The Velocity Frequent Flyer program offers a wide range of ways to earn and redeem points, including flights with Virgin Australia starting from 6,200 points. But some rewards are worth a lot more than others.
So if you’ve jumped through hoops to collect 100,000 Velocity Points, here are the best ways to use them based on the value you can get for your points in 5 key rewards categories. You can also check out Finder's Velocity Frequent Flyer guide for more information on how the program works.
What are some of the most rewarding ways to use 100,000 Velocity Points?
From flights and upgrades to gift cards and shopping sprees, compare some of the ways you can redeem your Velocity Points below.
Reward flights
With 100,000 Velocity Points, you have your pick of many domestic and international flight options, including first and business class options. You can redeem points for flights with 9 different airlines. But flights with Virgin Australia, Virgin Atlantic and United offer the most value.
Here, we’ve outlined some international and domestic flight options you could enjoy with 100,000 points. These are based on the Velocity websites points tables and arranged by lowest to highest point requirements.
International flights you could get with 100,000 Velocity Points
Flight
Fare class
One-way or return?
Points
Adelaide, Brisbane, Sydney or Gold Coast to Auckland with Virgin Australia
Business
Return
71,000 points
Brisbane, Melbourne or Sydney to Singapore with Singapore Airlines
First
One-way
95,000 points
Brisbane, Melbourne or Sydney to Los Angeles with United or Virgin Atlantic
Economy
Return
89,600 points
Brisbane, Melbourne or Sydney to Los Angeles with United or Virgin Atlantic
Business
One-way
95,500 points
Perth to Auckland with Virgin Australia
Business
Return
99,000 points
Source: Velocity website, 29 June 2023
Domestic flights you can take with 100,000 Velocity Points
Flight
Fare class
Points per flight
Number of flights for 100,000 points
Melbourne to Sydney
Economy Tier 1
6,200 points
16 flights (total 99,200 points)
Brisbane or Melbourne to Sydney
Business
15,500 points
6 flights (total 93,000 points)
Brisbane, Melbourne or Sydney to Perth
Economy Tier 2
17,800 points
5 flights (total 89,000 points)
Sydney to Adelaide
Business
23,500 points
4 flights (total 94,000 points)
Brisbane, Melbourne or Sydney to Perth
Business
35,500 points
2 flights (total 71,000 points)
Source: Velocity website, 29 June 2023
How can I redeem flights with Velocity Points?
Follow these steps to use your Velocity Points for a flight or flights:
Log in to your Velocity account.
Click on “Redeem”, “Flights” and then “Book a flight”. This will take you to a search page for reward seats.
Make sure “Use Points + Pay” is selected, enter the flight details and click “Find flights”.
Browse the available options and click on your chosen flight or flights, then follow the prompts to complete your booking.
Alternatively, you can make your booking by calling the Membership Contact Centre on 13 18 75. Note that if you don’t have enough points to pay for the entire flight, you can also buy points to make up the difference or use a combination of points and cash.
Flight upgrades
Using your points for flight upgrades gives you the opportunity to move into a higher cabin class without paying more in cash. Depending on the upgrade, this could give you access to benefits including:
Priority services (check-in, baggage, security screening and boarding)
Priority in-flight service
Larger seats
Additional baggage
In-flight a la carte dining
Velocity Lounge access
Flat-bed seats
With Velocity’s UpgradeMe Points service, your options for requesting a flight upgrade using points depend on your flight route and Velocity Membership status. The amount of points you need also depends on miles flown and your existing fare class, so we’ve outlined the different flight options below.
Domestic flights
If you’re booked on a Choice or Flex fare, you can request an upgrade to business class on domestic flights operated by Virgin Australia with a VA flight number. With 100,000 Velocity Points to spend, you have a lot of options. But upgrades on longer flights offer the most value because they give you more time to enjoy the business class perks.
This makes domestic flights to and from Perth a popular upgrade choice. For example, if you were flying between Perth and Sydney, Melbourne or Brisbane, here's how many upgrades you could get based on your fare class.
Choice fare upgrades. 30,000 points per upgrade = 3 upgrades for a total of 90,000 points.
Flex fare upgrades. 9,900 points per upgrade = 10 upgrades for 99,000 points.
With the difference between economy and business class fares often worth hundreds of dollars, these upgrades could help you save a lot of money if you regularly travel between Perth and other capital cities.
International short-haul flights
You can request an upgrade to business class when you have a Choice or Flex fare on an eligible international short-haul flight operated by Virgin Australia with a VA flight number. Here are some examples of how far 100,000 Velocity Points could go:
Flight
Existing fare class
Points to upgrade to business class
No. of upgrades with 100,000 Velocity Points
Brisbane to Tokyo (Haneda)
Choice
40,000 points one-way
2 (totalling 80,000 points)
Perth to Auckland
Choice
24,000 points one-way
4 (totalling 96,000 points)
Melbourne to Bali (Denpasar)
Choice
24,000 points one-way
4 (totalling 96,000 points)
Brisbane, Sydney or Melbourne to Auckland
Choice
16,000 points
6 (totalling 96,000 points)
Brisbane, Sydney or Melbourne to Auckland
Flex
9,900 points
10 (totalling 99,000 points)
Source: Velocity website, 29 June 2023
3 things to know about Velocity flight upgrades
Velocity Frequent Flyer doesn't currently offer upgrade options for international long-haul flights.
If you have platinum Velocity status, you get 4 complimentary upgrade credits per year for eligible domestic and short-haul international flights operated by Virgin Australia.
You can also bid for an upgrade on eligible flights using the UpgradeMe Premium Bid service
Hotels and accommodation
As long as you have a minimum of 2,000 points, you can use your Velocity Points to pay for accommodation bookings with over 550,000 properties around the world via virginaustralia.com/au/hotels/. The number of points required varies depending on the hotel, the time of the booking and date/s you want to stay.
But to give you an idea of the potential options you’d have with 100,000 points, here are some examples of where you could stay for a one-night booking on Friday 26 May 2023. We’ve also included the cost if you booked your one-night stay with 2,000 points plus cash to show you the potential dollar value.
Location
Hotel
Cost in points
Points plus pay cost
Gold Coast, AU
Sheraton Grand Mirage Resort
89,300 points
$524 plus 2,000 points
Melbourne, AU
Crown Towers Melbourne
99,200 points
$584 plus 2,000 points
Sydney, AU
InterContinental Sydney Double Bay
91,300 points
$536 plus 2,000 points
Los Angeles, USA
Cal Mar Hotel Suites
98,300 points
$578 plus 2,000 points
London, UK
Residence Inn London Bridge
99,500 points
$585 plus 2,000 points
Paris, FR
Hotel Le Ballu
99,000 points
$582 plus 2,000 points
Source: Velocity website, 15 May 2023 Although there are some differences in the value of these rewards, each of your points would be worth between 0.65 cents to 0.66 cents per point (based on the “cost in cash” amounts). It’s also worth noting that we’ve selected some of the most expensive hotels. Depending on your travel plans and budget, you could get anywhere from 1-3 nights away by using your points for hotel bookings.
How to redeem Velocity Points for accommodation bookings
Here are the steps to make a booking through the Velocity Hotels service:
Log in to your Velocity account.
Go go https://www.virginaustralia.com/au/hotels/.
Choose "Redeem Velocity Points" in the search box, enter your travel plans and search for accommodation. Note that you can sort the search results based on points, deals or ratings.
Select your chosen accommodation and follow the prompts to complete the booking.
Earning more points for your Velocity hotel booking
If you pay with a combination of points and cash, you’ll also earn Velocity points on the cash part of the payment. You could also maximise your points by paying the cash portion with a Velocity credit card.
Other travel rewards
Velocity also allows you to redeem your points for car hire with partners including Thrifty, Hertz and Europcar. With 100,000 Velocity Points, here are some options you could get:
A 2-day Europcar premium car rental from Sydney airport for 90,900 points, worth $530.26 compared to paying for hire
A 5-day Thrifty economy car rental from Gold Coast airport for 91,100 points, worth $546.20 compared to paying for hire
A 3-day Hertz economy car rental between Melbourne and Sydney for 92,600 points and $361.35 in cash, worth $916.18 compared to paying for hire
Source: Velocity website, 29 June 2023. Point values were compared based on car makes, models and companies to get a dollar value comparison.
How to use Velocity Points for car hire
Log in to your Velocity account.
Go to https://www.virginaustralia.com/au/car-hire/.
Enter the required details and choose "Use points" before completing the search.
Select your preferred rental and follow the prompts to complete the booking.
Shopping and cashback options
If you’re not currently interested in travel and don’t want to save your points, you could also use them to buy items or gift cards from the Velocity Rewards Store. With 100,000 Velocity Points to play with, here are some of your options:
*Points and items based on search from 15 May 2023
Note that products do vary depending on when you want to redeem your points. But the points pricing for items also includes delivery, so you won’t have to pay more if you already have enough points in your account.
How to use points on the Velocity Rewards Store
To redeem your points for items on the Velocity store, just log into your account and follow these steps:
Select “Redeem” then “Velocity Rewards Store”.
Browse the range of items available or search for your chosen reward.
Select the reward and follow the prompts to complete your redemption.
Once you’ve completed the redemption process, you should receive your reward item/s in 14 business days.
How much is 100,000 Velocity Points worth?
Based on the rewards examples in this guide, a Velocity Point is typically worth between 0.52 cents and 8 cents. So 100,000 Velocity Points is worth around $520 and $8,000.
If you have a different amount of Velocity Points, you can also get an estimate of the value using Finder's points to dollars calculator.
What else do I need to know about using Velocity Points?
To make the most of your Velocity Points, keep these details in mind:
Availability. Flights, flight upgrades, hotel bookings and most other rewards are subject to availability. This means there could be times when you won’t be able to use points to get the rewards you want. Planning ahead and leaving some room for flexibility can help you get the most out of your points.
Taxes and airfare fees. There may be taxes and additional fees that add to the cost of your rewards flight bookings. These are not automatically factored into the points you need for a flight but you can usually use points to pay for them (if you have enough). Just bear this in mind so you’re not caught short when you’re booking.
Point value. The dollar value of your points can vary significantly depending on what you use them for. Flights and flight upgrades usually offer the greatest value, although this can also depend on availability and demand. Remember to consider this and choose rewards that offer value based on your goals and needs.
Points + Pay. For reward flights, hotels, holiday packages and many other rewards, you have the option of using a combination of points and cash. This could help you get rewards you want that may be worth more than 100,000 points.
Buying points. If you don’t have enough points for your reward, another option is to buy them. The cost starts from $18 for 500 points and you can buy up to 20% of the points you need for a reward. Velocity lets you use this option a maximum of two times per year.
Point expiry. Remember that Velocity Points stay valid as long as you earn or redeem them at least once every 24 months. So if there isn’t anything you need right now, you could save your 100,000 Velocity Points for future rewards.
In general, you’ll get the most financial value from Velocity Points when you use them for flights or flight upgrades. But there can also be value in using points to pay for other travel plans or items that you want, especially if you don’t quite have enough cash on hand. So when you’re thinking about how to use 100,000 Velocity Points, factoring in both the dollar value and the convenience of specific rewards will help you get the most out of them.
We update our data regularly, but information can change between updates. Confirm details with the provider you're interested in before making a decision.
Amy Bradney-George is the senior writer for credit cards at Finder, and editorial lead for Finder Green. She has over 14 years’ experience as a journalist, with a particular focus on personal finance, and has been featured in publications including ABC News, Money Magazine and The Sydney Morning Herald.
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