Tips on securing Virgin Atlantic reward seats

[Mouse]

There is a lot of talk on the forums about securing BA reward seats by calling their US number at midnight 355 days out. Can anyone help me with the equivalent for Virgin? I can see seats go on sale 330 days out, but is it best to do it online or to call, and if call is best then which office/number? Many thanks in advance for any tips!

[mrcrsearle]

You cant book a reward seat online?

[Mouse]

mrcrsearle wrote:

You cant book a reward seat online?

On BA, not if a phone agent has already held it for someone else, as is the case with on popular routes – I’m also asking if this is the case on Virgin?

[AL]

I’ve never known getting reward availability on VS to be anywhere near as bothersome as on BA. I don’t believe they do hold them, so it’s first come, first serve. There is also no hassle – just ring the local number and they’ll sort you out.

[Mouse]

The issue is I am hoping to book Cape Town next Xmas, which I expect will be very popular. I want to use a voucher so I can’t book online. None of their call centres are open after midnight as far as I can see so anyone booking seats without a voucher would have about 7 hours head start… any ideas?

[Anna]

Just this morning I booked 3 x PE seats MCO-MAN for Jan 4th, there seems to be plenty of availability if you’re slightly flexible on dates. We’re currently in Florida so called the toll free US number and were on hold for about 10 minutes. The agent who dealt with our booking was English but I’m not sure where he was based – but clearly they are open outside normal office hours.

[Mouse]

Thank-you all for the comments and suggestions!

[AL]

Mouse wrote:

None of their call centres are open after midnight as far as I can see

Call the local number in the time zone that is 🙂

[Mouse]

AL wrote:

Call the local number in the time zone that is 🙂

Looks like USA closes at midnight UK and Hong Kong opens at midnight UK, so neither is ideal and I can’t see any other that works

[Mouse]

Or would Virgin refund me half the points if I book for full points online then call in the morning to apply a 2-4-1?

[Guernsey Globetrotter]

Mouse wrote:

Or would Virgin refund me half the points if I book for full points online then call in the morning to apply a 2-4-1?

They told me last year that in this scenario their IT requires them to cancel your reward flight & re-book to apply the 2-4-1 voucher. Problem is they can’t guarantee your cancelled seats re-appearing in the reward inventory so it’s a bit of a lottery. Better to call & book if you possibly can…

[Mouse]

Guernsey Globetrotter wrote:

They told me last year that in this scenario their IT requires them to cancel your reward flight & re-book to apply the 2-4-1 voucher. Problem is they can’t guarantee your cancelled seats re-appearing in the reward inventory so it’s a bit of a lottery. Better to call & book if you possibly can…

Very helpful advice, thank-you!

[Aardvark]

I have recently booked 2 reward flights on Virgin. The reward seats came available on-line at 5am on the day (not at midnight like BA).

[degsy]

Aardvark wrote:

I have recently booked 2 reward flights on Virgin. The reward seats came available on-line at 5am on the day (not at midnight like BA).

Yes, that was my recent experience as well.

[zio]

@Aardvark @degsy thank you for this info.

[Mouse]

zio wrote:

@Aardvark @degsy thank you for this info.

Yes, great to know – thank-you!

[Rob]

Never knew that … probably a side effect of using Delta’s IT system.

I can imagine once The Maldives flights launch then this will become a more common question.

[chrishond]

Can we book the outbound only. Then the return flights circa 2 weeks later, when they become available?

[chrishond]

I recall reading on this site , that you can redeem miles from 2 different flying club accounts over the phone. How does that work in practice ?

[chrishond]

chrishond wrote:

I recall reading on this site , that you can redeem miles from 2 different flying club accounts over the phone. How does that work in practice ?

To add more detail, my wife and I both have separate Virgin Flying Club accounts. We need to book 4 tickets – can the miles for 3 of the tickets be pulled from 1 account, and the miles for the 4th ticket from the other account?

Hoping to book outbounds as soon as available, and then the return flights two weeks later?

[ZoeB]

Yes you need enough miles to book a whole segment from an account.

[Gary]

Has anyone booked Virgin reward seats online at release (T-331) and rung up later to have half of the companion voucher applied retrospectively during day time hours?Aware the other option is to ring one of the international numbers.

[wideboys182]

Bit late to this thread but my recent experience with VA has been frustrating. I planned to book the 2 Premium and 2 UC seats on the flight to MCO. Seats were suppose to be released on Monday. Checked online and App and got the error that the days was over 331 days away when it wasn’t.

My brother in law also looking to book reward seats on the same flight rung up and booked over the phone. By the time I did the same the seats I wanted were gone.

Based on my experience. Seats are avalible from 5am UK time which is 12am US time. I will be calling up on date release as this seems easier and more certainty. Seats became online the following day.

It is interesting that there always seems more reward flight to US than from US.

[AL]

Gary wrote:

Has anyone booked Virgin reward seats online at release (T-331) and rung up later to have half of the companion voucher applied retrospectively during day time hours?Aware the other option is to ring one of the international numbers.

If you do try this, you need to call within 24 hours otherwise change fees apply.

[MattB]

Ignore me i misread the post .