Main Frequent Flyers Programs Virgin Australia Velocity

Virgin Australia Velocity

Program overview

Velocity Points is the frequent flyer program of Virgin Australia, a major airline from Australia that operates to over destinations and 1 in the US (Los Angeles). Not affiliated with major alliances, it works closely with Delta and Etihad Airways.

Alliance	None
Program website	https://experience.velocityfrequentflyer.com/
Approximate miles value	Varies
Miles validity	24 months after the last date you earned or redeemed Points
Program accrual	Based on fare
Limit on amount of miles you can purchase	250,000 points per year
Waitlist option	No
Courtesy Hold for award reservation	Not allowed
Do you need to open an account to check availability?	No
Stopover option	None, you pay per flight segment
Family account	Yes
Upgrade option	Yes
Online booking	Yes, but some partners must be booked over the phone
Airline partners	Delta, Virgin Atlantic, Singapore Airlines, Etihad Airways, Air Canada, Alitalia, Hainan Airlines, Hawaiian Airlines, South African Airways
Credit card partners	None
Hotel partners	Marriott Bonvoy (3:1, 2 days transfer), IHG Rewards (5:1, 6 weeks transfer), Hilton Honors (10:1.5, up to 30 days transfer), Choice Privileges Rewards (20:3, 6-8 weeks transfer), Accor Live Limitless (2:1, 4-6 weeks transfer)
Co-branded credit cards	None

Point/Miles Conversion Chart

Pros

Krisflyer transfers make it available through all major US mega transfer programs
Award pricing with Velocity is better on average than with Krisflyer. Given the transfer relationship with Krisflyer, this allows for additional savings
Much better redemption prices for Virgin Australia flights than through Delta Skyteam
Mileage pooling

Cons

Etihad partner fee for booking (USD $50-$300)
Cancelling and changing an award ticket needs to be done at least 24 hours before departure
No direct credit card transfer partner or co-branded partner in the US
To join Velocity Frequent Flyer, you must be a resident of an eligible country: Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Fiji, Cook Islands, Vanuatu, Tonga, Solomon Islands, Samoa, Christmas Islands or Cocos Island

Excellent for

Virgin Atlantic Business Class from the US to London starts from 50,000 miles each way.
Virgin Australia domestic flights start from 7,800 miles in Economy one way.

Insider Tip

Look for 15 percent award sales which are offered about twice a year by Velocity.
The only way for US cardholders to transfer points to Velocity is by way of the Singapore Airlines Krisflyer program. You can transfer Velocity Points to/from the Krisflyer program at a rate of 1.55 Velocity miles to 1 Krisflyer miles. The fact that Singapore Krisflyer is a direct partner with all 4 major US mega rewards credit card programs, means you are able to put miles into Velocity from any of them into Velocity in a 2-step process. The transfer from credit cards to Singapore takes 24-48 hours. To Velocity, the transfer is instant from Krisflyer. You need to set up an account in both programs for the transfer to work.
Velocity Frequent Flyer and Singapore KrisFlyer are temporarily suspending conversion of Points and Miles between the two programs.
Due to border closures now you can redeem only Virgin Australia domestic flights.

Do you use this program? Share your experience and tips in the comments below. Your thoughts would be very valuable to us!

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