ozstamps

All airline programs work on the same basis. 3 to 5 member tiers, with more and more bennies as you spend money, fly more of the airline, and work up the totem pole.

It is aspirational, and very smart, and gets folks flying you, and not Qantas hopefully, and keeps Mr Borghetti and the board smiling.

Having been a Velocity Platinum for several years, and a year as Gold in the middle, I can report first hand there is sadly little real difference I noticed, and Velocity would be well advised to add a few little juicy morsels to top tier, to keep luring QF flyers across. AND lower tiers to fly more to get there.

The Velocity Management seem to have been asleep at the wheel in recent years, and that is not smart.

Many Gold members ask me if it is worth them moving flights from QF to Virgo in order to chase Platinum and I really have to say “no not really – there are really only minimal benefits”

Both Gold and Platinums get lounge access, equal priority check-in and boarding, and early row seating choice in advance, so no differential there really.

I was a United 1K top level flyer for over a decade, and they did clever little things that Velocity might like to think about.

Each 1K renewal kit contained 10 or 20 undated on board free drink chits. Very popular, and always used up, and the 3 or 4 hours flights Virgin network has here, outside the free beverage 5 to 7pm zone or whenever it is, makes good sense to offer Platinums. Very little real cost, and a definite plus to Platinum membership.

American Airlines are flying here direct from Xmas, and all AA Top Elites get 8 x VIP upgrade Certs a year they can confirm in advance on any buyable fare bucket.

UA gives 1Ks 6 x Systemwides or GPU – not as generous as AA, but broadly the same deal.

You will earn six Global Premier Upgrades upon meeting all qualification requirements of Premier 1K® status. An additional two Global Premier Upgrades will be awarded for each 50,000 Premier qualifying miles or 60 Premier qualifying segments earned thereafter during the same calendar year that Premier 1K was reached.

http://www.united.com/web/en-US/cont...wupgrades.aspx

Velocity might well look at adding 2 or 4 similar instruments to Platinum accounts, good for travel network wide on Virgin metal. To Darwin, to NZ, to Samoa, to the USA etc. Long haul is big bucks, and they now miss out.

Get to Top Tier on any leading carrier, and you can upgrade long haul flights FREE if you pick your days a little, and are booked in other than lowest fare sale buckets. That’s what keeps Elites loyal.

I was looking at a Premium Economy to LAX on Virgin for a few $1000 apiece.

Indeed I thought it might make sense to book them, and hope for a supported upgrade in some way.

Did the smart Elite thing and phoned FIRST to find what days the points upgrade inventory was still there , and knowing that, I’d then book the tickets.

Get some trissy sounding guy on the Platinum phone line who says “upgrades seats to the USA are rare Sir”. (Tell me something I did not know pal.) So as we were flexible up to a week or so either side, asked him to look. He sees nothing for MONTHS!

So I stupidly say – well if I book a flight in paid Premium Economy, and the Business cabin is only partly full on day of travel, as a Platinum I am assuming on day of fight I can use miles to upgrade THEN?

“No sir Virgin NEVER allows that – we just do not do that”

HUH??????

Maybe the twerp was wrong, I do not know, but Virgin lost $6,000 of my cash money right there, and it went to another carrier. That seems dumb to me. A pile of my miles off their books and $6000 in the bank … who turns away that kind of business in a tight market?

Memo to Virgin – on the LAX route you now have United, Delta and soon the massive American Airlines, the world’s largest airline, competing for the same bums on seats each day.

EACH of your flights will have many less pax from December as AA will clearly suck them away. Basic Business #101.

I have little doubt AA will offer Status Match Challenges to Virgin top Elites either via announcement or by private approach etc. AA did that to UA top Elites a year or so back, and were incredibly successful.

They gave then the 8 x SWU on the spot, as soon as they furnished proof of Top UA status 1k. Matched Gold too as I recall. Losing Virgin a ton of juicy high end business, unless you make it tempting for them not to go over to the Dark side – AA/QF.

All you needed do was fly XXX miles or YY segments in the next year to retain it in full. 1000s of top tier flyers never went back to UA.

If you can’t take $6,000 and a ton of miles off a Platinum member, and offer them a REAL good chance of upgrading a 14 hour flight, you are going to lose market share. Simple as that.

I did over 100 transpacs on UA and was upgraded every time. Status does count, and it got UA a ton of money, and me a nice seat for 14 hours. WIN-WIN.

Any Velocity Reps reading this hopefully note.@:-)

A few “Velocity Systemwide Upgrade” (VSU) certs added to each new qualified Plat account makes smart sense. Do like UA, and for each 250 SC or whatever extra flown each year, bung them 2 more upgrades. Makes $$ sense. Gives Plats a reason to fly more -- right now there is near none.

UA used to have special 1K award and upgrade inventory buckets even for domestic coach. For tight travel weeks it was a godsend - again another published benefit that really helped and zero real cost to UA as they controlled it.

Complimentary Virgin domestic Gate upgrades have dried up totally for me this past year or so.

When we were both Platinums travelling together, it happened a lot. Now 1 Gold, and 1 Platinum and it does not occur for us.

Doing 6 legs over weekend, so fingers crossed the drought eases!

Anyway other Velocity flyers might like to add their constructive thoughts on low cost to them Bennies that Virgin might consider adding, and I’ll pass this thread on to someone who is likely to read it in here.

Glen

serfty

Dream on ... times are a changing.

You just need to deal with the cards that are being dealt - that's why I drop from *G with AirNZ on Monday.

As for reward availability, there's the Thursday happy hour sale on now for $2100 return on PE for late October through late November.

Not that helps much ...

http://happyhour.virginaustralia.com/sale-on

ozstamps

Ross this (hopefully) was to get some positive input on small things Velocity could possibly look to do to add to make the Platinum Tier even more special.

You appear to have not read what I posted.

Booking a PE fare at any price to the USA is waste of time if there is no upgrade inventory for Platinum much less anyone else and there is not in the month of October that I just checked.

That is the POINT ..... have a wider fare bucket for Platinum upgrade inventory as UA and others do.

And/or offer some Systemwide Certificates to Platinum to use (as their USA airline competitors have done for years) when they DO book a minimum fare class like PE.

Or, failing that empower gate agents to upgrade on the day with miles if loads are light.

im.daniel

Gold really is the sweet spot on VA. Like yourself I haven't noticed much difference as a Plat either. If they take onboard SOME your suggestions, I would completely ditch QF and aim for Platinum - but as for now, I'm keeping my feet in both camps.

RTWFF

I also was a 1K with United for a number of years and to have 6 SWUs a year was good because I flew internationally a lot. However they also had CR-1s for domestic travel, and those certificates are, more or less, the equivalent of the 4 upgrade certificates each Platinum gets as a matter of course. The only change I would ask there is to extend these for East Coast - NZ segments, as these are to all intents a domestic segment (certainly a shorter flight than East Coast to West Coast)

Let's face it, Virgin Australia more than most is a "virtual" international airline, wholly dependent apart from a handful of long distance flights to only two destinations (three if you count Phuket from Perth, four for Denpasar - not what I would call "long distance") on its partners and therefore limited to what crumbs fall from their tables. SQ is notoriously stingy, and I'm told (by SQ staff) that they in any case regard Virgin Gold and Platinums as letting down the tone of their Australian lounges (shorts and tattoos, anyone?)

The best benefit for me, and I may have overlooked its mention in the original post, since I regard Virgin solely as a domestic airline, is the ability to request an earlier flight on the day of travel. I've never, ever lucked out on this benefit except once, in Brisbane, when I got a very snooty send off from a lounge staff member - and I use it almost every time I fly out of Melbourne. That never, ever happened in all the years I was a Platinum with Qantas

ozstamps

Yes I did not mention the CR1s or regionals which were also most useful and also gratis (2 per quarter for most of my membership) the Regionals and Globals were fully transferable to others too of course - online if needed.

And I will not go into the '500 mile' upgrades that came on top top of all this as WELL! Also fully confirmable in advance. So every MEL-SYD or SYD-BNE were all fully upgradeable.

Anyway, all this was the real world in a Global leading Elite plan. It must be said that erred on the GENEROUS side, and Virgin have erred on the absolutely MEASLY end of the same spectrum.

No-one sensible would ask Virgin to anywhere near match United or American re upgrades, but tossing a few more Bennies at Platinum level would see a LOT more flyers aspire to it. There ust be some room to @:-)

We flew this evening ADL-MEL and got seated in row 24. 1 seat empty on the plane. 2nd last row, Business Class was empty. Weird way to inspire Platinums to fly a lot.

And being a 4.10pm flight no glass of wine even despite the HIGHLY misleading ads on TV, airport billboards, and double page ad in Velocity magazine with FA carrying a drink tray with wine on it, and ZERO fine print outlining it.

tuapekastar

I certainly picked it at the time, but yes the TV ad you refer to is most definitely misleading (regarding wine), and I am in no doubt deliberately (and shamefully) so.

serfty

Did you not preallocate seating? If so, did they move you to row 24 even though you are WP?

Also, you needed to be departing an hour later to have received complimentary wine: (http://www.virginaustralia.com/au/en...asses/economy/)

RTWFF

What evidence (apart from self-serving wishful thinking) can you present to support this assertion?

Borghetti is focused on the domestic market. His only competition is Qantas. As far as Velocity goes that's all he has to worry about. His international options are limited. There's no point in comparing Velocity with (say) MileagePlus or any other American programme, because their focus and his doesn't really overlap. Virgin hasn't gone bust (yet) unlike Ansett's Golden Wing or the US airlines (often); his primary duty is to his shareholders. If he really thought things like lifetime status (Qantas) or super-dooper Platinum (Qantas again) were game changers, he'd have done something about it. He's concentrated on things that cost nothing (unlike "free" upgrades) like changing your flight on the day of departure if there's a seat available, or freezing your status because parenthood intervenes.

On the international side he's managed something no-one else has: exchanging points between two FF programmes - Velocity & KrisFlyer

That doesn't mean I think Velocity is a great programme or I wouldn't like more, but unless Qantas start offering more to its mid-tier frequent flyers, Borghetti doesn't have much to worry about

Jorgen

Evidence for the idea that more people would aspire to platinum if platinum benefits were better? Well, basic human nature for a start, plus the experience of people like myself (I'm currently hovering just below platinum but don't feel super-motivated to actually go for it).

You're right, VA's competition is QF, and QF has major concrete benefits at the platinum level (access to snazzy F lounges worldwide... plus a few things we get at the gold level on VA such as priority security). For many people the choice is between VA platinum or QF platinum or VA gold + QF gold, and VA isn't doing much to make VA platinum the preferred option.

One idea for VA platinum benefits that don't cost anything (or much): limited vouchers for anytime lounge access. It's annoying when I see someone off at the airport and we can't get into any lounges. The old "anytime lounge access" perk was too easily abused, but make it a limited number of times a year and you've got a genuine benefit.

ozstamps

[QUOTE=serfty;24975127]

Also, you needed to be departing an hour later to have received complimentary wine: QUOTE]

Ross, do you have comprehension problems this month?? Second time in the one thread.

My post said the TV ads and Virgin inflight magazine ads have ZERO qualifications or fine print. There is NONE. Nothing about hours, nothing about weekends. And Tupekastar unlike you, has read my actual post and agrees -

I have a Diploma In advertising and worked in Advertising for many years.

The TV ads and double page current “VOYEUR” ads, and massive billboards all around Sydney airport I saw last night are a flagrant breach of the LAW in this country, making a very deliberate and totally misleading advertising claim.

It is an offence in this country to run ads that deliberately mislead a reasonable person. "A reasonable person" seeing all these ads with no fine print would assume they got a free wine on a Virgin flight. No question. Tuesday 8pm, Saturday 4pm on Monday midday etc. The ads impute that clearly.

There is NO complimentary wine or beer on ANY Virgin flight to ANYWHERE on weekends. For Platinums - or anyone else.

We flew Saturday evening SYD-MEL-ADL and asked then, and got told – “Weekend now – does not apply”

The TV ads have a FA sweetly asking "You have a choice of a Pinot Grigio or a Merlot, Sir”

All totally and deliberately deceptive, as in practice that does not occur on most Virgin domestic flights in each week. If the ACCC were to get wind of this, Virgin would be in all the trouble in the WORLD, trust me.

A $100,000 fine, placing public apology ads etc, and the ACCC just LOVE taking on Tall Poppies like Virgin, and making a public example of them. @:-)

The "Happy Hour" 5-7pm free alcohol on certain (but not all) Virgin domestic flights is nothing new whatsoever, and has been around for years.

These new ads are inputing checked baggage and booze is a NEW policy of some kind. "NOW complimentary" clearly imputes it previously was not complimentary. The free checked baggage piece is new, the booze policy is not new, and is in fact totally unchanged from some years back.

If anyone has actually READ post #1 it suggests Virgin takes a leaf out of United's songbook, and mails all Platinums with 20 x paper Drink chits with their member accreditation entitling them to a wine or beer whenever they feel like one on a flight. Near zero real cost to them, and again a tangible BENEFIT of getting to Platinum that others Tiers do not get.

THIS thread is seeking constructive input from Virgin Platinums of small cost to them Bennies that Virgin can consider adding, to give them an EDGE over Qantas. THAT is smart business, and smart leadership.

serfty

I merely stated that an hour later you would have received complimentary wine. It seems you knew that.

I am still wondering how you ended in row 24? Fly Ahead?

Anyway, if you are trying to cajole VA to providing more bennies, I am not sure posting in this manner would be of any help.

ozstamps

Game - set - match.

Bet if they were offering free Platinum membership if you picked up a phone and asked for it, you'd notice them fast enough.

serfty

What did I win

ozstamps

The usual prize given to folks who edit out their flippant Bulletin Board comments after they are used in quote by others. Gotta love FT edit time codes. @:-)