Virgin Flyer 2-For-1

[JKjnr]

I know I have not posted a lot here but my wife and I are self funded non-company travelers. Me Plat, she Gold (about to go Plat) and we spend a lot of $$ at Virgin for a couple of leisure travelers who have high expectations (but spend for it) and have decided to back Virgin the last 2years. Virgin - you are damaging your reputation and if you dont fix this mess very soon, well, it will hurt your bottom line. Simple.

Tried to book a 241 last night. 1 hour 43 mins later - nothing. The useless staff in Asia knew how Virgin works at the most rudimentary level. I could train my 12 year old son better in one day. Was told utterly conflicting information by 3 staff. eg: cant book above flexi (wrong); it is 45 SC oneway to CNS in Flexi (wrong); it is 30 SC oneway in J to CNS (wrong); unbelievably they even got confused between SC and FF points. Hung up on 3 times.Transferred to International. These terrible terrible customer service staff were guessing answers - nothing more.


I appreciate this is a transformative change of IT system. But those useless zero value fools in Asia are only making it all worse. I also recognize they are paid a cup of coffee a day for wasting our time - but a waste of my time is worth a lot more than a cup of coffee Virgin. Romance - poo. Divorce is in the air.

 

[bcworld]

That's right, and I probably won't for long. 2for1 sounds great but what good is a 2for1 that will soon actually be just a discount, due to compulsory fees, and will only get you to two places because they choose to put a stop I don't want everywhere else, meaning I need to use four of them to get back. I certainly wouldn't recommend it any longer.

Well I'd imagine for the vast majority of customers it will still save them well in excess of the $129 annual fee. That's a simple enough scenario for me.

 

[Deleted member 29185]

Well I'd imagine for the vast majority of customers it will still save them well in excess of the $129 annual fee. That's a simple enough scenario for me.

Given I just spent 2 hours on hold, cut off twice, transported around the world a few times and achieved nothing, I can say my wasted afternoon is worth a heap more than $129. Also, without the benefit of actually finding out costs since the migration, I'm suspecting 4 bogus 241s (discount flights as Jama put it) will not be worth "well in excess" of $129. Some may be, but many won't.

Last night, the figure I was quoted for OOL-CBRxMEL rtn 241 was $449.76 in mid March, which used the entire 241 allocation of 4 flights for 1 card for a year. Given that today when I checked (the fares that I think most likely represent something they may sell) of $139 OOL-CBRxSYD and $101 CBR-OOL, excluding the CC fee payable on both, it would appear that the saving was circa $50. The card also generates points but at only 1 point/$ capped at $1500, it's far from a great windfall!

I'm prepared to see out this mess and see what happens but both myself and my wife have these cards primarily for the 241. If the 241 looses value (as it appears to have), the cards will go in favour of something better. It also depends on what they do with pricing of point upgrades. Too many unknowns just now, but I'm certainly leaning Jamas way.

 

[medhead]

It just occurred to me, with the complaints about the call centre. Maybe they hired on a heap of temporary call centre staff to cover the change over period. Perhaps that's why they are mostly cough at the moment.

 

[jetlagger]

It just occurred to me, with the complaints about the call centre. Maybe they hired on a heap of temporary call centre staff to cover the change over period. Perhaps that's why they are mostly cough at the moment.

Had the same experience yesterday.. poor sound quality & very inexperienced call centre staff with a simple question, unsure.. please wait ... on hold.. then 'cut off".
I mean Phonetic Alphabet should be a standard pre req.??
BPO can work, but please ever choose the best one. :evil:

 

[bcworld]

I'm suspecting 4 bogus 241s (discount flights as Jama put it) will not be worth "well in excess" of $129. Some may be, but many won't.

Well exactly, it depends how you use it. You said before you've previously been allowed to book sale or happy hour fares using your 2-4-1. That might seem like a coup, but to me it's a waste of 2-4-1s. I tend to use mine for flights that would otherwise seem expensive. Fri-Sun weekends at shortish notice. Public holidays etc. Eg MEL-OOL-MEL around Melbourne Cup was c. $450-500 months out last year. As you know, others book flexis for the SCs and the potential to upgrade to J. It totally depends how much accompanied travel you do as to whether you get value from this. And I think this discussion needs to be separated out from the current terrible service that Virgin and the GCC is providing...these are 2 different issues.

 

[bcworld]

My Velocity account this morning says:

Virgin Credit Card

-

Temporary unavailable

 

[Fruitcake]

My 2-for-1s are now listed as "Temporary unavailable."

 

[777]

Mine were unavailable but are now available again.

 

[dmw144]

mine are still unavailable - Virgin have the opportunity to annoy significantly a lot of their customers by fiddling with the benefits of this card - the major reason i fly with them rather than Qantas is because it is easier to maintain status for self funded flying with the 2-4-1 card (buying business class seats) and family pooling. If they make it so that I don't want to use the card/family pooling option then I'm straight back to Qantas.

 

[carwashhair]

Virgin have the opportunity to annoy significantly a lot of their customers by fiddling with the benefits of this card - the major reason i fly with them rather than Qantas is because it is easier to maintain status for self funded flying with the 2-4-1 card (buying business class seats) and family pooling. If they make it so that I don't want to use the card/family pooling option then I'm straight back to Qantas.

My situation to a T.

 

[hobo]

Well I'd imagine for the vast majority of customers it will still save them well in excess of the $129 annual fee. That's a simple enough scenario for me.

Given you can't book saver fares, I doubt it.

 

[bcworld]

Given you can't book saver fares, I doubt it.

Since when can't you book saver fares?

 

[nickykim]

The terms and conditions (as at today) are clear. The offer is priced as 50% off the price of each ticket - no pay for one get another free. Unless the terms and conditions change charging more than that price is clearly incorrect.

 

[oz_mark]

The terms and conditions (as at today) are clear. The offer is priced as 50% off the price of each ticket - no pay for one get another free. Unless the terms and conditions change charging more than that price is clearly incorrect.

They actually say 50 % off the fare. I guess they are grappling with what is meant by the fare.

Having said that, they do describe it as buy one get one free. Free means free to me, and the Accc has a known position on what free means.

 

[Rallo]

I'm prepared to see out this mess and see what happens but both myself and my wife have these cards primarily for the 241. If the 241 looses value (as it appears to have), the cards will go in favour of something better. It also depends on what they do with pricing of point upgrades. Too many unknowns just now, but I'm certainly leaning Jamas way.[/QUOTE]

Of the same opinion I recently upgraded from supplementary card holder as the 241 was great value for a family of four , if the value is depreciated I may as well ditch the cards save on the annual fee and and buy flexible fares on Jetstar.
I fear that the 241 will eventually be another enhancement by Virgin and maybe sending customers back to the opposition .

 

[Fruitcake]

I fear that the 241 will eventually be another enhancement by Virgin and maybe sending customers back to the opposition .

The competition being American Express, I presume?

 

[Rallo]

On reflection credit card companies and airlines , the cards are of decreasing value and less appeal and less bums on seats for Virgin although I would assume majority of the 241 card holders are infrequent flyers like myself.

 

[CeeJayOz]

They actually say 50 % off the fare. I guess they are grappling with what is meant by the fare.

Having said that, they do describe it as buy one get one free. Free means free to me, and the Accc has a known position on what free means.

Does it depend on which T&C you look at? This is what I see:

* The offer is valid for two Guests only and both Guests must be booked and travelling together, and the Primary Cardholder must be one of the guests travelling. Offer provides 50% off Domestic Virgin Australia flights for you and a friend for up to 4 segments a year in saver, flexi and premium fare classes (excludes sale fares). The Virgin Australia Guest Contact Centre will advise if there is availability for the dates you wish to travel. Credit card payment fees apply to both Guests and are not discounted. Checked baggage charges apply to some fare types. New Virgin Australia Guest Contact Centre bookings made at least 21 days in advance only. Payment with Virgin Flyer Credit Card and/or Virgin Australia vouchers required. Seats must be booked in the same fare class and are subject to availability which may be limited at peak times such as weekends, Christmas or School Holidays. Please read for further Terms & Conditions.

That definitely says 'flights', not 'fares'. The only thing it says is not covered is credit card fees, and checked baggage if applicable.

 

[medhead]

Ok so, I linked the full 241 conditions earlier, see below. They actually say both free flight and 50% off.

Clause 3: "A maximum of four complimentary sectors (not four flight bookings) are available per year per credit card account"

Clause 9: "The offer is valid for two guests only and both guests must be booked and travelling together. The offer will provide a 50% discount on each guest's fare price at the date of booking."

241 terms and conditions are here. Clearly still say the second seat is free.

http://virginmoney.com.au/downloads/credit-cards/Buy_one_seat_get_one_free_Terms_and_Conditions.pdf