Virgin America has announced that it will cease being a partner with the Velocity program from September 30, 2017. As a result of the change, you will no longer be able to earn earn Velocity points while travelling on Viirgin America.
The change is part of the winding down of the Virgin America Elevate program. The Elevate program is scheduled to be dissolved at the end of the year. From that time, the Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan will become the loyalty progarm of Virgin America.
Partner Removals
As of September 30, 2017, Virgin America will cease partnering with most of its current partners. From an Australian perspective, this largely affects its relationship with Virgin Australia and its Velocity Frequent Flyer program.
From that date, the following changes will come into force:
- Earning Velocity Points will no longer be possible when travelling on Virgin America services
- Velocity members will no longer be able to redeem points for a Vitgin America flight
- Elevate members will no longer earn points when travelling on Virgin Australia services
- Elevate members will no longer be able to redeem points for a Virgin Australia flight
The Elevate program has been useful for redemptions on Virgin Australia, with the award chart offering some good deals. As an example, 45,000 Elevate points could get you a one way Trans Pacific business class flight. While these have become difficult to actually get, if they are available, they represent great value.
Further information on the removal of most of the partner, can be found on the Virgin America website.
