VA status extensions

[VPS]

My review with Virgin is 31st January and I've heard nada so guess I'll give them a call this week.

 

[SYD]

My review with Virgin is 31st January and I've heard nada so guess I'll give them a call this week.

My review date was the 8th. I looked in the app on the day and it was already showing a new Jan 22 review date and card exp Feb 22.

I was expecting the 1 mth in limbo waiting.

 

[cbourl]

No second status extension so far with VA
Lufthansa have extended my Senator Status to 2022, as have UA extended my Premier 1K Status to 2022. Qantas have extended my Silver status to Feb 2022
VA - nothing so far apart from the previous 1 year extension -is it time to dump the ..... and make the switch - luckily i applied my QF status match to Gold - had flights planned late Dec 2020 an early Jan 2021 but due to morons from OS transmitting covid in SYD , causing border closures from NSW to SA, didn't make the flights - hopefully flights to/from NSW Australia day weekend from Adelaide wont be subject to quarantine - the SA Health/SA.GOV.AU websites are intensely confusing

 

[AustraliaPoochie]

Got my email of status extension a few weeks ago.
With no VA lounge opening in ADL and the UK/South African variant of Covid, I am not so keen on flying, so probably I will drop to pleb status sooner or later.
Am VFF PS as of now, but with no flights too far off overseas, or even NZ, will be hard to retain status even with their (VA) extension, in the mid 2/3 year term.

 

[AustraliaPoochie]

...hopefully flights to/from NSW Australia day weekend from Adelaide wont be subject to quarantine - the SA Health/SA.GOV.AU websites are intensely confusing

Hotel quarantine, if you didn't have covid, staying at a Covid hotel surely increases your chances, ... deep clean, hah, my paw!

 

[jase05]

Review date was today and when I checked at 9am my new review date is Jan 16th 2022 so another year of Platinum it is.
Now to wait and see if I fly with them much this year

 

[AustraliaPoochie]

Wonder if/will VA put another extension past 2022.
With not a lot of international flying with their partners, apart from NZ when that opens up to us, ...
Hopefully they do one more past 2022/2023 at the least.
OT***Looking at some of their airline partners, as international arrivals are capped, so will the capacity of the airlines coming to Aust, so even if borders reopen, seats on flights will still be capped, so will be hard to retain purely by flying.
EK who are aligned with QFF have concrete plans to stop flying into the eastern seaboard (for the forseeable future).
SQ is not flying a lot into ADL.***OT
So much of a conundrum.

 

[VPS]

Review date was today and when I checked at 9am my new review date is Jan 16th 2022 so another year of Platinum it is.
Now to wait and see if I fly with them much this year

Did you contact them at any time prior to that to confirm. I'm not sure whether to ring or not. My Platinum was gifted last year and I've never had a chance to use it so I'm wondering whether to sit tight or give them a call

 

[jase05]

Did you contact them at any time prior to that to confirm. I'm not sure whether to ring or not. My Platinum was gifted last year and I've never had a chance to use it so I'm wondering whether to sit tight or give them a call

Didn’t contact them at all.
Exactly 1 month before my review date I received this email from them

Hi Jase05

We’re pleased that you’re eligible for the Status extension we announced in April 2020.

This means that in 1 month when your Status is reviewed, you’ll automatically receive a further 12 months of your current Status.

You don’t need to do anything; your extended year of Status will automatically be applied and the Review Date that appears on My Velocity and the Velocity Frequent Flyer App will be updated.

Once your new Benefit Period begins you’ll need to earn 800 Status Credits and 8 Eligible Sectors to maintain Platinum again.

 

[VPS]

Didn’t contact them at all.
Exactly 1 month before my review date I received this email from them

Hi Jase05

We’re pleased that you’re eligible for the Status extension we announced in April 2020.

This means that in 1 month when your Status is reviewed, you’ll automatically receive a further 12 months of your current Status.

You don’t need to do anything; your extended year of Status will automatically be applied and the Review Date that appears on My Velocity and the Velocity Frequent Flyer App will be updated.

Once your new Benefit Period begins you’ll need to earn 800 Status Credits and 8 Eligible Sectors to maintain Platinum again.

I haven't received any emails and my review date is 31st January so guess I'd better call them

 

[oz_mark]

I haven't received any emails and my review date is 31st January so guess I'd better call them

If you were a Platinum, Gold or Silver Status member between 4 March 2020 and 29 March 2020, you will receive a 12-month extension to your benefit period,

 

[SYD]

Did you contact them at any time prior to that to confirm. I'm not sure whether to ring or not. My Platinum was gifted last year and I've never had a chance to use it so I'm wondering whether to sit tight or give them a call

How was it “gifted”? Comp’d by VA or bestowed from someone else?

 

[VPS]

How was it “gifted”? Comp’d by VA or bestowed from someone else?

Bestowed by someone else

 

[AustraliaPoochie]

VPS, I think that a month after your "review date" they will email you.
My last/latest review month was Dec last year, and got the email of VFF status extension few days ago, as mentioned above.
If you want to call them, give that a try, by the looks of it, they are slowly going through their membership list, so its not automatic ie, not everyone gets an extension straight off the bat.

 

[RAM]

Review date Jan 22nd, received email on extension to 22 Jan 2022 last Monday (Jan 11th).

No phone call required.

Perhaps the 'processors' were reassigned to deal with all the cancelled flights witl Syd, Mel, Bne?

I haven't tried but are any international VFF redemptions available for EY?

QFF international redemptions (that won't subsequently) be cancelled are looking thin on the ground given Emirates decisions.

Wish the media would ask Scomo et al - Why are you paying Q to fly an extra 20 flights when most international airlines flying into Australia currently have over 80% of their seats empty?

 

[Bagpuss]

Wish the media would ask Scomo et al - Why are you paying Q to fly an extra 20 flights when most international airlines flying into Australia currently have over 80% of their seats empty?

It's done to pump money into Q.

 

[jase05]

It's done to pump money into Q.

Aren’t these QF flights going to HBA and Howard Springs etc where the other airlines wouldn’t go?
I’d imagine the Feds would also have some pull over a charter flight in allocating priority travellers etc?

 

[Bagpuss]

Aren’t these QF flights going to HBA and Howard Springs etc where the other airlines wouldn’t go?
I’d imagine the Feds would also have some pull over a charter flight in allocating priority travellers etc?

They are indeed, but any airline could do it or for example you arrive into interntaionally Sydney walk off the plane, walk onto another plane (not leaving tarmac) and go to HBA / Howard Springs etc,

 

[jase05]

And just got this email today, just in case I wasn’t aware

 

[RAM]

Aren’t these QF flights going to HBA and Howard Springs etc where the other airlines wouldn’t go?
I’d imagine the Feds would also have some pull over a charter flight in allocating priority travellers etc?

It was suggested to the Fed Govt back in April that they should set a priority entry for 'vulnerable Australians' stranded overseas. Scomo et al rejected it privately despite the various public pronouncements.

NZ requires people wanting to enter NZ to first apply for a quarantine space BEFORE booking a ticket. You are not locked into the quarantine space if something goes wrong & you cannot arrive but you must notify NZ Govt if you don't intend to use it.

Fed Govt could easily make it that only those registered with DFAT wanting to return can access the hotel quarantine rooms.

However, the Fed Govt is saying one thing & doing the exact opposite. For example over 2,000 short term arrivals (Foreign Nationals) arrived on short stay (holiday) visas in November (does not include NZers). All up close to 14,000 foreign nationals arrived in November. A short-order cook (takeaway bar, KFC, McDonalds etc) foreign national is amongst one of the near 700 occupations currently allowed exempt entry into Australia. As are flight attendants! Not that we have around 3,000 recently unemployed ones already living in Australia.

The ABS stats are very revealing.

Overseas Travel Statistics, Provisional, June 2021

Provisional statistics on international travel based on initial border crossings, arriving in and departing from Australia, including tourism trips

www.abs.gov.au

EDIT:

Just came across this article about Aust Govt turning down 35 potential repatriation flights offered on planes flying empty to Australia to repatriate Indian nationals since June.

Charter operator: Government won't let us bring Aussies home

The Australian government has refused to let stranded Australians board chartered flights that are being used to collect foreigners stuck here.

thenewdaily.com.au