With Virgin in administration, how do I cancel a Business Class flight (with Etihad) that I booked with Velocity Points from Zurich-Singapore on 15/10/20?
I’ve rung the Velocity Rewards Centre and all they just say is I have to send an email to “urgent@velocityfrequentflyer.com”.
But they give you absolutely no information beyond that.
Are they refunding the points and cash, and if so how long do you wait?
I got this very non-specific reply:
"Virgin Australia was place in voluntary administration on the 22nd April. As a result, we have had to pause issuing all Velocity refunds while we wait for direction from our Administrators . I can action your cancellation and add your booking to queue while we wait for direction. We will be in contact once we have more information.
The Covid 19 commercial policy covers flight until 30 September 2020. Once we have the instructions from our Administrators. This may incur $60 or 7,500 Points cancel fee per person. Please advise if you want me to proceed and put this into refund queue"
It seems to me that there would be no point in me cancelling at this stage AT ALL.
In my case, and anyone in the same situation, we may as well just wait it out until Virgin presumably come out of administration.
And we also may as well wait to see if “The Covid 19 commercial policy” (whatever that is???) extends beyond 30 September 2020 (which would also waive the cancellation fees).
I actually think that holding on to a ticket is worth more at the moment than getting a refund. We won’t know what will happen to Virgin the airline, or whether the points will be worth the same after this has all blown over. If Virgin does go to pieces and Velocity gets brought or whatever, you can be sure that your points won’t be worth as much as it did before whereas with a flight ticket, you will still be able to fly on an award ticket.
Thanks djtech. Unfortunately I already had to cancel other parts of this trip (which included a cruise out of Italy which is way too dangerous) so I’ve decided to pull the pin and go in “the queue” (whatever that means) for a refund of my Velocity points. I’ll update with what happens.
Until now there has been misinformation on the Virgin website, and from the overseas call centres, in relation to cancellations and obtaining refunds/credit vouchers. The overseas call centres which process any calls/emails requesting information only add to the confusion and lead you around in circles with contradicting answers. Virgin have only now finally updated their website to reflect the true situation. This was posted on “Australian Frequent Flyer” and explains the answer to the original topic question in clear and easy to understand terms. Short answer - absolutely nothing will happen if you request a refund/cancellation right now (and nothing has happened since they went into administration). We have to wait until Virgin come out of administration before you can do so. I hope this assists others as well. It’s a shame it took so long for Virgin to update their website. https://www.australianfrequentflyer.com.au/virgin-pauses-refunds-travel-credits/
Does anyone know whether Virgin Australia is still honoring current or new reward bookings made via partner airlines for flights prior to Sep 1? If you have a confirmed booking, will it still be honored?
If you had redeemed Velocity points for a flight on one of their partners then yes, you already have that flight. It would make no difference.