If you have Silver, Gold or Platinum status with Virgin Australia’s Velocity Frequent Flyer program, you can access lots of benefits when flying Virgin Australia.

You can also receive an assortment of reciprocal status benefits when flying with Virgin Australia’s partner airlines.

Virgin Australia’s maze of bilateral airline partnerships

As Virgin Australia is not part of an alliance, it has created its own bilateral partnerships with around a dozen international airlines. These bilateral partnerships seem to work well for Velocity Frequent Flyer. The downside for frequent flyers is that each partner airline offers completely different benefits to Velocity Silver, Gold and Platinum members.

For example, no lounge access is available when flying on All Nippon Airways (ANA). But Velocity members can receive priority check-in, priority baggage and an extra baggage allowance when flying ANA – all benefits that are not offered when flying Air Canada. Makes sense, eh? 😉

By contrast, Qantas Frequent Flyer members receive consistent status recognition and benefits when flying with any airline that’s a member of the Oneworld alliance. Airlines that are part of the Star Alliance or SkyTeam alliances also (generally) offer reciprocal status recognition and benefits to frequent flyers of any other alliance member.

Because of this inconsistency, Velocity Frequent Flyer members are often a bit confused about what they’re entitled to when flying with each of the program’s different partner airlines. So, we’ve put together this guide that explains exactly what benefits are available to Velocity Silver, Gold and Platinum members when flying on partners.

Velocity Frequent Flyer partner airlines

These are the partner airlines of the Velocity Frequent Flyer program:

Although they are partners, note that Velocity doesn’t quite have full frequent flyer partnerships with FlyPelican or Link Airways. You can earn Velocity points and get Virgin Australia Lounge access with some FlyPelican and Link Airways tickets, but that’s about it. There are some additional benefits for Velocity members flying Link Airways, but those only apply if you’ve booked a VA-marketed codeshare flight.

Unfortunately, Hawaiian Airlines does not provide any status benefits to Velocity members. Virgin Australia’s partnership with Hawaiian Airlines purely covers earning and redeeming Velocity points & earning status credits.

Overview of Velocity Silver, Gold & Platinum benefits by airline

Most of the extra status benefits offered by Virgin Australia’s partner airlines are reserved for Gold and Platinum Velocity members. That said, there are a few perks offered to Silver members when flying on some partner airlines as well.

It’s worth noting that the difference between partner airline benefits for Velocity Gold and Platinum members is minimal. The main benefits that Velocity Platinum members receive over Gold members are access to the Etihad Airways First Class lounge in Abu Dhabi and access to the Virgin Atlantic “Revivals” arrival lounge at London Heathrow Airport. (Those are at least two very good benefits!)

Below, you’ll find a complete list of the status benefits offered on each partner airline in alphabetical order. You’ll find a summary of all the partner airline benefits at the bottom of this article.

You can also check the partner airline pages on the Velocity Frequent Flyer website for a list of status benefits with each airline. (On each of the individual partner airline pages, open the “Earn Status Credits” tab and scroll down to find the list of elite benefits.)

Earn bonus Velocity points on selected partner airlines

You can earn Velocity points and status credits when flying any of Virgin Australia’s partner airlines, regardless of your status tier. Tiered Velocity frequent flyers can also earn bonus points – 50% for Silver members, 75% for Gold members or 100% for Platinum members – when flying with:

• Air Canada
• All Nippon Airways (ANA)
• Etihad Airways (10%, 25% or 50% bonus points)
• Qatar Airways
• Singapore Airlines
• United Airlines

Here’s an overview of the other extra benefits available to Velocity Frequent Flyer members with status when travelling on each partner carrier…

Velocity status benefits when flying Air Canada

The only elite status benefit available to Velocity Gold and Platinum members on Air Canada is lounge access. This is for the member and up to one guest including children.

Unfortunately, access is only available to Maple Leaf lounges operated by Air Canada. None of these are located in Australia, which means no lounge access is provided when flying Air Canada in Economy or Premium Economy from Australia to Vancouver. But Maple Leaf lounges are available at major Canadian airports, as well as selected US airports, London and Frankfurt.

Velocity status benefits when flying All Nippon Airways (ANA)

All Nippon Airways (ANA) is Virgin Australia’s newest partner airline. At this stage, the following benefits are available to Velocity members:

• Priority check-in (Gold & Platinum)
• Priority baggage (Gold & Platinum)
• Additional baggage allowance of 1 extra bag, up to 23kg in Economy or 32kg in Business/First (Gold & Platinum)

This partnership does not currently include any lounge access. You might wish to use Priority Pass lounges instead when flying with ANA.

Velocity status benefits on Capital Airlines, Hainan Airlines, Hong Kong Airlines & Tianjin Airlines

The benefits available to Velocity members on Hong Kong Airlines, Hainan Airlines, Tianjin Airlines and Beijing Capital Airlines – which all share common ownership – are identical. These are:

• Priority check-in (Silver, Gold & Platinum)
• Additional baggage allowance (Silver, Gold & Platinum)
• Priority boarding (Gold & Platinum)

You can earn Velocity points and status credits when flying with these Chinese airlines. But is not currently possible to redeem Velocity points for Reward Seats on any of these carriers.

Velocity status benefits when flying Etihad Airways

Etihad Airways recently removed priority boarding and the additional baggage allowance for Velocity Silver members.

Here’s a full list of the current benefits for Velocity members on Etihad:

• Priority boarding (Gold & Platinum)
• Additional baggage allowance (15kg for Gold or 20kg for Platinum)
• Priority baggage (Gold & Platinum)
• Priority check-in through Business Class counter (Gold & Platinum)
• Lounge access plus one guest, including children (Gold & Platinum)
• Access to Etihad Airways First Class lounge in Abu Dhabi (Platinum only)

Gold and Platinum members have access to Etihad Airways lounges, as well as Etihad’s contract lounges at out-stations. This includes access to The House (Aspire) lounges in Sydney and Melbourne. The full list of locations is on the Etihad website.

Velocity status benefits when flying Qatar Airways

The benefits when travelling with Qatar Airways are:

• Priority check-in (Silver, Gold & Platinum)
• Priority boarding (Gold & Platinum)
• Lounge access (Gold & Platinum)

Velocity Gold and Platinum members can access Qatar Airways operated lounges, as well as third-party lounges where available. See the Qatar Airways website for a full list of lounges. They can also bring in up to one guest, including children.

At the Qatar Airways lounges in Doha (only), up to two additional children aged 2-11 are also permitted as guests. In Doha, Velocity Platinum members use the Qatar Airways Platinum Lounge while Gold members get the Qatar Airways Gold Lounge.

In Australia, eligible Qatar Airways passengers can use the following lounges:

• Adelaide – Virgin Australia Lounge
• Brisbane – Air New Zealand Lounge
• Melbourne – Marhaba Lounge
• Perth – Air New Zealand Lounge
• Sydney – Air New Zealand Lounge

Velocity status benefits when flying Singapore Airlines

Velocity Gold and Platinum members get the following benefits when flying with Singapore Airlines:

• Priority boarding (Group 3)
• Additional baggage allowance (15kg for Gold or 20kg for Platinum)
• Priority baggage
• Singapore Airlines lounge access plus one guest, including children

Eligible Velocity members can access the KrisFlyer Gold lounges at Singapore Changi Airport and Singapore Airlines SilverKris Lounges, where available, at other airports. However, no lounge access is available at airports without a Singapore Airlines-operated lounge. Also note that the KrisFlyer Gold lounge in Singapore is not as good as the SilverKris Lounge which is reserved for Business Class passengers.

In Australia, Singapore Airlines operates its own lounges in Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney. But no lounge access is provided to Velocity Gold or Platinum members when flying Economy or Premium Economy out of Adelaide, Cairns or Darwin.

Velocity status benefits flying South African Airways

The following perks are available with South African Airways:

• Priority check-in (Silver, Gold & Platinum)
• Priority boarding (Gold & Platinum)
• Priority baggage (Gold & Platinum)
• Additional checked baggage (23kg for Silver & Gold in Economy, 32kg for Platinum in Economy, or 32kg for all tiers in Business)
• Access to South African Airways operated lounges plus one guest (including children)

South African Airways lounges are located in Johannesburg, Cape Town, Durban and Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth), where the airline recently renovated its lounge.

Velocity status benefits with United Airlines

Virgin Australia has partnered with United Airlines since 2022. United offers the same benefits to Velocity Gold and Platinum members:

• Additional baggage allowance (one bag up to 23kg)
• Priority check-in
• Priority boarding
• Priority baggage
• Priority security (where available)
• Lounge access plus one guest, including children (excludes domestic flights)

United welcomes Gold and Platinum members into United Club lounges, but only in conjunction with a same-day international ticket. Lounge access is not available when travelling on a wholly domestic itinerary. United also doesn’t provide access to third-party lounges that are not operated by United Airlines.

There are exceptions in Sydney and Melbourne, where Velocity Gold and Platinum members flying in United Economy or Premium Economy can access the Singapore Airlines SilverKris Lounge. But there’s no lounge access in, for example, Brisbane or Auckland.

Velocity status benefits when flying Virgin Atlantic

The following benefits are available to Velocity members flying UK-based Virgin Atlantic:

• Priority check-in (Premium Economy counter for Silver, or Upper Class counter for Gold & Platinum)
• Priority boarding (Gold & Platinum)
• Priority baggage (Gold & Platinum)
• Priority security screening at London Heathrow Airport (Gold & Platinum)
• Access to Virgin Atlantic Club lounges, with one guest including children (Gold & Platinum)
• Access to Virgin Atlantic’s Revivals Lounge on arrival in London Heathrow (Platinum only)

Lounge access is generally available to Gold and Platinum members at airports with Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse lounges. But access to the Clubhouse at London Heathrow is no longer provided when travelling in Economy or Premium Economy. Instead, Velocity Gold and Platinum members are sent to the inferior Club Aspire lounge. This change follows Virgin Atlantic joining the SkyTeam alliance.

Velocity status benefits when flying Link Airways (VA codeshares only)

Velocity Gold and Platinum members can use Virgin Australia’s lounges when flying with Link Airways, but only when booked on a VA marketed codeshare flight. Silver, Gold and Platinum members can also get an additional checked bag, but again, this only applies when booking the VA codeshare.

There are no Velocity status benefits on tickets bought directly from Link Airways. However, separately to the Velocity program, Link Airways does provide Virgin Australia Lounge access on departure if you have a Link Airways Freedom or Flexible ticket.

Summary: Table of benefits by partner airline

The following table summarises the status benefits afforded to Velocity members when flying with each partner airline:

Key:

Status tier
Velocity Silver
Velocity Gold
Velocity Platinum

Want to learn more about Velocity’s partner airlines?

Australian Frequent Flyer will host a webinar on 18 September 2024 which will demystify Virgin Australia’s airline partnerships even further! Click here to learn more about AFF Webinars.

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.