Velocity is adding additional status levels to reward both its long-term loyal customers, and those that undertake significant travel each year. The changes see a new lifetime Gold, going by the name Forever Gold, and a new tier above Platinum, going by the name Platinum Plus.
These new levels come amid a broader set of changes to the program rolling out over the next year. These changes see a move towards calculating Status Credits based on revenue, together with other changes that affect points earning.
New Status Levels
There are two new status levels being introduced – Forever Gold and Platinum Plus. That said, you’ll have to wait until 1 October 2025 to see these new levels.
Forever Gold
The standout change is the introduction of a new tier – Forever Gold. This is the name that Velocity is giving their new lifetime Gold Status.
In order to achieve Forever Gold, there are two hurdles you need to meet. Firstly, you need to earn 12,000 Status Credits overall. Secondly, at least 9,000 of those Status Credits need to come from your own flying on Virgin Australia marketed flights.
Those remaining 3,000 Status Credits can come from any eligible source. These other sources include family pooling, partner airlines, and other partners such as Flybuys.
As a comparison, Qantas require you to earn 14,000 lifetime Status Credits in order to earn Lifetime Gold. However, they do not place any restrictions on where those 14,000 Status Credits came from. However, Qantas does offer both Lifetime Silver and Lifetime Platinum that Velocity have not done. That said, Lifetime Gold is a pretty decent perk, as Gold is arguably the sweet spot in the Velocity program.
Backdating Policy
When Forever Gold is introduced on 1 October 2025, Velocity will calculate your totals based on your activity since 1 February 2013.
If you’re interested in knowing why that date – it apparently relates to a booking system change made at that time. As a result, that is as far back as they can reliably go.
Platinum Plus
There’s also a new more exclusive tier coming. The name Platinum Plus is a good indication that it targets high-spending frequent flyers.
To qualify for this new status, you will need to earn 2,000 status credits in a 12-month period. Of these, 1,500 Status Credits (or 75% of the requirement) need to be earned on Virgin Australia marketed flights.
As the name suggests, Platinum Plus provides extra benefits over and above the Platinum level
- Access to a dedicated call centre
- A new Fly Later benefit – a new benefit that is the opposite of Fly Ahead
- Four complimentary Upgrade certificates – these can be used on both Flex and Choice fares
- Additional baggage
- Ability to gift Platinum membership (which was a Platinum benefit)
This level is somewhat akin to the Platinum One level of Qantas, although easier to achieve.
Changes to Existing Benefits
It’s not just new levels, Velocity are making a few smaller tweaks to some of the benefits of the existing tiers.
Firstly, Gold members will be losing their access to the Guaranteed Economy Reward Seat benefit. This is a bit of a loss to Gold but will still be available to Platinum members.
Secondly, Platinum members will see some changes to their ability to gift companion memberships. In particular, they will be losing the ability to gift Platinum memberships. This will become the province of Platinum Plus members.
That said, Platinum members will still be able to gift companion Gold status. However, in order to gift Gold status you will need to earn 1,300 Status Credits in your membership year. Of those 1,300 Status Credits at least 650 status credits will need to have been earned by you flying Virgin Australia marketed flights.
Final Words
The ability to gain Lifetime Gold looks like a bit of a winner. The downside at the moment is that your lifetime status credits aren’t obviously displayed anywhere, so who knows how far away they are.
