Velocity Frequent Flyer has rolled out a revamp in their award charts for domestic economy rewards seats. The overhaul of its Reward tables sees Velocity moving to a tiered structure for its Economy Reward seats.
Up until now, the number of points that you need for a domestic economy award flight has been based simply on distance bands. So, if you were flying less than 600 Miles, you would need 7,800 points for a Reward.
This has changed, with Velocity now offering a tiered structure. So instead of just one price point for that Reward flight, there are now three.
It is important to note that this change only affects the number of Velocity Points needed for an Economy Reward seat. There is no change to the points needed for a Business Reward seat. In addition, international reward charts have not changed.
The Changes
The following table sets out the changes that have been made.
| Zone | Economy | Economy From 5 June | Business | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| One way miles | Before 4 June | Tier 1 | Tier 2 | Tier 3 | Unchanged |
| 1-600 (e.g. Syd-Mel) | 7,800 | 6,200 | 7,800 | 9,900 | 15,500 |
| 601-1,200 (e.g. Mel-Bne) | 11,800 | 9,400 | 11,800 | 14,900 | 23,500 |
| 1,201-2,400 (e.g. Bne-Per) | 17,800 | 14,100 | 17,800 | 21,900 | 35,500 |
| 2,401-3,600 | 22,300 | 17,600 | 22,300 | 27,500 | 49,500 |
| 3,601-4,800 | 27,800 | 21,000 | 27,800 | 33,900 | 59,500 |
Of note, is that Tier 2 is basically the current pricing. From there, Velocity is offering the Tier 1 band, which offers a discount on Tier 2 pricing. There is also an additional Tier 3 band, where there is a premium over the Tier 2 pricing.
In percentage terms, Tier 1 is coming in at roughly a 20% discount to the current pricing. On the other hand, Tier 3 represents an increase of up to 25% on the current pricing.
Tier 1 pricing is available immediately, whereas the new Tier 3 pricing does not kick in until 5 July. Presumably, Velocity has to give its members one month’s notice in the case of such an increase. As such, there is a one-month period where you’ll be able to get Reward Flights for the same, or less, than before.
While Velocity has introduced these new tiers, it is not clear when they will use each of the tiers. Presumably, they will in some way be tied to supply and demand.
Guaranteed Economy Reward Seats (Gold and Platinum)
Gold and Platinum members have access to Guaranteed Economy Reward seats as part of their status benefits. Under the new pricing structure, these seats will be priced as a Tier 3 redemption.
Final Words
The change here is a permanent change to the Virgin Australia domestic reward table.
Interestingly, the Velocity Tier 1 points requirement comes in a squeak under the points requirement for a Jetstar flight. Previously, the Velocity redemption rates were just under the points requirement for Qantas Rewards. While that remains the same, the Tier 1 points offer a 20% discount. This is similar to the 20% discount Qantas offers in Jetstar redemptions. The overall effect is the Velocity Tier 1 points requirements are a shade under the Jetstar rates.
It remains to be seen exactly how this will be utilized by Velocity but plenty of people will be paying attention