When to upgrade to Silver?

Dear All

Just wondering if anyone can help out with my dilemma. I'm not very good at thinking through these sort of things.

Since Oct 03, I've racked up 16 Tier Points which will allow me to go up a level. Until Oct 04, I will fly with Virgin probably to NY (using my air miles for) and again maybe with work to SFO, so I won't get enough points to make gold.

Shall I upgrade asap to Silver so I can make the most of the fast check-in when I go to NY. I'm not going to make enough points to get to gold.

When I move up to silver, I presume I'll need to attain 10 tier points within a year from moving up to silver? If this is true, presumably it makes sense to move up to silver before my flight to NY seeing as I won't make enough points to reach gold in the year, and I can start making enough tier points to hold my silver card for the following year?

Many thanks for any help, hope it wasn't too confusing a question!
Cheers
Rich

[Decker]

unless I'm missing your point - it just happens when you qualify - you don't elect when to move. So as soon as you got 15 tier points the wheels will start to grind.

Ahh OK so I will be moved on to Silver, and if I happen to get to 30 points by the end of my first year (Oct03-Oct04), I move to gold,

If I don't (I most probably wont), I presume then I'll need 10 points from Oct04-Oct05 to keep silver...

Cheers
Rich

[mitchja]

Yes as soon as you have enough tier points to move up to silver - it will happen automatically.

The first place you will see this happen is online at the VS web site, if you have your account registered online that is.

Your FC number will change from an 00 6xx to a 00 8xx number and you will be issued a new card and luggage tags in due course.

Regards

Nothing seems to have happened yet, I have 16 tier points and still a 006 account - but then again I did only arrive back in the UK on Saturday !

Still - looking forward to a bit of Premium Economy queue-jumping. The outbound Miami flight took about 1hr 15m to check in!

Thanks all
Rich

[Decker]

This all confuses me BUT I think you have to get to 40 before May 05 now...

I've just had the same conversation with Virgin about this and me retaining gold.

Tier points run on a rolling year which makes things confusing when looking at the website as it tells you how many points you need but fails to warn you that you may have points that are about to expire.

So there I am happily going along thinking everything is OK and all of a sudden 8 points drop off....!!!

Panic set in...obviously which is when I called to find out what was happening as my card states that my gold period is up in July, and this is when the rolling year was explained to me.

In addition, just for information, once you move a level you tier points return to zero and you start all over again, and of course your rolling year is reset.

Does that make sense or have I just waffled!!!

Matt

[Decker]

Well when you move from Silver to Gold I don't think you reset. When you move from Silver to Gold I think you reset but keep the points for the month you qualify in.

Hopefully someone else can jump in but this seemed to be what happened to me...

#decker, as far as I was aware from what the young lady told me at the FC was when you either up or downgrade your FC status then tier points revert back to zero.

However, you do not loose your miles earned.

Matt

[Decker]

Matt

I can sort of understand that but combining

You only need to earn 15 tier points in a 12 month period to upgrade to flying club silver. And as long as you earn at least 10 tier points in your silver membership year, you'll remain a silver member (unless you move up to flying club gold).

with

Earn 40 tier points in a 12 month period and you'll become a flying club gold member. Every 12 months thereafter, you'll only need to accumulate 30 tier points to retain your flying club gold status.

Would mean that if I did 15 in Jan-June then 25 in Jul-Dec I'd have done 40 that year (40 tier points in a 12 month period) so I'd be gold?

Decker,

If you are currently silver, and you have 36 tier points for example and next month you do a return to NY in economy then you will reach your 40 points and become a gold member in June 2004.

At the point of upgrading your status to Gold your tier points will revert to zero and you will have to obtain a further 30 points between Jun 04 and the end of Jul 05 to retain your gold status.

This is where it gets confusing. If you do not have enough points to retain gold by July 05 you will be downgraded to silver (assuming you have achieved 10 tier points in the year Jun 04 to Jul 05 which is really 13 months but a months grace is given).

When you drop to silver, if I get this right, all tier points earned will revert to zero. If we work this over a 2 year period, then all tier points obtained for silver will be added to your account on a rolling year. If you do not qualify to move up, but do qualify to remain, then your tier points stay in tact. However, each tier point only has a shelf life of 1 year. So 8 tier points earned in Jun 2004 will expire in Jun 2005 and your tier point balance will be reduced by that number of miles.

Clear as mud huh?

Another example is my tier point balance on-line shows I needed 28 points to retain gold. In the last few months I have done a return MCO in PE, one return UC/PE to JFK and another UC/PE in MCO coming up later this month. This should have kept me going at my current level, however I am loosing 23 tier points from Apr/May/Jun from last year therefore although my membership shows as expiring in 07/04 I still do not have enough points to keep my at my current gold level[xx(][V]

Means I miss out by 1 point. The other annoying thing is that the tier points are not removed immediately so unless you keep good track of your flying dates and tier points earned it will leave you a little lost.

Matt

[Decker]

Yes prompted by your posting Mrs Decker has just been on the phone to Ag service as she drops a PE leg in June - the month we UC return to IAD. Regardless she still goes Au in June - hurrah!

Her simple way of explaining it to me was "12 months after you've earned it you lose it and you need enough points at the end of your current membership year to keep your current level"

quote:Originally posted by Matt
I still do not have enough points to keep my at my current gold level[xx(][V]

Means I miss out by 1 point.

If 1 point is all that separates you between Silver and Gold, i'd say it's worth taking a business flight from London to Manchester on BMI which will earn you that point. You could fly back in economy, since the extra point earned from a business flight will be lost on requalification anyway.

If you time the flights properly, you'd only need waste a morning doing it and if you pick a weird time or book far in advance it shouldn't cost too much.

Oooo Onionz, didn't think of cheating[:p][:p]

What a great idea. Will have to see what I can wangle on that one.

We travel all the time back and forth with BMI to BRU but always in Economy, will have to see if I can upgrade my next ticket at the airport...

Matt