it ranges from bank accounts to buying sun glasses.
Also look out for the cheap fares ( on virgin Z ? and BA I ? ) these represent a substantial saving over the full fare. For example me, my wife and two children flew BA club to mco in Dec/Jan for just over £4,000 as the children I believe paid either 66% or 75%^ of the adult fare which was an I.
Finally, a tip. Don't bother upgrading from BA club to first. it really isn't worth it!
and if you are going to try upper class make sure that you have the necessary to continue for the rest of your life as once you've tried it you cannot go back!

#76674 by VS045
11 Sep 2005, 09:00
I just don't get much happier on hols than when I'm drinking champers in my flat bed, looking forward to the arrivals lounge and being served by dedicated, really friendly staff.


Who needs the Ritz when you've got UCS?;):D[:p]

Cheers,
VS045

#76720 by sky
11 Sep 2005, 17:30
Originally posted by GrinningJackanapes
I just don't get much happier on hols than when I'm drinking champers in my flat bed, looking forward to the arrivals lounge and being served by dedicated, really friendly staff.

Amen, couldn't concur more. I can actually just fly out for a weekend to CPT and mostly just enjoy the flight :). I am also insanely productive when I work on airplanes, no distractions!

I have bet with a friend that I involves flying JNB-LHR alternatively LHR-JNB every night for a week and how enjoyable that would be. We are still arguing on who should actually pay for the experiment :).

Cheers
sky

#76737 by onionz
11 Sep 2005, 20:35
Originally posted by dom

you will be surprised how quickly you amass miles if you use credit cards ( again virgins £90 card gives you 2 points per £ ) is better that BA's amex ( 1.5 per £ )


A small point to make here:

That's not exactly a fair comparison. The BA Amex Prem. Plus will give you a two-for-one voucher once you have spent £15k on it. This is far better than the companion voucher you get with that spend on the VS credit card. It means you get two seats instead of one when redeeming miles, which if used properly, gets you two Club World/First seats for half the usual miles - an excellent deal.

Also some of the Tesco offers make it easy to bank bucketloads of miles - not quite so easy to do with VS.

#76749 by fozzyo
11 Sep 2005, 23:40
Originally posted by onionz
Also some of the Tesco offers make it easy to bank bucketloads of miles - not quite so easy to do with VS.


And I doubt with the new Nectar Amex card you can transfer Nectar points to Amex MR Points to VS FC Miles. Boooo!

Foz xxx

#76756 by easygoingeezer
12 Sep 2005, 10:05
Originally posted by GrinningJackanapes
I fly UCS for the old fashioned reason -- I'm rich.


Nice to see a well off geezer who doesn't have to feel ashamed of the fact. Well done matey, One day I am gonna be there too:D

#76768 by Twinkle
12 Sep 2005, 12:59
I booked a holiday through VH and the upgrade is quite cheap really.

Other than that I work far too many hours!

#76783 by stephen
12 Sep 2005, 17:22
Afford is an interesting word, can I afford to fly UC with my family? I do because I feel the add on cost to be well worth the extra comfort and fun and for me the extra cost does make the holiday start as soon as its booked as I can then start dreaming about the UCS:D

I get more excited by the whole travel experience on VS than the holiday itself[8D] I must book myself a doctors appointment to see if there is a cure to UC.

On one of our trips to Antigua next year we travel PE outbound and I have booked upstairs seats as i would not be able to cope with 9 hours looking at the curtain between me and UC:D

Can we afford it? Yes because we work hard, have a VS CC and have been lucky in life but would never fly the family on a full J ticket because i dont think thats value for money!

If you play the game and use a combination of miles, money, early booking and hours on the internet you can nearly always turn left without blowing your bank account up.[:0]

For many of us here its become a hobby trying to sit in the best seat for the least amount of money, miles etc;)

#76798 by mungo
12 Sep 2005, 20:29
I have been flying uc to Antigua every month since January. I enjoy the LGW flights with only 14 seats much more than LHR flights to other destinations. I have on three occasions had the same flight attendantin the UC cabin. Next flight in two weeks. Today my partner flew to China, just 48 hours away, 24 of them in the air!

#76799 by slinky09
12 Sep 2005, 20:38
Hmmm well for me it's sometimes a matter of prioritising, sometimes relying on miles, sometimes on clients. On occasion I've extended myself somewhat and on others been lucky. It does however become addictive to turn left on entry, and as my no. 1 says, to travel well is the only remaining luxury - so we try hard to do so.

Can't say I'm rich though, perhaps fortunate?

#76813 by philadam
12 Sep 2005, 21:53
Can't say I'm rich though, perhaps fortunate?


slinky, I like that line[y] I too am fortunate.

Phil

#76815 by VS045
12 Sep 2005, 22:11
How do people afford UC flights?

A little drug called frequent flyer miles;)

Cheers,
VS045

#76831 by Strawberry Muppet
13 Sep 2005, 00:21
Originally posted by VS045
How do people afford UC flights?

A little drug called frequent flyer miles;)



Rather like nicotine isn't it? Highly addctive ;)

The Strawb

#76839 by Scrooge
13 Sep 2005, 09:20
Originally posted by Strawberry Muppet
Originally posted by VS045
How do people afford UC flights?

A little drug called frequent flyer miles;)



Rather like nicotine isn't it? Highly addctive ;)

The Strawb


Im sory to sqy yes it is,the wife got her first taste of a true J class cabin last week (TR will follow shortly)I know from the look in her eye thats the way we will be flying from now on,be it from miles or saving a little extra or horrors of all horrors actualy planning more than a couple of months in advance and getting a good price

#77466 by ChuckC
18 Sep 2005, 18:12
Fascinating thread; very enjoyable. Thanks everyone.

As for me, I used to be a very frequent flyer for work and am now down to about 40K per year on the work front. Try to pay for most of that, plus virtually all my day-to-day expenses with the AMEX card, regularly tossing miles from Membership Rewards into my VS account.

And, at 6'5" tall with a creaky back, I just can't be comfortable in coach.

Chuck-

#78853 by vwaz
29 Sep 2005, 00:09
The VS credit card gets mentioned alot here - do you mean the Virgin Money one? - if so I will have to dust mine down.

My days in economy were numbered last week when the person in front of my taller girlfriend (on her first long haul) put their seat on full recline. The better half's knees ended up somewhere near her chin.[:(], Looks like it's the extra expense of PE for me now!

#78871 by AlanA
29 Sep 2005, 09:13
Originally posted by vwaz
The VS credit card gets mentioned alot here - do you mean the Virgin Money one? - if so I will have to dust mine down.

My days in economy were numbered last week when the person in front of my taller girlfriend (on her first long haul) put their seat on full recline. The better half's knees ended up somewhere near her chin.[:(], Looks like it's the extra expense of PE for me now!


There are three types of Virgin money cards, one gives you no miles, one gives you 1 mile per pound and one the gives you two miles per pound
You need to check which one you have

#78873 by preiffer
29 Sep 2005, 09:17
Originally posted by AlanA
There are three types of Virgin money cards, one gives you no miles, one gives you 1 mile per pound and one the gives you two miles per pound
You need to check which one you have
Even for the card that technically offers no miles, you CAN call up the Members Shop and have them convert your "members shop points" into FC miles - it appears as a "members shop points tip" on your statement. 1:1 conversion rate.

#78926 by fadge
29 Sep 2005, 15:16
just done a search for fares for my flight next week to LAX:

Economy £250
PE £1231
UC £5060

all are exclusive of tax / surcharges.

Personally I would be hard pushed to justify either of the higher fares even though i can afford to pay them.

Neil

#78931 by stevendq
29 Sep 2005, 15:44
Originally posted by fadge
just done a search for fares for my flight next week to LAX:

Economy £250
PE £1231
UC £5060

all are exclusive of tax / surcharges.

Personally I would be hard pushed to justify either of the higher fares even though i can afford to pay them.

Neil


That UC fare will certainly be a fully flexible ticket as its too close to the flight for the cheaper Z class fare. I think Z UC to LAX is normally more like £2200(ish). I for one could never justify spending £5k on UC when if I had planned properly in advance could get it for half the price. ;)

Although my next UC flight will be courtesy of miles. :D
Virgin Atlantic
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