Velocity Rewards: Virgin Australia Rewards Program
Posted February 1st, 2010 and last modified December 28th, 2011
The Virgin Velocity Rewards allows cardholders to earn points from any travel purchase such as airfare, shopping, accommodations, and many more.
The Velocity Rewards program is a way to earn points for virtually anything you spend your money on. It begins with airline expenditures but you also earn for shopping, accommodations, business transactions, even just using your own credit card. Then, you can turn around and redeem those points for travel, gift vouchers, even charitable donations.
Virgin No Annual Fee Credit Card
The Virgin No Annual Fee Credit Card will not only gives you a no annual fee offer but it also comes with a great balance transfer deal.
- $0 annual fee
- 18.99% p.a. on purchases
- 2.9% p.a. for 6 months on balance transfers
- Cash Advance Rate of 20.99% p.a.
- 44 days interest free
- Minimum Income Requirement of $25,000 p.a.
Read the Virgin No Annual Fee Credit Card terms and conditions.
Velocity Rewards is the award winning program for Virgin Australia. The program operates under a simple concept of rewarding customers for their loyalty. Members earn Velocity Points within Australia or around the world. These points are then redeemable for all sorts of valuable products and services. It is free to join the program online and start earning points immediately.
How to earn Velocity Rewards points
- When you fly with Virgin Australia, V Australia, Pacific Blue, or Polynesian Blue you can earn Velocity points and status credits. More frequent flyers earn more status credits leading to more benefits.
- You can also earn points by submitting your membership number when you do business with Velocity partners.
- Airlines
- Virgin Atlantic
- Malaysia Airlines
- Hawaiian Airlines
- Skywest
- Delta
- Airlines PNG
- Hotels
- HotelClub
- Crown Promenade
- Hilton
- Holiday Inn
- InterContinental Hotel & Resorts
- Candlewood Suites
- Staybridge Suites
- Hotel Indigo
- Crown Plaza Hotels & Resorts
- Vibe Hotels
- Travelodge Hotels
- Medina
- Comfort Inn
- Quality Inn
- Clarion
- Rendezvous Hotels & Resorts International
- Crown Towers
- Econo Lodge
- Hire Cars, Parking, or chauffeur driven cars
- Europcar
- Brunel Limousines
- Airport Parking
- Fiat
- Credit Cards
- NAB
- Commonwealth Bank
- American Express
- Diners Club
- Westpac
- ANZ
- Citibank
- CardServices
- St.George Amplify
- Suncorp Bank
- Insurance and Business
- ING
- IBIS World
- Virgin Money
- Virgin Money Super
- Leisure Activities and Holidays
- Blue Holidays
- Cruise Pilot
- The Lounge
- Super Pass
- Online Shopping
- Shop And Earn
- WineMarket
- oo.com.au
- bluetix
- Virgin Mobile
- iSubscribe
- Edible Blooms
- Green Cross Charities
What is a Velocity Rewards status?
The status program allows active members to move up as they collect credit by doing business with Velocity partners. As you move up each tier you get more benefits when you fly. All members start out with as red status and receive a red membership card.
Red member benefits
- Earn five Velocity points and five status credits for every dollar you spend on flights with Virgin Australia, Pacific Blue, and Polynesian Blue.
- Earn points based on the type of fare you purchase and your destination with V Australia.
- Earn points when you fly with other airline partners.
- Points are redeemable for any available seat with no blackouts or restrictions on Virgin Australia airlines and other airline partners.
- Collect more then 20,000 status credits to be moved to silver status.
- Collect more then 50,000 status credits to be moved to gold status.
Silver member benefits
- One free pass to Virgin Australia’s The Lounge within Australia for you and a travel companion. This pass is valid for six months from the begin date of your silver status membership.
- Reduced rate on yearly membership to The Lounge.
- Free checked baggage when you fly Virgin Australia, Pacific Blue, or Polynesian Blue.
- Receive priority check in at major airports in Australia, New Zealand, and Bali.
- Access to the V Australia priority check in.
- Personalised baggage tag
- Bonus points of six instead of five on Virgin Australia, Pacific Blue, and Polynesian Blue and a 20% bonus earn rate on V Australia
- Bonus status credits at the same rate as the points.
Gold member benefits
- All of the benefits of silver status
- Priority phone service. This allows you to jump ahead when the line you are calling is busy.
- Seven points for each dollar spent at Virgin Australia, Pacific Blue, and Polynesian Blue and a 40% bonus earn rate on V Australia.
- Bonus status credits at the same rate as points.
How do I redeem Velocity Rewards points?
Redemption is simple. All you have to do is go to the Redeem page of their website and you can place an order or booking. There may be taxes or surcharges for which you will need a credit card to complete the transaction. You will receive a monthly statement that tells you how many points you have earned as well as the number of status credits your have in your account. You can also log into your online Velocity rewards account online to view your points and status credits totals.
Flights
Once you have your Velocity Rewards points balance you can use them toward airline flights. The seat you are able to book is dependent upon the number of points you have in your account. A ‘rewards seat’ is similar to sale seats. They require less points to book and there are a limited number of them available. In order to get these points you should book your flight as early as possible. The second type of seat is and ‘any seat’ which is accessible to everyone. These seats require more points to book but as long as there are seats available you can book them with whichever Velocity airline partner you prefer. You are even able to book seats, as long as you have the available points, at the busiest times of the year including Easter, Christmas, and holidays from school.
Hotels
Hotel stays are broken out into the number of points you need to have to book a certain type of room. For example if you want to stay at the Hilton Sydney in a standard room for one night you will need 40,000 points. In order to book the room you must call the Hilton reservations line to check for availability and make your reservation. At that time inform them that you will use points to pay for the room. Then go to the Velocity Rewards Shop to order your certificate. make sure you do this at least 14 days prior to your reservation date. The points for that certificate will be deducted from your account and it will be mailed to you. You must present the certificate upon check in at the hotel. The process is much the same for all other hotels who accept Velocity rewards points.
Cars and Parking
Redeeming points for cars and parking depends upon the service you are using. If you book a limousine service you will follow the same process as hotels only calling the service first and then ordering your certificate. To book with Europcar you can call Velocity to make your arrangements. To use Fiat you may make the arrangements through the Velocity Rewards Store.
Velocity Rewards Store
If you go to the Velocity Rewards Store you can redeem your points for any number of items and gift vouchers. Some of the exciting things you can use your points toward include:
- Specialized holiday gifts like flowers on Valentine’s Day.
- Gift Vouchers at participating hotels
- Travel and leisure vouchers for cinema, cruises, limousines, tickets, and theme parks.
- Fine wine and beer, hampers, and gourmet food.
- Books and magazine subscriptions
- Electronics, including iPods, MP3 players, Apple computers, and printers.
- Video games and DVD’s
- Photo and video cameras and GPS devices
- iTunes gift cards
- Exercise equipment
- Housewares
- Toys
- Travel accessories
- Donations to Green Cross Australia
You may also visit their Specials pages at the Velocity rewards website to find limited time offers that you may use your points to purchase.
Understanding the Velocity rewards program
Whenever you join a program like Velocity Rewards you should take time to familiarize yourself with the regulations of the program and the verbiage that they use. By doing this you eliminate the potential for confusion and frustration as you try to earn and redeem points. Below is a list of common terms you will find as you navigate the website and your membership.
- Benefits Expiry Date – The refers to when your status as a Gold or Silver member will run out because you have not earned enough points to either upgrade or maintain your current status during the qualification period.
- Grace Period – There is a period of two months between your date of review and the benefits expiry date. If you have not been able to upgrade or maintain your benefits you will get these two months to continue using your Gold or Silver benefits.
- Membership Number – As soon as you join the Velocity rewards program you will be assigned a membership number that is specific to your account. This number should be kept handy and presented whenever you book a flight or do business with one of the many Velocity partners.
- Qualification Period – When you join Velocity you begin your 12 month qualification period. During this time if you earn 20,000 status credit you will immediately be moved to Silver status and can start using the Silver benefits until the next review date. Velocity refers to this as an Immediate Benefits period. At the next review date you will already have your points to maintain your current status and you will begin another 12 month qualification period. During this time you must continue to earn status credits to maintain your current Silver status or move up to Gold status. At the beginning of each qualification period your Status credits start back at zero.
The Velocity Rewards program offers you a wide variety of ways to earn points and to redeem them. Not many rewards programs have this much to offer at no cost to you. There is really no reason not to join the program, since it is free you have nothing to lose. But, you have loads of valuable rewards to earn for nearly anything you could ever want. The first step is to go to the website and fill out their easy online application. Then you can start earning points and status credits right away. The sooner you earn them the sooner you can start using them toward big discounts and exclusive access.
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