UNIQ

Picking up on the point of it being secretive, there comes a point when any company will have a small number of high value clients where they will take a different approach to them. This is exactly what UNIQ and PAMS are. High Value in most cases is TP's earned in calender year or revenue spend, but I understand can also be celebs. I have found the service to be extremely useful, but I travel with next to no notice and having someone I can just call who I know is very convenient. I have seen threads on here where folks have to keep looking out for reward flights (maybe searching day after day), for example the PAMS will do that for me and I have never once been disappointed. having said all this, and someone else commented, this is definitely not something to aspire to, I suspect most that have it would rather not spend quite so much time on planes, but this just makes it a little easier.

I'm sorry I genuinely do not understand this?

Let me explain. I'm lifetime gold with VS. If I had wanted to push more business towards VS to get UNIQ status I quite possibly could have done, but what benefit would I have got from UNIQ? I don't know! As a result, because BA publicly state quite clearly the advantages of GGL (and these are discussed in length on FT) I decided to push additional business in that direction!

Very true, but BA don't state the benefits on BA Premier. So they do have a tier that is secretive.

OK, I know there is a lot of secrecy around PAMS & UNIQ. I was hoping to tell you all about them now that I have returned from my trip to the States.
I can tell you (based on my one trip as a UNIQ) there is absolutely no difference between a UNIQ UC passenger and a Gold UC passenger.
The limo, check-in, clubhouse and UC experiences were all the same as the previous 20 journeys over the past year.
I didn’t know what to expect, but that's because you can't find much information on the subject.
I have already decided that in April that I will be flying with BA until I get Gold again and then may come back to Virgin.
Virgin just doesn’t offer any incentive to continue to fly with them once you get 60 tier points (I am currently on 140).
I would rather spend my money with airlines that are attractive in terms of personal benefits.

Hmmm, did you speak to any of the team?

One thing you should have noticed is that the cabin crew are briefed on UNIQs on their flight and you should have received some form of greeting on board - I know that doesn't always happen (sometimes because the paperwork is late in the briefing room). I don't know what you were expecting at check in or in the clubhouse, but the actual benefits lie elsewhere.

Hmmm, did you speak to any of the team?

One thing you should have noticed is that the cabin crew are briefed on UNIQs on their flight and you should have received some form of greeting on board - I know that doesn't always happen (sometimes because the paperwork is late in the briefing room). I don't know what you were expecting at check in or in the clubhouse, but the actual benefits lie elsewhere.

I didn't know what to expect, that's the point! I was surprised there were no benefits (not even an acknowlegement from cabin crew), but at least my expectations are now lowered.
If the actual benefits lie elsewhere then why do they make it so difficult to find them? Not really much of a benefit!

As I said previously, at least BA and others clearly state their benefits and the loyalty required to obtain them.

Just look up references to UNIQ in the Leveson Inquiry on Culture, Practice and Ethics of the Press. You'll find more there than anywhere else online!

I didn't know what to expect, that's the point! I was surprised there were no benefits (not even an acknowlegement from cabin crew), but at least my expectations are now lowered.
If the actual benefits lie elsewhere then why do they make it so difficult to find them? Not really much of a benefit!

As I said previously, at least BA and others clearly state their benefits and the loyalty required to obtain them.

Which is why several of us suggested you have a discussion with the PAMS team .

V-Flyers who have been on the forum for several years will recall that when the Cancun route was started, VS took a party 747 for five days of events in and around Cancun. They invited four couples and the no. 1 and I were one of them. It was an amazing trip, all at VS's invitation including the resort, parties, day events and more. Of course, this sort of thing doesn't happen very often, but the reason why we were invited was, of course ...

What I'm saying is that on VS there isn't a prescribed set of benefits, there is a better layer of service if you want to seek it out. Occasionally there are some great extras. I actually prefer this, that service is somewhat behind the scenes and not 'in your face'. For example, despite my comment about the on board greeting VS's attitude in UC or in a clubhouse is to try to treat everyone the same, and I like that, whether it's your once in a lifetime reward seat flyer or you fly the route monthly. There's no DYKWIA with status like on some other airlines.

Have that call, ask some questions .

A

Should mark this thread as UNIQ and Gold only. Do not understand why you cannot just enjoy your status and leave it at that. You fly a lot for business and spend a lot of money with VS and or BA but so what! Airlines recognise cash cows and do their best to make you feel special, enjoy it .I imagine that at this rarefied altitude you could become a bit jaded with the way the airlines reward you but try being just another passenger like most other folks. OK i'm jealous but also a bit irritated so I'll just stop reading. Enjoy your pampering.

Grass is always greener etc. Whilst there are a hardy few that genuinely seem to thrive on constant travel, most of us find that the allure wears off pretty darn soon - I all too well recall my first business class flight, with United on a knackered old plane with recliner seats and indifferent service. But back then I was young, it was novel and seemed brilliant.

As for now, well, I had an 18 hour day yesterday doing one of my ubiquitous domestic day trips, and Sunday I'll be missing the cup final and six nations to head to NY where I'll have 5 days of just about getting over jetlag before I have to do it again in reverse on the way back. And I'm not even allowed to fly VS any more!!

None of this is intended to be a plea for sympathy (ok, maybe the bit about not flying VS...), and yes I could probably find another less travel intensive job. All I'm saying is that it's really not glamorous, truly it's not... So a few perks along the way are more a case of righting the balance than being anything to get jealous about!

Feel free to shoot me down if you want, just my 2 cents...

A

I didn't know what to expect, that's the point! I was surprised there were no benefits (not even an acknowlegement from cabin crew), but at least my expectations are now lowered.
If the actual benefits lie elsewhere then why do they make it so difficult to find them? Not really much of a benefit!

As I said previously, at least BA and others clearly state their benefits and the loyalty required to obtain them.

Which is why several of us suggested you have a discussion with the PAMS team .

V-Flyers who have been on the forum for several years will recall that when the Cancun route was started, VS took a party 747 for five days of events in and around Cancun. They invited four couples and the no. 1 and I were one of them. It was an amazing trip, all at VS's invitation including the resort, parties, day events and more. Of course, this sort of thing doesn't happen very often, but the reason why we were invited was, of course ...

What I'm saying is that on VS there isn't a prescribed set of benefits, there is a better layer of service if you want to seek it out. Occasionally there are some great extras. I actually prefer this, that service is somewhat behind the scenes and not 'in your face'. For example, despite my comment about the on board greeting VS's attitude in UC or in a clubhouse is to try to treat everyone the same, and I like that, whether it's your once in a lifetime reward seat flyer or you fly the route monthly. There's no DYKWIA with status like on some other airlines.

Have that call, ask some questions .

Thanks for the response!

Should mark this thread as UNIQ and Gold only. Do not understand why you cannot just enjoy your status and leave it at that. You fly a lot for business and spend a lot of money with VS and or BA but so what! Airlines recognise cash cows and do their best to make you feel special, enjoy it .I imagine that at this rarefied altitude you could become a bit jaded with the way the airlines reward you but try being just another passenger like most other folks. OK i'm jealous but also a bit irritated so I'll just stop reading. Enjoy your pampering.

Mac, you are entitled to your opinion, as I am mine. I would just suggest you think about your writing style.
I'll take your advice and not rea your irritating little posts going forward.

I wouldn't even try to explain something to you where I don't believe you can grasp the concept.

If I were traveling as much as you, I would not put my eggs in Virgin's basket. Their route network is just too small, and their partners suck (Delta). BA, at least, has a consistent brand with a huge network.

Grass is always greener etc. Whilst there are a hardy few that genuinely seem to thrive on constant travel, most of us find that the allure wears off pretty darn soon - I all too well recall my first business class flight, with United on a knackered old plane with recliner seats and indifferent service. But back then I was young, it was novel and seemed brilliant.

VS did it for me back in the 90s, I was working for a publishing company and I was scheduled to speak at a conference in San Francisco. The company policy for my lowly grade was PE, I arrived at T3 when VS had the desks in the horrid end of T3 with the low ceilings, my first ever flight with VS, and the check in person told me I'd been upgraded , I asked whether my work colleague called Alison had been upgraded too and the reply was that they couldn't confirm that, so I held my breath but she was. We were sat upstairs on a 747 in the old big lounge chair sort of seats and fed food and wine for 11 hours, we played chess and chatted at the bar with lovely people and thoroughly enjoyed it. Got me hooked. We were also drunk.

Anyone who has experienced any service over a period of time becomes used to it, notices the changes, becomes a little jaded - I think it's the same with music (Madonna springs to mind even though I believe she is amazing to continue to do what she does), it's become common for people to snark at VS but I don't buy it. Yes, when it was an airline with five 747s things were different, but I do believe they still try to make a difference and - having flown most of what people consider to be the best airlines in the world - I think VS is up there among the top tier. The cabin crew are their best asset, clubhouses and suites are still great. And as I recipient of some of VS's most extreme hospitality, I see an amazin team of people behind the scenes that try to make a difference too.

To the OP, what I am meanderingly saying is give it some effort, don't be a DYKWIA, ask questions, and be happy.

If I were traveling as much as you, I would not put my eggs in Virgin's basket. Their route network is just too small, and their partners suck (Delta). BA, at least, has a consistent brand with a huge network.

Surely it depends where you have to fly to?

If I need to travel to the US then VS is as good a choice as any but to Asia or the middle east then BA or EK or CX would be a better choice.

And having flown on DL they certainly do not 'suck'.

And if you read the BA board on Flyer Talk one of the big issues their frequent fliers complain about is their inconsistency.

Reading through this thread, my initial thoughts are - what a strange thing to 'post' when you've only joined this established forum a few weeks ago

Reading your post, my initial thoughts are - what a strange thing to 'post' when you have no clue about the poster.

Very strange indeed. Still, gets your post count up even if what you post is of no value.

This has been the closest to a "Flyertalk" type of thread that i remember seeing on this forum for ages. There was some good advice posted, but also some statements that were a "Tad" over zealous. Are times a changin........?

Reading your post, my initial thoughts are - what a strange thing to 'post' when you have no clue about the poster.

Very strange indeed. Still, gets your post count up even if what you post is of no value.

My thoughts on this thread are that GM1039 has only been open and honest about his experience as a UNIQ but also their last comment to Hev60 is totally uncalled for

[honey lamb]

Right, folks! I'm going to lock this thread.

The OP expressed an opinion and received advice which is up to him/her to accept or reject. End of story!

Other negative posts are unnecessary and are becoming hurtful.