The Velocity Status Run Master thread

[rowdyrobbieflyer]

Looking to go from Sydney to the Gold Coast first weekend in August.

Leaving on the 1st (after work) or the 2nd of August (morning).
Returning on the 3rd (afternoon) or 4th of August (early morning to get back to Sydney for work).

It would be great if I could get some ideas/suggestions on how to get the most SC points for this trip.

Thanks heaps guys.

 

[bass_ke]

I think I've done ok for my first DL booking, 2.6 $/SC. I'm not expecting much in E175 and CRJ700 F but the pooled SC's from SWMBO and daughter will giver that push to WP!

 

[gwilli1]

Booking directly with VA will only allow a direct routing from SYD-OOL . If you book through Webjet you can get a routing of SYD-MEL-OOL RTN departing Fri night & return Sun night for roughly the same cost as booking direct with VA and flying direct , but will net you additional SC


VA - Flexi Fare Return Total $390 this will earn 40 SC @ $9.75 / SC

Webjet - Flexi Fare Return Total $420 ( inc Webjet fees) , this will earn 100 SC @ $4.20 / SC

SYD-MEL VA874 Depart 18.00 Arr 19.35
MEL-OOL VA761 Depart 20.10 Arr 22.15

The reverse routing is available on Sun 3rd Aug

OOL-MEL VA746 Depart 16.50 Arr 19.15
MEL-SYD VA891 Depart 20.00 Arr 21.25

If cost is a consideration then the best available on a Saver Lite fare would require a departure on early Sat morning and return on Sunday evening

VA - Saver Lite Return Total $150 , this will earn 20 SC @ $7.50 / SC

Webjet - Saver Lite Return Total $190 ( inc Webjet fees) , this will earn 50 SC @ $3.80 / SC

SYD-MEL VA808 Depart 7.00 Arr 8.35
MEL-OOL VA733 Depart 9.10 Arr 11.15

The reverse routing is available on Sun 3rd Aug.

OOL-MEL VA742 Depart 14.50 Arr 17.15
MEL-SYD VA873 Depart 17.45 Arr 19.10

Hope this helps. Any questions let me know & i will try & answer.

Looking to go from Sydney to the Gold Coast first weekend in August.

Leaving on the 1st (after work) or the 2nd of August (morning).
Returning on the 3rd (afternoon) or 4th of August (early morning to get back to Sydney for work).

It would be great if I could get some ideas/suggestions on how to get the most SC points for this trip.

Thanks heaps guys.

 

[rowdyrobbieflyer]

Legend.

Thanks for this, I'll try and book:

Webjet - Flexi Fare Return Total $420 ( inc Webjet fees) , this will earn 100 SC @ $4.20 / SC

Not overly sure how to find this, but will try now.

Thanks again.

EIDT:

Yep. Struggling to get this flight, as when I hit multi city I get this message:

• All flights must have different departure times
• You have selected overlapping flights, overlapping flights are not allowed

 

[gwilli1]

There is no need to use multi city , just select return

Legend.

Thanks for this, I'll try and book:

Webjet - Flexi Fare Return Total $420 ( inc Webjet fees) , this will earn 100 SC @ $4.20 / SC

Not overly sure how to find this, but will try now.

Thanks again.

EIDT:

Yep. Struggling to get this flight, as when I hit multi city I get this message:

• All flights must have different departure times
• You have selected overlapping flights, overlapping flights are not allowed

 

[strtrek]

There is no need to use multi city , just select return

doing my syd-ool-mel-syd tomorrow....booked thru webjet...easy as....$170, 50 SC, $3.40/SC

was syd-mel-ool-mel-syd but VA re scheduled.....they told me I will get my original miles/sc as if I flew the syd-mel-ool leg.....will let you know on monday if thats true.

so wish me luck!

I know I'm only going to be turning silver, but then after my next syd-mel-ool-mel-syd I'll be GOLD!!!!....yep, I really do need to get a life

 

[gwilli1]

Definitely let us know how you go with your original routing credit to your account .

Enjoy your day. I did a similar routing ( SYD-OOL-MEL-OOL-SYD) back in March ...its a long day, but a fun one.

doing my syd-ool-mel-syd tomorrow....booked thru webjet...easy as....$170, 50 SC, $3.40/SC

was syd-mel-ool-mel-syd but VA re scheduled.....they told me I will get my original miles/sc as if I flew the syd-mel-ool leg.....will let you know on monday if thats true.

so wish me luck!

I know I'm only going to be turning silver, but then after my next syd-mel-ool-mel-syd I'll be GOLD!!!!....yep, I really do need to get a life

 

[strtrek]

Definitely let us know how you go with your original routing credit to your account .

Enjoy your day. I did a similar routing ( SYD-OOL-MEL-OOL-SYD) back in March ...its a long day, but a fun one.

Thanks...I'm really looking forward to it.....a few hours in the "sun" in OOL may shake these sydney winter blues......

:mrgreen:

 

[TomVexille]

doing my syd-ool-mel-syd tomorrow....booked thru webjet...easy as....$170, 50 SC, $3.40/SC

was syd-mel-ool-mel-syd but VA re scheduled.....they told me I will get my original miles/sc as if I flew the syd-mel-ool leg.....will let you know on monday if thats true.

so wish me luck!

I know I'm only going to be turning silver, but then after my next syd-mel-ool-mel-syd I'll be GOLD!!!!....yep, I really do need to get a life

Yup, let us know how you go. And have fun

 

[Rod Howarth]

Hi everyone, first time posting here but have been lurking for a while. This thread has a bunch of neat tricks, didn't realise connecting flights meant you got separate status credits.

I'm currently on 950 status credits, and by the 18th of May I'll be down to 920, but that weekend I'm flying from Sydney to Brisbane with my partner (who pools points to me) so we'll gain another 40 points bringing me up to 960, perilously close to making platinum. I was thinking about doing a run next weekend to get the 40 points (perhaps an overnight melbourne trip to drink coffee and eat Huxtaburger) however I've left it too late and now the flights are pretty expensive - will cost $550 for the overnight trip.

The next weekend I'm able to fly is on the 30th, however by that point I would have lost another 10 status credits putting me at 950 again. So I'll need to gain the extra 10 credits somehow. From reading this thread I took a look at webjet connecting flights, and I could head to Melbourne on a SYD-BRIS-MEL flight on the Saturday and return home direct MEL-SYD on Sunday night. This would cost $460 and I'd get 20 + 30 + 20 = 70 status credits (combined for the 2 of us) I also have virgin money credit card so I might be able to get the half price deal on one or both of the flights if I book this weekend. I assume you still get status credits when you do that?

$460 is still fairly pricey though, does anyone have any other suggestions? At the start of June I'll drop to 920 status points, and stay that way until July when I start losing a few overseas flights and it's probably game over. So if I earnt 80 points I could fly anytime in June.

I could do the OOL flights that have been mentioned, however I used to live in Brisbane and drove to GC regularly so we would probably find Melbourne a better night away.

 

[n7of9]

I also have virgin money credit card so I might be able to get the half price deal on one or both of the flights if I book this weekend. I assume you still get status credits when you do that?

CC 2for1 flights earn half the status credits per person - that is, you get SC for 1 paid flight, but none for the free flight edit: wrong...see next 2 posts

$460 for 70SC works out to $6.57 per SC - that's a steal! considering how much more it will cost you if you delay and start to lose more SC, it may be worth doing it now and you'll have a year to decide if it was worth it and if you want to do it again next year

 

[Virgin Bart]

CC 2for1 flights earn half the status credits per person - that is, you get SC for 1 paid flight, but none for the free flight

$460 for 70SC works out to $6.57 per SC - that's a steal! considering how much more it will cost you if you delay and start to lose more SC, it may be worth doing it now and you'll have a year to decide if it was worth it and if you want to do it again next year

Are you sure about the free flight not getting SC? That's a change from last time I did it =[

 

[n7of9]

Are you sure about the free flight not getting SC? That's a change from last time I did it =[

OH! i just looked it up...you are correct, both travelers receive status credits (i must have mixed it up with the AMEX free flights)...now i need to go back to the drawing board for myself as I'd written-off those 2for1

 

[strtrek]

So, I'm back..

My SYD-OOL-MEL-SYD run was awesome.
Flights left 5 mins early, first flight to OOL was nearly empty, pity the rest weren't, they were chocker.
The walk to Kirra was nice (15 -20 min)although I wasn't dressed for 27 degree's.....next time I'll take some shorts and a t-shirt. But def worth the effort, thanks again for the suggestion.
Connecting flight OOL-MEL-SYD was on the same aircraft, @ the same gate so a breeze. VA738/VA859.

Now all I have to wait for is my VA account to be updated......will let you know how my ORC goes......
I also enjoyed the flight map that showed real time info....as I normally just fly Int. this was new to me.

Cabin crew were lovely on all 3 flights, and the seating wasn't as bad as I thought it would be.

All in all a great day was had...now to plan my next trip to GOLD!

Airline : V Australia [VA]
Departing : Sydney (SYD) on 11 May at 8:15 AM
Arriving : Gold Coast (OOL) at 9:35 AM
Flight Number : VA509

(NOTE: Security is a tad slow so dont cut it too fine re time when coming back in to the airport, take summer gear and walking shoes as its aprox 2 km one way to walk to the shops/beach...)

Airline : V Australia [VA]
Departing : Gold Coast (OOL) on 11 May at 12:50 PM
Arriving : Melbourne (MEL) at 3:15 PM
Flight Number : VA738

(NOTE: same aircraft, same gate..so don't panic if running late)

Airline : V Australia [VA]
Departing : Melbourne (MEL) on 11 May at 4:00 PM
Arriving : Sydney (SYD) at 5:25 PM
Flight Number : VA859

so here's the final numbers >>>Total flights 3 (to be credited 4), miles traveled 1727 , hours in the air 4.5, status credits 50, cost $170. $3.40 per SC, level achieved Velocity Silver. total Balance 450 SC, 4 flts.

UPDATE: into minute 32 on the phone, they had no idea re the 4 flights, then tried to say I flew it on a reward fare (that was 2 weeks ago), then I asked about level, the girl says I should be on silver now but its still on red, I'm now waiting for supervisor to sort this mess out.....how hard can it be...seriously????

 

[strtrek]

KILL ME NOW

just spent 55 mins on the phone to have them tell me "oh strtrek, you should have been silver in January and now we have to recalculate all the points and stuff".........

So what should I do now???? who do I complain to????? How can a system be so wrong????

I'm going home to have a wine and a wee lie down

SO CHECK YOUR POINTS!!!!

 

[SimonF]

You'll be fine somehow strtrek. I still think that MEL-BNE - AKL in PY/C is best bang for buck!

 

[Princess Fiona]

KILL ME NOW

just spent 55 mins on the phone to have them tell me "oh strtrek, you should have been silver in January and now we have to recalculate all the points and stuff".........

So what should I do now???? who do I complain to????? How can a system be so wrong????

I'm going home to have a wine and a wee lie down

SO CHECK YOUR POINTS!!!!

:shock:
Hope you get it all sorted out !!
Enjoy the wine anyway.

 

[strtrek]

:shock:
Hope you get it all sorted out !!
Enjoy the wine anyway.

Thanks mate

I'm now been given [email protected] to send an enquiry

I love Twitter...

I even had a spreadsheet to track my march to GOLD...now that's totally all over the shop..I don't know what the hell I'm doing now

 

[strtrek]

So back to the topic...sorry for the little side note

Just checking the flights to OOL from Syd.......they have jumped ..like way up on the days I could have done SYD-MEL-OOL-MEL-SYD FOR $180...they are around $460 +...

Hopefully they will drop again...

anyone had success getting a cheap MR this week???

I can smell gold.......

 

[JessicaTam]

So back to the topic...sorry for the little side note

Just checking the flights to OOL from Syd.......they have jumped ..like way up on the days I could have done SYD-MEL-OOL-MEL-SYD FOR $180...they are around $460 +...

Hopefully they will drop again...

anyone had success getting a cheap MR this week???

I can smell gold.......

Just for clarity, MR = Mattress Run: staying at multiple hotels to gain status
SR = Status Run: catching multiple flights to gain status.