Have you ever flown on a Virgin Australia flight and received different Points and Status Credits to what you expected? If you have a flight with another airline on the same booking, you may be subject to different earn rates for ‘Combined Bookings’.
This is due to a little-known earnings tables in the Velocity charts that affect these bookings.
Combined Bookings
So what is a Combined Booking? It is a booking that has a Virgin Australia and another airline on the same booking.
An example of a combined booking would be one that has a Virgin Australia flight in one direction, and a Qantas flight in the other. Such a booking would not be possible if you book direct through Virgin Australia (or Qantas for that matter). However, if you use a travel agent, you could end up with such a booking. This might happen, for example, for work travel where your employer uses a corporate travel agent.
If you do end up in this situation, the way Velocity calculate your Status Credit and Points for the flight may change. Velocity have separate earnings charts for these situations. In addition, any flights in this situation may also be excluded from promotions. For example, in the recent Double Status Credits promotion, I noted:
Flight Combinations: Virgin Australia flights combined in a booking with another airline is not eligible for this promotion
Earning on Combined Bookings
If you look at the Velocity Points and Status Credit earning tables, you will see the following.
There are separate tables to use in the case of a Combined Booking. There is one table for Status Credits, and one for Points earning
Earning Status Credits on Combined Bookings
When you have a Combined Booking, your status credits are worked out based on the length of the flight. This is a more traditional table, where the Status Credits are determined by the Fare Class and Distance Band.
Earning Velocity Points on Combined Bookings
Likewise, Velocity has a special earn table for cases where you have a combined booking. In this case, you are awarded points based on the number of miles between the airports of the flights.
Final Words
I am not sure why Velocity has gone down the path of having separate tables. Perhaps it is telling that they use a distance-based calculation, rather than a revenue-based calculation.
Whatever the case, it is something to be aware of in cases where you have multiple airlines on the one booking.
