Virgin America Elevate - Should I Make the Switch to VX?

Looking for thoughtful opinions from VX fans.

I am a UA 1K person. I travel weekly from SFO to LAX (and back) and have frequent trips to ORD, IAD and JFK. I also hold a UA Mileage Plus Visa Card and regularly charge upwards of $50K annually. I tend to favor Hertz and Hilton family properties for car rental and hotels respectively.

It could be that I'm (1) completly frustrated with the "new" UA and the very poor merger integration, (2) looking for some variety in my traveling life, or (3) in a very bad mood because I've had to suffer through endless UA delays and cancellations this summer. Having said that, should I consider switching my loyalties to VX -- especially because it is revamping the Elevate program (which I don't know much about)?

Admittedly, I loved flying UA, but it is not the airline it use to be and the customer service is abysmal.

VX is San Francisco's hometown airline and meets most of my travel needs. And while they don't have as many daily flights between SFO/LAX as UA offers, they have enough to keep me happy.

I'd love to know what you think.

Go for it. If you are going to be flying, you may as well enjoy the experience.

Give it a try! As a former UA 1P, I decided to pick VX as my primary late last year. I have enjoyed the switch thus far. The announcement of the new Elevate tiers is icing on the cake for me. My main route is SAN-SFO. VX has become my first pick even though UA and WN offer more frequencies. VX serves all of your destinations out of LAX/SFO. Plus, DCA service is starting in the coming days. If you select points and miles with Hilton stays you earn 250 Elevate points per stay. Around $4,000 cash spend on VX would be good for Silver status. You can expect a few upgrades to Main Cabin Select as well with Silver/Gold.
Hope this helps :).

Make the switch and don't look back!

I'm in Philly now after having to extend my travel twice this week. Bought 1st and each time I needed to stay longer, I was able to select a confirmed seat in first with no fears of one not being available with 72 hours. Try that on UA!

VX gets me where I need to go and their in flight services are great! I look forward to my returning flight back to SFO. There are only 3 people booked in first still. Let's see if anyone upgrades. The flight over had only 4! Wow!

I made my first VX reservation today. PHL to LAX in Main Cabin Select. The cost was about $100 less RT than US First; and amenities seemed equal. The switch is in process for me, hopefully it will be a good one!

Based on your routing you could swing it. Just some things to consider:

Due to limited routes, if something goes wrong, they don't have the ability to really get you there through some obscure routing if you really need to be somewhere. No biggie if your corp travel can do this for you once VX has a problem.

Seat turnover is minimal. Maybe that changes with the new elite upgrades, but traditionally checking for a better seat in advance isn't getting you anywhere other than your own.

SFO terminal for VX is excellent and quick in/out. Same for IAD. VX at LAX is crappy and you have to hang in the horseshoe to hear any announcements. When the SFO delays pile up, the horseshoe packs out...

I also seem to think the VX boarding is pretty civilized, seems like the bigger boys, especially AA, is borderline chaos no matter your status.

I also seem to think the VX boarding is pretty civilized, seems like the bigger boys, especially AA, is borderline chaos no matter your status.

I agree. Holding Lifetime Gold on AA now seems to be overrated, specially when boarding. VX boarding does seem more civilized.

S/F
-John

Your profile / footprint sounds a lot like me and I think you should give VX a try. I've been very happy with a mix of VX for long-haul and WN/VX for the short-haul flights within CA. For me, the deal was sealed with the new elite program -- no more United for me.

If I were someone who did a lot of domestic travel on the VX network and where the daily travel experience was more important than having a great redemption program, I'd probably fly VX most of the time.

I don't see how I'd personally end up with status on VX given my current travel patterns. I suppose it isn't that difficult if you want to pay for it with a spending run*, because all it takes is a few expensive tickets to hit silver status.

*A new term of art ;)

If I were someone who did a lot of domestic travel on the VX network and where the daily travel experience was more important than having a great redemption program, I'd probably fly VX most of the time.

I don't see how I'd personally end up with status on VX given my current travel patterns. I suppose it isn't that difficult if you want to pay for it with a spending run*, because all it takes is a few expensive tickets to hit silver status.

*A new term of art ;)

As a regular VX flyer based in DC, I fully agree with what you are saying. VX customers on the west coast will have greater opportunities to get status because of VX's route network, with much more routes from hubs. It's a different scenario for us VX flyers based at the spokes. :eek: