Virgin Australia Platinum Plus Status Discussion

[Luke B]

Errr… to check instant upgrade availability is easy… you just search on line and see if business reward seats are available.

If they are, it’s an instant upgrade via phone call.

It’s possible the seats identified on your first call were taken in the meantime.

The best way to do it is to book in real time - have the booking page open, see the business class award seat available, book and pay for economy, and instantly call the call centre to upgrade.

The call centre agent is incorrect that you can only request an upgrade seven days before departure. You can request a complimentary confirmed upgrade at any time you see a business class award seat become available.

Platinum Plus have been able to book non Business Reward seats in the past.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Platinum Plus have been able to book non Business Reward seats in the past.

I think folk were saying that was also a benefit for platinum?

in any event, that was never a published benefit, so I don’t see that as being taken away here.

The guaranteed complimentary upgrade was always against an award seat… if it was there the upgrade was yours.

 

[aus_flyer]

Just to be clear - up until a week or so, the Australian call centre could use complimentary upgrades even when there wasn't an award seat available. They could also open up award seats. They were VERY flexible - there just needed to be a few commercial seats left. It was a great perk.

Now, it's back how it is for Platinums - that there needs to be an award seat to process an upgrade.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Just to be clear - up until a week or so, the Australian call centre could use complimentary upgrades even when there wasn't an award seat available. They could also open up award seats. They were VERY flexible - there just needed to be a few commercial seats left. It was a great perk.

Now, it's back how it is for Platinums - that there needs to be an award seat to process an upgrade.

maybe that explains the ‘7 days’ rule mentioned above? That the special release can only occur in that new timeframe?

 

[aus_flyer]

maybe that explains the ‘7 days’ rule mentioned above? That the special release can only occur in that new timeframe?

Unfortunately yes, that seems to be the new rule.

 

[Luke B]

I was lucky enough to use all four last year
But this year can't get a crack at anything anywhere
Too hard
I am interested to see the reply to Luke B

What a joke.

"Dear Luke,

Thank you for reaching out and for sharing your feedback regarding our Platinum Plus Benefits.

We truly value your loyalty as a Platinum Plus member, and we sincerely apologise for the disappointment and frustration you’ve experienced regarding your membership benefits.

We understand how important the advertised benefits are, particularly the expectation of access to an Australian-based VIP phone service. We regret that your recent experience did not align with what you anticipated, and we recognise how this change may have impacted your confidence in the program.

Please be assured that your concerns have been taken seriously. We will be forwarding your feedback to the relevant team for their review, so they can assess the current experience and consider improvements moving forward. Member feedback such as yours plays an important role in helping us enhance our services and ensure we are meeting expectations.

Once again, we sincerely apologise for the inconvenience and disappointment caused. We appreciate you taking the time to bring this to our attention and for your continued support.

Kind regards,"

 

[trisreed]

What a joke.

Last time I complained to Virgin I told them not to bother replying if they were just going to send me something AI generated, after previously getting something as wishy washy as this. They never replied. Nothing's changed, its seems.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

What a joke.

"Dear Luke,

Thank you for reaching out and for sharing your feedback regarding our Platinum Plus Benefits.

We truly value your loyalty as a Platinum Plus member, and we sincerely apologise for the disappointment and frustration you’ve experienced regarding your membership benefits.

We understand how important the advertised benefits are, particularly the expectation of access to an Australian-based VIP phone service. We regret that your recent experience did not align with what you anticipated, and we recognise how this change may have impacted your confidence in the program.

Please be assured that your concerns have been taken seriously. We will be forwarding your feedback to the relevant team for their review, so they can assess the current experience and consider improvements moving forward. Member feedback such as yours plays an important role in helping us enhance our services and ensure we are meeting expectations.

Once again, we sincerely apologise for the inconvenience and disappointment caused. We appreciate you taking the time to bring this to our attention and for your continued support.

Kind regards,"

The main problem with this reply??

The line ‘we regret your recent experience did not align with what you anticipated’.

Which is designed to make it sound like your expectations were unreasonable.

What the line should say is ‘we regret your recent experience did not align with our advertised benefits’

 

[AirAdl]

What a joke.

"Dear Luke,

Thank you for reaching out and for sharing your feedback regarding our Platinum Plus Benefits.

We truly value your loyalty as a Platinum Plus member, and we sincerely apologise for the disappointment and frustration you’ve experienced regarding your membership benefits.

We understand how important the advertised benefits are, particularly the expectation of access to an Australian-based VIP phone service. We regret that your recent experience did not align with what you anticipated, and we recognise how this change may have impacted your confidence in the program.

Please be assured that your concerns have been taken seriously. We will be forwarding your feedback to the relevant team for their review, so they can assess the current experience and consider improvements moving forward. Member feedback such as yours plays an important role in helping us enhance our services and ensure we are meeting expectations.

Once again, we sincerely apologise for the inconvenience and disappointment caused. We appreciate you taking the time to bring this to our attention and for your continued support.

Kind regards,"

So if I advertise a benefit and don't deliver it I get smashed and end up on ACA
These guys do as they please without care

 

[Luke B]

I wonder if this is linked? Virgin Australia cuts corporate staff as costs spiral for airlines

 

[ols]

What on earth. So, the feedback so far mostly seems to be that the benefits of Platinum Plus aren't worth the asking price.

In response, VA has made it harder to use the complimentary upgrades and closed the Australia-based call centre it specifically advertised as a Platinum Plus benefit.

Am I missing something??

No

But VA is

 

[Scarlett]

I’ll likely end my year around 250SCs short of WP+.

Based on this thread I will not be spending any time or money seeking to close that gap. There is no value in it.

 

[MooTime]

What a joke.

"Dear Luke,

Thank you for reaching out and for sharing your feedback regarding our Platinum Plus Benefits.

We truly value your loyalty as a Platinum Plus member, and we sincerely apologise for the disappointment and frustration you’ve experienced regarding your membership benefits.

We understand how important the advertised benefits are, particularly the expectation of access to an Australian-based VIP phone service. We regret that your recent experience did not align with what you anticipated, and we recognise how this change may have impacted your confidence in the program.

Please be assured that your concerns have been taken seriously. We will be forwarding your feedback to the relevant team for their review, so they can assess the current experience and consider improvements moving forward. Member feedback such as yours plays an important role in helping us enhance our services and ensure we are meeting expectations.

Once again, we sincerely apologise for the inconvenience and disappointment caused. We appreciate you taking the time to bring this to our attention and for your continued support.

Kind regards,"

What a total garbage reply.
Says a whole lotta nothing, no responsibility, no clarity on changed to policy.

It's one thing being a mid tier hybrid whatever your want to call it, but pretending you are, watering down polices constantly is just shisen.

Not wonderful. Just remove Platinum Plus, really. Getting embarrassing.

 

[Luke B]

More watered down benefits... I know it was a publicly undocumented benefit but as of 1st June the premium priority call centre will no longer waive the reward seat change/cancellation fees.

Reply post my feedback.

"Dear Luke,

Thank you for your email response for providing your booking reference xx_xx_, and for your continued loyalty as a Platinum Plus member, we truly value your support.

We're sorry to hear how disappointed you are with the recent changes to fees for reward seat cancellations and modifications. We completely understand how important the previous waiver policy was in making your experience feel more flexible and rewarding, particularly when engaging with our Premium Guest Contact Centre. It’s certainly not our intention for this update to leave our most valued members feeling unappreciated.

Changes were introduced to align our policies more consistently across bookings and improve the sustainability of our rewards program. That said, we recognise that this has impacted the level of convenience and recognition you’ve come to expect, and we sincerely regret the frustration this has caused.

Please be assured that your feedback is incredibly important to us. We have documented your concerns and will ensure they are shared with the relevant teams for review, as we continuously look at ways to enhance the experience for our most loyal guests.

Thanks again for contacting us. We look forward to being able to welcome you back on board another flight soon."

 

[MooTime]

Reply post my feedback.

"Dear Luke,

Thank you for your email response for providing your booking reference xx_xx_, and for your continued loyalty as a Platinum Plus member, we truly value your support.

We're sorry to hear how disappointed you are with the recent changes to fees for reward seat cancellations and modifications. We completely understand how important the previous waiver policy was in making your experience feel more flexible and rewarding, particularly when engaging with our Premium Guest Contact Centre. It’s certainly not our intention for this update to leave our most valued members feeling unappreciated.

Changes were introduced to align our policies more consistently across bookings and improve the sustainability of our rewards program. That said, we recognise that this has impacted the level of convenience and recognition you’ve come to expect, and we sincerely regret the frustration this has caused.

Please be assured that your feedback is incredibly important to us. We have documented your concerns and will ensure they are shared with the relevant teams for review, as we continuously look at ways to enhance the experience for our most loyal guests.

Thanks again for contacting us. We look forward to being able to welcome you back on board another flight soon."

AI garbage..
Pathetic.

 

[Luke B]

Last time I complained to Virgin I told them not to bother replying if they were just going to send me something AI generated, after previously getting something as wishy washy as this. They never replied. Nothing's changed, its seems.

The main problem with this reply??

The line ‘we regret your recent experience did not align with what you anticipated’.

Which is designed to make it sound like your expectations were unreasonable.

What the line should say is ‘we regret your recent experience did not align with our advertised benefits’

I felt like something AI generated as a reply was quite fitting.

"Dear xx_,

Thank you for your reply.

However, simply acknowledging that my experience "did not align with what I anticipated" misses the core issue. This isn't a matter of managed expectations—it is a direct reduction in the tangible benefits advertised to your highest-tier members with no notification of change.

The Australian-based VIP phone service was a key pillar of the Platinum Plus program. It provided efficiency, local context, and a premium level of problem-solving that justified our continued loyalty and spend. Moving this service away from a dedicated, localized team directly erodes the value of the status we have earned.

Receiving another standard assurance that my feedback has been "forwarded to the relevant team" does very little to restore confidence.

When premium benefits are quietly degraded, it sends a clear message to your most loyal flyers that our support is being taken for granted.

While I understand that you are not personally responsible for the change, I don't expect a boilerplate apology; I expect the airline to honor the standards of premium service that it uses to market this tier in the first place. I strongly urge the leadership team to review the impact these service cuts are having on the ground.

Regards,"

Don't think it'll get anywhere. I would encourage anyone affected by the changes to give feedback though.

 

[Sequel]

continuously look at ways to enhance the experience for our most loyal guests.

Enhancement in the true QF meaning of the term.

As a loyal VA flyer they are definitely enhancing my travelling experience - as I can go back to sipping spirits in the Qantas Club waiting for my QF flight. And the CX lounge in Shanghai where I can't get into the SQ lounge.

 

[Luke B]

I felt like something AI generated as a reply was quite fitting.

"Dear xx_,

Thank you for your reply.

However, simply acknowledging that my experience "did not align with what I anticipated" misses the core issue. This isn't a matter of managed expectations—it is a direct reduction in the tangible benefits advertised to your highest-tier members with no notification of change.

The Australian-based VIP phone service was a key pillar of the Platinum Plus program. It provided efficiency, local context, and a premium level of problem-solving that justified our continued loyalty and spend. Moving this service away from a dedicated, localized team directly erodes the value of the status we have earned.

Receiving another standard assurance that my feedback has been "forwarded to the relevant team" does very little to restore confidence.

When premium benefits are quietly degraded, it sends a clear message to your most loyal flyers that our support is being taken for granted.

While I understand that you are not personally responsible for the change, I don't expect a boilerplate apology; I expect the airline to honor the standards of premium service that it uses to market this tier in the first place. I strongly urge the leadership team to review the impact these service cuts are having on the ground.

Regards,"

Don't think it'll get anywhere. I would encourage anyone affected by the changes to give feedback though.

A follow up reply received.

"Dear Luke,

Thank you for your candid and thoughtful follow-up.

We fully understand that your concern goes beyond expectations and relates to a perceived change in a clearly communicated Platinum Plus benefit. We recognise how important the Australian-based VIP phone service was in differentiating the tier and reinforcing the premium experience you’ve earned.

Please allow us to be transparent. Your feedback has already been formally raised with the relevant leadership and program teams for detailed review. This includes the specific concern around the accessibility and delivery of the VIP phone service. However, we do want to set the expectation that any review of program benefits is a considered process, and at this stage there is no confirmed outcome or guarantee of reinstatement. These matters require careful evaluation across multiple areas, and changes.

That said, feedback such as yours carries significant weight. The concerns you’ve articulated around value, consistency, and trust in the program are being clearly highlighted as part of that review. We absolutely acknowledge that maintaining confidence among our most loyal members is critical, and your comments directly contribute to those discussions.

We regret that we cannot provide an immediate resolution, but please be assured your voice has not been lost in a generic process, it has been specifically raised and documented as part of an ongoing review.

We sincerely appreciate your continued loyalty and the directness of your feedback, and we hope to restore your confidence as improvements are assessed.

Kind regards,"

 

[aus_flyer]

Absolutely another AI response

 

[esquire]

Absolutely another AI response

Wow that is a pretty poor form AI waffle, which would only infuriate me more!