Hoping to go silver...

Hi all,

I'm off to Vegas in two days flying in cattle, as usual! Coupled with my Orlando trip in November I will only need 3 more tier points to get silver (hurrah!)

So I was wondering... are the benefits so good that I should aim to get silver by taking a flight sometime before my first FF anniversary (which, I presume, is when my first VA flight was, in August).

And if/when I've got silver, how much is it in my interest to keep it. As you can probably tell, I'm new to the world of VA, but they've already topped my list of major carriers, mostly thanks to some god-awful experiences with AA.

I'm sure this has all been covered before (sorry, if that's the case!) but if I reached silver, then lost it a year later, would I keep my miles?

Any feedback would be much appreciated.

[HighFlyer]

Hiya

The full range of FC Ag benefits can be found Here

The usefulness of the benefits depend on your travel habits really, if you fly in Economy a lot, being FC Ag enables you to use the PE check-in, which can be very handy.

Other than that, there are not a great many more benefits to Ag membership, although your chances of being upgraded are slightly enhanced over the Red and Non-FC members, the majority of the benefits start at FC Au.

In answer to your question, if you will get FC Ag, go for it, but i wouldnt go out of my way to get it if you will achieve it this year anyway.

Plus .. it will start you on the slippery slope to wanting FC Au ...

You will keep your miles regardless of FC tier ... as far as i remember, they are all valid as long as you have some activity on your account in a three year period, which isnt hard to achieve if you have a FC Credit Card or Amex.

[Nottingham Nick]

I agree with what Sarah has said, the only really tangible benefit for me is the use of the PE check in. I say only, but as an economy flyer, I view it as a big benefit.. enough to make me want to re-qualify every year any way. [8D];)

Nick

Thanks for the replies Ð I expect that I'll need/want to take another trip before the 12 month period is out, and PE chek-in could prove a Godsend. What better excuse for a jolly across the Atlantic?

[Nottingham Nick]

Originally posted by martinmoore50
What better excuse for a jolly across the Atlantic?

Be careful, if you are planning a mileage run. The economy fares in most of the recent sales / newspaper promotions are non points earning.

Nick

Thanks, but I think I'll be heading off to Canada next summer, and might fly with VA to SFO (also using a companion ticket), then find a cheap flight up to Canada. That way I'll get the tier points, miles for my ticket, and will essentially get two-for-one tickets to SFO (plus tax).

I agree with the others. Silver benefits for VS is nothing special other than for PE check-in

However, there is one other possiblity that the others may not have thought about. On a rare occassion when there is a staus match offer by another airline, you could try to secure a silver card status on the another airline. Star Alliance (except SQ) and BMI did offer schemes back in April/May this year.

You can go straight to Gold from Red for 40 TP in a year (unlike the reset that BA do) so holding on to Silver is 2a nice to have" but not great benefit.

Gold is when everything starts to kick in

The card looks pretty, but for me it was just the slippery slope my bank account didn't need. You get to Silver, i can gaurantee you'll want to reach gold.
Then Kris Flyer Solitaire (well maybe not - i know my limits):)

Dean

[HighFlyer]

You get to Silver, i can gaurantee you'll want to reach gold

Yep, im absolute proof of that pudding!

Take this as a warning to yourself and your bank balance LOL

I can tell you that getting to gold is never far from my mind.

This year i'll be closer than ever - i'll have 28 tier points by the end of October, with none expiring until the end of the year.

That puts me in the position where I might do something a bit loony to get those extra points. Perhaps not a full blown Asian adventure, if you see what I mean , but maybe the odd extra VS flight is going to get slipped in somewhere .

I keep telling myself it's only a bit tricky to get, but much easier to retain, so i'll only have to do something a bit loony once.

Gold ain't so easy when it's all leisure travel and there's no Far Eastern trickery involved!