View Full Version : Finally we've converted our Virgin airmiles to flights
bargainqueen
20-08-2011, 16:31
Tried last year without success. The miles had to be used by 28 March so yesterday I rang and was given dates which I needed to check with Husband and Sister. Rang back 10 minutes later and couldn't speak to agent no1 who hadn't reserved the flights. Could get flight out but only one seat on flight back.
Agent no.2 suggested we buy extra miles for husband and sister, flights put on hold until I was able to do this (sister doesn't have interenet). Today I rang back spoke to agent no3. help! Luckily everything a-ok, slight hiccup with sisters date of birth on booking (husbands put on instead) but after 30 mins flights paid for.
The cost worked out to the equivalent of buy one and get two upper class seats free so we're very happy.
The last two trips have been with BA and we're hoping to use their airmiles in 2013 for a free upgrade.
The first flight out to Florida is now a smaller plane which doesn't have a upper class section. We had the flight from hell last time we used Premium Economy so was really glad that we were able to get the tickets we wanted.
Robert5988
20-08-2011, 18:19
As matter of interest, how much were taxes etc?
Glad you have booked, when are you flying?
bargainqueen
20-08-2011, 21:44
Taxes were £398.50 for the miles only ticket, we had to buy my sister an economy ticket then upgrade with 60k miles and that worked out to £980.30. I've got so many figures written down on the paper that I can't work out what I paid in tax for her upgrade, it may have been £140.30.
Lyn, we're coming out 21 Feb until 13 Mar. Haven't booked villa, but looking forward to a rematch at Dominoes.
Zena
Katys Grandad
21-08-2011, 02:46
Taxes were £398.50 for the miles only ticket, we had to buy my sister an economy ticket then upgrade with 60k miles and that worked out to £980.30.
Zena
I hadn't realised that it was possible to upgrade an Economy ticket straight to Upper Class and wish I'd known that before now. BA and the other airlines I use regularly won't allow a 'double upgrade' with miles.
bargainqueen
21-08-2011, 07:55
Taxes were £398.50 for the miles only ticket, we had to buy my sister an economy ticket then upgrade with 60k miles and that worked out to £980.30. .
Zena
I've printed off our e.tickets and we paid YQ255.00 GB120.00 XT23.50 (398.50) My sisters YQ and GB was same but XT46.30 (421.30) Her economy ticket cost 559. Don't know why she had to pay an extra XT22.80.
Not complaining as I thought we'd had to pay a higher fare for the economy ticket. Also not sure if it would have been cheaper to buy more airmiles, she started with 56k and to top up with 4k cost £75. My husband had to top up his with 9k cost £150.
You can only buy 30k each year, so she would have been 14k short. If husband had bought 23k he could have transferred the 14k to her account but there would have been a charge for that as well.
The second operator suggested buying miles would be cheaper, the first suggested H & S buy premium economy and upgrade with 40k miles.
I think that worked out at £1455 + taxes each so operator 2 was definately a star. With the fees for paying with c/c the 3 tickets cost 2028.96.
Zena
Robert5988
21-08-2011, 08:23
I hadn't realised that it was possible to upgrade an Economy ticket straight to Upper Class and wish I'd known that before now. BA and the other airlines I use regularly won't allow a 'double upgrade' with miles.
Would that be because premium economy hardly counts as an upgrade??? i.e. it is not like economy/business/first class on AA and other airlines.
Katys Grandad
21-08-2011, 11:32
Would that be because premium economy hardly counts as an upgrade??? i.e. it is not like economy/business/first class on AA and other airlines.
Probably.
I know some people have problems using miles/ rewards with VA but I have been using miles and rewards every year for the past 7 years with not a lot of problems, it has saved me a small fortune.
Would that be because premium economy hardly counts as an upgrade??? i.e. it is not like economy/business/first class on AA and other airlines.
Talking rubbish again I see Robert. How can moving from Economy to PE not be counted as an upgrade?????????????????????????????
On that basis moving from PE to UC isn't an upgrade, what rubbish.
Katys Grandad
23-08-2011, 03:40
Talking rubbish again I see Robert. How can moving from Economy to PE not be counted as an upgrade?????????????????????????????
On that basis moving from PE to UC isn't an upgrade, what rubbish.
Putting aside your somewhat unnecessary and unfortunate tone for a moment, I think that a more thorough reading of Robert's post will indicate to you that he said, "hardly" an upgrade not that it "isn't" an upgrade and was clearly comparing it with upgrades to Business class on other airlines.
As you point out, using miles can save money but my own experience has been that the real savings come from using them in First & Business rather than from what is a comparatively insignificant upgrade from Economy to PE. It's called Premium Economy because that's what it is, an Economy product (albeit a step up from the basic level). I haven't come across any frequent flyers who see it as anything else and all would agree that the difference between PE & UC is many times greater than that between Economy and PE.
I understand why you might want to upgrade/redeem to PE as you do if you don't fly often enough to have the miles and frequent flyer elite status to fly First & Business and can readily see why people would do that but, as Zena has originally posted, that's undoubtedly not where the real bargains are to be had. You've obviously done your homework and discovered the benefits of collecting miles and I'm pleased that you've saved a "small" fortune over the 7 years you've been doing this but I suspect that you could have turned that into a bigger fortune taking a different approach (assuming you have the miles).
In my view, Robert is right - compared to the benefits of an upgrade to Business/First or UC on Virgin, an upgrade to PE is hardly an upgrade at all.
Robert5988
23-08-2011, 17:44
To be fair I do believe on Virgin PE you are supposed to get offered a fruit bowl for your choice of fruit.[msnwink]
bargainqueen
24-08-2011, 07:45
We have been going to Florida for 15 years now, sometimes twice a year. We were upgraded to Premium on outward journey and paid for upgrade on inward. For some years we booked Premium but then found that it depends on where you sit and who sits in front of you to how comfortable the journey is. Our last ever p/e flight we had problems with those behind.
The following year was my husbands 50th birthday so we booked Upper Class and wouldn't fly anything else.
This will probably be our last flight with Virgin as we think BA provide a better seat in Club World. Next year we'll book sale time (hopefully) and use our miles for upgrade (as advised by KG in an earlier thread). We're using up our Virgin miles as they expire 28 March.
Katys Grandad
24-08-2011, 08:41
If you have the miles, I think the best deal around is to buy BA's World Traveller Plus at sale time and upgrade to Club with miles (25k each way).
(BTW, there might be a BA sale later this week)
jillizzy
24-08-2011, 12:10
If you have the miles, I think the best deal around is to buy BA's World Traveller Plus at sale time and upgrade to Club with miles (25k each way).
(BTW, there might be a BA sale later this week)
BA have sale fares in economy from £377 loaded on the site, although sale officially starts tomorrow.
Katys Grandad
24-08-2011, 12:44
Right on cue! WT+ to Tampa/Orlando/Miami in Spring 2012 in the £800-900 range.
I know some people have problems using miles/ rewards with VA but I have been using miles and rewards every year for the past 7 years with not a lot of problems, it has saved me a small fortune.
Do you go 'off peak' as a rule ? IF not pray tel what the secret is!
jillizzy
24-08-2011, 21:16
VS have now matched BA and also have fares from £377, no surprise there then.
Do you go 'off peak' as a rule ? IF not pray tel what the secret is!
1st 3 years we used to go last week of July to end of August (wife was a deputy head). Last 4 years beginning of June to first week of September.
I have never been able to get flights with miles- I have over 300k. I go beginning of July usually- from Manchester- is it because I go PE or UC then? and there are 3 of us I should add!
bargainqueen
25-08-2011, 13:07
VS have now matched BA and also have fares from £377, no surprise there then.
Ouch, looks like we booked too soon - never mind.
When I booked I was told that they get very busy as soon as the fares are released on the popular dates (xmas etc)
SusanJ Are your dates fixed or are you flexible - I gave them a range of dates but each time I was offered mid week dates. Normally they wouldn't have worked but as my husband is no longer working that isn't a problem. Also we fly from Gatwick.
You have to be quick and if they have some dates you think might suit, get them to reserve them. We didn't and when I called back they were gone. They give you 48 hours to complete the reservation. We booked 3 tickets so it is possible and I wouldn't have thought beginning of July was that popular, depends of course when your flying back.
Ring the 0800 number for Gold reservations, we're red card holders but as you're booking upper class tickets they will be dealing with the reservation.
Zena
jillizzy
25-08-2011, 13:23
I have never been able to get flights with miles- I have over 300k. I go beginning of July usually- from Manchester- is it because I go PE or UC then? and there are 3 of us I should add!
It will be more difficult to get UC from Manchester as many of the flights are on the airbus with no UC seating, although it's always been difficult from there and from LGW. You do have to be VERY flexible with dates.
However, PE from Manchester should be pretty easy - I've checked and there is plenty of availability at the moment. Personally I'd be booking PE and make sure it's the 747 rather than the Airbus and if any UC seats come up between booking and flying you can just use the extra miles to upgrade (plus taxes of course).
Jill
Putting aside your somewhat unnecessary and unfortunate tone for a moment, I think that a more thorough reading of Robert's post will indicate to you that he said, "hardly" an upgrade not that it "isn't" an upgrade and was clearly comparing it with upgrades to Business class on other airlines.
As you point out, using miles can save money but my own experience has been that the real savings come from using them in First & Business rather than from what is a comparatively insignificant upgrade from Economy to PE. It's called Premium Economy because that's what it is, an Economy product (albeit a step up from the basic level). I haven't come across any frequent flyers who see it as anything else and all would agree that the difference between PE & UC is many times greater than that between Economy and PE.
I understand why you might want to upgrade/redeem to PE as you do if you don't fly often enough to have the miles and frequent flyer elite status to fly First & Business and can readily see why people would do that but, as Zena has originally posted, that's undoubtedly not where the real bargains are to be had. You've obviously done your homework and discovered the benefits of collecting miles and I'm pleased that you've saved a "small" fortune over the 7 years you've been doing this but I suspect that you could have turned that into a bigger fortune taking a different approach (assuming you have the miles).
In my view, Robert is right - compared to the benefits of an upgrade to Business/First or UC on Virgin, an upgrade to PE is hardly an upgrade at all.
Are you sure you are not Robert under another login, LOL.
The differences between Economy and Premium Economy are significant as are the differences between PE and UC. IMO the money you pay to upgrade to PE is far better value for money than that of upgrading from PE to UC.
Any step up in service is an UPGRADE which cannot be denied whatever way you want to try and confuse things. To say it's hardly an upgrade is utter rubbish I am afraid.
Katys Grandad
27-08-2011, 03:04
Are you sure you are not Robert under another login, LOL.
The differences between Economy and Premium Economy are significant as are the differences between PE and UC. IMO the money you pay to upgrade to PE is far better value for money than that of upgrading from PE to UC.
Any step up in service is an UPGRADE which cannot be denied whatever way you want to try and confuse things. To say it's hardly an upgrade is utter rubbish I am afraid.
Where I would agree with you is that the price difference between Economy and PE is much less than that between PE & UC and to some it might represent better value for money but we are talking about using miles here. It seems pretty clear to me that 60k miles to go from Economy to UC is much better use of them than 30k from Economy to PE (providing you have the miles of course) especially when you're paying the same additional Departure tax on the fare for both.
The same applies on most airlines. BA require 25k miles each way for a transatlantic upgrade to the next class of service. That makes those miles worth about £400 when used to upgrade from World Traveller to World Traveller Plus whereas the same miles used to go from WT+ to Club values them at more like £2,000.
Better still to use an airline that doesn't have a premium economy product so an upgrade from Economy puts you straight into Business Class. On American for example, you can upgrade some full fare Economy tickets costing around £850 to what would otherwise be a £2,500 Business Class ticket for just 15k miles each way. I estimate that just 1 of those saves as much money as 4 upgrades to Premium Economy on Virgin for the same number of miles and the comparative difference between products is huge (which is precisely Robert's point).
Your preferred method certainly saves money but the really significant savings are to be had using your hard earned miles in the most efficient way possible and it's very clear to me and to anyone who knows this field well what that is.
(if you really want to work the system to your advantage, First Class international awards used wisely can literally save tens of thousands of Pounds but I'll save that for another day)
Robert5988
27-08-2011, 08:40
I usually fly with AA.
In addition to the points in the post above, you can also upgrade from the cheapest economy ticket to business class with miles plus co-pay which sometimes(not always) is cheaper than a flexible full fare economy.
On Business class you get, use of First Class lounge of any of the One world airlines(BA, AA Cathy etc) - lie flat beds long enough for me and I am 6'5" - duvets - champagne and unlimited drinks - really excellent food - personal entertainment equipment. etc
There are enough posts on here alone from people who have been very disappointed with PE or WT+ saying it hardly [msnwink]offers much over economy.
floridadreamvilla.co.uk
27-08-2011, 09:01
Just a polite note to keep the discussion nice here please. Let's all try and show respect for all forum members, no matter how much we may disagree with them [msnsmile].
Well said!! I was just thinking the same thing! While I really enjoy the debate and often find them very informative, sometimes I think some would benefit from a trip to the naughty corner!!! Lol!!! Relax ! It's a holiday forum! It's meant to be fun!!!
Pauline
I usually fly with AA.
In addition to the points in the post above, you can also upgrade from the cheapest economy ticket to business class with miles plus co-pay which sometimes(not always) is cheaper than a flexible full fare economy.
On Business class you get, use of First Class lounge of any of the One world airlines(BA, AA Cathy etc) - lie flat beds long enough for me and I am 6'5" - duvets - champagne and unlimited drinks - really excellent food - personal entertainment equipment. etc
There are enough posts on here alone from people who have been very disappointed with PE or WT+ saying it hardly [msnwink]offers much over economy.
There are also a lot more posts on here about how many people like PE but as usual Robert you choose to ignore them.
You choose what you like and I will stick with what I like. IMO PE offers, for the price, far better value than UC. Just to bear in mind that with VA PE & UC share some of the same facilities.
Where I would agree with you is that the price difference between Economy and PE is much less than that between PE & UC and to some it might represent better value for money but we are talking about using miles here. It seems pretty clear to me that 60k miles to go from Economy to UC is much better use of them than 30k from Economy to PE (providing you have the miles of course) especially when you're paying the same additional Departure tax on the fare for both.
The same applies on most airlines. BA require 25k miles each way for a transatlantic upgrade to the next class of service. That makes those miles worth about £400 when used to upgrade from World Traveller to World Traveller Plus whereas the same miles used to go from WT+ to Club values them at more like £2,000.
Better still to use an airline that doesn't have a premium economy product so an upgrade from Economy puts you straight into Business Class. On American for example, you can upgrade some full fare Economy tickets costing around £850 to what would otherwise be a £2,500 Business Class ticket for just 15k miles each way. I estimate that just 1 of those saves as much money as 4 upgrades to Premium Economy on Virgin for the same number of miles and the comparative difference between products is huge (which is precisely Robert's point).
Your preferred method certainly saves money but the really significant savings are to be had using your hard earned miles in the most efficient way possible and it's very clear to me and to anyone who knows this field well what that is.
(if you really want to work the system to your advantage, First Class international awards used wisely can literally save tens of thousands of Pounds but I'll save that for another day)
Firstly I don't know where you get your figures from but they don't tally with the VA website.
Secondly I like flying direct LGW-MCO which you cannot do if you fly a US airline so part of your journey will NOT be in UC it will be in economy.
Thirdly your estimates do not take into account the way I use my miles and what I end up paying for a PE seat.
Personally I am done on this subject, you can lead a horse to water but you can't make him drink.
lafifille
28-08-2011, 07:03
Well said!! I was just thinking the same thing! While I really enjoy the debate and often find them very informative, sometimes I think some would benefit from a trip to the naughty corner!!! Lol!!! Relax ! It's a holiday forum! It's meant to be fun!!!
Pauline
Ditto. [msnwink]