OPINION | Some airline loyalty programs have been steadily shifting toward prioritising spend over traditional ‘bum-in-seat’ flying. In Australia, Velocity Frequent Flyer has already taken a major step in that direction with its move to spend-based status earning, bringing the program more in line with global trends.
In the US, United Airlines has recently unveiled a major overhaul of its MileagePlus program. The changes heavily favour members who hold a United co-branded credit card, with new perks and earning opportunities. Meanwhile, anyone without those cards – including practically all international members – will be at a disadvantage.
While the updates could be beneficial for eligible cardholders, they’ve also sparked criticism from some frequent flyers who feel the changes tilt the program further towards financial partnerships. Notably, in its own 2026 program refresh, Qantas has emphasised that it will not transition to a fully revenue-based model for earning both points and status.
Love it or hate it, the spend-based model is here to stay for the programs that’ve already changed to it. Given that Velocity has already embraced spend-based status and offers additional perks for co-branded credit card holders, some elements of United’s latest overhaul could still offer inspiration. Here are a few changes Velocity might consider from United to make the deal sweeter for its members.
United is rewarding the ‘right’ customers
The best United perks will soon only be unlocked by holding the right credit card.
Increased mileage earn for cardholders
From 2 April 2026, United will overhaul how it awards miles on its flights. Have no status and no co-branded credit card? You would earn a grand total of nothing on Basic Economy. Have Premier 1K status and a United Club Card? You’ll enjoy 17 miles per dollar spent on most fares. The difference couldn’t be starker.
Velocity Frequent Flyer isn’t as extreme with its earning rates. Base-level Red members still earn a minimum of 4 points per dollar (down from 5 points previously). If you have an eligible Velocity Points-earning card, that’s an extra point per dollar. Elite status bonuses also apply to non-Lite fares.
Perhaps a larger Velocity Points boost could be offered to eligible credit cardholders who are also status members, just to sweeten the deal.
But where United is differentiating itself isn’t in the earning stage. It’s in the all-important redemption stage, and that’s where Velocity stops short – for now.
Discounts on award seat redemptions for cardholders
United cardholders will soon get 10% off all United award flights, while those with a credit card and Premier elite status will benefit from a 15% discount. These only apply to United-operated flights, and MileagePlus’ award seat pricing is quite variable due to dynamic pricing, but it’s an interesting concept nevertheless.
Cleverly, United will soon display the discounted price to all members, highlighting what discounts non-cardholders are missing out on.
Additional Saver award seat availability for cardholders
In addition to the discount above, United will also increase award seat availability in its Polaris Business Class cabin by offering cardholders additional Saver seat inventory. This was previously reserved for Premier status holders, but will now be shared with cardholders as well.
United says its cheapest Saver awards in Polaris Business Class start at 80,000 miles. With discounts, it will cost 72,000 miles (10% less) for cardholders with General status, or as low as 68,000 miles (15% less) for cardholders with Premier status.
Summing up: what could Velocity adopt from United?
Availability of reward seats remains one of the biggest pain points in Australia. Prioritising seats and introducing discounts for high-engagement members (credit card holders and/or tiered status members) could create a clearer incentive to engage more deeply with the program.
United has done this well by differentiating by both Premier status and cardholder membership. Velocity Frequent Flyer could bolster its spend-based program by following suit in Australia. But with credit cards still relatively easy to obtain compared to earning status, Velocity will need to walk a fine line between delivering value and diluting benefits when too many people qualify.
Take the American Express Velocity Platinum card. It already offers unlimited Virgin Australia lounge access for the primary Card Member when flying with VA, which removes much of the incentive to earn Gold status.
American Express Velocity Platinum
- Sign-up Bonus:
- Up to 100,000 bonus Velocity Points¹
- Rewards Earn Rate:
- 1.25 Velocity Points earned per $1 on all eligible spend except for government bodies⁵. 2.25 Velocity Points per $1 spent on selected Virgin Australia purchases⁵. 0.5 Velocity Points per $1 on Government spend⁵
- Annual Fee:
- $440 p.a.
- Offer expires
- 30 April 2026
- The American Express Velocity Platinum Card has 70,000 bonus Velocity Points on offer for new American Express Card Members who apply, are approved and spend $5,000 on eligible purchases within the first 3 months of approval, plus an additional 30,000 Velocity Points when you spend a minimum of $1 on your Card within 90 days of paying your second year annual Card Fee¹. (Offer ends 30 April 2026. New Amex Card Members only. T&Cs apply.) Includes several perks such as Virgin Australia Lounge Access² every time you fly domestically with Virgin Australia, 2 VA Guest Lounge Passes³ each year and a Complimentary Domestic Return Virgin Australia Flight⁷.
What if Velocity implemented a hybrid model: a 10-15% reward seat discount and better availability on VA flights for its Gold or Platinum members who are also eligible co-branded credit cardholders?
Depending on its agreements with partner airlines, it could also offer better availability on select partners as well, such as Singapore Airlines. (Anecdotally, we’ve previously seen Velocity members have access to Singapore Airlines reward seats that weren’t showing up for KrisFlyer members, so there is the potential to offer better availability to a sub-group.)
By taking some notes from United and offering discounts on redemptions and improved availability for credit cardholders who also hold elite status, Velocity could encourage members to be both active cardholders and frequent flyers.
Over to you – what are your thoughts on Velocity’s system? Would you engage more if there were redemption benefits for being both a credit cardholder and a tiered status member?
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