It’s just become much easier to redeem your Virgin Velocity points for flights to Hong Kong and China! Following the launch of Virgin Australia flights to Hong Kong, you can also now redeem your Velocity points with Hong Kong Airlines and Hainan Airlines.
The Opportunity
It’s just become a whole lot easier to redeem your Virgin Australia Velocity points for flights to and within Hong Kong and China!
Virgin Australia flies direct from Melbourne to Hong Kong. It also recently launched direct flights between Sydney and Hong Kong. Reward seats on this flight cost 27,800 Velocity points in Economy class or 59,500 points in Business class, one-way, plus $84.95 in taxes (for MEL-HKG). Many flights have award availability in Economy, but Business Reward seats are significantly harder to find.
If you’re travelling to Hong Kong, you can also now redeem your Velocity points for flights from Cairns and the Gold Coast on Hong Kong Airlines. A one-way Business class seat from Gold Coast to Hong Kong, for example, costs 65,000 Velocity points and just $76.10 taxes. An Economy seat will set you back 35,000 points. Award availability is pretty good.
Virgin’s new partner Hainan Airlines also opens several new connections between Australia and mainland China. Hainan Airlines, a Skytrax 5-star airline, flies from both Sydney and Melbourne to Xi’an and Changsha, as well as Brisbane-Shenzhen. A one-way Business class reward from Sydney to Xi’an, for example, costs 78,000 Velocity points and $91.28 taxes.
You can also redeem Velocity points for Hainan Airlines’ services between China, North America and Europe. For example, a one-way Business class seat from Beijing to Berlin on Hainan Airlines will cost you 65,000 Velocity points and just $17.30 in taxes.
Virgin Australia also recently announced partnerships with Beijing Capital Airlines and Tianjin Airlines. Velocity does allow redemptions on Capital Airlines, however there was no award availability on any of the routes we checked between Australia and China. Redemptions on Tianjin Airlines are not yet possible.
You can redeem your points for Virgin Australia and now Hainan Airlines flights on the Virgin Australia website. But you’ll need to call Velocity Frequent Flyer on 13 18 75 to book flights on Hong Kong Airlines or Beijing Capital Airlines.
The Facts
- Currency: Virgin Australia Velocity points
- Airlines: Virgin Australia, Hong Kong Airlines & Hainan Airlines
- Routes: Melbourne-Hong Kong, Sydney-Hong Kong Gold Coast-Hong Kong, Sydney-Xi’an and many others
- Class of travel: Economy and Business class are available
- Cost: 65,000 Velocity points + $76.10 taxes (e.g. Gold Coast-Hong Kong on Hong Kong Airlines in Business, one-way)
- Availability: Award availability on Hainan Airlines and Hong Kong Airlines is very good. Economy seats on Virgin’s Melbourne-Hong Kong flight are plentiful, but Business seats are rare. Availability on Capital Airlines is poor.
- How to book: Flights on Virgin Australia and Hainan Airlines can be booked online. For other partner airlines, call Velocity on 13 18 75.
Would you like help using your frequent flyer points?
AFF offers a personalised service that’s designed to take the hard work out of redeeming your frequent flyer points!
Frequent Flyer Concierge can help you to find the perfect flights using your points. Just let the team know how many points you have and where you would like to go, and they’ll prepare an itinerary for you.
