Do you have a Virgin's Future Flight credit? We need to talk!

[PhilT]

@rthompson’s situation is one to flag for @AmyPereira and @JodiBird.

[JodiBird]

That sounds like a good way for Virgin to absolve themselves of liability for the Future Flight Credits @rthompson . It may be worth raising a business complaint about this with the ACCC. They’re unlikely to address your case specifically, but if it is a systemic issue that is in breach of law they might respond.

Otherwise, Slater and Gordon have been collecting information from people for a potential class action for a couple of years, so it may be worth registering your details with them as well.

[alex.aumann]

@AmyPereira

• Head to the Virgin Australia website and select a flight.
• Tick the purple box that says ‘I would like to use Travel Bank to pay for some or all of this booking’ and enter your username (the number you received via email from Virgin confirming your credit note).
• Screenshot the pages that show the time, date and price of the flight.
• Cancel the booking.
• Using the same flight details, try to book it without selecting the Travel Bank option.
• Screenshot the pages that show the time, date and price of the flight. Close the page.

I had the same experience. My flights to the US were cancelled due to covid. I got travel bank credit. And… somehow when I used it, there were NO flights available… unless I opted not to use the travel credit.

VERY shady.

[PhilT]

Welcome to the Community @alex.aumann

Thanks for adding your experience.

@alex.aumann

VERY shady.

It appears they may be allocating a maximum number of seats on each flight for voucher purchases similarly to how airlines treat frequent flyer award availability.

Have you contacted Slater and Gordon and the ACCC per @JodiBird’s previous post? It may not provide satisfaction now or ever but when problems are not formally reported they ‘did not happen’ at the end of the day if any party is able to take it further, reducing the dossier of ‘bad behaviour’ and potentially enabling the defence to produce more favourable statistics for their side.

[phb]

Welcome to the community @alex.aumann.

It might be worth ringing Virgin Australia Guest Contact Centre on 13 67 89 to see if the flights you are trying to book are ‘Eligible Travel’ for Travel Bank Credits… Seat may be not be on Virgin flight, but on a partner airline such as United Airlines.

[PhilT]

Be sure to wade through all of the related Virgin T&C pages prior to engaging with Virgin.

https://www.virginaustralia.com/au/en/about-us/policies/legal/travel-bank-terms/

The T&C imply if does not explicitly indicate a UA flight should be eligible per

a) Flights operated by Virgin Australia and its partner airlines. Valid for Economy and Business class fares in all fare classes.

but there might be more I missed.

[phb]

@PhilT

but there might be more I missed.

It appears there is. Travel Banks can be in the form of ‘Future Flight Credits’ or ‘Standard Credits’. For Future Flight Credits see

https://www.virginaustralia.com/au/en/about-us/policies/legal/future-flight-credit-terms/

Eligible Travel for Future Flight Credits is:

and excludes redeeming ‘on codeshare flights or flights operated by other airlines, with the exception of selected flights operated by Alliance Airlines on behalf of Virgin Australia to and from Brisbane’.

As indicated on the Virgin Website,

If you are encountering any difficulty booking online, or you have questions that are not answered by the information on this page, you can contact our Guest Contact Centre on 13 67 89.

I would be calling them to see if the proposed booking qualifies as ‘Eligible Travel’ for the type of credit that you have. If they are eligible, I would then be asking whether there are the number of seats available when you wish to travel. This is particularly the case when the website also states:

d. While there are seats available for booking using Future Flight credits on all Virgin Australia operated flights, the number of seats available for Future Credit fares is limited and may sell out quickly so we recommend you book early. In the event Future Credit fares for your preferred flight are sold out, you can select another travel date or you can pay for your flight using another form of payment (such as Velocity Points, a Standard credit or your credit/debit card).

[mark_m]

Pre Covid from 2013 onwards I had travel bank credits over different periods with all 3 of the larger carriers (Qantas, Jetstar and Virgin). As best as I can remember they were all cash credits in the travel bank. For higher level full fare or business travel the value in the bank equaled the original purchase price less any CC fees. For others the value reflected the T&Cs in place for the fare type.

Even back then all 3 appeared to limit the fare options when looking to spend the banked dollars. Experience with Virgin even pre Covid was one needed to advise the use of credits before seats were offered. There was always a difference between the offers available on the same flights if using the bank or paying without. Demonstrated by searching using two different devices connected through independent internet connections and different ISP’s.