A Qantas WP1's observations on the Virgin Platinum experience

[blankman]

These are the Velocity T&Cs:

View attachment 4563

You can see there that the $30 fee is only for reward seats booked over the phone. Comp upgrades are not reward seats (in fact, you can use the upgrade as long as there is a J seat available at the time of requesting it, it does not have to be a reward seat or specific fare bucket).

[edited post to correct my appalling grammar - my mother would have been ashamed!]

I found with my last comp upgrade (no fee) that initially I could select any flight with business class seats available. However, when I tried to change my flight the velocity premium desk could only move me to flights where H class was available as the comp upgrades are booked as 'reward' seats- my updated itinerary showed this too. Had no problem changing at the airport on day of departure but would have been nice to have a bit more flexibility beforehand.

 

[pshepvic]

Flexis should have no fee, only fare difference.

Agree but the T&Cs state differently. They indicate to cancel and rebook will cost $80 on a Flexi. My experience has been different though - I've never been charged a fee to do this, however we have a massive corporate deal with DJ so that could be why...

 

[simongr]

I found with my last comp upgrade (no fee) that initially I could select any flight with business class seats available. However, when I tried to change my flight the velocity premium desk could only move me to flights where H class was available as the comp upgrades are booked as 'reward' seats- my updated itinerary showed this too. Had no problem changing at the airport on day of departure but would have been nice to have a bit more flexibility beforehand.

My experience was a little different. Originally booked SYD-PER-SYD on flexi upgraded to PE/J. Changed to MEL-PER-SYD without problem (although I lost the airbus new J).

 

[DC3]

.. I can't yet see the actual charge for the Flexi fare that I upgraded on my cc statement, so I will watch that one closely to see if the $30 fee is actually charged or not (actually $60 for MEL-SYD-PER - used up 2 upgrades, not 1 which also doesn't seem quite right*). It certainly appears on the itinerary and certainly came as a nasty shock when I saw it. It's still a fantastic benefit, regardless ..

In my case, the upgrade fees for flexi to business did appear on the itinerary, along with a respective increase in the total amount of the ticket. It has taken almost 3 days for the amounts to show on my cc. However, on checking my cc debits, today, the additional upgrade fees have not actually been applied.

It seems to confirm that this is some sort of internal accounting process.

 

[djfuzz]

In my case, the upgrade fees for flexi to business did appear on the itinerary, along with a respective increase in the total amount of the ticket. It has taken almost 3 days for the amounts to show on my cc. However, on checking my cc debits, today, the additional upgrade fees have not actually been applied.

It seems to confirm that this is some sort of internal accounting process.

No upgrade fees on the itinerary at all for our comp upgrades. Strange.

 

[DC3]

No upgrade fees on the itinerary at all for our comp upgrades. Strange.

I've just edited this post after checking the itinerary. I should have said: In my case, an additional entry on the revised itinerary shows "Premium Economy Upgrade Fee - Long 218.20".

I guess that the $218.20 includes GST charges. This was for 4 x flexi upgrades SYD-PER-SYD (IE, 2 pax, each way).

In any case, the increase was never charged to the cc.

 

[Qld4101]

Interested to see if anyone else has had any issues with upgrades showing on itinerary, just upgraded and it still shows Economy and Flexi ticket. Plat desk have assured me that it is a business booking, and not sure why it isn't showing - interested to see what others have seen?

 

[josh84]

4. FANTASTIC (BUT HAS A HIDDEN CATCH) - the 4 complimentary upgrades from Flexi to Business - I can accept having to buy a flexi fare to get an upgrade to a business seat...but each sector will cost you $30 to upgrade which puts a sour taste in my mouth. It's still a fabulous perk, but at least make it clear that you'll cop a $30 fee to use it. QANTAS YOU SHOULD MATCH THIS PERK (but not the fee).
.

No upgrade fee charged to me today for 2pax upgrade TSV-BNE-SYD-PERTH. They rerouted the whole trip (added the BNE leg) just so I could use the upgrades for my colleague and I. I asked if there were any additional charges and told that there wasnt.

 

[markis10]

Agree but the T&Cs state differently. They indicate to cancel and rebook will cost $80 on a Flexi. My experience has been different though - I've never been charged a fee to do this, however we have a massive corporate deal with DJ so that could be why...

No, the T&Cs are quite clear (note my quote you referenced was quoting the change not cancel fee issue), cancelling then rebooking is not the same as changing:

This is our fully flexible economy fare. There is no fee to change the time and date of your flight and this fare is refundable in most circumstances, at an applicable fee up to 24 hours after departure.

Name Changes
Yes, a change fee is payable.
The Guest’s name can be changed on the booking up to 24 hours after the flight as long as none of the flights on the booking have been taken.
Flight Time and Date Changes
Up to 24 hours AFTER the flight:
No change fee is payable. You can change your flight booking and pay any fare difference between your purchased fare and the new fare.

View All | Virgin Australia

View All Fares | Virgin Australia

 

[pshepvic]

No, the T&Cs are quite clear (note my quote you referenced was quoting the change not cancel fee issue), cancelling then rebooking is not the same as changing:



View All | Virgin Australia

View All Fares | Virgin Australia

Sorry but I don't think the fee table in the T&Cs is clear. What you are saying (which I do believe you are correct on because that is what is happening in practice) is that the $100 fee only applies in the event you cancel AND ask for a refund. The table shows two rows - for Flexis it says Cancellation $100 and Refund $100. It should say Cancellation No fee, Refund $100.

Online it says $80 for a cancellation. I thought if you cancel online it automatically creates a credit shell and the only way for a refund is to call? Therefore the refund fee would be $100 over the phone. So the $80 fee would therefore never apply!

(Edited post to differentiate from call centre vs online and update fee amount)

 

[markis10]

Sorry but I don't think the fee table in the T&Cs is clear. What you are saying (which I do believe you are correct on because that is what is happening in practice) is that the $80 fee only applies in the event you cancel AND ask for a refund. The table shows two rows - for Flexis it says Cancellation $80 and Refund $80. It should say Cancellation No fee, Refund $80.

I was pointing out that making changes is free, cancelling and putting into credit or then asking for a refund does involve a fee in theory, there has been instances where a change to another flight was charged a fee when it should not have been as the fare was the same for the changed flight. In practice if you are going to fly the same route again, changing it for a date far in the future then making another date change will save $$$.

 

[pshepvic]

I was pointing out that making changes is free, cancelling and putting into credit or then asking for a refund does involve a fee in theory, there has been instances where a change to another flight was charged a fee when it should not have been as the fare was the same for the changed flight. In practice if you are going to fly the same route again, changing it for a date far in the future then making another date change will save $$$.

Yep sorry I misread the previous post and just realised after posting above. Definitely no change fee for Flexi.

On the Cancel/Rebook note though my experience is that no fee has been charged - so I wonder if the fee is really meant to be for refunds only and they consider a cancel into a credit shell as effectively the same as changing a flight? Has anyone else had any experience with this scenario?

 

[JohnK]

I had the wrap and a Pure Blonde on a GLT-BNE flight last week on Skywest. Complimentary, something different and totally unexpected.

 

[Warks]

I have to say it's a stroke of genius on DJ's part to offer this comp membership. I was QF SG a bit over a month ago and got comped DJ SG, a pity that I made WP a few weeks later though.

But what it's meant is that the barriers to me flying DJ (apart from a long memory of cancelled flights many years ago) are gone - not having to queue with the plebs, access to the lounge and preferred seating. Without all that it was hard to compete when the price on QF was not a great deal more.

I don't enjoy not being fed, stupid I know but it breaks up the journey and on principle I won't buy food on the plane as I don't really need it. Otherwise it's all pretty good provided they don't cancel flights on me too often. I'll be dividing my loyalties this year depending on pricing and timing of flights I think.

 

[Budley]

I have to say it's a stroke of genius on DJ's part to offer this comp membership. I was QF SG a bit over a month ago and got comped DJ SG, a pity that I made WP a few weeks later though.

Well DJ didn't comp me for whatever reason and I'll be minimising my flying with them as a result. They have also taken away my priority pass access and want me to pay for a glass of tap water on their flights.

Why would I waste my (personal) money with such a poor airline?

BTW, I'm now QF Gold until Sept 2013, as a result of my booking CBR-SYD-ADL-MEL-NTL-BNE. Couldn't do that with Virgin Blue (who also have no alliances to speak of). Etihad. Peh!

 

[777]

Well DJ didn't comp me for whatever reason and I'll be minimising my flying with them as a result. They have also taken away my priority pass access and want me to pay for a glass of tap water on their flights.

Why would I waste my (personal) money with such a poor airline?

BTW, I'm now QF Gold until Sept 2013, as a result of my booking CBR-SYD-ADL-MEL-NTL-BNE. Couldn't do that with Virgin Blue (who also have no alliances to speak of). Etihad. Peh!

Hmmm. How did you book MEL-NTL on Qantas? They don't even fly that route.

Actually, come to think of it, VA is the only airline that flies all the legs you just outlined above.

 

[MarkD]

Well DJ didn't comp me for whatever reason and I'll be minimising my flying with them as a result. They have also taken away my priority pass access and want me to pay for a glass of tap water on their flights.

Why would I waste my (personal) money with such a poor airline?

BTW, I'm now QF Gold until Sept 2013, as a result of my booking CBR-SYD-ADL-MEL-NTL-BNE. Couldn't do that with Virgin Blue (who also have no alliances to speak of). Etihad. Peh!

Pffft . Qantas Fanboi :mrgreen:

 

[777]

Pffft . Qantas Fanboi :mrgreen:

Should probably be Qantas Fan[tasy]boi given he booked an itinerary on them that Qantas doesn't actually fly (but DJ does) just to demonstrate how cough DJ is by comparison.

 

[pshepvic]

Well DJ didn't comp me for whatever reason and I'll be minimising my flying with them as a result. They have also taken away my priority pass access and want me to pay for a glass of tap water on their flights.

Why would I waste my (personal) money with such a poor airline?

BTW, I'm now QF Gold until Sept 2013, as a result of my booking CBR-SYD-ADL-MEL-NTL-BNE. Couldn't do that with Virgin Blue (who also have no alliances to speak of). Etihad. Peh!

As announced by DJ a while back and mentioned here already, coffee tea and water will be provided on all DJ flights from January 18.

Next!

 

[Virgin Australia]

Well DJ didn't comp me for whatever reason and I'll be minimising my flying with them as a result. They have also taken away my priority pass access and want me to pay for a glass of tap water on their flights.

Why would I waste my (personal) money with such a poor airline?

BTW, I'm now QF Gold until Sept 2013, as a result of my booking CBR-SYD-ADL-MEL-NTL-BNE. Couldn't do that with Virgin Blue (who also have no alliances to speak of). Etihad. Peh!

Hi Budley,
What didn't we comp you? Our status match period has finished (after being available for quite some time).

Priority Pass access has indeed ended as we need to ensure there is lounge space for those loyal Guests who are flying with us.

Also, our airline name is now Virgin Australia and we have an extensive international network through our alliance partners, Etihad, Air NZ, Delta and soon to be approved Singapore Airlines. Through these partners you have access to 500 destinations worldwide.