V-Flyer

Vs07 9th July upper LHR- LAX

Managed to grab a great UC price thanks to previously helpful posts by vflyers on the AMS trick.
Stayed the night before an AMS in CitizenM, great hotel and like the pod style room.
Got to say transfer between terminals from 5 to 3 at LHR was really smooth and fast, probably did it in 20 mins.
CH looked busy for 08.15 but managed to book in for services. Great food again and service fantastic and managed to get in some pool time.
Flight was on time however early call to LAX about plane being cleaned, so enjoyed another 30 minutes in CH and 2 quick cocktails thanks to staff in CH.
Flight had 372 pax and UC was full. Managed to get the seats for couple in 12 a/k, great advice and so glad I bagged those seats very early.

Captain stated flight would be 10 1/2 hours. Service was impeccable from the moment we got on board from drinks in hand. And I did like the CC confirming my name and asking what I would like for food. Managed soup and beef, VA have gone up in the food standard for me.

Afterwards decided on hot chocolate in a plane style china mug, again a nice touch. Managed 2 hours sleep to assist with a first long day of a long road trip ahead.

Later on we ordered cheese burgers and lamb kebab, again food was brill and service. Cleared immigration in less than 5 mins, however nothing runs without a small hiccup. My case was nearly last off, probably due to BA, but didn't have much effect on tine saved as with some quick know how at car rental all ordered from Alamo and no messing about from alamo staff with "do I want and upgrade " !! we was off on our road trip.

I am still thinking was I on a 10+ hour flight as we have being busy non stop and due to a great flight can say those flights for a couple really were the best flights on Virgin we have had, so thanks for the advice, it helps.

Pleased to read such a positive TR. Thanks for posting and hope the rest of your holiday goes well too.

Thanks for posting.

Flights in UC "fly" by....

Thank you for the TR. Sounds like the perfect flight. Have a great time in LA and a safe return flight.

Pleased to read such a positive TR, thank you

oldboy

Have also stayed at the Citizen M at Schiphol. Really great hotel for an overnight before a flight. Only let down by the poor view (not all rooms though) and basic breakfast. Went over the road to one of the big chain hotels for a better offering.

How does the AMS trick work, do you have to book it through a particular site and what type of saving did you achieve factoring in, hotel costs and the flight over there. May try it the next time I book LV/LA, probably too much hassle on the family trips to Bim!

WPIL wrote:Have also stayed at the Citizen M at Schiphol. Really great hotel for an overnight before a flight. Only let down by the poor view (not all rooms though) and basic breakfast. Went over the road to one of the big chain hotels for a better offering.

How does the AMS trick work, do you have to book it through a particular site and what type of saving did you achieve factoring in, hotel costs and the flight over there. May try it the next time I book LV/LA, probably too much hassle on the family trips to Bim!

I booked a return journey through Expedia from AMS to LAS and then LAX to AMS. CitizenM is easy for a couple I must admit. I booked UC all then way. On the return I plan not to travel back to AMS and get off at my destination in the UK. Thanks to research and help from vflyers i have just saved short of 2k, so I would say it's a fantastic saving. Well worth it and the road has gone to plan so far. But a failing cable to charge Alamos sat nav didn't help in the middle of La, and using international data isn't cheap on GPS !

WPIL wrote:How does the AMS trick work, do you have to book it through a particular site and what type of saving did you achieve factoring in, hotel costs and the flight over there.

For a west coast USA round trip you're typically looking at about £1700-1900 ex-AMS (or BRU which can be even cheaper) vs a full price UC fare of about £3200. You don't even need a hotel in AMS - just do the round trip the day before and go home for the night if you live close enough to LHR or LGW. As long as your "stopover" in the UK is less than 24 hours you'll be fine.

I've done the AMS trick several times both with VS and BA and on each occasion have saved just under €2K even when factoring in my flight to AMS and an hotel there - I live in Ireland and don't have the option of returning to the UK and staying at home.

On both occasions I have stayed at the Citizen M hotel but beware! It is only suitable for persons travelling alone or for couples. There is only one (huge) bed in the room and they do not offer rollaway beds or cots etc. You must be prepared to sleep with your travel companion in the same bed - which may or may not be a option. On my first trip there, at check-in there was an elderly lady, her daughter and baby who had booked the place and the staff were trying to accommodate them elsewhere

Agree Citizen M not for families! May do Brussels as Eurostar is easy for me. I normally book flights on the Virgin Website or by ringing them if I am trying to mix and match classes and fare codes. For this trick do you book through another site? (Edit - just saw RyanJW post - book through Expedia and select Virgin as preferred airline, will try it on next trip!)

Yes, through Expedia or some other similar site. Another advantage is that they don't charge the excessive credit card fee VS does

And dont forget to go trough quidco for the 1.5% cashback on the flight He every little helps (10-14% for ams airport hotels too)

THanks a lot for this TR, I'm flying on this same flight in January, grabbed 2 Gs for the OH and me and we can't wait !

Very positive tr, thanks for posting.