SOMEWHERE IN YOUR wallet, inbox, or the bottom of a junk drawer, there’s a loyalty card for a coffee shop you went to once in 2019. You’re nine visits off a free cappuccino. You will never get there.
This is the unspoken contract of most rewards programs: spend, collect currency, and eventually redeem the lot for something you didn’t really want in the first place – a branded tote, a 2 per cent discount, the smug feeling of getting something for ‘free’. Most of us are sitting on some version of this right now, doubtful that it will ever amount to anything.
Velocity Frequent Flyer, the loyalty program of Virgin Australia, is the rare exception to the rule in that it’s actually built to be used.
If you’re a Velocity member, it’s not just flights that will earn you Points. Everything from a Bunnings run to your daily coffee can add to your tally. Those Points can add up quickly. And if used right, they can buy you out of economy and take you to your dream holiday destination without spending an extra cent. And here’s the best part: it’s completely free to sign up.
We’re quick to turn things into fitness metaphors here at Men’s Health, and we can’t resist using one here: Velocity Points are a bit like exercise. A few workouts here and there won’t do much on their own, but if you’re consistent you’ll start to see results. Likewise, if you’re stacking the Velocity Points you earn on flights and everyday spending, you can compound those Points into something that buys you an experience that you’d otherwise have to save months for.
Domestic Economy Reward Seats with Virgin Australia start from 5,900 Points one-way, plus taxes, fees and carrier charges. Business Class Reward Seats take off from 15,500 Points one way, plus taxes, fees and carrier charges. Points can be earned or redeemed across over 600 destinations worldwide through Virgin Australia’s partner airlines. That partner network is expansive: Singapore Airlines flies direct from Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Cairns, Adelaide, Perth and Darwin into Asia and beyond; United Airlines connects the east coast to its US West Coast hubs in Los Angeles and San Francisco; Qatar Airways alone opens up more than 140 destinations globally; and their partnerships with Air Canada, ANA, South African Airways, Hong Kong Airlines, Hainan Airlines and Capital Airlines open up the rest of the world.
Velocity Points can have surprising benefits for our wellness-minded readers, too. Primarily because an upgraded Business Class seat on a long-haul partner is a much better way to rest and recover than spending twelve hours in Economy. Upgrades are where there’s some real value. If you’ve already paid for an eligible fare, using points to upgrade to business is one of the stronger plays in the program.
You don’t need to be a frequent flyer in the traditional sense to make this work. Velocity Points stack from everyday life – eligible credit card spend, the Flybuys program at Coles, Bunnings and Officeworks, food delivery through DoorDash, rideshares with DiDi and retail through Myer or the Velocity e-store. Eligible Velocity Points-earning credit card holders will also earn 5 Points per $1 spent on eligible Virgin Australia flights. This means the balance grows quietly in the background of a normal week, and there’s no extra effort required beyond choosing where you already spend.
The flight side compounds it. Every eligible Virgin Australia flight earns Points starting from four Points per dollar spent, and that’s before any status bonus kicks in. None of this demands much effort to track. A Velocity Points balance is the easiest kind of self-investment there is. The 600-plus-destination network means the ceiling on what that balance can do is higher than most people assume. The only real mistake is treating it like spare change instead of what it actually is: a reward just waiting to be redeemed.
For more on the Velocity Frequent Flyer program, visit velocityfrequentflyer.com.
