malamayi

I'm 5 status points short of making silver. My review date is 30th June and because of work commitments that are keeping me grounded for the next fortnight, I'm unable to fit in an extra flight. Is there any chance that I could get awarded Silver for being so close or is that a definite no no? Annoyingly, I have several flights booked in early July!

thadocta

No chance if getting there, a huge chance if retaining it.

I would be doing a status run, although Silver doesn't offer much, so you would need to weigh up the cost versus the benefits.

Dave

bugayev

You could ring and ask, they can sometimes be lenient.

orac

Not in my experience. They 'can' be flexible once you are there, but normally not before

bugayev

Depends - if you have travel booked within 7 days of your anniversary, you could well be able to negotiate AFTER the anniversary has clicked over. There is zero chance of asking them to get the status without having flown the segments.

malamayi

Thanks for your replies.
I've just realized I'm also 160 points short of my next status on Velocity, that also expires on 30th June. I have one free day between now and 30th June to do a status run, but I will need to fly Virgin one way and Qantas the other to get the required status credits for both airlines
I'm relatively new to frequent flying and would appreciate any ideas on the least expensive way of doing this in as little time as possible. I can choose the day between now and 30th June so long as its not Tues, Wed or Sun.
I wouldn't normally bother as I realize the benefits of the next tier are limited, but I think I may be flying a fair bit this next year or so and feel any benefits are better than none! I'm based in Brisbane

WillR

Where would you be flying from?

malamayi

I'll be flying from Brisbane, I've looked at a few options but am thinking there are much more experienced fliers here who could give me a few ideas!
Would really appreciate your advice.

malamayi

My status has been reviewed by both Qantas and Virgin ( review date for both being 30th June) and interestingly, Virgin have given me silver status despite being 160 points short.
Qantas were never put to the test as I managed one more business flight with them 2 days ago.
So it would seem that Virgin will award the next status if you're close.

number_6

Given that DJ is considering relaunching the brand with a new business class added, it isn't too surprising that they would want to compile a marketing list (aka FF status members). Never forget that FF plans are primarily for the airlines' benefit (even with all the gaming that happens on FT) and both a very succesful marketing product and also the most profitable revenue product that airlines have (except for the few that have sold off their FF plans, often for more money than that airline's capitalization -- scary).

DownUnderFlyer

When QF was planning to go private, the valuation of QFF was higher than that of the QF flying part. A bit OT, but do you have information on the DJ re-launch? There is a small thread in the forum but not too much info.

VH-RMD

There was a brief mention in the Fin Rev today, but I have seen nothing else.

number_6

No inside info, but quotes from some interview with Borghetti which struck me as going to similar setup as Virgin America has (and which is quite successful there). That is F seating of 140 cm pitch (though they don't call it F) and 2 kinds of Y seats, 90 cm and 80 cm pitch. The 90cm is sold with changable fares (ie. aimed at corporate travel) and 80cm is the cheap fares. Something like UA Y+ but based on fare paid rather than FF status. Also DJ will realign their 3 brands so that the names match (Pacific Blue, Virgin Blue and V. Australia -- maybe all will become V. Australia, I think I've seen some DL codeshares on DJ listed as "V. Australia" on the DL web site). To me the biggest change is going to a full-fledged domestic J service with big seats (a big investment so DJ must be desperate, needing to better compete with QF and distinguish from Tiger). I think QF has corporate business travel locked up; oh, DJ is also relaunching their FF plan, maybe aligned with the Virgin America plan.

m0hamed

DJ were desperate to win the Australian Government contract, but there was no way Parliamentarians, Parliamentary Secretaries etc. were going to give up CL status, real J class in favour of DJ's Y+ service.

deeruck

Of course, it's actually worse than that. There's a 738 flying around under the 'Polynesian Blue' brand also.