Virgin announces new Velocity Frequent Flyer partnership with DiDi

Australians looking to boost their frequent flyer balances now have a new way to earn points thanks to a fresh deal. See how you can get closer to a free holiday.

It’s now not just who you fly with but who you ride with that could tip the scales on your frequent flyer balance.

Rideshare services have become the new airline points battleground, with Virgin Australia’s Velocity loyalty program now partnering with DiDi Australia, where customers can earn points for every trip they take.

It follows Qantas’s deal with Uber, where customers earn points for rides to and from Australian airports.

Virgin Australia's Velocity Frequent Flyer program have partnered with DiDi help Aussies earn reward point. Picture: Supplied

I Fly Flat founder and chief executive Steve Hui said with the cost of living biting hard, savvy Australians could get a free holiday by earning frequent flyer points through everyday spending.

“The points — and savings — can add up quickly. If you can only get one flight in points, and the rest you pay full price, it’s still cheaper than buying all of them,” he said.

The new rideshare-airline partnerships are an expansion of existing point-earning schemes across grocery, retail, energy and fuel sectors.

“You’re spending your money on groceries and electricity anyway, so you might as well earn the points for it and get something for it. In time that could be a holiday and that’s the best feeling ever. You can’t get a better feeling than a free holiday,” Mr Hui said.

The new DiDi-Virgin deal means Velocity members and Virgin Australia Business Flyer members will earn one Velocity point per $1 of eligible spend on every DiDi ride within Australia when they link their DiDi and Velocity Frequent Flyer accounts.

As a bonus, when Australians link their respective memberships before May 15, they will get 1000 Velocity points, whether they are new or existing DiDi customers.

With the average Australian DiDi trip costing $20-$25, and assuming people take one trip a week, that could mean earning up to 1300 Velocity points a year.

By contrast the Uber-Qantas deal allows members to earn points for eligible trips to and from Australian airports.

Rideshare services have become the new airline points battleground, with Virgin Australia’s Velocity loyalty program now partnering with DiDi Australia. It comes after Qantas struck a deal with Uber earlier this month. Picture: AFP

Mr Hui said earning points on day-to-today living expenses was particularly useful if long-haul trips were the goal.

He said a return trip from Sydney to London with Qantas’ classic reward economy seats cost 110,400 or 289,200 points for business; or a return flight from Sydney to Los Angeles with Virgin cost 89,600 Velocity points for economy or 190,000 for business.

“You would need to spend $110,400 or $289,600 to get that seat (to London),” the self-described Points Whisperer said, adding that Aussies could get to their goal sooner if they “double dipped” by also making their purchases with a points-earning credit card.

Mr Hui said Australians often did not know how much it cost in points to fly to their desired destination.

He encouraged people to “find the airline that goes to where you want to go and see what that points price is” to figure out which program was best for them.

For example, a return flight from Melbourne to Cairns cost an average of 23,600 Velocity points or 36,000 in Qantas points.

“The further you fly, the more it costs. (The points price) is based on the distance,” he said.

Velocity has 12 million members and Qantas has 14.7 million.

“More than one million new members have joined in the last 12 months,” Velocity Frequent Flyer chief executive Mr Rohrlach said.

Originally published as Virgin announces new Velocity Frequent Flyer partnership with DiDi