Buying Velocity points

[Duffy38]

I purchased at a 40% bonus and it made sense. I will be using the points to buy domestic business for much less than a purchased fair and I will still have points left over but without that bonus, it probably would not be worth it.

 

[AIRwin]

I purchased at a 40% bonus and it made sense. I will be using the points to buy domestic business for much less than a purchased fair and I will still have points left over but without that bonus, it probably would not be worth it.

Congrats on your purchase and your first post on AFF! 7 year itch?

 

[AIRwin]

Up to 30% off until 26 April:

Velocity Frequent Flyer Points Booster

buy.points.com

 

[ted123]

Does anyone know if you have purchased points say Thursday when are they likely to land in your account?

 

[jase05]

Does anyone know if you have purchased points say Thursday when are they likely to land in your account?

Almost Instantly

 

[ted123]

Thanks jase05. I purchased points on Thursday and I am yet to receive them. My CC has cleared and been debited. Should I be worried? Has anyone experienced a delay in points being deposited into velocity.

 

[bam71]

I’ve done it a few times over the years, and they’ve landed almost instantly, although I’ve found I’ve had to totally log out of Velocity and re log in to get the new points balance…

 

[ted123]

Ok thank you. I have done that but still nothing. I will call velocity to ask them to look into.

 

[kangarooflyer88]

Was looking to make an award booking with Virgin Australia and was short on points and found this promotion:

• 1,000 – 5,000 Points: 10% discount
• • 6,000 – 50,000 Points: 20% discount
• • 60,000 – 100,000 Points: 30% discount
• • 110,000 – 250,000 Points: 40% discount

More details can be found here:

https://storefront.points.com/velocity-frequent-flyer/en-AU/buy

 

[Steven of Mysore]

The only value is if you need a few points for an actual flight, as you noted. Buying 'on spec' is a waste of money.

 

[Gold Member]

The only value is if you need a few points for an actual flight, as you noted. Buying 'on spec' is a waste of money.

Disagree. At the 40% tier 110,000 points it works out to 1.404 cpp. That’s reasonable value if you redeem them for long haul Business with International partners like QR and SQ. It’s also good value for business East <-> West coast at ~$500 + taxes.

Of course, this all depends on underlying award availability so YMMV.

 

[RooFlyer]

The only value is if you need a few points for an actual flight, as you noted. Buying 'on spec' is a waste of money.

Can't agree with that as a flat statement.

If you ever intend to redeem VFF points for international partners, best to have them in the bank ready to go. I'll have to do the calc to see if the value is there on the particular award I might take, but it looks reasonable.

The base rate of earn by flying is 20 CPP, throw in tier bonuses etc and it's still cheaper to buy. Personally I can't churn cards any more, so that route is out

The downside is a future devaluation of course but I'm a bit sanguine about that risk. Whether I've earned the points through paying to fly, or cards, or paid for the points outright, it's the same risk.

 

[Steven of Mysore]

Disagree. At the 40% tier 110,000 points it works out to 1.404 cpp. That’s reasonable value if you redeem them for long haul Business with International partners like QR and SQ. It’s also good value for business East <-> West coast at ~$500 + taxes.

Of course, this all depends on underlying award availability so YMMV.

I think your last sentence says it all.

 

[RooFlyer]

I think your last sentence says it all.

Award availability is an issue for any and all FF points programs. So buying points (with bonus or discount) is no different.

 

[Gold Member]

I think your last sentence says it all.

Huh? The point of your original comment was to dismiss any value in purchasing points without any premeditated/planned redemption lined up. Many people including myself will speculatively buy large sums of Frequent Flyer points with different airlines in anticipation of redeeming them in the future without an immediate reward in mind.

There is an obvious and implicit acknowledgement by anyone purchasing points that award redemptions are limited. Having points in your VFF account ready to go offers flexibility and convenience without any hard expiry like SQ. There is significant value in speculatively buying points in this manner if you know how get the best value out of them.

 

[kangarooflyer88]

In my case I’m looking to fly United Polaris to the US and found availability for 95,500 points. Now look, I’m no math Wizard but I reckon even spending $1,500 AUD to buy said points ain’t a bad deal.

Everyone will bring up availability, but again, if you’ve got something specific in mind and can find availability, this promotion can represent excellent value.

-RooFlyer88

 

[MELso]

Yup, I’m eyeing off changing a BOS-LAX-MEL award booking in Y on UA to YYZ-AUH-MEL in J on EY (just waiting for some points to lob in from my credit card). Despite the wince-inducing carrier charges, a service fee and a forgone seat selection fee, I’d be able to fly for under $2.5k in points and fees compared to $8.5k if I booked a standard seat as part of a return fare.

 

[levelnine]

I always enjoy these conversations on the value of points.

One of the key considerations here is whether you'd be willing to pay cash for business class fares. If you would be willing to pay cash for business class, buying points at 1.4c/pt can represent good value — you're getting a discount in exchange for more limited availability.

If you'd never be willing to pay cash for business class, then it is bad value. You're paying more cash for airfares than you ordinarily would and you have to deal with all the restrictions of award availability.

 

[kangarooflyer88]

One of the key considerations here is whether you'd be willing to pay cash for business class fares. If you would be willing to pay cash for business class, buying points at 1.4c/pt can represent good value — you're getting a discount in exchange for more limited availability.

If you'd never be willing to pay cash for business class, then it is bad value. You're paying more cash for airfares than you ordinarily would and you have to deal with all the restrictions of award availability.

I suppose my argument is I wouldn't be willing to pay business class fares long haul given the prices. For me $8000 or $12000 to fly business return to the US is eye-watering. But I can justify spending say $3000 on a comparable award ticket, especially when the cheapest Y ticket is only slightly cheaper at say $2000. $1000 for lie-flat business return is a stellar value.

-RooFlyer88

 

[Cruiser Elite]

More details can be found here:

https://storefront.points.com/velocity-frequent-flyer/en-AU/buy

That link not loading for me - I am in Shanghai right now but wouldn’t have thought that is causing it