If you’re planning a trip to Vietnam, it’s worth learning about Vietnam Airlines’ Lotusmiles program. Whether you’re flying Vietnam Airlines on the long legs from Australia or even just taking a couple of Vietnamese domestic hops in between, Lotusmiles can be your ticket to savings and benefits to Vietnam and beyond.
Why Lotusmiles, we hear you ask? Two reasons. Firstly, if elite status could benefit you, Vietnam Airlines is currently status matching from Qantas, Velocity and many other frequent flyer programs. We’ve got all those details in this guide. What’s more, Lotusmiles is also now a points transfer partner of PayRewards in Australia, which provides a new avenue for accruing Vietnam Airlines miles in bulk.
Here’s how to make the Lotusmiles program work for you.
How do I join the Lotusmiles program?
Vietnam Airlines’ Lotusmiles program is free to join. Here’s how to sign up.
- Visit the sign-up page on the Lotusmiles website.
- Provide your name and relevant information.
- Create a password.
- Submit the form and keep a record of your new Lotusmiles membership number.
Currently, Vietnam Airlines is offering 1,000 bonus miles to new customers upon sign-up.
How do I earn miles with Lotusmiles?
While Lotusmiles doesn’t count as many Australian partners as some other frequent flyer programs, there are still ways to build rewards with the program. The easiest method is to fly with Vietnam Airlines, its SkyTeam Alliance partners and other participating airlines. We’ve got a full list of these partners further below, as you can use your Vietnam Airlines miles to travel with the same carriers.
Otherwise, the largest opportunity to earn rewards at scale with Lotusmiles is to convert points from the PayRewards program of Pay.com.au. These points can be transferred at a 2.5:1 rate. For example, 5,000 PayRewards Points can become 2,000 miles with Lotusmiles.
Note, Point Hacks is affiliated with Pay.com.au.
Other avenues for earning points include accommodation bookings made via Booking.com and Kaligo, and other travels reserved through iCruise. Members of GrabRewards, a prominent rideshare and convenience-based loyalty program in Asia, can also convert points. From GrabRewards, 3,200 points can become 250 miles with Vietnam Airlines. Alternatively, 6,000 GrabRewards points translate into 500 miles in Lotusmiles.
Members can also transfer miles to other Lotusmiles cardholders. For instance, between friends and family members. But these internal transfers come at a cost. For those living outside Vietnam, the cost us US$10 per 1,000 miles transferred between accounts. That gets very expensive, very quickly in the case of larger transfers. Sharing 100,000 miles attracts a US$1,000 fee – so it’s best done sparingly.
Buying miles with Lotusmiles
Along with earning and transferring miles, you can also buy Lotusmiles outright. For those living outside of Vietnam, there’s a flat purchase price of US$25 per 1,000 miles.
This puts the cost of a simple purchase of 10,000 miles at US$250. That’s just shy of AU$400. At that cost and given the program’s redemption rates, this move is best reserved for small top-ups rather than large-scale purchases of miles.
Mileage expiry rules with Lotusmiles
Lotusmiles adopts a fixed mileage expiry policy, where each mile has an individual, firm expiry date. Those familiar with global frequent flyer programs will find similarity with the expiry rules of programs like Emirates Skywards and Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer.
For most Lotusmiles members, miles expire three years from the month in which they are earned. Miles credited to Lotusmiles in March 2025 would expire at the end of March 2028, for instance. For members at the highest tier, Million Miler, the expiry period is five years rather than three.
However, there are a few ways around these expiry rules – for a fee. Miles that are close to expiring, but which have not yet expired, can be ‘extended’ for 12 months. This costs US$5 per 500 miles, and must be actioned within the last six months of those miles being valid.
Equally, miles that have recently expired can be ‘reinstated’ for the same price. But once reinstated, those miles are only valid for six months from the reinstatement date. Given the cost is the same to extend the miles for 12 months before they expire, it’s best to take that path, if possible.
Expectant mothers can also avail of complimentary 12-month mileage extension. This applies to miles expiring within 12 months of a baby’s birth, reflecting that this is a difficult period in which to travel. Contact Vietnam Airlines’ customer service team to request this (contact details are at the end of the article). Supporting documentation may need to be provided.
Redeem miles on flights from Lotusmiles
When you have miles to spend through Lotusmiles, you’ll find that flight bookings offer the best value. Particularly so, given Lotusmiles has a significant web of partners within and beyond SkyTeam. Of those, here are all of the carriers flying to Australia which you can book through Lotusmiles.
| Partner airline | Australian routes |
| Vietnam Airlines | Sydney and Melbourne to Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City / Saigon Perth to Ho Chi Minh City / Saigon |
| All Nippon Airways (ANA) | Sydney to Tokyo (Haneda) Perth to Tokyo (Narita) |
| China Airlines | Sydney to Taipei Melbourne and Brisbane to Taipei and Auckland |
| China Eastern | Sydney to Auckland, Hangzhou, Jinan, Nanjing, Shanghai (Pudong), Wuhan and Xi’an Melbourne to Shanghai (Pudong) and Nanjing Perth* and Brisbane to Shanghai (Pudong) |
| China Southern | Sydney to Beijing (Daxing)*, Guangzhou and Shenzhen Melbourne to Beijing (Daxing)* and Guangzhou Adelaide and Perth to Guangzhou* |
| Delta Air Lines | Sydney and Brisbane* to Los Angeles Melbourne to Los Angeles* (commences December 2025) |
| Garuda Indonesia | Sydney and Melbourne to Denpasar (Bali) and Jakarta |
| Korean Air | Sydney and Brisbane to Seoul (Incheon) |
| XiamenAir | Sydney and Melbourne to Xiamen |
Beyond the airlines serving Australia directly, you can also book the following carriers by redeeming miles through Lotusmiles.
- Aeroflot^
- Aerolineas Argentinas
- AeroMexico
- AirEuropa
- Air France
- Kenya Airways
- KLM
- Middle East Airlines (MEA)
- Pacific Airlines (Vietnamese low-cost carrier)
- Scandinavian Airlines (SAS)
- Saudia
- TAROM
- Virgin Atlantic
^ Aeroflot, while suspended from SkyTeam, remains listed as an earning and redemption partner in Lotusmiles.
Flight booking policies
When it comes to redeeming your miles to book flights with Lotusmiles’ partners, it can get a little bit complicated. That’s because you’ll need to follow a different procedure depending on which airline you’re booking with, where you’re headed, and who is flying.
In any case, these are the basic redemption rules that apply to all bookings:
- Standard (Silver) Lotusmiles members can only book flights for themselves, along with children aged under 16 years. This means that, without Lotusmiles status, you cannot book flights for your partner using miles.
- Titanium members can maintain a Redemption Nominee List of up to five other people. This allows miles to be spent on those other travellers. Per year, only one substitution can be made to any of the existing names on this List.
- Gold, Platinum and Million Miler members can have a Redemption Nominee List of up to 10 other people. Once the list is full, only two of these names can be varied per year.
Don’t have Vietnam Airlines status?
If you’re a Lotusmiles Silver member (that’s entry-level status) and need to book flights for somebody else (other than a <16yr old child), there is no way to do this on the same booking. Instead, you could try one of the following workarounds:
- If transferring points from PayRewards, convert only the points required to book your own flight. Then, delink your PayRewards and Lotusmiles accounts. Make a new link between PayRewards and a Lotusmiles account of another traveller (e.g. your partner). And then, transfer the points needed for that person’s flights. You’ll need to book your journeys on separate bookings. But if there are sufficient reward seats available, you could ultimately travel together on the same flight.
- Tip: You can then delink your companion’s Lotusmiles account from PayRewards, and re-link to your own account. You can do this without needing to convert any additional miles.
- You could transfer sufficient points between Lotusmiles accounts, but this attracts transfer fees, as above. Particularly if booking long-haul flights in premium cabins, the costs of this will eat into much of the value and appeal of using points in the first place.
- To keep things simple, there are ways that you can simply ‘buy’ Vietnam Airlines status. This doesn’t require any flying, so there are no time-consuming ‘status runs’ involved. You can literally just trade cash for a shiny frequent flyer card, which then allows you to spend your miles on other people, fuss-free.
Booking reward flights through Lotusmiles
The process of turning your hard-earned miles into flights depends on the journey you’re taking.
- Point-to-point Vietnam Airlines flights: Can search for availability and book through the Lotusmiles website.
- From Australia to other Asian destinations via Vietnam, on Vietnam Airlines: Can also generally search and book online.
- From Australia to Europe via Vietnam, on Vietnam Airlines: Cannot be booked as a connection. Can still book these online, but must make two separate bookings for Australia to Vietnam, and Vietnam to Europe. For example, Sydney to Hanoi on one booking, and Hanoi to Frankfurt on another. This means that airside transits are not possible on these mileage bookings, so a Vietnamese visa will be required in most cases. It also makes the redemption cost particularly high.
- All flights on partner airlines: Can only be booked through Vietnam Airlines customer care. You can call +61 3 8605 7888 (press 1), or send an email to [email protected]. As you can’t use the Vietnam Airlines website to search for reward seat availability, checking for flights available to members of other SkyTeam programs like Air France/KLM Flying Blue can make the process swifter.
Note that partner airline reward flights follow a fixed redemption chart, year-round. Where available, bookings can be made on partner airline flights in Economy, Business Class and First Class – but not Premium Economy. Blackout dates apply to reward seat bookings on Korean Air.
For bookings with Vietnam Airlines itself, the carrier uses two tiers of reward seat pricing. ‘Regular period’ pricing covers most dates. It’s also possible to use miles during ‘peak period’ dates, subject to availability. But as you might expect, those redemption rates are higher. Click through to see Vietnam Airlines’ peak dates for domestic travels and for international flights.
How do I earn elite status with Vietnam Airlines?
Status in the Lotusmiles program primarily rewards those who regularly fly. But Lotusmiles will also happily sell you status outright, which is a rarity among programs attached to major global alliances. Alternatively, you can also buy top-ups to your existing tally of qualifying miles or qualifying segments to get over the line.
It doesn’t stop there. You can even convert regular, spendable miles into status qualifying miles… for a fee, of course. In fact, you can even apply for a Vietnam Airlines status match, using status from Qantas, Velocity or a host of other eligible programs.
Once you’ve earned a new status, your account adopts a fresh 12-month membership year. This means that once you’ve reached a new tier, the journey to retain that tier begins immediately. However, if you then earn a higher tier, your membership year may change again.
Lotusmiles Silver
To achieve/maintain: No expiry – just sign up and accumulate one qualifying mile.
Everybody likes to feel special… so Lotusmiles does its best to make that so. Just by signing up to the program and earning your first qualifying mile, you’ll receive Silver membership with no expiry date. (Until then, you’ll show as ‘Registered member’). Either way, the benefits are expectedly thin:
- Complimentary seat selection when booked in Business, Premium Economy and Economy Flex
- Waitlist priority over non-members in the event of involuntary flight change or cancellation.
Lotusmiles Titanium
To achieve/maintain: 15,000 qualifying miles or 18 qualifying segments.
Status match from: Qantas Silver, Velocity Silver and others.
SkyTeam level: Elite
Confusingly, while some airlines would use ‘Titanium’ as the branding for a highest-tier status, Lotusmiles is different. Here, Lotusmiles Titanium is effectively on-par with the Silver level of many other airlines. In fact, if you’re gaining this tier via status match, all you need is one of those eligible Silver cards, as above. Over and above the Lotusmiles Silver perks, Titanium benefits include:
- Complimentary seat selection on Economy Classic and Economy Award tickets.
- 20% discount on seat selection fees on Economy Lite and Economy Super Lite.
- Priority check-in, baggage tagging and boarding.
- One free bag (23kg), which can include golf clubs.
- Earn 30% more miles than Silver on Vietnam Airlines.
- Receive 1,000 bonus miles on your birthday.
- Higher waitlist priority during flight disruptions.
- Via SkyTeam Elite recognition, priority check-in, priority boarding and extra baggage (+10kg or one extra bag) on SkyTeam partners.
Lotusmiles Gold
To achieve/maintain: 30,000 qualifying miles or 27 qualifying segments.
Status match from: Qantas Gold, Velocity Gold and others.
SkyTeam level: Elite
Lotusmiles Gold status goes one better than Titanium, although it’s still not quite the ‘sweet spot’ of the program. These members receive much better recognition when flying with Vietnam Airlines itself. However, that recognition doesn’t translate into added benefits on other SkyTeam flights, as this tier is also recognised as SkyTeam Elite. Highlights include:
- 30% discount on Economy Lite and Economy Super Lite seat selection fees.
- Access to Business Lounge or Lotus Lounge when flying Vietnam Airlines. This includes domestic-only journeys, although there’s no lounge access available on partner airline flights.
- Earn 50% more miles than Silver on Vietnam Airlines flights.
- Receive 1,500 miles on your birthday.
Lotusmiles Platinum
To achieve/maintain: 50,000 qualifying miles or 45 qualifying segments.
Status match from: Qantas Platinum (and higher), Velocity Platinum (and higher), and others.
SkyTeam level: Elite Plus
Here’s where things get exciting for international travellers. Lotusmiles Platinum is the program’s first SkyTeam Elite Plus tier. This unlocks international airport lounge access right across SkyTeam – not just with Vietnam Airlines itself. Here’s what you get, over and above the perks gained at Gold, Titanium or Silver.
- Paid seat selection in Economy Lite and Economy Super Lite is half price.
- Bring up to five guests into the priority check-in queue with Vietnam Airlines.
- Total checked baggage allowance of 2x 23kg on Vietnam Airlines.
- Where available, priority security screening and immigration.
- Vietnam Airlines Business Lounge/Lotus Lounge access with one guest, including on domestic-only trips.
- Earn double miles (100% bonus) on Vietnam Airlines flights.
- Receive 2,000 bonus miles on your birthday.
- Recognition as a SkyTeam Elite Plus member on partner airline flights. This includes lounge access with a guest when flying internationally, along with an extra 20kg or one piece of checked baggage. With ‘Sky Priority’ on your boarding pass, priority check-in, security and boarding is yours to enjoy as well, where available.
Lotusmiles Million Miler
To achieve: 1,000,000 lifetime qualifying miles on Vietnam Airlines operated flights with a VN flight number. Once earned, this membership is valid for life.
Status matching: Not available to this tier.
SkyTeam level: Elite Plus
As the name implies, Lotusmiles Million Miler status isn’t something that you can earn year-on-year. Instead, it exists to provide lifetime recognition to airline’s most loyal travellers. Assuming that a traveller is earning one qualifying mile per actual mile flown, reaching Million Miler status would take 104 return trips between Sydney and Hanoi to reach. That’s a serious amount of travel.
In return, Vietnam Airlines essentially offers the perks of Platinum, but for a lifetime – and with a few niceties on top. Those extras include:
- Complimentary meet and greet assistance at the airport when flying with Vietnam Airlines.
- When travelling with Vietnam Airlines, bring three guests into the Business Lounge or Lotus Lounge at airports within Vietnam for domestic and international flights. (One guest permitted at overseas airports).
- Gift Lotusmiles Platinum status to a family member of your choice.
- Free seat selection on all Vietnam Airlines flights, including Economy Lite and Economy Super Lite tickets.
How do I contact Vietnam Airlines’ frequent flyer team?
Whether you have a membership enquiry or plan to spend your miles, here’s how to get in touch with the Lotusmiles team.
- From Australia, call +61 3 8605 7888. Alternatively, you can dial the main Vietnamese number, which is +84 24 3832 0320.
- Send an email to [email protected] (for ‘Registered members’, Silver and Titanium), or [email protected] (for Gold, Platinum and Million Miler).
If you’re looking to book a reward ticket, we’d always recommend calling – especially if you’ve already located a suitable reward seat. This will help ensure that your booking is finalised and ticketed promptly.
Summing up
Vietnam Airlines’ Lotusmiles program is one of many frequent flyer options with the SkyTeam Alliance. No doubt, Lotusmiles has the greatest appeal with travellers who regularly fly with Vietnam Airlines. Particularly so, as the elite benefits bring advantages for road warriors jetting about within Vietnam.
On the ‘earn and burn’ side though, Lotusmiles isn’t the easiest to work with. Having to call to book all partner airline flights isn’t great, as this takes more time and makes it hard to search for available reward seats. The inability to spend miles on any other adult traveller without also holding status with Vietnam Airlines is also quite a setback. Sure, there are workarounds, but it’s also fair to say, it shouldn’t be this complicated.
Lotusmiles is the kind of program that makes sense if you’re mainly looking to book Vietnam Airlines flights for yourself. With reasonably strong reward seat availability between Australia and Vietnam – and the ability to convert points from PayRewards – it’s definitely one move to keep in your playbook. It just mightn’t make sense to make Lotusmiles your first move for every journey.
Also read: The Ultimate Guide to Air France/KLM Flying Blue
All imagery courtesy of Vietnam Airlines.
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