Virgin Trains 'Traveller' club

[pnepaul]

I am currently on a 7 day All line Rail Rover - First Class variety. On my first day I travelled from Glasgow to Euston, first class was packed and heavily reserved, I had no reservation!. The very helpful Virgin Train staff told me to sit in a reserved seat marked Travellers Club ( I think). One of them quipped I should be alright as he had yet to see anyone use it.

So, what is the Travel/ Travellers club - anyone any ideas??

 

[rebmcr]

It's a reward scheme that allows members to book what are essentially 1st Advance tickets, on weekends only (I think Friday evenings count?), for £0.

Membership has previously been available to anyone surpassing a threshold of 1st class expenditure in a year, but after a decent amount of abuse, it is now invite-only with non-disclosed qualifying criteria.

 

[Merseysider]

It's Virgin's way of making sure their large spenders put all their orders through them rather than a travel agent or other toc.

Qualifying for Traveller

Our most frequent First Class passengers booking through virgintrains.com or our app will be invited to join Traveller. This means making eight First Class return journeys or the equivalent, which would be eight return tickets, 16 single tickets or a combination, such as six returns and four singles. You must make all journeys within 90 consecutive days. A journey booked by yourself, for another person does not qualify for Traveller. All journeys must be undertaken by the same person to qualify for Traveller.

Which ticket types qualify?

First Class anytime return tickets at a value of £100 or more
First Class anytime single tickets at a value of £50 or more
Advance First Class tickets worth £70 or more

 

[Mag_seven]

I've sat in the "Reserved for Virgin trains Travellers Club" seat on many an occasion and have not been challenged re membership by the guard or had someone claim my seat once.

 

[boxy321]

After 2 years of using coach K nearly every evening (unreservable, single seats so not taking up a table for 4), I looked up yesterday evening to see the tiny display showing 'Reserved - TRAVELLERS CLUB'. The website still says coaches J or H so I queried this. Seems we're back to playing musical chairs again.

I asked where the unreservable 1st class coach seating now was or if there would be a 'season ticket holder only' area. The response was they would get clarification.

Anybody want to form a 'Travellers Club' (upper case of course) independent of VTWC? Would be a bit of fun.

 

[raveon]

It's a reward scheme that allows members to book what are essentially 1st Advance tickets, on weekends only (I think Friday evenings count?), for £0.

Membership has previously been available to anyone surpassing a threshold of 1st class expenditure in a year, but after a decent amount of abuse, it is now invite-only with non-disclosed qualifying criteria.

How was it abused? Surely if you spent the required amount, you were entitled to membership.

 

[rebmcr]

How was it abused? Surely if you spent the required amount, you were entitled to membership.

I believe the submission of other people's tickets was a factor.

 

[boxy321]

I believe the submission of other people's tickets was a factor.

Also, according to elsewhere on here, 'Travellers' were loaning out their membership card to family and friends to use over a weekend.

 

[All Line Rover]

After 2 years of using coach K nearly every evening (unreservable, single seats so not taking up a table for 4), I looked up yesterday evening to see the tiny display showing 'Reserved - TRAVELLERS CLUB'. The website still says coaches J or H so I queried this. Seems we're back to playing musical chairs again.

I asked where the unreservable 1st class coach seating now was or if there would be a 'season ticket holder only' area. The response was they would get clarification.

A few months ago the seats reserved for Traveller members were swapped from three tables of two in Coaches J and H (J26/J29, J32/J35 and H42/H45) to two single seats in Coach K (K06 and K09). That's a steep drop from 6 seats to 2, although single seats are probably preferable for most Traveller members. The brochure sent to Traveller members now says that the reserved seats are found in Coach K (helpfully, without mentioning the seat numbers), but Virgin's website has not been updated.

At present, all of the seats in Coach H are reservable, as are all of the seats in Coach J with the exception of J03/J04 (adjacent to the wheelchair space, set aside for persons accompanying a wheelchair user), as are K10 through K18 in Coach K. K01 through K03 are reserved for staff, which means that, now K06 and K09 are Traveller seats, the only seats available to first class passengers not holding a reservation on a fully reserved 9-car Pendolino are K04, K05, K07 and K08. Little wonder that, when a busy service diagrammed to be 11-cars is replaced with a 9-car Pendolino, first class passengers can end up standing if they don't want to take one of the many empty seats in standard class.

 

[All Line Rover]

Also, according to elsewhere on here, 'Travellers' were loaning out their membership card to family and friends to use over a weekend.

The Traveller membership cards have been photocards for quite some time. I think Virgin's more significant concern in recent years is passengers who would otherwise purchase a weekly first open return on Friday evenings / Monday mornings using Traveller to make these journeys for "free". Which is why Friday evening and Monday morning availability for "free" journeys was drastically cut about two years ago and, a few months ago, withdrawn altogether. Now it's Saturday and Sunday travel only.

 

[All Line Rover]

I am currently on a 7 day All line Rail Rover - First Class variety. On my first day I travelled from Glasgow to Euston, first class was packed and heavily reserved, I had no reservation!. The very helpful Virgin Train staff told me to sit in a reserved seat marked Travellers Club ( I think). One of them quipped I should be alright as he had yet to see anyone use it.

Your first class All Line Rover doesn't count towards qualifying, in case you were wondering.

By the way, I thought there is a vast overprovision of first class on Pendolinos, the accommodation is always empty, converting Coach G to standard class is not enough and it would be best to convert Coach H too leaving only Coaches J and K (55 first class seats, down from 99 with H, down from 145 with G). Right? Right!?

In my experience, 9-car Pendolinos popular with business travellers operating pre-10am arrivals / 15:00-18:45 departures at Euston, which don't call at Milton Keynes, tend to be more densely populated in first class than standard class. Sometimes full in first with plenty of seats of standard. 9-car Pendolinos have 370 standard class seats, 99 first class. They had 294 standard class, 145 first class before Coach G was converted to standard.

11-car Pendolinos have a good balance of 444 standard class and 145 first class seats, which is how all Pendolinos should have been had the DfT not been cheapskates when lengthening them.

 

[boxy321]

Regardless of seat numbers, I got turfed out of a seat today when the famously lousy reservation system didn't update before departure. I would have used K like the old days but there's no point anymore. Nearly as bad the wifi...

 

[ForTheLoveOf]

Your first class All Line Rover doesn't count towards qualifying, in case you were wondering.

By the way, I thought there is a vast overprovision of first class on Pendolinos, the accommodation is always empty, converting Coach G to standard class is not enough and it would be best to convert Coach H too leaving only Coaches J and K (55 first class seats, down from 99 with H, down from 145 with G). Right? Right!?

In my experience, 9-car Pendolinos popular with business travellers operating pre-10am arrivals / 15:00-18:45 departures at Euston, which don't call at Milton Keynes, tend to be more densely populated in first class than standard class. Sometimes full in first with plenty of seats of standard. 9-car Pendolinos have 370 standard class seats, 99 first class. They had 294 standard class, 145 first class before Coach G was converted to standard.

11-car Pendolinos have a good balance of 444 standard class and 145 first class seats, which is how all Pendolinos should have been had the DfT not been cheapskates when lengthening them.

DfT? Cheapskates? Never!

 

[Roy Badami]

Membership has previously been available to anyone surpassing a threshold of 1st class expenditure in a year, but after a decent amount of abuse, it is now invite-only with non-disclosed qualifying criteria.

The membership criteria seem pretty clearly spelled out under "How to join Traveler" on this page https://www.virgintrains.co.uk/experience/rewards/traveller

Is that not current, then?

 

[rebmcr]

Is that not current, then?

My post from almost a year ago certainly isn't...

 

[Roy Badami]

Oops, sorry - didn't realize realise how long-running thes thread was...

So (genuine question): s the consensus that meeting the criteria on that page does reliably result in an invite?

 

[PaulC88]

I can't see any reference in the T&C's but does anyone know if booking tickets using a railcard effect whether you will qualify for the Traveller Reward membership or not?

 

[All Line Rover]

Railcard-discounted tickets are eligible but their face value must still be over the threshold figures.

 

[ChiefPlanner]

Can staff with free passes sit there , if unoccupied ? - genuine question. Thank you.

 

[PaulC88]

Can anyone confirm how flexible it is to book traveller reward tickets, as in are there only a limited available tickets and when they have been sold that's it like British Airways do on there avios seats.

I want to know that if it is worth me paying extra for 1st class on 16 single tickets to qualify for the traveller invitation and if I will have flexibility to say book a last minute ticket for me and my wife to go to London or Edinburgh for the day shopping.

Does it have to be a day return or can you travel on the Saturday and return on the Sunday for a weekend away and also can you book more than one journey per weekend for example, go away with my wife Saturday to Sunday and then book a single my myself to go to work Sunday night instead of my usual Monday morning journey?

Sorry for all the question that may seem obvious to others.

 

[PaulC88]

Quoted off the frequently asked question but does anyone with experience or in the know, know what the "subject to availability" actually is?

"Free weekend tickets are subject to availability and must be booked in advance on virgintrains.com using the link found on the Traveller homepage. We recommend booking your tickets at least 1 month in advance."

 

[ag51ruk]

Can staff with free passes sit there , if unoccupied ? - genuine question. Thank you.

Anyone can sit there if unoccupied- same rule as any other reserved seat, wait until after departure, sit down and be prepared to move immediately if someone entitled to the seat wants it.

I've never been asked to move out of one on a staff pass

 

[ChiefPlanner]

Anyone can sit there if unoccupied- same rule as any other reserved seat, wait until after departure, sit down and be prepared to move immediately if someone entitled to the seat wants it.

I've never been asked to move out of one on a staff pass

Appreciated , thank you.

 

[All Line Rover]

Can anyone confirm how flexible it is to book traveller reward tickets, as in are there only a limited available tickets and when they have been sold that's it like British Airways do on there avios seats.

I want to know that if it is worth me paying extra for 1st class on 16 single tickets to qualify for the traveller invitation and if I will have flexibility to say book a last minute ticket for me and my wife to go to London or Edinburgh for the day shopping.

Does it have to be a day return or can you travel on the Saturday and return on the Sunday for a weekend away and also can you book more than one journey per weekend for example, go away with my wife Saturday to Sunday and then book a single my myself to go to work Sunday night instead of my usual Monday morning journey?

Sorry for all the question that may seem obvious to others.

Now that complimentary travel tickets are restricted to Saturdays and Sundays only, availability is very good on all Pendolinos, even at short notice. (Friday and Monday morning availability, when this used to be available, was more limited at short notice.) Services operated by Voyagers are less likely to have availability at short notice given the very limited number of first class seats on these trains. For a regular weekday first class traveller, your suggested Edinburgh trip seems to be a typical example of what the Traveller scheme is designed for.

You can only make one complimentary journey per weekend, but you can go out on a Saturday and return on a Sunday. A companion must travel with the Traveller member for a companion ticket to be valid (hence the name), so if you travelled with your wife from Euston to Edinburgh on a Saturday, your wife wished to return to Euston on the Sunday and you wished to stay in Edinburgh for a Monday meeting, your wife would need to purchase her own single ticket, standard or first class, for her solo Edinburgh to Euston journey on the Sunday.

 

[PaulC88]

Now that complimentary travel tickets are restricted to Saturdays and Sundays only, availability is very good on all Pendolinos, even at short notice. (Friday and Monday morning availability, when this used to be available, was more limited at short notice.) Services operated by Voyagers are less likely to have availability at short notice given the very limited number of first class seats on these trains. For a regular weekday first class traveller, your suggested Edinburgh trip seems to be a typical example of what the Traveller scheme is designed for.

You can only make one complimentary journey per weekend, but you can go out on a Saturday and return on a Sunday. A companion must travel with the Traveller member for a companion ticket to be valid (hence the name), so if you travelled with your wife from Euston to Edinburgh on a Saturday, your wife wished to return to Euston on the Sunday and you wished to stay in Edinburgh for a Monday meeting, your wife would need to purchase her own single ticket, standard or first class, for her solo Edinburgh to Euston journey on the Sunday.

Perfect, thank you very much.