Best ways to use Velocity Points

What does the very best way to use Velocity Points look like?

Velocity Frequent Flyer may be Australia’s second most popular frequent flyer program, but in recent times, Virgin Australia’s loyalty program has levelled up with a series of compelling new partnerships.

With the ability to earn points in the air and on the ground and redeem them on an expanding international flight network, there are more aspirational ways to use Velocity Points than ever.

Stuck on where to start? We’ve prepared a guide on the best ways to use your Velocity Points. Let’s begin.

Use Velocity Points for flights

While economy award seats are a good place to start, it’s worth knowing that business and first class redemptions almost always give you the best value for your points.

Disclaimer: The pricing shown for flights in this section is displayed in Velocity Points only – taxes, fees, and carrier charges may be levied separately.

Fly domestic business class on Virgin Australia (from 15,500 Velocity Points one way)

Nabbing a business class seat on a domestic Virgin Australia flight can be a great way to sample life at the pointy end of the plane.

Aside from extra comfort, Virgin’s domestic business class flyers can enjoy meals and refreshments of a high standard, plus complimentary WiFi where available.

A short-haul business class redemption can be yours from just 15,500 Velocity Points (plus applicable carrier charges).

Fly Sydney to Perth in Virgin Australia business class (35,500 Velocity Points)

When it comes to value, using your Velocity Points for 5 hours and 15 minutes of business class comfort is a good bet. A one way domestic class flight between Sydney and Perth comes in at just 35,500 Velocity Points, plus around $30 in carrier charges.

A comfortable seat, sparkling wine and a full meal make all the difference onboard, providing a great incentive to continue racking up those points.

Fly international business class with partner airlines

Once you get a taste for domestic business class, you’ll likely want to soak up the spoils for longer on a long-haul international flight.

While Virgin Australia is not part of any major airline alliance, it does boast a sizable number of partnerships of its own.

Whether flying Perth to London via Singapore with Singapore Airlines, or Melbourne to Paris via Doha with Qatar Airways, your Velocity Points can take you around the world.

The table below highlights Virgin Australia’s airline partners:

Thanks to Virgin Australia’s partnerships with Singapore Airlines, Qatar Airways and Etihad Airways you can fly business class to Europe for 139,000 Velocity Points one way (plus carrier charges).

Velocity Frequent Flyer members can use the Mileage Calculator on the Velocity website to determine the number of Velocity Points needed for specific redemptions. The number of points required is based on the distance you will fly.

Note that each of the following redemptions attract carrier charges, and it’s worth bearing in mind that some of Virgin Australia’s partner airlines charge particularly hefty carrier charges for reward seat bookings.

Fly business class from Melbourne-Paris on Qatar Airways (139,000 Velocity Points)

Flying Melbourne to Paris (or London) in the highly sought-after Qatar Airways Qsuites (business class) costs just 139,000 Velocity Points (plus carrier charges).

While it’s usually difficult to source a business class reward seat than economy, persistence (and patience) can certainly pay off here as rewards seats don’t get much more rewarding than Qatar Airways Qsuites.

With sliding privacy doors, a lie-flat bed, excellent dining options, and high-speed WiFi, the Qatar Airways QSuite ticks all the boxes, so the ability to book with Velocity Points is a huge win for Velocity Frequent Flyers.

Fly business class from Melbourne-New York on Etihad Airways (139,000) Velocity Points

It’s entirely possible to set your sights on America with Velocity Points, with ultra-long haul flights the perfect way to soak up business class spoils.

As such, using Velocity Points for a booking that can reach up to 28 hours of flying is good value, but beware of the carrier charges.

Although you’ll need lots more Etihad Guest miles for the same redemption, you’ll be up for $734.90 AUD in carrier charges if you lock in a Melbourne-New York business class seat (one way) using Velocity Points.

Now for some aspirational ways to use Velocity Points for first class redemptions.

Enjoy first class from Abu Dhabi-London (78,000 Velocity Points)

The lowest-cost first class redemption with Etihad is the seven-hour flight from Abu Dhabi to London, which can be booked with just 78,000 Velocity Points (plus a fairly hefty $456.30 in carrier charges).

This is a fantastic opportunity to experience the First Apartment onboard the Etihad A380, which is widely regarded as one of the best first class products in the sky.

Fly first class Doha-Paris on Qatar Airways (78,000 Velocity Points)

Use your Velocity Points to lock in a redemption on Qatar’s flagship A380s and you’ll be sipping bottomless Krug and eating caviar.

You could be in for $300-$400 worth of carrier charges, which is considerably less than you’d be paying outright for a first class seat.

Fly business class from Sydney-Singapore (65,000 Velocity Points)

A one-way business class flight between Sydney and Singapore will cost slightly less when using KrisFlyer miles (62,000 miles), but the extra 3,000 Velocity Points is a small price to pay for the ease of earning them in Australia.

Transfer to KrisFlyer for aspirational first class

Velocity Frequent Flyer members have the ability to transfer their Velocity Points to Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer miles at a desirable rate of 1:55.

That means, in order to lock in a KrisFlyer redemption costing 100,000 KrisFlyer miles, you’d need to send across 155,000 Velocity Points.

It’s important to know that Singapore Airlines offers ‘Award Seat’ redemptions in two categories – ‘Saver’ and ‘Advantage’, with Saver most seats generally reserved for KrisFlyer members.

KrisFlyer has good award availability across the board, so transferring Velocity Points across to KrisFlyer could give you a greater chance of securing an award seat, with Singapore Airlines business class and first class suites amongst the most aspirational redemptions.

It would make sense to compare the carrier charges before deciding to transfer points across.

Experience Singapore Airlines first Suites from Sydney to Singapore (85,000 KrisFlyer Miles)

If you’re only going to experience first class once, it should be in the Singapore Airlines first Suite on the A380.

With a lie-flat bed, Dom Pérignon and Krug making for the trip of a lifetime, the modest carrier charges (under $100) are just a bonus.

Using Velocity Points for upgrades on Virgin Australia

If you don’t have enough points for a business class redemption, you can always upgrade from your paid economy fare.

It is possible to upgrade to domestic business class on Virgin Australia from any paid economy fare (this includes, Getaway, Elevate or Freedom fares).

The cost of an upgrade will depend on the distance zone of your flight and your original fare class.

Generally, the most expensive flexible economy ticket (Freedom) allows for cheaper upgrades, while upgrades from cheaper fares don’t offer the same value.

Upgrade to business class on a Perth-Sydney service (9,900 Velocity Points one way)

A Zone Three upgrade from Perth to Sydney costs 9,900 Velocity Points if you’re upgrading from a Freedom ticket, but 30,000 points if you originally purchased a Getaway or Elevate fare.

Seeing as an outright business class redemption is not much more than 30,000 Velocity Points, this upgrade may not make sense unless you were gifted the ticket.

The table below outlines the costs for one way domestic upgrades.

The following table outlines the costs for one way short-haul international upgrades to Fiji, Samoa, Bali, and New Zealand.

If you use Velocity Points for an upgrade in this situation, it may make sense, as upgrades from cheaper economy fares are significantly cheaper than we see with domestic flights.

In saying that, outright redemptions are generally a better use of points, so it’s important to crunch the numbers to assess whether you’re going to get good value out of your desired upgrade redemption.

Redeeming Velocity Points for Accommodation

Let’s be real, most people shop more than they fly, which is good news for Velocity Frequent Flyer members who can redeem points on the ground.

Velocity members can redeem points at over 400,000 hotels around the world thanks to a program tie-up with Rocket Travel.

The value on offer here is almost never as good as a flight redemption, but it could occasionally make sense depending on your situation.

The number of points you’ll need for a hotel redemption depends on the property. For example, an affordable one night stay at the EDEN Hotel Kuta Bali would cost 6,700 Velocity Points, while a luxury night at Mulia Resort in Nusa Dua would fetch an eye-watering 78,700 points.

Redeeming Velocity Points for Car Hire

If road trips are more your style, Velocity members can also redeem points with car hire partners via Rocket Travel.

Partnered brands include Europcar, Dollar, Hertz, Sixt and Thrifty, all offering free cancellation up to 48 hours before pick up.

Again, you’ll get much better value from flight redemptions, but using Velocity Points for car rental may make sense if you don’t plan to fly.

Redeeming Velocity Points for Shopping

Velocity has partnered with Myer to give members more opportunities to redeem points on the ground.

We all love a good shopping spree, but it’s usually better to save your pennies rather than points for these, as using points for goods typically offers the worst value of any redemption.

Shop goods and gift cards on the Velocity Rewards Store

While it’s not possible to use points at the Velocity eStore, Velocity members can redeem their points for goods and gift cards across a wide range of popular retailers and shopping categories.

You’re currently looking at 252,297 points for the new Dyson V15 Detect Absolute Cordfree vacuum, which retails for about $1,399. As such, you’re only extracting 5.5 cents value per 1,000 points, which is terrible value.

Similarly, a $100 Bunnings gift card costs 20,002 Velocity Points. Considering that 20,000 Velocity Points could secure you a one-way economy flight reward from Perth to Sydney, you won’t be getting nearly as much value out of gift card redemptions.

In saying this, redeeming your points for goods can make sense if you’re saving up for something in particular and don’t have any travel plans on the horizon.

Sip from the Velocity Wine Store

Similar to Qantas Wine, you can redeem points for wine, beer and spirits at the Velocity Wine Store by Laithwaites.

A 12-bottle case of dry red wine (not champagne) would currently cost 57,600 Velocity Points.

If considering a redemption of this nature, it’s always important to crosscheck what the product is retailing for elsewhere to determine whether you’d be extracting enough value for your points.

Help a loved one with Family Pooling

Velocity’s Family Pooling feature allows members to pool Velocity Points and Status Credits to up to six family members of the same household, including a maximum of two adults and four children under the age of 18.

In theory, the Family Pooling benefit could get the whole family to enjoy the perks of elite status – particularly useful when travelling together – including lounge access, priority check-in, and boarding, as well as free Economy X extra-legroom seats once you reach Platinum. As such, it could pay to pool your points to a family member who could use the points.

Case study: A return family trip from Sydney-Perth

A family of four flying return from Sydney to Perth would earn 60 Status Credits and 2,300 Velocity Points on an economy choice fare costing $460 per person.

Using the Family Pooling feature, all points and Status Credits could then be pooled to a nominated beneficiary, and tallied to the following total:

• 240 Status Credits
• 9,200 Velocity Points

This means that with just one family return trip, the beneficiary of the Family Pool would have earned enough Points to book a one-way domestic Reward flight and almost enough Status Credits to reach Silver Status.

If your desired redemption can be secured with either Velocity Points or Krisflyer miles, it would make sense to compare the carrier charges before deciding to transfer points across.

Summing up: What are the best ways to use Velocity Points?

Velocity Frequent Flyer is jumping from strength to strength with the addition of new program partners that make it possible for members to redeem their Velocity Points in a multitude of ways.

Savvy point collectors will take advantage of the Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer and Qatar Airways partnerships to redeem their stash of Velocity Points for aspirational business and first class redemptions on long-haul international flights.

Aside from business class upgrades and Family Pooling, there are many ways to burn your points on the ground if air travel isn’t on the cards, but you can’t beat the value of a reward seat at the pointy end of the plane!

How do you use your Velocity Points?

FAQ – Best ways to use Velocity Points

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