If the changes were from 1st February, and they applied to previous bookings, I would have made gold this year [:0]
too many if's - Cest La Vie
- I will have to make do with Silver again!
Interesting changes, it is a shame west coast USA flights have gone up, but as already posted, they were previously very good value.
Overall, flying club is still excellent value.
I assume there are no changes in TP earning/retention levels for Au & Ag?
too many if's - Cest La Vie
- I will have to make do with Silver again!Interesting changes, it is a shame west coast USA flights have gone up, but as already posted, they were previously very good value.
Overall, flying club is still excellent value.
I assume there are no changes in TP earning/retention levels for Au & Ag?
Is this news on the VA site yet then.
If I fly UCS to MCO exactly how many miles am I earningwith Silver, are the Tier points the same?
If I fly UCS to MCO exactly how many miles am I earningwith Silver, are the Tier points the same?
Hi Guys from Seattle!
The post that pix put up is from the email we were sent by someone in FC, it is not completely clear -
a better link
Few points here:
- All the N routes to USA and Carribean now earn 50% mileage now and 1 TP each way, which is an improvement from the past. (of course MpM are still excluded)
- The other N routes remain the same at 100% mileage and 2 TP each way as they were before.
- Redemptions, yes it is a shame that they went up but then we have to look back to see why they were dropped in the first place. A point to note now, is that it will be easier to get redemption seats as Delta SkyMiles member can no longer redeem their miles for the reward seats (and they were chewing a large proportion of the allocation).
- The Silver bonus is nice, and the increase of the Gold bonus is also welcome and will help . A key point to remember (goign back to when the original gold bonus was introduced), is that it is on the base Economy earn rate. So an economy round trip that normally nets 10000 miles, will earn a Gold member 15,000 miles and Silver 12,500 -but the Upper Class earn of that route (200%) will earn a Gold 25,000 miles (and not 30,000 miles).
- Its good to see the TP earnings have been fixed on the SYD route.
- TP levels to reach/maintain Silver and Gold have not changed. Neither have the companion or upgrade costs.
As always, post your constructive feedback here as I know it is being taken onboard.
Thanks,
Richard
The post that pix put up is from the email we were sent by someone in FC, it is not completely clear -
a better link
Few points here:
- All the N routes to USA and Carribean now earn 50% mileage now and 1 TP each way, which is an improvement from the past. (of course MpM are still excluded)
- The other N routes remain the same at 100% mileage and 2 TP each way as they were before.
- Redemptions, yes it is a shame that they went up but then we have to look back to see why they were dropped in the first place. A point to note now, is that it will be easier to get redemption seats as Delta SkyMiles member can no longer redeem their miles for the reward seats (and they were chewing a large proportion of the allocation).
- The Silver bonus is nice, and the increase of the Gold bonus is also welcome and will help . A key point to remember (goign back to when the original gold bonus was introduced), is that it is on the base Economy earn rate. So an economy round trip that normally nets 10000 miles, will earn a Gold member 15,000 miles and Silver 12,500 -but the Upper Class earn of that route (200%) will earn a Gold 25,000 miles (and not 30,000 miles).
- Its good to see the TP earnings have been fixed on the SYD route.
- TP levels to reach/maintain Silver and Gold have not changed. Neither have the companion or upgrade costs.
As always, post your constructive feedback here as I know it is being taken onboard.
Thanks,
Richard
Yes, it was loaded about an hour ago into the "spend miles" section of the site. Earn miles hadn't yet been updated though.
Strangely, this puts VS mileage spending directly in line with BMI's requirements for spending their miles on VS metal (previously, an unattractive proposition...)
direct flights destination miles required for free return journey
economy premium economy upper class
between UK and Boston, New York, Washington 45,000 67,500 90,000
between UK and Miami, Orlando, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, San Francisco 45,000 67,500 100,000
between UK and Delhi, Mumbai 50,000 75,000 100,000
between UK and Cape Town, Johannesburg, Lagos, Port Harcourt 50,000 75,000 100,000
between UK and St Lucia, Barbados, Antigua, Tobago, Grenada, Nassau, Havana 50,000 75,000 100,000
between UK and Hong Kong, Shanghai 70,000 105,000 140,000
between UK and Tokyo 70,000 105,000 150,000
between UK and Sydney (via Hong Kong) 120,000 180,000 240,000
Ah, I see va.com's down again - maybe another update...
Strangely, this puts VS mileage spending directly in line with BMI's requirements for spending their miles on VS metal (previously, an unattractive proposition...)
direct flights destination miles required for free return journey
economy premium economy upper class
between UK and Boston, New York, Washington 45,000 67,500 90,000
between UK and Miami, Orlando, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, San Francisco 45,000 67,500 100,000
between UK and Delhi, Mumbai 50,000 75,000 100,000
between UK and Cape Town, Johannesburg, Lagos, Port Harcourt 50,000 75,000 100,000
between UK and St Lucia, Barbados, Antigua, Tobago, Grenada, Nassau, Havana 50,000 75,000 100,000
between UK and Hong Kong, Shanghai 70,000 105,000 140,000
between UK and Tokyo 70,000 105,000 150,000
between UK and Sydney (via Hong Kong) 120,000 180,000 240,000
Ah, I see va.com's down again - maybe another update...
Originally posted by pixuk
Changes Effective 1st March.
Earning à all bookings taken prior to 1st March will earn at old rates
All bookings taken after 1st March à earn at new rate
Redemptions à all bookings up to end Feb to be debited at old rates, even if flight is post March 1st
All bookings from 1st March, new rates apply
This is slightly (but to me ever-so-importantly) different in the VS published version (my bolding):
All new earning and redemption levels are effective from 1 March 2006. New earning levels and tier-related bonuses are effective for flights taken on or after this date. New redemption levels will apply to bookings made from 1 March 2006 onwards. As long as you make a redemption booking prior to 1 March 2006 you can travel either before or after this date at the current levels.
So, if you've booked a revenue flight already for travel post-1st March, it looks like you'll earn at the new rates [y] Purely selfishly - w00t!
Liking the 25% Ag & 50% Au bonuses [y] Wonder if increasing the Au bonus to 50% will remove those minor calculation differences that have appeared previously?
Also nice to see that an Au member flying to SFO & back in PE will now earn enough miles to actually cover the cost of upgrading 1 leg to UC:
16074 for PE return + 5358 (50% miles flown Au bonus) = 21432
Current:
16074 for PE return + 2679 (25% miles flown Au bonus) = 18753
Not liking the increased redemptions though - but I can see why they've done it [n] Since I generally use miles for upgrades anyway, that has little effect for me personally
Cheers
Michael
Originally posted by mcuth
This is slightly (but to me ever-so-importantly) different in the VS published version (my bolding):All new earning and redemption levels are effective from 1 March 2006. New earning levels and tier-related bonuses are effective for flights taken on or after this date. New redemption levels will apply to bookings made from 1 March 2006 onwards. As long as you make a redemption booking prior to 1 March 2006 you can travel either before or after this date at the current levels.
So, if you've booked a revenue flight already for travel post-1st March, it looks like you'll earn at the new rates [y] Purely selfishly - w00t!
Way Hey - I hope this means I'll be able to earn miles/TP's on my Freddy fare to HKG/SYD which is booked in 'N' along with a 50% Au bonus as well [?]
Regards
Regards
James Mitchell
James Mitchell
Ok,now that i've had time to study it a little im not screaming so much,as long as they keep the upgrades the same im happy and I just booked my flight for dec so im not effected by the increase,I guess it just brings the spend part into line with the rest of the industry now.
Actually-I think this is great as mainly use miles for upgrades. My guess is that this will reduce G demand for the BOS /NY/EWR runs as it's hardly worth for 100K. Makes me think a little harder about knocking off those last few points for AU...but still wish VS would throw in a couple of CH visits for AG as well as AG/PE fast track.
Oh, and a calendar? A calendar is always nice.
RR
Oh, and a calendar? A calendar is always nice.
RR
Roadrunner
Originally posted by mcuthOriginally posted by pixuk
Changes Effective 1st March.
Earning à all bookings taken prior to 1st March will earn at old rates
All bookings taken after 1st March à earn at new rate
Redemptions à all bookings up to end Feb to be debited at old rates, even if flight is post March 1st
All bookings from 1st March, new rates apply
This is slightly (but to me ever-so-importantly) different in the VS published version (my bolding):All new earning and redemption levels are effective from 1 March 2006. New earning levels and tier-related bonuses are effective for flights taken on or after this date. New redemption levels will apply to bookings made from 1 March 2006 onwards. As long as you make a redemption booking prior to 1 March 2006 you can travel either before or after this date at the current levels.
So, if you've booked a revenue flight already for travel post-1st March, it looks like you'll earn at the new rates [y] Purely selfishly - w00t!
Since I'm doing a Z return HKG-SYD 1/3 to 8/3 (thank you New Year Z sale + 2 month stop-over in HKG) this is nice news [^] - with the new Ag bonus, it makes it a 20k+ earner...
Looks like I will now be using my Fc AC for upgrades now as it will take 5 UCS flights to earn a full reward flight. I am just one of those lowly bucket and spaders though so it will not be easy for me to keep my Silver[:(].
Anyway it will be nice to get a few more miles whilst I am silver which will be this year and next.
Am I right in thinking if I buy a PE ticket I can upgrade with 40K to UCS and still earn around 15K for the PE bit I paid cash for and still get TP'S
Anyway it will be nice to get a few more miles whilst I am silver which will be this year and next.
Am I right in thinking if I buy a PE ticket I can upgrade with 40K to UCS and still earn around 15K for the PE bit I paid cash for and still get TP'S
Like EGG we are part of the B&S brigade. We currently have 40K+ in our accts and we were hoping to use them next year:) It looks like that may have to go out of the window[:(!] Now we will have to pay for at least 5 flights to get one free[V] instead of the old 4. Sick as a parrot.[:$]
The 25% bonus really does help seperate VS from BA and other carriers on the B&S routes. The impression of Executive Club I have is that it really doesn't like tourist travellers, and for those who travel a few times a year and are able to get Silver this I would have thought will go a long way for keeping them as repeat passengers.
Mat xxx
Mat xxx
I have updated a few errors in the previous chart. Basically Y and UC do a lot better with more at the 0% level. The real punishment is bestowed upon the PE fare.
I also started thinking about who is the real winner. Depending on your FF level and the class you normally travel you will be awarded the following increases in mileage:
% Miles Award Increase for Ag/Au holders
Y - 25% / 20%
PE - 16.7%/14.3%
UC - 12.5% / 11.1%
These figures do not take into account the changes in Y regarding the loss of the 25% bonus on higher fare classes or the additional 25% on N - which I kind of figure benefit the B&S brigade. The loss of the 25% for L/B/Y is a bit of a shame as it was an additional bonus if you were booking a Companion flight or wanted to UG with miles.
So if you are an Ag holder who normally travels in Y and takes Y or UC rewards (especially Carribean/Africa/Dubai or Tokyo) you win big.
If you are an Au holder who normally travels in UC and takes rewards (in any class) to US (MiA, MCO or West Coast) or PE to East Coast or India/HKG/PVG you are probably going to be on the losing side.
It's difficult to say with a red holder but the miles for N probably make you a winner if you tend to buy 1 ticket in 4 in this class - otherwise you probably lose as you get no additional bonus and rewards will generally cost more especially in PE and to the US.
Phil
I also started thinking about who is the real winner. Depending on your FF level and the class you normally travel you will be awarded the following increases in mileage:
% Miles Award Increase for Ag/Au holders
Y - 25% / 20%
PE - 16.7%/14.3%
UC - 12.5% / 11.1%
These figures do not take into account the changes in Y regarding the loss of the 25% bonus on higher fare classes or the additional 25% on N - which I kind of figure benefit the B&S brigade. The loss of the 25% for L/B/Y is a bit of a shame as it was an additional bonus if you were booking a Companion flight or wanted to UG with miles.
So if you are an Ag holder who normally travels in Y and takes Y or UC rewards (especially Carribean/Africa/Dubai or Tokyo) you win big.
If you are an Au holder who normally travels in UC and takes rewards (in any class) to US (MiA, MCO or West Coast) or PE to East Coast or India/HKG/PVG you are probably going to be on the losing side.
It's difficult to say with a red holder but the miles for N probably make you a winner if you tend to buy 1 ticket in 4 in this class - otherwise you probably lose as you get no additional bonus and rewards will generally cost more especially in PE and to the US.
Phil
Think this is good news for me. I travel to Newark every two weeks paying myself so always go for the cheapest fare. Often this has meant no miles or TPs (eg the next two trips bought in the sale before Xmas for £200). Now I'll get the TPs from March so should be 'gold' by the Summer.
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