Premium Reward Upgrade query

I just checked my flying club statement and noticed that, in January there was an entry of 'VAA Credit Card Econ>Premium Reward Upgrade' with 0 miles & 0 tier points.
Can anyone explain what that is as I've never noticed it in the past. I had about 28,500 miles at that time. Thank You.

Katie

Hi KATIE,
It means you must have made the qualifying spend on your Virgin cc to get an eco-prem upgrade voucher. You can only redeem through virgin customer service and you will need reward availability in Premium cabin, but you only use the economy miles. Only you can tell if its worth it as you have to use quite a few miles, its best used when there is a reward sale on. Hope this helps. Linda

OK Linda, Thanks for that. I suspected that was what it meant but have never seen it even with 100k+ miles

Katie

Hi Katie,

That's because it's not miles dependent, it's based on your Virgin Amex spend, and when you reach the threshold it is added to your FC account at the end of your credit card year. There are no miles or tier points earned from this credit. As has been explained you get a PE reward for the cost in miles of a Y reward, but there has to be availability in the PE cabin.

Hi Katie

We have used these vouchers a couple of times, particularly good value when there is a reward seat sale. We have used them for ORD and MCO. You have to be flexible on dates and maybe even location.
I am currently awaiting another reward seat sale before we book flights to DXB for December

Hope that helps
L2H

That sounds like a better deal. I'll wait a while & see if I get another one which I can use for my husband and then watch for a sale. We're pretty flexible so we'll get something at some point.

Thanks for the info.

Katie

Hi All,

I am due to hit the spend for this reward flight upgrade very soon. What happens if I book an economy redemption flight now, will I be able to phone up and use the voucher to upgrade to PE later if there is availability? I definitely have a trip planned in December so itching to get flights booked!

[Neil]

Hi All,

I am due to hit the spend for this reward flight upgrade very soon. What happens if I book an economy redemption flight now, will I be able to phone up and use the voucher to upgrade to PE later if there is availability? I definitely have a trip planned in December so itching to get flights booked!

There really isn't any benefit to doing that.
To use the voucher there doesn't actually have to be economy miles seats available, just PE ones, so booking now won't make any difference and could actually cause you more problems if PE reward seats don't become available for the exact dates/flights you want.

Just wait until the PE seats are available then book.

Hi All,

I am due to hit the spend for this reward flight upgrade very soon. What happens if I book an economy redemption flight now, will I be able to phone up and use the voucher to upgrade to PE later if there is availability? I definitely have a trip planned in December so itching to get flights booked!

Rabbit you also have to wait for the upgrade vouchers to appear on your account. Unlike the companion reward vouchers, which are added as soon as you hit the required spend, the PE reward upgrades are added at the end of your year with the credit card. You can earn 2 PE reward upgrades in one year.

Cheers

How do you know if you have qualified for the upgrade vouchers? I have a feeling I may have missed these! What is the qualifying spend?

[Neil]

How do you know if you have qualified for the upgrade vouchers? I have a feeling I may have missed these! What is the qualifying spend?

You know when the rewards show up on your online account, in the format the OP has highlighted.

The spend levels are £5000 on the black card and £10000 on the white card. You can earn 2 upgrades per year.

Another question on using the upgrade vouchers, if I wanted an upper class seat could I purchase a reward economy using miles, use the amex upgrade and then use airmiles to upgrade that to upper? If that is possible would the availability just need to be an upperclass reward?

[Neil]

Another question on using the upgrade vouchers, if I wanted an upper class seat could I purchase a reward economy using miles, use the amex upgrade and then use airmiles to upgrade that to upper? If that is possible would the availability just need to be an upperclass reward?

No, Once you have used the voucher to upgrade to PE cannot then further upgrade that ticket at all, either with more miles or cash.

ok, that's a shame, can you use the upgrade voucher to upgrade a miles reward economy ticket or can it only be used on an up-gradable fare bucket?

[Neil]

ok, that's a shame, can you use the upgrade voucher to upgrade a miles reward economy ticket or can it only be used on an up-gradable fare bucket?

It can only be used in conjunction with a full miles seat. You use the amount of miles for a Y redemption seat but get PE upgrade thanks to the voucher. There only needs to be PE miles seats available.

Darn, I'll have to look at these. Mine is a USA credit card but I easily do plus 5K.