Getting to Vancouver earning miles

Hi guys,

Just a quick one...some friends of ours upped-sticks and went to live in Vancouver (the benefits of having a Canadian husband, huh?). I'd really love to visit them but am not sure on the best way to get there, still earning miles. As far as I can see, Virgin don't seem to fly direct and it might have to be through a partner. Who would anybody recommend for low costquality travel where I can still earn miles? I guess the other option is to fly into the west coast then up?

Thanks in advance!
Jacq

Hi Jacqueline,

Off the top of my head (there may be other options), BMI are a partner with Virgin. BMI dont fly there directly but they code share with Air Canada who do.

So if you can get a BMI Prefixed flight to Vancouver on Air Canada it would earn you miles (and tier points).

Thanks,

Steven

[preiffer]

Originally posted by stevendq
So if you can get a BMI Prefixed flight to Vancouver on Air Canada it would earn you miles (and tier points).

Nope, sorry - this is not the case.

(Believe me, if it were, I'd be a lot happier!)

It only applies to BD OPERATED flights. Any codeshare will not earn any miles or tier points with VS. Try VS - SFO, and then a quick hop up from there?

You can try Continental via Newark from Gatwick, (they still use 777's thank god), and then connect to Vancouver. Also, Delta can fly you via Cincinatti (sp?) and connect you up. Both airlines will earn you mileage but only 1 point per leg as oppose to 2 you'd get if you flew virgin. Actually, thinking about it, you could fly VS to Newark and then Continental to YVR. Maybe you could be totally crazy and fly to Copenhagen with SAS then fly over the pole with them?

Hi,

You could try flying into Las Vegas and then flying up with HP ( America West) although I'm not sure if you would have to change in PHX.

Regards

TBS

VS LGW/LAS and then HP LAS/YVR. You will have a bit of a wait at McCarran so check your bags and go and enjoy the strip. VS arrives at 1330 and HP departs for YVR at 2330. On your return HP departs YVR at 0800, its about a 3 hr flight and VS departs at 1600. These HP flights are non-stop.
Hope this helps..........

I did it about 3 years ago and flew into SFO with Virgin and then up to Vancouver on United. There were several people on my flight doing the same. It was pretty easy, especially with the great international terminal at SFO which makes the transfer simple. It was the best way I could get to Vancouver and still fly Virgin!

AF

Thanks everyone for your really useful feedback. As much as the temptation of Las Vegas is there (especially given it has one of only two Selma's Cookies outlets in the USA [}:)]) I think it will have to be SFO then up.

Would anybody recommend driving from SFO? We would probably get a car anyway but I've no idea what attractions and scenery are up that bit of coast. Ideas...anyone?

Jacq

[Nottingham Nick]

Originally posted by Jacqueline Lewis

Would anybody recommend driving from SFO? We would probably get a car anyway but I've no idea what attractions and scenery are up that bit of coast.

Jacq

We are currently in SFO having driven down from Portland, Ore. It is an easy drive, and you have the option of the fast, busy and boring I-5, or taking the more scenic but slower 101. Or (as we did) a mixture of the two.

It is a great (but very long) drive, with the fantastic coastline, the many vineyards and the really impressive Redwood trees. The down side is, whichever way you look at it... it is a very long way. You are then left with the choice of paying a large drop off fee to leave your car in Canada, or driving all the way back.

Portland, Oregon is right on the Washington border, and we did the drive comfortably in three days, but Vancouver is a good way further.

Any more questions, feel free to ask:)

Nick

If you are going to drive, remember to get permission from the rental company to take the car into Canada, otherwise you risk getting refused entry at the border ! Also, check with your friends in Vancouver about parking. If they live downtown or in the west end parking is a problem, anywhere else you will be ok.

Originally posted by Jacqueline Lewis
Would anybody recommend driving from SFO? We would probably get a car anyway but I've no idea what attractions and scenery are up that bit of coast. Ideas...anyone?

I have done the drive to and from YVR down the I-5. On the way there it took three days but I was with other folks who liked to stop. On the way back I did it in a day, but it was a long, long drive (18 hours I seem to recall), and I stopped every three hours or so for a couple of pints of coffee to stay awake.

More often I do the drive between Seattle and Vancouver. If you catch Seattle in the rush hours, it can add a couple of hours to your journey - from Tacoma through Seattle to Everett can be a real drag, whether you take the I-5 or the 405.

Although crossing the land border into Canada is a breeze, on the way back into the US, if you are not a US or Canadian citizen, you will have to sit in a very utilitarian and miserable waiting area for an hour while they process your passport details, and you get to pay a ~$6 fee for the privilege. That's just the way it is.

If you fly, that fee is included in your ticket price and the hour's passport processing is done between check in and boarding the plane.

Adding to others' comments about the routing, I have done LHR-LAX a few times over the years on VS and taken the short 2 1/2 hour hop on Delta, Air Canada and United. There seemed to be a few more options this way even though it's a little further. [Delta don't seem to do this route anymore, but Alaska does].

The lasting memory of my last trip to Vancouver earlier on this month was doing the Grouse Grind, which is a 922m elevation hike over 3km. I still creek when I stand up. Took me 2 hours, but the GF did it in 45 mins. I'm getting too old for this stuff.

Cheers, Howard

Sorry to drag this thread up again guys, but more advice please!

My friend who lives in Canada has said that her family and friends tend to use Canadian Affair (£1006 for 2 people flying in PE on Thomas Cook Airbus 330), Zoom (£1123.14 for 2 flying in PE of whatever aircraft/carrier) or BA (£1082.40 Econ or £1922.40 PE). So I'm still struggling for the best thing to do. My concerns are:
1. Why is BA so pricey for PE - is it really worth it?
2. What is Thomas Cook like to fly with?
3. Who do Zoom fly with?
4. Would I be better off blowing a load of Virgin miles and doing miles plus money to SFO, then connecting to YVR? Or even a companion flight? This is the most tricky for lots of reasons. I currently have 64,500 miles but the redemption is about to change. Hubby has 57,000. We're off to Boston early April which will give us just over 6,000 more each but this will be into the new redemption rates.
The final option is the Buy One Get One Free Business Class offer with the platinum AMEX that we have.

Ideas?!!! [?]

Jacq x

Grab a VS PE special to LAX (£718 - depending on when you fly) and connect to AC or AS to YVR for approx £170.

Could be done for less than £900 and earning 6 TP's and 16,326 to boot

or, in Economy for approx £470

Unfortunately we're stuck with October half term (I'm a teacher) so are thinking of leaving Sat 21st Oct and returning Fri 27th/Sat 28th. As you can see, this signifcantly ramps up the fares somewhat [:(]

Thanks for your advice, though.

Jacq

Friend of mine flew on a Tommy C. A330 to YVR lst year and aside the A330 breaking down and them being delayed for 24 hours, they said they've neer been so cramped up in their lives but that was in the back of the plane. You will get your own TV though.

Zoom are their own airline and have a few ex-martinair (i think) 767's. Fankly, their premium cabin doesnt look too bad so Id be tempted to give it a bash. No miles though and I think you still get food in premium.

Id still fly via EWR with VS and connect on CO.

Hmm, yeah the crammed in bit was what I was most worried about so that rules them out then. It really does make you realise that you get what you pay for, and therfore why VS charge that little bit more sometimes.

Originally posted by AtlanticFlyer
I did it about 3 years ago and flew into SFO with Virgin and then up to Vancouver on United. There were several people on my flight doing the same. It was pretty easy, especially with the great international terminal at SFO which makes the transfer simple. It was the best way I could get to Vancouver and still fly Virgin!

AF

So thank you, good people. A route we're thinking of doing later in the year - my initial thought were that this will have to be the way to go and you've just confirmed it.

Back again...still trying to squeeze the most value out and less miles in!

This is the preliminary plan...

2 x reward Economy [n] seats using 40,000 miles each, then
2 x Air Canada Economy direct into Vancouver

We've decided this way over NYC as less in the way of time zones to mess about with on the return journey - it makes the connecting times a heck of a lot easier to work out and get right with overnights etc. I loathe using my miles and am actually more peeved at going Econ as I have enouigh for PE but hubby doesn't, but at the end of the day, the point is to see our friends we haven't set eyes on in over two years and who have just become parents for the first time [^]

My question this time is...if I book reward flights in Econ, can I then use more miles to upgrade to PE? It's just that after BOS in April and West Coast in July/Aug, we'll both have more then enough. Would this be possible/available? Would VS have to cancel the original booking abd rebook?

Sorry for this everyone, I know it seems I can't make up my mind [:#]. If only VS weren't moving the goal posts at the end of the month [:(]

Jacq

PS I am having my kitchen redone and it's going VERY well - if anyone wants a recommendation then just ask...sadly, I am very excited about it all [:I]

IIRC you cannot upgrade an award flight.

Where are you connecting through in the end ?

[preiffer]

Yes, a mileage reward can be upgraded to a higher mileage reward with no problem. (Not sure about the £20 tax difference though...)

Actually - there is one thing... I'm not sure if it gets charged at the difference in REWARD tickets, or the cost in miles to upgrade from Y to PE. [:?]

One's soon to be significantly more miles than the other... [:0]

Originally posted by Jacqueline Lewis
My question this time is...if I book reward flights in Econ, can I then use more miles to upgrade to PE?

You can't use miles to upgrade a reward flight like you would do with a qualifying revenue ticket - but, if there's availability, then VS might be able to cancel the reward and reissue in the higher class (with the appropriate miles refund & deduction - or just charging the difference).

Cheers

Michael

[RichardMannion]

Originally posted by Nitrox
IIRC you cannot upgrade an award flight.

You can upgrade a reward ticket, of course there needs to be avaialbility. You need to call FC and they will make the cahnge and charge what the reward flight would have been in the first place.

So (using old FC levels), you book a PE return to NYC at a cost of 50K, but decide you actually want to fly home in UC, then you pay the difference (Split the original as its roundtrip, 25K each way, and then pay the difference between a single Upper reward 40K) therefore 15k.

You would need to pay the tax difference if applicable.

Thanks,
Richard

Ah, that's what I was hoping for, Michael. But I'm not sure that if I call up with enough miles in August there will be any availability [:?]. But hubby might get enough after BOS in April now that he has no company fuel card and it all has to go on his AMEX.

Connecting through SFO now.

Jacq

[RichardMannion]

Likewise if you are on a qualifying revenue fare and want to change the class you want to travel in up, you can do so. So book a L, B or Y (Bor Y for our US chums) and originally use 20k for a RT upgrade to PE (providing U class avail on both sectors). Decide you actually want to fly both ways in UC, call FC and they will charge the difference (take another 40k) providing G class avaialable.

Thanks,
Richard

Cool. I'm going to try to book the Econ seats tomorrow (just so we can say we're going (most trips I have ever been on in one year in my life )) then will see how the miles tot up on the AMEX. That'll decide how quickly I can check availability for upgrades.

Thanks for all your help, everyone. You really are superstars at looking after less-experienced flyers like me [:I] [oo]

Jacq x