pentae

Hey Everyone..

So I've been living in the US the last couple of years and have been relatively spoiled by the Alaska MVP Gold program where they give you unlimited complimentary upgrades to first class. (subject to availability of course)

I'll be moving back to Australia this year and like to fly virgin internationally so have started using virgin flights back home and here in the US to build up my velocity account and i'm already silver, gold is coming up soon. However after reviewing the gold benefits it seems to me like theres no complimentary upgrades you can only use points?



So other than free baggage, lounge access and other things that are basically worthless to me it seems like the ability to get better seats seems limited. (The only thing I care about)

Are there any Velocity gold members here who can clarify? Thanks

vbroucek

Get real mate... You are comparing apples and oranges here...

mark4217

Comp upgrades come with Platinum. 4 in total.
You are required to purchase a flexi ticket to use the upgrades, but again, Platinum not Gold.

cityflyer369

The complimentary upgrade thing you got to know in the US is a US thing. It is not common in any other country in the world.

Jorgen

Yep, and it goes with the fact that US-based domestic F is complete rubbish, since hardly anyone pays for it any more. VA domestic business is significantly better (esp on the A330) but if you want it you have to pay for it.

Besides, even if they did hand out free upgrades based on status then you'd almost never get one as a gold, there's far too many platinums and not all that many business-class seats.

Oh, plus VA gold gives you lounge access when flying domestically, unlike most US-based programs which want to sell you lounge access separately (also VA lounges are several million times better). So that's a pretty significant advantage as far as I'm concerned.

Supersonic Swinger

To re-iterate what others have posted, if the only thing you value out of a frequent flyer program is receiving unlimited complimentary upgrades to domestic "first" *cough*, you won't find a frequent flyer program outside of the US which you will value.

ashill

Yup. In the US, the main (quantifiable) perk of elite status is the chance of an upgrade. Outside the US, the main (quantifiable) perk of elite status is a guarantee of lounge access, including on domestic flights.* Remember that lounges operated by foreign airlines (certainly including VA) beat the pants off the membership lounges in the US, as a general rule. And VA Golds get access to Delta lounges when flying Delta domestically, something Delta's own Golds and Platinums don't get. (Insert snark about Sky Clubs here.)

That said, the comparison to domestic first worldwide isn't entirely fair. The domestic F hard product in the US is much better than intra-Europe J, which is economy with the middle seats blocked -- and you have to pay to get it, since there are essentially no upgrades there either. But I think it's fair in Australia -- at least from what I can tell as I walk by J en route to my Y seat.

*Yes, certain conditions apply, but lounge access for VA Golds is much more reliable than upgrades for elites in the US.

Supersonic Swinger

You're right about intra-Europe J, while most domestic US "First" is what most airlines would at best designate as Premium Economy...

I definitely have a preference for domestic lounge access over domestic upgrades, but that is a personal preference.

pentae

Really informative feedback and discussion. Thanks very much to all.
I'll probably end up becoming Platinum this year and the 4 complimentary upgrades seem OK.

edy4eva

It might be worth mentioning that the comp upgrades are for domestic sectors only and so the best value is to use them for SYD/MEL/BNE-PER flights.

QF WP

There is no better benefit as a Gold member, than the Row 3 or 4 seat availability (domestically), able to be done as you purchase the ticket.

jumpingenes

Is this supposed to happen for Golds? I've not been able to select any seats above row 7 at the time of purchase since I dropped from Platinum to Gold...

serfty

IME, with VA and Velocity SG, row 3 and 4 not 5 or 6 are typically available on booking VA domestic flights.

Certainly, VA WP have access to those rows upon booking.

QF WP

Whoops, brain freeze - you are both right, I was thinking Plat benefits not Gold (it's been a while). I suppose a Gold has to pray for OLCI to open and pray for a more forward seat to be available...woe betide chosing a Plat "shadow" B or E seat

UpwardlyMobile

There are some nice benefits with VA which American programmes don't offer, such as family pooling and rolling membership years (rather than everyone having to do a mileage run in late December).

Also Virgin Golds get Hilton Gold and Plats gets Hilton Diamond, a tie up which American programmes (delta/SPG) are just beginning to emulate.