Velocity reduces Status Credits on partner airline flights

Over the next year, Velocity Frequent Flyer is rolling out sweeping changes across its loyalty program. On the whole, the adjustments appear designed to better reward those who spend heavily with Virgin Australia itself – less so, those who spend more on Velocity’s partner airlines.

For instance, even with removing Eligible Sector requirements to earn or retain Velocity status, flights marketed by partner airlines will only count for up to half of the Status Credits needed. The balance of Status Credits must come from the traveller flying on Virgin Australia flight numbers. This, at least, can include flights taken aboard partner airlines when that journey is booked on a Virgin Australia VA codeshare.

But even so, the number of Status Credits earned when flying with partners is almost universally decreasing, even when booked on those VA codeshares. When flying on some partner airline flight numbers, the reductions can be as great as 56% – such as on Singapore Airlines’ most affordable Economy fares from Cairns and Adelaide to Singapore.

There’s a small glimmer of sunshine amid the downward trends. Those flying on the most expensive Flexible Economy airfares with Hawaiian Airlines will earn more Status Credits under the new system than they could before. That’s because all Hawaiian Airlines Economy fares currently earn at the lowest Discount Economy rate, including full-fare ‘Y’ class. Flexible Economy fares will be remapped to a Flexible Economy earn rate as part of this shake-up. It’s a small but welcome win for those who stand to benefit.

Here’s how the changes to partner airline earning rates will impact you.

When Velocity’s new partner airline earning rates kick in

The changes to earning Status Credits aboard Virgin Australia’s partner airlines will take effect from next year. How and when you book your flight will determine which rate applies.

If you’re booking a journey on a Virgin Australia (VA) codeshare flight number, you have more time to benefit from the current, higher earning rates. That’s because the revisions to VA codeshares won’t take effect until 1 October 2025, for new bookings made from that date.

So here’s the trick. Even if you’re flying after that date, you’ll earn greater rewards if you book before that date. Virgin Australia typically sells flights up to 330 days in advance. This means you could make bookings up to late September 2025 for travel up to late August 2026, all while earning Status Credits at the current rates.

But the changeover date is more straightforward if you’re flying on a partner airline code. Velocity Frequent Flyer’s new earn rates will apply to all partner airline-coded flights taken from 1 October 2025. In this case, it doesn’t matter when you book – only when you fly.

It’s worth pointing out that Virgin Australia doesn’t sell codeshare flights aboard all of its partners. Such codeshares are primarily sold on Qatar Airways, Singapore Airlines and United. But these days, you won’t find a VA codeshare when specifically travelling on Etihad Airways, for instance.

Also, the pricing of Virgin Australia codeshare bookings may differ from the price charged by the operating carrier to book its own flight number. It always pays to compare your options before booking, not just in cost but also by evaluating the rewards you’ll earn by choosing one option over the other.

Velocity partner airline flights to Asia

On flights to Asia, Status Credits decrease across the board. That’s true whether you book a Virgin Australia (VA) codeshare or book directly with one of Velocity’s partner airlines. For some flyers, earn rates reduce by 50%. Some reductions are even greater.

For instance, a typical lead-in Economy Class fare from Australia’s east coast to Singapore will earn just 15 Status Credits under the new system. That’s the same number of Status Credits as a short hop today from Sydney to Melbourne on a Virgin Australia Economy Choice fare, but for an eight-hour flight.

The hardest hit though are travellers from Adelaide and Cairns to Singapore. That’s because Velocity’s new earning tables include a greater number of distance bands and earning categories than before. Because these routes are shorter in distance than some others, they now map to a lower ‘zone’ on Velocity’s earning tables versus other routes.

However, if booking Economy, there’s one small quirk to remember. When booking flights through Virgin Australia, the lowest earn rate is Standard Economy, not Discount Economy. From Sydney to Singapore, that means earning a minimum of 27 Status Credits one-way on a VA flight number versus a minimum of 15 Status Credits one-way on an SQ flight number.

Of course, Standard Economy fares are generally more expensive than Discount Economy tickets. But for travellers booking flights for work and presenting a quote for travel on a ‘not Flexible Economy’ ticket, it’s a cheeky strategy to keep in mind.

Velocity partner airline earn rates on Singapore Airlines and ANA

When it comes to Velocity Frequent Flyer’s new partner airline earning rates, we’ve done the number crunching for you. Here’s how things shake out once the new rates kick in for both partner airline flight numbers and for VA codeshares operated by partners.

As you’ll see, there’s another small benefit to booking Economy Class travel on the Virgin Australia codeshare. At the Standard Economy rate, each one-way flight covered above will earn five Status Credits more with Velocity than the same journey on the partner airline’s own flight number. This isn’t an improvement, as such – the same was true previously, and these earn rates aren’t immune from downward changes. But it’s worth being mindful of.

Also, note that the new thresholds used by Velocity for earning and maintaining status place a greater emphasis on Virgin Australia-coded flights. Booking a VA codeshare counts towards the Virgin Australia requirements towards status (at least 50% of the required Status Credits coming from Virgin Australia marketed flights).

Put simply, booking a VA codeshare would earn you more Status Credits at the Standard Economy rate and give you the best shot at earning or retaining Velocity Status. Booking the partner flight number instead wouldn’t count towards the requirements for Virgin Australia-marketed travel.

Flying with Velocity’s partners to the Middle East

Travellers on the most affordable Economy Class tickets will similarly see a reduction when flying with Velocity’s Middle Eastern partner airlines. At this price point, earn rates will be roughly half what they were before when travelling on a partner airline flight number.

Here’s how that looks on Etihad Airways. Virgin Australia no longer sells codeshare flights operated by Etihad. So, the only option for non-stop travel to Abu Dhabi is to book directly with Etihad on an EY flight number.

For the Middle East, Virgin Australia instead focuses its codesharing efforts on flights operated by Qatar Airways. As with flights to Asia, those booking Standard Economy tickets will retain a small incentive for choosing a VA code over a partner airline flight number.

But even so, earning rates on Qatar Airways’ Australian services are migrating from a single earn rate to a trio of earning zones. That’s again an effect of Velocity introducing a broader number of distance-based zones into its partner airline earning tables. As such, changes are more pronounced on flights of comparatively shorter distances.

Earning Status Credits on flights to Canada

Heading to the land of the maple leaf? It’s a similar story on the earning front with Velocity Frequent Flyer’s Canuck partner, Air Canada. Earning rates migrate from a single category between Australia and Canada to a two-tier system. This sees Brisbane-based flyers impacted more, because these flights are shorter than Sydney, distance-wise.

Here’s how that looks across Air Canada’s full range of fares.

Following the trends, the most noticeable reduction is for travellers who book the cheapest Economy Class fares directly with Air Canada. Status Credit earning rates on these flights decline by as much as 50%. The changes are still impactful, but significantly less so, for those flying Air Canada Signature Class (Business Class).

Being rewarded with Velocity’s partner United Airlines

Velocity Status Credits earned when flying with partner United Airlines (UA) continue the trend. The current two-tier earning rates from Australia (transpacific and ultra-long, to Houston) migrate to three different earning categories.

Interestingly, the overall reductions are less significant when flying from Melbourne than from Sydney or Brisbane. That’s because Melbourne flights are lengthier by distance, while the comparatively shorter legs from cities further north sees those flights mapped to a lesser zone.

The mildest changes on UA-coded United flights come in Premium Economy, with reductions from as little as 12.5% (Melbourne to LA and San Francisco). The most significant cuts come to lead-in Economy fares departing Sydney and Brisbane, reduced by 50% on all United routes. From Melbourne, lead-in Economy declines by 45% on UA flight numbers. Here’s how that looks

For travellers booking Economy Class travel at the more affordable end of the spectrum, booking a Virgin Australia (VA) codeshare will generally deliver the greatest number of Status Credits. But it always pays to compare prices to see how much extra you’d be paying for the codeshare versus booking with United directly.

Connecting to London

Although none of Velocity’s partner airlines fly directly between Australia and the UK or Europe, there are plenty of one-stop options. Most Velocity members would gravitate towards booking either Etihad Airways (EY), Singapore Airlines (SQ) or Qatar Airways (QR) for these journeys.

Virgin Australia also has a local partner in Virgin Atlantic (VS) when it comes to London. Virgin Atlantic no longer flies to Australia but can still be a handy option for US-UK flights. When jetting to London on these four airlines, here’s what that looks like on the UK-bound leg.

Of course, when travelling from Australia, you’d also earn Status Credits from the first leg of the journey. Velocity will continue to provide Status Credits on a per-sector basis with partner airlines. When flying Qatar Airways from Sydney to London, for instance, you’d earn one serve of Status Credits from Sydney to Doha, plus another serve of Status Credits from Doha to London.

To see how your travels would fare under the new system, add both sectors together from the earning rates provided in this article.

Flying Virgin Australia’s partners to Hawaii and South Africa

Virgin Australia and Velocity Frequent Flyer also partner with Hawaiian Airlines (HA) and South African Airways (SA). Although these carriers don’t currently offer VA codeshares, Status Credits can still be earned on eligible partner airline fares.

This is the single spot of improvement for Velocity’s partner earning rates. Traditionally, all Hawaiian Airlines Economy Class fares are earned at the Discount Economy rate, even if purchasing the most expensive Economy Class ticket (full ‘Y’ class). Velocity is now migrating Economy earn rates to Discount, Standard and Flexible Economy.

This aligns Hawaiian Airlines with Velocity’s other partners and provides greater rewards for travellers booking a Flexible Economy airfare. However, reductions apply to all other earning categories, including a 56% drop for those purchasing the most affordable Economy Class fares from Sydney to Honolulu.

The ‘sweet spot’ of booking cheap First Class flights between the Hawaiian Islands is also being moderated. A circa $100 flight in domestic First Class can fetch 40 Status Credits. From 1 October 2025, this becomes 30 Status Credits. Realistically, that’s still quite rewarding on a ‘cost per Status Credit’ basis – just less than before.

We haven’t included comparisons in this article for travel aboard Velocity’s Chinese airline partners, such as Hainan Airlines. While still listed on Velocity’s website, these partnerships are relatively dormant. Many Point Hacks readers and Australian Frequent Flyer community members have recently reported difficulties in earning Velocity Points and Status Credits on these carriers. Be mindful that manual points claims via Velocity customer service may become necessary.

Also read: How will Velocity’s Status Credit changes affect you?

Featured image courtesy of Virgin Australia.