Last day as VA Platinum

[Notyourbag]

Been a VA Platinum member for the past 10 years but will drop down to Gold from tomorrow. Have switched business to Qantas as SYD-PER isn't much fun on a 737 and VA no longer flies their own aircraft to LAX. I plan to maintain Gold as still see merit and value.

Anyone else in the same boat?

 

[AIRwin]

Another month for review?

 

[PlaneCrazy]

I’m getting bumped down today as well. Still very much favouring VA as I can’t stand dealing with QF (and also pay for my own tickets) just not flying as frequently.

 

[knagelli]

I also have my review today and hopefully will be able to maintain my VA plat. After a few extensions , I am able to retain my status but not sure about next year as work/personal travel is not looking great this year on VA flights.

 

[Muppet501st]

Yep, same here, or i mean 3 here- as i had comped WP to both my wife and dad and we all drop today.
When covid hit, i was still traveling for work, and VA went under- it took a mighty fight to get back my $$ which i eventually did. So i switched to QF- and made SG and kept, but also used the VA WP to match to QR.
I think ive taken 4 flights with VA since Covid, i will miss the free YX but will still travel VA if the need arrises.

 

[jakeseven7]

We also got caught up in the Virgin collapse, well technically it happened in the aftermath - the business was in legal 'discussions' with VA2 etc for months re: all the Travel bank mess many had issues with- but amplified for us because of the $ involved - during that time we were banned from flying Virgin because they owed us a lot of money.

As a result most our company have now slipped down the status ladder including me, plus with the downsizing of the business VA2 no longer flies all routes we need / frequency on those has been cut back / reliability has been patchy especially over last 3-4 months = more people using QF as well. We also secured a better deal with QF beacuse of the volumes we fly (and freight) and now even though VA2 is again available to us to book, not many people choose to.

Net for me, slipping down to VA Gold is the sweet spot, Plat doesn't give me anything that I value highly anyway. Happy with Gold - and its so so easy to maintain, basically anyone can get it.

 

[Jack_OC]

Yes, I'm in the same boat (although technically you keep existing status for a month after the review date - so end of March in my case). I've been VA Platinum since early 2013, so almost exactly 10 years.

I was going to try the Business Flyer status match to get back to Platinum, but I'm not sure if it will work, since technically I will still be VA Platinum until 31 March, which is also the closing date of the current Business Flyer status match offer. Anyone any thoughts on that? Possibly still worth a go?

Failing that, I still get VA lounge access (through SQ and Amex) so all I will really lose is free economy X seating, and as a result I can't say I'm hugely bothered.

 

[AustraliaPoochie]

QFF is not the biggie yet.
We need to wait and see what or if, Rex will do FF wise.
Granted they don't fly trans Aust from PER - east coast, so QF would still be the best one for you, but they have inked their agreement with DL, so that might be a plus.

 

[Matt_01]

I also fall today but I think you get a 1 month grace period. Since covid my flying has significantly reduced so 2023 will be the year of falling status for both airline and hotel programs. I had been platinum for around 12 years and I think the only thing I will miss is the free Y+ seating.

 

[TMP]

because of the volumes we fly (and freight)

I find it interesting (and I'm purely speculating and making assumptions on your spend here, of course, but I do recall you reference A LOT of business travel across your employer) that given this, that you and some of your colleagues are not considered "Beyond" potential. The intricacies of those arrangements fascinate me.

Agree with you on Gold - seems you've found an arrangement across both VA and QF that works for you!

 

[hydrogen1]

I'm in the same boat! I have enough SCs but not enough sectors to maintain platinum (my QA flights weren't eligible, as I booked directly with QA). I have a flight booked for today and a few flights in early March, which will get me the sectors. But it's not good enough. VA customer service said that today's flight will count towards maintaining platinum but that I will still be short on sectors, so they will drop me to gold and won't extend my platinum status.

I tried to put my membership on parental pause at the end of 2021 (I had a baby), but VA customer service said there was no need to, as a 28 Feb 2023 renewal date was generous enough. In hindsight, I should have pushed for parental pause. But it's hard being on hold with a whinging baby

It doesn't matter anyway. I haven't been able to fly ahead for the last 5 flights and I can't get a seat in most lounges during peak periods. So gold won't be that bad.

 

[Jack_OC]

I'm in the same boat! I have enough SCs but not enough sectors to maintain platinum (my QA flights weren't eligible, as I booked directly with QA). I have a flight booked for today and a few flights in early March, which will get me the sectors. But it's not good enough. VA customer service said that today's flight will count towards maintaining platinum but that I will still be short on sectors, so they will drop me to gold and won't extend my platinum status.

I tried to put my membership on parental pause at the end of 2021 (I had a baby), but VA customer service said there was no need to, as a 28 Feb 2023 renewal date was generous enough. In hindsight, I should have pushed for parental pause. But it's hard being on hold with a whinging baby

It doesn't matter anyway. I haven't been able to fly ahead for the last 5 flights and I can't get a seat in most lounges during peak periods. So gold won't be that bad.

Wow. Pretty astonishing that they are not granting any leeway there. Very poor from VA.

 

[TomVexille]

I'm in the same boat! I have enough SCs but not enough sectors to maintain platinum (my QA flights weren't eligible, as I booked directly with QA). I have a flight booked for today and a few flights in early March, which will get me the sectors. But it's not good enough. VA customer service said that today's flight will count towards maintaining platinum but that I will still be short on sectors, so they will drop me to gold and won't extend my platinum status.

I tried to put my membership on parental pause at the end of 2021 (I had a baby), but VA customer service said there was no need to, as a 28 Feb 2023 renewal date was generous enough. In hindsight, I should have pushed for parental pause. But it's hard being on hold with a whinging baby

It doesn't matter anyway. I haven't been able to fly ahead for the last 5 flights and I can't get a seat in most lounges during peak periods. So gold won't be that bad.

If your baby is still under 2 you can apply for parental pause today

 

[Jack_OC]

If your baby is still under 2 you can apply for parental pause today

That is correct, actually - great point. @hydrogen1 you should definitely phone up about this ASAP, if your child hasn't turned 2 yet. This would actually give you another 18 months of Platinum - even better than if you had accrued the eligible sectors.

BTW, thinking about it further, I wonder if the agent you spoke to at the end of 2021 actually just meant that there was no point in applying for parental pause yet. I think that would probably have been correct advice.

 

[hydrogen1]

Thank you so much @TomVexille and @Jack_OC! I appreciate you mentioning this, your timing was perfect! I just called VA again and they approved my parental pause (my baby is 1 year old). The person I spoke to was very informative (compared to the other two people). So now I will maintain platinum for the next 18 months

 

[Jack_OC]

Thank you so much @TomVexille and @Jack_OC! I appreciate you mentioning this, your timing was perfect! I just called VA again and they approved my parental pause (my baby is 1 year old). The person I spoke to was very informative (compared to the other two people). So now I will maintain platinum for the next 18 months

Fantastic! The credit must go to @TomVexille though - this had not occurred to me either - I just agreed with what he said!

 

[hossein_au]

Same here: have been Plat for can't-even-remember-how-many years. I have only earned about 450 SCs this year as I mainly flew rewards using (some of the) points I have accumulated over the past couple of years. I have over 600 SCs worth of flights coming up in March though.

One lesson from living through COVID era is that it's not end of the world if one drops back to Gold (or even lower)

 

[knagelli]

points I have accumulated over the past couple of years. I have over 600 SCs worth of flights coming up in March though.

As others have pointed , unless you are keen about the Economy X seat selection there is hardly any difference between WP/SG.

 

[Layslow]

Been a VA Platinum member for the past 10 years but will drop down to Gold from tomorrow. Have switched business to Qantas as SYD-PER isn't much fun on a 737 and VA no longer flies their own aircraft to LAX. I plan to maintain Gold as still see merit and value.

Anyone else in the same boat?

Don't get too excited - Qantas are running a LOT of 737's to Perth these days. Have taken a lot of A330's off domestic to fly international...

 

[Must...Fly!]

As others have pointed , unless you are keen about the Economy X seat selection there is hardly any difference between WP/SG.

Free Wi-Fi!

If you care.
When you get an aircraft with it.
When it works...!!

That said, Economy X is a great perk and I do need to make it back to the EY F lounge.

(Love VA, but yes, I agree generally with your statement).