Velocity Frequent Flyer’s twice-annual bonus on point transfers is back for the month of May! Virgin Australia is offering up to 40% bonus Velocity points when transferring from 8 credit card rewards programs in May. During the Velocity Transfer Bonanza promotion, you can also earn 20% bonus Velocity points when transferring points from Flybuys, ANZ Rewards and hotel loyalty programs.
The Velocity Travel Bonanza promotion was widely anticipated. Virgin typically offers a bonus when transferring points to Velocity Frequent Flyer every May and November. But this month’s promotion is a little more generous than usual.
Up to 40% bonus Velocity points are available when transferring points from 8 credit card rewards programs during May 2018:
- American Express
- NAB
- Citibank
- Bank of Queensland
- Suncorp Bank
- HSBC
- Diners Club
- Card Services
When transferring points earned through any of these banks’ credit cards, the bonus amount is tiered. The more points transferred, the higher the bonus amount. The bonus is calculated on each individual conversion, and not an accumulated total. Here’s what you’ll earn:
During May’s Velocity Travel Bonanza promotion, you’ll also earn a flat 20% bonus on all points converted to Velocity points from Flybuys, ANZ Rewards and selected hotel loyalty programs. Participating hotel partners include:
- Accor Le Club
- Hilton Honors
- Starwood Preferred Guest (SPG)
- IHG Rewards Club
- Choice Privileges
- Shangri-La Golden Circle
CommBank Awards, Westpac Altitude and St George Amplify are not participating in this month’s Velocity Transfer Bonanza.
If you have a stack of Flybuys points, there’s some more good news! Normally, it is only possible to convert up to 138,000 Flybuys points to Velocity points each year. This limit has been removed for the month of May. So, with a record 20% bonus points on offer and no transfer limit, now is the time to convert those Flybuys points! Until Etihad Guest transfers return, transferring to Velocity is the only way to get more than 0.5 cents worth of value from Flybuys points.
The Velocity Transfer Bonanza is a good deal. But before transferring your points, you should have a specific plan of how you will spend them. There are only 13 Velocity partner airlines, and there is no option to reverse the transfer if you find you can’t find suitable reward flights.
Even if you do have a specific reward in mind, you should still consider whether you’ll get better value elsewhere. For example, it costs 278,000 Velocity points to fly to Europe in Singapore Airlines Business class. But the same reward costs only 210,000 miles if you use the Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer program. If your credit card or hotel points normally transfer to Velocity and KrisFlyer at the same rates, you would only be getting a better deal by transferring to Velocity with the 40% bonus.
Join the discussion on the Australian Frequent Flyer forum: Don’t transfer points (Velocity Email)
