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Just FYI and apologies if this alert is previously buried in previous Forums – just had to cancel a UC outbound and return PE both using Flying Club points – from US in November due to client side problems – Was really shocked that each booking – yes I did 2 – as availability is better that way as I have reported back before (tip) – was a whopping £70 per booking to cancel = £ 140 (I intend to rebook with VA with new dates but that carries zero weight it appears as I cannot rebook today due to the client issues)……..
Just letting others who may – like me not know this fee has ‘doubled’ recently and is buried in the VA small print no doubt somewhere – an own goal IMO as BA charge £ 35 for the same per transaction (a rare win for BA in my book!) …poor PR by VA too – if there was a date proximity factor okay eg 30 days or 60 or 90 days BUT for a cancellation in November of points ????? ….Ive paid and will move on but not best pleased as this is very unusual, AND to be double BA – and with the poor availability with new (un) dynamic VA pricing – they will resell my seats tomorrow…..mmmm Caveat Emptor – I was not – and my fault Please be aware !
Widely reported and discussed when the move to dynamic pricing occurred – presumably Virgin now want to dissuade people from booking speculatively knowing they can cancel for a small fee.
These charges aren’t secret.
And yes if you have two separate bookings then you pay twice – just like BA.
Yes you pay twice and twice as much as on BA – really quite odd to me ! I think the ‘date proximity to cancellation’ vv day of travel should be looked at to make it fairer – eg say £ 70 per cancellation if 90 days before travel and £ 35 if more than 90 days – these are Flying Club points bookings – they are gold dust – the airline wins again…S*** happens and they know travel plans change – so you either book and pay cancellations OR if you want to pay 350,000 one way in UC to USA and same for return ……….700,000 return OR you do what I did and book 29,000 one way in UC and 18,000 in PE – I paid for that great deal and lost BUT would be really P’d off if I had to pay £ 140 to cancel a 700,000 FC miles booking ! Just saying….Thanks and I missed this fee hike last time My bad !
They do quote the new fees when you book by phone
Yes you pay twice and twice as much as on BA – really quite odd to me !
Why is it odd? They are separate companies with separate policies and fee rates.
I actually think BA must follow in hiking cancellation fees. Too many people booking speculatively and cancelling close to travel. Or at the least hike the charges if cancelling within 90 days as suggested by OP.
Both bookings I made on line – I saw no mention of the £70 cancellation fee per booking – I must have missed it – It is odd as its double BA’s fee and that is my personal opinion that’s all. Also I did not book in this instance speculatively – my client had a major issue and could not meet up – Also note my point on booking cancellations over 90 days out – its not a booking for flying tomorrow it was for end of November – If there was a sliding scale eg closer to time of travel it moves to Use or Lose or a higher penalty thats fine – I just think the fees are too high just like the other charges eg P/Econ pre seat choice – bassinet never available and on day of travel on VA they are all gone and full – not with VA Gold Card holders either……The charges are not secret but they are not clearly stated IMO – they are as I suspected buried in the Conditions of Carriage. End of Rant !
Agree that cancellation fee should be lower the further you are from the date of travel. Perhaps it could be offset by a higher fee closer to the date of travel.
I suspect anyone saying BA ‘wins’ by being £35 cancellation will need to revisit their opinion at some point as imo there is absolutely zero chance that BA doesnt nerf avios bookings, either by making them non-cancellable or by hiking the cancellation fees.
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