Membership Parental Pause

[Water]

Seeking help in regards to Virgin Velocity Membership Parental Pause Option, for example if I am Gold status and my status is due for review in July and I pause my membership in May for the required 6 months, once the 6 months pause is expired and membership stauts resumes how long is my reinstated Gold Membership now vaild for? I am confused as the details on the site read as though your membership status will resume for a further 12 months but I am sure this is not correct. Anyway any help would be much appreciated.

Cheers

 

[Water]

Anyone able to assist with this? as I need to decide what to do and have conflicting info from virgin.

Cheers

 

[serfty]

It's really only a new thing and I guess few AFF'ers have experience with this.

Maybe PM "Velocity Rewards" or "Virgin Australia"; although they're on leave currently.

 

[Jama]

Come May you would have 2 months remaining. I would assume if you paused in May when you resume you would still have 2 months. No extra time just moved forward to give you a break.

Although called parental pause I have wondered if this would be allowed for family emergencies where a family member becomes sick to a point where all travel stops.

 

[Virgin Australia]

Seeking help in regards to Virgin Velocity Membership Parental Pause Option, for example if I am Gold status and my status is due for review in July and I pause my membership in May for the required 6 months, once the 6 months pause is expired and membership stauts resumes how long is my reinstated Gold Membership now vaild for? I am confused as the details on the site read as though your membership status will resume for a further 12 months but I am sure this is not correct. Anyway any help would be much appreciated.

Cheers

If you pause your membership, once the six months has finished, you will remain at your membership level for the remaining months of your membership.
Or you could just look at it, by adding six months to your membership year.

 

[Mh4k]

[SUB]I assume while the membership is paused no benefits are extended - i.e., no lounge access if flying during the pause window? And SC and points accrual is also suspended?[/SUB]

 

[oz_mark]

[SUB]I assume while the membership is paused no benefits are extended - i.e., no lounge access if flying during the pause window? And SC and points accrual is also suspended?[/SUB]

According to the T&C's

10.3 During the six-month term of the Membership Pause for Parental Leave, you:

10.3.1 may not request to be taken off the Membership Pause for Parental Leave at any time;
10.3.2 may continue to earn and redeem Points and Status Credits; and
10.3.3 cannot be upgraded to a higher Membership Level by earning sufficient Status Credits and flying the required number of Eligible Sectors, in accordance clauses 6.20 to 6.24.

 

[GCC]

Resurrecting this thread rather than starting a new one.

Has anyone activated the parental pause facility yet? Another baby GCC is expected later this year.

I understand the pause is a non negotiable 6 months. I expect to suspend my travel for around 3 -4 months, and Mrs GCC likes to ground me from about six weeks before the due date.

When can I start the pause, is it from the DOB or can I nominate a start time prior to that?

The T&C say you continue to earn points and SC's if you do fly but the SC's don't apply for retaining status. That's great, but the important question is what happens to lounge access and priority boarding?

The new baby GCC will be keen to fly somewhere long before they turn 6 months old, and he / she won't be impressed if they have to hang around in SYD T2 with the hoi polloi.:shock:

 

[Deleted member 29185]

Another baby GCC is expected later this year.

I can't help with any of your questions, but may I offer my congratulations on the upcoming +++1? Best of luck for you, Mrs GCC, sibling GCCs and of course baby GCC! Is the christening going to be held at a DJ lounge?

 

[GCC]

Is the christening going to be held at a DJ lounge?

Yikes no. I would hope that his /her lounge baptism will be the F Lounge, or at least Domestic J! They wing their way over to Scotland for the official family christening sometime in the first 6 months.

Thanks for the kind words.

 

[Virgin Australia]

Resurrecting this thread rather than starting a new one.

Has anyone activated the parental pause facility yet? Another baby GCC is expected later this year.

I understand the pause is a non negotiable 6 months. I expect to suspend my travel for around 3 -4 months, and Mrs GCC likes to ground me from about six weeks before the due date.

When can I start the pause, is it from the DOB or can I nominate a start time prior to that?

The T&C say you continue to earn points and SC's if you do fly but the SC's don't apply for retaining status. That's great, but the important question is what happens to lounge access and priority boarding?

The new baby GCC will be keen to fly somewhere long before they turn 6 months old, and he / she won't be impressed if they have to hang around in SYD T2 with the hoi polloi.:shock:

Congratulations on the forthcoming addition!

If you did want your pause to begin before a birth certificate could be produced, I'm sure a discussion with one of our team members could work something out for you.

 

[GCC]

Thanks for that Virgin Australia.

Can you clarify if still there is lounge access while the pause is active?

The pause is a nice concept, but it is unlikely that a Plat or Gold will do no flying at all in the six month period. For many of us it is highly likely we will be flying with the new addition somewhere within that window, so lounge access will be very valuable.

 

[kamchatsky]

Due to upcoming birth I have requested the parental pause for me and my wife (both Gold) for 6 months. 3 days later it was approved!!!

[TABLE="width: 513"]
[TR="class: alt, bgcolor: transparent"]
[TH="bgcolor: #E9E9E9, align: left"]Member since[/TH]
[TD="class: accountRightCell, bgcolor: #E9E9E9, align: right"]15 Nov 2005[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR="bgcolor: transparent"]
[TH="bgcolor: transparent, align: left"]Membership level[/TH]
[TD="class: accountRightCell, bgcolor: transparent, align: right"]Gold[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR="class: alt, bgcolor: transparent"]
[TH="bgcolor: #E9E9E9, align: left"]Membership pause[/TH]
[TD="class: accountRightCell, bgcolor: #E9E9E9, align: right"]Until 25 Jan 2013[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR="bgcolor: transparent"]
[TH="bgcolor: transparent, align: left"]Gold membership recommences[/TH]
[TD="class: accountRightCell, bgcolor: transparent, align: right"]25 Jan 2013 to 25 Jan 2014[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]

Hopefully by then I will recommence flying to retain Gold!

 

[GCC]

I've also had my parental pause approved. I still find the T&C with regards to lounge access a bit ambiguous - here is my email from Velocity.

[TD="colspan: 2"] Dear Mr GCC

[/TD]

[TD="align: left"]We are pleased to advise that your application for a membership pause has been approved. This means that your current membership will be placed on hold for 6 months until 26 Jan 13, after which you will be free to enjoy the benefits of Platinum membership for a further 12 months. A new membership card showing the date your membership pause ceases will be mailed to you shortly.

[/TD]

We have one flight as a family, including the new arrival, to NZ in December. I did PM'd the VA rep on AFF earlier to confirm that the benefits of lounge access, online checkin, and priority boarding were still there. The answer was yes they do - we are still platinum / gold / silver but that the need to earn SC's to maintain status is "on hold".

I'm not sure that's how I'd read this email from Velocity though. I'm curious to see what the new membership card with pause date looks like - but even more curious to know if anyone has actually flown on VA while on a pause and what happened.

 

[kamchatsky]

I have just received the updated Gold card from Velocity. The new review date is 25 Jan 2013. But then the letter also said that I will receive another 12 months of Gold after that date. So I would say my Gold status still apply during the parental pause period.

 

[Water]

Have also just placed my membership on pause, and was told on the phone that I still could use all Platinum benefits whilst on pause other than complimentary upgrades and that staus credits are not visable whilst on pause. When I look on my member details the complimentary flight upgrades no longer show or status credits but it still shows as lounge member. I find it really confusing as to what if any benefits you do receive whilst on pause as in general if you please a membership on pasue you receiving nothing during that period.

 

[777]

Bumping an old thread here but just curious about people's experiences who have actually done this.

Specifically:
1. What happens to SCs while you are on leave?
2. Does your membership year actually extend by a full 12 months after it ends?
3. Has anyone done this while family pooling? What happens when points or SCs are earned by other family members?
4. What happens to SC's accrued before the pause? (do they count towards requalification?)
5. Is it definitely a full 6 months? Can you stop it after 3 or 4?
6. Do you definitely get all benefits while it is paused?

Any other details from actual experience?

 

[Smart Flyer]

Hi 777

Re Point (2) Membership is extended by a full 12 months from when parental pause ends at the status you where on prior to the pause

Re Point (5) Yes is full 6 months this cant be changed

Re Point (6) All benefits are still received in full other while paused other than the comp upgrades

Sorry cant assit with the other points

Cheerd

Bumping an old thread here but just curious about people's experiences who have actually done this.

Specifically:
1. What happens to SCs while you are on leave?
2. Does your membership year actually extend by a full 12 months after it ends?
3. Has anyone done this while family pooling? What happens when points or SCs are earned by other family members?
4. What happens to SC's accrued before the pause? (do they count towards requalification?)
5. Is it definitely a full 6 months? Can you stop it after 3 or 4?
6. Do you definitely get all benefits while it is paused?

Any other details from actual experience?

 

[GCC]

Specifically:
1. What happens to SCs while you are on leave?
2. Does your membership year actually extend by a full 12 months after it ends?
3. Has anyone done this while family pooling? What happens when points or SCs are earned by other family members?
4. What happens to SC's accrued before the pause? (do they count towards requalification?)
5. Is it definitely a full 6 months? Can you stop it after 3 or 4?
6. Do you definitely get all benefits while it is paused?

Any other details from actual experience?

I activated the pause last year, so can answer the questions. It seems too good to be true but it does work as VA says and is a great benefit

1) They are 'earned' but the whole point is that for the period you are on leave the SC's do not count towards retaining status.
2) Yes. Parental pause ended 26 January, platinum m'ship restarted, and I am now Plat again until 26 January 2014.
3) Yes. Same as (1) - you will earn points and SC's from family members pooling to you. You'll accrue the points but the SC's do not count towards tier retention
4) The SC's you have already accrued are really "moot", as when the pause ends you receive a full further 12 months. So in my case

• Requal date was September 20
• Pause began August 26
• Platinum recommenced from 26 January and I have 12 months to re qualify plat.

So I have now been platinum since September 2011, and will remain so until January 2014.

5) No, has to be 6 months and you cant have a shorter pause
6) Yes, was pleasantly surprised that that all benefits such as lounge access, preferential seating allocation, luggage allowance continued during the pause. I also received a bonus complimentary upgrade sent to all WP's while the pause was on.

I did lose the 1 complimentary upgrade that I hadn't used by my original requal date, but this was more than compensated for as when my account reset on 26 January another 4 complimentary upgrades were added. The hotel group and rental car options however still show as "opted in" so they weren't reset

 

[dandandan]

Your requal date was September 20 and it was paused before this on August 26. Had you already achieved the re-qualification before the pause? In an earlier post the Virgin rep said;

"If you pause your membership, once the six months has finished, you will remain at your membership level for the remaining months of your membership.
Or you could just look at it, by adding six months to your membership year".

Once your membership pause ended on Jan 26, you received another years Plat membership form that date so I am thinking you might have met re-qualification before the pause but as your re-qualification date was during the pause period it did not kick in until the pause ended. As per how the Vigin rep says it works, you would have only had less than a months membership left if this was not the case.

The other thing is, say someone had 600 Sc's towards Platinum re-qualification and then paused membership for 6 months however earned 200 SC's during the pause period, once the pause ends would those 200 SC's immediately start counting towards overall all SC's earned since your last review date meaning your would 800 Sc's and re-qualify as soon as the pause comes off? they must otherwise what is the point of still earning the SC's?

Virgin Australia

MemberAuthenticated Company RepJoin DateSep 2010LocationBrisbane, QueenslandPosts332FF ProgVelocity Rewards.... obviously

[h=2]Re: Membership Parental Pause[/h]

Originally Posted by magnum
Seeking help in regards to Virgin Velocity Membership Parental Pause Option, for example if I am Gold status and my status is due for review in July and I pause my membership in May for the required 6 months, once the 6 months pause is expired and membership stauts resumes how long is my reinstated Gold Membership now vaild for? I am confused as the details on the site read as though your membership status will resume for a further 12 months but I am sure this is not correct. Anyway any help would be much appreciated.

Cheers



If you pause your membership, once the six months has finished, you will remain at your membership level for the remaining months of your membership.
Or you could just look at it, by adding six months to your membership year.​

I activated the pause last year, so can answer the questions. It seems too good to be true but it does work as VA says and is a great benefit

1) They are 'earned' but the whole point is that for the period you are on leave the SC's do not count towards retaining status.
2) Yes. Parental pause ended 26 January, platinum m'ship restarted, and I am now Plat again until 26 January 2014.
3) Yes. Same as (1) - you will earn points and SC's from family members pooling to you. You'll accrue the points but the SC's do not count towards tier retention
4) The SC's you have already accrued are really "moot", as when the pause ends you receive a full further 12 months. So in my case

• Requal date was September 20
• Pause began August 26
• Platinum recommenced from 26 January and I have 12 months to re qualify plat.

So I have now been platinum since September 2011, and will remain so until January 2014.

5) No, has to be 6 months and you cant have a shorter pause
6) Yes, was pleasantly surprised that that all benefits such as lounge access, preferential seating allocation, luggage allowance continued during the pause. I also received a bonus complimentary upgrade sent to all WP's while the pause was on.

I did lose the 1 complimentary upgrade that I hadn't used by my original requal date, but this was more than compensated for as when my account reset on 26 January another 4 complimentary upgrades were added. The hotel group and rental car options however still show as "opted in" so they weren't reset