reach Gold without the card

Need your advice please.

I am on Silver with 35 tier points, will do a Dubai economy return in early Nov, so reach 39 points. Then I will fly with Mrs to JFK in late Nov. I will reach 40 points with outboard flight.

On the way back to LHR, I should qualify to Gold for the first time. We will have a late party, so probably will go straight to JFK after that. I would like to use the CH in JFK with Mrs. Is that possible?

I called FC, they said I need to talk to the staff in JFK CH. And they said staff in USA should be able to check my account status as well. Has anyone had this experience before?

And also, the flight is an 7:35am flight (VS26). Do they open for check in overnight? Do they keep the CH running overnight?

How long does it take to receive the Gold card? I will fly to PVG in mid Dec. Really don't like to explain to Virgin staff that I am a Gold member every time in the airport, like last year when I haven't received my Silver card.

Many thanks for any answers

My gold card arriving earlier in the month 4 days after my account was updated.

How long are you in New York for?? VS may need 2 days to update your account to Gold after your outbound. If it updates in time, VS staff at JFK will be able to check and confirm you are gold. If not, not an easy one to try and explain to someone at check-in who probably doesn't know FC well.

Also, you can print a page from within your FC account online which proves you are gold.

[mcmbenjamin]

Well I would suggest that you email VS and ask that they add a note to your PNR to explain your status. Also you could print off the account statement from VS.com that would reflect your status. Miles/TPs should post quickly as they are VS operated flights.

That said, your name will be on the 'VIP List' at the JFK CH after for get your gold status. I would think it maybe hard to use the UC checkin if flying economy without the card or the 009 number in the print off but I bet the print off would work.

[HighFlyer]

I had a similar thing happen when i hit Gold while travelling. If your miles/tier points hit your account, it should get updated automatically during the sweep, then the check-in staff should be able to see this. Otherwise, a quick call to Flying Club will get you a letter confirmation of your status faxed over.

If the points have not hit, you wont shift to Gold, and there isnt a lot you can do till it does.

Not sure on the JFK clubhouse opening hours, i know it used to be 3.30pm to 11.30pm before the new 6th daily started. It doesn't stay open overnight though.

Thanks,
Sarah

Many thanks to all of you!

We will stay in New York from 25 Nov until 30 Nov. Hopefully the miles and TPs will be added to my account before 30 Nov (normally they arrive in my account within 48 hours after my flight). Take all your advices onboard, I will call FC to get a fax or letter, and bring a copy of my statement as backup.

Still want to find out the opening hours for the JFK CH, will call FC later and let everyone know.

Hope I will get the proper Gold card before 16 Dec that I travel to PVG, although post delivery can be very slow approaching Christmas.

Just called FC, they told me JFK CH is open from 3:30am-7am and 1:30pm-9:30pm. Although its not overnight service, it sounds good to me. We can have a late night party, then get into CH having some rest before coming back home.

I had no problem getting into the JFK clubhouse after hitting gold on the outward leg. They didn't even bother checking on their computer but took my word for it. If you have any problem receiving the gold card before travelling the next time, call VS and they will send you an email confirming your status which you can print out and show to anybody who asks.

Chris

Good for you!

As peeps have said, there are a number of ways to ensure the CH staff know your status, including waiting for TPs to be credited and system generated status rise, and asking FC to email/fax a letter to you confirming your status. I've been in a similar boat before and found that the email/fax was the most convenient way to ease access.

Whatever ... enjoy! The JFK CH is great, then next time you fly you can go into the LHR CH and it's mega better!