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How to earn Virgin Australia Velocity points

Virgin Australia marketed and operated domestic and short-haul international flights earn 4 base points per $1 spent since 2 April 2025, or 5 for members with an eligible credit card. Silver earns 6 (7.5 with a card), Gold and Forever Gold 7 (8.75), Platinum and Platinum Plus 8 (10). Before that date the base was 5 points plus a 50% to 100% tier bonus.

Status Credits on Virgin Australia are 1 per $12 on Choice, Flex, Group and Business fares and 1 per $24 on Lite, counting the fare, taxes, fees and carrier charges but not seat upgrades or extras. Partner flights earn by distance and fare class: on Singapore Airlines from 2 points per mile in Suites and First to 1.5 in Business Flexi, 1.25 in Business Standard and Lite, 1 in Economy Flexi and 0.5 in Economy Lite (rates as at 9 November 2022).

Official earning page: Velocity Frequent Flyer: changes to Points earn and Reward Seats (tables from 21 January 2025).

Written and reviewed by the Points Plug team. Last reviewed .

How to join Virgin Australia Velocity

Enrol at join.velocityfrequentflyer.com. What the program requires and offers:

  • Free: Velocity says it is "totally and completely 100% free to join".
  • Open only to people who live in Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Fiji, the Cook Islands, Vanuatu, Tonga, the Solomon Islands, Samoa, Christmas Island or the Cocos (Keeling) Islands; under-18s need a parent or guardian's consent (terms, clause 2.1).
  • No joining bonus appeared on the pages read. Flights up to 30 days before joining can be claimed.

Airlines whose flights earn points here

Flights on these carriers can be credited to Virgin Australia Velocity by adding your number to the booking.

  • Qatar Airways
  • Singapore Airlines
  • United Airlines
  • ANA
  • Air Canada
  • Hong Kong Airlines
  • Virgin Atlantic
  • South African Airways
  • Hainan Airlines
  • Capital Airlines
  • Tianjin Airlines
  • Link Airways

From Velocity's airline partners page. Tianjin Airlines and Link Airways earn points but cannot be booked with them, and South African, Virgin Atlantic, Hainan and Capital Airlines Reward Seats are booked by phone. Hawaiian Airlines left on 1 July 2025, and Etihad, whose Velocity page still shows January 2023 prices, is not on the current list.

Where else Virgin Australia flights can be credited

  • Qatar Airways Privilege Club

    Qatar says Privilege Club members can earn or spend Avios on any flight in the Virgin Australia network, and earn the same Avios and Qpoints on the Qatar-operated Virgin Australia flights to Doha as on Qatar Airways. Its partner page gives no rates by fare class.

Which program should I select for Virgin Australia flights?

Residents who fly Virgin Australia should credit to Velocity: Status Credits count only here, and since 1 October 2025 at least half the credits for any tier must come from Virgin Australia flights.

Visitors who cannot join Velocity, including US residents under clause 2.1 of the terms, can credit Virgin Australia flights to Qatar Airways Privilege Club instead, which says its members earn Avios across the Virgin Australia network.

Lite fares earn Status Credits at half the rate of Choice and Flex fares, and Reward Seats earn neither points nor Status Credits, so check the fare before counting on a flight for status.

Claiming points after the flight

Claim window: 6 months.

  • Wait 14 days after the flight, then claim online with the flight number and date from the e-ticket or boarding pass. Virgin Australia claims take up to 7 days and other airline partners 4 to 6 weeks.
  • Flights up to 30 days before joining Velocity can be claimed.
  • Non-airline partner transactions are claimed from the partner within 3 months.

Source: Velocity Frequent Flyer: how to claim missing points. Every program's window is compared on the missing miles page.

Ways to earn points without flying

Hotel points

Marriott Bonvoy converts at 3 to 1 with 5,000 bonus points per 60,000 moved in one transaction, Hilton Honors at 10,000 to 1,500, IHG One Rewards at 10,000 to 2,000 and Choice Privileges at 2,000 to 800; Accor and Shangri-La Circle are also listed. Transfers take up to six weeks, or 30 to 60 days for Hilton, per Velocity's hotel transfer page.

Bank cards

Velocity says points transfer from more than 50 eligible cards; its card transfer page names American Express, ANZ, Citi, Commonwealth Bank, HSBC, NAB, Westpac, St.George, Bank of Melbourne, BankSA, BOQ and Suncorp Bank cards.

CommBank Yello

From 1 October 2026 eligible Commonwealth Bank customers can convert Yello points earned on savings accounts, home loans, insurance and credit cards into Velocity Points; the 18 August 2026 announcement gives no conversion rate.

Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer

KrisFlyer miles convert to Velocity Points at 1.55 to 1, and back at the same rate, with a 5,000 minimum; conversions cannot be reversed.

Family Pooling and transfers

Up to six family members at one address, no more than two of them adults, can pool new points into one account, and a member can send 5,000 to 125,000 points to a family member up to four times a year.

Business Flyer and Points Booster

Points received from a Virgin Australia Business Flyer account and points bought through Points Booster count as Long Term Activity, so both reset the 24-month expiry.

Bank point transfers

Marriott (3:1) transfer into Virgin Australia Velocity. See the transfer partner matrix and how transfers work.

Booking awards with the points

Booking window: Not published on the pages read; online booking closes 1 hour before Virgin Australia domestic and short-haul international flights and 24 hours before partner flights. Change fee: 4,500 points or $35 domestic; 7,500 points or $60 international and partner, per person. Cancellation: Same as the change fee; nothing back once travel starts. The full rules are on the award fees table and the availability guide.

  • Reward Seats start from 5,900 points one way plus taxes, carrier charges and fees, and Velocity says its points reach over 500 destinations.
  • Online bookings close 1 hour before a Virgin Australia domestic or short-haul international flight and 24 hours before a partner flight. The pages read do not say how far ahead Reward Seats open.

Using the points you earn

See the Virgin Australia Velocity award chart for what the points buy, what they are worth, and what Points Plug pays for a balance you will not use.

Earning Virgin Australia Velocity points: FAQ

Can I join Velocity if I live in the US?
Not under the current terms. Clause 2.1 limits membership to people who live in Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Fiji, the Cook Islands, Vanuatu, Tonga, the Solomon Islands, Samoa, Christmas Island or the Cocos (Keeling) Islands. Joining is free for those who qualify.
How many Velocity points does a Virgin Australia flight earn?
Since 2 April 2025, 4 points per $1 spent for Red members and 5 with an eligible credit card; Silver earns 6, Gold 7 and Platinum 8 (7.5, 8.75 and 10 with a card). Reward Seats earn no points or Status Credits.
Which US points programs transfer to Velocity?
Marriott Bonvoy, at 3 Marriott points to 1 Velocity Point with 5,000 bonus points for every 60,000 moved. Capital One's and Citi's partner pages do not list Velocity, and American Express's US Membership Rewards terms name no partners, so none of those could be confirmed.
How long do I have to claim missing Velocity points?
Within six months of the flight, after waiting 14 days. Flights up to 30 days before joining count, and claims for non-airline partners go to the partner within 3 months.

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