Warning - Partner Complimentary Platinum 2nd Year FAIL!

[firefox]

So i thought i would warn everyone on my experience today.
I am a very very regular flyer, (3000+ status credits)..
Our review date was 9th september. Last year i gave the wife complimentary platinum..

Anyhow after the review period a month ago she dropped to gold, i called up to have her given Platinum again (got an insane amount of SC's to use for this.) FAIL!
They will only do it after a renewal group in this following year again? Means i have to earn nearly 2K this year before they will allow it.???? I could just pool the points and give it to her?

Now this would not be a problem, if i had taken my status credits after i renewed last year and started pooling them to her and the rest of each family member. If that was the case i would have 4 family members all on platinum via SC's.
Because i just let the points continue to me, i end up with a massive amount of SC's and no way to gift anyone.. Useless.

I have raised this now with multiple people in at Velocity. I was even told last year that the way the status platinium companion meant this would be fine, and i can use gift each year off my account. Well you can't..
So it's a lesson learnt on my end, hopefully others have not been caught by this

Lesson is forget about Companion Platinum status, family pooling is the ONLY way it will work.. If someone tells you otherwise they are wrong.

I used to spend a fortune with Virgin. Yet again it's another way to irritate their existing high profile clients, while just offering freebies out there.. The amount of qantas gifties still with platinum and they won't give my wife a companion status is crazy..!

 

[koonyaflyer]

Hi Firefox

I hear your pain, but i am surprised that this has happened this way. I earn similar levels of SC to you, and gifted my partner Platinum. I have just recently had my annual review, and am Platinum again. My husband's review date remains the 12 month anniversary of the "gifting" date of Platinum - which was Jun 2012, and his review date is Jun 2013.

Just to be clear, I gifted Gold in late March, and then upgraded to Platinum in June 2012.

It is a concern if the expiry dates are the same, as this means that you will experience the "gap" in Platinum level that you have seen.

 

[firefox]

thats exactly right. There is a gap now. There is no gap if i move the points around and family pool into the different accounts. But if you are gifting there is a gap.
My wife was the first or within the first few that got gifted Platinum..

The process they are using is simply stupid. If i sit there and manage my family poolings then i can have 4 different accounts all platinum and get all the benefits. Really i don't have time for this, so just having the wife as platinum is fine every year and just dump everything into 1 account. The stupid thing is the value is only in points.. We fly business class so not really an issue on anything else.

The entire thing is extremely backwards.. But anyhow i suppose if thats what they do to reward their frequent flyers, we are seeing a very common theme here..

 

[777]

Lesson is forget about Companion Platinum status, family pooling is the ONLY way it will work.. If someone tells you otherwise they are wrong.

Isn't the issues that you both have the same review date? I don't entirely understand how you managed that in the first place?

My wife has partner platinum but her review date is about 6 months off mine. I had always assumed that i need to requalify for partner platinum by earning it again BEFORE her review date came around which is effectively what you are saying isn't it? If anything i'm actually pleased you've confirmed that there's a soft landing for partner plat.

Out of curiosity, how did you both end up with the same date? Everything i'd understood to date made me think that was impossible?

[EDIT: Not necessarily the *same* date but clearly you made partner plat within 2-3 weeks of receiving platinum yourself?]

 

[firefox]

honestly i actually don't know how we both have the same review date. Her original date is may mine was november. However last year we both got changed to Aug 25.. I believe it's there process they used to set it all up.
Velocity actually looked into exactly that, and why someone in velocity changed the date. No one has given me an answer. Maybe a part of the default requirements under the companion offering.

I've always requalified for my status and way above needed for partner platinum every year without fail. It's always been before any dates set. I've been told unfortunately by Velocity today, this is how it is. The girl was nice enough to explain it, and very clearly state DO NOT use family pooling to one account under the assumption you will have partner platinium. It should be done via moving family pooling around only. In my eyes this is just silly.

I believe it's got alot to do with the fact they reset dates (as you mentioned) and then put their T&C's in place to better them. I just got caught.

I look at this as just another thing that Velocity/Virgin is doing to really p$&#*ss off their BIS Platinium's... I've been through alot with Virgin and i have to admit i am getting to the end...

 

[777]

Why don't you ask them to review her qualification date instead? Partner platinum should be good for 12 months from when it was earned and theoretically next to no one could have earned it at the launch of the platinum tier because all SCs up until that point were wiped and did not count towards PP. She either must have qualified for it at a later date OR you were gifted Partner platinum prematurely and it has come back to bite you now?

 

[firefox]

I asked that today. Phil Gunter directly offered my wife the partner status (due to my status in the airline). Unfortunately it's still going on behind the scenes, but it's not going anywhere.. Which means i just probably need to get a little grumpy. At the time of the acceptance i had more then enough SC's etc, so it was definitely not premature.

More so i know if i make a couple of particular phone calls to people i happen to know i can get it sorted. However i do see this as a "gotcha" for alot of people. And the work it actually works is just silly, it would make alot of sense to look at the points, and go yeah, lots of SC's we'll just grant it another year..Instead the process has broken on their end, which has caused difficulties on my end.

 

[777]

I asked that today. Phil Gunter directly offered my wife the partner status (due to my status in the airline). Unfortunately it's still going on behind the scenes, but it's not going anywhere.. Which means i just probably need to get a little grumpy. At the time of the acceptance i had more then enough SC's etc, so it was definitely not premature.

It was actually premature in that you got it before you would have otherwise -- i had a similar situation with my wife's partner gold (See long thread elsewhere about this) that was ultimately comped as a goodwill gesture. But her review date was reset as i ticked over to the partner plat threshold later that membership year.

Your problem is that you are an exception and the system is designed for the norm. You were comped PP at a time when technically no one should have earned it and now it has caught you out on the other side. I would put this in context and ask that the membership year be reviewed at the highest level you can in a nicely worded email. See how you go.

 

[tinkybelle]

I find when i call them about anything to do with SCs and companion status they are clueless and have to go and ask someone else
Im at 820 SC and plat and called to find out if I make someone gold and then they earn their own gold can they break away from me as otherwise what is the use of them earning Scs anyway.
I just spent 1/2 hr on the phone and came to the conclusion that i can nominate for 12 mths then nominate another 12 mths later
is that correct?

13.24 A Companion Gold Membership or Companion Platinum Membership is valid for a period of 12 months from the date of the upgrade to Companion Gold Membership or Companion Platinum Membership. At the conclusion of the 12 month period, if the Member has not been nominated for Companion Gold Membership or Companion Platinum Membership for a further 12 months, their Membership Level will be assessed on their achievement of the required number of Status Credits and Eligible Sectors flown in accordance with these Terms and Conditions. The Member will then be upgraded, maintained or downgraded to the level that they are qualified for or as otherwise determined by VRPL.

 

[Jama]

820 SC's is only enough to renew. You need to earn significantly more before you can give anyone status. So far you have 20 SC's towards companion status.