Virgin Australia has started rolling out its Future Flight Credits. These credits replace previous travel credits and are valid for use by July 2022.
Customers with existing travel credits or conditional credits will receive Future Flight Credits to the value of their existing credits. These credits are held by customers that had their Virgin Australia or TigerAir flights cancelled during the current Pandemic.
Bain Capital promised to issue Future Flight Credits as part of its offer to purchase Virgin Australia. Under the offer, customers will receive Future Flight Credits to the same value as their existing credits.
Future Flight Credit Details
In issuing Future Flight Credits, Bain has applied new Terms and Conditions to the use of the credits. While some of these conditions are favourable, there are a couple of catches to be aware of.
First the good news. The credits have applied a fairly decent lifespan. You will be able to use the credits to make a booking antime between now and July 2022. This could allow you to travel any time up until June 2023.
There are, however, a few limitations in what you can book with the credits.
Firstly, you can use the credits for Virgin Australia flights. You can use the credit for the fare and any associated taxes and charges that come with the fare.
That may not sound so onerous, although it pretty much limits you to domestic fares at this point. There is, however, another restriction – you can only purchase fares from specific fare classes. Having said that, they appear to be making those classes available across various fare families.
As an example, if you are booking in economy, you will need to book in ‘U’ class. While this has traditionally been a Getaway fare, it appears they are offering Elevate and Freedom options, as shown on the fare types page.
Secondly, you can use the credits towards the purchase of various additional Virgin Australia services. These include services such as Economy X, UpgradeMe, and additional checked baggage. The credits will also be avalable for lounge experience passes when these become available.
Redeeming Future Flight Credits
Virgin Australia is providing options to redeem your credits online or over the phone. If you are booking online, there is an option to search for eligible flights. You can do this by indicating that you will be using a travelbank credit.