Am I missing something?

I've been an FC gold member for many years and always choose Virgin, even though it's often not the cheapest, because I enjoy some of the perks that gold membership brings namely no queues at check-in, clubhouses and the occasional free upgrade.

However having accumulated hundreds of thousands of miles, and been 'awarded' other rewards such as 'companion tickets', I'm starting to wonder if the miles are really worth much to me.

Take the 'companion ticket' for example - I can only use it if I purchase a full-fare ticket for myself. Given that I don't typically need the extra flexibility that a full-fare ticket offers, I have the 'choice' of either purchasing a full-fare ticket for an upcoming journey for $1644 and using the free companion ticket, or just buying two non-flexible fares of $368 and saving $908! Hence it's a 'gift' from the airline that I will never use which isn't really a gift at all.

The same concept applies to using mileage for upgrades. By the time you've paid for the full-fare ticket, you may as well just buy a non-flexible ticket in the class you wanted to be upgraded to. I found this out to my chagrin when I tried to use my hard-earned miles on my honeymoon.

What am I missing? Obviously people that regularly buy flexible tickets benefit, but aren't they in the minority?

Currently the ongoing perks of gold membership I mentioned to begin with are (just) persuading me to keep flying VS even if other airlines are cheaper, but in the absence of more favourable perks like a couple of free upgrades p.a. etc.., is my loyalty properly being rewarded in an ultra-competitive market?

Any thoughts welcome, thanks.

[preiffer]

hi bamiee, and welcome [y]

The "value" of those companion fares is a very frequent topic here. The best way to use them seems to be on S-class (semi-flexible) PE bookings, and that seems to be the only way to make a genuine saving with them.

In terms of miles, well - free (excl. taxes) flights are surely a big benefit. With 100's of thousands of miles, as you say, you can go Upper/PE all around the world, with no problem. Upgrades, are not really that poor value:

Cheapest upgradeable Eco (L) fare to SF + 20k miles is a often a lot less than the cheapest PE fare (bearing in mind the K fares disappear quickly).

And that same L fare + 60k miles is often a LOT less than the cost of an Upper Class return, even if you were able to purchase this in Z class (the cheapest).


Also remember that miles bookings are relatively flexible, so you gain quite a bit from that over the cheapest fare, too...

[Scrooge]

Just a note,if booking a flight from the US you have to us a B fare as we are not allowed to use the L fares for upgrading[n][V],but yes using your miles for free flights has got to be a good deal.

[preiffer]

Ah yes, forgot that little gem (thanks Dave!)

We need to upgrade that fare guide, too, at some stage I guess.

[Scrooge]

Originally posted by preiffer
Ah yes, forgot that little gem (thanks Dave!)

We need to upgrade that fare guide, too, at some stage I guess.

Working on it now,might as well make it a little easier to understand while im at it.

Welcome Bamiee. I have an idea. Make a few of authorised users of you FC account and we shall try to use your miles in the most constructive way possible and report back to you for future reference.

Paul

I do not think you are missing anything, I also find the benifits make little material difference to my travel.

And I didn't even get a christmas card from FC this year!

Maybe something is being missed. I think the OP was implying that you had to buy a full full fare (eg Y in econ) to use the miles benefits such as upgrading. This is not the case, for example one could upgrade one of the less flexible fares

I find my miles a godsend, for example. I rack up my miles, then when I and Mrs B travel I usually buy a Z fare (for the TPs and Miles) and she has a G fare, meaning both of usually travel to MCO in Upper for a total of less than £1500 (subject to fare variations) thats just £750 per person. There is not way you can fly UC (without an OpUp) for £750 without using miles. I would therefore say this is a good use of miles.

Also, and this has been a subject of much debate here before, as I am based in the Midlands I regularly trade 10k miles for the Limo. I was unable to do this on my forthcoming trip as I did not have any G class booked and the resulting tranfer has cost me £400 (return). So in this instance I would normally have used 20k miles to save £400. Again I think this is good use. But for those nearer to LHR/LGW than I, I can see why this is not so good.

Paul

Originally posted by preiffer
The best way to use them seems to be on S-class (semi-flexible) PE bookings, and that seems to be the only way to make a genuine saving with them.

Did a bit of investigation on some high season Y tickets (MCO-LGW-MCO).

Cheapest N class tickets = $758. L Class ticket = $978 + free companion - so $978+tax/fees rather than $1516+tax/fees. In addition the taxes are lower on a free ticket.

Companion tickets can (and often do) offer savings even in Y.

Phil

Originally posted by preiffer
Ah yes, forgot that little gem (thanks Dave!)

We need to upgrade that fare guide, too, at some stage I guess.

Ooh, yes please! As someone who isn't here often enough to remember which is which, an idiot-proof table or something would be most welcome.[^]

[RichardMannion]

Hi Guys,

I am already working on an updated fare guide (coupled in with todays annoucements about changes to FC - fortunately I had a heads upt hat changes were coming!).

Thanks,
Richard