Velocity continues its run of offers, rolling out a 30% discount on Business Seats. The 30% discount applies to both redemption and upgrade-me seats.
While that sounds good, there is just one small catch. You have to book and travel by 24 October 2020. While the booking periods are often short, in this case, the travel period is quite short. There may be a few reasons for this, as I’ll outline later.
Reward Seats
One challenge with this promotion is that interstate travel is a minefield of its own at the moment. However, there are opportunities around for regional travel, more-so in some states than others.
So, if you are in Perth, you might be able to take a flight to Broome. Alternatively, if you are in Brisbane, you could head up to Cairns. In each case, you would be able to snag a Business Rewards seat for 16,400 points, down from the usual 23,500 points.
Of course, if you are able to take a transcontinental flight, the discounts apply here as well. Flights between Melbourne, Brisbane, and Sydney to Perth can be had for 28,400 Points, down from 35,500 Points
The full chart, including the discount for Business, is as follows.
| Distance flown | Economy
|
Business (with 30% discount) |
| 0-600 miles | 7,800 points | 10,800 points |
| 601-1,200 miles | 11,800 points | 16,400 points |
| 1,201-2,400 miles | 17,800 points | 24,800 points |
Upgrade Me seats
So, that’s for a Rewards Seat. Velocity is also discounting Upgrade Me seats. These give you the option to upgrade from an Economy seat. The following chart shows the various options available
| Flight distance | Upgrade from Getaway or Elevate | Upgrade from Freedom fare |
| 0-600 miles | 7,000 points | 3,400 points |
| 601-1,200 miles | 12,200 points | 5,100 points |
| 1,201-2,400 miles | 21,000 points | 6,900 points |
Thoughts
Velocity has really turned the dial up this week. So far we’ve seen the return of the Rewards Store, and an offer of a 20% bonus when transferring points from selected partners.
The end date is curious for a few reasons. For one, it marks the end of the airline scheduling season. It is also just before Bain is due to take control of the airline. It’s also around the time some states may be relaxing restrictions. Overall, I guess it is about as far into the future as anyone can have confidence in an airline schedule these days.
Snagging a business seat award often represents good value for money. As such, there could be some value here. That would especially be the case if you have a need (and an ability) to travel by 24 October.
Keep in mind, though, that the actual product on offer may not what you are used to. At this point, the Virgin lounges remain closed. On top of that, flight reports suggest that the business meal is on the sparse side. Whether the lounges will open, and business service returns to normal by 24 October is an unknown. My guess is given the timeframes, Business will remain a bit of a cut down affair during the travel period of this promotion.
Even so, maybe the 30% discount will make it worthwhile. You still get the larger seat, and the extra baggage allowance, so it’s not all bad. It just may not be the full package you might expect.
All up, though, I think if you can take advantage of it, then it is worth looking at. Certainly, I think I would get better value out of a discounted Business Awards seat than a gift card from the reward store.
