Guide to Virgin Australia’s international partners

Virgin Australia isn’t a member of any global alliance. But thanks to its partnerships with major carriers like Singapore Airlines and Qatar Airways, you can use your Velocity Points earned in Australia to explore much of the world, including Europe, the USA and Asia.

In this guide, we cover Virgin Australia’s network of partner airlines and your options for redeeming Velocity Points beyond Australia.

Boost your Velocity Points balance to fly with Virgin Australia’s partners with our sign-up offer below!

Which airlines partner with Virgin Australia?

The following airlines are Virgin Australia’s partners as of June 2026. They include Qatar Airways, United Airlines, Singapore Airlines, ANA, Air Canada, South African Airways, Hainan Airlines, Tianjin Airlines, Capital Airlines, Hong Kong Airlines, Link Airways, Virgin Atlantic and Air New Zealand.

The ability to earn points and status credits differs between airlines. You can find the full list of current Virgin Australia airline partners here, which also outlines the various benefits and earn rates.

Importantly, not all airlines that partner with Virgin Australia allow the redemption of Velocity Points.

Which international partners can I use Velocity Points with?

You can burn your stash of Velocity Points with some of Virgin Australia’s global airline partners, including:

• Air Canada
• ANA
• Qatar Airways
• Hainan Airlines, Tianjin Airlines, Capital Airlines*
• Hong Kong Airlines*
• Singapore Airlines
• South African Airways*
• Virgin Atlantic*
• United

* These airlines can’t be booked online, so you’ll need to research seats elsewhere and call Velocity to book. The exception is Hong Kong Airlines Economy rewards, which are available online (but you need to call to book Business Class).

Redeeming Velocity Points for other airlines

For the most part, redeeming Velocity Points to fly with partner airlines is a simple process. Our guide on how to book a reward seat with Velocity Points includes step-by-step instructions, plus practical tips.

You can book Virgin Australia, Singapore Airlines, Hong Kong Airlines (Economy only), Qatar Airways, ANA, United and Air Canada reward seats online. But you’ll need to call Velocity to use your Velocity Points to book flights with Hainan Airlines, Tianjin Airlines, Capital Airlines, Virgin Atlantic or South African Airways.

In general, we find that Virgin Australia, Qatar Airways and Singapore Airlines offer the best reward seat availability in 2026 (with SQ, you can also unlock more seats by sending points to KrisFlyer).

Unfortunately, United and Air Canada are regarded as quite poor in releasing reward seats, particularly in Business Class and on the trans-Pacific routes.

How many Velocity Points will I need?

Velocity Frequent Flyer publishes distance-based award charts for airlines it partners with. Here’s a sample of how many Velocity Points you’ll need for certain international routes with partner airlines:

Route	Airline	Economy	Business
Sydney-Singapore	Singapore Airlines	29,000 pts	74,000 pts
Melbourne-Singapore-London	Singapore Airlines	80,000 pts	158,800 pts
Melbourne-Doha	Qatar Airways	56,000 pts	119,500 pts
Perth-Doha-Rome	Qatar Airways	56,000 pts	119,500 pts
Sydney-Doha-London	Qatar Airways	80,000 pts	158,500 pts
Sydney-Los Angeles	United	48,000 pts	102,000 pts
Sydney-Los Angeles-New York	United	63,000 pts	136,000 pts
Sydney-Hong Kong	Hong Kong Airlines	32,500 pts	75,000 pts
Sydney/Perth-Tokyo	ANA	45,000 pts	82,000 pts
London-Boston	Virgin Atlantic	30,000 pts	62,000 pts

Transferring points between Velocity and KrisFlyer

Velocity Frequent Flyer members can transfer their Velocity Points to Singapore Airlines’ own program, KrisFlyer, and vice versa.

While you can redeem Velocity Points for flights with Singapore Airlines, there are instances when it makes more sense to convert them to KrisFlyer miles instead.

Singapore Airlines offers extra reward seat availability for members of its frequent flyer program, including the ability to book the elusive First Class Suites – with no carrier charges on SQ flights. And with KrisFlyer miles, you can redeem across the entire Star Alliance network, not just Singapore Airlines.

The rate is 1.55 Velocity Points = 1 KrisFlyer mile. The reverse transfer rate is 1.55 KrisFlyer miles = 1 Velocity Point, so there’s always a haircut when transferring points. For more details, see our guide to transferring Velocity Points into KrisFlyer miles.

Can you earn Velocity Points on other airlines?

Yes, it’s possible to earn Velocity Points on eligible flights with select airlines that partner with Virgin Australia. We recommend visiting the Virgin Australia website to explore individual airlines and their different earn rates and eligibility.

Generally, factors that influence the number of points you earn include fare class and the number of miles you’re travelling, and, on select partners, your Velocity Frequent Flyer status.

Velocity Frequent Flyer status benefits on partner airlines

If you hold status with Velocity Frequent Flyer, you may be eligible for benefits like lounge access or extra baggage allowance when flying with partner airlines.

Of course, the exact benefits depend on your status and which airline you’re flying with. Perks are generally extended to Velocity Gold and Platinum frequent flyers, while Silver members enjoy a few.

As an example, benefits on partner airlines include:

• Priority check-in when flying Qatar Airways for Velocity Silver and above, and priority boarding and lounge access for Gold and above.
• Additional baggage allowance, priority baggage, priority boarding and lounge access for Velocity Gold and above when flying Singapore Airlines.

You can view the list of status benefits with partner airlines on the Virgin Australia website.

Summing up

It’s easy enough to earn Velocity Points in Australia. So if you find yourself with a tidy sum of points, it’s great to know that your redemption options extend far beyond Virgin Australia’s network. How about having an entire plane to yourself en route to the Middle East?

And don’t forget, our experts at Point Hacks Concierge can help you maximise the value of your Velocity Points – or any other points program – to fly in the lap of luxury for less.

Also read: The best ways to use Velocity Points

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FAQs

Community Comments

1. Hi Victoria, I cannot see Etihad listed as a Virgin Australia Partner anymore. The post needs updating.

   Reply

   1. The partnership between Virgin Australia and Etihad ended on 1 June 2025 following Qatar’s purchase of an ownership stake, and their new partnership with Virgin.

      I realise this comment had been posted before this [apparently updated] article was posted, but the partnership’s cessation probably predated the previous version.

      Reply

2. Do you know what the rules will be for the new QA and VA partnership – do the QR or VA interline agreements apply? I want to connect to a Turkish Airlines flight in Doha, all on one Aeroplan ticket. QR has an interline agreement VA do not

   Reply

3. I thought some of these flights eg Etihad had punishing levels of co-pay. It would be very helpful to add the co-pay amounts so they are more comparible with points use with other airlines which have lower fees eg United or Avicana

   Reply

   1. Hi Murray, Velocity is quite transparent about this and publishes a list of applicable carrier charges on its website, which you can find here. These vary depending on the airline operating the flight (Etihad, Qatar Airways and Singapore Airlines), the distance and the cabin. They can be viewed under the expandable heading labelled “Etihad Airways, Air Canada, Singapore Airlines, Qatar Airways, Hawaiian Airlines, All Nippon Airways & South African Airways”.

      Reply

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