Virgin Australia’s New Targeted Platinum Status Challenge

Matt Graham
Virgin Australia lounge staff
Velocity Frequent Flyer is inviting recently-downgraded members to win back their status. Photo: Virgin Australia.

Virgin Australia’s Velocity Frequent Flyer program is giving a selected group of members the opportunity to earn back their status by completing a challenge.

Last week, Velocity sent an email to selected frequent flyers who previously held Platinum status but recently downgraded to Gold status. In general, it appears that members who had held Virgin Australia Platinum status for at least several years prior to the COVID-19 pandemic were the target of this offer.

Velocity Frequent Flyer offered multiple status extensions during the pandemic. But these extensions have now come to an end.

What does this Velocity Platinum status challenge involve?

Velocity members who’ve been lucky enough to receive this status challenge offer can upgrade to Platinum status by earning at least 200 status credits within the next three months.

These status credits must be earned on Virgin Australia-operated flights. There is no requirement to complete a minimum number of sectors.

Virgin Australia Boeing 737-800
This status challenge can be completed by flying on Virgin Australia. Photo: Virgin Australia

To earn Virgin Australia Platinum status from scratch, you would normally need to earn 1,000 status credits and fly at least 8 eligible Virgin Australia sectors within 12 months.

Other status challenges that might be available to you

This particular new status challenge is an exclusive offer for Velocity members who received an email last week. Unfortunately, it is not available to the general public.

But there is a public status challenge available via Virgin Australia Business Flyer. Businesses that join Virgin Australia Business Flyer and spend at least $2,000 on flights within the first three months can nominate two people for Pilot Gold membership.

This gives nominees the benefits of Velocity Gold status for three months. It also grants the opportunity to extend the Gold status for another year by earning 80 status credits and taking at least one Virgin Australia flight.

Qantas Frequent Flyer also offers an unadvertised “Tier Accelerator” status match challenge. This is available to frequent flyers who already hold status with competing airlines including Virgin Australia and Singapore Airlines. Qantas may offer this Gold status challenge, on a case-by-case basis, if you contact the Qantas Frequent Flyer Service Centre to request it.

Join the discussion on the Australian Frequent Flyer forum
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.
Matt Graham
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vmile Aug 11, 2023 #1

Hi Scarlett, I too received a "exclusive Status challenge to get back to Platinum",
fly 200 SC earn between 9 August and 9 November (3 months). New or existing bookings. No apparent sector credit requirement.
This past year I let my Platinum slide back to Gold, and concentrated on requalifying my wife's status to Gold. Booked a kind of status run last December (3 sectors out 2 back) in J, family pool the SCs, should have enabled my Wife's requalification to Gold (4 Sectors 400 SC).
However the wheels fell of that plan, when on our out flights, two flights were cancelled and we were sent on a direct flight. So missing Status Credits and missing Sector Credits (3 instead of 5, and you need 4 to requalify).
Getting the original Routing Credits has been an ongoing nightmare.That is still not resolved. Emails are basically ignored. You are required to ring. The Manila (I assume) call centre is not good. Platinum line help appears to now be gone in VA 2.0.
And good luck trying to get someone to sort Sector Credits out.
So with the recent Double Status Credit offer I have booked another Status run (September) which would get my wife to Platinum using the 12 month rolling qualification. So one of us would have Platinum, and we usually fly together.
Now this offer pops up out of nowhere.
The already booked status run in September will earn me 85 Status Credits (Bonus points do not count for the Status Challange). 115 Status Credits short. Sydney based, a J return Melbourne trip would only earn me 110 SCs, still 5 short. So an extra flight.
Is Platinum worth it?- access to help when you need it is nothing like it was. Benefits with Overseas partner airlines are diminished.
I am not feeling the love at the moment, and I really do not know what to do.

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oz_mark Aug 11, 2023 #2

I have heard of a few people that received this. Unfortunately, I was not one of them.

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Scarlett Aug 11, 2023 #3

I have heard of a few people that received this. Unfortunately, I was not one of them.

I guess they have been very targeted; likely to those they have identified may already be going to qualify anyway.

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oz_mark Aug 11, 2023 #4

I guess they have been very targeted; likely to those they have identified may already be going to qualify anyway.

I guess it was tragetted, but others I know were'nt on any track to requalify. Just had been platinum pretty much from the beginning of platinum

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Scarlett Aug 11, 2023 #5

In my case at least, this is why I think they’ve been particularly smart. They’ve got me to spend more $ with VA because the status challenge is for a defined period a couple of months before my requalification date. They can already see that I have forward bookings that will likely get me back to WP so what they’ll be giving to me is a status upgrade early which I’m paying for.

So, why did I react quickly to this offer? Mostly because I have a brief window where I can get away from work so I have the opportunity to do something. The other reason is that I had planned to spread the family pooled SCs from forward bookings later in the year to requal both Mrs Scarlett and I as SG. With the offer I’ll now requal WP, AND I can direct all of the future bookings to Mrs S, so she’ll go mighty close / likely achieve getting WP as well.

I consider this not only useful for 2024 where we’ll both likely be WP, but also for 2025 as we’ve now got guaranteed soft landing to SG.

So, well played VFF. I’ve just booked DPS-OOL-SYD-ADL in J to spend a week in SA. That gets me the 200SC to meet the requirements of the status challenge in one hit. During the trip I’ll login and switch around family pooling so the SC from the return leg ADL-SYD-DPS will be sent to Mrs S.

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H Howie50 Aug 14, 2023 #6

I am a recipient of the Platinum status challenge, but I made the conscious decision to funnel my energy to my Qatar Platinum so I effectively have both QF (currently lifetime Gold) & VA covered. Not flying as much as I did and this strategy seems to work the best. Anyone else doing similar?

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c cssaus Aug 14, 2023 #7

I too received the targeted email.

I'm bit confused by one of the requirements that says apart from the flight having to be operated by VA (which is pretty self-explanatory), it requires the flight to be marketed by VA. Does this mean I can only purchase the ticket on the VA website or can I purchase the ticket through a TA or online with say AMEX travel?

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BCons Aug 14, 2023 #8

You're not Robinson Crusoe.. seem to be quite a few of us. Problem for me is a big oseas trip right in the middle of the qualifying 3 month period. We are going with SQ and first/last legs are with VA, so I guess I get these recorded under my velocity number. So thats halfway to 200 SCs.

But I'll hv to think if an extra domestic J return (to get the rest of the SCs) is worth it. As one who flies J much more often than Y, there not a huge amount of upside from gold to plat domestically. Already hv Star alliance gold thanks to SQ status and I'd fly SQ before EY, so that negates Flounge access.

But there's always the vanity factor, a big ticket item that one!

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A Ade Aug 14, 2023 #9

can I purchase the ticket through a TA or online with say AMEX travel?

I'd say it won't matter where you purchase the ticket from. As long as your VFF number is in the booking, you will qualify.

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oz_mark Aug 14, 2023 #10

I too received the targeted email.

I'm bit confused by one of the requirements that says apart from the flight having to be operated by VA (which is pretty self-explanatory), it requires the flight to be marketed by VA. Does this mean I can only purchase the ticket on the VA website or can I purchase the ticket through a TA or online with say AMEX travel?

It means you need to be booked on a VA number, not a codeshare number. It needs to be a VA flight number (marketed), on a VA aircraft (operated)

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