Using Virgin Airmiles

Has anyone got experience of this? I am currently looking at the web site and, apart from using miles to get free flights, or using miles plus money, there is another option called %26#39;companion flights%26#39;. Apparently I can get a free flight for my wife but, looking at the small print, it seems to have a get-out clause which presumably limits the number of flights available.

Has anyone tried using any of these methods to reduce costs, and what were your experiences?

Using Virgin Airmiles

i have used milesplus money flights lots of time, and saved money, however i always check the normal price fares and milesplusmoney as sometimes when the special offers are on they can be cheaper than with miles.

I have enquired about the companion flight however they are certain seat grades and i have usually found the milesplus money option works out better.

Give them a call and get a price for all your options.

I have even used the miles for free flights you only pay the taxes 2 years ago in Dec this was 拢90 now taxes are 拢242 so have not used free flight option since.

Chris

Using Virgin Airmiles

I didnt get the companion deal either it was alot of miles for 1 person ,mind you Virgin are getting tight using my airmiles this year doesnt give me any airmiles back on any of the 5 tickets ive purchased .

According to the Customer relations bod only full price tickets get miles now,so next year ill have only 10000 left.

THe last time we went, it was booked through VH. The seats booked on the aircraft only attracted half the usual airmiles (something about it being booked on a discount fare).

THe old adage about getting something for nothing appears to be coming true.

I%26#39;ll do a comparison with the sale prices for flights booked for departure before end Sep 09.

We have tried countless times to get companion fares and there are never any available. We always get told %26#39;They haven%26#39;t been released for those dates yet%26#39; so we keep trying, getting the same message until one day it changes to %26#39;Sorry - there%26#39;s none left%26#39;. We find it%26#39;s almost impossible to use the Virgin airmiles in any way.

A guy from Virgin phoned us up the other day asking us about how we planned to use them. I told him about the problems and he said it was because they can only search for the date you give them - they%26#39;re not allowed to suggest alternatives for you. Anyway, I asked him to call back when my husband was home (as he was the one who had made the phone calls to try and spend the airmiles) and the guy said he%26#39;d phone back at 7.00. That was about 3 weeks ago, and we%26#39;ve heard nothing at all from him! The airmiles are purely a sales gimmick, and a way for Virgin to give %26#39;compensation%26#39; for delayed flights etc without it costing them a penny.

You can spend the airmiles on line with the money+miles option ive just saved nearly a thousand pounds using my miles for October. Trying a Sunday flight or Friday works better as Saturdays do seem booked , so were doing 3 weeks Sunday to Sunday.

OK - here%26#39;s what I have so far.

I could use 30000 airmiles to get a companion flight for PE from Manchester to Orlando in September. However, I would need to buy a qualifying fare to do so.

The qualifying fare price in PE is 拢1134.30.

The equivalent no airmiles price for 2 tickets is 拢721 per person - a total of 拢1442.

Therefore at first glance, the companion flight seems to be a good deal.

Until you factor in the fact that you have to pay tax/surcharges for the companion ticket. This is 拢237.

So, a companion ticket plus your own actually costs 拢1367.30. This is cheaper than normal fares by around 拢75. However, you can also kiss goodbye to 30000 airmiles in the process.

It seems to have been a bit of a con in my humble opinion.

The best option I have found is miles plus money. You can get 2 adult fares in PE which use 7500 miles each for 拢656.30 per person round trip.

This is a total of 拢1312.60, plus you are using half the number of miles you would have if choosing the companion flight.

This is a terrible way to spend a Sunday evening and I am off to drink some stale mulled wine.

Getting a good deal with air miles depends on time of year you intend to travel - peak times have fewer air miles seats allocated.

We have used companion flights before - didn%26#39;t save a great deal but it was worth it.

Other option is to cash your air miles in for Virgin Holidays vouchers ( i think its 拢50 per 10,000 miles).

As with all these things, when you compare the options ( air miles, cash plus miles, vouchers etc ) the most cost effective option is different depending on time of year etc etc. One time it will be vouchers ( as with us last April), the next time it will be buy a flight with air miles ( as with us last Oct).

Bear in mind you can also earn / spend air miles with partner airlines where you might get a better deal ( we did with Continental to Tampa)

Just want to clarify/correct something. Nemmis siad ';According to the Customer relations bod only full price tickets get miles now';.

All Virgin flights (cheapest through the most expensive - in all classes) qualify for a certain level of airmiles (there is a table listing the percentages which vary between 50% to 200%)

** except ** where airmiles are used in whole or part payment of the fare (so, reward fares, miles+money, etc)..

Coral-Princess

Your exactly right about Virgin using them to give %26#39;compensation%26#39; for delayed flights without it costing them a penny.

We had our flight cancelled a few years ago in Vegas (shame!!) and had a 26 hour delay. They offered us no money but gave use 30000 air miles each. We were going to use them last year but there were no miles money seals or anything else we could use them for.

Booking for Sept (LA+Vegas) and the flights are cheap at the mo. About 拢375 the sale fair and 拢349 for M+M; wow what a saving !! A whole 拢26 pound off !

Going to look into cashing in the air miles in for Virgin Holidays vouchers and maybe have a weekend away.