It takes quite a lot of flying to reach the heights of Platinum status with Qantas or Virgin Australia. But for really frequent flyers, both airlines also offer additional benefits to members that earn considerably more status credits beyond the Platinum status threshold. This includes the ability to gift Gold or Platinum membership to a family member or friend.
Let’s take a closer look at what each airline offers to its most frequent of flyers…
Qantas Frequent Flyer
With Qantas, you would need to earn 1,400 status credits during your membership year to qualify for Platinum status. To requalify in subsequent years, a lower target of 1,200 status credits is applicable. But Qantas offers additional benefits to anyone that flies enough to reach 2,400, 3,600, 5,000 or 7,000 status credits during a single year.
Qantas Platinum Bonus Reward
Qantas offers a Platinum Bonus Reward to members that reach 2,400 status credits from Qantas or Jetstar marketed flights during a single membership year. Within 90 days of reaching this goal, members can choose between receiving 50,000 bonus Qantas Frequent Flyer points or gifting Gold membership to a friend or family member.
Qantas Platinum One Status
Qantas also offers an ultra-elite Platinum One membership tier. To earn Qantas Platinum One status, you would need to earn at least 3,600 status credits (including at least 2,700 from Qantas marketed flights, i.e. with a “QF” flight number) within a year.
Platinum One status comes with a range of extra perks, such as the highest upgrade priority, access to a dedicated support team, waived fees, First Lounge passes and complimentary exit row seats. You’ll also be able to gift Qantas Platinum status to a friend or family member.
There is lots of discussion about Qantas Platinum One status on the Australian Frequent Flyer forum: Platinum One experiences?
Additional Benefits with Qantas
For anyone that reaches 5,000 status credits during a single year, Qantas throws in an extra 75,000 bonus points. And there are 100,000 bonus points on offer if you happen to reach 7,000 status credits during a membership year. That’s quite a nice bonus, but we certainly don’t envy anybody that has to fly that much during a single year!
Qantas also offers lifetime Silver and Gold status when you earn 7,000 or 14,000 lifetime status credits, respectively. So, even if the extra status credits you’re earning don’t get you any more benefits during a given year, they’re all contributing to your lifetime tally.
Velocity Frequent Flyer
Virgin Australia does not offer lifetime status, nor is there a Velocity status tier higher than Platinum. But anything earned beyond the 800 status credits normally required to renew Platinum status does not go entirely to waste. That’s because Virgin allows Platinum members to nominate somebody for Partner Gold or Platinum membership upon reaching certain thresholds.
Velocity Companion Gold and Platinum membership
Virgin allows you to gift Gold or Platinum status to a friend or family member if you earn enough status credits during your review period each year. If you earn 1,300 status credits in a year (500 status credits above the threshold to renew Platinum status), you’ll be able to gift Gold Velocity membership to anyone of your choice. If you then go on to earn another 500 status credits before the end of the year (getting to 1,800 status credits in total), your nominated companion will then be upgraded to Platinum status.
If you’re earning more than 1,800 Velocity status credits in a year, though, Velocity has nothing further for you. Beyond this point, you might as well start crediting your flights to another frequent flyer program… or give the competition a try.
