Is it Time to transfer/withdraw points from Velocity?

[Bibendum]

Hi All,

I need some advice from the brains trust on this forum.

I, like many on here, have hundreds of thousands of points sitting with velocity. With the current COVID-19 situation and virgins financial position I’m concerned that if the airline was declare bankruptcy points may disappear..

What’s the likelihood of this happening and should I withdraw my points by purchasing gift cards to get some cash value at what I have..?

am I making a mountain out of a mole hill.. or is there a real threat to my velocity points been wiped out..?

 

[Dee#]

I get them instantly. No doubt its auto generated. I doubt it even guarantees the gift card being processed, i am just hoping with Virgin recommencing flights as per govt deal yesterday that they continue to run the velocity store redemptions (buys us more time). For peace of mind i'm continuing my daily cash out. Check your junk mail or perhaps rule filters (are they set on high)? It should be instant. Both wines and gift cards kept instantly generating for me and also my parents who I have been ordering gift cards for too.

My main worry/concern was if others were getting further 'processed' or dispatched etc. emails from the wine store ? Supposedly my order went through (rang) - but one wine was out of stock hence why it may have been taken down from store. Still my orders in the system with all 3 items so even with the glitch im hopeful. 2 weeks delivery they said (from dispatch) so I'd say a good 3 or 4 weeks for us in WA given the warehouse will probably be slow to dispatch, and lengthy delays in the post.

Supposedly they wont knock or ring the doorbell (per my instruction). Abit worrying as i sent it to the parents address incase we return to the office working arrangements, but they're less likely to leave the front door open or check regularly if someone's left a box outside. At least there is less people 'walking around' to pilfer it, but still - never liked how wineries have started not doing signature for deliveries (in this case obviously covid 19... - but if a parcel goes missing? then how...)

I'm in WA too. Just 10min north of city. Have ordered wine before Easter. Due to post don't know when it will arrive. Was estimated around now. We are having it all sent to our po box address. I enquired from wine company and they said if it went to our post office it would be sent Australia post. If not courier. The courier they said we have twice had trouble with. Once throwing parcel over fence/not locked gate (no dog!) Second time leaving valuables in box on the street which luckily our neighbours saw! So if it is going to street address be on lookout and tell neighbours!

 

[NoName]

To avoid the gift card gauntlet I’m considering grabbing an iPhone 11 for the wife to replace her ageing iPhone X. It’s an absolutely horrible way to burn hard earned points, but it will help reduce my point liability a little if the worst happens.

Suggest you also put the IPhone X up for sale on gumtree. Dependent on condition of course but you will get a decent price. I sold mine in perfect condition other than a tiny approx 2mm scratch for $800 in November. 5 months later they are probably worth slightly less but you will still get decent money for it.

 

[Returnofthemach]

Suggest you also put the IPhone X up for sale on gumtree. Dependent on condition of course but you will get a decent price. I sold mine in perfect condition other than a tiny approx 2mm scratch for $800 in November. 5 months later they are probably worth slightly less but you will still get decent money for it.

Exactly what my plan was. Good time to do it as well as I am sure the value of the X will drop considerably when whatever the iPhone 12 is likely lands at the end of the year.

 

[Rob.au]

Did you ever receive any tracking, or they just arrived?

I got one e-mail (just like the screenshot someone posted earlier) which was instant at the time of ordering and clearly automated. I didn't get any further e-mails or see any change on the site - it still said pending - when they arrived.

It was sent in a 500g prepaid Registered Post envelope. There was a number at the bottom of the address label that bears no relationship to any other number in the order. There was nothing in the envelope except a generic "Thanks for ordering from the Velocity Store" slip and the gift cards.

I do now see - long after the fact - that if I go into the My Account section of the Velocity Online Store, click on View Order, then click on Shipments, then on that page there is an Australia Post tracking link that has the registered post article ID. That definitely was not there on the day Australia Post left a card in my mailbox.

 

[Bct]

The iPhone and iPad I redeemed on 11/04 has changed from pending to complete and now has a tracking number. Am happy about that although no change to gift cards status.

 

[ff-jr]

All of the gift card orders purchased through the VFF store are fulfilled by one company, the leading third party gift card distributor in oz.

As I understand it, the extended delays are because they're seeing unprecedented redemption across all of the loyalty/rewards platforms that they fulfil card orders for.

The cards that are "out of stock" will have been limited at the request of either VFF or the card brand. JB/DJ have no reason to decline sales of their own product (especially right now) so it's reasonable to assume that VFF are restricting redemptions on highly popular cards. There's no way these products are actually out of stock - there are hundreds of thousands of each card in the same warehouse facility that the distributor does their secure fulfilment from.

 

[kpc]

Have a listen to: Podcast Episode #34: Are Velocity Points Safe?

I just listened...Phil Gunter made some excellent points and gave some great insights into the Velocity program. He is keeping his 1 million Velocity points in his account...

 

[Mr H]

Have a listen to: Podcast Episode #34: Are Velocity Points Safe?

I just listened...Phil Gunter made some excellent points and gave some great insights into the Velocity program. He is keeping his 1 million Velocity points in his account...

It's an interesting broadcast. His basic thesis - like mine - is that the rewards for cashing out are so slim that it's just not worth it - you might as well hold out in hope of valuable rewards and just accept you might lose it all. The only reason I transferred to SQ was because that's what I do with my Velocity points anyway.

I was concerned, though, that he described rewards in F and J as unicorns. Because, when the scheme is marketed to the public, it is done with a clear value proposition that if you collect enough points then you can swap them for tickets in premium cabins. For the man who designed a scheme to acknowledge that these rewards are unicorns suggests that the programs are being intentionally misrepresented to the public.

 

[dmchart]

sweet, my jb gift card orders have just changed to complete! and tracking info. ordered 5 x jb gift cards on the 4th April, one after each other ( even with daily limits in place ) I did email the address in the original email asking about my order 2 days ago , not sure if that helped!

 

[Returnofthemach]

His basic thesis - like mine - is that the rewards for cashing out are so slim that it's just not worth it - you might as well hold out in hope of valuable rewards and just accept you might lose it all.

Very interesting. At the end of the day it’s a gamble really, it all comes down to what you are winning to lose and what your balance is worth to you.

I’m going to grab a new iPhone from the Velocity Store as we actually need one and I’m happy to conserve my cash given the current climate. I think that will be it though and I’ll let my 750k balance ride for the time being.

 

[hydrabyss]

Very interesting. At the end of the day it’s a gamble really, it all comes down to what you are winning to lose and what your balance is worth to you.

I’m going to grab a new iPhone from the Velocity Store as we actually need one and I’m happy to conserve my cash given the current climate. I think that will be it though and I’ll let my 750k balance ride for the time being.

I would not call it a gamble but rather a risk. Throwing a coin in the air is a gamble compared to Virgin being around in 6 months a risk for some worth taking.

 

[Cryptarcadian]

Have a listen to: Podcast Episode #34: Are Velocity Points Safe?

I just listened...Phil Gunter made some excellent points and gave some great insights into the Velocity program. He is keeping his 1 million Velocity points in his account...

Agreed, this was a great podcast. (Nice one @Mattg!) Phil's sounding like a voice of reason here cautioning against panic — I wish I heard it sooner. I fully appreciate that I've succumbed to the panic as well, and I may regret it.

From the podcast and also from speculation here in the past few days, it's worth remembering the possibility of VA not surviving, but Velocity surviving (bought separately, rebranded, etc). We need to weigh that up as part of our risk assessments and whether in that scenario, even if points are devalued, we might still get out more value than 0.5 cpd.

 

[cumagutsa]

sweet, my jb gift card orders have just changed to complete! and tracking info. ordered 5 x jb gift cards on the 4th April, one after each other ( even with daily limits in place ) I did email the address in the original email asking about my order 2 days ago , not sure if that helped!

How did you track your order? I can’t seem to find anywhere??

 

[TheInsider]

From the podcast and also from speculation here in the past few days, it's worth remembering the possibility of VA not surviving, but Velocity surviving (bought separately, rebranded, etc). We need to weigh that up as part of our risk assessments and whether in that scenario, even if points are devalued, we might still get out more value than 0.5 cpd.

All good for Velocity to survive, but what would you then purchase using points?? There wouldn't then be an airline to redeem on.

 

[cumagutsa]

The iPhone and iPad I redeemed on 11/04 has changed from pending to complete and now has a tracking number. Am happy about that although no change to gift cards status.

How did you find out about the “change from pending to complete”. I can’t find a way to do this. Pls answer

 

[neljelpoo]

I got one e-mail (just like the screenshot someone posted earlier) which was instant at the time of ordering and clearly automated. I didn't get any further e-mails or see any change on the site - it still said pending - when they arrived.

It was sent in a 500g prepaid Registered Post envelope. There was a number at the bottom of the address label that bears no relationship to any other number in the order. There was nothing in the envelope except a generic "Thanks for ordering from the Velocity Store" slip and the gift cards.

I do now see - long after the fact - that if I go into the My Account section of the Velocity Online Store, click on View Order, then click on Shipments, then on that page there is an Australia Post tracking link that has the registered post article ID. That definitely was not there on the day Australia Post left a card in my mailbox.

Thanks for your reply! How many gift cards did you receive in the one envelope? (e.g. did you order 5 days in a row and they just packaged it all into the one envelope or were they all ordered together before the '1 a day' rule came in place?

 

[get me outta here]

Perhaps we could do a poll. Did you transfer 100% points, 50% of points, no points. did you just buy phones and other things.

I transferred 50% to SQ new because that’s what I always do anyway.

 

[Lomandriel]

All of the gift card orders purchased through the VFF store are fulfilled by one company, the leading third party gift card distributor in oz.

As I understand it, the extended delays are because they're seeing unprecedented redemption across all of the loyalty/rewards platforms that they fulfil card orders for.

The cards that are "out of stock" will have been limited at the request of either VFF or the card brand. JB/DJ have no reason to decline sales of their own product (especially right now) so it's reasonable to assume that VFF are restricting redemptions on highly popular cards. There's no way these products are actually out of stock - there are hundreds of thousands of each card in the same warehouse facility that the distributor does their secure fulfilment from.

Interesting you mention this. I usually do the westfield after midnight but was going to switch to jb hi fi for the 2k less points the $100 costs. There's now a note that these are currently unavailable.

Westfield $100 is still there so chucked an order in. Down to my last 36kpoints so not sure how ill dice this up. Given i started redeeming already it probably makes sense to go all the way and presume these will be worthless.

Out of curiosity - pre covid what was the points redemption cost of say perth to eastern states or a biz class seat from here to a popular destination? Just wondering how many points it is to work out if its worth keepung my 36k points to rebuild the buffer if this survives or just bail out. So appreciate if anyone has some rough points and taxes you redeemed pre covid to share?

 

[Bct]

How did you find out about the “change from pending to complete”. I can’t find a way to do this. Pls answer

Login. Click on 3 horizontal lines top left corner. Go to shopping online. Shop using points. Click on 3 horizontal lines top left corner and click on your name at top. Order status will show if pending or complete against each redemption. Click on view order if complete. There will be a tracking number on the shipping tab.

 

[Bct]

Perhaps we could do a poll. Did you transfer 100% points, 50% of points, no points. did you just buy phones and other things.

Used up about 90% of points. Redeemed iPhone, iPad and 9 gift vouchers. Will keep remaining points for now.