Change Fees Going UP!
Nov 20, 2009 | 10:10 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: May 2009
Posts: 460
Change Fees Going UP!
Looks like, according to their website, Virgin is upping their change fees effective today. Unless you buy a refundable fare, Main Cabin Select or First Class ticket, it's going from $50 to $75 on their website and from $75 to $100 if you have one of their reps do it.
The charge to cancel a points booking went from $50 to $75.
The charge to cancel a points booking went from $50 to $75.
Nov 22, 2009 | 1:21 am
#2
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: SEA, but up and down the coast a lot
Programs: Oceanic Airlines Gold Elite
Posts: 21,298
Junk fees going up- guess they have to make up the low fares somehow (I could have sworn that at one point, the fees were $75). Most of my fares are low enough that I guess I'd just throw away the fare.
The part where you have to pay a $75 fee to redeposit points from an F fare purchased with Elevate points is pretty
... especially since you'd have to be flying a LOT on VX to have enough points to get a VX F fare in the space 18 months, so it strikes me as pretty customer-hostile, but hey, gotta make money somehow, and nickeling and diming for fees is a great way to do that.
The part where you have to pay a $75 fee to redeposit points from an F fare purchased with Elevate points is pretty
... especially since you'd have to be flying a LOT on VX to have enough points to get a VX F fare in the space 18 months, so it strikes me as pretty customer-hostile, but hey, gotta make money somehow, and nickeling and diming for fees is a great way to do that.
Nov 25, 2009 | 12:31 pm
#3
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: SEA, SoCal
Programs: AS 75K, DL Plat, AA, WN, Hertz, HHonors, Marriott
Posts: 1,306
Junk fees going up- guess they have to make up the low fares somehow (I could have sworn that at one point, the fees were $75). Most of my fares are low enough that I guess I'd just throw away the fare.
The part where you have to pay a $75 fee to redeposit points from an F fare purchased with Elevate points is pretty... especially since you'd have to be flying a LOT on VX to have enough points to get a VX F fare in the space 18 months, so it strikes me as pretty customer-hostile, but hey, gotta make money somehow, and nickeling and diming for fees is a great way to do that.
The part where you have to pay a $75 fee to redeposit points from an F fare purchased with Elevate points is pretty
... especially since you'd have to be flying a LOT on VX to have enough points to get a VX F fare in the space 18 months, so it strikes me as pretty customer-hostile, but hey, gotta make money somehow, and nickeling and diming for fees is a great way to do that.It's too bad, I really like the decidedly upscale VX product, but the loyalty program was already limited enough and I think it's a mistake to further devalue it by adding additional complications and restrictions. It seems like there's something dishonest about selling me a changeable/refundable ticket with points that essentially equate to cash value, and then finding a way to sneak in a fee if I want to make a change.
Nov 25, 2009 | 2:54 pm
#5
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: SEA, SoCal
Programs: AS 75K, DL Plat, AA, WN, Hertz, HHonors, Marriott
Posts: 1,306
Reservations made with Elevate Points:
If a change is requested to reservations made utilizing points from a guests Elevate account, the flight must be cancelled and rebooked as changes are not permitted. For reservations made on or prior to November 19, 2009, a $50 redeposit fee will be assessed for Main Cabin and Instant Upgrade to Main Cabin Select guests. For reservations made on or after November 20, 2009, a $75 redeposit fee will be assessed for all cancellations for tickets using Elevate points, regardless of class of service.