In exciting news for frequent flyers, it’s now possible to earn Virgin Velocity points and status credits by shopping at Coles! There’s even a 15% bonus available on point transfers from Coles’ Flybuys program to Velocity Frequent Flyer until the end of November.
2,000 Flybuys points, usually worth $10, can now be converted to 870 Virgin Velocity points. This is exactly the same rate at which Woolworths points can be transferred to Qantas Frequent Flyer. Transfers to Velocity are completed instantly, and you can convert up to 138,000 Flybuys points per year.
Unique to the Flybuys/Velocity tie-up is the ability to earn status credits at the supermarket. One Velocity status credit will be earned for every $100 spent at Coles, up to 10 status credits per month. This is the only way to earn Velocity status credits, which count towards elite status, without actually flying. While the monthly caps make it impossible to reach a higher status tier without any flying, this will help Virgin flyers that would otherwise fall just a little bit short of that higher status tier.
Flybuys already partners with Etihad’s frequent flyer program, with 10,000 Flybuys points able to be converted to 4,000 Etihad Guest miles. Etihad tier miles, which count towards Etihad elite status, are also earned when shopping at Coles. This partnership is set to continue, meaning it’s now possible to earn both Velocity status credits and Etihad tier miles for your Coles shop.
Our members are largely thrilled with the news, with some already making the switch to Coles. But others say the earning rates are not high enough to prompt them to change their shopping habits.
Curiously, the Coles Rewards MasterCard just became a lot more attractive. The card, which has an $89 annual fee and no international transaction fees, earns 2 Flybuys points per dollar. This is now equivalent to 0.87 Velocity points per dollar spent – higher than the MasterCard earning rates offered by all of the major banks!
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