Which Option?

[honey lamb]

On our last trip from JFK they had to re-boot the IFE system at which point I opted to sleep. At the end of the flight we were given letters apologising for the failure of IFE and offering the following:

i) 10% 0f the price of a published fare on any scheduled flight operated by a /vs aircraft

ii) £25 discount of a VS holiday

iii) £25 discount on pre-ordered duty free on any VS flight

iv) 5000 FC miles

As far as I am concerned (ii) and (iii) are out. I have never used VH and I don't buy duty-free.

Given that which is the best value - the miles or the 10% discount?

I think Aer John (who slept through the whole flight) has opted for the miles but I am wondering is the discount a better option for me? [?]

[mitchja]

I'd go for option (i) as this is giving your more value for money, although it would really depend on what class you fly in.

The higher the fare to start with the more valuable the 10% discount becomes.

When this happened to me a few years back we were just given free duty free up to the value of £25 there and then on the flight. As I was flying in PE, the duty free carts where more or less empty once they had been through Upper and Premium!!

Regards

[mcmbenjamin]

Well seeing that (assuming) you pay 'bling' (or money) for Upper/PE option (i) would be the best deal. How if you could do some sort of book a bunch of flights under the same PNR or something it may have real value.

[honey lamb]

James, my first trip on VS was to JNB with Aer John and my sister in 1997 and was one of those occasions when if anything can go wrong, it did go wrong! Prior to that I had flown alone on BA to JNB some 13 years previously and had been treated very snootily especially on the return flight and then in 1994 with Aer John in SAA which was OK-ish. The treatment I received on the VS flight encouraged me to continue especially when I wrote a rather mild letter to SRB's office about he flight and as a result received vouchers for any Virgin Megastore, a voucher against duty-free and a watch for Aer John. After that I was wedded to VS [y]

I didn't fly long-haul for another three years - again to JNB as my brother lives there. The vouchers had expired but a letter to VS extended them. Around that time I discovered FC and though I used up the vouchers on duty-free I realised I was using them for the sake of doing so.

That was then but now I am a fully fledged gold member so really the decision is between miles and a 10% discount off a fare

The decisions this time are different, hence my post.

[preiffer]

Option (i) could save you £300 off a Z fare to SYD or £250 off a Z to SFO/LAX - I'd go for that...

Having said that, the PURCHASE price of 5,000 miles is £90. SO, if the most expensive ticket you'll ever buy on VS is under £900 - it would make sense to go for the miles.

I would go for option i) as I have found it VERY difficult to use my miles.

(i) is definitely the right choice. As others have said, the more expensive the fare, the more money you save with the discount, whereas the 5000 miles is a constant number and won't change depending on the class/route you choose.

Originally posted by preiffer
Option (i) could save you £300 off a Z fare to SYD or £250 off a Z to SFO/LAX - I'd go for that...

Having said that, the PURCHASE price of 5,000 miles is £90. SO, if the most expensive ticket you'll ever buy on VS is under £900 - it would make sense to go for the miles.

Touche! Exactly my logic, but of course depends on whether you pay the higher fares ... £350-£300 is not to be sniffed at!

Can you use the voucher online?

I would also go for the discount - from your travelling habits, (upon which I commend you:D) I would say that it would serve you better;)

(Am I starting to sound like GJ?[}:)])

VS.

The voucher cannot be used online, but as HL would be ringing into Premier anyway (due to be from Eire) that should work out best. Vouchers CAN be used in a travel agent, against a published fare (but not a package, as such) but its MUCH easier and quicker to spend it directly with VS, as most travel agents would not know how to action this, and THEY would ring VS to find out how.

Hope that helps with the decision.

Originally posted by rcslt
I would go for option i) as I have found it VERY difficult to use my miles.

I agree. My experience of trying to arrange a use of airmiles for a flight a couple of years ago nearly scuppered the trip entirely due to the limitations on the number of seats on the flights they would release for miles related use.

You fly regularly, like to fly in an augmented class and (I assume) if you took the points would use them against a flight anyway rather than another reward. As long as the the discount is a discount against any flight purchase (and isn't hedged with caveats) it seems that it would the right option.

Paul

Check to see if there's any terms & conditions on the 10% off.

I had an 8 hour delay at Orlando, and had a similar offer although that was 25% off.

I also got the Hyatt Hoitel for the night

However the voucher was on valid on fully fexible full price tickets [}:)]

Another vote for option (i).

I had a 50% off letter from VS since September 2003, due to one of the new (at that time) A340-600s having technical problems that could not fly over from Heathrow to PVG. I have to stay overnight in Shanghai for an extra night, 18 hours later, another A340-600 came over and brought me home.

I have never found this letter useful, becasue most of my tickets have been paid by my employer. And for holidays to Dubai and USA, all paid by myself when the promotion is up. I am still not sure whether I can use this letter for the discounted tickets or just standard full fare (if that's the case, the letter will be useless). And if so, will I be able to use it for both myself and my wife? The letter only said "we would like to offer you a 50% discount off any published fare on a future VA scheduled service". Has anyone had similar letter before? And how you used them?

I didn't bother to check with FC, becasue discounted Economy seats are quite cheap for my holidays. Probably will try next time, to book UC tickets for holidays at Economy price. That will be 2009?... busy life!

By the way, FC still haven't credit me the 5,000 miles for not-working IFE in my September flight in UC. I was desprite to finish a move that I half-watched on the outboard!

I should think the use of 'fare' rather than 'fares' would imply it is for one fare only. However, hope you get an UC ticket for a Y price - Even with 50% off I think you might be struggling. I think 'published fare' is the key - if VS have published the fare you get 50% off even if the published fare is at a lower fare class than a fully flexible class.

If you still haven't had the 5000 mile compensation for faulty IFE you should contact FC about it. I am sure they would sort it out pretty quickly

The discout is only forr the person named on the letter. Still worth ringing about it, as if you are planning a holiday, you could always use expedia or some such for car hire and hotel separately, and have a nicer seat than the package normally allows. Why not purchase the slightly higher 'L' class (for upgradability) with discount, then ue miles to upgrade?

Many thanks for excellent suggestions.

One thing you won't believe, the 50% off letter do not have passenger's name! It is addressed to "Dear Virgin Traveler", only has a date and a printed signature from the General Manager, China.

I wonder after 3 years, whether FC actually still have the records for all passengers have been delayed in that month (I've heard this happened few times in September 2003 with new A340-600s).

I called FC last year to quote for a ticket (didn't actually buy it in the end, my employer paid the tickets through coperate travel agent, so no need to use this letter), and told them I've got this letter. They seems very generous about encouraging me to use it.

But there isn't a reference number or named passenger on the letter! Although the letter said I need to post the original letter and my original boarding pass to them when I book the 50% off ticket, they didn't even ask me for that!

And I haven't even told them my FC number, amazing! I think either FC has an unbelievable system which can track my name immediately, or they just take my words. I believe it is the later case.

When you ring to book, they will advise you to send the letter and that original ticket stub and boarding card (as proof you WERE on that flight) so they don't need a name on the letter. If your letter has an expiry date (or a not advising valid for 18 months from date of affected flight) you can always ring FC to see if it can be extended. Otherwise, it should still work, provided you still have that original ticket stub and boarding card.

Worth using it if you buy your own fares, especially if there is a sale on, as you would save even more!