Mini trip report - first time using benefits of the UA/VA partnership
As you know the UA-VA partnership started this week.
I had my first experience flying on
Virgin Australia yesterday (Thu, 26 May) as a United Premier Gold. The flight was from SYD to OOL. When I went to enter the VA lounge in the Sydney, the attendants at the front desk said I was the first person they have had trying to get in on a United status.
Even though I booked with my United MileagePlus number, it wasn’t noted anywhere on my boarding pass on my phone, so I had to give them my United MileagePlus Premier Gold card on my phone as well. It took them a few minutes to figure out how to put it in the system but all good.
Given that you can't earn United Premier Qualifying Points on VA flights, I decided that I wanted to earn on Velocity and get some Status Credits, so I went to the service desk in the lounge and asked them to change my frequent flyer number to Velocity, which they were happy to do.
I've mainly been flying Qantas lately to maintain and benefit from my Qantas Gold status, but in caparison to my usual underwhelming/average experience with Qantas, I found flying with VA really pleasant. The service was warm and friendly at every turn. I’ve not been in a Virgin lounge since before the pandemic and new VA ownership. I was impress with the refreshed brighter appearance and the quality fresh food on offer. I enjoyed an egg and salad wrap, Thai soup, and an Asian noodle salad for lunch. Much nicer than Qantas Club food. And it was so good actually having a service desk that was staffed!