Bagged Gs and FC inflexibility ...

Hi all,

Just booked myself and my partner on VS117 to Miami and back on VS6 for next January.

Managed to get Gs on both ways without any problems !!!
Will be on A333 on the way out and the A346 on the way back (well most likely to change until then)so pretty much a happy bunny and just wanted to share my enthusiasm

On a side note, I've found that Flying Club rules aren't very flexible ... Typically, I had just over 60K miles and my partner had 15K, which was actually enough for both our upgrades (from M outbound and S inbound) but they couldn't take 60K on mine and 15K on the other ...
It had to be 62.5K and 12.5K, meaning that I had to pay for an extra 2K miles to get the transaction ...
Further in the process, I was planning to buy the bulk of the cost on one card and the rest on another but again not possible ... So had to split the cost in 2 and pay half on each which isn't really convenient for me but had to as it was the only option given ...
I would have thought that as long as they've got the money, they should be happy to take it from anywhere ...
Any experience on that ?
I'm not moaning as it's done but am just curious ...
Many thanks !

[Neil]

What you have said on the mileage is all correct and the way the rules have been for a long time.
The mileage taken has to equal the amount required for one leg, be that an upgrade or full reward.

I've not experienced the issue with how you pay for the flight, because I have always just fully paid on one card, but I suppose the same applies as it does with the mileage.

Neil

Thanks Neil!
I just question the rules as it doesn't make sense to refuse payments for that reason methinks

wrt the cards, i'd guess that there's only support in the systems for one set of card details per ticket

may also be legal/contractual reasons on top of this

Most likely Sungod...
Oh well, happy all the same!!!
Another UC trip in the bag
Would you think there's a little chance for the Dreamliner to be rostered on one of the flight until January?

I suspect it's because the person who staffs the card machine in the office get's overwhelmed by two cards for a booking!

Never tried to split paying between two cards but I experienced the mileage issue.

When booking our April flights I think I had about 80k and my travel partner 28k. I was told I needed 50k in each account for our upgraded from the M fare. They wouldn't accept a combination of the miles, so my travel partner had to bump up her FC a/c by buying miles. Another FC agent had previously told me a different scenario

However it is in the rule book so no arguement really, however seems a tad inflexible because for long as they get the required miles of 100k does it really matter it's not an equal % from each account.

Brilliant deal on the 'G' fare and that's more important

I had the same thing when booking our Virgin America flights - I transferred miles from mine to hubby's account. Funnily enough although we were ticketed straight away (and able to choose our seats) the miles still haven't been collected and now hubby has collected enough to cover the 2k he needed back in October

dunno why they dont just let all those travelling together pool their miles

Fully agree Eggtastico or create a household account like BA

Never tried to split paying between two cards but I experienced the mileage issue.

When booking our April flights I think I had about 80k and my travel partner 28k. I was told I needed 50k in each account for our upgraded from the M fare. They wouldn't accept a combination of the miles, so my travel partner had to bump up her FC a/c by buying miles. Another FC agent had previously told me a different scenario

However it is in the rule book so no arguement really, however seems a tad inflexible because for long as they get the required miles of 100k does it really matter it's not an equal % from each account.

Brilliant deal on the 'G' fare and that's more important

You should have been able to do 75k and 25k, that's my understanding. The miles taken from an account have to be enough for one leg upgrade (or reward), and I've split 75/25 before with my OH's account.

I think there are rules about splitting payments across cards on CNP payments, and I think some companies internal policy may not be to allow it. Different if it's a face-to-face transaction.

That'll make me check the rules on my merchant account now, not that I do split payments though.

Never tried to split paying between two cards but I experienced the mileage issue.

When booking our April flights I think I had about 80k and my travel partner 28k. I was told I needed 50k in each account for our upgraded from the M fare. They wouldn't accept a combination of the miles, so my travel partner had to bump up her FC a/c by buying miles. Another FC agent had previously told me a different scenario

However it is in the rule book so no arguement really, however seems a tad inflexible because for long as they get the required miles of 100k does it really matter it's not an equal % from each account.

Brilliant deal on the 'G' fare and that's more important

You should have been able to do 75k and 25k, that's my understanding. The miles taken from an account have to be enough for one leg upgrade (or reward), and I've split 75/25 before with my OH's account.

I've done 75K and 25K almost every time we've booked Gs without issue; they just need the mileage per sector to come from one account.

julmops, congratulations on your upgrades!

Thanks all !
Only 314 days to go ...
While I'm there, we have booked 3 nights at Mondrian South Beach before our cruise ...
Anyone of you stayed there in the past ?

I know that BA will only take one card per booking, have to split bookings for people to pay separately.

VS used to be able to split payment on single booking...

You should have been able to do 75k and 25k, that's my understanding. The miles taken from an account have to be enough for one leg upgrade (or reward), and I've split 75/25 before with my OH's account.

That's is very interesting and actually makes me a tad peeved but like I said, it was conflicting info from different FC agents. I did say to one of them that we had combined our FC accounts together when upgrading previously but the young man said that VS had tightened up on the rules (a statement I accepted). At that time I was just glad to get the 'G' fares. However with this fact to hand, I shall note this for the future

That's is very interesting and actually makes me a tad peeved but like I said, it was conflicting info from different FC agents. I did say to one of them that we had combined our FC accounts together when upgrading previously but the young man said that VS had tightened up on the rules (a statement I accepted). At that time I was just glad to get the 'G' fares. However with this fact to hand, I shall note this for the future

You may have confused the agent by saying that you had 'combined' your accounts because you can't do that.

You can use miles from two(or more) accounts if the other account holder(s) has given authorisation but in no way have your accounts been combined.

Yes sorry tontybear wrong terminology of my conversation with FC.

I meant to say that I explained I had previously used miles from both our accounts without any problems. The agent actually acknowledged this because he said my friend's authorisation for this is noted on my FC account as well as hers. To be fair, I think some agents are more confident and experienced than others and it depends who you get on the day

Well I have most certainly split payments between two different credit cards when paying for M to G upgrades with VS. In 2014, when I purchased flights to NRT.

I paid approx 20% of the cost on one card (BA Amex) to meet a bonus target and the rest on a MBNA Virgin Black card. They did not question this but did say that the e-ticket would take longer than 24 hours to issue as the payment was on two cards (which it did).

So unless they have changed the "rules", this seems inconsitent.

Don't always believe what the first VS agent tells you. Always question it, ask to be put on hold so they can make sure they haven't screwed stuff up.

They've taken 4 days to process an e-ticket, tried to charge me a change fee when none applied and told me at LHR that the only way I could pay for their screw up was in GBP. Needless to say, I might frame the $5 check I got from them covering my foreign currency conversion fee.

As far as miles sharing goes, I never complain as I'm used to US carriers charging you to use someone else miles, if they even let you. And even then, there's a cap on the number and the cost makes it prohibitive. VS lets you share miles with very few rules. My fiancé and I don't share the same last name or address on file but we interchangeably use each other's miles for the past several years with no issues. And many great flights!

Don't always believe what the first VS agent tells you. Always question it, ask to be put on hold so they can make sure they haven't screwed stuff up.

Fair advice, but I have encountered agents who have really stuck to their guns even though I know they are mistaken (thank you V-Flyer)

They will say that they are checking through everything but in reality will be playing minesweeper or answering another call. If you are sure they have messed up, either ask them to stick the entire transaction on hold and then call back later and hope for a diff agent or ask to be put through to the supervisor.

Needless to say, I might frame the $5 check I got from them covering my foreign currency conversion fee.

Awesome

Thanks for the comments all! Interesting debate for sure... As I've changed roles recently, I won't fly long-haul anymore for work, lucky I've just renewed my Silver... Next UC trip will then be to Miami on my birthday next year in Jan... Don't mind starting my 42th birthday at the Clubhouse