Booking enquiry via airmiles

Hi All

Have been recommend this forum by a friend and would like to ask a question..

Me and a family member both have Virgin airmile accounts and we hold almost 22000 in airmiles each, if i wish to book 2 flights during the V sale to say Delhi in October, if i find a cheap flight via a price comparison site will V match this by phone? Also i have been told i have to book a certain type of flight to upgrade with airmiles, can someone please shed some more information on what type of flight?
I was thinking about booking Econ and then upgrading to PE but have looked at the V website i could also book PE and then upgrade to Upper with same amount of airmiles. Just need to make sure i book correctly, any answers much appreciate.

Thank you

Adam

[Neil]

Hi and welcome.

To use your miles you will need to book in to one the upgradeable fare codes, you cannot just book the cheapest fare and upgrade.

For economy you need to book in to either a Y/B/R/L fare code and then there needs to be PE reward availability (P fare) for you to use miles.

For PE you need to book in to either a W/S fare code and then there needs to be UC reward availability (G fare) for you to use miles.

You can kind of get this information from the VS website, but it isn't simple so it is easier to call them as they will be able to check multiple dates and fare codes much quicker. They will also be able to give you the full all in price as you will have to pay higher taxes/APD/fuel surcharge possibly also.

VS do price match their own fares from other websites but they won't match e.g. a BA fare. The T&Cs are a little complicated and you have to buy the flight from VS then send evidence of the price match to them - a screen shot using their webform.

price match

THe price match only applies to the base fare though and not to the fuel surcharge, taxes and airport fees. You can't claim a price match over the phone.

As to upgrades, to upgrade from Y to PE the ticket needs to be in the Y.B,R,L buckets and for PE to UC in the W and S buckets. But there also needs to be upgrade availabilty in the next cabin as well.

You can do a seach for these fares by using the 'upgrade/companion flights' tab under 'spend miles' in the flying club section of the VS website.

many thanks for the answers

Hi all

Been looking into this further and a little confused....if i book with V online for an Econ set in the L,R,B,Y seat range, the prices are £1025 return but if i go through a price comparison site and book Prem Econ seats for any seats on a V flight the prices are £997, the same dates. Am i doing something wrong?
As i thought the L,R,B,Y seat range would be the same price as regular Virgin Econ seats or a little more but not £318 more.

Please advise?

Thanks
Adam

[Neil]

It's a little unusual, but you do find sometimes find that it is actually cheaper to buy the lowest fare in PE than an upgradable Y fare. There is currently a sale on including PE so that has dropped that price and made it cheaper than a flexible Y seat.

The price difference between the lowest econ seat and the more flexible codes vary, but somewhere from around £250+ is about right, depending on which of the lowest fares is being quoted.

Neil

Then how is it worth it when on average you pay £250 more to upgrade with miles to the next class? The saving would be about £10-40..how disappointing!

Welcome to the lottery that is airline pricing, fare codes, and rules on flexiblity / upgrades. It may make no sense to us at times, at others it makes clear sense - when you're booking a long way out and there's a sale on, as Neil said, it seems illogical, try closer to your travel dates without a sale and you'll see more of a gap.

Bored at home so did some dummy bookings for 10/10 (out) and 17/10 (rtn) LHR-NYC so as to exclude any sales / special offers. This is the sort of mid-weel to mid-week trip I would do so obviously fares at a weekend would be different (but not that different)

£ 620.16 - X bucket (same price as offered on expedia)
£ 769.16 - L
£ 803.16 - R
£ 839.16 - L
£ 1401.16 - Y

The K PE fare is £ 1105.16. the S is £ 1455.16 and a W is £ 2,124.16

A Z in UC is £2406.126 and a J is £ 5967.16

So there are a range of buckets you could be in to upgrade from so obviously the lower the bucket the cheaper it becomes.

Would I buy a Y and then upgrade with miles into a K? Of course not but it is highly unlikely I'd be buying a Y in the first place as I don't need that flexibility and refundability. In that scenario I'd be straight into the K fare

But I don't think it is entirely fair to compare the cost of a Y with a K as a Y offers far more flexibility than a K in terms of changes / cancellations etc.

If you can book in advance then clearly there are some good upgradeable fares around but you need to do some research and get the calculator out!