It takes twice the amount of flying to earn Platinum status with Virgin Australia, compared to Velocity Gold status. So, what additional benefits do you get with Platinum status… and is Velocity Platinum membership it worth the extra status credits?
In this article, we take a deep dive into the difference between Gold and Platinum status with Virgin Australia…
Contents
Velocity Gold & Platinum benefits on Virgin Australia
Both Gold and Platinum Velocity Frequent Flyer members get access to some great benefits when flying with Virgin Australia. These include:
- Virgin Australia Lounge access + 1 additional guest (excluding children)
- Bonus points on Virgin Australia flights (except on Economy Lite fares)
- Priority check-in
- Priority boarding
- Priority baggage
- Access to seats closer to the front of the plane
- Priority phone service
- Additional carry-on and checked baggage allowance (excluding Economy Lite fares)
- Fly Ahead on Flex & Business fares
- Guaranteed Economy reward seats for an annual family holiday (domestic only)
For Velocity Gold members, these are some very useful benefits. But there are also some substantial additional benefits available to Velocity Platinum members on Virgin Australia flights! These include:
- Complimentary Economy X seat selection
- Free seat selection on Economy Lite fares
- Four annual complimentary Business Class upgrades when booked on an Economy Flex fare
- Ability to Fly Ahead on Economy Choice fares (in addition to Flex & Business fares)
- Up to 3 additional guests at Virgin Australia Lounges, excluding children (instead of 1 guest with Gold status)
- 100% bonus points on Virgin Australia flights (instead of 75% bonus points with Gold status)
- The guaranteed Economy reward seat benefit for an annual family holiday can be used on international flights
The free upgrades and complimentary Economy X extra legroom seats are particularly useful benefits for Velocity Platinum members when flying with Virgin Australia.
Access to higher-tier status matches
Another benefit of Velocity Frequent Flyer’s Gold and Platinum tiers are complimentary status matches with a partner hotel and car hire loyalty program.
If you have Velocity Gold status, you’ll be eligible for a one-off upgrade to Gold status with your choice of either Hilton Honors or IHG One Rewards. You’ll also be eligible for your choice of either Europcar Privilege Executive or Hertz Gold Plus Rewards Five Star membership.
But if you have Velocity Platinum status, you can upgrade to a higher tier with your choice of hotel and car hire loyalty programs. This means getting complimentary Hilton Honors Diamond or IHG One Rewards Platinum membership. And with the partner car hire programs, you could choose between Europcar Privilege Elite or Hertz Gold Plus Rewards Presidents Circle status.
Higher tier bonuses with some Velocity partners
When flying with Virgin Australia, Velocity Gold members earn 75% bonus points and Platinum members earn 100% bonus points on most fare types.
These increased bonuses for Platinum members also apply when shopping with various Velocity Frequent Flyer partners on the ground. For example, Velocity Gold members get 75% bonus points with Cover-More, Looking4Parking and Cruisepilot while Platinum members get a 100% bonus.
Velocity Platinum members also earn a marginally higher bonus rate when earning points for Europcar, Hertz and Thrifty car rentals in Australia or New Zealand.
Additional Platinum benefits on partner airlines are minimal
When it comes to the benefits for Velocity Frequent Flyer members on partner airlines, however, the difference between Gold and Platinum status is marginal at best.
On most of Virgin Australia’s partner airlines, the exact same benefits apply to both Velocity Gold and Platinum members. The only extra things that Platinum members get are:
- Access to the Etihad First Class Lounge in Abu Dhabi (instead of the Etihad Business Lounge, which is available to Gold members) when travelling in Etihad Airways Economy Class
- Access to the Virgin Atlantic Revivals Lounge on arrival at London Heathrow Airport when flying Virgin Atlantic
- Up to 20kg of additional baggage allowance with Singapore Airlines and Etihad Airways (instead of 15kg of additional baggage allowance for Gold members), except to/from the Americas where everyone just gets one extra piece of luggage
- 50% bonus points with Etihad Airways (instead of 25% bonus points for Gold members)
- 100% bonus points with United Airlines (instead of 75% bonus points for Gold members)
It’s also worth noting that neither Velocity Gold nor Platinum members receive any status benefits whatsoever when flying with Air Canada or Hawaiian Airlines! Even as a Velocity Platinum member, you won’t receive lounge access, priority check-in or any other tier benefits when flying with Air Canada or Hawaiian Airlines in Economy. This is even the case for flights to and from Australia.
Qantas Gold vs Platinum benefits
By comparison, Qantas Gold and Platinum members receive reciprocal status benefits through Oneworld Sapphire and Emerald status, respectively, when travelling on any other Oneworld airline. These benefits are applied consistently across all airlines in the Oneworld alliance.
As well as access to Qantas domestic Business Lounges and international First Lounges, Qantas Platinum members get access to First Class check-in counters and lounges all over the world when flying with Oneworld airlines. That’s quite a substantial additional benefit.
Conclusion
When flying with Virgin Australia, Velocity Platinum members do have access to some great additional benefits. But, other than access to the Etihad First Class Lounge in Abu Dhabi and Virgin Atlantic Revivals Lounge in London, the extra benefits for Platinum members with Virgin’s partner airlines are marginal at best.
You can leave a comment or discuss this topic on the Australian Frequent Flyer forum.
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