Virgin Australia and Singapore Airlines enjoy a special relationship not usually seen among airlines, with the ability to transfer points and miles between the two loyalty programs. Most Australian-based readers will likely be looking at swapping Velocity Points to KrisFlyer, given it’s much harder to earn KrisFlyer miles down under.
But there are also a few great reasons to send your KrisFlyer miles to Velocity too, including consolidating smaller balances and booking domestic travel within Australia.
How do I convert KrisFlyer miles to Velocity Points?
Singapore Airlines doesn’t make the process especially transparent, so here’s how to transfer your miles over to Velocity.
- Log in to your KrisFlyer account on the Singapore Airlines website.
- Navigate to the ‘How to use Miles’ section in your account (use our direct link here).
- Scroll down to ‘Other redemption options’ and click on ‘Virgin Australia – Velocity’.
- Choose the number of KrisFlyer miles to send over.
- Click on ‘Transfer Now’ to complete the transfer.
- The KrisFlyer miles should transfer instantly, but it may take up to 24 hours.
Note that there is a minimum point transfer of 5,000 KrisFlyer miles to Velocity, and the transfer rate is 1.55 to 1 in either direction. That means if you change your mind and send your points back to KrisFlyer, you’ll lose another huge chunk in the process.
Why should I transfer points from KrisFlyer to Velocity?
- Book or upgrade Virgin Australia flights: Though you can book Virgin Australia flights via KrisFlyer, you may prefer to transfer your miles to Velocity to use them towards flight upgrades or reward seats. (But keep in mind the number of miles needed to book VA flights via KrisFlyer is usually less than the number of miles needed to transfer to Velocity and book the same flight via Virgin Australia).
- Consolidate smaller balances or stop points expiry: If you only have a small number of KrisFlyer miles, transferring them to Velocity could be a way to save them. You could also do this to pool miles from family members – transfer to individual Velocity accounts and then use Velocity’s ‘Family Transfer’ or ‘Family Pooling’ function to pool the points into the same account.
- Book non-SQ partners: Want to fly on Qatar Airways, Etihad, Hawaiian Airlines or another non-Singapore Airlines partner? Transferring your miles to Velocity could be a way to make that happen.
Westpac Altitude Rewards Black
- Sign-up Bonus:
- Up to 200,000 bonus Altitude points
- Rewards Earn Rate:
- 3 Altitude Points per $1 on international transactions, 2 Altitude Points per $1 on everyday spend, and 1 Altitude Points per $1 on all other eligible spend up to $10,000 per statement period. Then 0.5 Points per $1 thereafter, uncapped
- Annual Fee:
- $200 card fee for the first year, $295 p.a. ongoing
- The Westpac Altitude Rewards Black has up to 200,000 Altitude Points plus a reduced first year annual card fee on offer for new cardholders, the points can be redeemed for up to $950 in e-gift cards or transferred to Velocity Frequent Flyer, KrisFlyer or Cathay miles at a 3:1 ratio. The card offers high points earn rates plus ongoing benefits, including Priority Pass lounge invites.
Summing up
With Singapore Airlines’ and Virgin Australia’s partnership, members can transfer points between either program. Just be mindful that it’s not a straight swap. For every 1.55 points or miles you exchange, you’ll get 1 point or mile in the other program. This means you should think carefully about any points conversions, as you’ll lose around 35% of the amount transferred each time.
Singapore airlines had been extending the dates for Krisflyer points, now they are back to them expiring, so I’m now looking at ways to at least preserve some of my miles, as I don’t have a random trip to Singapore or within their netowrk that I can book right now. If the transfer to Virgin isn’t working can anyone confirm that the maual transfer has worked? or is there another way to not see them going to waste? i currently have in excess of 24K points expring in july and October this year, thanks.
Hi Hilary, I’d suggest you call KrisFlyer to see if they can move your miles across if the form isn’t working. It is an advertised benefit so they should be honouring it.
Occasionally I’ve seen bonus point transfers related to velocity. Does anyone know if these occur routinely at certain times of year and when? And do they apply when converting KrisFlyer to velocity points.
Hi Anna, there are usually bonus transfers to Velocity in May and November (and there’s actually one on now from Amex). But we have never seen a transfer bonus from KrisFlyer to Velocity or vice versa.
Hi Brandon,
Thanks for the tips. However seconding comments from Michael and Phyllis. It just does not work. Infact it does not even list Virgin when click on the ‘Category- Airline Partner’. They have stuffed up reactivating this service, when the shut it down during Virgin’s re-administration issues. Anyways have to call them I suppose. So much for seamless technology hey… only as good when the option is actually made available.
Thanks anyways for your detailed article. In an ideal world – this article helps.
Regards,
Param
Triesd to convert from Singapore to Virgin last 2 days. Computer says no. Not working at all.
This does not work – I have tried several times, finally rang Singapore Airlines to be told there was a problem with the web site. They would do it manually – not happening.