Velocity Status Credits are the key to earning Silver, Gold and Platinum status in the Velocity Frequent Flyer program. The main way to rack up these Status Credits is by flying on Virgin Australia and partner airlines.
At Gold, you start enjoying lounge access and priority airport perks with Virgin Australia and most partner airlines – certainly a useful benefit to aim for. Platinum ups the ante with free Economy X (extra legroom seats) and four Complimentary Upgrade Credits on Virgin Australia domestic and short-haul international flights.
Here are the qualification tiers:
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- Silver: Earn 250 Status Credits (200 to renew) + 2 eligible flights.
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- Gold: Earn 500 Status Credits (400 to renew) + 4 eligible flights.
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- Platinum: Earn 1,000 Status Credits (800 to renew) + 8 eligible flights.
Sometimes, you might be able to enrol in ‘Discover Gold’, which grants you a three-month taster of Gold status. But best of all, you just need to earn 80 Velocity Status Credits within that period to keep Gold for another year.
To help you efficiently plan your future trips, here are the lowest-cost ways to earn Status Credits on Virgin Australia-operated flights – particularly when a double Status Credit offer is in play.
Want to learn more about Status Credits? Check out our video below:
Domestic Business Class offers the best value
Virgin Australia domestic and short-haul Business Class offer a relatively high Status Credit earn rate, relative to the cost. The best deals are concentrated within the eastern states – flights to/from Perth are generally very expensive in comparison.
Tip: You’ll also earn more Status Credits if you fly indirectly, rather than non-stop. This is because you earn Status Credits for each flight you take, and in general, you’ll earn more from two connecting shorter flights than one longer one.
Virgin Australia’s Business fares start from about $349 one-way. That’s sometimes the exact same price as Economy Flex. If you see a price like that, take it! For $349, you can get 80 Status Credits one-way.
Here’s an example: flying non-stop from Melbourne to Gold Coast.
If you have the time and are happy to splash some more cash, flying Melbourne-Sydney-Gold Coast might be more fruitful. In Business, you’ll get 110 Status Credits instead.
The same concepts apply in Economy Class, too, it’s just you’ll earn fewer Status Credits per flight.
Here are a few of the best status run routes on Virgin Australia as of October 2023 (and based on prices through to 31 December 2023 for the October Double Status Credits offer). All prices and earn rates are in Business Class.
Note on the October 2023 Double Status Credits offer: this offer is valid for flights flown by 31 December 2023. Unfortunately, fares during this period are higher than usual. The table below has been updated to reflect the higher fares during this travel period.
| Route (one-way) | via | Sample price | Regular SC earn | Double SC earn | Cost per SC (double SC) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Canberra - Adelaide | Sydney | $521.51 | 110 | 220 | $2.37 |
| Melbourne - Cairns | Brisbane | $849.48 | 160 | 320 | $2.65 |
| Sydney - Launceston | Melbourne | $639 | 110 | 220 | $2.90 |
| Melbourne - Gold Coast | Sydney | $639 | 110 | 220 | $2.90 |
| Melbourne - Gold Coast | (non-stop) | $499 | 80 | 160 | $3.12 |
| Sydney - Ballina | (non-stop) | 389 | 55 | 110 | $3.54 |
| Brisbane - Melbourne | Sydney | $826.10 | 110 | 220 | $3.76 |
| Melbourne - Bali | Adelaide | $1,564.95 | 165 | 330 | $4.44 |
All of these examples are using a Double Status Credits offer and with the lowest Business fare available (as of February 2023) on each route. Where possible, I’ve mixed up the routes to show possibilities from different cities. All options can also be done in reverse (e.g. starting in Cairns, Canberra or Gold Coast rather than in Melbourne).
Note that this is theoretical – these prices may not be available for the dates you wish to book.
- Retain Gold (400 SCs):
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- 1x Adelaide-Canberra return Business via Melbourne – 440 SCs, $833.34
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- Total cost: $833.34 for 440 SCs ($1.89 per SC)
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- Earn Gold (500 SCs):
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- 1x Sydney-Launceston return Business via Melbourne – 440 SCs, $888
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- 1x Sydney-Melbourne return (non-stop) Economy Choice – 60 SCs, $218
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- Total cost: $1,106 for 500 SCs ($2.21 per SC)
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- Retain Platinum (800 SCs):
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- 1x Melbourne-Gold Coast return Business via Sydney – 440 SCs, $974
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- 1x Melbourne-Gold Coast one-way Business via Sydney – 220 SCs, $487
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- 1x Gold Coast-Melbourne one-way Business (non-stop) – 160 SCs, $349
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- Total cost: $1,810 for 820 SCs ($2.21 per SC)
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- Or just do ‘Retain Gold’ twice: $1,666.68 for 880 SCs ($1.89 per SC)
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- Earn Platinum (1,000 SCs):
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- 1x Melbourne-Cairns return Business via Brisbane – 640 SCs, $1,513
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- 1x Melbourne-Gold Coast one-way Business via Sydney – 220 SCs, $487
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- 1x Gold Coast-Melbourne one-way Business (non-stop) – 160 SCs, $349
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- Total cost: $2,349 for 1,020 SCs ($2.30 per SC)
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- Or just do ‘Earn Gold’ twice: $2,212 for 1,000 SCs ($2.21 per SC)
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Summing up
If you are looking for Velocity status and have some cash on hand, then the routes above could be good ones to research. Not only do you get to fly Business Class in all the examples, but you’ll also be pocketing Status Credits at some of the lowest rates possible.
If you need to check how many Status Credits a flight earns, check the Virgin Australia website. At least for domestic flights, the booking page will show you when you choose a flight. Otherwise, work out the distance of the flight (in miles) and cross-check it against the Status Credits earn table.
This guide focuses on Virgin Australia flights, but you can also pocket many Status Credits from partner airlines. The Velocity website explains how many Status Credits you can earn with partners such as United, Singapore Airlines, Etihad, Air Canada and Qatar Airways.
Don’t forget to check for any current double Status Credits promotions – be sure to book and travel within the promotion periods so you don’t miss out.
Do you have any better routes? Let us know in the comments, and we’ll add them to the table.
Hi Brandon, I have 2 x DSC offers running concurrently. I also received a direct offer my Virgin Business Flyer – book between 1Oct-10Nov, fly by 10Nov, receive bonus 100 SC when you earn 60+SC on a flight. Do you know if you can use the same booked flight earning 60SC will qualify for the above DSC promo to book by 30Oct, travel by 31 Dec. Can they be overlapped to get the double whammy before 10Nov?
Thanks for the suggestions. I recently did the Perth-Melbourne route via Adelaide on business fare, but only earned 35 status credit for the perth-adelaide segment, even though during booking it said 135 (which indicates 80 for the PER-ADE leg). Need to call the member centre to ask why.
Hi Brendon,
Just an update on my case. It took me an hour on the phone with Velocity to have the difference rectified (80 + 80 instead of 35 + 35 for the Perth-Adelaide leg). I was told this will be considered on a case-by-case basis.
Thanks for sharing Ricky. That’s interesting, I got the higher amount automatically.
been based in Canberra I’m a big fan of CBR > MEL > ADL, last yeat I was able to get return in business class for two in a double Status Credit deal with another deal and got 1080 Status Credit.
that got me all the way to giving the gift of gold
That’s a great one with a low cost per Status Credit of $1.89. Thanks for sharing, I’ve added it in.
I need 130 velocity status points for status run by 15 December to get platinum Very keen to know the cheapest moist painless way . Very grateful for any help at all
I found Brisbane to Darwin via MEL Business Saver for $566 which earns 60+90 SC (total 300 with VA’s recent double SC promotion) and the departure times should (v. important 😉 provide lunch from BNE and dinner departing MEL! Worth considering especially if lounges are temporarily shut per COVID-19 restrictions.
The very best status run I could find (and booked) was MEL-OOL-AKL-OOL-MEL on a J saver fare. Under $900 for 560 SC.
Hi Phil, great deal! I’ve added it into the guide so that others can take advantage of it.
Perth – Dunedin is also amazing one return business trip (PER-MEL-BNE-DUD-BNE-MEL-PER) during DSC gets Platnium from a standstill reasonable prices as well!!!!!
I booked CHC-SYD-BNE-MEL-CHC $1050 540 pts for Gold & same again for Platinum
Any idea when the next Velocity double status credit promotion might be? I was hopping for one in Aug 19 (after promotions being run earlier this year in Feb and May) but it is Sep and I am still waiting :-).
It’s worth considering, when doing a points run, whether to do one solo or with a child, given:
* Family pooling
* children earn the same status points; and
* the until-midnight tonight double status deal.
I used the tips on this article to book Business Class Saver fares to DPS from MEL, via BNE, and the one booking earned me Platinum, as my child was also registered to the double status deal, so I get eight flights and 1300+ status points for the one trip.
This meant Platinum from Red cost ~$3150.
Can you please suggest routes for those of us based in Brisbane?
Thanks in advance
Hey Vik, unfortunately, the promotion ended yesterday. We’ll endeavour to include Brisbane next time!
Matt,
Can you confirm my SC number is correct?
720 SC under the double SC promo.
Adelaide – Melb
Melb – Denpasar via Syd
Denpasar – Adelaide via Syd
Hoping you can confirm these numbers.
Thanks,
Mark
How do you select Canberra flights via SYD and BNE? If I select return it always only shows one stop to CHC and also one stop on return, if I select multi-city fare it is excessive.
Could you please list down the SC calculation for the Launceston – Dunedin routing? Sorry, my calculations does not give me 380 SC.
I can confirm that this is correct. So the Status Credits for a one-way Business Saver LST-MEL-BNE-DUD flight would be 50 + 60 + 80 = 190. Then double that for a return flight (380) and double it again for the promotion (760).
You can check the Status Credits earn on the Virgin Australia website.
Hope that helps!
There are cheaper ways to do this right now with the “buy a freedom fare, get pilot gold” promo. Then you only need 80 more SC + 1 segment.