mr27

After a few loyal years being a UA Premier member, I'm considering
switching my allegiance to Virgin. It's sometimes a challenge for me to
maintain elite status. Some of the perks are great but with the
upcoming merger I'm not sure what will stay? I've had a few great flights
with VX (SAN-SFO and SFO-IAD). The RED system is a real draw to me and
so is the inflight service. I know Elevate is pretty lousy but I'm willing to
bear with it . Any other UA flyers made the jump?

nermaljcat

I fly VX over UA on any shared route. Though I was never a big FF (1P on UA), so didn't really get much out of MP other than E+ and a bunch of useless points that are gathering dust.

IMHO - standard VX is better than the perks I received as 1P. Some 1K's may disagree.

I also switched my transpac travel from UA to VA (V Australia). VA is pretty similar to VX in some ways (even has Red) and they codeshare and 'exchange' points. Much nicer than UA on a 12-14 hour flight.

EAL

I made the switch and I couldn't be happier that I did! I was United Premier for a long time as well. Virgin America was just named the #1 Domestic Airline for the 3rd year in a row for a reason...they're really an incredible airline. I'm with Virgin America now for good! You'll be VERY happy you made the switch as well!

businesstraveller2

VX has rocking domestic first class service. I also like that I can get caught up on HBO shows on RED. Wifi on board also great. The issue is that there are no UDUs on VX and they do not fly to enough locations that I regularly visit to make the switch. Especially for overseas flights which make up the bulk of my EQMs esp with the 50% bonus. So I fly them when I don't need EQMs and when their pricing structure is reasonable. But if they are way over UA for domestic first I will choose UA or another *A. CO for example runs some international planes on the transcon route lax-ewr so you have essentially the same service in first as on VX minus the wifi. plus I'd much rather fly into ewr than jfk. Also the food on VX in first is weird. And no RCC. My 2c.

Now what would be really great is if VX joined *A. I would throw a party.

nermaljcat

That would be awesome ^

MikeBOS

I am top tier (EXP + CK) on AA, and 2P on UA, and I choose VX over both of those on any route where I have a choice (usually BOS-SFO and BOS-LAX). So I would say your choice seems eminently reasonable.

malsf1

I am slowly changing over, except VX doesn't cover every route I have to fly. The only plus UA has is E+, imo. I also like the ability to upgrade to MS and F in a 6 hour window for a reasonable amount of money.

dhuey

Same for me, unless I'm able to get an F/C award or mileage upgrade on UA at the time of booking. VX is a terrific airline, and their F product is far better than any other domestic F I've experienced (though I've been in C, not F, for UA's p.s. service, so I can't compare that).

Better F, better Y, friendly (and, occasionally, smoking hot) FA's -- VX is tops. BTW, the 6-hour in advance $ upgrades have usually been available, in my experience. Then again, my typical route of SFO-IAD seems to be an easier upgrade than to/from JFK and BOS.

SFOPeter

i made the switch when they started flying out of sfo and have never looked back. unless you are a 1k or gs on ua you can almost never get an upgrade out of sfo. as others have mentioned, it is a better product and much better service. sometimes i take the ua mid morning flight to lax, and fly horizon to pdx, but otherwise it is 100% vx. having internet and a powerplug on every plane is better than upgrading the occasional flight imo. note that elevate is pretty much useless though when compared to mileage plus, but i have been using credit cards to accrue miles on UA and BA for int'l premium travel. peter

rjque

It really depends on how important E+ is to you and when you book flights. If you are tall (like me), no amount of good service can make up for the fact that VX has hard plastic seat back pockets that make its coach unbearably painful. What can make up for it is the generally available MCS, but you have to be willing to pay for that.

If you generally buy tickets at the last minute then you should consider a different airline that provides immediate upgrades to F for elites on full-fare tickets. CO does that (but switching now doesn't make sense given the merger) - and I suspect there are others.

Of course, since you say you regularly have trouble making 2P on United, VX is probably a better choice anyway. Few airlines are good at taking care of people who are not elite, regardless of how much they actually spend on flights. VX is a nice exception to that rule.

businesstraveller2

I would agree with this.

mr27

Thanks everyone for the great insight! I just booked SAN-SFO-IAD(rt) for mid September on VX. Hopefully ill be able to snag a last minute upgrade to F or MC on the IAD redeye. I still have some miles to burn with UA but VX will get most of my business. Being a guy who is 6'2, I''m a fan of UA E+. Though without status I lose the perk anyway. My hope is for Virgin to improve Elevate and reward their loyal customers somehow. Being based out of SAN I dont mind making connections in SFO. I'm not sure if VX will grow at SAN but ill take what I can get.

dhuey

I think your odds are very good. IIRC, I'm 9 for 10 on upgrade attempts between SFO and IAD. I suggest that you make sure you're right there online at the six-hour mark. You never know -- could be another FTer competing with you.

hungarianhc

I fly around 200K miles per year, and United is my #1 choice. I love UA . After UA, if the times/routes don't work out, then I try to fly Alaska/Delta/American (and credit to Alaska). And after that, I fly VX... VX really does have the best coach product. So for the flier who doesn't fly enough to hit Premier, then I would recommend flying VX. And yes... I said Premier. I think Economy Plus makes United worth it over VX, actually. The "experience" in Virgin American may be better, but if you just want to bring your own laptop / entertainment and have some legroom, then economy plus really is key.

Now all that being said, if you don't fly enough to make 25,000 miles per year on a carrier, then I would probably fly strictly on fare anyways... i.e. don't limit yourself and just take the cheapest / best route you can find.

Anyhow, those are just my thoughts. I really do like flying VX, though.

mr27

Thanks hungarianhc for the tips. As a current UA 2P(premier), I do enjoy the perks like E+ and a free checked bag. I dont know if I could give my loyalty to VX exclusively but for now I''ll give them a shot. Otherwise it will be a mileage run late this year to keep my UA status.