Virgin codeshare , need to upgrade LHR to BNE

[shamatam]

Mrs Shamatam has now completed the BNE - LHR in economy and now wants the return in business class (is anybody surprised ?).
Current ticket is Virgin codeshare on Singapore aircraft in Economy(T).
I have 200k Velocity points, Mrs S. has none and neither of us have KrisFlyer points.
I have already looked at a one way ticket at $5200 (ridiculous) on the same flight.
Is there any way I can get her into business ?

Mike

 

[Pleb Status]

Mrs Shamatam has now completed the BNE - LHR in economy and now wants the return in business class (is anybody surprised ?).
Current ticket is Virgin codeshare on Singapore aircraft in Economy(T).
I have 200k Velocity points, Mrs S. has none and neither of us have KrisFlyer points.
I have already looked at a one way ticket at $5200 (ridiculous) on the same flight.
Is there any way I can get her into business ?

Mike

Cash is the only way at this point.

You cannot upgrade the VA codeshare on SQ using VFF points. You cannot even transfer points to KF and upgrade that way as you are on a VA ticket. Also, even if you had booked on SQ direct, only some Y fares are upgradable in any case and most to only PE and not J.

 

[shamatam]

Cash is the only way at this point.

You cannot upgrade the VA codeshare on SQ using VFF points. You cannot even transfer points to KF and upgrade that way as you are on a VA ticket. Also, even if you had booked on SQ direct, only some Y fares are upgradable in any case and most to only PE and not J.

Thanks Pleb Status.
That was my concern.

Could I buy a Singapore economy ticket and upgrade using transferred points ?
Do I transfer my Velocity points to my wife's Velocity account then across to her KrisFlyer account ?

Could I buy a Singapore economy ticket and bid for an upgrade but obviously no point in doing that unless I get the upgrade ?

 

[ozjuice]

You'd have to buy a PE ticket and also one that is upgradable. Even then you might not be lucky to upgrade. Unless you hold SQ status. I flew back in PE last year and even though i'd booked through SQ and it was an ungradable ticket, and they had spare J seats, they would not allow me to upgrade as i had no SQ status.

 

[Pleb Status]

Thanks Pleb Status.
That was my concern.

Could I buy a Singapore economy ticket and upgrade using transferred points ?
Do I transfer my Velocity points to my wife's Velocity account then across to her KrisFlyer account ?

Could I buy a Singapore economy ticket and bid for an upgrade but obviously no point in doing that unless I get the upgrade ?

The only real option at this stage is to see if you can snag a J award on SQ or EY and abandon the Y ticket....

 

[davidj]

The only real option

Or buy a ticket.

 

[jase05]

Mrs Shamatam has now completed the BNE - LHR in economy and now wants the return in business class (is anybody surprised ?).
Current ticket is Virgin codeshare on Singapore aircraft in Economy(T).
I have 200k Velocity points, Mrs S. has none and neither of us have KrisFlyer points.
I have already looked at a one way ticket at $5200 (ridiculous) on the same flight.
Is there any way I can get her into business ?

Mike

Try for an award flight on EY?
You could look at other carriers and see if there are any specials. In the past we have snagged one way flights with WY between LHR and Australia in J class for around the $2400 mark.

 

[shamatam]

Thanks for you replies everyone.

As my wife is flying in a family group of 4 she won't fly on another flight or airline.

I'm now thinking that if I purchased a BNE to SIN business return (using transferred Velocity points) I could be on the SIN to BNE flight with her.
Question is...would we be permitted to swap seats after takeoff and resume original seats before landing ?

Mike

 

[Lord_Lenny]

I'm now thinking that if I purchased a BNE to SIN business return (using transferred Velocity points) I could be on the SIN to BNE flight with her.
Question is...would we be permitted to swap seats after takeoff and resume original seats before landing ?
Mike

You could always try...

 

[Jack_OC]

As my wife is flying in a family group of 4 she won't fly on another flight or airline.

She wants to be on the same flight as the others, but not the same cabin?

I'm now thinking that if I purchased a BNE to SIN business return (using transferred Velocity points) I could be on the SIN to BNE flight with her.
Question is...would we be permitted to swap seats after takeoff and resume original seats before landing ?

Mike

They would probably let you swap seats, but not necessarily. Strictly speaking, AFAIK, you are not supposed to be allowed to do this. I've seen it happen though.

I'm confused though - are you proposing to fly to SIN and back on points purely to facilitate your wife getting into J on one sector of her trip back (and the shorter sector, as it happens)? If there are J award seats available on the SIN-BNE sector, why not just purchase a one way award flight for your wife on that sector?

 

[shamatam]

She wants to be on the same flight as the others, but not the same cabin?



They would probably let you swap seats, but not necessarily. Strictly speaking, AFAIK, you are not supposed to be allowed to do this. I've seen it happen though.

I'm confused though - are you proposing to fly to SIN and back on points purely to facilitate your wife getting into J on one sector of her trip back (and the shorter sector, as it happens)? If there are J award seats available on the SIN-BNE sector, why not just purchase a one way award flight for your wife on that sector?

Yes @Jack3193 , she wants to be on same flight but not the same cabin.

Yes, my plan was for me to fly to SIN just for her to get into a J seat on the return.

I'm concerned that buying a business one way award SIN-BNE ticket in her name may involve :
Do I need to have her removed from the original economy group booking ?
Do I then cancel her current economy flight or just walk away ?
Are there cancellation charges by the airline and/or the travel agent ?

I'm assume there shouldn't be a problem transferring the necessary Velocity points to her account then to her KrisFlyer account ?

Mike

 

[Jack_OC]

Yes @Jack3193 , she wants to be on same flight but not the same cabin.

Yes, my plan was for me to fly to SIN just for her to get into a J seat on the return.

I'm concerned that buying a business one way award SIN-BNE ticket in her name may involve :
Do I need to have her removed from the original economy group booking ?
Do I then cancel her current economy flight or just walk away ?
Are there cancellation charges by the airline and/or the travel agent ?

I'm assume there shouldn't be a problem transferring the necessary Velocity points to her account then to her KrisFlyer account ?

Mike

Yes there may be some complications regarding the original booking, especially if she has checked baggage, as if she checks bags in at LHR on her Y ticket, but then "fails to board" in SIN, I imagine that will raise red flags. So I think you would need to call the airline about it, and they may actually refuse to allow you to do this - I'm honestly not sure. Best to call them before booking if you're going to go down that road.

Have you checked whether there is award availability the whole way from LHR-BNE (on the same flights that she's already booked on)? If so, that would be simpler, as she could then simply tell the airline she's not using the return leg of her Y ticket. That wouldn't affect any of the other passengers she is booked to travel with (as they will all have their own tickets, even if they all booked together), and there shouldn't be any fees to pay - she wouldn't get any refund either, but it sounds like you're ok with that.

Getting back to your original suggestion: IMHO, blowing a decent chunk of points and spending a couple of days of your time just to potentially allow her to sit in J on the SIN-BNE sector seems a bit crazy. I'm not sure if you're aware, but a BNE-SIN return in J will cost more KrisFlyer miles (116,000) than a one-way all the way from LHR-SIN-BNE (105,000).

To answer your final question - you can certainly transfer points from your Velocity account to hers and then to KrisFlyer, but that's not necessary. Both Velocity and KrisFlyer allow you to book flights for others (family members in the case of Velocity, and anyone you care to nominate in the case of KrisFlyer). So with either program you can book on behalf of your wife, without transferring points to her. You may also be able to book the flights directly with Velocity points rather than transferring to KrisFlyer.

 

[Lord_Lenny]

Yes @Jack3193 ,
Yes, my plan was for me to fly to SIN just for her to get into a J seat on the return.

C'mon, Singapore Y isn't that bad, especially compared to some of the alternatives.

Honestly though, this really does seem like a lot of over engineering, from how you've described it: it is a group booking, it sounds they will be checked through from LHR - BNE, there doesn't appear to be a reason why the SIN - BNE leg has to be in J. It would probably be slightly easier if they were breaking the trip in Singapore - are they?? Otherwise she would technically be abandoning a trip halfway through which could cause some problems.

Obviously we're not across the full details, but given all that wouldn't it be easier to:

• Try for a LHR - BNE award redemption (if you have the points)
• Just fly the SIN - BNE leg in Y

Edit: Clearly I was typing this at the same time as @Jack3193

 

[shamatam]

Yes there may be some complications regarding the original booking, especially if she has checked baggage, as if she checks bags in at LHR on her Y ticket, but then "fails to board" in SIN, I imagine that will raise red flags. So I think you would need to call the airline about it, and they may actually refuse to allow you to do this - I'm honestly not sure. Best to call them before booking if you're going to go down that road.

Have you checked whether there is award availability the whole way from LHR-BNE (on the same flights that she's already booked on)? If so, that would be simpler, as she could then simply tell the airline she's not using the return leg of her Y ticket. That wouldn't affect any of the other passengers she is booked to travel with (as they will all have their own tickets, even if they all booked together), and there shouldn't be any fees to pay - she wouldn't get any refund either, but it sounds like you're ok with that.

Getting back to your original suggestion: IMHO, blowing a decent chunk of points and spending a couple of days of your time just to potentially allow her to sit in J on the SIN-BNE sector seems a bit crazy. I'm not sure if you're aware, but a BNE-SIN return in J will cost more KrisFlyer miles (116,000) than a one-way all the way from LHR-SIN-BNE (105,000).

To answer your final question - you can certainly transfer points from your Velocity account to hers and then to KrisFlyer, but that's not necessary. Both Velocity and KrisFlyer allow you to book flights for others (family members in the case of Velocity, and anyone you care to nominate in the case of KrisFlyer). So with either program you can book on behalf of your wife, without transferring points to her. You may also be able to book the flights directly with Velocity points rather than transferring to KrisFlyer.

Thanks @Jack3193 to be honest I hadn't thought of the baggage issue. Not sure I want to go through that.

LHR-BNE business saver is WaitListed but business advantage is available (extra 50k points).

And thanks for the heads up re the Velocity versus KrisFlyer points usage.

Mike

 

[Jack_OC]

Thanks @Jack3193 to be honest I hadn't thought of the baggage issue. Not sure I want to go through that.

LHR-BNE business saver is WaitListed but business advantage is available (extra 50k points).

And thanks for the heads up re the Velocity versus KrisFlyer points usage.

Mike

I think the difference between Saver and Advantage should be 45k KrisFlyer miles (150k vs 105k). And bear in mind that your suggestion of BNE-SIN-BNE would cost 116k KrisFlyer miles, so the LHR-BNE Advantage fare only costs 34k extra KrisFlyer miles compared to that. Considering it would mean that your wife would get to travel in J the whole way (and use the lounges in both LHR and SIN), as opposed to just maybe getting to occupy your seat for the SIN-BNE sector with no lounge access.

Is it a factor here that you want to experience the BNE-SIN flight in J yourself? If so, go for it, but otherwise, I think booking the LHR-BNE option for your wife seems preferable.

 

[shamatam]

I think the difference between Saver and Advantage should be 45k KrisFlyer miles (150k vs 105k). And bear in mind that your suggestion of BNE-SIN-BNE would cost 116k KrisFlyer miles, so the LHR-BNE Advantage fare only costs 34k extra KrisFlyer miles compared to that. Considering it would mean that your wife would get to travel in J the whole way (and use the lounges in both LHR and SIN), as opposed to just maybe getting to occupy your seat for the SIN-BNE sector with no lounge access.

Is it a factor here that you want to experience the BNE-SIN flight in J yourself? If so, go for it, but otherwise, I think booking the LHR-BNE option for your wife seems preferable.

Thanks @Jack3193 .
Definitely not necessary for me to travel in J.
Bottom line and safest is the LHR-BNE business award flight.
Having to use 150k points is steep and would wipe out the Velocity balance.

My wife has read some of the replies and while not totally understanding most of them, seems to be reluctant to spend all our points.
Especially with a Bali trip coming up in July.

For me personally this has been an amazing learning curve.
With so many options available for flight bookings, finding the solution that fits best can be difficult,

Many thanks to the "teachers" involved in this exercise.

Mike

 

[Lord_Lenny]

Thanks @Jack3193 .
With so many options available for flight bookings, finding the solution that fits best can be difficult,

Yep that's for sure - but that's the best thing about AFF, the hivemind of people who travel a lot and can pick things you may miss

 

[shamatam]

.....To answer your final question - you can certainly transfer points from your Velocity account to hers and then to KrisFlyer, but that's not necessary. Both Velocity and KrisFlyer allow you to book flights for others (family members in the case of Velocity, and anyone you care to nominate in the case of KrisFlyer). So with either program you can book on behalf of your wife, without transferring points to her. You may also be able to book the flights directly with Velocity points rather than transferring to KrisFlyer.

Yes, I'm back.
We are going ahead with the LHR-BNE business reward booking

I'm a bit lost re the booking process.
As neither my wife or I have KK points i assume I need to transfer Velocity points.
Transfer them in my name ?
If I enter my KK number, I'm assuming I have to have the points but overwrite the personal details section with my wife's.
Is that it ?

Mike
P.S. Is there a web site I can use to book the flight through for them to get a commission or reward ?

 

[PhilandJosh]

By my calculation you will need ~203000 velocity to transfer to kris to get 150000 KF accounting for the 1.35:1 transfer rate. You then need your velocity account linked to your KrisFlyer (go into your velocity portal and find the tab “link to partner airlines” or some such)...set that up and then you go to transfer to partner airlines and enter the points Amount you wish to transfer.. it’s pretty immediate from memory between leaving velocity and showing up in KF (minutes???) you then either book online with KF through their website or you can phone and book... given the complexities with this one I wonder if it might be better to phone.

On a seperate note I am not sure but technically I think Singapore could revoke pts/status credits for her flights over as essentially the cash ticket is being voided... whether they would or not don’t know... if they have already been put through it wouldn’t be a drama and they may not in any case but it could be a grey zone.

Finally mate I commiserate with you and feel she is being a bit unfair but this is probably not my place to comment (too late).

 

[PhilandJosh]

Just looking at Singapore website you could try entering flight details and see if she is eligible for a paid upgrade (not sure if you can only upgrade economy to PE or upgrade economy straight to business it is not really clear that I could find... if her aircraft isn’t equipped with PE then obviously could upgrade direct to Business) but I guess you at least see if she is eligible and what the minimum bid is...it may be ridiculously priced anyway but worth finding out by entering details at the bottom of the page
mySQupgrade

If not eligible or not confirmed at 48h out then bite the bullet and use points for the reward ticket? Of course it could be snapped up by someone else and there may be no rewards... on the flip side maybe a saver reward will become available