Your Virgin frequent flyer points will soon have different values when it comes to seating upgrades and free flights. Some travel destinations will require more points while others will require less, depending on the route and airline partner used. Here’s everything you need to know.
[credit provider=”Virgin Australia ” url=”http://virginaustralia.com.au”]
Virgin Australia is making some significant adjustments to its Velocity Frequent Flyer points scheme. While some of the changes are good, others are considerably less so.
From 1 June 2016, newly acquired Velocity Points will no longer expire provided you earn or redeem points at least once every 24 months. Previously, the expiry period was 36 months. This is good news for frequent flyers, but occasional travelers have effectively lost a year to sit on their points.
Transferring Velocity Points between family members will no longer be considered eligible activity to prevent your points expiring. Unlike the expiry date tweak, this change will be applied retrospectively, which means you’ll need to earn new points before June 2016 if your only activity in the past 36 months was family pooling or points transfers between family members.
Members will be notified via email at least 30 days prior to their Points expiring. So if you’re not sure when your points expire, you’ll still be able to claim them.
The airline has also tweaked the number of Velocity points you need to score flight upgrades with Virgin and its partners. Under the new scheme, some destinations will require more frequent flyer points, while others will require fewer. For some destinations, the number of points needed remains unchanged.
Here are the points you currently need for Reward Seat Bookings with Virgin Australia, Etihad Airways, Virgin Samoa, Virgin Atlantic, Delta Airlines, Virgin America, Air New Zealand (Trans-Tasman Services):
| Zone | One-Way Miles | Economy | Premium Economy | Business |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1-600 | 6,900 | 10,400 | 13,800 |
| 2 | 601-1,200 | 10,900 | 16,400 | 21,800 |
| 3 | 1,201-2,400 | 16,900 | 25,400 | 33,800 |
| 4 | 2,401-3,600 | 23,900 | 35,900 | 47,800 |
| 5 | 3,601-4,800 | 28,900 | 43,400 | 57,800 |
| 6 | 4,801-5,800 | 35,000 | 52,500 | 70,000 |
| 7 | 5,801-7,000 | 41,000 | 61,500 | 82,000 |
| 8 | 7,001-8,500 | 47,000 | 70,500 | 94,000 |
| 9 | 8,501-9,500 | 55,000 | 82,500 | 110,000 |
| 10 | 9,501-15,000 | 62,000 | 93,800 | 125,000 |
And here are the number of points you’ll need from June 1:
| Zone | One-Way Miles | Economy | Premium Economy | Business |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1-600 | 7,800 (+900) |
11,700 (+1,300) |
15,500 (+1,700) |
| 2 | 601-1,200 | 11,800 (+900) |
17,700 (+1,300) |
23,500 (+1,700) |
| 3 | 1,201-2,400 | 17,800 (+900) |
26,700 (+1,300) |
35,500 (+1,700) |
| 4 | 2,401-3,600 | 22,300 (-1,600) |
36,700 (+800) |
49,500 (+1,700) |
| 5 | 3,601-4,800 | 27,800 (-1,100) |
44,700 (+1,300) |
759,500 (+1,700) |
| 6 | 4,801-5,800 | 34,800 (-200) |
753,700 (+1,200) |
71,500 (+1,500) |
| 7 | 5,801-7,000 | 39,800 (-1,200) |
62,700 (+1,200) |
83,500 (+1,500) |
| 8 | 7,001-8,500 | 44,800 (-2,200) |
71,700 (+1,200) |
95,500 (+1,500) |
| 9 | 8,501-9,500 | 54,800 (-200) |
83,700 (+1,200) |
111,500 (+1,500) |
| 10 | 9,501-15,000 | 59,800 (-2,700) |
95,700 (+1,900) |
127,500 (+2,500) |
Here are the points you currently need for Reward Seat Bookings with Singapore Airlines, Silk Air, Air New Zealand (New Zealand domestic and long haul services only), airberlin, Hawaiian Airlines, South African Airways:
| Zone | One-Way Miles | Economy | Business | First |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1-600 | 10,000 | 17,500 | 25,000 |
| 2 | 601-1,200 | 12,500 | 25,000 | 40,000 |
| 3 | 1,201-2,400 | 20,000 | 40,000 | 55,000 |
| 4 | 2,401-3,600 | 35,000 | 70,000 | 85,000 |
| 5 | 3,601-4,800 | 37,500 | 80,000 | 100,000 |
| 6 | 4,801-5,800 | 45,000 | 95,000 | 135,000 |
| 7 | 5,801-7,000 | 50,000 | 110,000 | 165,000 |
| 8 | 7,001-8,500 | 65,000 | 140,000 | 9197,500 |
| 9 | 8,501-9,500 | 70,000 | 157,500 | 225,000 |
| 10 | 9,501-15,000 | 75,000 | 175,000 | 127,500 250,000 |
And here are the number of points you’ll need from June 1:
| Zone | One-Way Miles | Economy | Business | First |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1-600 | 10,000 (+0) |
18,000 (+500) |
26,000 (+1,000) |
| 2 | 601-1,200 | 114,000 (+1,500) |
26,000 (+1,000) |
38,000 (-2,000) |
| 3 | 1,201-2,400 | 20,000 (+0) |
38,000 (-2,000) |
56,000 (+1,000) |
| 4 | 2,401-3,600 | 28,000 (-7,000) |
53,000 (-17,000) |
78,000 (-7,000) |
| 5 | 3,601-4,800 | 35,000 (-2,500) |
65,000 (-15,000) |
95,000 (-5,000) |
| 6 | 4,801-5,800 | 42,000 (-3,000) |
78,000 (-17,000) |
114,000 (-21,000) |
| 7 | 5,801-7,000 | 50,000 (+0) |
92,000 (-18,000) |
134,000 (-31,000) |
| 8 | 7,001-8,500 | 56,000 (-9,000) |
104,000 (-36,000) |
152,000 (-45,500) |
| 9 | 8,501-9,500 | 65,000 (-5,000) |
121,000 (-36,500) |
177,000 (-48,000) |
| 10 | 9,501-15,000 | 75,000 (+0) |
139,000 (-36,000) |
203,000 (-47,000) |
In addition to the seating upgrade changes, some destinations are increasing in price and others are decreasing. For example, a Sydney-Melbourne Economy flight with Virgin Australia will now costs 7,800 Velocity points — up from 6,900, while a Perth-Singapore Business flight with Singapore Airlines will now cost 53,000 — down from 70,000.
“This is the first time in over five years that we have made adjustments to Reward Seat pricing,” Virgin explained on its website. “During this time Virgin Australia has undergone significant change to become a full service airline, providing all guests with complimentary checked baggage allowance, in-flight entertainment, food and beverages.”
All in all, customers appear to be slightly worse off under the new adjustments; especially if you rarely book long haul flights from Virgin’s partner airlines. Let us know what you think about the changes in the comments section below.
Comments
One response to “Virgin’s Frequent Flyer Points Are Changing: What You Need To Know”
It’s important to note though – and this is something the article failed to mention, that you don’t need to fly to earn points. There are other ways you can earn velocity points besides flying. Need to fill up your petrol tank? Do it at a BP and swipe your velocity card. Bang, you’ve just earned points and prevented your existing points from expiring.
There are plenty of other ways you can earn them too, from booking into certain hotels and eating at certain restaurants. If you use Virgin Mobile or Virgin Insurance, you’ll obviously earn points that way too.