I was Red, now I'm silver...a newbies story [with a few slips on the way]

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strtrek

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According to the virgin website I was informed I was Red, had 400 SC and no eligible flights...


My husband and I have booked
VA PE: SYD-LAX
VX FIRST CLASS: LAX-MCO-LAX in Sept, so I thought it would be good to push on to silver and then gold by doing 2 mileage runs, as lounge access etc is important to us.


MILEAGE RUN: 11 MAY 2014 :
I had booked SYD-MEL-OOL-MEL-SYD 11 May , But was rescheduled last week (8 MAY) to SYD-OOL-MEL-SYD.
I rang VA last week to double check that I would be receiving original routing credit and was informed yes I would be.


Today the points came thru, but for 3 segments instead of 4, 35 SC instead of 50SC and my level remained as RED & had not changed to SILVER.


So after 55 mins on velocity phone help line last night & being put on hold numerous times, the lady then told me I should have
a. been silver since Sept 29, 2013
b. my points level was wrong
c. manual calculations were then having to be made so they couldn't tell me what was going on re points, level or SC.


I am furious.


I in good faith according to VA's web site spent $180 and a whole day to achieve silver (on mothers day), to then find out I WAS SILVER ALL ALONG.


And if I was Silver I would have been able to spend the 3.5 hrs at OOL due to VA rescheduling my flights (not the 1.5 hr I had previously booked) in the lounge , and in Preferred seating not back in row 20.

I have now had another conversation with Velocity and they MAY be gracious enough to give me the SC's I booked and paid for originally.
Just not good enough Virgin.
I had to choose between you and Qantas ...looks like I picked the wrong airline FF program.

So , lesson learnt..check your statements, trust no-one ...and then don't expect them to do anything but the basics to rectify a mistake.

Oh well, it's back to Qantas in 2015 I guess.....








 
You spent all of Mothers Day trying to make Silver?

You need to re-evaluate your priorities. Silver is not worth reaching for.
 
You spent all of Mothers Day trying to make Silver?

You need to re-evaluate your priorities. Silver is not worth reaching for.

You might want to reread the post, its a stepping stone to Gold later in the year.

OP, as for going across to Qantas, you might want to check the cost of rewards, specifically the surcharges ;)
 
You spent all of Mothers Day trying to make Silver?

You need to re-evaluate your priorities. Silver is not worth reaching for.

As I said I needed to hit silver before I hit Gold before my trip(lounge access syd, lax, lax, syd etc etc)....and I will be Plat when I get back....baby steps....anyway, point is...dont trust their system, as it seems to have a few kinks in it. It just so happened to fall on Mothers Day the cheaper air fares......
 
You might want to reread the post, its a stepping stone to Gold later in the year.

OP, as for going across to Qantas, you might want to check the cost of rewards, specifically the surcharges ;)

Thanks....I just want lounge access, the miles aren't a priority.....DH LOVES his lounges :)
 
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Now your Silver you can get that pretty cheaply, and a refund when Gold clocks over.

I was thinking of just paying the $300 lounge membership...so do I get it refunded when I hit gold??? OHHHHH, do tell........:)
 
I was thinking of just paying the $300 lounge membership...so do I get it refunded when I hit gold??? OHHHHH, do tell........:)

You get a refund prorata of the unused membership when hitting Gold:

[h=4]What happens to my existing lounge membership when I upgrade to Gold?[/h]
When you upgrade to Gold by earning 500 Status Credits and flying 4 Eligible Sectors, you will be entitled to complimentary access to the Virgin Australia lounge during your membership period. Therefore, if you previously purchased a standard annual lounge membership, you are entitled to a pro-rata refund of the fee paid/Points redeemed.

Please contact the Virgin Australia lounge on 1300 287 202 to arrange a pro-rata refund. For more information, please refer to the Virgin Australia lounge Terms & Conditions, located here.



https://www.velocityfrequentflyer.com/apps/velocity/faq/article.php?id=110

 
You get a refund prorata of the unused membership when hitting Gold:

What happens to my existing lounge membership when I upgrade to Gold?
When you upgrade to Gold by earning 500 Status Credits and flying 4 Eligible Sectors, you will be entitled to complimentary access to the Virgin Australia lounge during your membership period. Therefore, if you previously purchased a standard annual lounge membership, you are entitled to a pro-rata refund of the fee paid/Points redeemed.

Please contact the Virgin Australia lounge on 1300 287 202 to arrange a pro-rata refund. For more information, please refer to the Virgin Australia lounge Terms & Conditions, located here.



https://www.velocityfrequentflyer.com/apps/velocity/faq/article.php?id=110

thanks heaps Markis10........
so by Sept 19 I will be at silver 300 (lose 150 SC 8 Sept)
so if I purchase lounge access on Sept 19,
fly syd-lax PE Sept 20 earning 240 SC taking me to 540,(Gold)

that means I would only have used the pass for 1 day before I hit gold???

Right??? My maths may be a tad fuzzy today, have the flu....
 
this just keeps getting better and better :)

thanks fruitcake....so I guess its subway and coffee for us at SYD ........any suggestions for a good lunch venue in syd terminal???

Oh Qantas syd lounge...I miss you:shock:

So I need to be Gold to access Syd Lounge......ok, wheres my excel spreadsheet :)
 
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With respect to missing out on some SCs and a sector for your OOL status run I highly recommend a polite private message to the VFF rep on this site - I have had an original routing credit issue sorted within a couple of hours.

I can't comment on whether that was better or worse service than I would have received from the call centre because the PM was my first contact.



Also if flying VA I have read you can buy one-off access to the Koru Club at the door (http://www.ausbt.com.au/pay-your-way-into-air-new-zealand-s-australian-nz-airport-lounges) but I have not done this myself.
 
thanks for the suggestion.....I'm waiting for a call back from Velocity as they are trying to wade thru the drama that is my record I think....both the lovely gentleman and his supervisor were amazed and confused regarding what was going on.....

I really wish I was an accountant, it would then make a lot more sense...dang you literary brain.!
 
so after VA said they would ring me back within an hour......3 hrs later I call them...they have given me 5 SC instead of 15 SC, havent given any bonus miles or even tried to sort out the miles balances. So I am 10 SC short and have no points from all my first class delta usa domestic flights dating back to sept 29......or even 50% bonus on my 4 flights from sunday....

UPDATE:so they say they will give me my 10 SC owing and bonus points dating back to Sept 29, 2013...and that they will ring me back.....I have no faith that any of this will happen.....just as well I'm home sick....Oh and Virgin, change your hold music....

Double update:....so I just lost 10 SC as they expired in April but that doesn't show on account it just drops off without notification, if you turn silver half way thru a flight run aka on flt 3 of 4 you still don't get any silver benefits for any of them because it is on the same ticket.....

So I am now 440 SC, silver, 4 flights and needing a lie down.
 
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so after VA said they would ring me back within an hour......3 hrs later I call them...they have given me 5 SC instead of 15 SC, havent given any bonus miles or even tried to sort out the miles balances. So I am 10 SC short and have no bonus points 50% from all my first class delta usa domestic flights dating back to sept 29......or even 50% bonus on my 4 flights from sunday....

I'm losing my patience Virgin.......I am now on hold with the 3rd supervisor who has not a clue.......I don't want what is not mine..I just want what I have earned.

I suggest you PM VFF - very helpful.

FWIW, I think they should just comp you gold and be done with it :)
 
FWIW, I think they should just comp you gold and be done with it :)

Surely that's the least they could do after all the stuffing around........but hold on, would that not simply be attempting to achieve "Customer Satisfaction" :confused:
 
So a valuable lesson is learned today.....

only VA flights are classed as eligible flights (not code share), so 2 agents and 2 supervisors were wrong....
turning a different level red-Silver mid run doesn't score you the next level up for bonus miles,
Codeshare don't get bonus miles
SC that will expire wont show they are off your account, they just disappear and
the airline always wins :)

So back to my spreadsheet......

Ahhh exciting times
 
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So a valuable lesson is learned today.....

only VA flights are classed as eligible flights (not code share), so 2 agents and 2 supervisors were wrong....
turning a different level red-Silver mid run doesn't score you the next level up for bonus miles,
Codeshare don't get bonus miles
SC that will expire wont show they are off your account, they just disappear and
the airline always wins :)

So back to my spreadsheet......

Ahhh exciting times

If you continue to hang around this forum, then things like this are much less likely to happen and you will be more likely to achieve what you set out to. Live and learn, then pass it on....
 
mate...use me as a poster child for how to not do things :)

but life is a learning curve...now all i need to do is figure out how to get my opal card to work on some nth shore train platforms :)
 
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