Velocity Frequent Flyer – the loyalty program of Virgin Australia – just got even more rewarding. Now, when you take out an eligible new Velocity Points earning credit card with an annual fee, you can choose an additional exclusive benefit from Velocity itself.
On top of any Velocity Points earned directly from your credit card, you could enjoy a further 30,000 bonus Velocity Points. Or, if you prefer, 250 Status Credits or even a $200 Coles Gift Card.
But act fast! If you’re interested, you’ll need to register for this promotion and successfully take up a new Velocity Points earning credit card with an annual fee by 31 March 2023 to be eligible. Here’s what you need to know.
This content is created in partnership with Velocity Frequent Flyer.
Choose your Velocity exclusive benefit: how it works
Right now, you could take out a new Velocity Points earning credit card with an annual fee and be rewarded twice. Start things off with a generous sign-up offer from the credit card itself. But then, add a second benefit directly from Velocity – sweetening the pot even further.
For instance, you might sign up to an eligible credit card and receive a solid helping of bonus Velocity Points. But then, on top, you could choose to pocket even more Points, or perhaps, extra Status Credits or a gift card.
Sound good? Here’s a quick outline of the process.
- If this offer sounds interesting, head to this page on the Velocity website where you can choose your exclusive benefit.
- Apply and be approved for a Velocity Points earning credit card with an annual fee.
- Meet any applicable minimum spend requirements imposed by the card issuer, to earn the sign-up incentive provided directly from the card itself.
- Ensure you provide your card issuer with your Velocity Frequent Flyer membership number. When you become eligible and receive the sign-up incentive from the card issuer, within 30 days Velocity will apply your additional exclusive benefit
In other words, it’s almost like receiving two sign-up bonuses from a single credit card application. Now you’re living in the fast lane!
Which Velocity exclusive benefit can I choose?
Speaking of that exclusive benefit direct from Velocity, there are three choices available for you:
- 30,000 bonus Velocity Points, or
- 250 Velocity Status Credits, or
- $200 Coles Gift Card
Again, this comes on top of any sign-up bonus provided by the credit card itself. For instance, let’s say you successfully applied for a credit card offer and earned 100,000 bonus Velocity Points directly from the card. By choosing 30,000 Velocity Points as your additional benefit, you’d get 130,000 Velocity Points in total.
Which Velocity exclusive benefit should I pick?
With three great benefits to choose from, it pays to be strategic with your Velocity exclusive benefit. Here’s a look at the value of each choice.
30,000 bonus Velocity Points
If you’re a regular Point Hacks reader, you’ll already know some of the amazing things you can do with Velocity Points. But if you’re a little rusty, here’s a quick reminder.
You can redeem your Velocity Points for flights across the Virgin Australia network, as well as on Velocity’s many partner airlines. Virgin Australia Reward Seats start at 7,800 Points one-way, plus taxes, fees and carrier charges. With that in mind, here are few ideas of how you might spend a reward of 30,000 bonus Velocity Points.
- Book at least three one-way Economy Reward Seats on Virgin Australia’s short domestic flights. For instance, Sydney to Melbourne, Brisbane to Sydney or Melbourne to Adelaide each cost 7,800 Points one-way (plus taxes, fees and carrier charges). By paying the relevant taxes, fees and carrier charges using dollars, you’d still have 6,600 Points to spare.
- Upgrade from a paid Economy Choice fare to Business Class three times on these same routes. This costs 10,000 Points per upgrade. Or when flying on Economy Flex fares, upgrade six times on the same flights (4,900 Points per upgrade).
- Head off to Singapore, flying on an Economy Reward Seat with Singapore Airlines from most major airports. That’s no more than 29,000 Velocity Points one-way, plus taxes, fees and carrier charges.
But remember, with a Velocity Points earning credit card, your ongoing spending will continue to boost your Velocity account. Rather than burn your bonus Points straight away, you might decide to keep saving them up.
Combined with other Velocity Points you may earn, this could take you to places like the Middle East, Europe, South Africa or North America.
250 Status Credits
Velocity Points are a great reward – but Status Credits might be even more enticing. They can be your ticket to earning or retaining a shiny Velocity Silver, Gold or even Platinum frequent flyer membership. This brings year-round benefits, even if you’re flying Economy.
To that end, 250 Status Credits is a very generous benefit. Believe it or not, you might otherwise need to take 50 one-way flights between Sydney and Melbourne on Economy Lite fares that earn just 5 Status Credits each to accumulate the same amount. That’s 25 return trips… but with this bonus, your feet don’t need to leave the ground even once.
But if you are taking to the skies, this bonus, plus one return domestic trip with Virgin Australia, could be all you need to climb the status ladder.
Here’s what 250 Status Credits can do for you.
- Get Velocity Silver status after taking just one return trip anywhere in the Virgin Australia network. That’s because Silver requires 250 Status Credits – which you’d already have – and this trip gets you the two Eligible Sectors also needed to earn or retain that status.
- You’d also be halfway to earning Velocity Gold, with 250 of the 500 Status Credits required. If you’re already Gold, you only need 400 Status Credits to retain, bringing you even closer. You also just need to fly four Eligible Sectors.
- With 250 Status Credits, you’re a quarter of the way to earning Velocity Platinum (1,000 Status Credits). Or if you’re already Platinum, you’d be more than 30% of the way to retaining it for another year. Eight Eligible Sectors required.
Except for reward bookings and Economy Lite fares, every flight taken with Virgin Australia on a VA flight number earns one Eligible Sector.
$200 Coles Gift Card
Velocity Points earning credit cards aren’t just for those who regularly fly. Velocity Points can also be redeemed for rewards like car hire or hotel stays and merchandise on the ground.
To that end, instead of bonus Velocity Points or Status Credits, you could opt for a $200 Coles Gift Card instead. It’s a straightforward choice with clear value – and a clear help to the hip pocket.
We suspect many Point Hacks readers would choose the Velocity Points or Status Credits instead. But with grocery prices what they are these days and interest rates soaring once again, saving on household expenses certainly isn’t a bad way to go.
Pro tip: Don’t forget to scan your Flybuys card at the Coles checkout. By linking your Flybuys and Velocity memberships, you can earn one Velocity Status Credit for every $100 spent at Coles each month – up to 10 Status Credits per month. Flybuys Points can be converted into Velocity Points either manually or by Auto Transfer.
Eligible credit cards for Velocity’s choose your exclusive benefit promotion
Many credit cards can earn Velocity Points indirectly. For example, by first accruing reward points in a bank’s own loyalty program, and later converting these into Velocity Points. But other cards are ‘direct earning’. This is where the Points earned every month are automatically deposited into your Velocity account.
It’s these direct-earning credit cards that can make you eligible for this additional exclusive benefit from Velocity. Here’s a quick rundown of those eligible cards.
| Credit card | Bonus Velocity Points offer | Annual fee | Velocity Points earned per $1 spent on everyday purchases* | Additional ongoing benefits |
| American Express Velocity Platinum Card | Up to 100,000 | $375 | 1.25 Points | Free Virgin Australia return domestic flight each year |
| American Express Velocity Business Card | 160,000 | $249 | 1 Point | 2x Virgin Australia domestic lounge passes every year |
| Virgin Money Velocity Flyer Card | Up to 100,000 | $64 (1st yr) $129 (ongoing) | 0.66 Points (up to $1,500/mo) 0.5 Points (thereafter) | Request an annual $129 Virgin Australia gift voucher |
| Virgin Money Velocity High Flyer Card | Up to 100,000 | $289 | 1 Point (up to $8,000/mo) 0.5 Points (thereafter) | Annual $129 VA gift voucher + 2x domestic lounge passes every year |
| Westpac Altitude Platinum Credit Card with Velocity Points | 70,000 | $149 (1st yr) $199 (ongoing) | 0.5 Points | Two complimentary Economy X Seat Upgrade Vouchers each year |
| Westpac Altitude Black Credit Card with Velocity Points | Up to 120,000 | $300 | 0.75 Points | 2x Economy X Upgrade Vouchers + 2x VA lounge passes each year |
| Bank of Queensland Specialist Platinum Card | 10,000 | $150 | 0.5 Points (up to $10,000/month) 0.25 Points (thereafter) | Earn 1 Velocity Point per AU$1 spent on international transactions |
| Bank of Queensland Specialist Signature Card | 20,000 | $400 | 1 Point (up to $10,000/mo) 0.5 Points (thereafter) | Four Priority Pass airport lounge visits per year, with one complimentary guest |
Summing up
Velocity previously ran a ‘choose your own exclusive benefit’ promotion last year, but it was a little different. Velocity members could still decide to be rewarded with Velocity Points, but the alternatives were six months of Velocity Gold status or a Virgin Australia Travel Bank credit.
This time, a Coles Gift Card replaces the Travel Bank credit. And of course, Status Credits replace the six-month status itself. But those Status Credits could be even more valuable.
For new Velocity members, those 250 Status Credits provide an easy path to a whole year of Silver status. And for those who already have elite Velocity status, they’ll be very useful in helping to keep it for another year. Or perhaps, even to move up to the next tier.
As to which exclusive benefit is best, it depends on what you’re looking for.
If you’re looking for an easier path to earning or retaining Velocity status, those Status Credits could be a perfect fit. If you’d instead prefer to travel further, or travel better – such as by upgrading or booking Business Class – those Velocity Points come with many options.
And hey, if you’d rather save some coin on groceries and household essentials, there’s an option for that too.
Also read: Best ways to get the most out of Velocity Frequent Flyer
Images courtesy of Virgin Australia, Air Canada, Qatar Airways and Velocity Frequent Flyer. All Velocity redemption rates mentioned in this article are correct as at February 2023.
Choose your own exclusive benefit with Velocity’s new credit card campaign
| Expiry: 31 March 2023 |
Get an extra 30,000 Velocity Points, 250 Status Credits or a $200 Coles Gift Card if you take out an eligible new Velocity Points earning credit card with an annual fee by 31 March 2023, but before you apply, select which exclusive benefit you’d prefer.
This offer comes in addition to any sign-up bonus provided directly by the credit card issuer. This means, if you qualify for bonus Velocity Points from the credit card itself, you could double dip with a second reward of your choice from Velocity.
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