Trying to understand partner awards...

[StevePER]

Just wondering if anyone knows about how partner awards work (more than what is on the Velocity website).

Specifically:

• Is any seat available? If so is it safe to assume that the cheapest paid booking class corresponds to the points requirement published on the Velocity site?
• Is a one-way flight available for half the cost of a return flight?
• If you can fly somewhere for a particular number of points (eg PER-KUL for 45k) can you fly to other destinations for the same price (eg PEN or SIN) if the published airfare is the same?
• Are stopovers permitted? Openjaws?
• Why don't Velocity publish the answers to these questions on their website like most other frequent flyer programs?

Cheers,
Steve

 

[StevePER]

Answers from the Velocity Service Centre... unfortunately it seems that partner redemptions are quite restrictive, but understanding the limitations of the program is a good thing and I appreciate getting a reasonably detailed response.

Is any seat available? If so is it safe to assume that the cheapest paid booking class corresponds to the points requirement published on the Velocity site?

Redemption seats released by partner airlines are limited. Because of that restriction Velocity has created 'Any seat any flight' redemption, whereby you can use your points to redeem for any available seat, provided you have sufficient points. The number of points you need to redeem your seat is determined by available fare types.

Is a one-way flight available for half the cost of a return flight? Are stopovers permitted? Openjaws?

You can only redeem for a return flight; one way and open jaw bookings are not permitted by partner airlines. Further to this, Malaysia Airlines do not allow stopovers on reward flights.

If you can fly somewhere for a particular number of points (eg PER-KUL for 45k) can you fly to other destinations for the same price (eg PEN or SIN) if the published airfare is the same?

The number of points quoted on our website is a minimum required for a return Economy class redemption fare. This is not based on published fares; thus it is unsafe to assume that if the fares between different destinations are the same, redemption values would be the same.

 

[clifford]

So really, not much different from any other airline.

 

[StevePER]

So really, not much different from any other airline.

It's not a big deal, but I don't know of any others that only allow return award flights with no stopovers or openjaws. I was really hoping they would allow one-way trips, because to me that is one of the best features of the Qantas program.

 

[crazydave98]

So really, not much different from any other airline.

Maybe you don't understand Clifford - you can use your Velocity points to buy any seat on our partner airlines, not just the seats set aside for frequent flyer redemptions. How is that not much different from any other airline - can you name another that does this? Velocity members are able to redeem their points for seats on our partner airlines that are not available for redemption to the frequent flyers of the airlines that the points are being redeemed on.

StevePER, as to the "one way" question, you are using your Velocity points to buy regular fares - these airlines generally only sell one way and open jaw fares at full economy prices (often more than a discounted return fare) so not really worth offering. Over time, as airlines such as AirAsiaX and Jetstar International start biting into the market share of "full service" airlines I would expect to see their pricing change and one-way fares become available for reasonable prices.

cheers

CrazyDave98

 

[StevePER]

Maybe you don't understand Clifford - you can use your Velocity points to buy any seat on our partner airlines, not just the seats set aside for frequent flyer redemptions.

Thanks for your thoughts crazydave98 - Sounds like a great feature of the program, but without knowing the different points requirements for different fare classes it's difficult to judge. I guess this is difficult to publish because it's likely to be very complex, and more confusing than it is useful for the majority of people.

StevePER, as to the "one way" question, you are using your Velocity points to buy regular fares - these airlines generally only sell one way and open jaw fares at full economy prices (often more than a discounted return fare) so not really worth offering. Over time, as airlines such as AirAsiaX and Jetstar International start biting into the market share of "full service" airlines I would expect to see their pricing change and one-way fares become available for reasonable prices.

Malaysia Airlines already seems to be on the path to reasonable one-way fares in some markets. In September for example they have NYC-PER for A$665++ while the cheapest PER-KUL-PER fare is A$670++ (source: Expertflyer). I would love to have the choice of redeeming either of those options for 45,000 points. But I do understand that this is not a typical example.

In my experience openjaw fares are often available for the same price as a simple return. Looking at PER-KUL-PER again it has the following in the cheapest published fare: "OPEN JAWS/ROUND TRIPS FARES MAY BE COMBINED ON A HALF ROUND TRIP BASIS -TO FORM SINGLE OR DOUBLE OPEN JAWS/ROUND TRIPS". And I don't think this is unusual.

But for me the most important thing is understanding what options are available.

Steve