How to get Virgin Atlantic redemption with Velocity points
Dec 1, 2019, 11:22 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Aug 2004
Posts: 476
How to get Virgin Atlantic redemption with Velocity points
Is there some magic trick to getting Virgin Atlantic redemption with Velocity points?
I've been trying for days: there appears to be plenty of redemption seats according to the VS website. But when I call Velocity the agent says there is no availability. I've tried several agents over several days, all with the same result.
I hang up, then I call up with another date, the agent hangs on the phone for ages and then says that the seats are 'Not Confirmed' by VS, and tells me there are no seats on that flights, so try another day.
I've spent about 3 hours on the phone, trying every date and flight over the course of two months, and got zilch. Which clearly can't be true.
I remember trying to do this a year or so back, with the same result, and the supervisor told the agent book the flights differently, which opened up all the availability. Any ideas what it is? I probably just need to troubleshoot what the Velocity call centre is doing wrong.
I've been trying for days: there appears to be plenty of redemption seats according to the VS website. But when I call Velocity the agent says there is no availability. I've tried several agents over several days, all with the same result.
I hang up, then I call up with another date, the agent hangs on the phone for ages and then says that the seats are 'Not Confirmed' by VS, and tells me there are no seats on that flights, so try another day.
I've spent about 3 hours on the phone, trying every date and flight over the course of two months, and got zilch. Which clearly can't be true.
I remember trying to do this a year or so back, with the same result, and the supervisor told the agent book the flights differently, which opened up all the availability. Any ideas what it is? I probably just need to troubleshoot what the Velocity call centre is doing wrong.
Dec 3, 2019, 10:38 pm
#3
Join Date: Jul 2013
Programs: Qantas FF & Qatar Privilege Club
Posts: 46
Take a read of this guide and see if it helps.
"Further, calling Velocity to book Virgin Atlantic flights can be quite time-consuming, because the telephone agent can't simply bring up a list of available Virgin Atlantic travel options – they have to create a 'pretend' booking on your behalf including full passenger names, contact details and flight numbers, which is sent across to Virgin Atlantic and returning a 'yes' or a 'no' to the operator."
Dec 8, 2019, 5:25 am
#4
Original Poster
Join Date: Aug 2004
Posts: 476
Brilliant! Worked like a charm.
Thank you.
Odd that Virgin staff themselves don't know this. Or at least one did, but the key thing to note is that
- you need both a phone number, with country code, AND a valid email address or the booking will stick as 'unconfirmed'.
- For Business Class, DJ can only see the same availability that DL has, not the availability that VS has (which is more). Hence, some that appear valid (according to the guide above) actually have no redemption seats.
Thank you.
Odd that Virgin staff themselves don't know this. Or at least one did, but the key thing to note is that
- you need both a phone number, with country code, AND a valid email address or the booking will stick as 'unconfirmed'.
- For Business Class, DJ can only see the same availability that DL has, not the availability that VS has (which is more). Hence, some that appear valid (according to the guide above) actually have no redemption seats.
Dec 8, 2019, 7:10 pm
#5
Join Date: May 2006
Location: GA
Programs: VA-PLT, QF-GLD, DL-GM, UA-ex1K, AA-exPLT, HH-DM, IHG-PLT, MR-GLD
Posts: 8,242
Brilliant! Worked like a charm.
Thank you.
Odd that Virgin staff themselves don't know this. Or at least one did, but the key thing to note is that
- you need both a phone number, with country code, AND a valid email address or the booking will stick as 'unconfirmed'.
- For Business Class, DJ can only see the same availability that DL has, not the availability that VS has (which is more). Hence, some that appear valid (according to the guide above) actually have no redemption seats.
Thank you.
Odd that Virgin staff themselves don't know this. Or at least one did, but the key thing to note is that
- you need both a phone number, with country code, AND a valid email address or the booking will stick as 'unconfirmed'.
- For Business Class, DJ can only see the same availability that DL has, not the availability that VS has (which is more). Hence, some that appear valid (according to the guide above) actually have no redemption seats.