A unique feature of the Velocity Frequent Flyer and Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer programs is the ability to transfer points and miles between both programs!

The conversion rate is 1.55:1 in both directions, meaning you’ll receive 1 Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer mile for every 1.55 Velocity points. You’ll just need to transfer at least 5,000 Velocity points at a time.

In the other direction, the conversion rate is the same – 1.55 KrisFlyer miles will convert to 1 Velocity point.

This means that you effectively pay a ~35% penalty each time you transfer points in either direction. Nonetheless, this unique loyalty program feature is a terrific benefit for collectors of Velocity Frequent Flyer points because Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer miles are highly valuable and can be redeemed for many award flights that simply can’t be booked through Velocity.

So, how exactly does this work and when does it make sense to transfer your points?

A brief history of the Velocity-KrisFlyer partnership

Singapore Airlines has been a key airline partner of Virgin Australia for more than a decade. In fact, prior to Virgin Australia’s voluntary administration in 2020, the Singaporean national carrier even owned a ~20% stake in Virgin Australia. Bain Capital now owns most of Virgin Australia, but Singapore Airlines and Virgin are still strategic partners.

In 2014, the two airlines made it possible to transfer points between their respective frequent flyer programs. The conversion rate between the two programs was initially 1.35:1.

On 1 January 2019, the transfer rate in both directions was changed to the current ratio of 1.55:1. The arrangement was suspended in April 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, then reinstated in July 2022.

How to transfer Velocity Points to KrisFlyer

After logging into your account on the Velocity Frequent Flyer website, go to the “Link & Transfer” section and select “Airline Points Transfer” from the drop-down menu. (Click here to go directly to the page you need.)

To transfer Velocity points to KrisFlyer, you will first need to link your KrisFlyer account to your Velocity account online. You only need to do this once.

Once your accounts are linked, click “Transfer Now”. You’ll then be presented with a slider where you can choose how many Velocity points you wish to convert to KrisFlyer miles. You must transfer at least 5,000 points at a time.

Once completed, the points should arrive in your Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer account within a few minutes. (If this does not happen, call the Velocity Membership Contact Centre as something probably went wrong!)

The transaction will appear on your KrisFlyer activity statement as “Virgin Australia – Velocity POINT CONVERSION”.

The Velocity Frequent Flyer website contains further instructions.

A similar process applies when transferring KrisFlyer miles to Velocity, which you can read about on the Singapore Airlines website (scroll down to “Velocity” on the “Other ways to redeem miles” page).

Why transfer Velocity Points to KrisFlyer?

There are multiple possible reasons why it could make sense to transfer your Velocity points to KrisFlyer…

Access to Star Alliance award seats

The main reason is that KrisFlyer miles give you access to award seats on airlines that are partners of Singapore Airlines, but aren’t Velocity partners!

For example, Singapore Airlines is part of Star Alliance which has 26 member airlines:

The KrisFlyer program offers Star Alliance awards which are available to book on any of the airlines within Star Alliance. This gives KrisFlyer members access to award availability on 21 additional airlines that are not also Velocity Frequent Flyer partners! (You can already redeem Velocity points directly for flights on Singapore Airlines, Air Canada, United, South African Airways and ANA, but not on any of the other Star Alliance members.)

This opens up lots more award flight options. For example, you could redeem KrisFlyer miles to fly with Thai Airways in Business Class to Bangkok.

You can even fly Thai Airways all the way to Europe using KrisFlyer miles…

Using the above Thai Airways flights as an example, it would be possible to fly Business Class from Melbourne to Stockholm, Sweden for 132,500 KrisFlyer miles + $87.08 taxes. At the 1.55:1 conversion rate, that’s equivalent to 205,375 Velocity points.

Admittedly, that’s more expensive than the 139,000 Velocity points it would cost for a Velocity Business Reward Seat from Australia to Europe on Qatar Airways or Singapore Airlines. However, if there’s no award availability with a Velocity partner airline on the date you want to fly, this at least gives you another option. Plus, the taxes and charges are much lower when redeeming KrisFlyer miles on Thai Airways compared to redeeming Velocity points!

Access to other partner airline awards

In addition to the Star Alliance carriers, KrisFlyer miles can be redeemed for award travel on Vistara, Alaska Airlines and Juneyao Airlines. Those are three other airlines you can’t redeem Velocity points to book with.

Some redemptions are better value using KrisFlyer miles

Some KrisFlyer redemptions are simply better value than an equivalent Velocity redemption. For example, a Business reward seat from Dubai or Abu Dhabi to most destinations in Europe would currently cost 57,000 Velocity points + taxes and carrier charges, flying Etihad or Qatar Airways. The exact same trip flying Star Alliance airlines costs 33,500 KrisFlyer miles (equivalent to 51,925 Velocity points) + taxes.

It would also be slightly cheaper to book a Virgin Australia reward seat on certain domestic routes such as Adelaide-Cairns or Hobart-Townsville using KrisFlyer miles, compared to redeeming Velocity points for the same seats.

For example, a Business Reward Seat on Virgin Australia from Adelaide to Cairns would cost 35,500 Velocity points + taxes & carrier charges. But the same award would cost 21,000 KrisFlyer miles (worth 32,550 Velocity points) + taxes, and KrisFlyer doesn’t pass on the $11 Velocity carrier charge on Virgin Australia domestic flights.

You can also get some good deals when redeeming KrisFlyer miles for last-minute redemptions during the monthly KrisFlyer Spontaneous Escapes promos.

Access to Singapore Airlines Advantage award availability

If you’d like to use your Velocity points to fly on Singapore Airlines, you’ll have access to the same award availability that is offered to KrisFlyer members as “Saver” awards. But Velocity members can’t access Saver availability if it’s on “waitlist”.

KrisFlyer also offers additional award seats as “Advantage” awards to its own members, which are generally available on more flights but cost more KrisFlyer miles. Velocity members do not have access to Advantage award space at all, so if a flight has no Saver availability then it’s not available to book using Velocity points.

In the above example, the flight shown would not be available to book in Business Class using Velocity points because there is no confirmable “Saver” award availability. However, you could transfer Velocity points to KrisFlyer miles and either waitlist for a Saver award at 68,500 miles or book a confirmed Advantage award for 90,000 miles.

Admittedly, the 139,500 Velocity points you would need to convert to get 90,000 KrisFlyer miles is quite a lot – especially when you consider that a Velocity Business Reward Seat on the Sydney-Singapore route would normally cost just 67,000 Velocity points. But if there are no seats available at all to book through Velocity Frequent Flyer, at least you have another option…

Earlier access to Singapore Airlines Saver awards

Another advantage of holding KrisFlyer miles is that you can book Singapore Airlines awards up to 355 days in advance. This gives you a head start over Velocity members, who can only book reward seats up to 331 days out from departure.

Book Singapore Airlines First Class awards

It’s not currently possible to redeem Velocity points for Singapore Airlines First Class seats, but this is possible using KrisFlyer miles (if there is availability)!

Upgrade on Singapore Airlines flights

Finally, you can use KrisFlyer miles to upgrade Singapore Airlines flights (provided your original booking is in an eligible fare class). Singapore Airlines upgrades are not possible with Velocity points.

Are there any catches?

The main catch is the 1.55:1 transfer rate in both directions. You’ll lose some points with each transfer, so only do this with a particular reward in mind.

Also beware that KrisFlyer miles expire after 3 years. That’s a hard expiry date, and is not extended with account activity.

Finally, while you can redeem your KrisFlyer miles to book flights for yourself and up to five Redemption Nominees, it’s not possible to transfer KrisFlyer miles between accounts (except from a child’s account to their parent, for a fee). It is possible to transfer Velocity points between family members, however, so make sure you complete any necessary family transfers before sending your points to KrisFlyer!

Can you transfer Velocity points to other airlines?

The ability to transfer points between Velocity Frequent Flyer and KrisFlyer is unique to Virgin Australia and Singapore Airlines. It’s not possible to transfer Velocity points into other airline programs. It’s also not possible to transfer Qantas points into Velocity points.

Matt Graham

The editor of Australian Frequent Flyer, Matt's passion for travel has taken him to over 90 countries… with the help of frequent flyer points, of course!
Matt's favourite destinations (so far) are Germany, Brazil & Kazakhstan. His interests include aviation, economics & foreign languages, and he has a soft spot for good food and red wine.

You can connect with Matt by posting on the Australian Frequent Flyer community forum and tagging @AFF Editor.