Best Virgin Australia Velocity Status Runs in 2024

Need a few more Virgin Australia status credits to reach the next tier with Velocity Frequent Flyer? The easiest way to upgrade to Velocity Silver, Gold or Platinum status is to take a status run.

Although you can earn a small amount of status credits from Flybuys and certain credit cards, you’ll need to earn the majority of your Velocity status credits from flying with Virgin Australia or its partner airlines.

You can check the number of status credits you’ll earn for Virgin Australia flights on the Velocity Frequent Flyer website. For flights on other partner airlines, see this page.

Don’t forget that Velocity Frequent Flyer has a generous family pooling scheme that lets you pool the status credits earned by the rest of your family into your own personal account. This means, for example, that you could earn Velocity status 4x faster if you travel as a family of four!

Our top Velocity Frequent Flyer status run picks

Looking for some Velocity Frequent Flyer status run inspiration? Here is our selection of the best Virgin Australia status runs for earning Velocity status credits at minimal cost in 2024…

1. Cheap Virgin Australia domestic Business Class

When flying Virgin Australia domestically, you’ll earn status credits at the following rates:

As you can see, the number of status credits earned for Business tickets is considerably higher than the Economy fare earn rates. Plus, Virgin Australia’s domestic Business Class airfares are generally good value.

Although Virgin’s domestic Business Class fares are no longer quite as amazing value as they were a few years ago, you can still get some very good deals. For example, Canberra-Melbourne-Launceston starts from around $486 one-way in Business Class and earns 110 status credits (55 status credits for each individual flight sector). That’s before any discounts that may be available using a Virgin Australia promo code.

Of course, when Velocity has a Double Status Credits promotion running, you can get even better value!

Other examples of good, current Virgin Australia Business Class status runs include:

• Sydney-Melbourne-Launceston
• Canberra-Melbourne-Launceston
• Melbourne-Sydney-Sunshine Coast
• Melbourne-Brisbane
• Melbourne-Gold Coast
• Melbourne-Sydney-Ballina
• Canberra-Melbourne-Adelaide
• Newcastle-Brisbane-Adelaide
• Perth-Kalgoorlie
• Perth-Cairns
• Brisbane-Cairns

For more status run ideas, AFF member Milefest has posted a very helpful table on the Australian Frequent Flyer forum.

2. Virgin Australia Economy Choice & Flex fares

If you’re looking to maximise your status credits, it would not make sense to book an Economy Lite fare. That’s because Economy Choice tickets earn triple the number of status credits and typically only cost around $20 more. Plus, Economy Lite fares do not count towards the eligible Velocity sectors you need (in addition to status credits) for Silver, Gold or Platinum status with Virgin Australia.

That said, you can get some good deals on Economy Choice and Economy Flex fares on Virgin Australia domestic flights.

Some examples of good Economy status runs on Virgin Australia can include:

• Melbourne-Canberra-Gold Coast in Economy Flex
• Hobart-Melbourne-Gold Coast in Economy Flex
• Cairns-Melbourne-Perth in Economy Flex
• Sydney-Ballina in Economy Choice

Economy Choice tickets can also be good value during Virgin Australia’s Happy Hour sales from 4-11pm (AEST) on Thursdays. The prices advertised during Happy Hour sales are usually for an Economy Lite ticket, but you can pay around $10-20 more to book Economy Choice and earn triple the status credits.

3. Virgin Australia Business Class to Bali (with domestic connections)

This isn’t quite as good an earner as some of the domestic itineraries available on the Australian east coast. But if you’re planning to book a Virgin Australia Business Class flight to Bali, it’s often not that much more expensive to add one or two domestic connections.

For example, you could fly Gold Coast-Sydney-Melbourne-Bali for around $2,573 return and earn 500 status credits. (That’s enough to earn Velocity Gold status!)

4. Hawaiian Airlines Inter-Island First Class

Hawaiian Airlines First Class fares within the Hawaiian islands are relatively inexpensive, and you’ll earn 40 status credits per sector!

The flights are short so don’t expect a meal on board. But you will get a larger seat, complimentary baggage allowance and lounge access. The difference in price between Coach and First Class is minimal, so it’s often worth paying a little more for the extra status credits.

5. Domestic First Class on United Airlines

Thanks to its new partnership with Virgin Australia, you can now earn Velocity status credits on United Airlines flights.

A “sweet spot” here is domestic First Class flights, particularly on connecting itineraries, which are often well-priced.

United Airlines Business & First Class flights earn Velocity status credits at the following rates, based on the distance flown:

• Up to 750 miles: 40 status credits
• 751 to 1,500 miles: 60 status credits
• 1,501 to 3,000 miles: 80 status credits

6. Etihad Airways Business Class from Manila to Europe

Etihad’s Business Class fares from Manila in The Philippines to certain European destinations such as Madrid, Barcelona, Munich, Geneva, Dublin and Athens are often very well priced at around $2,500 return. On a Business Class return trip from Manila to Barcelona (via Abu Dhabi), for example, you would earn 480 status credits.

If you’re looking for a cheap way to get to Europe in Business Class, consider booking a positioning flight to Manila.

For example, you could book a ticket to The Philippines using Velocity points to fly Singapore Airlines, or Qantas points to fly Qantas. From there, you could fly Etihad for a fraction of the price that you’d pay booking a Business Class ticket all the way from Australia to Europe!

7. Singapore Airlines Premium Economy to the USA

Singapore Airlines has reasonably competitive pricing on its Premium Economy fares from Australia to destinations in the USA including Los Angeles, San Francisco and New York (via Singapore). But the Premium Economy pricing from Asian departure points like Kuala Lumpur or Bangkok to the USA can be especially good (often under $2,000 return). Note that the intra-Asia connector flight will generally book into Economy Class.

A return Kuala Lumpur-Singapore-San Francisco flight in Singapore Airlines Premium Economy would earn you at least 320 status credits.

Matt Graham

The editor of Australian Frequent Flyer, Matt's passion for travel has taken him to over 90 countries… with the help of frequent flyer points, of course!
Matt's favourite destinations (so far) are Germany, Brazil & Kazakhstan. His interests include aviation, economics & foreign languages, and he has a soft spot for good food and red wine.

You can connect with Matt by posting on the Australian Frequent Flyer community forum and tagging @AFF Editor.