Since November 2021, Virgin Australia has steadily reopened bookings on international partner airlines with Velocity Points. Not only that, but the airline has also introduced new partnerships, such as with United and Qatar Airways.
As of May 2022, you can now use Velocity Points on many carriers such as Singapore Airlines, United, Etihad and Air Canada. Much of the world is yours to explore again, with Velocity Points.
Which international partners can I use Velocity Points with?
You can now burn your stash of Velocity Points with some of Virgin Australia’s global airline partners, including:
- Singapore Airlines (Economy and Business only until further notice)
- Virgin Atlantic
- Air Canada
- Delta Air Lines (ending on 13 June 2022)
- Etihad Airways
- Hawaiian Airlines
- South African Airlines
- United
- Qatar Airways (starts in 2022, date unknown)
At this stage, Singapore Airlines reward seats to India can only be booked over the phone with the Velocity Contact Centre. Plus, flights to China and Hong Kong aren’t available yet. But everywhere else on the Singapore Airlines network is open and bookable online.
When we look at the most popular Singapore Airlines’ redemptions from 2019, Singapore, London, Paris, and Bangkok were top of the list, and we expect a similar trend as our members start to make bookings again.
– Nick Rohrlach, Velocity Frequent Flyer CEO, 7 Feb 2022
You can book Virgin Australia, Singapore Airlines (Economy & Business), Etihad Airways, United, Delta Air Lines and Air Canada reward seats online. But you’ll need to call Velocity to book Virgin Atlantic or South African Airways.
How many Velocity Points will I need?
Importantly, Velocity Frequent Flyer is not increasing the points required for partner rewards at this stage. Here’s a sample of how many Velocity Points you’ll need for certain routes:
| Route | Airline | Economy | Business |
| Sydney-Nadi (Fiji) | Virgin Australia | 17,800 pts | 35,500 pts |
| Melbourne-Denpasar (Bali) | Virgin Australia | 22,300 pts | 49,500 pts |
| Sydney-Singapore | Singapore Airlines | 35,000 pts | 65,000 pts |
| Melbourne-Singapore-London | Singapore Airlines | 75,000 pts | 139,000 pts |
| Melbourne-Abu Dhabi | Etihad | 56,000 pts | 104,000 pts |
| Sydney-Abu Dhabi-London | Etihad | 75,000 pts | 139,000 pts |
| Sydney-Los Angeles | United | 44,800 pts | 95,500 pts |
| Sydney-Los Angeles-New York | United | 59,800 pts | 127,500 pts |
| Brisbane-Honolulu | Hawaiian Airlines | 35,000 pts | 65,000 pts |
| Vancouver-Calgary | Air Canada | 10,000 pts | 18,000 pts |
| London-Hong Kong | Virgin Atlantic | 39,800 pts | 83,500 pts |
Not all current Velocity airline partners are back, just yet
Below, you’ll find Velocity’s current list of airline partners. Except for Hong Kong Airlines, its associated carriers and FlyPelican, every other international partner is back with the program.
Keep in mind that Velocity Frequent Flyer is no longer partners with Alitalia and Silk Air, as both brands no longer exist. We also don’t expect Velocity will partner with the new Italian carrier, ITA.
Happily, though, the codeshare agreement with All Nippon Airways is active, so you can book with ANA and include a Virgin Australia connection. But the two airlines don’t yet have a frequent flyer agreement in place. This means that we can’t earn or use Velocity Points on ANA flights, or enjoy reciprocal lounge access just yet.
Will Velocity-KrisFlyer transfers be returning?
If there were ever a burning question regarding Velocity among avid Point Hacks readers, this is it!
Well then, great news: the answer is yes! Point Hacks has confirmed with a Virgin Australia spokesperson that Velocity-KrisFlyer transfers will be returning. We just don’t know when yet, but hopefully this will be clarified in the coming months.
We know how much Velocity and KrisFlyer members value the ability to transfer points between the programs and we are working to restore this feature within the next few months.
– Nick Rohrlach, Velocity Frequent Flyer CEO, 7 Feb 2022
Just prior to its suspension, Velocity members could transfer their Velocity Points into KrisFlyer miles at a rate of 1.55 to 1. The same could be done by KrisFlyer members, just in reverse. If you’re unsure what we’re talking about, check out our guide on transferring Velocity Points into KrisFlyer miles.
Summing up
It’s a busy time at Virgin Australia and Velocity Frequent Flyer HQ. United is joining the ranks from May 24, and Qatar Airways is slated to become a fully-fledged partner this year.
The return of Singapore Airlines reward seats for Velocity members is fantastic news. With Business Class rewards now available again, it’s time to plan your international travel in 2022 and beyond. We hope that First Class redemptions and KrisFlyer/Velocity points transfers will return soon as well.
Don’t miss out on being notified when Singapore Airlines First Class reward seats return to Velocity!
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The resumption of international travel and international reward redemptions has been a turning point for Virgin Australia and Velocity Frequent Flyer. And with United and Qatar Airways joining ‘Team Virgin’ this year – plus the relaxing of domestic and international borders – the airline’s outlook in 2022 is bright.
Thank you.
TIA!
How is this done, which website do you make the booking on Singapore or Virgin?
It would be great to get a refresher on how to actually book a reward seat using points and even how to upgrade from eco to bus using points.
I have a huge pile of velocity points and need to use them!!!
1) How to book a reward seat with Velocity Points
2) How to upgrade with Velocity Points
I can only see the transfer program resuming if Bain manages to get “something in it for them”, e.g making the cash flow of the transfer program in their favour instead of Singapore’s. Although I’d suspect this would mean a devalued transfer rate.
FWIW I flew Hong Kong Airlines CNS-HKG in their business class several times on Velocity points (53,000) and they exceeded my prejudiced expectations. The food and service surpassed that of the return flight on Cathay Pacific. Hawaiian’s international A330 service is enjoyable and competent. Delta is possibly the pick of the major US airlines. Virgin Atlantic also offers a worthy business class product.
The key, arguably, is the ability to transfer to Singapore KrisFlyer: that (as the article says) opens the door to booking Star Alliance partners making Velocity a means to book the very redemptions not possible through QF and without the excessive carrier charges levied by QF on award seat redemptions.
To note that Velocity points are extremely easy to accumulate through your weekly grocery shop in Coles if you harvest the email offers for bonus points. That can be done without unduly upsetting your efforts to build points in QF FF.
The best of both worlds….assuming that Virgin Australia get it right…!