Virgin Australia has reduced the number of Velocity status credits earned on its cheapest Economy Class tickets. But it has also slightly increased the status credits earned on some Business Class fares.
The changes come as Virgin rebrands its fare categories. The new Virgin Australia fare families are:
- Economy Lite replaces Getaway
- Economy Choice replaces Elevate
- Economy Flex replaces Freedom
- Business becomes the only Business Class fare category, with Business Saver & Business merging
These are not just name changes. The new Economy Lite fares also no longer include checked baggage, seat selection and do not count as eligible Virgin Australia sectors for the purpose of earning or maintaining Velocity status.
Status credits are earned per flight sector, and contribute towards a Velocity member’s status tier (Silver, Gold or Platinum) with Virgin Australia.
Velocity Frequent Flyer members continue to earn 5 Velocity points per $1 spent on all Virgin Australia domestic and international short-haul flights.
Changes to domestic Velocity status credit earn rates
This is the new Velocity status credit earn table for domestic flights from the Velocity Frequent Flyer website, as of 19 August 2021:
And this was the previous table for Virgin Australia flights booked until 18 August 2021:
As you can see, the biggest change is a reduction in the amount of status credits earned on the cheapest “Economy Lite” fares. On routes up to 750 miles, like Sydney-Brisbane, Velocity members now earn only 5 status credits instead of 7. On mid-length domestic routes like Adelaide-Alice Springs, the earn rate reduces from 10 to 7 status credits. And on longer domestic flights, Economy Lite tickets now earn 10 status credits instead of 15.
There are no changes to status credit earning rates for Economy Choice/Elevate fares, but Economy Flex fares in zone 2 now earn slightly more status credits than previously was the case with Freedom fares.
Meanwhile, all Business Class tickets will now earn status credits at the higher “Business” rate. There has also been an increase in the number of status credits earned on routes between 751-1,500 miles, with Business Class now earning 80 status credits instead of 60 or 70 status credits.
On most routes, Economy Choice fares are priced only $20 higher than Economy Lite and feature many more inclusions. They also now earn triple the amount of Velocity status credits. So if you’re booking an Economy Class ticket on Virgin Australia, paying the $20 extra for Economy Choice over Economy Lite is a no-brainer!
Changes to trans-Tasman & international short-haul earn rates
Although Virgin Australia is not currently operating any international flights, there have also been changes to the amount of Velocity status credits that will be earned when flights resume to New Zealand, the Pacific Islands and Bali.
Here’s the new table as of 19 August 2021 (note that all flights from Australia to New Zealand fall into Zone 2):
And this was the previous table:
Once again, the new status credit earn tables for international flights result in diminished earnings on Economy Lite tickets. But the earn rates for Business Class are either the same or slightly higher than before.
Join the discussion on the Australian Frequent Flyer forum: New Virgin Australia fare categories
