MEL to JFK in J using Velocity points - possible?

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jcb12

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It will be my tenth wedding anniversary in a couple of years, so I was thinking of using some/all of the points I've accumulated to take my wife to New York for a week or two. I was wondering what the options available for this are and how easy/difficult it would be to book. From looking, availability in J from SYD/BNE to LAX is fairly limited, but there should be options available. The LAX to JFK leg on DL looks like it might be more tricky though. Has anyone booked this trip using points? Are there other options available? I thought that maybe MEL->AUH->JFK on Etihad might be an option, but I don't think the AUH->JFK flight has a VA codeshare, so I don't think it's a possiblity.

Anyway, enough rambling, thanks in advance for any advice on this.

James.
 
You have many more options. Example - transfer points to SQ program then you can do MEL-SIN-FRA-JFK with SQ, or more directly with other *A partners.
 
You dont need a codeshare to book award flights
From the Velocity website, it says:
You can redeem your Points for a Reward Seat or an Any Seat on Virgin Australia domestic and international flights. You can also redeem your Points for a Reward Seat on flights with Delta Air Lines, Singapore Airlines and SilkAir, and selected codeshare flights operated by Etihad Airways and Virgin America, online – 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
It's the 'selected codeshare flights' bit that I'm not sure about.

Ideally, I'd like to get there with as few flights as possible, which means either MEL->SYD/BNE->LAX->JFK or MEL->AUH->JFK I think.

Hadn't really thought about the SQ angle, but that's something I'll investigate.

Thanks to both of you for the input :)
 
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So, it looks like the 'selected codeshare flights' is just for online bookings - calling them allows you to book any EY flight.
 
It will be my tenth wedding anniversary in a couple of years, so I was thinking of using some/all of the points I've accumulated to take my wife to New York for a week or two. I was wondering what the options available for this are and how easy/difficult it would be to book. From looking, availability in J from SYD/BNE to LAX is fairly limited, but there should be options available. The LAX to JFK leg on DL looks like it might be more tricky though. Has anyone booked this trip using points? Are there other options available? I thought that maybe MEL->AUH->JFK on Etihad might be an option, but I don't think the AUH->JFK flight has a VA codeshare, so I don't think it's a possiblity.

Anyway, enough rambling, thanks in advance for any advice on this.

James.

The best use of points is to buy a flex economy fare (look for sales) from SYD-JFK through virgin website and then upgrade the SYD-LAX legs to J (45k points pp each way). Make sure LAX-JFK is on DL and as VA plat you will receive comp upgrade to 'comfort plus' pending availability.

You can travel EY through AUH but it's really a long way round and you will burn a lot of points going this way. Also look at SQ as mentioned above.
 
How about something like a combination of SQ and EY.
Probably two of the worlds best F products in terms of what they offer on their 388s.
Yes it will cost alot of points, the good part is you have a year to save.
 
How about something like a combination of SQ and EY.
Probably two of the worlds best F products in terms of what they offer on their 388s.
Yes it will cost alot of points, the good part is you have a year to save.
Yeah, had a look at this yesterday when I called Velocity. Points wise it's the same amount going in either direction. It's a few more hours going via AUH, but it's available in F all the way. Availability on the Etihad flights seems better too and given that it's a long time until I can book, maybe they will open up some availability on the A380 apartments for reward bookings.
 
If you are travelling on virgin code share (delta plane) can you still get a comfort plus upgrade when you are a virgin platinum ? (Lax to jfk)
If you can do you ask at lax? Or in australia at check in?
 
Teal you need to ring delta 72 hours before your flight and request it. So you can call them before your flight takes off from Australia (as Platinum). VA Gold is 24 hours before the flight. I've never had a problem getting Comfort+ upgrades or any other typical perks on DL metal. Also, ensure you use priority check in, security and boarding - well worth it in the USA.

Also commenting so I can get the info re: MEL-JFK on points. I want to go in Feb but not sure of the best routings.
 
I was looking at VA codeshare MEL-MNL and they couldn't issue tickets on SQ because SQ rules were coming back that it needed to be direct flight as no stop over was allowed, which was crazy because there is no SQ direct flight MEL-MNL.

The girl on the phone told me I could fly MEL-AUH-MNL despite this not being a codeshare flight, I'm sure the selected codeshare flights is only restricted to what is available online.

Interested to follow this as I am looking to do a similar MEL-JFK mid next year, although I will most likely book a Y ticket when on sale and then use 45k points to upgrade
 
I was looking at VA codeshare MEL-MNL and they couldn't issue tickets on SQ because SQ rules were coming back that it needed to be direct flight as no stop over was allowed, which was crazy because there is no SQ direct flight MEL-MNL.

The girl on the phone told me I could fly MEL-AUH-MNL despite this not being a codeshare flight, I'm sure the selected codeshare flights is only restricted to what is available online.

Interested to follow this as I am looking to do a similar MEL-JFK mid next year, although I will most likely book a Y ticket when on sale and then use 45k points to upgrade

you can only do a va points upgrade on va metal, btw.
 
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