AMS - SFO BA & VIRGIN UPPER

Hello all,

So, with your help I've managed to bag upper flights ams-lhr-sfo rtn in BA Club and Virgin Upper for £1630!!! After a moments panic that maybe I was booked on a lhr- sfo delta business flight (the horror, the horror), I don't think I am (please tell me I'm not!) , it's almost sunk in...what a BARGAIN, I'm ecstatic.

So..with 18 tier points to gold before Oct I now need to book Delta/Virgin America flights to and from SFO to Vegas to get them. My plan is to fly SFO - LAX - LAS return...I just need to figure out all the flight times. From first glance, it looks like I may need to have a night in LAX if I'm to fly delta for the SFO - LAX bit and then take a Virgin America LAX - LAS..if I do this all in business return then this should get me gold...I think.

Any advice greatly appreciated. Also, for the LHR - SFO bit, we are travelling as a group of 3, is the seating choice 17, 18 , 19 A the best, its a 747 400 - think.

Ooooh I've never been to the SFO lounge...is it good?!! And does anyone know what the BA lounge is at Schipol?

Thanks everyone

Well done! That's a great price. As long as you're booked on VS19/20 you'll be fine.

To answer some of your questions: BA have their own lounge at Schiphol. It's very, very average I'm afraid - a typical old-style BA Terraces lounge with cold snacks (fruit, cheese, olives, crisps etc) and bar. It's located before security and a long walk from the gate so be warned.

I've never been to the SFO Clubhouse so can't comment on that, but your choice of seats on the 747 is perfect - 19A is many V-Flyers' favourite.

When you say you need 18 TPs for Au, does that include the 10 you'll earn for the LHR-SFO and return flights? I presume so, in which case you still need 8, so SFO-LAX return in DL First Class will earn you 6 and LAX-LAS in VX First Class will earn you 4. So all good.

In fact you could do the VX flights in economy if you want to save money and still make Au - as nice as VX First Class is, LAX to LAS is a very short flight and probably not worth spending the extra money unless you really want to. On the off-chance that seats are still available in First Class 6 hours before departure, you can upgrade online for a very reasonable price - much cheaper than booking it upfront.

Sounds like a great trip.
The SFO lounge is great, my favourite after the LHR CH. It's small but the food is great and it has great runway views. Last time i was there the WiFi was also solid which can be hit and miss in some of the CHs. Love SFO airport as well!

Very good point Gumshoe about the points..that will save me some dose and yes, noted about the schipol lounge..would be a bit of a shame to miss the flight because of a the long walk from a rubbish lounge!!

Thank you mswadley, I hope to report in from there on their excellent wifi then.

Also, as luck would have it..we had some old ba avios miles tucked away in an account we didn't know existed and those have got us BA Club (one ways) out to AMS for £60 quid...cheaper than easy jet and loadsaluggage allowance.

May gambling in vegas only go as smoothly as all this..so far..touch wood etc

[honey lamb]

I've done this route before - in fact I think I was the first V-Flyer to do so, or at least post a TR on same.

OK, the BA lounge is AMS is mediocre and has been said, a long walk both from check to it and also from the lounge to the gate. A fellow passenger alongside me opined we were walking to London. It felt like that.

A word of warning, do not, I repeat NOT eat the cooked breakfast on the AMS-LHR leg. I did. It was swimming in a pool of grease with a half-cooked, half raw sausage and I was violently ill on the LHR-SFO leg as a result!

The SFO lounge is lovely and in the days before the current LHR Clubhouse opened it regularly won the V-Flyer award for the Best Clubhouse in the days when we did have rewards. I just love it! I mourn the passing of Claire and Luz who for many years set the standard but that has been maintained after they left.

I still have fond memories of my first time there way back in 2003. We had flown in from Hawaii on an overnight flight - we being me and Aer John, who at that stage was a mere nipper of 14. We had booked a day room in a hotel prior to our flight back to LHR and were later picked up by an 18 year old that we had met at a mega-party two years previously courtesy of a now defunct travel forum not dissimilar in ethos to V-Flyer and are still friends with. At check-in Aer John, who at that stage could charm the birds off the trees and had managed to blag our way into the Continental Lounge on our way out to Hawaii and the Delta Lounge on our way back ("Omigod, that CUTE Irish accent!! ) asked, knowing that the lounge was landside, if Evan could join us "just to chat" promising to leave if it got crowded. The check-in agent said that it was up to the staff on the day and said that if she were there she would agree. She also said that she normally worked there and after summing us all up said, "I'll tell you what, say Claire said to ask" it was like Open Sesame!! Of course it was only the following year or so when V-Flyer started that I realised I had been talking to the queen of the SFO Clubhouse.

Once in the CH, which on entering had a WOW! factor, we were quickly accommodated. John ordered something to eat and Evan was allowed to do the same even though we explained the circumstances. I, however was seriously jet-lagged and hadn't slept in the day room and, if the truth be known, was more than a tad hungover and the cabin crew on Delta had insisted on topping up my wine glass every time she passed (Yeah, right! Liked I refused or protested! ) Luz was patrolling the area and was most upset that I wasn't eating or drinking. Eventually she said, "Madam, I know what you need. You need some champagne!" She was dead right!

Claire and Luz are long gone but their legacy still lingers on. There was a blip when VS decided to outsource but swiftly realised their mistake. Claire agreed to come back and once more instilled the standards that she had upheld. It was my privilege to be able to present her with a V-Flyer award one year and also to present her with a bouquet on behalf of V-Flyer when by chance we learned the day I was flying out on her last day working for VS. The standards she instilled remain and it is my sorrow that that last few times I have left from the West coast of the USA have not been through the SFO Clubhouse

I echo HL's advice on BA food on the AMS flight.

I've just managed £1583 from BRU-LHR-SFO so if anyone else is looking for ex-EU fares I recommend BRU as it seems to be cheaper than AMS and CDG at the moment.

The SFO clubhouse is awesome and Robert the manager is great and very welcoming. I actually like all of the SFO staff there. They are fun and warm and it's a great place to sit and watch the airfield.