This is the main V-Flyer Forum for general discussion of everything related to flying with Virgin-branded travel companies.
#963066 by djuk
02 Jan 2024, 16:25
Hey all,

Its my first time using Reward seats, and theres a couple of 'weird' things happened and wondered if anyone had any similar experiences or advice?

I booked a reward flight some time ago, paid the fees/taxes etc, and had a booking and e-ticket issued, and reserved a seat etc online.

However I noticed that the points still haven't been debited from my Virgin Red account... is this normal firstly?

I then had plans change and decided to look into trying to change the flight to a few days earlier - originally there was no availability, but found there was availability when checking through the actual booking form (and not the reward seat checker)... although it was now classed as a peak time seat, and seemed to be 10,000 extra points outbound.

The booking was all changed on the phone, and advised there was a £30 charge, so said no problem. They didn't mention anything about extra points though, and I forgot to ask about it too. Checked online, and the new flight details were showing, but the reference and e-ticket number are all the same (is that normal too?), and the seat booking had dropped off as I've obviously changed flight.

Skip ahead some days over christmas period, and I noticed I still hadn't been charged the £30 change fee, and also still had no points debited at all, be it for the original booking or the amended (not that I was advised it would be more points either.... just the £30 charge!).

I called up and eventually managed to explain my weird issues and gut feeling, and got a really helpful agent who explained that it was likely because the ticket was waiting re-issue from Global Ticketing, and they work on a departure date priority, and I was likely still in their processing queue as my flight is a couple of months away.

They advised that they would charge the £30 at that point, but otherwise everything was fine with my booking otherwise, and even rebooked my seat for me too whilst i was fretting about everything.

So... does this all sound normal? Its my first reward seat booking and I'm so nervous of turning up the airport and finding I dont have a valid ticket, and I dont want to nag the poor support agents any more too! :-D

Thanks all.
#963067 by CommanderB
02 Jan 2024, 16:49
It sounds fairly normal to me. As you've been told, it basically hasn't been ticketed.

VS still issue a lot of tickets manually, literally someone in a back office has to do it. That's what you're waiting on.

Normal for booking ref and e-ticket number to not change. That would only change if the entire booking was totally cancelled, that has not happened here.

Expect to see this resolved in the days leading up to the flight. I'd start chasing hard if you get to 48 hours prior to check in and this still hasn't been ticketed although I think thats unlikely to happen.
#963070 by djuk
02 Jan 2024, 17:30
Thanks CommanderB! At least assuring to know I'm on a well trodden path and not in some weird situation of my own!

So am I right to assume that the points would perhaps also be debited when GTS eventually issue the ticket? (theres so many confusing steps of booking like the PNR, e-ticket.. and then the actual tickets?! :-D )

How would I know that the ticket has been issued... although I suppose that would be when I see the £30 charge go out too and possibly the points balance drop, and maybe a confirmation email again?

I'd perhaps incorrectly assumed that an actual ticket had already been issued when I initially booked as it took a few days for me to get the confirmation email and for the taxes to be charged as I booked via the call centre and also had a Customer Service voucher to send in use for the booking, and once that was received and processed everything kicked into life, but I'm guessing maybe not as the points hadn't been debited and the flight was 6+ months away.

I'll chill out and relax now then as it's still another 3 months to the flight, so I'll keep an eye out, and thanks again for your help and reassurance! :D

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 102 guests

Itinerary Calendar