Virgin money 2 for 1 flights

[hroebuck79]

I'm sure this question has already been asked, but I can't find the answer...so here goes:

I have a Virgin High Flyer Credit Card, and am a Velocity Frequent Flyer. I am almost on Silver status (will probably hit that in the next few weeks)..but in the meantime, I need to book some flights from Hamilton Island to Sydney.

I am not able to buy any seats with my points - all 'sold out'...so that is not an option.
But I do have 4 complimentary tickets to use.

Now I note that it's a BOGOF offer, but I am travelling with my son, and then two other adults. So, If I buy myself and my son a ticket, am I eligible to get two free tickets??

Can anyone advise?

Thanks

 

[Deewhy]

You're entitled to a complimentary flight 4 times a year, but the cardholder has to purchase and be one of the flyers each time. So you can only give one of your family a ticket for each flight you accompany them on. Good thing is that both flights earn full status credits.

 

[leemin]

Worth noting too that IME you can only book yours and the complementary during the transaction. Any other tickets (i.e. the other two adults in your case) have to be booked seperately. Then you need to call up and get them 'linked'. Supposedly this will get all pax seated together, just not on the same itinerary..

As Deewhy said, you need to be travelling for each use of the complementary ticket. So for your trip you will buy yourself a return ticket, get a complementary return for your son, then have to (seperately) purchase two more return tickets in full.

After all that, you'll still be left with 2 of your 4 "free" flights.

 

[Saab34]

Anyone know if you can use this offer to get a empty seat next to you? Would you earn SC considering there is nobody in it ( I am guessing it would be under my name?)

 

[smit0847]

Anyone know if you can use this offer to get a empty seat next to you? Would you earn SC considering there is nobody in it ( I am guessing it would be under my name?)

Hmmmm.... never thought of that....

That would essentially be a double status credits offer and given you can book any fare class it could be quite a lucrative one!

I'd be interested to know the answer to this!

 

[medhead]

Anyone know if you can use this offer to get a empty seat next to you? Would you earn SC considering there is nobody in it ( I am guessing it would be under my name?)

That is possible depending on who you talk to and their interpretation of the conditions. Both seats booked in one name. I'm not sure of the outcome from flying this.


Sent from the Throne

 

[smit0847]

That is possible depending on who you talk to and their interpretation of the conditions. Both seats booked in one name. I'm not sure of the outcome from flying this.


Sent from the Throne

Surely you can book a full-fare 'comfort seat' normally (i.e. if you are a customer of size) and you would get the SCs and points for both seats (as you had paid for both seats). I can't see why a CC offer would be any different.

I may be in a similar situation with this myself - both my partner and I have Flyer credit cards but we probably won't travel on 8 flights together in the next 12 months so I may try this!

 

[medhead]

Surely you can book a full-fare 'comfort seat' normally (i.e. if you are a customer of size) and you would get the SCs and points for both seats (as you had paid for both seats). I can't see why a CC offer would be any different.

I may be in a similar situation with this myself - both my partner and I have Flyer credit cards but we probably won't travel on 8 flights together in the next 12 months so I may try this!

The earning is fine, in theory, I expect that to work. But i like to wait until the fat lady sings, so to speak, before being definitive. The difficulty experienced was one interpretation from the standard call centre that said the offer was for 2 people travelling together only. However, they couldn't quote a particular condition number that said a comfort seat was not allowed. The platinum call centre also had no qualms about doing it.


Sent from the Throne

 

[toowongman]

Surely you can book a full-fare 'comfort seat' normally (i.e. if you are a customer of size) and you would get the SCs and points for both seats (as you had paid for both seats).

Sure can. When ms. t and myself fly together domestically, she prefers we get three seats to ourselves. So we book one seat each for Mr Toowongman, Ms Toowongman and "Mr Spare Seat". After the SCs/points have been posted for the two of us, I email Velocity with the flight details and they manually add the SCs/points from Mr Seat's travel to my account.

 

[Matthew Herbert]

Sure can. When ms. t and myself fly together domestically, she prefers we get three seats to ourselves. So we book one seat each for Mr Toowongman, Ms Toowongman and "Mr Spare Seat". After the SCs/points have been posted for the two of us, I email Velocity with the flight details and they manually add the SCs/points from Mr Seat's travel to my account.

Hi There,
I don't mean to ask a stupid question but I'd definitely like to confirm the process and that Virgin allow it to happen. If I'm travelling solo do I make it clear when I'm booking that the second seat will be unoccupied or do I book it under, say, my partner's name?
Whichever way I go, they still give you the full status credits for the flight? Either by crediting them to you for an unoccupied seat or crediting them to my partner who was then a "no show" (and we then use family pooling).
Cheers!

 

[toowongman]

Hi There,
I don't mean to ask a stupid question but I'd definitely like to confirm the process and that Virgin allow it to happen. If I'm travelling solo do I make it clear when I'm booking that the second seat will be unoccupied or do I book it under, say, my partner's name?
Whichever way I go, they still give you the full status credits for the flight? Either by crediting them to you for an unoccupied seat or crediting them to my partner who was then a "no show" (and we then use family pooling).
Cheers!

I should qualify now that when we book the 3 seats that we pay for all 3 and are not using a 2-for-1 or any other promotional offer. With that in mind, if you're travelling solo and want two seats, you need to [deleted a whole bunch of advice, which apparently is incorrect]...

 

[Saab34]

Excellent. This will work well on MEL/SYD-PER with the prices now as low as $120-150. 80 SC for a return trip, Gold here I come!

Or there is the ever trusty MEL-OOL which gains 15 SCs, or 60 SC return under this deal for sub $200.

 

[medhead]

The spare seat should be booked in your own name not 'Mr spare seat'. My booking has my name twice in the booking. You simply ask to book an extra seat for space or comfort. There is absolutely no need to book the second seat in a fictional name. In fact, it could be taken as fraud to make up fictional people who then appear on the manifest but aren't on the flight. There is also the fact that you will have to pay the taxes for 'Mr Seat' when technically they aren't payable on the second seat.

If using the 2 for 1 you need to ask them to leave your FF number off the second person in the booking because the computer will then take 2 of the free flights. You just claim the points on the second seat after the flight.


Sent from the Throne

 

[toowongman]

The spare seat should be booked in your own name not 'Mr spare seat'. My booking has my name twice in the booking. You simply ask to book an extra seat for space or comfort. There is absolutely no need to book the second seat in a fictional name. In fact, it could be taken as fraud to make up fictional people who then appear on the manifest but aren't on the flight. There is also the fact that you will have to pay the taxes for 'Mr Seat' when technically they aren't payable on the second seat.

Sent from the Throne

Interesting, we've been doing this for almost twelve months and not been pulled up on it at all. Will investigate. Thanks.

 

[ozbeachbabe]

I should qualify now that when we book the 3 seats that we pay for all 3 and are not using a 2-for-1 or any other promotional offer. With that in mind, if you're travelling solo and want two seats, you need to book the spare seat as "Mr Spare Seat" and let them know at check-in and again when boarding that it's a comfort seat.

Then the seat is classified as "occupied" and the invisible passenger has "boarded". (One time the FA came down and asked if "Mr Seat" was having a good flight Great sense of humour). Then after our SCs are credited I email Velocity, give them the flight details, my details, and ask for the SCs and points to be credited to my account. Takes a week or so as usual.

However if you just book two seats and one is a no-show, you don't get SC nor points for that seat and it could be offered to a standby passenger, etc.

I don't think that's the correct way to go about it as you generally have to call up res to correctly make an extra seat booking like you would in the case where the extra seat is for an assistance dog. If you book the extra seat as another passenger the pax count will be out.

The other thing that could happen is that if 'Mr Spare seat' isn't a real passenger he can't be checked in as such and you thereby run the risk of 'him' being a no-show so not only do your forfeit the airfare but you won't earn status credits or points and you may end up with a standby passenger sitting next to you in the 'spare' seat.

 

[Saab34]

Has anyone had any recent luck with this? Most agents say that it needs to be two pax on the one PNR and wont make it as a blocked 2nd seat.

Or is it a matter of just trying until the agent does it (bit like the JQ price beat being lower than taxes, some do it some wont), I am guessing that its actually possible going off the above posts.

 

[medhead]

Has anyone had any recent luck with this? Most agents say that it needs to be two pax on the one PNR and wont make it as a blocked 2nd seat.

Or is it a matter of just trying until the agent does it (bit like the JQ price beat being lower than taxes, some do it some wont), I am guessing that its actually possible going off the above posts.

I've only had success with the platinum call centre. The ordinary one didn't want to know. Said it was only for 2 people. I asked multiple times for them to state the condition that said both people couldn't be me. A platinum call centre person also promised to put a note in my account to say it was allowed. Ordinary call centre refused to acknowledge my request for them to read the account notes.

 

[Saab34]

Yes I have probably spoken to 10 different people in the ordinary call centre, when I state that its possible to be done via other phone lines, they still just wont budge.

Will try them tomorrow. I dont believe there is a direct number for the plat line so I will try and get "transferred" through to them if thats even possible, being a silver and all.

 

[medhead]

Yes I have probably spoken to 10 different people in the ordinary call centre, when I state that its possible to be done via other phone lines, they still just wont budge.

Will try them tomorrow. I dont believe there is a direct number for the plat line so I will try and get "transferred" through to them if thats even possible, being a silver and all.

I think they direct the call based on the member number entered. You could try going through to make a business booking.