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?
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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 that 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 25 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 20 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.
Or, you could fly Turkish Airlines all the way to Istanbul…
Using the above Turkish Airlines flight as an example, it would cost 101,500 KrisFlyer miles + $870.89 in taxes & charges to fly from Australia to Türkiye in Business Class. At the 1.55:1 conversion rate, that’s equivalent to 157,325 Velocity points.
Admittedly, that’s more expensive than the 139,000 Velocity points it would cost for a Velocity Business Reward Seat from Melbourne to Istanbul on Qatar Airways or Singapore Airlines. However, if there’s no availability with a Velocity partner airline on the date you want to fly, this at least gives you another option.
Access to other partner airline awards
In addition to the Star Alliance carriers, KrisFlyer miles can be redeemed for award travel on the following airlines that are not Velocity partners:
- Alaska Airlines
- Juneyao Airlines
- Garuda Indonesia (between Singapore and Indonesia only)
- Malaysia Airlines (selected routes in Economy only)
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 western Europe would currently cost 74,000 Velocity points + taxes and carrier charges, flying Qatar Airways. The exact same trip flying Star Alliance airlines costs 33,500 KrisFlyer miles (equivalent to 51,925 Velocity points) + taxes & charges.
It could 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. However, for Economy redemptions, this would depend which tier of Velocity Reward Seat pricing is being sold on a given flight.
As an example, a Business Reward Seat on Virgin Australia from Adelaide to Cairns would cost 35,500 Velocity points + taxes & carrier charges. The same award would cost 21,000 KrisFlyer miles (worth 32,550 Velocity points) + taxes when booking through the KrisFlyer program. KrisFlyer doesn’t pass on Velocity’s $11 carrier charge on Virgin Australia domestic flight redemptions, either.
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
Velocity members can access some of Singapore Airlines’ Saver award availability by booking directly on the Virgin Australia website. But Singapore Airlines reserves a subset of Saver availability for its own KrisFlyer members, and Velocity members can’t access KrisFlyer’s “waitlist” option.
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.
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 KrisFlyer miles or book a confirmed Advantage award for 90,000 KrisFlyer 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 74,000 Velocity points. But if there are no seats available at all to book through Velocity Frequent Flyer, at least you have another option…
Yet another “advantage” of KrisFlyer Advantage awards is that you can add a free stopover on one-way bookings.
This AFF thread discusses the option of transferring Velocity points to KrisFlyer to book Singapore Airlines flights in more detail.
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.
Lower carrier charges on Singapore Airlines flights
When you redeem Velocity points for Singapore Airlines flights, Velocity adds a carrier charge of USD40-200 per flight, in addition to the third-party taxes. Those carrier charges do not apply when you use KrisFlyer miles to book Singapore Airlines flights, so you’ll pay a lower co-payment.
Even if you’d end up paying slightly more Velocity points to book a Singapore Airlines flight by first converting your points to KrisFlyer, you may save hundreds of dollars in carrier charges. So, you might be better off overall.
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.
Great Credit Cards for Earning KrisFlyer Miles
- Card Name
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- Card Name
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on everyday purchases
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 convert Qantas points into Velocity 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 the majority 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.
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