Welcome to another year of Velocity Platinum membership

[pat25d]

No higher value than anyone else with the same number of SC's.

Completely disagree with this sentence.

With the current situation of bonus SC for credit cards, double SC promotions and even being able to earn SC on partner airlines, the 'value' of a customer to an airline can't be judged on SC/Status alone.

Hell, even 2 BIS flyers with 400 SC would be of different value depending on the fare classes purchased (I'm sure Virgin would prefer people who buy flexes Syd-Mel-Bris weekly to get to 400 SC than someone buying a saver fare on SIN)

If you wanted to judge value based on SC, then you would need to go back to Virgin's old method of SC based on cost of flight (I think it was 10SC per $100?).

 

[samh004]

If you wanted to judge value based on SC, then you would need to go back to Virgin's old method of SC based on cost of flight (I think it was 10SC per $100?).

The even older method, which directly became that which you have mentioned, with points per dollar (5 for Red, 6 for Silver, 7 for Gold) adding up to about a $9,000 spend to get Gold from Red was even more accurate. Though pricey!

 

[straitman]

As a BIS Platinum it is very frustrating to see other people continually bumped up to Platinum without having to spend money. On top of that, I never get any of the promotion email that are always being discussed here.

You need to do better Virgin.

What am I missing in your post :?:

Who is continually getting bumped up without having to spend money :?:

What do Virgin need to do better in you opinion :?:

Virgin have taken the game up to Qantas and whether you think they are doing a bit better or a bit worse than Qantas they have certainly forced Qantas to lift their game. if you are not getting emails then I suggest you check your profile.

 

[JohnK]

1) It's Virgin's business and they can do whatever they like

Whilst that may well be the case it does not make good business sense to continually *piss off* your loyal clients.

Why? Grant a person who flies with you twice a year Platinum and you may lose the person who flies with you 16 times a year but is only Gold.

2) *Real* platinums rank higher than comp'd platinums... so you're always higher

Sorry but I do not believe that it a true reflection of how things work....

 

[kpc]

My review date was 1st Sep. Despite requalifying for DJ Plat, I still have " We are currently assessing your activity over your membership year. You will still have access to your current benefits until 01 Oct 2012. Your new card will be with you shortly." showing in my account

No email but account updated overnight to show Plat for another year...sadly no resetting (having already used it earlier this year) of "Complimentary Partner membership: Hilton HHonors™ "

 

[TonyHancock]

No email but account updated overnight to show Plat for another year.

Same for me...but I'm missing the 4 comp upgrades! :shock:

edit: I take that back. I have just checked and they have now appeared!

 

[moa999]

Got the 4 comp upgrades, and I have another 2 that expire 15 days before... so 6 in total..
My account summary has also been reset to 0 SCs from review date, but the bar on the right hand side still shows an 8xx number (I then activated family pooling)

 

[drewbles]

While I somewhat agree with you - there are two important factors:

1) It's Virgin's business and they can do whatever they like
2) *Real* platinums rank higher than comp'd platinums... so you're always higher

Is there any substantial evidence to suggest DJ are using something like QF's PCV to rank their elites?

As an observation, I've had zero op-up's as a WP (admittedly I only do whY on MEL-SYD, any trans-con flights are in J with my upgrades or points) but my long hauls are all in Y+. My colleague at work, who went to Silver and then Gold, has had a 75% hit rate on op-ups. Mainly from Y to J on LAX-MEL flights. I've done MEL or SYD-LAX return 4 times this year, all but one in Y+ (one was half Y half Y+) and each time i've flown the cabin i'm entitled to.

I was comp'd yes, but I was at 800SC's for 2 of the 4 return flights.

I'm willing to give them leeway though. I know for a fact the migration to Sabre is a nightmare, and affects every part of their business, this included, so until that's done, i'll definitely keep giving them the benefit of the doubt (after that though, if all these little things don't improve, ie the slow 'assessment' period etc), I'll just hop back to QF. I'm not giving up WP with either yet though.

 

[trippin_the_rift]

Sorry but I do not believe that it a true reflection of how things work....

Is there any substantial evidence to suggest DJ are using something like QF's PCV to rank their elites?

Yes in reality that is exactly how it works. There are MANY subsets of each tier (10+), and every velocity member is ranked on their importance to the Virgin Group. You send xx_ credit card points to Velocity it increases your score, the fare types you purchase, the routes you fly on (where competition is prime), if you travel (pay) for other parties in your group, if you respond to offers, your age, relationship status, if you're flying is linked to a corporate account(discounts), WHO pays for your tickets, patterns in travel (eg: do you fly SYD-LAX every christmas with the family..), "Gaps" in your itineraries (eg: you are based in SYD, and you fly MEL-SYD with DJ... how did you get to Mel??? Competitor!!) your line of work/industry and your data is profiled to give them an idea of your potential overall worth to the Group.

Airlines have massive amounts of data on you that you would never think about. At the Canberra AFF event last year, the rep from Amex mentioned said they knew more about you than you do. FF programs are exactly the same.

So while the perceived benefits on the surface may look the same (eg: lounge access, priority etc...) there are other things that define loyalty.

In awilcockson's case we could break down the value to Virgin with a few key thoughts.
a) Mobile phone service is with.. ?
b) He has a Velocity CC.... who knows how many points are being credited to Velocity...
c) Virgin Lurkers on AFF / He is also a lucrative QF P1...
d) Insurance, loans, financial requirements... (Virgin is big in this space)
e) Type of fares he has been purchasing (flexi, biz?)
f) Travelling with anyone else? Family members, did he buy their tickets?
g) Constantly travelling with other high-value pax? Maybe he has influence over them too?
h) Maybe he never used a discount when buying fares / paid full price.
i) Velocity can see which banks are crediting points to his Velocity account... they get a good idea of his cards + spending power/income.
j) Did he get any SC during double SC promo? If not... those 400 could easily be 800....

There are a bunch of factors involved and no doubt his account matched the magic formula where Velocity thought he is valuable enough to continue woo-ing. Loyalty is serious business!!

Don't be fooled into thinking everyone is equal.....

 

[wallacej]

I have a virgin CC, virgin phone, insurance through virgin, and am a plat flyer. Other than my entitled perks, I have not been compd status, op ups, or anything that I have not "worked" for... So giving away tuese perks erk me somewhat. I understand that is compd plat memberships are not being used then no errosion of my row 3 seat.

Just reading the reply above, I should be one of their most loyal and rewarded clients, but I rarely feel the love.


....sent from the place closest to the airport I just arrived at.

 

[drewbles]

Yes in reality that is exactly how it works. There are MANY subsets of each tier (10+), and every velocity member is ranked on their importance to the Virgin Group. You send xx_ credit card points to Velocity it increases your score, the fare types you purchase, the routes you fly on (where competition is prime), if you travel (pay) for other parties in your group, if you respond to offers, your age, relationship status, if you're flying is linked to a corporate account(discounts), WHO pays for your tickets, patterns in travel (eg: do you fly SYD-LAX every christmas with the family..), "Gaps" in your itineraries (eg: you are based in SYD, and you fly MEL-SYD with DJ... how did you get to Mel??? Competitor!!) your line of work/industry and your data is profiled to give them an idea of your potential overall worth to the Group.

Airlines have massive amounts of data on you that you would never think about. At the Canberra AFF event last year, the rep from Amex mentioned said they knew more about you than you do. FF programs are exactly the same.

So while the perceived benefits on the surface may look the same (eg: lounge access, priority etc...) there are other things that define loyalty.

In awilcockson's case we could break down the value to Virgin with a few key thoughts.
a) Mobile phone service is with.. ?
b) He has a Velocity CC.... who knows how many points are being credited to Velocity...
c) Virgin Lurkers on AFF / He is also a lucrative QF P1...
d) Insurance, loans, financial requirements... (Virgin is big in this space)
e) Type of fares he has been purchasing (flexi, biz?)
f) Travelling with anyone else? Family members, did he buy their tickets?
g) Constantly travelling with other high-value pax? Maybe he has influence over them too?
h) Maybe he never used a discount when buying fares / paid full price.
i) Velocity can see which banks are crediting points to his Velocity account... they get a good idea of his cards + spending power/income.
j) Did he get any SC during double SC promo? If not... those 400 could easily be 800....

There are a bunch of factors involved and no doubt his account matched the magic formula where Velocity thought he is valuable enough to continue woo-ing. Loyalty is serious business!!

Don't be fooled into thinking everyone is equal.....

I agree that data mining is scary and most people would be shocked if they realised how much of it really does go on, but the real question is... *do they* actually use the info yet?

QF have a PCV which we know about. You mention 10+ levels within each level. Has DJ confirmed this to you somewhere on the side? I'd love to know my worth to DJ (considering I'm a BIS earner with a Virgin CC etc etc etc).

 

[TonyHancock]

Don't be fooled into thinking everyone is equal.....

Not me, I certainly don't believe in equality!

You only have to look at Everyday Rewards to see how data can influence shopping loyalty and spending. It may seem a little unrefined but with continued data collection Woolworths will probably know when you are about to run out of deodorant!!! :shock: You have to assume QF and DJ are not far behind....if not in front.

 

[drewbles]

Not me, I certainly don't believe in equality!

You only have to look at Everyday Rewards to see how data can influence shopping loyalty and spending. It may seem a little unrefined but with continued data collection Woolworths will probably know when you are about to run out of deodorant!!! :shock: You have to assume QF and DJ are not far behind....if not in front.

The targeted promos I get these days are very representative of my shopping habits so yes, their data mining is excellent (as I'd expect it to be; like FlyBuys was all about Westfarmers collecting information on you, not really rewarding you for anything). That's why I never use my card for purchases under $30. They don't need to know about that (and I don't use my WOW card to pay for them either, it goes to another company so they can data mine me ).

 

[trippin_the_rift]

You only have to look at Everyday Rewards to see how data can influence shopping loyalty and spending. It may seem a little unrefined but with continued data collection Woolworths will probably know when you are about to run out of deodorant!!! :shock:

That is why I have 2 Everyday Rewards cards.... Sometimes you don't want to trigger certain types of offers. One of my accounts has constantly received 2x points almost every week this year.

QF have a PCV which we know about. You mention 10+ levels within each level. Has DJ confirmed this to you somewhere on the side? I'd love to know my worth to DJ (considering I'm a BIS earner with a Virgin CC etc etc etc).

It would be daft to think the larger, stronger, better resourced QF would have less insight thank Velocity..... but nothing surprises me these days

 

[MichaelD]

Finally came out of assessment limbo. Interesting that the 3 of us all requalified Platinum, but we got different emails;

Me 800 SCs + lots of sectors
SWMBO & MissD 800 SCs & about 3 sectors each


My email "Welcome to another year of Velocity Platinum"

The girls "An update to your Velocity membership"

SWMBO not overly impressed by her email

 

[Aussie_flyer]

The targeted promos I get these days are very representative of my shopping habits so yes, their data mining is excellent (as I'd expect it to be; like FlyBuys was all about Westfarmers collecting information on you, not really rewarding you for anything). That's why I never use my card for purchases under $30. They don't need to know about that (and I don't use my WOW card to pay for them either, it goes to another company so they can data mine me ).

I still scan my card for purchases under $30. The bonus promos don't require a $30 spend usually. Also I find my Android app handy as it shows me what products i regularly buy that are on special that week. I guess they get that from my shopping history.

 

[jpk]

Those that were comped another year, how many SC's did you actually do this year?

 

[wadebosse]

I have a question for anyone. I have qualified for VA plat status as of May of this year. Since qualifying, I have earned nearly 800 more status credits. It says that I have now requalified for plat until May 2014. My question is what happens now? If I earn another 800 from now will that mean I will requalify until 2015 or does it just stay at 2014? Just curious becasue maybe if my SC's dont count for anything, I may go back to QF for a while and rebuild my stauts there if my extra VA flights count for nothing. Anyone have any ideas?

 

[Bundy Bear]

I checked my velocity account today and noticed that I am now Platinum for another 12 months, and I have 5 upgrades to use.

I better book some flights. I have 0 flights booked.

 

[anat0l]

I checked my velocity account today and noticed that I am now Platinum for another 12 months, and I have 5 upgrades to use.

I better book some flights. I have 0 flights booked.

How many SCs did you rack up before review?

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