Velocity’s top frequent flyers can now use their Platinum Complimentary Upgrades from cheaper Choice fares – but for a limited time. Until 31 March 2024, Velocity is offering Platinum members the ability to redeem a greater number of their upgrade credits to swap an Economy Choice fare into a Business Class seat.

There’s no change to the original benefit of using upgrade credits from Flex fares on domestic and short-haul international flights – if there’s availability, you can still redeem one credit to confirm the upgrade.

Tip: for the best success in using a complimentary upgrade credit, look for flights with Business Reward Seat availability before booking the fare.

 

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What’s the offer?

Usually, you can’t use Platinum Complimentary Upgrades on Choice fares. But during this promotion, you can! The rates for upgrading from a Choice fare are significantly higher, though:

  • Flights under 1,000 miles: 2 upgrade credits
  • Flights over 1,000 miles: 4 upgrade credits

This offer applies to Virgin Australia-operated domestic flights, trans-Taman and International short-haul flights, including Bali, Nadi (Fiji) and Vanuatu. That means you could upgrade two Sydney-Melbourne flights (as they’re under 1,000 miles), one Perth-Sydney flight or one Sydney-Bali flight from a Choice fare with 4 credits, for example.

Platinum members usually receive four complimentary upgrade credits a year. Upgrades can be requested anytime after booking over the phone, up to two hours before departure. Otherwise, you can also request a last-minute upgrade at the Virgin Australia Lounge or at Priority Check-in at Hobart.

Are you a Platinum member? Check how many upgrades you have under ‘My Benefits’.

Our take – complimentary upgrades from Choice

The ability to use Platinum Complimentary Upgrades from Choice fares is a perk that we think many members will value. Most people flying for leisure will tend to book Choice fares over Flex since there’s usually a significant price difference. With this change, those Platinum members can look forward to upgrading those lower-priced fares.

Another quirk within the Eastern States is that Virgin Australia’s sharply-priced Business cash fares are sometimes similar to – or even cheaper than – Economy Flex prices. In those cases, it’s a no-brainer to just book Business Class outright rather than buying Economy Flex and upgrading. (This isn’t the case with flights to/from Perth, where Business starts from around $1,200 and Economy Flex is around $650).

We would love to see this promotion become a new permanent feature of Velocity Frequent Flyer – but perhaps with adjusted redemption rates. For example, our ideal system for Choice upgrades would be to charge:

  • Two upgrade credits for flights under 1,200 miles (e.g. Sydney-Brisbane)
  • Three upgrade credits for flights between 1,201 and 2,400 miles (e.g. Melbourne-Perth)
  • Four upgrade credits for flights above 2,400 miles (e.g. Sydney-Bali)

This broadly matches the cost in Velocity Points to upgrade – from Melbourne to Perth, for example, it’s 9,900 points or one upgrade credit from Flex. A points upgrade from Choice is 30,000 points, so charging three upgrade credits would be reasonable.

On a Flex Economy fare, it only costs 9,900 Velocity Points to upgrade to Business from Perth to Sydney or Melbourne.

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Velocity unlocks Platinum Complimentary Upgrades on cheaper fares was last modified: September 27th, 2023 by Brandon Loo