The top 5 ways to earn Velocity Points without flying in 2024

Velocity Frequent Flyer points aren’t just earned in the air. In fact, you can earn plenty of points – we’re talking into the thousands – on the ground. No flying required!

In this guide, we’ll cover five of the best ways to earn a stash of Velocity Points without flying.

1. Flybuys program

In Australia, it’s easy to indirectly earn frequent flyer points when shopping at our major grocery retailers. If you’re looking to earn Velocity Points without flying, you’ll want to shop at Coles and anywhere that uses Flybuys.

Not only can you earn points on everyday groceries at Coles, but you’ll also earn points at Kmart, Bunnings, Officeworks, Target and other major retailers. Perfect if you’ve got a home renovation project coming up or you’re on a redecorating spree.

Every time you scan your Flybuys card during a shop (or enter your member number online at select retailers), you’ll earn one Flybuys point per $1 spent. There are often bonus points assigned to specific products or spending targets, which change weekly. You can view these offers and activate them in the Flybuys app before you shop.

Once you earn 1,000 Flybuys points, you can convert them to 500 Velocity Points on the Flybuys website or in the app. You can even set this to automatically transfer but don’t do that just yet. Flybuys occasionally runs promotions offering additional Velocity Points for manual transfers, or setting up an automatic transfer for the first time. Subscribe to our newsletter, and we’ll let you know when you can earn some bonus points just for transferring.

Bonus tip

Keep an eye out for weekly deals on gift cards at Coles. These will often be sold with a 20x points bonus on the value of the card or a flat bonus like 4,000 points.

For example, if you buy $1,000 worth of Uber gift cards during a 20x points promotion, you’ll earn 20,000 Flybuys points, which can then be transferred to 10,000 Velocity Points. This could be the perfect way to double dip on points if you ride with Uber or order from Uber Eats frequently. You can even use Uber gift cards to pay for Uber rides you’ve already taken up to 30 days prior.

When buying gift cards, there are often terms and conditions that exclude certain denominations, and some cards come with an activation fee, so always make sure to read the fine print first.

Bookmark our Flybuys promotions guide, which we regularly update with the latest points offers.

Also read: Case Study: How I easily earned 10,000 bonus points with gift cards →

2. Earn points from vehicle expenses

There are plenty of ways to earn Velocity Points from your own car expenses, as well as from rideshare and vehicle hire.

Velocity Frequent Flyer partners with 7-Eleven, so filling up on fuel at 7-Eleven outlets can net you a stash of Velocity Points. Link your Velocity account in the 7-Eleven app, then scan your Velocity card or 7-Eleven app when paying for fuel, and you’ll earn one Velocity Point per litre of fuel or two Velocity Points per litre of premium fuel.

Popping into a 7-Eleven store for a convenient snack? Scan your Velocity card or your 7-Eleven app to earn two Velocity Points per $1 spent on eligible items and up to 750 bonus points just for signing up and making your first purchase. If you’re a fan of 7-Eleven’s cheap coffee, this daily purchase can earn you four Velocity Points a day. It’s not heaps, but it certainly adds up.

If you’re taking rideshares, consider DiDi. Thanks to DiDi’s partnership with Velocity, you’ll receive one Velocity Point per $1 spent on all eligible rides.

Also, Velocity partners with Europcar, Hertz, Sixt, Dollar and Thrifty, allowing you to earn Velocity Points on car hire. Rates start from three Velocity Points per $1 spent within Australia and New Zealand, with higher-tier Velocity members earning more. Outside of Australia and New Zealand, most overseas rentals award a flat amount of points per car hire booking, with higher earn rates based on your Velocity status.

You can even earn Velocity Points through Flexicar, a popular car-sharing platform. You’ll receive two Velocity Points per $1 spent on rentals. Again, a higher points earn rate depends on your Velocity status.

Also read: How to maximise your frequent flyer points on car hire

3. Earn Velocity Points from accommodation

Need somewhere to stay once you arrive at your destination? Book your accommodation through Rocket Travel to earn at least three Velocity Points per $1 spent on accommodation. During promotions, you could earn up to quadruple points. That’s 12 Velocity Points per dollar!

Alternatively, you could directly earn Velocity Points when booking through your favourite hotel chains such as IHG, Accor Live Limitless and Shangri-La. Or, if you’d rather earn points towards a participating hotel loyalty program, you can do so with all of the above programs, plus Marriott Bonvoy, Hilton Honors and Choice Privileges. These programs then allow you to convert your hotel rewards points to Velocity Points at varying rates.

Want to sleep on a boat instead? Cruisepilot also offers three Velocity Points per $1 spent, with the earn rate scaling up depending on your Velocity status.

4. Services and utilities

Unlike competitor Qantas, Virgin Australia doesn’t have an empire of financial products. However, there are still ways to earn Velocity Points from insurance and utility services.

Earn up to 80,000 Velocity Points from health insurance when you join and maintain an eligible Medibank hospital and extras coverage.

Medibank also offers 15,000 Velocity Points for new pet insurance customers at the time of writing.

If you’re looking to nab rewards from utilities, an AGL energy plan can earn you up to 20,000 Velocity Points. New and moving customers can get 10,000 Velocity Points for electricity, 5,000 for gas, and 5,000 bonus points when staying on an eligible plan for 12 months.

Offers are subject to change at any time, so check the Velocity Frequent Flyer partners page for the latest bonus offers.

Whether or not these products are best for you shouldn’t depend on the bonus points, so always compare your options first.

Also read: How to earn frequent flyer points from your pet expenses

5. Credit cards

This is arguably the most important weapon in a Point Hacker’s arsenal. A credit card sign-up bonus can often earn you more than 100,000 frequent flyer points in one go and provide ongoing value.

Many credit cards earn Velocity Points per dollar spent, too. This means that if you use them on the other point earners above, such as when shopping at Coles or 7-Eleven, you’ll double-dip on every dollar spent.

For example, a credit card with an earn rate of one Velocity Point per dollar will turn $1,000 worth of premium fuel purchased at 7-Eleven into 3,000 Velocity Points. Considering how many Velocity Points you can pocket without flying, it’s not too shabby!

Before applying for any credit card, always read the PDS to ensure it suits your needs.

Earn bonus Velocity Points with our sign-up offer below!

Summing up

It’s easy to rack up a healthy sum of Velocity Points while being firmly planted on the ground. You can top up your points balance from common activities like grocery shopping, pouring fuel, booking accommodation, and even utilities. And, by using a credit card that earns points, you can stack the rewards faster.

Need inspiration on how to use your Velocity Points? Here’s how we used Velocity Points to explore magical Cappadocia, experience one of the world’s best Business Class cabins and visit Australia’s most iconic beach.

Also read: Ten great ways to use 80,000 Velocity Points →

Featured image: Clay Banks, Unsplash.