Members of the Velocity frequent flyer program are now able to earn points and status credits from their supermarket shopping. This is due to a new partnership between Velocity and the Coles led FlyBuys program.
Under the newly announced partnership, FlyBuys members will have the ability to transfer their points across to the Velocity program. In addition, by linking accounts, it offers members of Velocity the opportunity to earn Status Credits from their shopping in Coles, Liquorland and First Choice Liquor.
Earn Velocity Points
You will be able to transfer multiples of 2,000 FlyBuys points across to Velocity. This will land in your account as 870 Velocity Points. There is an annual limit of 138,000 FlyBuys points (or 60,030 Velocity points)
The transfer ratio is the same as the ratio used by Woolworths Rewards when transferring to Qantas. Under that program, 2,000 Woolworths Rewards Points can (in a roundabout way) be transferred as 870 Qantas Points.
The mechanism to do the transfer does vary quite significantly. FlyBuys allows you to transfer on demand, while Woolworths use a quarterly schedule for the transfer. FlyBuys imposes an annual cap on the number of points that can be transferred, while Woolworths does not appear to.
Status Credits
A significant feature of the new tie-up is the ability to earn Status Credits through shopping. This is probably first time Status Credits have been available ongoing for activities other than actual flying.
Under the program, FlyBuys members linking their Velocity account will earn 1 Status Credit for each $100 of spend in a calendar month. The spend will need to be made at Coles (including Coles Online), Liquorland or First Choice outlets to be counted. Any spend at other FlyBuys partners will count toward Status Credit earn.
There is an overall limit of 10 Status Credits that can be earned this way each month. This is an overall limit of 120 Status Credits each year.
While the Status Credit earn may not be sufficient to gain status in Velocity, the potential 120 Status Credits a year may certainly help in gaining or maintaining an elite level.
Interestingly, any links to the Etihad program will remain in place. If you link to Etihad, you can earn tier miles, and under the new Velocity program, you will be able to earn both.
Link your Accounts
In order to take advantage of this new partnership, you will need to be a member of both the FlyBuys and Velocity programs. Assuming that to be the case, you can link your accounts at Flybuys.com.au/Velocity in order to start earning status credits.
