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I’ve seen it mentioned here about just booking in premium and then calling later to upgrade as it can be a better deal.
I’m Red with a voucher due soon and looking to get upper class seats to SFO for 2 pax. Currently the cost is 86k points + £696 taxes per person in upper or 33k + £454 in premium.
With dynamic pricing I’m tempted to book without the voucher so what are the possible calculations with or without the voucher? Any advice is appreciated.I’m not sure what you mean by a “better deal”?
Your voucher will be worth 75k points, so at current pricing you’d need that, plus another 22k points, plus the difference in fees to upgrade from PE to UC. Using it as a companion voucher would require roughly the same points outlay.
You have to call to use the voucher whichever way you do it.
I’m not sure what you mean by a “better deal”?
Your voucher will be worth 75k points, so at current pricing you’d need that, plus another 22k points, plus the difference in fees to upgrade from PE to UC. Using it as a companion voucher would require roughly the same points outlay.
You have to call to use the voucher whichever way you do it.
Thanks for your reply.
I might have misunderstood, but I thought I’d read elsewhere that by booking premier if it’s really low in points, and then calling to upgrade to upper, it could possibly be less expensive than just booking in upper in the first place. Hence why I said, ‘better deal’.
I understand the 75k for the voucher but not the 22k amount, can you explain please?What you pay to upgrade on a points booking is the difference between cabins. So if the difference between PE and UC is 53k points each, as in your example, you’re going to need a total of 106k points to upgrade both if you. Your voucher will cover 75k of this, but you’ll need to provide the rest from your VFC balance. My maths was wrong last night, it’s a shortfall of 31k points you’ll need to add.
Is your understanding of the way the voucher works different from this? The confusion may have arisen in that it can be “cheaper” (in terms of points required) to upgrade a booking with it than using it as a 241. If you used it as a companion voucher, you’d need to pay 86k points for one seat and then use the voucher plus 11k points for the second ticket.
However, I think that works out the same in points either way, for your pricing.
That’s clearer now although I think it will cost me less points overall by using it as a companion voucher.
Regarding my previous comments about upgrading, I might have been thinking of the old scheme pre dynamic rules etc.
Thanks again for your help.As it now happens I’m glad I delayed booking upper as it appears that Virgin have changed back totally to the B787 on the SFO route just when it looked like they were going with the A350 for some flights.
So no thanks to that, I’ll just stick with premium rather than endure the ‘coffin’ again.If your upgrading a cash ticket then do be advised the points required is based on the current cost for higher cabin minus the max reward saver price of current cabin NOT the current points cost for current cabin.
https://flywith.virginatlantic.com/gb/en/upgrades-and-extras.html
If your original booking was paid for fully in money or using Points Plus Money, you’ll pay:
The price in points of your new upgraded seat less the maximum Saver reward seat price for the cabin you’re upgrading from.scroll down you will see the chart depending on season
What you pay to upgrade on a points booking is the difference between cabins. So if the difference between PE and UC is 53k points each, as in your example, you’re going to need a total of 106k points to upgrade both if you. Your voucher will cover 75k of this, but you’ll need to provide the rest from your VFC balance. My maths was wrong last night, it’s a shortfall of 31k points you’ll need to add.
Is your understanding of the way the voucher works different from this? The confusion may have arisen in that it can be “cheaper” (in terms of points required) to upgrade a booking with it than using it as a 241. If you used it as a companion voucher, you’d need to pay 86k points for one seat and then use the voucher plus 11k points for the second ticket.
However, I think that works out the same in points either way, for your pricing.
so the cost may actually be higher than anticipated as the current cost for existing cabin may be higher than the max reward saver price meaning the difference in points required to upgrade being much higher than one may think just by basing on current prices of the website for new reward bookings
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