VA Complimentary Upgrades

[Bolthead]

I have a Flexi flight booked from OOL-SYD on the 23rd September. I did the normal things first by checking if any J seats were available and also looked at Reward flights. In all cases there is 8/8 seats available however when I rang to do the upgrade I was told there were no upgrade seats available. The only odd thing is that the reward flights are at 60000 points instead of the usual 15500 points. Is this Virgin playing silly buggers with their flights? The lady told me to ring back later to check. (which I will do in a couple of days)

 

[Scarlett]

If the seats were going for 60K points then that’s an ‘any seat award’ or whatever VFF calls them. (Paying the cash fare with points) Therefore there are not any Reward seats available and you won’t be able to use the WP upgrade.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

I have a Flexi flight booked from OOL-SYD on the 23rd September. I did the normal things first by checking if any J seats were available and also looked at Reward flights. In all cases there is 8/8 seats available however when I rang to do the upgrade I was told there were no upgrade seats available. The only odd thing is that the reward flights are at 60000 points instead of the usual 15500 points. Is this Virgin playing silly buggers with their flights? The lady told me to ring back later to check. (which I will do in a couple of days)

I think the classic award has to be available, not the ‘anytime’ awards. The latter are just regular paid seats converted into points.

snap Scarlett

 

[Bolthead]

I think the classic award has to be available, not the ‘anytime’ awards. The latter are just regular paid seats converted into points.

snap Scarlett

I just assumed that if there were 8 J seats available then a couple of them would be available for upgrade or reward points. Obviously that is not the case.

 

[AIRwin]

I see Reward seats searching for 1 pax:

 

[iamsuperandrew]

I am assuming that VA gold does not receive economy X upgrades?

 

[Bolthead]

I see Reward seats searching for 1 pax:
View attachment 467273

Yes, however I am booked on flights that has seats at 57000 points and I am flying with my daughter and her family. I don't want to change flights as that will stuff up our plans in Sydney with transport etc.... I am just wandering if their pricing algorithm says this flight has more paid flights at the last minute so don't offer reward seats or upgrades. (or am I just over thinking it) haha....

 

[Bolthead]

I am assuming that VA gold does not receive economy X upgrades?

Not sure about Gold.... I am already in Y+ and I am trying to use my complimentary upgrade.

 

[stevenwr175]

I have noticed recently there are only one reward seat available on most flights these days and therefore no matter how many seats are available this doesn’t seem to change except often these are not even available. I am unsure if they are releasing a second seat if the one available is taken but this seems remote and they are aiming for either selling the seats outright or selling via the upgrade for money route.
Last time when I did book a business seat via the flexi upgrade option I was asked why I was not using that more often and when I said I normally traveled as a couple, I was met with a mmm and nothing more so it seems they know about it but don’t care and are prioritising the money options over WP seat upgrades.
I have tried the WP wait list route many times however are being lost to the money upgrade options now so only go that way knowing I won’t get one but also not really caring as PE seats are booked anyway.

 

[serfty]

I am assuming that VA gold does not receive economy X upgrades?

Not sure about Gold.... I am already in Y+ and I am trying to use my complimentary upgrade.

A gold would not ordinarily have any UpgradeMe Platinum offer (Complimentary Upgrades) to use on flexi flights.

 

[luckypierre]

Last time when I did book a business seat via the flexi upgrade option I was asked why I was not using that more often and when I said I normally traveled as a couple, I

In very recent experience have booked flexi flights (did use promo lns01 ) for July 2026 for myself and my +1 , and had no problem upgrading with my 4x WP upgrade entitlement, for the two of us on each sector. In my case it’s the last time I’ll have the WP upgrade options as I drift into Gold.

 

[kerfuffle]

I have noticed recently there are only one reward seat available on most flights

Some flights like the OP's have zero, as a solo traveller who only ever books for one. When I raised this with AFF as to whether it was worth investigating, they said it wasn't as there's no rule saying all flights have to have at least one Reward flight.

Have the same issue for late November MEL-SYD. Guess they release them later to the date or not at all.

 

[Happy Dude]

I just assumed that if there were 8 J seats available then a couple of them would be available for upgrade or reward points. Obviously that is not the case.

Perfectly reasonable IMO and demonstrates why this WP "benefit" is anything but. It's delivered with a smile but is often hiding a middle-finger. Weasels.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Perfectly reasonable IMO and demonstrates why this WP "benefit" is anything but. It's delivered with a smile but is often hiding a middle-finger. Weasels.

I don’t think it is a fair assumption that a guaranteed one - or more - of 8 seats will be an award?

There are 11 flights between SYD and OOL above, 6 of which are available for instant upgrade.

For those of us that used them, you found the upgrade flight first, then booked, then confirmed the upgrade. If the uograde flight timing didn’t work, you saved it for next time… the base fares are pretty cheap.

Bit more frustrating when flights to Bali were consistently without upgrade seats, but that’s not unlike any other airline.

 

[trisreed]

For those of us that used them, you found the upgrade flight first, then booked, then confirmed the upgrade. If the uograde flight timing didn’t work, you saved it for next time… the base fares are pretty cheap.

Managed to use mine for two seats CNS-BNE-PER over the new year. Multiple seats don't show up often, but they do on occasion. After all, they are running a business!

 

[Happy Dude]

I don’t think it is a fair assumption that a guaranteed one - or more - of 8 seats will be an award?

Well I do. If there are 8 seats available for 'anytime' awards, but none for standard awards, even for a WP, then that amounts to scalping. Compounded by the instant upgrade flights being cough timing. Masking it behind smart-sounding terms like "yield management" doesn't make the experience seem any more rational for the WP trying to use a published benefit. It'd be nice if VA treated these certificates as an earned reward for pax loyalty and not a liability that requires lottery-winning luck or a love of red-eye flights to redeem.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Well I do. If there are 8 seats available for 'anytime' awards, but none for standard awards, even for a WP, then that amounts to scalping. Compounded by the instant upgrade flights being cough timing. Masking it behind smart-sounding terms like "yield management" doesn't make the experience seem any more rational for the WP trying to use a published benefit. It'd be nice if VA treated these certificates as an earned reward for pax loyalty and not a liability that requires lottery-winning luck or a love of red-eye flights to redeem.

That’s the whole point of an anytime reward. *every* seat is available for points. It’s just the cash fare they allow you to use points for. So there’s no correlation between anyseat rewards and classic awards.

 

[ozstamps]

Qantas is cheerfully upgrading Platinums for free as a good will gesture and widely publicising that fact. And immediately backtracked re NOT counting the current DSC towards lifetime Status after Elites gave them negative feedback about it.

Virgin are tone deaf. They take NO notice of anything, re their mad changes this year. Even when highlighted in national mainstream media how badly it is going down with elites. Customer feedback is irrelevant to them - a suicide pill for ANY business, in any field.

The junior player should be the one offering these kind of incentives, to keep Elites happy and staying put. They'll stay the junior player forever, doing this stuff. Driving away a vast slab of elites to Qantas is dumber than dirt.

No seats sold in business cabin, and nothing available for awards is not smart.

I bid for upgrades on the 2 hour SYD-ADL flights last week on el cheapo Lite fares instead of fares Virgin make PROFIT from - masses less folks are bothering chasing Virgin status any more - which of course loses them a forture, from folks who in the past always bought higher fare buckets with no hesitation - they are not bright enough to see that occurring.

Made the $50 lowest possible bid. And succeeded.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Qantas is cheerfully upgrading Platinums for free as a good will gesture and widely publicising that fact. And immediately backtracked re NOT counting the current DSC towards lifetime Status after Elites gave them negative feedback about it.

Virgin are tone deaf. They take NO notice of anything, re their mad changes this year. Even when highlighted in national mainstream media how badly it is going down with elites. Customer feedback is irrelevant to them - a suicide pill for ANY business, in any field.

The junior player should be the one offering these kind of incentives, to keep Elites happy and staying put. They'll stay the junior player forever, doing this stuff. Driving away a vast slab of elites to Qantas is dumber than dirt.

No seats sold in business cabin, and nothing available for awards is not smart.

I bid for upgrades on the 2 hour SYD-ADL flights last week on el cheapo Lite fares instead of fares Virgin make PROFIT from - masses less folks are bothering chasing Virgin status any more - which of course loses them a forture, from folks who in the past always bought higher fare buckets with no hesitation - they are not bright enough to see that occurring.

Made the $50 lowest possible bid. And succeeded.

Why the upset? You go a good fare, and a cheap upgrade. Sounds like a win-win? You’re playing the game to take maximum advantage, that seems like a good thing!