Virgin Flyer 2-For-1

[DeKa]

I wanted to take advantage of the current business class sale to book a 2-for-1 fare. The advertised fare (available for booking until 19 March) is SYD-CNS for $559 each way.
I was expecting the total to be $559x2 + credit card fee of $7.70x2 = $1133.40

In the old system, I had booked 2-for-1 sale business class fares successfully.

In Sabre, the 2-for-1 pricing seems to be automated. As soon as the agent added "TWO41" as the tour code, it discounted the fare, but it would not work on certain classes.

Here's the bit for the forum. I asked him what classes are allowed for 2-for-1. He told me these classes are excluded from the 2-for-1 offer: U, T and I. U and T are Economy I believe, but I is deep discount business.

Business fare classes are I and D ("Business Saver" ) and J is "Business". He was able to book me in 2-for-1 in D class which was $1374 total for two tickets. That's $241 more, but it was a cheap way to get a lot more status credits.

Is there a fare class thread somewhere where that information could be posted? I can't find it...

 

[oz_mark]

2for1 can't be booked into:

U Class - Saver Lite
T Class - Seems to be the cheapest Saver fare class
I Class - Business Saver

Here's the bit for the forum. I asked him what classes are allowed for 2-for-1. He told me these classes are excluded from the 2-for-1 offer: U, T and I. U and T are Economy I believe, but I is deep discount business.


Is there a fare class thread somewhere where that information could be posted? I can't find it...

Crikey! Two people have got the same answers!

That's got to be a first since Sabre went in:shock:

 

[Deleted member 29185]

He told me these classes are excluded from the 2-for-1 offer: U, T and I. U and T are Economy I believe, but I is deep discount business.

Business fare classes are I and D ("Business Saver" ) and J is "Business".

This is also now on the website (in T&Cs IIRC) as I read it a few weeks ago.

You can however do the I class the other way around. Book a 241 flexi and then upgrade into I using points. Won't suit everyone, but it did me.

 

[DeKa]

This is also now on the website (in T&Cs IIRC) as I read it a few weeks ago.

You can however do the I class the other way around. Book a 241 flexi and then upgrade into I using points. Won't suit everyone, but it did me.

I contemplated that. It was either ~$700 or 40000 points (1.75c per point). Given Virgin points aren't that easy to obtain/buy and the paid J fares were discounted due to the sale I took the 'not quite sale but close' D class fare.

For two people return, I think I'd be better off using the 40000 points SYD-PER on a Flexi where you can upgrade a ~$375 Flexi to a $1000+ (non-sale) J seat, getting over 3c per point.

 

[Deleted member 29185]

I contemplated that. It was either ~$700 or 40000 points (1.75c per point). Given Virgin points aren't that easy to obtain/buy and the paid J fares were discounted due to the sale I took the 'not quite sale but close' D class fare.

For two people return, I think I'd be better off using the 40000 points SYD-PER on a Flexi where you can upgrade a ~$375 Flexi to a $1000+ (non-sale) J seat, getting over 3c per point.

True.

That's also what I did. "I" class, OOL-xMEL-PER. 2 x Flexi 241 (for about $230 IIRC, which was over $100 cheaper than the advertised flexi at the time) and about 19000 points + 2 x flexi 241 (for about $270 IIRC, which was still about $100 cheaper than the advertised flexi at the time) and about 29000 points.....

For four of us all up (2 VM card accounts), it's a pretty good business deal to Perth I thought. I've no idea how they worked the rest of that out, but I'm thinking errors in the system works both ways and for once it was in my favour.

 

[DeKa]

I've had so many errors in my favour I won't complain. I don't think my last booking (over the weekend actually, booked a few days before Sabre) was done correctly - I had deep discount business (50% off?) with 2-for-1, making it cheaper to fly in Business on a paid fare than to buy a Flexi.

 

[samas]

I called up the guest contact centre a few minutes ago to attempt to make my first booking as a new Virgin Flyer VISA holder.

Was looking for ADL > PER, If I bought 2x business sale fares online it would be $1198 (one-way). If I did it using TWO41 on the phone it was $927.44 (works out to 23% cheaper than the business sale).

If I did flexi online it comes to $758 whereas on the phone $457.74 (works out to 40% cheaper using TWO41).

I was hoping I might have inadvertently scored the TWO41 applied to the business sale but I wasn't in luck.

 

[serfty]

I am not sure upgrades go to I ... thinking Z ...

 

[Bofter]

I am not sure upgrades go to I ... thinking Z ...

Class Z, fare basis ZUPGD according to my boarding passes and e-ticket receipts

 

[kaz]

Each person will receive normal status credits. The fare is split between each passenger on the booking and earns normal points. eg $100 fare earns 500 base points. Each passenger gets $50 - 250 points.

Hi
Can anybody confirm that status credits are still earned on 2-4-1 bookings made under the Sabre system for the purchased flight and the complimentary flight. The confirmation from medhead as above I believe was pre Sabre and would like confirmation before I attempt to make the phone booking as I don't want to make the flights and then have the hassle of chasing SC's. Confirmation from people that have booked and flown 2-4-1 flights after Sabre and received the correct SC per person / per sector would be great. Before posting I read through all 19 pages and found nothing mentioned about this post Sabre.

 

[Deleted member 29185]

Hi
Can anybody confirm that status credits are still earned on 2-4-1 bookings made under the Sabre system for the purchased flight and the complimentary flight. The confirmation from medhead as above I believe was pre Sabre and would like confirmation before I attempt to make the phone booking as I don't want to make the flights and then have the hassle of chasing SC's. Confirmation from people that have booked and flown 2-4-1 flights after Sabre and received the correct SC per person / per sector would be great. Thanks

Yes I can confirm that they are. SCs for both flyers at the class rate booked. Just at the moment, upgrades on 241s are earning at upgraded rates, not purchased rate (ie flexi 241s upgraded to business = business SCs for both flyers).

 

[kaz]

Yes I can confirm that they are. SCs for both flyers at the class rate booked. Just at the moment, upgrades on 241s are earning at upgraded rates, not purchased rate (ie flexi 241s upgraded to business = business SCs for both flyers).

Does that mean that if I book a flexi 241 that I get Business SC or do you mean that if I book a flexi fare and upgrade with VA points to Business that I will get business SC. EDIT; Re-read Swanning_it reply and realised it was at purchased rate + upgrade, so answered my own question upon reading it again. I need to fly 2 sectors each way (as no other route option available) SYD-ROK via BRI so at 4900 pts per sector per person to upgrade it may not be worth it. Thanks for the info anyway. I'll book at cheaper fare and get SC at class rate booked.

 

[Deleted member 29185]

Does that mean that if I book a flexi 241 that I get Business SC or do you mean that if I book a flexi fare and upgrade with VA points to Business that I will get business SC. EDIT; Re-read Swanning_it reply and realised it was at purchased rate + upgrade, so answered my own question upon reading it again. I need to fly 2 sectors each way (as no other route option available) SYD-ROK via BRI so at 4900 pts per sector per person to upgrade it may not be worth it. Thanks for the info anyway. I'll book at cheaper fare and get SC at class rate booked.

Yes correct, if you buy a 241 flexi and upgrade with points, it'll earn business SCs. Bear in mind, you wouldn't be able to upgrade the BNE - ROK sector anyway as there is no business offering in/out of ROK. BUT, you may well be able to get the J seats without the rest of business service!

 

[kaz]

Yes correct, if you buy a 241 flexi and upgrade with points, it'll earn business SCs. Bear in mind, you wouldn't be able to upgrade the BNE - ROK sector anyway as there is no business offering in/out of ROK. BUT, you may well be able to get the J seats without the rest of business service!

Thanks Swanning_it for confirmation. I can't justify the 4900 points each sector to upgrade myself and companion which = 39200 pts for return trip for 2 people. (I presume I just cant upgrade the SYD-BRI only as the flight is 2 sectors booking) I have just booked a Status run trip SYD-BRI via CAN in J for myself and partner so my points are dwindling. What I will do though is book 2 x 241 flexi fares to get higher SC which will work out about the same cost as 2 saver fares I was going to book online , before your confirmation that I will get SC for 241 flights. Thanks for the info, it's very much appreciated.

 

[Lizzi]

The flights I took last week earned both of us full status credits. However, as with everything post-sabre, YMMV!

Hi
Can anybody confirm that status credits are still earned on 2-4-1 bookings made under the Sabre system for the purchased flight and the complimentary flight. The confirmation from medhead as above I believe was pre Sabre and would like confirmation before I attempt to make the phone booking as I don't want to make the flights and then have the hassle of chasing SC's. Confirmation from people that have booked and flown 2-4-1 flights after Sabre and received the correct SC per person / per sector would be great. Before posting I read through all 19 pages and found nothing mentioned about this post Sabre.

 

[Deleted member 29185]

(I presume I just cant upgrade the SYD-BRI only as the flight is 2 sectors booking).

I believe that's correct. IIRC, there has been confirmation from others that you cannot upgrade to business if only part of the itinery has business available. You'd have to purchase SYD-BNE rtn on one PNR and then BNE-ROK rtn on another. (which seems odd given you can purchase business where business is unavailable on one sector and all they do is show a note about seating being in Y for that non-available sector).

You may also wish to consider that at least one saver class is available on 241s (but it may not be the class displayed on the web booking engine).

 

[mavrick9]

Just received a email for Virgin Money Credit Card -

They are giving "Double" Velocity points on purchases during April.

I normally cap spend on that card at around $1500 - as that's where the points earning normally drops off. But this double points could be good. Especially if you redeem them on awards flights before June to earn Status Credits.

"" Dear,,,,
It's easy. Just use your Virgin Flyer Credit Card between 1 April to 30 April 2013 and during this period we will double your points† until you reach 20,000 points. It's that simple.


Now you can turn your everyday purchases like groceries, petrol or even train tickets into something to get excited about. Every little bit counts towards your points balance so you can start rewarding yourself faster than you think. " "

 

[DeKa]

This is not related to two for one. There is a double points offer thread for Citi and Virgin Money
http://www.australianfrequentflyer.com.au/community/showthread.php?t=45040

 

[kaz]

I believe that's correct. IIRC, there has been confirmation from others that you cannot upgrade to business if only part of the itinery has business available. You'd have to purchase SYD-BNE rtn on one PNR and then BNE-ROK rtn on another. (which seems odd given you can purchase business where business is unavailable on one sector and all they do is show a note about seating being in Y for that non-available sector).

You may also wish to consider that at least one saver class is available on 241s (but it may not be the class displayed on the web booking engine).

Booked the flights last night and it was surprisingly easy and very painless and I must admit I said to partner when I picked up the phone to make the booking....that I would probably be on this call for at least an hour + . Phoned the Virgin call centre, (selected the option that I wanted to use points to make a booking as I was unsure what option to use) and entered my FF number. Was put through to Platnium desk who said he will transfer me to correct dept for redeeming 241 flight, then he said he will try to make the booking for me.....Great news ! At the beginning of the process he did say that I would have to pay taxes on the complimentary flight, so I politely said that there is not mention of that in T&C's and he simply said OK not a problem. He proceeded to made the booking, applied the 241 promo code and presto the flights in flexi class were processed without paying taxes on complimentary fare. The price for 2 flexi return flights was pretty much around the cost of 1 flexi return flight as advertised on Virgin website, give or take a few dollars... I then went on to ask if I could upgrade just the SYD-BRI component of the flight at a later date to business as BRI-ROK had no business class and he that was not a problem. It will be interesting if I decide to book business upgrade with points at a later date if that is actually the case, but he seemed very confident in everything he said and all up from the time I placed the call to hanging it was only 10 minutes at the most.

 

[almelb]

Just wanted to share my experience about buying a two-for-one ticket, and like some here it was a bit hit and miss.
I wanted to book MEL-SYD and when I rang the call centre in the morning I was told all available flights between 7pm and 9pm were the same price $180-odd dollars, including taxes. This was despite a variety of saver fares at that time ranging between $125 and $155. I said I would think about it.
I then rang back in the evening and this time asked them to go through each flight between 7pm and 9pm and got a range of different prices that reflected the website saver price.
In the end I decided on the $125 saver fare for my two-for-one and was told I had to pay taxes for both passengers. This was a new policy, they said. There was an amnesty but that was over and under Sabre they are charging both lots of taxes. I said prior bookings I did last year did not feature this policy and she said that was correct, the policy has changed.
So the $125 saver fare became $141 for the two-for-one, and that became $156 after the $7.70 credit card booking fee per person, per booking, was added.
While disappointed at having to pay taxes twice, despite the Virgin Money terms and conditions, I was at least pleased to get the lowest saver fare as the basis for determining my two-for-one fare.