What are Velocity points worth?

For the value of Qantas points, see What are Qantas points worth?

Not all Velocity points redemptions are created equal. Your points could be worth less than half a cent each or nearly ten times that amount – it all depends what you spend them on.

This fact isn’t always made clear by Velocity and their partners because it’s in their interest for members to spend their points on lower value redemptions.

It can be challenging working out what’s good and what’s bad so this guide breaks down the value of all major Velocity redemption options to help you get the most out of your points.

Methodology

This graph was created with the same model that we used in our recent analysis on the value of Qantas points.

Rather than choosing random flights that many travellers are unlikely to take, our dataset only looked at the top ten domestic routes and the ten most visited countries by Australians according to BITRE and ABS data.

All flights analysed were return trips as it’s often significantly cheaper to book a return journey rather than two individual one way flights. In cases where no flights existed (e.g. not all routes have premium economy), a similar one was substituted.

Domestic economy reward flights uniquely employ a tiered pricing structure where the amount of points required fluctuates depending on availability and demand, hence their value being represented by two figures (0.5-1.0 cents).

Most importantly, each reward seat was compared against the lowest consistently priced paid fare on any airline, not just the one operating the reward flight. This eliminates bias towards Virgin Australia and their partner airlines.

Similarly, the nominally fixed value of 0.6 cents per point for Points + Pay and Any Seat redemptions was adjusted down to 0.5 cents to account for the average premium you’ll pay to book flights through Virgin Australia compared to another airline.

Whilst this provides us with a realistic idea of the kind of value that you can obtain from booking flights with Velocity points, there are still a few things that you should keep in mind:

• These numbers are for guidance only; actual value can vary by quite a lot
• Reward seats are released in limited numbers so you can’t rely on them always being available to book, especially during peak travel periods
• The “value” of a particular flight can be quite subjective
• There isn’t necessarily a right or wrong way to redeem your points

Flight redemptions

The two main methods of using Velocity points to book flights are:

• Reward seats
• Any Seat or Points + Pay

Reward seats are what most people are referring to when they talk about booking flights with Velocity points. With reward flights, you pay a points price that is determined by flight distance and a cash amount to cover taxes and fees (e.g. Sydney to Singapore in economy for 29,000 points and $178).

The lowest value reward seats are in economy and premium economy where you will generally be getting around 0.5-1.0 cents per point. The best reward flights are those in business and first class where you can often expect to see 2.0 or more cents per point in value.

With domestic economy reward flights specifically, Virgin Australia use tiered pricing so a return flight from Sydney to Melbourne could cost anywhere from 11,800 to 25,800 points (plus ~$87 in taxes) depending on availability and demand. For other types of reward seats the amount of points required remains static.

Whilst reward flights are certainly the preferred way of spending Velocity points, they’re not always easy to find as airlines only release them in limited quantities. You often have to book well in advance or be flexible with dates, especially if it’s in a premium cabin or during peak travel periods.

To search for reward flights, select the ‘Use Points’ button on the Virgin Australia website or app and look for the results with the purple ‘Rewards Seats available’ tag. Free tools like Gyoza Flights or Flight Seats can help you gauge the availability of rewards.

There are also some fantastic Instagram accounts that post reward seat alerts and other advice (e.g. The Point Whiz, The Points Coach, The Points Guru, Perk Society and All Signs Point to Travel).

Unhelpfully, the Virgin Australia website encourages Velocity members to use their points to pay for the taxes and fees of reward flights but this isn’t recommended as you’ll be doing so at the Any Seat or Points + Pay rate of just 0.6 cents per point. Instead, always pay for this cash component with money if you can afford it.

Any Seat and Points + Pay refer the process of booking a regular paid airfare either partially or entirely with your Velocity points. These redemption methods use a fixed rate of 0.6 cents per point so the amount of points you need to book a flight is determined by its cash price.

The advantage of using your points in this way is that you can book any flight with unsold seats (hence Any Seat) so availability is much better than with reward flights. You also don’t need to worry if you’re a few points short as you can use cash to pay the difference (hence Points + Pay).

However, 0.6 cents per point (more like 0.5 cents once you account for the average premium of booking through the Virgin Australia website) is generally quite poor value compared to what you can get from most reward flights, especially those in business or first class.

For that reason, Any Seat and Points + Pay really only make sense if you’re points rich and cash poor. Almost everyone else would be better off saving their points for reward flights.

Upgrades with points

Upgrading your Virgin Australia flight to business class can sometimes be a good use of your points. However, you must be travelling in an eligible fare class (Economy Lite and reward seats can’t be upgraded) and simply having the right amount of points doesn’t guarantee you an upgrade.

Upgrades make the most sense if someone else is paying for your ticket (e.g. your employer only lets you fly economy). It’s generally a bad idea to buy an airfare with the expectation that you can upgrade it, especially if you could have flown with another airline for less or booked a business class reward seat outright.

That being said, if you happen to be travelling on the right fare and have the points spare to request an upgrade, by all means take the punt if you think it’s worthwhile.

Transferring points to KrisFlyer

Velocity points can also be transferred to Singapore Airlines’ KrisFlyer programme. Doing this grants you improved access to reward seats on both Singapore Airlines as well as their Star Alliance partners. It can also sometimes mean cheaper flights and lower carrier charges.

However, transfers from Velocity to KrisFlyer use a 1.55:1 conversion rate, meaning 155,000 Velocity points will only get you 100,000 KrisFlyer miles. KrisFlyer miles also expire three years after they’re earned and if you want to transfer them back to Velocity you’ll be hit with another 1.55:1 conversion rate.

Moving your Velocity points to KrisFlyer can be great value, particularly if you’re after something that isn’t available through Velocity directly (e.g. Singapore Airlines first class), but you should be aware of the downsides and only transfer them if you’re absolutely sure of the flight availability.

Other points redemptions

If you don’t have any desire to fly then you may want to spend your Velocity points on something else. Other ways that you can redeem your Velocity points include:

• Luxury Escapes – 0.5 cents
• Hotels – 0.5 cents
• Car hire – 0.5 cents
• Myer – 0.5 cents
• Products – 0.4 cents
• Gift cards – 0.4 cents

If you want to cash your points in one of these lower value options, that’s perfectly fine. However, if you are going to redeem them on something that gets you under 1.0 cent per point then it’s worth thinking about how and where your points are being earned.

For example, 110,000 Flybuys points could buy you $550 worth of groceries at Coles but if you converted them to Velocity points and then redeemed them on the Rewards Store (0.4 cents per point) then you would only end up with a product or gift card worth about $250.

In that case, you would be better off keeping your points in the Flybuys system where you can get double the value. The results are often similar for other rewards programmes that allow you to transfer to Velocity.

In summary

You should be booking reward flights if your goal is to extract the most value from your Velocity points balance. Business and first class reward seats are the best but even economy can often get you over 1.0 cent per point.

Using your points to book Any Seat or Points + Pay flights isn’t recommended as you’ll only ever get around half a cent per point in value. You also shouldn’t use points to pay for the taxes and fees of a reward flight – always use cash instead.

Redeeming your points on things like gift cards, products, hotels and car hire generally isn’t a great idea as all of those categories are valued at under 1 cent per point.

At the end of the day, how you choose to spend your points is entirely your own decision. If you want to cash them all in for a lower value reward, go for it. Still, you should always at least try booking reward flights before resorting to another option.

Velocity points value calculator

Use this calculator to get a rough idea of the value of your Velocity points balance.