Gilt City Virgin America Deal

Hey guys,

Didn't see this posted yet, but Gilt City is offering a great deal for VX flight packages in Main Cabin Select:

http://www.giltcity.com/city/collect.../virginamerica

Short Haul
3 RT flights for $437
5 RT flights for $673
10 RT flights for $1270

Med Haul
3 RT flights for $964
5 RT flights for $1521
10 RT flights for $2870

Long Haul
3 RT flights for $1205
5 RT flights for $1900
10 RT flights for $3585 ($358 Each to California or Vegas!)

I've been looking at a flight from JFK-SAN the 3rd weekend of October, and a Main Cabin select seat is already going for $591 one way. If you buy the longer hauls you can use them for short and med haul as well (i.e. SFO-SEA). All purchases also get Elevate Pts at 5 pts/$)

FAQ:
Do I need to use all the codes myself?
No. Codes can be shared with friends and family.

On which routes can I redeem my codes?
Long haul flight codes can be used toward any long, medium or short haul flight. Medium haul flight codes can be used toward any medium or short haul flight. Short haul flight codes can only be used toward short haul flights. Codes can be used on routes with connecting flights (ie. San Diego to Seattle), but they cannot be used towards multi-city itineraries.

Do I need to select all of my travel dates now?
No. You can plan trips at your leisure. Please note the following date restrictions: This offer is valid only for nonstop or connecting travel; offer is not valid for any multi-city itineraries. Travel must occur between August 15, 2011 and June 15, 2012. Blackout dates in 2011 are: September 2; September 5; November 25, 26, 27, and 28; December 16, 17, 23, 24, 26, and 30. Blackout dates in 2012 are: January 2; February 17 and 20; and May 28


If you don't have a giltcity account already, would appreciate a referral
http://www.giltcity.com/invite/robertshen

Great deal IF there is last seat availability...I can't tell from reading the information if its restricted to certain fare classes in Main Cabin Select.

It says you need to book into W or O inventory, which based upon another thread I found here is the MCS inventory.

I bought a three-fer long-haul package.

Does the 20% off first Gilt City purchase discount also apply if you have never used the service before?

I don't think the 20% applies, the fine print says "for purchases up to $250" and it won't show in my cart.

I bought a five pack and I'm a little bummed right now. You can't pick your seat, so it's entirely possible (and very likely given the number of people who upgrade to MCS) you'll be stuck in a middle seat.

Agreed, if this is in fact a rule attached to the deal it should have been stated up front. I sent an email to them to clarify if this is an oversight or an intentional restriction - I'll post when I hear back.

TENTATIVE UPDATE - Gilt City reports that this is unintentional - "... the system that allows this functionality is currently down. Virgin America is looking into it. You may contact their call center for seat assignments."

Was very tempted to jump on this though if you really can't pick your seat that is sort of a deal break in my mind. Especially for the long haul options.

In for a short-haul 10 pack.

20% off code does work (max discount $50). If it doesn't show up in your cart, call Gilt City. They will manually add the coupon to your account.

Okay, so basically if you want to go NYC-California or Mexico and you think $400 is a fair price RT (for premium economy), this is a good deal. Otherwise, no. That's the deal in a nutshell.

Also, free alcohol, so the big drinkers are the big winners.

Of course, the deal also includes the rest of the MCS perks like a free bag, priority boarding (guaranteed overhead space), priority security line (or at least this used to be the case at SFO) and free food, which I think is fairly significant since, IMHO, Virgin has some really great food.

Also, $400 is the average price for the 3 pack, but it decreases $20 per ride with the 5 pack.

Looks like it is only valid for 1 guest per itinerary:

Promo code may only be used for bookings made on virginamerica.com and is only valid on itineraries of 1 guest only.
Too bad you can't buy 5 and the entire family flies together!

Yes, you could -- if there is enough seats and separate PNRs.

Does not include taxes -- this is important when comparing fares (maybe a bit of advantage if you book in the next month before most taxes are re-authorized).

Rasheed

Thanks Raseehd, I could buy a 5-pack and book 5 different seats on the same itinerary?

Now that is a good deal!

Yup, I bought a 10 pack and got 10 different codes. I just tried a dummy booking - enter the code on the front page, select flight dates, and it shows MCS seats as $0.