Companion and upgrade advice please!

Help me please, wise gurus!
I'm looking to get the Dragon clan to Lax next summer and need a bit of advice. My understanding was that if I purchases a qualifying revenue fare (either B,L or Y) and used the companion voucher issued by MBNA to take another passenger with me for "free" I could also use 20,000 to upgrade the revenue fare to PE (or to UC for even more miles) AND use the PE upgrade voucher to upgrade the companion fare to PE.It was my belief that this was the only time a companion fare could be upgraded.FC seem a bit mystified and have said they'll call me back today when they've talked to "somebody who'll know" (could that be somone we might know on here ??).Have I got this wrong?
Thanks DL

[RichardMannion]

Hi DragonLady,

Your workings are correct!

You buy a revenue L,B or Y fare. You can then use your companion voucher to get you a companion seat. This will come out of T class availability.

You can then use normal miles to upgrade your revenue L, B, or Y to PE (or UC); and then you can use your VS MBNA upgrade reward to move the T class seat(s) to PE via availability in U class.

Thanks,
Richard

Thank you for that confirmation Richard -I've not been contacted back by FC yet so it will be interesting to see if their response is the same The lady I spoke to yesterday seemed very sure that this NOT possible and asked me where I had received this information from. I advised her that the information is on V-flyer-and directed her where to find the information .Funnily enough though she then said that the "person who might know in the dept" has contact with "somone from V-flyer" so I replied that it was probably your good self to which she replied "yes". It was only then that she offered to investigate further.
Regards
DL

What a timely topic - i am just about to call Flying Club to ask exactly the same question - but on a flight to JNB for next August. Checked on the Expertflyer site for availability in Y, B or L and they are all showing as 7!
If you have any joy, Dragonlady, could you let me know via a PM! I will post back if i have any joy.

Regards
Zambandit

Just got off the phone to Premier Team....outbound to JNB no availability for companion tickets in Econ and the same for the inbound date. Said there haven't been any released yet! and to try later on in the month! There is reward availability in PE and Upper outbound (but that means buying an S or W!!)and i'm travelling with the kids!

Cheers
Zambandit

I asked the same question http://www.v-flyer.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=20710
I called the FC to book after checking availability and was told that I couldn't do this [V] I did ask them to check with a supervisor/manager and over several phone calls the answer came back the same NO NO NO[B)]

[RichardMannion]

Originally posted by infrequentflyer
I asked the same question http://www.v-flyer.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=20710
I called the FC to book after checking availability and was told that I couldn't do this [V] I did ask them to check with a supervisor/manager and over several phone calls the answer came back the same NO NO NO[B)]

Sorry to anyone if they take offence, but it sounds like there is a batch of agents at Virgin that simply have no clue when it comes to this. If you get one of these people, ask them to speak to Flying Club Support who will quickly put them on the straight and narrow.

If you want to use a VS AmEx companion voucher and the upgrade reward together, then you can.

You buy one revenue seat (in L, B or Y class). You can then use your companion reward against it, bearing in mind that there will need to be availability in T class (which is the reward bucket for Economy). Taxes will need to be paid on the companion seat of course.

You then use normal FC miles to upgrade the L, B or Y revenue fare to Premium Economy - so there will need to be availability in U Class (Premium Economy reward bucket).

Then you can use your AmEx Upgrade reward to upgrade the companion seat which is booked in T class, again there will need to be availability in U class.

With that you will have 2 people travelling in PE, for the price of:

One L, B or Y revenue fare
20k FC miles to upgrade the revenue fare (round trip) to PE
One AmEx (or FC Au renewal for that matter) companion voucher; (if you don't have one of these you can always do a normal reward companion seat for a cost of 20k miles (return)
One AmEx Upgrade voucher

Of course you can repeat the above for another 2 people, or do a clever 2 in PE and 2 in UC booking.

Thanks,
Richard

OK now i'm [:(!]
I've spent 50k miles that I shouldn't have had to[V]
edited to add
Having calmed down I have fired an e-mail off to the FC stating the facts and requesting them to look into this on my behalf I will report back with the answer when given.

Seems to be confusion as I have also been given conflicting information from VS customer service in the past.

How about writing an Idiots guide to Upgrade Vouchers for them Richard as you seem to be the expert..[oo] Certainly seems like they need some advice.

I have phoned FC 4 times today to try to get a member of staff to agree with what LRoM is stating but, I've not had any joy.
No-one seemd to be able to confirm to me that I can use the upgrade voucher on a companion ticket once I have upgraded with miles an 'L' class ticket to PE.
I am going to send an email to see if I get the same answer LRoM has given.
Will keep you posted.

[RichardMannion]

Originally posted by Roxy-Popsy
I have phoned FC 4 times today to try to get a member of staff to agree with what LRoM is stating but, I've not had any joy.
No-one seemd to be able to confirm to me that I can use the upgrade voucher on a companion ticket once I have upgraded with miles an 'L' class ticket to PE.
I am going to send an email to see if I get the same answer LRoM has given.
Will keep you posted.

Tell them to speak to the supervisor in Flying Club Support. It really is worrying that front line agents can't quite grasp the concept. [V]

Afternoon all,
I received a very prompt response to my email last evening with regard to the above query.
I am still being told that I can't combine a companion ticket with an upgrade voucher.
I shall now try to contact the supervisor at FC support as suggested by LRoM.
Watch this space.

[RichardMannion]

Oh for goodness sake, we are reaching new depths of stupidity. I'll call the relevant people at VS as this is causing customer dissat. What's the point of having a VS AX and spending lots of money, if you are then goign encoutner this lunacy when you're trying to use the rewards in a valid way.

Can you post the e-mail up (minus names).

Even if it wasn't in relation to a VS AmEx upgrade reward, you can combine companion and upgrade on a revenue ticket. So if I buy an L,B or Y, I can use miles (or a voucher) to get a companion seat in Economy AND also use miles to upgrade the revenue seat to PE or UC (though the companion seat cannot).

Thanks,
Richard

Dearest V-Flyers

I'VE DONE IT! I'VE DONE IT! I'VE DONE IT!!!![^][^]

I've got what LRoM said I could have![^][^][^][^][^]

I will post the email tomorrow from VA saying I COULDN'T have have what LRoM said I COULD have!!!!

I'm a bit of a numb nuts on the computer & it's late [|)][|)] so will try to post the email - minus names tomorrow.

Thaks must go to the super efficient, very helpful & frienly FC support supervisor that finally sorted it for me.[^]:D:)

My faith in VA has been restored. The supervisor said she would put a note on my file ready for when I use the next companion voucher & upgrade voucher.

The result is 2xPE returns to LHR-JFK next April for a TOTAL of £719.80 + 20,000 miles + 1 companion voucher + 1 upgrade voucher.

WWHOOOOOPPPPPPPEEEEEEEE
THANK YOU RICHARD[oo][oo][oo]

[honey lamb]

Excellent result! [^] [^]

Top work - especially as I need to do the same thing in December.

I'VE DONE IT! I'VE DONE IT! I'VE DONE IT!!!!

Congrats for that. I haven't had a reply to my e-mail yet, fingers crossed for a retrospective result for me.

Hmm, I tried that with my April JNB ticket and was told no. It cost me a Premium Economy Ticket + Companion Voucher.
I'd like to see the explaination too, so I can save it for future use. Thanks for following up this thread.

Here's the email that I sent to VA late on Wednesday evening;


Dear Sirs

I have companion ticket that I needed to book by today.
I also have an amex upgrade voucher.
I tried today to utilise the 2 of them.
I clarified that if I booked a revenue seat, in L, B, or Y class then I could use the companion ticket against it. This was agreed
upon by 4 members of staff each time I 'phoned today.

I then wanted to upgrade with miles the revenue ticket & again this was agreed upon as long as there was availability in U class of course.

I then wanted to utilise the amex upgrade voucher on the companion ticket which was in T class to U class, as long as there was availability. This is where the problem arose. I was informed that this was not possible. I had been informed that this is possible.
I have spoken to 4 members of staff in Flying Club silver but don't know how to contact Flying Club support.

I should be so very much obliged if you would clarify the situation & if I am correct allow me leeway to book this particular flight.

Thank you very much for your valuable time & thank you,in anticipation for your prompt attention in this matter.

Yours faithfully


Here's the reply that I received from VA on Thursday morning;


Thank you for your email.

We are unable to advise about upgrades via email.

For further assistance please speak with your Flying Club helpline.

A list of telephone numbers can be found on our website:

http://www.virgin-atlantic.com/frequent ... /index.jsp

Any of our advisors will be pleased to help.

I am sorry to inform you that the companion reward and the upgrade voucher cannot be combined.

To book companion flights please speak with your Flying Club helpline.

A list of telephone numbers can be found on our website:

http://www.virgin-atlantic.com/frequent ... /index.jsp

Any of our advisors will be pleased to help.

Thank you for contacting Virgin Atlantic.

Kind Regards


I am a bit of a donut when it comes to computers so I know that one of the gurus will be able to 'smallen'/highlight the emails.


I should like to extend my thanks again to LRoM [|:)][^]:D & the FC support supervisor [|:)][^]:D without whom this saga would not have been resolved to a positive outcome for me.

As the FC support supervisor said to me on the 'phone yesterday, it was my hard earned money that had enabled me to obtain the companion & upgrade vouchers so I should be able to utilise them.[^][^]

I now think that I shall never fly long haul with any other airline & if VA doesn't fly to where I want to fly to then I won't go there.

Thanks for all V-flyer support tot, very much appreciated guys & gals.[^]

I'm impressed you got a reply in 2 days. Normally my emails take 2 to 3 weeks to respond to. However, they are not normally sales related.

Ah yes, but I have another companion voucher & upgrade voucher to use in the not too distant future.[:w];)

Excellent...

Quickie query - how do I know if I have the required companion and upgrade vouchers from Amex? They're not 'physical' vouchers, are they...
[I had the VS MC for 18 months, and now the black Amex for about 10 months..]

VAA Amex Upgrades go in on the 'anniversary' of the card date ie: 12 months after having the card. It will show in your FC account when you log in. (companions go in when you have spend the required amount on the AMEX card)

Just to hijack this thread.....

How do you find out if you have earnt an upgrade?.
I have had the white card since it was first introduced, my FC account shows a 'VAA Credit Card Companion Flight Qualification', but there is no sign of the upgrade qualification.

Would I be correct in saying that if I qualified for a companion (spend £15000) then I should also have earnt an upgrade ( spend £10000)

Thanks,
Tim

Originally posted by Tim
Just to hijack this thread.....

How do you find out if you have earnt an upgrade?.
I have had the white card since it was first introduced, my FC account shows a 'VAA Credit Card Companion Flight Qualification', but there is no sign of the upgrade qualification.

Would I be correct in saying that if I qualified for a companion (spend £15000) then I should also have earnt an upgrade ( spend £10000)

Thanks,
Tim

Well seemigly the answer would be yes, but this is MBNA you're dealing with (and they seem to struggle with the concept of basic arithmatic and logic). I've had a similar issue with them which has been rumbling for months and has only just been sorted (not by lack of effort on my part either).
My issue with the companion and upgrade has now been resolved with a satisfactory outcome so many thanks to all those who've had a helping hand in this matter.FC rang back when they said they would, and gave me an affirmative answer to the question posed (having confirmed the response with a FC supervisor). It's heartening when people DO what they SAY they're going to do (MBNA customer services please take note....).
Hopefully there will be no further confusion in the future when the vouchers are used simultaneously.
DL