Platinums can now use complimentary upgrade from a Choice fare

[im.daniel]

Good initiative, good for me as I don't book flex fares at all (given the minimal cost difference when compared to a Business fare), it's either Choice or Business.

I think this should become a permanent benefit.

 

[jakeseven7]

It’s been said on here many many times over but Virgin need to do a complete overhaul of Platinum. It’s a very weak offering.

100% agree, incentive to get to WP on VA2 is lukewarm at best - but there’s a dedicated thread to this so won’t go too off topic.

Re seating:: The funny thing is that VA2 uses back door boarding in most ports so being at back can sometimes be faster!

The only downside (in QLD especially) is in my experience VA2 clientele can be a little…. cough uhmmm bogan - especially as you progress further down the back so I kinda like to stick to the front

 

[ozstamps]

Used 4 today - quick and easy. Agent knew totally about the new deal.

All the Qantas current deep woes no doubt will see a few more crumbs dropped on Elites.

Nice time for them to do another double status credits promo etc.

I'm amazed they have not rolled out a status match to steal some angered Qantas Elites - they might be working on the nuts and bolts now.

Re 'Recognition' with partners was on phone today with SQ about a biz booking to USA next week, checking on baggage allowance - 2 x 32 kilo pieces. I want to lug back a lot of purchases to save on the totally crazy shipping costs ex USA.

Asked if my Lifetime Star Alliance Gold card got me an extra piece - YES.

Asked if my Velocity Platinum Card did the same - she checked and said NO.

Weird.

 

[Must...Fly!]

Weird.

And entirely wrong.

Platinum Membership

Enjoy gold membership benefits as soon as your status credit reaches to 1000. benefits includes priority phone service, upgrademe points, advance seat selection, priority wait list and also enjoy priority check-in, virgin Australia lounge, complementary baggage allowance and rewards benefits...

www.velocityfrequentflyer.com

 

[FlyingKangaroo]

Particularly

I don't think I would go quite that far, myself. The biggest issue arguably is the situation with recognition on partner airlines. If that was better, such as perhaps more akin to OWE equivalent, I think things would look much better.

Agree - and the fact that Platinum is so far easier to earn and maintain on VA than QF can't be ignored when assessing the benefits. Yes, we get less relative to Plats at QF. We also don't have to work nearly as hard to get there.

 

[Must...Fly!]

You make a good point regarding the (relative) ease of earn. The 8 sectors is a good thing. If that really needed to change, I personally would prefer seeing sectors raised to 10 or 12, and status credit requirements stay the same. Given the shift of VA metal away from long haul, an increase in SC numbers alone wouldnt be a good idea, just IMO

 

[luckypierre]

You could split the booking and then go ahead to upgrade yourself?

Thanks for the tip. My original thought was that I had to cancel and rebook to achieve use of the 2x credits Plat upgrade option. However, under the standard terms and conditions for the normal UpgradeMe Plat section 9.2 indicates that you can (if you wish) upgrade a guest travelling on the same flight on a flex fare. So I figured, why cant I do that with the promotional upgrade from choice offer. Rang the Membership Contact Centre again this morning; call picked up within a few minutes. The very helpful chap, said no problem we can split the booking; effectively creating a new PNR for myself and the original one kept for MrsLP only; retaining her row 3 seat. All sorted.

A great initiative potentially. Have two credits to use. My cunning plan to upgrade and have myself sitting in row 2 and Mrs LP sitting in row 3 came unstuck. The upgrade has to be applied to the whole booking, and cant be applied to one passenger only; foiled again

I stand corrected , a good initiative especially if you need to use the 4x Plat upgrade credits before expiry.

 

[Harrison_133]

Interesting experience this morning.

She said that although she could see I had 4 unused vouchers, when she tried to process the booking, the system kept telling her I only had 1 voucher left (I did have 1 unused voucher in the previous membership year). On my end, it was showing all 4 vouchers available for use before the approaching expiry date.

At this stage, the app still shows my seat allocation of 2A, but manage my booking online says I’m in Economy with no seat selected.

Bit of an update. I gave it a week and rang up this morning to enquire about the ‘escalation’ the Velocity team had apparently submitted. Turns out I had not been upgraded at all and all four vouchers were still available.

Got the Philippines call centre this week. She could see I had four vouchers available and that there was availability on the flight, so quickly processed the upgrade. It worked this time around, no system errors telling her I only had 1 voucher left. All up, the call only took 8 minutes. Pretty good.

Bit of a side note. I’ve rang the call centre a few times over the last few weeks (mainly for Fly Ahead). Got the Philippines on all occasions, except last week’s call where I had the voucher issues. Each time the agents were competent and efficient. All were aware of the Platinum benefits and understood exactly what I was wanting to do. Definitely a noticeable improvement to my experiences a few months ago.

 

[PERLHR]

One thing is for sure ..due to the "distance" Perth users are penalised. It really should've based on flight and not distance. Once again WA platinums "penalised".

 

[Must...Fly!]

One thing is for sure ..due to the "distance" Perth users are penalised. It really should've based on flight and not distance. Once again WA platinums "penalised".

I don't think I agree to be honest even as a regular between WA and VIC primarily. Reality is it's further and everyone knows it. The aircraft is in the air for longer, it can't generate the same number of sectors, that has to be paid for one way or the other.

 

[PERLHR]

I don't think I agree to be honest even as a regular between WA and VIC primarily. Reality is it's further and everyone knows it. The aircraft is in the air for longer, it can't generate the same number of sectors, that has to be paid for one way or the other.

Oh believe me originating from Perth to just about anywhere on their network the pax pay for it alright!! Also often, considerable more fuel consumption can be used on short sectors with climb and decent and speed control while it can be better controlled on longer flights. Longer flights spend longer in the cruise at higher altitude using less fuel consumption. But ofcourse less sectors for sure on shorter flights subject to any slot delays...and taxiing with longer waits to get into some active runways.

 

[Bagpuss]

Oh believe me originating from Perth to just about anywhere on their network the pax pay for it alright!! Also often, considerable more fuel consumption can be used on short sectors with climb and decent and speed control while it can be better controlled on longer flights. Longer flights spend longer in the cruise at higher altitude using less fuel consumption. But ofcourse less sectors for sure on shorter flights subject to any slot delays...and taxiing with longer waits to get into some active runways.

I agree being in Perth it's a frustration.
What amazing me, is even Virgin Australia doesn't know why it does well in this market.
It's simple ... The main international airline in Singapore Airlines, so if you travel internationally you've likely checked out them before anyone else. Next off the cabs you could say is Emirates and Qatar.

I had no intention to use my platinum upgrades for the year and looked at a potential trip mid March and noticed if I fly back via Brisbane from Melbourne I'd get the upgrade Brisbane to Perth on a choice fare. So of course, I jumped as will get another 4 end of February when status is renewed.

I'm in the camp of having 16 of these credits instead of 4. They wouldn't let me upgrade anything else stating it's a system error. Though my account still says 12 available and 4 used. I think a few others noticed this.

 

[Bagpuss]

After thinking this offer through a bit I feel there's a slightly better way all round whilst still being reasonable if this becomes a fixture.

Each year offer 5 complimentary upgrades.

For choice fares : 2 credits for 0 - 1000 miles long, 3 credits for 1001+ long

For flexi fares : 1 credit (as is)

This ultimately gives 1 extra flight for flexi fares, and really if using choice fares gives 1 "short trip" and 1 "long trip".

 

[ols]

After thinking this offer through a bit I feel there's a slightly better way all round whilst still being reasonable if this becomes a fixture.

Each year offer 5 complimentary upgrades.

For choice fares : 2 credits for 0 - 1000 miles long, 3 credits for 1001+ long

For flexi fares : 1 credit (as is)

This ultimately gives 1 extra flight for flexi fares, and really if using choice fares gives 1 "short trip" and 1 "long trip".

6 complementary upgrades and you've got me
That way you and your partner could do a long trip together

 

[Bagpuss]

6 complementary upgrades and you've got me
That way you and your partner could do a long trip together

If you did that you could introduce something around the flexi upgrade.

IE prior to 24 hours (subject to reward seat) 1 status credit. Within 24 hours (subject to business class seat) 2 status credits.

 

[dk4]

One thing is for sure ..due to the "distance" Perth users are penalised. It really should've based on flight and not distance. Once again WA platinums "penalised".

I agree: If they can be used from Flex to Business based on sectors (not flight length), then for consistency and simplicity, the same should be the case for Choice to Business IMO. (For those wanting more, the trade off would probably be the Flex to Business ones becoming length based as well!?)

 

[Durds]

Hi Gold Member​

For a limited time, we are offering more choice so you can enjoy the perks of Business Class when using your complimentary UpgradeMe Platinum benefit. As a Platinum member, you can now request to use your complimentary UpgradeMe credits when travelling on eligible routes on a Choice fare, in addition to our Flex Fares*! You are still able to upgrade from a Flex fare to Business Class using one of your UpgradeMe Platinum credits^. To upgrade from a Choice fare, the below credits are required.​

View attachment 345700

How to request your complimentary upgrade​

​ ​ Login to your My Velocity account and check your benefits.

​ ​ Upgrade your upcoming Choice or Flex fare via our Membership Contact Centre on 13 18 75, until two hours prior to the scheduled flight departure time, or at the Virgin Australia lounge until 40 minutes prior to the scheduled flight departure time.

​ ​ Travel between 27 September 2023 and 31 March 2024.

Great initiative that is most welcome for VA Plats. Well done Virgin!

We did this last night, not knowing about it in advance. There was 2 of us flying from Melb to Perth and was told, by the lounge staff we could both upgrade and use all 4 comps. Why not? So we did. Woke up this morning to find they also charged us 30000 points. Mmmm, I think the staff need more educating!

 

[markh]

What is the fare class for VA J upgrade?

 

[Jusrus]

I get good value out of Platinum flying Etihad to Europe 4-5 times a year. Always happy for more though!

I upgraded a Choice flight for November MEL -> SYD return over the phone last week. Answered immediately, confirmed availability (I had already checked) but then took 15 minutes to actually process the booking?

Said I would get new itenerary emailed, but haven't. This thread prompted me to check and seat is allocated via Velocity portal. Hopefully it sticks!

 

[HeavyElectricity]

What is the fare class for VA J upgrade?

Z, with all the conditions of your pre-upgrade ticket.