Vegas Trip Information for anyone looking to go this year.

[Graham C]

I'm hoping to sneak down for a bit of poker this time!

[Longines]

Virgin have upped the signup bonuses for their credit cards - 10,000 miles for the free card, 25,000 for the £140pa card.

http://www.headforpoints.com/2016/04/16/virgin-flying-club-credit-card-sign-up-bonus-raised/

[tonytats]

I got a virgin credit card and deceide do to try for max air miles value using it
I paid £7741 vat at0.415% cost £32.13 extra
I paid £5 k vat = the balance for my quarter end  this cost £20
I paid £4306 to hmrc for monthly employees tax n n.i this cost £17.87
So for £17047 spends I received 17407 air miles which cost me £100
As virgin sell them at £30 per thousand this seems like a good deal for anybody planning flights to USA / anywhere with virgin ?
Tesco sell em 625 for £2.50 of tesco vouchers

Just a pointer for people who want a cheaper flight cost

[StuartHopkin]

I got a virgin credit card and deceide do to try for max air miles value using it
I paid £7741 vat at0.415% cost £32.13 extra
I paid £5 k vat = the balance for my quarter end  this cost £20
I paid £4306 to hmrc for monthly employees tax n n.i this cost £17.87
So for £17047 spends I received 17407 air miles which cost me £100
As virgin sell them at £30 per thousand this seems like a good deal for anybody planning flights to USA / anywhere with virgin ?
Tesco sell em 625 for £2.50 of tesco vouchers

Just a pointer for people who want a cheaper flight cost

Hi Mr Tats

So hypothetically speaking, if I were to pay £2m to HMRC over the course of a year using said credit card, I would receive 2 million points at a cost of £8,300?

I realise that this may take a little effort as the payments would need to be split due to credit limits!

Or is there a limit?

[tonytats]

http://www.headforpoints.com/2016/04/02/hmrc-credit-card-acceptance/

It's worked for me - I was sceptical but paid all them last weekend the £7 k plus some spends are already on as air miles
First £5 k spend = immediate upgrade to next cabin
£7.5 k spend = 2 upgrades
Planning on a southern states road trip in September / October flying in to Atlanta then drive Memphis Baton Rouge Lafayette New Orleans Biloxi Atlanta
So hoping to get enough for premium seats which may become first class seats

[tonytats]

There's 9875 miles added to my account 16 th April - the cut off date on the credit card statement
The other 2 amounts were paid after that date

[Rotty]

The real value was in using the miles to upgrade to UC but they have just put the amount of miles needed up

through card sign ups/ £20kpa credit card spend, ISA sign ups, clubcard, shops away and a couple of referrals etc I have managed to get over 200k miles in a year with a total cost of about 200 quid

Just used 120k to upgrade 2 returns UK to Hong Kong return flight from Econ to Upper

Later I will use 80-90k for 2 return econ reward flights to Vegas and use the free PE upgrade vouchers that come with the VA black card

[Simon Galloway]

That's how you do it.  So many different ways to earn miles without even trying.

Catch it right and the economy reward seats were 29,500 each this year.  With a free voucher into PE, that's a fine way to go.  Otherwise I agree, the reward seats are priced to make UC the slam dunk, as long as they actually have dates you can use.

[Rotty]

Yes the reward sales make the PE vouchers very good

Myself and my brother are off to Atlantic City in July (NY flight) bought in reward sale, 28k miles each and PE voucher

[Marky147]

Planet Hollywood have got some 'Quantum' tournament this summer, and it looks absolutely chaotic.

Had two looks at it, and it just looks like complicating things for the sake of it.

(From 2p2)

Quantum Tournaments is a patented concept that allows players to enter a tournament on different days, with different buy-ins, and different tournament chip stacks, with different amount of players qualifying on those days. This concept allows the smaller bankroll players the opportunity to compete for a larger prize pool, normally structured to the higher buy-in tournaments.

The way we structure our tournaments is different for every casino. In some casino’s Quantum will put premiums on specific levels especially on Day 2 Buy-ins. Why do you ask? Some casinos have a larger player base and some casinos have more/less affluent players. The structure can also be slightly different based on the dollar amount of the buy-in. In some cases the larger dollar amount of buy-in has additional levels and additional time of blinds. Quantum’s Day 2 structure is also longer to adjust for the larger buy-in and previous levels.

In order to set a schedule and structure Quantum Tournaments will work with the tournament director to suit an estimated player attendance at the location. For example: A smaller casinos Day 1 flights are 5 to 6 hours. Bigger field casino’s Day 1 flights are 8 to 12 hours. This is why we consider premiums or discounts for flights and Day 2 buy-ins.

All additional monies are added to the prize pool.

We have since taken a standard model and will use this formula for future tournaments:

For $150k GTD at Planet Hollywood

Day 1A- $100 Buy-in, 10% adv. = 1 player advance for every 10 players
$100 x 10 (number of players per table) = $1,000 / 1 (adv. %) = $1000
True value of day 2 seat is $1,000 subtract $300 bonus for qualifying = actual value of seat $700
Day 1B- $200 Buy-in, 12% adv. = 1.2 players advance for every 10 players
200 x 10 (number of players per table) = $2,000 / 1.2 (adv. %) = $1,667
True value of day 2 seat is $1,667 subtract $300 bonus for qualifying = actual value of seat $1,367
Day 1C- $305 Buy-in, 15% adv. = 1.5 players advance for every 10 players
$305 x 10 (number of players per table) = $3,050 / 1.5 (adv. %) = $2,033
True value of day 2 seat is $2,033 subtract $300 bonus for qualifying = actual value of seat $1,733

Average of actual value for Day 2 Seats of all 3 Flights
$700 + 1,367 + 1,733 = $3,800/3= $1,266

Day 2 Seat value on avg. would be $1,266.
Day 2 direct buy-in should be $1,250 +100 = $1,350

For $300k GTD at Planet Hollywood

Day 1A- $200 Buy-in, 10% adv. = 1 player advance for every 10 players
$200 x 10 (number of players per table) = $2,000 / 1 (adv. %) = $2,000
True value of day 2 seat is $2,000 subtract $500 bonus for qualifying = actual value of seat $1,500

Day 1B- $300 Buy-in, 12% adv. = 1.2 players advance for every 10 players
$300 x 10 (number of players per table) = $3,000 / 1.2 (adv. %) = $2,500
True value of day 2 seat is $2,500 subtract $500 bonus for qualifying = actual value of seat $2,000

Day 1C- $400 Buy-in, 15% adv. = 1.5 players advance for every 10 players
$400 x 10 (number of players per table) = $4,000 / 1.5 (adv. %) = $2666
True value of day 2 seat is $2666 subtract $500 bonus for qualifying = actual value of seat $2,166

Average of actual value for Day 2 Seats of all 3 Flights
$1,500 + $2,000 + $2,166 = $5,666/3 = $1,888

Day 2 Seat value on avg. would be $1,888.
Day 2 direct buy-in should be 1,850+150=$2,000

[Doobs]

Planet Hollywood have got some 'Quantum' tournament this summer, and it looks absolutely chaotic.

Had two looks at it, and it just looks like complicating things for the sake of it.

(From 2p2)

Quantum Tournaments is a patented concept that allows players to enter a tournament on different days, with different buy-ins, and different tournament chip stacks, with different amount of players qualifying on those days. This concept allows the smaller bankroll players the opportunity to compete for a larger prize pool, normally structured to the higher buy-in tournaments.

The way we structure our tournaments is different for every casino. In some casino’s Quantum will put premiums on specific levels especially on Day 2 Buy-ins. Why do you ask? Some casinos have a larger player base and some casinos have more/less affluent players. The structure can also be slightly different based on the dollar amount of the buy-in. In some cases the larger dollar amount of buy-in has additional levels and additional time of blinds. Quantum’s Day 2 structure is also longer to adjust for the larger buy-in and previous levels.

In order to set a schedule and structure Quantum Tournaments will work with the tournament director to suit an estimated player attendance at the location. For example: A smaller casinos Day 1 flights are 5 to 6 hours. Bigger field casino’s Day 1 flights are 8 to 12 hours. This is why we consider premiums or discounts for flights and Day 2 buy-ins.

All additional monies are added to the prize pool.

We have since taken a standard model and will use this formula for future tournaments:

For $150k GTD at Planet Hollywood

Day 1A- $100 Buy-in, 10% adv. = 1 player advance for every 10 players
$100 x 10 (number of players per table) = $1,000 / 1 (adv. %) = $1000
True value of day 2 seat is $1,000 subtract $300 bonus for qualifying = actual value of seat $700
Day 1B- $200 Buy-in, 12% adv. = 1.2 players advance for every 10 players
200 x 10 (number of players per table) = $2,000 / 1.2 (adv. %) = $1,667
True value of day 2 seat is $1,667 subtract $300 bonus for qualifying = actual value of seat $1,367
Day 1C- $305 Buy-in, 15% adv. = 1.5 players advance for every 10 players
$305 x 10 (number of players per table) = $3,050 / 1.5 (adv. %) = $2,033
True value of day 2 seat is $2,033 subtract $300 bonus for qualifying = actual value of seat $1,733

Average of actual value for Day 2 Seats of all 3 Flights
$700 + 1,367 + 1,733 = $3,800/3= $1,266

Day 2 Seat value on avg. would be $1,266.
Day 2 direct buy-in should be $1,250 +100 = $1,350

For $300k GTD at Planet Hollywood

Day 1A- $200 Buy-in, 10% adv. = 1 player advance for every 10 players
$200 x 10 (number of players per table) = $2,000 / 1 (adv. %) = $2,000
True value of day 2 seat is $2,000 subtract $500 bonus for qualifying = actual value of seat $1,500

Day 1B- $300 Buy-in, 12% adv. = 1.2 players advance for every 10 players
$300 x 10 (number of players per table) = $3,000 / 1.2 (adv. %) = $2,500
True value of day 2 seat is $2,500 subtract $500 bonus for qualifying = actual value of seat $2,000

Day 1C- $400 Buy-in, 15% adv. = 1.5 players advance for every 10 players
$400 x 10 (number of players per table) = $4,000 / 1.5 (adv. %) = $2666
True value of day 2 seat is $2666 subtract $500 bonus for qualifying = actual value of seat $2,166

Average of actual value for Day 2 Seats of all 3 Flights
$1,500 + $2,000 + $2,166 = $5,666/3 = $1,888

Day 2 Seat value on avg. would be $1,888.
Day 2 direct buy-in should be 1,850+150=$2,000

I have read this several times and still have no idea what is going on

[Marky147]

I was hoping somebody would post something to that effect, and I feel better knowing it has a maths whiz snookered, too.

[Simon Galloway]

Virgin 30% off reward sale until 11th May.  ANNNNND.... 30% on miles booster/buy miles etc.

Starting with 0 miles, you buy 23k+6900 bonus for £360

You pay about £200 airport tax.

Anyone paying £560+ as a retail fare, or worse with extra legs on the journey, should really not be playing poker with their own money.

[StuartHopkin]

I got a virgin credit card and deceide do to try for max air miles value using it
I paid £7741 vat at0.415% cost £32.13 extra
I paid £5 k vat = the balance for my quarter end  this cost £20
I paid £4306 to hmrc for monthly employees tax n n.i this cost £17.87
So for £17047 spends I received 17407 air miles which cost me £100
As virgin sell them at £30 per thousand this seems like a good deal for anybody planning flights to USA / anywhere with virgin ?
Tesco sell em 625 for £2.50 of tesco vouchers

Just a pointer for people who want a cheaper flight cost

Hi Mr Tats

So hypothetically speaking, if I were to pay £2m to HMRC over the course of a year using said credit card, I would receive 2 million points at a cost of £8,300?

I realise that this may take a little effort as the payments would need to be split due to credit limits!

Or is there a limit?

Black card application accepted

Lets get spending

2m flying club points here I come

[Graham C]

Didn't realise I can pay my VAT with the card, that's pretty handy!   

What you going to do with 2m miles?  Is that the Necker Island reward level?