Will you still earn/retain Velocity status beyond 2025?

[MEL_Traveller]

Just posted in the other ‘general VA discussion’ thread.

Cannot understand why anyone wouod want to chase status with VA? The lounge offering has seriously gone downhill since last year, and even my visit a couple months ago.

Gone are the large range of salads, replaced by just three large bowls of carbs. The ‘sandwich bar’ has just tomato slices and tasteless cheese slices. Like as in… no taste at all. Not even ‘mild’.

The thai green curry looked like it had the consistency of tea (not even soup).

Economy X for $15 gets you all the benefits of status save the lounge… priority boarding, lots of legroom, priority disembarkation. Why would anyone be chasing status?

 

[stm1sydney]

Just posted in the other ‘general VA discussion’ thread.

Cannot understand why anyone wouod want to chase status with VA? The lounge offering has seriously gone downhill since last year, and even my visit a couple months ago.

Gone are the large range of salads, replaced by just three large bowls of carbs. The ‘sandwich bar’ has just tomato slices and tasteless cheese slices. Like as in… no taste at all. Not even ‘mild’.

The thai green curry looked like it had the consistency of tea (not even soup).

Economy X for $15 gets you all the benefits of status save the lounge… priority boarding, lots of legroom, priority disembarkation. Why would anyone be chasing status?

The sole reason I chase SG/WP with VA is to have status benefits when flying SQ Y, which benefits are valuable (lounge access, priority boarding etc). And VA status is easier to obtain than SQ status. But not worth it anymore.

 

[aus_flyer]

Surely VA has something up its sleeve for Platinum Plus. There's very little about it to justify needing DOUBLE the status credits as Platinum.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Surely VA has something up its sleeve for Platinum Plus. There's very little about it to justify needing DOUBLE the status credits as Platinum.

lol.

They are reserving everything they should be doing NOW for platinums, for platinum plus.

Like access to an aussie call centre, access to a person with authority to review complaints, ensuring priority at key stages of the journey like meal preferences on board, and suitable handling during IRROPS.

 

[ozstamps]

Surely VA has something up its sleeve for Platinum Plus. There's very little about it to justify needing DOUBLE the status credits as Platinum.

Rumour is they have 68 pallets of Instant Noodles from a previous Brain Fart, still in storage.

Platinum Plus members are expected to be offered those *** FREEE *** as their 'Program Enhancement' (strictly one polystyrene tub per flight - subject as always to availability) in these tough economic times, as a reward for their LOYALTY.

It is really not a MEAL of course, or free wine or beer, however water is still *FREE* - for the time being. We KNOW our competitor Qantas offers domestic passengers meals and booze, but hey ho .. something is better than nothing, right? RIGHT?

It is a LCC after all. Yes we know, a snack and also wine and beer free in evenings we used to do, before we doubled the fares, and trashed the Velocity Program, but we are American owned now, so you get what you get now.

There is no REX anymore, so you are stuck with what random crumbs we drop.

'And Platinum Plus folks are IMPORTANT to us - many of them even crazily buy FLEX fares - we love that. New CEO'.

https://www.qantas.com/au/en/qantas-experience/onboard/inflight-dining/domestic.html

 

[henrus]

Like access to an aussie call centre

I haven't spoken to anyone in an Australian call center post covid so I'm kind of surprised they still exist.

I've now got enough SCs to retain Plat through to Aug 2026 and then will let it drop off to nothing.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

I haven't spoken to anyone in an Australian call center post covid so I'm kind of surprised they still exist.

I've now got enough SCs to retain Plat through to Aug 2026 and then will let it drop off to nothing.

Well… funny story. I made 12 contacts with VA customer service and email to get a refund dispute resolved. No luck. 13th call about something unrelated (a flight change) and this aussie accent answers.

They were in Brisbane. ‘omg!’ i exclaimed.

Apparently they sometimes - emphasis on ‘sometimes’ - handle calls.

Anyway the Brisbane agent was able to make the change and sort out the refund dispute. In five minutes. Something which hours and hours and many emails to the off-shore agents had failed to resolve.

So they do exist. Just it’s a bit like getting Hobart for Qantas if you’re not a P1.

 

[stm1sydney]

Rumour is they have 68 pallets of Instant Noodles from a previous Brain Fart, still in storage.

Yeah, we get it. You don't like VA.

 

[SYD]

Yeah, we get it. You don't like VA.

Well, not anymore apparently.

 

[odysseus]

I sorta grudgingly admit that this makes sense. Why should a miserable $49 flight to Ballina earn more than 2 SCs, and it's a decent earn if you are crazy enough to fork out for a Flex fare.

I look at it the other way. Just because the flight is a good price, most people don't fly every day, so it should have more SC value than just an everyday shopping trip to Coles.

 

[GrahamBRI]

I sorta grudgingly admit that this makes sense. Why should a miserable $49 flight to Ballina earn more than 2 SCs, and it's a decent earn if you are crazy enough to fork out for a Flex fare.

Yes. it makes sense to an airline focused 100% on revenue/profit......... it does not make sense (to me) for an airline focused on loyalty/customer service!!! these are the things that establish your brand, create trust and a long-term relationship with your customer........ which will indirectly support revenue and profit, but with a much longer lasting relationship with your customer.........
These were "frequent flyer" programs rewarding loyal customers for "frequently flying". Maybe they need to be reclassified as "frequent spending" programs...... hey the australianfrequentspending.com.au domain is still available, I need to get in quick, before Matt gets it

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Yes. it makes sense to an airline focused 100% on revenue/profit......... it does not make sense (to me) for an airline focused on loyalty/customer service!!! these are the things that establish your brand, create trust and a long-term relationship with your customer........ which will indirectly support revenue and profit, but with a much longer lasting relationship with your customer.........
These were "frequent flyer" programs rewarding loyal customers for "frequently flying". Maybe they need to be reclassified as "frequent spending" programs...... hey the australianfrequentspending.com.au domain is still available, I need to get in quick, before Matt gets it

I was having a think about this last night.

I don’t think status is ‘loyalty’.

Loyalty, to me, means that you fly VA regardless. If there was no FF program, and the price was the same or more than Qantas, youd *still* fly VA.

It works with Qantas. People fly Qantas despite them being more expensive and - internationally - not having the same frequency as other carriers. I think there are good reasons why people do that.

Status is different. You’re not being ‘loyal’, you’re flying because you’re getting something in return. You’re getting all the perks of status.

When it comes to cheap $49 fares being offered by VA and JQ, are people being loyal, or simply deciding on price? If just on price, where’s the loyalty to be rewarded?

If QF, JQ and VA were all offering the same $99 fare SYD-MEL, and there were no FF programs or status involved, how many people would choose JQ or VA?

 

[simmomelb]

Rumour is they have 68 pallets of Instant Noodles from a previous Brain Fart, still in storage.

Platinum Plus members are expected to be offered those *** FREEE *** as their 'Program Enhancement' (strictly one polystyrene tub per flight - subject as always to availability) in these tough economic times, as a reward for their LOYALTY.

It sounds like you had a bitter breakup with VA, perhaps compounded by anger and resentment, breakups are never easy, big hugs.
I'd recommend reading a good book, like Heartbreak & Healing
You will get through this, I promise!

 

[ozstamps]

If QF, JQ and VA were all offering the same $99 fare SYD-MEL, and there were no FF programs or status involved, how many people would choose JQ or VA?

The Virgin planes would be empty.

A free snack/meal on all flights, and free wine/beer on Qantas on longer flights, or a plastic cup of free WATER on Virgin .. tough choice.

And earning points that can truly be used GLOBALLY on a very large raft of quality carriers. Total no-brainer.

 

[HS-TQE]

The Virgin planes would be empty.

A free snack/meal on all flights, and free wine/beer on Qantas on longer flights, or a plastic cup of free WATER on Virgin .. tough choice.

And earning points that can truly be used GLOBALLY on a very large raft of quality carriers. Total no-brainer.

Why haven't you requested a status match with QF yet if you really hate VA that much?

 

[Ade]

I received the DSC offer last week. I'm very low on my SC count and if this continues, I won't be retaining SG this year. Noting that I was WP and downgraded mid-last year. I think the *select* customers that received are those that pax that are not flying VA as much and to woo them back.

Soft landed to Silver with no VA flights in the horizon for this year. Let's see how things go.

 

[ozstamps]

If QF, JQ and VA were all offering the same $99 fare SYD-MEL, and there were no FF programs or status involved, how many people would choose JQ or VA?

HS-TQE - How about YOU answering this simple question as I just did?​

The fact you have not, speaks volumes.

 

[SeaWolf]

Why haven't you requested a status match with QF yet if you really hate VA that much?

I've been wondering that too, for quite some time.

 

[HS-TQE]

I've been wondering that myself, for quite some time.

Agreed. If those complaining are going to keep repeating on how VA is going to lose x for doing y across multiple posts re-worded, why not just request a status match to QF?

It's a win win for them, so they don't have to worry on what VA is doing, their competitor can meet their needs and both them and VA can move on with their lives.

 

[Stealthflyer]

I think the biggest challenge for me retaining platinum after this year is getting those VA coded flights for OS travel. They make it so hard. The other day I followed a Google flights link for flights though VA from HBA to Europe (operated by VA and QR). My selected flights were priced competitively, transited through MEL, and had good connections. I got to the check out, selected my domestic seats, put in my credit card. Then a note came up saying they couldn’t price the ticket. I went through the whole process again, thinking maybe it’d timed out or the prices had changed. Again, no can do. When I put my dates into the VA website directly, it only came up with only two options, both connecting via BNE with prohibitively long layover times. What’s more, they were very expensive. In the end I just booked PE through SQ for the same price. It was just way too hard to get VA coded flights. If a drop to gold as a consequence, then that’s just what happens. I’d rather be gold than suffer bad connections.
The jump from 8 required sectors to 400 status credits earned on VA flights is pretty massive (as a comparison, I’ve already got 8 sectors in the first month of my status cycle).