Virgin Australia announces status match for Qantas gold and platinum status members

Virgin Australia is targeting Qantas’ most loyal customers as the airline entices them to switch from the flying kangaroo with a new rewards scheme. See how it works.

Adella Beaini

@adellabeaini

4 min read

May 21, 2024 - 11:18AM

News Corp Australia Network

Travel

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Virgin Australia is coming after Qantas frequent flyers by launching a new rewards scheme to convince loyal customers of the flying kangaroo to “hop on over” and make the switch.

The airline will now status match gold and platinum-status members of competing frequent flyer programs if they apply by midnight May 24 and book one eligible flight during its new three-month Discover Gold trial membership.

Travellers who make the switch to Virgin’s gold status will have access to their lounge at all major domestic airports, a higher checked baggage allowance (excludes Lite fares), and priority boarding and advanced seat selection.

“It’s a smart tactic by Virgin because it allows people who have been thinking about switching and makes it easy for them to try,” frequent-flyer expert Steve Hui of iflyflat.com.au said.

Virgin has recorded the best on-time performance and highest completion rates of any major Australian airline, according to newly released government data.

“It allows for people who have changed jobs or changed companies, to also switch airlines. “Because no one wants to go back to the back of the line and restart from step one, these status matches allows people to test the waters.

“A try before you buy style format always works best.”

The move comes as the airline recorded the best on-time performance and highest completion rates of any major Australian airline, according to newly released data from the federal government’s Bureau of Infrastructure and Transport Research Economics (BITRE).

Virgin Australia achieved an on-time departures rate of 82.6 per cent and completed 98.3 per cent of flights in April, while the cancellation rate was only 1.72 per cent in April.

It was the airline’s best result in two years for both on-time performance and cancellations, marking an improvement of more than 25 per cent and six percentage points respectively since December last year.

Travellers who make the switch to Virgin’s gold status will have access to a number of perks including a higher checked baggage allowance (excludes Lite fares).

“We have been intensely focused on improving our performance whilst continuing to deliver great value and choice to Australian travellers,” Virgin Australia chief executive Jayne Hrdlicka said.

“April 2024 marked a return to pre-Covid levels of on-time performance and cancellations for Virgin Australia. The post-Covid recovery has been challenging for the aviation industry, but it is promising to see reliability and on-time performance improve across Australian airlines.

“We know that on any given day various factors including weather, air traffic control, unscheduled aircraft maintenance, and crew resources can impact airline operations. “But our ability to manage these disruptions has improved, while at the same time we have focused on simplifying our growing operation.”

By comparison, Qantas recorded an on-time departure rate of 79.1 per cent and recorded a cancellation rate of 2.2 per cent.

The new scheme comes as Virgin Australia has followed Qantas’ lead and raised lounge membership fees, as well as “reintroducing” a $99 “joining fee”.

After previously saying the airline had no plans to up the cost of paid access to its lounges, Virgin Australia flagged a 12.5 per cent increase in annual membership from $399 to $450 as of July 1.

Mr Hui said with the spike in the price for Virgin lounges, having gold status “feels more valuable”.

Last month, Qantas overhauled its loyalty program to offer 20 million extra seats to frequent flyers on international flights.

In 2022, Virgin launched a similar campaign cheekily-named Switch-A-Roo, which also enabled gold and platinum-status members of competing frequent flyer programs to join its own Velocity program for a trial period.

The campaign was the first time the airline enticed gold and platinum status flyers with the prospect of being fast-tracked into permanent membership with Velocity.

Last month, Qantas overhauled its loyalty program to offer 20 million extra seats to frequent flyers on international flights as part of a $100m expansion of the loyalty program.

The new loyalty seats will be available on international flights from July, while the program will roll out for domestic flights by the end of the year.

HOW TO SWITCH TO VELOCITY GOLD:

1. Join Velocity Frequent Flyer here or be an existing Velocity member;

2. Velocity members must send an email to info@velocityfrequentflyer.com by midnight AEST this Friday 24 May 2024, with their name, Velocity membership number and evidence of their other valid non-partner airline frequent flyer membership card indicating the equivalent of Velocity Gold status or higher.

To receive full Velocity Gold membership for 12-months after the end of the Discover Gold trial, the member is only required to book one eligible flight and earn 80 Status Credits (normally 500) during the 3-month Discover Gold trial membership.

Any member of a loyalty program that’s not a Velocity partner is eligible (that includes Qantas and international airline customers).
Velocity Discover Gold Status benefits (subject to Velocity Membership terms and conditions):

Access to Virgin Australia domestic lounges with up to one eligible guest.
Access to partner airline lounges, subject to eligibility and fare class;
Priority check-in and screening at major domestic airports;
Additional complimentary baggage (excludes Lite fares);
Preferential seating; and
Access to flexible flying ‘Fly ahead’ (on earlier flights on the same date where
available and subject to fare class)

QANTAS VS VIRGIN

Frequent flyer members:

Qantas: 15 million

Virgin: 12 million

When do frequent flyer points expire?

Your points won’t expire as long as you earn or redeem within 18 months for Qantas and 36 months for Velocity.

How to earn frequent flyer points by flying

Virgin Australia offer five points per dollar spent for domestic, trans-Tasman and international short-haul flights. For international long-haul flights as well as flights marketed on one of Virgin Australia’s partner airlines, points are awarded based on the fare class and number of miles flown.

Premium Velocity members will also receive bonus points – 50 per cent more for Silver, 75 per cent more for Gold and 100 more for Platinum.

With Qantas, points are awarded based on the number of miles flown and the fare type purchased. Generally, this means more expensive flexible fares will earn you more points. You are guaranteed to earn a minimum of 800 points on eligible economy flights operated by Qantas.

Status credits

QANTAS FREQUENT FLYER: