Last week, Virgin Australia’s Velocity Frequent Flyer program announced a huge range of changes which will take effect over the next year.
These changes will make it harder for most people to earn status with Virgin Australia. But there are some great new perks for the airline’s most frequent (and high-spending) flyers. One of those is the introduction of a brand new “Platinum Plus” tier, sitting above Platinum status within the Velocity program.
Velocity will launch Platinum Plus status on 1 October 2025. This is the same day that it will also introduce its new “Forever Gold” lifetime status tier.
Platinum Plus is Virgin Australia’s answer to Qantas Platinum One status. So, what exactly can Velocity Platinum Plus members expect?
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Velocity Platinum Plus status benefits
Platinum Plus will offer extra perks to Virgin Australia flyers who earn above and beyond what’s required to earn Platinum status. Of course, this will include the usual benefits of Velocity Platinum status, such as:
- Access to Virgin Australia domestic lounges, including 3 guests
- Priority check-in, baggage and boarding
- Complimentary Economy X and preferential seating
- Additional carry-on baggage allowance
- Free Wi-Fi on Virgin Australia flights
- Fly Ahead (except on Economy Lite tickets)
- Economy Reward Seat Guarantee (available once per year, when booking at least six months in advance)
- 100% bonus points on Virgin Australia and selected partner airline flights
- Selected benefits on many of Virgin Australia’s partner airlines
In addition, Velocity Frequent Flyer says that Platinum Plus members will receive the following extra benefits:
- Ability to gift Velocity Platinum status to a friend or family member (this benefit replaces the current benefit for Platinum members who earn extra status credits)
- Option to use the four annual complimentary Business Class upgrades on Economy Choice or Flex fares (Platinum members can only use these on Flex fares)
- Fly Later (the option to move to a later domestic flight on the same day, e.g. if you’re running late to the airport)
- Higher checked baggage allowance of up to 5x 32kg bags (except on Economy Lite tickets)
- Direct access to Australia-based priority phone service
- Access to exclusive events, offers and gifts throughout the year
Platinum Plus members will also be recognised with the “highest priority recognition”. They will have “VIP” printed on their boarding passes.
These are the benefits that have been announced so far. But we expect that Velocity may reveal additional perks before launching Platinum Plus in October 2025.
At this stage, it appears that Platinum Plus members would get the same benefits as Platinum members when travelling with Virgin’s international partner airlines.
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How to earn Platinum Plus status with Virgin Australia
To upgrade to Platinum Plus status with Virgin Australia, you’ll need to earn at least 2,000 status credits within any rolling 12-month period. That’s twice as many status credits as you would to reach Platinum.
In addition, at least 75% of those status credits – a total of 1,500 status credits – will need to be earned from Virgin Australia marketed flights you’ve personally flown. (The remaining 500 status credits could come from things like family pooling, partner airline flights, Flybuys or eligible Velocity credit cards.)
Once you upgrade to Platinum Plus, Velocity will reset the review date on your account. You’ll get to enjoy your privileges for 12 months.
After Velocity changes its system in April 2025 to award status credits based on how much you spend, you’ll earn 1 status credit per $12 spent on Virgin Australia flights. This means you would need to spend at least $24,000 in a year to earn 2,000 status credits. (This assumes you’re not using any double status credit offers.)
Even if you earned 500 of the required status credits through family pooling or partner airlines, you’d still need to spend at least $18,000 on Virgin Australia flights to get 1,500 status credits. That’s quite an ask!
How to maintain Platinum Plus status
To maintain your Platinum Plus tier beyond a year, you’d need to earn another 2,000 status credits (with at least 1,500 from Virgin Australia marketed flights) during your next 12-month membership year. Otherwise, you’ll drop down to Platinum status after your review date.
| Goal | Status credits required (total) | Minimum from VA marketed flights |
|---|---|---|
| Earn Platinum Plus | 2,000 per year | 1,500 per year |
| Renew Platinum Plus | 2,000 per year | 1,500 per year |
Will Platinum Plus be worth it?
On paper, I don’t think the benefits of Platinum Plus really look like they justify an annual spend of at least $24,000 on Virgin Australia flights. The benefits are nice, but are they really that nice?
That said, Virgin may yet reveal more Platinum Plus benefits before the launch. And a lot of the value of Platinum Plus will likely come down to the implementation, particularly by Virgin’s staff on the ground. For example, Platinum Plus members might get an extra welcome or special treatment on board Virgin Australia’s flights – something that many people might value, but that doesn’t have a specific monetary value.
If you’re not already spending this kind of money each year with Virgin Australia, it’s hard to say that it would be worth going out of your way to earn Platinum Plus. But if you’re already close, it might be worth it.
Of course, if you’re already flying enough on Virgin that Platinum Plus is in reach, the extra benefits will no doubt be a nice addition to your flying experience!
But if you could earn Platinum One with Qantas for a similar amount of spend, Qantas Platinum One arguably offers more worthwhile benefits – especially if a lot of your flying is overseas.
Locking in Platinum Plus before Velocity changes its program
On 1 October 2025, Velocity Frequent Flyer will immediately upgrade anyone who will have earned enough status credits in the previous 12-month period to Platinum Plus. This means, if you earn at least 2,000 status credits between 2 October 2024 and 1 October 2025 – with at least 1,500 of those from VA marketed flights – you will instantly get Platinum Plus status.
It’s currently much easier to earn status credits than it will be from next year, as you can earn much more than 1 status credit per $12 spent under the current system. For example, during the current sale, you could book a return Business Class fare from Sydney to Ballina for $438 and earn 110 status credits. That’s an earn rate of around $4 per status credit.
With this in mind, some people might consider booking in a Virgin Australia status run before Velocity changes the way it awards status credits on 2 April 2025.
What do you think of Velocity’s new Platinum Plus tier? Would you go out of your way to earn it? Share your thoughts on the AFF discussion forum!
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