I wouldn’t be surprised if Australia to Europe is one of the most in-demand redemptions for Aussie-based frequent flyers. There are plenty of family links spanning beyond the oceans and lots of appeal in exploring Europe’s various charms. It’s also a bit longer than a hop, skip and jump between our two continents, so Business Class reward seats are very appealing.
For the same reasons, it’s also one of the most difficult routes to redeem points on – particularly in those premium cabins. But it’s not all bad news for Velocity Frequent Flyer members. With a strong list of partners flying to Europe, your chances of getting those elusive reward seats are certainly higher than before.
I should know – I’ve just locked in a white Christmas trip to Germany’s Christmas markets at the end of 2024, in Business Class as well. All thanks to Velocity Points.
How can I fly to Europe with Velocity Points?
Virgin Australia’s key partners flying to Europe include:
- Qatar Airways: From Perth, Adelaide, Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne to Doha and beyond to many European destinations
- Etihad: From Sydney and Melbourne to Abu Dhabi and beyond to man European destinations
- Singapore Airlines: From Darwin, Cairns, Perth, Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney to Singapore and beyond to key European destinations
Secondary options also include ANA from Perth and Sydney to Tokyo and beyond, plus Air Canada and United going the long way from the eastern states to Europe via North America.
Availability will differ between airlines and also the season. For example, Qatar Airways had next-to-none reward seat availability throughout most of 2023. Since then, the airline has flicked a figurative switch and now Qatar Airways offers the most consistent availability going to Europe in Business Class at the moment.
Conversely, Singapore Airlines was previously good with availability, but it appears to have tightened it up, for now.
I analysed reward seat availability from Australian to Europe in 2024 and found as of 16 January 2024:
- Qatar Airways has good availability in most months of 2024 except for April, July and August. Of the other months, many flights have two seats available. Adelaide appears to have the greatest number of Business reward seats.
- Etihad seems to release a lot of reward seats 2-3 months before departure. In February and March 2024, some Etihad flights from Sydney and Melbourne have up to 9 Business reward seats available! But beyond that, there is no availability in the months checked.
- Singapore Airlines has no availability in the months checked, but this may change later.
Need more points? Get ready for Europe with a huge Velocity Points sign-up bonus.
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.
How much does it cost to fly to Europe with Velocity Points?
All of the main partner airlines that fly to Europe are on the same reward seat table. The number of points needed depends on the distance travelled. Note that Premium Economy and First Class are only offered on specific flights.
Using Velocity Points on Qatar Airways
| One-way reward seat, not including fees and taxes | Economy | Business | First (where offered) |
| Perth to Munich, Rome, Vienna, Istanbul, Athens via Doha | 56,000 pts | 104,000 pts | 152,500 pts |
| Adelaide, Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne to Istanbul via Doha | 65,000 pts | 121,000 pts | 177,000 pts |
| Perth to rest of Europe via Doha | 65,000 pts | 121,000 pts | 177,000 pts |
| Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, Brisbane to anywhere else in Europe via Doha | 75,000 pts | 139,000 pts | 203,000 pts |
Note that Qatar Airways reward seats with Velocity Points are subject to carrier charges.
Using Velocity Points on Etihad
| One-way reward seat, not including fees and taxes | Economy | Business |
| Sydney, Melbourne to Istanbul via Abu Dhabi | 65,000 pts | 121,000 pts |
| Sydney, Melbourne to anywhere else in Europe via Abu Dhabi | 75,000 pts | 139,000 pts |
Note that Etihad reward seats with Velocity Points are subject to carrier charges.
Using Velocity Points on Singapore Airlines
| One-way reward seat, not including fees and taxes | Economy | Premium Economy (where offered) | Business |
| Perth, Darwin to Istanbul + Darwin to Rome via Singapore | 56,000 pts | – | 104,000 pts |
| Cairns, Adelaide, Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne to Istanbul via Singapore | 65,000 pts | 97,500 pts | 121,000 pts |
| Perth, Darwin to rest of Europe via Singapore | 65,000 pts | – | 121,000 pts |
| Cairns, Adelaide, Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne to anywhere else in Europe via Singapore | 75,000 pts | 112,500 pts | 139,000 pts |
Note that Singapore Airlines reward seats with Velocity Points are subject to carrier charges.
How do I book these seats with Velocity Points?
If you’re really new to this, take a look at our beginner’s guide to reward seats as well as the Ultimate Guide to Velocity Frequent Flyer. As a quick refresher, you’ll need to do your search on the Virgin Australia website and tick ‘Use Velocity Points’ before entering your origin and destination.
Reward seats will show up with a special tag and will match one of the numbers in the table above. If you see a really high number, it’s likely to be a ‘points plus pay’ seat instead of a reward seat.
In the screenshot below, look for the highlighted sections (in the gold rectangle) for confirmation of a true reward seat.
Photos by Brandon Loo.
Good ideas here.
Only accumulated enough points Y to Europe but note that NH all classes out of Ausyralia have been waitlisted for the last 12 months and also through 2024 and look every day and am Gold equivalent with them.
Points expire soon so will try other routes so doubt Virgin availability. NH US call centre free and very polite.
Often use QF F points RTW and always availability .
Safe travel
What is the best way to see all business availability for flexible travel dates? Rather than just moving from day to day etc.
You could try the aa.com website as that has a calendar view, but you would need to search the Australia-Doha sector on its own to get the best results. Otherwise, consider a paid service such as seats.aero to help you search quicker or Point Hacks Concierge where they find the seats for you.
Redemptions are super tight this year for summer (moreso than usual) because of UEFA Euros and Olympics. IIRC, QR have basically pulled most ifnot all of their reward seats for their own holders first and may release more closer to the date (similar to EY who release extra <60 days)
on top of this, i predict this will be the last year of the "covid savings" travelers that has increased demand the last couple of years. lots of my friends who i brought into the points world are finishing up their points balances on trips this year.
I booked Bus class with Singapore for Feb 23. Paid for the 1 way Melb to Sing, then points, Sing to London, then returned to from Amsterdam to Melb.
Not a problem!
Singapore Airlines has previously had really good availability! Hopefully that will continue later in 2024 – currently looks a bit tight on flights between Australia and Singapore.
I think using velocity points on business flights to Europe is easier than using for flights to Canada. I cannot find any business flights to Canada when I am looking to travel. I have been looking since the window for the dates opened. All that is offered is economy seats or points plus pay business for 1.3 million.