Virgin Australia Discover Gold (Status Match)

yeah...my Velocity Gold was extended to June 2022. I took up the Qantas Gold discovery offer in 2020. Made one VA flight so far.

400 VA SCs required to retain VA gold for July 2022 will be a tough ask I'll need all my SCs going towards retaining QF Gold.

I’m a bit stuck too since work removed VA2 from our travel roster - it means any VA2 status I achieve has to be fully self funded…
I did like having my toes in both ponds but unsure now what I will do…
 
I know tough to keep GOLD or higher on 2 airlines if not flying for work.
Very true. I'm a completely self-funded intl. traveler and I can only retain Platinum with QF each year with my international travels. I sometimes fly domestic for work, so that brings in about 100SC each year, otherwise everything else is self-funded.

I only became VA Gold via the Discover Gold program. My company paid for the economy fair and I paid the difference to a J fare on VA and made Gold.

Without work travel, I find it impossible to have status is more than one airline.
 
Seems VA is still rolling on some of these Status Match programs. I had a QF status match from the program way back in 2020. I've made one VA flight and I notice it now expires 2023. I guess it doesn't actually cost VA anything to provide a status which only costs when I fly with them.
 
I guess it doesn't actually cost VA anything to provide a status which only costs when I fly with them.

Delivering the status benefits when you do fly with them would be mostly sunk costs anyway. Providing a couple of bottled beers, a coffee, and/or a couple of plates of lounge food is unlikely to exceed $5-10.

The other costs incurred to deliver SG benefits (lounge staffing, lounge rent, priority check-in staff etc) they are committed to providing for J pax or 'properly earned' elites, and unless you're maxing the SG luggage allowance I'm struggling to think of any missed opportunity costs to the airline, especially without Fly Ahead these days.

$5-10 to sway your trip from QF would surely still yield a profit while also giving them a chance to demonstrate their service is better quality/value. Of course there's a limit to how far they can take it before diluting the benefits, but the real cost of running these status promos must be pretty low.
 
Per recent announcements, this promo is set to restart again. VA's current top tier partners of QR, UA and SQ, alongside other existing partners such as HA, HU, EY at al are not eligible for this promotion.
 
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Executive Traveller has just posted an article on this:


Oneworld:

Qantas:
Gold, Platinum, Platinum One
American Airlines: Aadvantage Platinum, Platinum Pro, Executive Platinum
British Airways: Executive Club Silver, Gold
Cathay Pacific: Marco Polo Club Gold, Diamond
Fiji Airways: Tabua Club Plus
Finnair: Plus Gold, Platinum
Iberia: Iberia Plus Gold, Platinum, Singular, Infinita, Infinita Prime
Japan Airlines: JMB Sapphire, JGC Premier, JMB Diamond
Malaysia Airlines: Enrich Gold, Platinum

Star Alliance:

Air China:
Phoenix Miles Gold, Platinum
Air India: Flying Returns Maharajah Club, Golden Edge Club
Air New Zealand: Airpoints Gold, Elite
Asiana: Asiana Club Platinum, Diamond, Diamond Plus
Austrian Airlines / Lufthansa / Swiss Airlines: Miles & More HON Circle, Senator
Thai Airways: Royal Orchid Plus Gold, Platinum
EVA Air: Infinity MileageLands Gold, Diamond
Scandinavian Airlines: Euro Bonus Gold, Platinum

SkyTeam:

China Airlines:
Sky Team Paragon, Emerald
China Eastern: Eastern Miles Elite Status Silver, Gold
Delta Air Lines: Skymiles Gold, Platinum
Air France / KLM Dutch Airlines: Flying Blue Gold, Platinum
Vietnam Airlines: Lotusmiles Titanium, Gold, Platinum
Garuda Indonesia: Garuda Miles Gold, Platinum
Korean Air: Skypass Morning Calm Premium Club, Million Miler Club

Others:

Air Niugini:
Gold Executive Club
Emirates: Skywards Gold, Platinum
LATAM: LATAM Pass Platinum, Black
Philippine Airlines: Mabuhay Miles Premier Elite, Million Miler
Royal Brunei: Royal Skies Elite Gold
 
Deja vue all over again then! I reckoin there's a few disgruntled Qantas fliers who will be sorely tempted ....
 
so I assume that it's applying via the feedback form? would be nice if they make it a bit easier to apply through the website like other times.
 
Deja vue all over again then! I reckoin there's a few disgruntled Qantas fliers who will be sorely tempted ....
Maybe but it really depends on where you fly. Certainly if you are keeping to entirely domestic travel VA could be a solid option. But if you're travelling overseas be it the Tasman or the Pacific, all those Virgin Australia benefits won't be useful to you. I think the key here is how easy it is to maintain status after the promotion and 12 month "trial". 80 status credits seems pretty straight-forward that's like a choice fare to a long haul domestic destination basically, but afterwards collecting those 400 status credits to renew will be... interesting. Now if they have a double status credits promotion then yeah, I could definitely see booking two Flex tickets on a domestic long haul or heaven forbid a business ticket could put you in the running for VA Gold. But as someone who now has status with the three major alliances Star Alliance (United), SkyTeam (Delta) and OneWorld (Qantas), it may be unattainable!

-RooFlyer88
 
Agreed, it depends on the individual's travel patterns.

For solely domestic flyers (like I am at the moment), I'm finding it easier to find a path to maintaining Virgin Gold/Platinum than Qantas Gold/Platinum, especially with the extra boost from Flybuys status credits.

Of course, this doesn't take inot account any lingering status extensions ...
 
Agreed, it depends on the individual's travel patterns.

For solely domestic flyers (like I am at the moment), I'm finding it easier to find a path to maintaining Virgin Gold/Platinum than Qantas Gold/Platinum, especially with the extra boost from Flybuys status credits.

Of course, this doesn't take inot account any lingering status extensions ...
It's complicated! I mean if you are solely a domestic traveller then it's actually only 500 status credits to renew Gold with QF as you earn a 50 status credit bonus after flying 500 status credits in a program year with Qantas/JetStar. Then there is QF Green tier which once you earn through doing a number of simple activities you can redeem for a further 50 SCs per program year. Then you have more airline options in JQ (in addition to QF) whereby even if you get a Starter Plus fare you'll earn a decent stack of SCs to say nothing of the Max fare. For instance, I earned 100 SCs this year flying JQ MAX from SYD to PER on a fare that was $300 during one of JQ's fire sales last year.

Put another way, we are all gamers, we just like to play different games!

-RooFlyer88
 
It's complicated! I mean if you are solely a domestic traveller then it's actually only 500 status credits to renew Gold with QF as you earn a 50 status credit bonus after flying 500 status credits in a program year with Qantas/JetStar. Then there is QF Green tier which once you earn through doing a number of simple activities you can redeem for a further 50 SCs per program year. Then you have more airline options in JQ (in addition to QF) whereby even if you get a Starter Plus fare you'll earn a decent stack of SCs to say nothing of the Max fare. For instance, I earned 100 SCs this year flying JQ MAX from SYD to PER on a fare that was $300 during one of JQ's fire sales last year.

Put another way, we are all gamers, we just like to play different games!

-RooFlyer88
You do realise there are benefits for flying VA international partners as SG or WP, lounge access etc, earning SCs etc.
I don't think domestic only flyers are for VA. Reasonable int partners, QR, UA, SQ, HA, EY....
I think many would rather fly VA than Jetstar, just maybe. Especially domestic.
 
You do realise there are benefits for flying VA international partners as SG or WP, lounge access etc, earning SCs etc.
I don't think domestic only flyers are for VA. Reasonable int partners, QR, UA, SQ, HA, EY....
I think many would rather fly VA than Jetstar, just maybe. Especially domestic.

They are just cherry picking NZ and South Pacific, which are areas where VA lacks partner coverage.
 
You do realise there are benefits for flying VA international partners as SG or WP, lounge access etc, earning SCs etc.
I don't think domestic only flyers are for VA. Reasonable int partners, QR, UA, SQ, HA, EY....
I think many would rather fly VA than Jetstar, just maybe. Especially domestic.
My understanding is the partner benefits are mixed and unclear at best. Say what you will about holding United Premier Gold status or Delta Gold medallion but you know what you are getting across the alliance: extra checked bags, priority everything (including IRROPs handling), lounge access and most importantly certainty, certainty that the partner airlines you see today are likely partners airlines you'll see in a year's time. The same cannot be said about Virgin status.

Don't get me wrong, I think I'll jump on this band wagon when the time comes to do a status match, but if you honestly think for a moment that I will put as much effort into accruing Virgin Australia status as much as say Qantas status you are sadly mistaken. And this doesn't even go into other aspects like Qantas having a much more comprehensive lounge network and amenities you don't find in Virgin lounges like a shower.

-RooFlyer88
 
My understanding is the partner benefits are mixed and unclear at best. Say what you will about holding United Premier Gold status or Delta Gold medallion but you know what you are getting across the alliance: extra checked bags, priority everything (including IRROPs handling), lounge access and most importantly certainty, certainty that the partner airlines you see today are likely partners airlines you'll see in a year's time. The same cannot be said about Virgin status.

Don't get me wrong, I think I'll jump on this band wagon when the time comes to do a status match, but if you honestly think for a moment that I will put as much effort into accruing Virgin Australia status as much as say Qantas status you are sadly mistaken. And this doesn't even go into other aspects like Qantas having a much more comprehensive lounge network and amenities you don't find in Virgin lounges like a shower.

-RooFlyer88
Each to their own in effort to benefit from status etc. We all look after our own benefits of interest & use, fair enough if you prefer QF, I understand, yes lounge network. Btw was in Virgin Lounge couple weeks ago and had a shower.
They are just cherry picking NZ and South Pacific, which are areas where VA lacks partner coverage.
VA not comparable to QF in terms of routes, they won't suit everybody.
Lot of gaps I agree.
 
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Each product has its pros and cons, so that there is no "one size fits all." For me, Virgin is a clear winner (especially as I have been able to gift my partner a platinum card), but I fully accept that those with different priorities/travel patterns can see things differently.
 

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