Tag Archives: virgin australia velocity

Flight Review: Etihad Business Class, Perth – Abu Dhabi

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Not only Hummingbirds can fly backwards, you can too if you fly on Etihad’s Dreamliner service from Perth to Abu Dhabi.  The business class configuration has some seats facing backwards and others facing forwards.  I normally dislike facing backwards on a bus or train but I still wanted to try it out in the air.  We didn’t have enough Velocity points to go all the way from BNE-AUH so I booked the cheaper PER-AUH flight (thankfully before the huge surcharges were added) using Velocity and added a BNE-PER segment using 10k AA miles each.  At time of posting, this flight costs 78k Velocity points + $358 in surcharges.  I only paid $105 in taxes.

At PER, we had access to the Qantas lounge.  They had a nice selection of food and drink and it was a nice lounge.

Soon enough it was time to board.  Although I heard rumours of some cool boarding music we didn’t get any. 

Now you can see the layout with some seats facing forwards and some facing backwards.

Here’s my seat, very comfortable as one may expect. 

The top of my husband’s head in a forward facing seat.

Of course I chose the champagne!

The amenity kits have the usual amenities and are themed by some of Etihad’s destinations.  I got Melbourne (blue one) and my husband got New York (black & yellow).  I later asked for the Abu Dhabi one and was told they were out but they brought me a Bangkok one as consolation.

I always take the opportunity to watch Bollywood or Arabic films with English subtitles as I can get English feature films any time.

The FA’s came around frequently with the champagne.

I kept the party going at dinner time and went with the Arabic mezze and lamb biryani.

Sunset

Time to sleep!

Almost there!

Midnight arrival at AUH.  Passport and customs were a breeze with dedicated express lane and no visa required for Aussies.

Of course we had to try out the Arrivals Lounge so my husband could get a shave!  Unfortunately no perks for ladies, a facial would have been nice.

We were lucky to have the free chauffeur-driven car benefit as they did away with this little goodie for award tickets shortly after I booked our seats.  I gave them the address of the Holiday Inn in Dubai and off we went!

6000 Velocity Points With Midas Car Service

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The Midas promo is back and almost as good as before.  I got 10,000 points 2 years ago and my car is so sparingly used, it doesn’t really need another one or I would go for this.  6000 points is still pretty good for something most car owners do at least once a year.  This is a good one to combine with the free 1000 points new member bonus if you aren’t already a member.

DETAILS

*From 14 March 2017 to 21 April 2017, Velocity members can earn a bonus 6,000 Points on all vehicle services at Midas*! From 22nd April 2017, Velocity members will revert to the base earn 2 Points per $1 spent on all vehicle maintenance, maintenance services and Manufacturers Logbook Services. Service definitions are found at midas.com.au/car-service and midas.com.au/logbook-service.

The following additional maintenance service items are eligible for Velocity Points earn if deemed to be required and are additional to the service package: Brake fluid flush, Coolant system flush, Power steering flush, Transmission flush.

The following repair items are not eligible for Velocity Points earn: Brake parts, Exhaust parts, Drivetrain parts, Engine parts, Body parts, Suspension parts, Electrical parts, Climate control parts, Steering parts, Tyres and Non-related service labour.

Velocity members can book an eligible service by calling 13 MIDAS (64 32), booking online at midas.com.au or in any Midas Service Centre. Velocity Points will be loaded within 7 days of the completed service.

To earn and redeem Velocity Points, you must be a Velocity member. Velocity membership and Points earn are subject to the Member Terms and Conditions available at velocityfrequentflyer.com as amended from time to time.

1000 Free Velocity Points For New Members

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Are you a member of Virgin Australia’s Velocity?  If not, now is your chance to join and start off with a FREE 1000 bonus points!  Use my referral link and I will also get 1000 points for referring you (thank you very much)!

 

You need to earn at least 40 points as per T&C’s which is very easy to do.  Here are some ideas.

  1.  Transfer points from Flybuys
  2.   Buy petrol at BP
  3.  Shop online
  4.  Get credit cards
  5.  Join E-Rewards and do a survey.
  6.  Transfer from Amex Membership Rewards
  7.  Keep an eye out for new promos, they have them all the time.  I just got 200 points from doing this survey!

Once you have qualified, then go out and refer your own friends to boost your balance and soon you will be on your way to a dream trip!

 

Aussies: Qantas & Virgin Both Have Transfer Promos

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These promos come up several times a year so no need to rush and transfer your points.  Best to wait until you are within a few months of booking an award to avoid being caught out by devaluations.

First up: Qantas is emailing members who have previously transferred credit card points with a tiered bonus promo.  Few people will be able to hit the 30% tier so I am calling this a 15% bonus for all practical purposes.  The link emailed to me is tied to my account so keep an eye out for it.  You may want to transfer a nominal amount of credit card points to keep you in the loop for future promos.

Not to be outdone, Virgin’s Velocity has a more accessible promo with Flybuys that anyone can do if you have linked your Flybuys and Virgin accounts. 

This promo was a real nice earner for me last year as I got lots of Flybuys points from maximizing shopping promos, then used a promo like this to get a 15% bonus!

Getting To Darwin, Northern Territory With Airline Miles

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Darwin is the gateway to the vast Northern Territory of Australia and you’d be surprised how big it really is!  If you are already in Australia (see miles guide here), it’s pretty easy to pick up domestic flights to Darwin (DRW) from Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth.

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INTERNATIONAL OPTIONS

STAR ALLIANCE

There are no Star Alliance carriers operating to Darwin, however if you have Singapore Krisflyer miles you can use Silk Air from Singapore.

ONEWORLD

Obviously in Australia Qantas is the main player and you can redeem your miles from any OneWorld partner.  Although Qantas has no direct international flights from Darwin, you can easily add on a Sydney-Darwin (for example) segment to any international award to Australia.

Malaysian Airlines flies direct from Kuala Lumpur and is a great choice for people arriving from Europe.

SKY TEAM

There are no Sky Team carriers operating to Darwin although people with Delta miles can redeem them on Virgin Australia.

NON-ALLIANCE AIRLINES & LOW COST CARRIERS

Virgin Australia is the big one and as mentioned above people with Delta miles can redeem with them.  Virgin is also partnered with Singapore Airlines, Etihad and others.

Jetstar is a partner of Qantas but not a member of OneWorld but they have frequent sales so you are better off keeping an eye on their sale page and just paying for the flights.  This is what I did, I got BNE-DRW-BNE for $210 each!

Air Asia flies direct from Denpasar.

Air North has some interesting destinations like Dili, Timor-Leste and some remote Aussie towns.

 

 

15% Bonus When You Transfer Partner Points to Velocity

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Traditionally Virgin Velocity has been running a 15% bonus promo every November and May and thankfully this year has been no exception!  I always plan my transfers to take place during a promo like this to maximize the value I get from my credit card and supermarket points.  The promo ends 30 November but I wouldn’t cut it too close, I like to have all my transfers done at least 3 days ahead of time.

Full details and T&C’s

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Please note that while NAB has Velocity branded credit cards they are not included in the promo.  This may give you an idea of which banks offer products to help you grow your Velocity point balance.

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Velocity’s latest partner – Flybuys is also part of the promo so you can really get great value for those Flybuys points that come with your weekly grocery shopping!va-nov4

Velocity Adds Whopping Surcharges To Etihad Redemptions

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On top of the most recent devaluation in which Virgin Velocity moved Etihad to the more expensive chart and jacked the prices up as of 1 June…………..now we have this shock-horror “enhancement”.

All Reward Seat bookings on Etihad Airways operated flights made from 18 June 2016 will incur an Etihad Airways Reward Seat Carrier Charge.

A charge of US$50 in Economy, US$205 in Business and US$300 in First Class will be applicable per flight sector for both adults and children. A reduced charge of US$5 in Economy, US$20.50 in Business and US$30 in First Class will be applicable per flight sector for infants not occupying a seat.

This charge will be payable when completing your Reward Seat booking.

I already spent my last Velocity points on an award from Australia to Abu Dhabi for next year.  We will be stopping over a couple days before the big “Godmother of all African Adventures” and I got business class since I knew the devaluations were coming anyway.  Looks like I dodged another bullet with these surcharges!  Yikes!

Lesson learned – don’t hoard miles, spend them as soon as you can because they will never be worth more than they are today.

Virgin Velocity Devaluation – 1 June 2016

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I got an email with the following:

Last year we celebrated 10 years of Velocity. During this time we have built a world-leading loyalty program*.
As we move forward, I wanted to update you on some adjustments we are making to the program, which will come into effect on 1 June 2016.
Points Expiry
We are making some changes to the expiry of Velocity Points.
Firstly, from 1 June 2016 your Velocity Points will not expire provided you earn or redeem Points at least once every 24 months. Previously, the expiry period was 36 months. Any Points earned from eligible activity prior to 1 June 2016 are not affected by this change and will not expire for 36 months.
Secondly, transferring Points between family members or receiving Points from a Family Pooling relationship will no longer be considered eligible activity to prevent your Points expiring. This change will be applied retrospectively. This means, if on 1 June 2016 your only activity within the previous 36 months is Family Pooling or Points transfer between family members, you will be notified that you need to earn or redeem Points before 30 June 2016 in order to prevent your Points expiring.
Despite these changes:
● It is now easier than ever to remain active by earning Points across a broad range of partners including airlines, credit cards, fuel and online shopping. In the past year alone we have welcomed some major partners including BP, HSBC and Le Club AccorHotels.
● We continue to provide you with more time than any other Australian frequent flyer program to keep your Points active.

Please take comfort knowing you will be notified via email at least 30 days prior to your Points expiring, giving you ample time to earn or use your Points and keep your account active.

Reward Seat Pricing
New Reward Seat bookings flying Virgin Australia or our partner airlines, made on or after 1 June 2016, will be subject to revised Points pricing. As part of these revisions some destinations are increasing in price and others are decreasing. Please see some examples below^:

Velocity deval

This is the first time in over five years that we have made adjustments to Reward Seat pricing. During this time Virgin Australia has undergone significant changes to become a full service airline, providing all guests with complimentary checked baggage allowance, in-flight entertainment, food and beverages.
We remain committed to continue offering you all of the benefits that make us a world-class program, including our award-winning Reward Seat availability*. In addition, the taxes and fees payable when you book a Reward Seat will not be affected by these changes.
For more information on all these changes please refer to our Program Updates.
I look forward to keeping you up to date in the coming months as we introduce exciting new features and benefits, including innovative new ways to earn and use your Points.
Yours sincerely,
Karl Schuster
CEO, Velocity Frequent Flyer

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On first glance, the points expiry doesn’t worry me at all.  A simple purchase at BP for fuel or shopping, a purchase from the Velocity shopping portal or E-Rewards will reset the expiry.

The increases on most awards is minimal and some are actually going down.

The biggest devaluation is Etihad who have been moved from Table 1 (cheaper awards) to Table 2 (expensive awards) AND devalued on top of that!

I do have a travel plan for 2017 which includes using Velocity for Etihad on one sector so I am going to have to crunch some numbers and see if I can bring it forward.  I’ve already been messed up by the American devaluation!

15% Bonus When You Transfer To Velocity

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Velocity (one of my top 8 airline programs) is running their (usually) bi-annual bonus promotion where you get 15% extra when you transfer credit card points to Velocity such as Amex Membership Rewards.

Velocity bonus

Velocity Frequent Flyer offers you the ability to turn your existing credit card and charge card points into Velocity Points.

Transfer your credit or charge card points to your Velocity account between 1 and 30 November 2015 and receive 15% bonus Velocity Points*.