• expired

10%-40% Discount on Velocity Points Purchases (e.g. 110,000 Points for $1544.40) @ Points.com

670

These point buying deals are usually no good, but I think this will save you some $$$.

The deal is:

• 1,000 – 5,000 Points: 10% discount
• 6,000 – 50,000 Points: 20% discount
• 60,000 – 100,000 Points: 30% discount
• 110,000 – 250,000 Points: 40% discount

eg. 60,000 points - $982.80
110,000 - $1544.40
250,000 - $3510.00

Max points per account you can buy during this promo is 250,000 points.

(dummy dates)
Perth to Melbourne - 17,800 points economy one way OR equivalent ticket which includes baggage $325

110,000 can get you 6 of these flights with some points spare which = $1950 - saving you $400

If you purchase business class tickets:

Perth to Melbourne - 35,500 points business one way OR equivalent ticket $1455.01

110,000 can get you 3 of those flights which = $4365

These are just random dates selected - I understand Velocity now has tiered points amounts per flight depending on peak/off peak. Do your own research to see if this is worth it for you.

Enjoy

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closed Comments

  • Anyone got tips on what the most point efficient way is to book international business class?

    • Forward planning. Keep checking from a year out and wait for the tickets to come up. Most airlines release them 330-360 days prior. Sometimes though partner airlines won't have access to all the seats OR they make them available to partner airlines later.

    • +1

      I booked a United Airlines Business class with Velocity via points from SFO to SYD (one way) about a month ago. They only release seats 2-3 weeks before the departure date. If you are willing to do open-book travel, I think there are a lot of seats available from SFO to SYD and vice versa.

      • How much was the points?

        • +1

          its 95k

          • @adam7070: So is it 190k return or do you get a discount for a return ticket?

            • @serpserpserp: no such discounts

              i paid 190k return before with about $150 in total taxes/fees.

              much better than etihad/BA/SQ who'll charge ya $900-1600 in taxes/fees alone on a long haul biz return.

  • +3

    I do personally find velocity points much harder to use (than QF) for business/first flights that are not VA. Can't seem to ever find non-economy SQ or UA for example…

    • +2

      Once the devaluation of KrisFlyer points comes into play - you may be better off transferring VA points to SQ and then booking them through there. Excellent availability usually.

      • What devaluation?

        • +2

          Sorry - the transfer of Amex to SQ . From 2:1 to 3:1

          • @wazza23: Just to clear this up, KrisFlyer Miles becoming more valuable vs Amex Membership Rewards Points. From 4 October 2023, 3 Amex Membership Rewards points = 1 KrisFlyer Mile

    • I managed to pick up some SIN-LHR in Business for October around early April using VFF - was odd though, as these seats didn’t show on KrisFlyer. (Edit: 92k VFF pt + $300 pp - so around $1300 + $300 buying the 110k pts under this offer)

      Flying QF to Singapore as the date/time suited better (QF had 2 seats for Saturday, SQ using VFF only had 2 seats for Friday or Sunday overnight flights).

      UA apparently don’t release premium tickets to VFF until 2-4 weeks before the flight date (if they have seats left).

      • +2

        UA don't generally release transpac J seats even to their own customers at 'saver' rates until 6-8 weeks before departure depending on how well a flight is selling. However, seats that show as I on United's own site are generally bookable through Virgin. For transpacific legs, you need to look for the 100-110K business seats to work out those that are usually on VA).

        This deal would've been good a couple of weeks ago when I dropped $535 on 19K points to book a MEL-SFO business seat in December (sadly, I only had 77K points at the time I spotted it so 18.5K short, and didn't want to wait the 24 hours or so for the points from a credit card transfer to hit as transpac business class awards - particularly around Christmas - won't last long).

        (Also, an annoyance - as a US-based site, I got hit with a forex fee when paying by credit card adding another $20-ish.)

        • I used my amex and changed billing address to AU and wasn't charged any CC fee by UA. Luckily found J availability out of sydney 17 weeks before departure.

      • I was able to find seats for first and second week of November with UA, one was SYD-MEL-SFO and one was SYD-IAH (went with the latter). So its definitely possible to find seats more than 4 weeks out but definitely harder. Last time i found business reward seat for my dates with united was only 8 days before departure. Bit of a coin flip i guess ha.

    • Find flights on United website. Call up SQ to book. Sometimes it easy, some times you hang up and try a different person.

  • I need to fly Perth to QLD in a couple months with the wife, would I be best buying these points then purchasing tickets? How do I know how many points to purchase for return tickets to maximise savings and not have points left over that probably won't get used?

    EDIT Never mind, turns out I don't have a velocity card so cant buy points :(

    • you can sign up to velocity now - takes a minute. Then you can buy points.

      • Yeah I did that and went to buy points and said I don't have any point balance to top up. I've got a bunch of flybuy points I could transfer over which then might allow me to?

      • Not with a zero balance. I just booked BOS-LAX-MEL on the UA and transferred the absolute correct amount for the trip, and points purchases don't work.

        A trip to 7-Eleven will fix this…

        • Ah - apologies!

    • +1

      The fine print says you need 1,000 points to be eligible to buy at a discount

      • Damn. I just used up the last of my points for a business flight to Melb, so I'm at 0.

  • +3

    Unless you already have found a rewards seat on a flight you want and the math adds up its not worth buying points at this price. The valuarions people put on points are generally too high from what I've seen, eg using domestic business fares which no one actually pays cash for and aren't worth anything near the cash fare, or international business rewards that take hundreds of dollars of your time to find and require lots of flexibility.

    • +1

      Agree - you're better off buying wine through Laithwaites Velocity store bonus products, or transferring from Flybuys, or pretty much anything else.

      But if there's that one long haul business seat then cost of the top up points pales compared to the potential value of business class.,…

      • where do you find the bonus laithwaites points wines? Easier to see with qantas..

      • +6

        Yeah the potential payoff is high if everything lines up nicely, but on average when you factor in your need to be flexible and the amount of time searching the value isnt much more than the 1c/pt QFF and VFF seem to sell for.

        As an example, after weeks of searching for anywhere in Aus/Asia to Europe across a range of dates for almost a year ahead, I finally found business reward seats for a group of 3 through QFF. If I look at the value I got vs cash fare for the same flight, its about 1.65c per point, but if I look at cash prices of other airlines on the same route then its actually only about 1.35c per point, but then if I factor in this was me being completely flexible and hence anywhere from asia to europe across a range of dates was fine, comparing to the cheapest business cash fare then and i'm under 1.1c per point.

        So some people will say they got 1.65c per point, but when factoring in that I had to be so flexible to get it its really closer to 1.1c per point. That also doesnt factor in the large amount of time I had to spend to find the flights. It also doesnt factor in that most people dont value a business ticket at the cash price.

        This was a fairly decent redemption as well, there are much worse ones (eg Emirates business seats on QFF with massive cash components which are worth much less per point).

        The above is the reality of trying to get rewards flights to Europe currently. It is a different story for Asia or North America it seems which have better availability. Also, domestic flights can be quite good value if booking late when fares are inflated even in economy.

        • This- I tried to explain this and got downvoted! You have done an amazing job explaining, Hope people read your comment in detail if they are new to the points game, some people don’t value their time at all, so of course points look “cheap” at face value

          • -1

            @[Deactivated]: I would love to know the basis for determining the objective after hours "value" of your time if you are working in a salaried 9 to 5 or waged job.

            Or if you are retired.

  • +3

    Good deal IMO, i just used 110,000 points a few days ago for SYD-Houston with UA in early november, even if i had to buy points, $1,544 to spend 15.5 hours in business is worth it.

  • Can you use the points to buy a ticket for a friend ?

    • +1

      Yes

  • Could anyone give me advice on whether I should transfer Commbank points Virgin? I've got around 320K points and think they are pretty useless as is. I think the ratio is 2:!.

    • +7

      If you can wait, often a 15% or 20% transfer bonus will pop up, that's the time to do it

      • Thanks for the tip!

    • +1

      It's worth it. 160k velocity points can go a long way. You could probably get away with a return trip to North America with one leg in business and one in economy. Or If you go the EU route 120k-150k points could get you a one way business flight depending on airline and destination.

      But if you don't travel much I think they can also be redeemed for gift cards.

      • Definitely will use it for travel. Thanks mate!

  • -7

    I did some sample checks for business class flights to Fiji/Bali etc- these seem really terrible value!

    1 way from MEL—> BALI , i can find many business class flights for $1200 - OR costs 240k Velocity points + $156 fee lol

    Essentially u pay $3600+ for a $1200 flight with this deal! NUTS!

    Of course if u wanna plan 1 year ahead offseason/with long layovers/bad timed flights- u may get lucky and get a better value flight

    But imo this is not worth it- apply for 2x credit cards instead with total cost for 250k velocity points < $1000 total

    • Are you looking at reward flights? Or regular flights but paying with points instead of cash?

      • -2

        I have checked both- u can try a few days for Bali /Fiji or even MEL to QLD yourself, buying points at this rate isn’t worth it- if I am missing some “good” deals please share some international destinations / sample dates for business flights where buying points at these rates make sense

    • those are not reward flights. there's no point using points if you are not booking a reward ticket

      • -2

        I have checked reward redemptions as well, please share a sample date for Fiji/Bali or other destinations where the redemptions aren’t valued so low

        • +2

          17/6 SYD-DPS 2024 Business Reward
          Business class comfort and perks
          49,500 Ptsand$185.60
          or80,500 Pts

          if you spend it on non reward seats it's always going to be expensive. whether it's available is another matter

          • +2

            @May4th: that dude doesnt know what hes talking about lol. he clearly looked at points + pay and not Business Reward. Virgin booking system is confusing as hell.

            • @michaelTito: I don't blame him it is quite cumbersome. qantas, despite all its woes, has a much better search function on its reward bookings

              • @May4th: Qantas is only good when you know how to use the multi cities function. Their search by specific date function is just as bad.

                • @michaelTito: Multi city is pretty bad too, often shows an icon for a flight on a date that doesn't exist, plus it seems to cut you off if you do too many searches in short succession.

          • -1

            @May4th: Exactly what i was saying- the low points business reward is available if u plan a year out / on a Monday or other undesirable elements

            U are buying the points for 0.014 with the 40% discount, so at 80,500 points redemption- that flight which is a year out , and undesirable travel day - is costing u approximately $1150, instead u can buy the tickets for Bali within next 3 months for around the same price of $1200 cash!

            Plus u earn miles for paying for the ticket , this is what i was trying to say

            Krisflyer has much better availability for business travel

            Plus- additional foreign transaction fee for points.com transaction for most people, additional 3-4% per T&C, added to the cost of points

    • You aren’t looking at award flights

  • -1

    How is the conversion rate to Myer?

  • Can you buyer status credits?

    • Highly doubt it. Status credits are generally flights only + a few special promos.

  • I purchased 150,000 points, but it hasn't been credited yet, is this normal or should i be concerned?

    • Mine was instant 🤷‍♂️

  • +1

    Picked up 250,000 VA points - fantastic deal. Will probably use it on a QR J ticket from MEL-North America

    • how do you look for international flight on Virgin website? it never shows anything using points

      • +1

        I've found pointsyeah.com quite good to dig up awards seats on Velocity.

    • QR's scarce, but I'm eyeing off an EY award for 139K and (gulp) ~$800 in carrier charges.

      • Not really, found a First Class return from PER-DOH-LHR RT for 440k

        • Erm… LHR ain’t North America… (and PER ain’t MEL for that matter)…

    • I’m new to using points. I want to know if it’s possible to use points to go anywhere decent with family of 5 during school holidays. I have a collected a lot this year with credit card deals. Thanks

      • Depends, looking for Business/First? Forget it unless if you split up 3/2 and you may, just may find something but still near 0.
        Airlines will not have more than 4 in Business Reward space on most routes, let alone if there is even 4 available.

        Economy? Hard but a yes, look at the max Calander days out and you may find options, Europe on SQ/QR/EY is a possibility in Economy but very hard but far easier when split up 3/2. North America is really hard even for 1 atm

        As it stands, 5+ availability on Singapore Airlines Premium Economy to London for June 24 for 112,500 points one way - per person - and carrier charges.

        • I have about 400k in Citibank, 300k Velocity & 200k in Flybuys. What’s the best option? Is KrisFlyer the best as there’s more flights and u get more value? I don’t mind traveling closer but I guess that’s less valuable?
          If I split 2/3 we just end up in seats far from each other or that depends on checking in when you’re about to board? Thanks

          • @1bargain: 560k total VA points when converted. (2.5 Citi Points -> 1 Velocity | 2 Flybuys -> 1 Velocity)
            KrisFlyer is better but you will loose many during the Velocity to SQ conversion.

            When I mean 2/3's I am meaning splitting across 2 different flights on 2 different airlines all together.
            At the current rates, you've got a one way Economy ticket to Europe (70k per person = 350k total) or Premium Economy (112k per person) or to North America to JFK for 112k per person in Premium Economy.

            You do have a return ticket in Economy to Japan through Singapore Airlines. And if you can find it, a rare United return ticket is 112k per person in Economy to Europe.

            • @AircraftFreight: I wouldn’t want to split the family to 2 flights. That will be too stressful. Is it still doable for Japan flight with 5 in one go? I don’t mind going anywhere just to start exploring with the family. I look at the business class with envy (never tried) but when u have kids, it’s impossible. I’m happy to get free flights with points. How much max should I pay for taxes as well?

              • @1bargain: $133 per person, each way. Yes doable but you need to look.
                To be quite honest, Jetstar has had massive Japan deals thats $199 return in Economy.

                • @AircraftFreight: I know. Which makes the points only valuable for business class or faraway trips, which is almost impossible at my rate for 5 people.
                  Would u say converting to gift cards is better option or should I keep trying? I only thought about frequent Flyer this year bc we want to start traveling a lot. But I heard Citibank sometimes cancel their account and wipe off all the points so I’m thinking of blindly converting to Krisflyer and find something within that hard 3 yr expiry as u lose point value if u transfer to Velocity (for flexibility) to Krisflyer. I appreciate any suggestions.

                  • @1bargain: Honestly, transfer all your Citi points to KirsFlyer (keep your Velocity accounts and transfer your Flybuys to Velocity)
                    If you can keep on earning Citipoints - keep on doing so, and then transfer them once every 6 months to KF to reset the ticking time bomb

        • Very rare to have more than 2 reward seats in business across both QFF and VFF programs, so more like a 2/2/1 split. Don't think first ever has more than 1 reward seat.

          • @CheapBrah: Was able to request release of 5 sale First Seats between SYD-LAX return on QF. Ended up coming through.
            I have seen Qatar release 4 U (Business) reward seats 1 year out, 3 came out today on PER-DOH, 2 ADL-DOH and 2 MEL-DOH.

            • @AircraftFreight: You seem to know this like back of your hand. I should look again. The first time I looked for Dec holiday on Virgin, it was cheaper to buy the tickets outright.

              • @1bargain: Currently airfares now for Dec holidays are wayyy out of whack, cheapest is $6k return ($30k in Economy with the direct from MEL-NRT on JAL)
                I'd wait for a Virgin Australia promotion which was $799 return. Currently the cheapest all year round is $4k with Philippine Airlines;

                which I would highly avoid due to the corrupt immigration and custom officials at MNL, they have tried to extort me out of cash at transit security - had to show my ABTC card to get them to back off

                Hold out and you shall get some good deals, imo bank the points - make sure they dont expire - and use them for a nice trip for you and your husband around the world in First Class ;)
                Good deals are bound, Jetstar has had some amazing deals this year - $199 Melbourne - Honolulu/Tokyo/Incheon/Saigon/Singapore/Bangkok/Phuket/Bali and others

            • @AircraftFreight: So you have platinum status if you can request reward seats? You can't compare your experience with the average Joe'sm

  • you cant buy points if you have 0 points in your velocity account?

    • +3

      1000 minimum

    • No you cant,

  • +5

    Note this is a foreign payment processor according to the T&C so use a card with fee free foreign transaction

  • +8

    If you have plenty of points and don’t mind a diversion, you can get a business seat into Singapore out of Sydney via Melb or Bris reasonable easily into Singapore , but direct is like near on impossible now. I was bored and annoyed with how bad the Virgin site is to do points searches and yet I checked Sydney to Singapore every day from 1 Feb 24 to Mid June(the last day available) in one night (done this a few times now) and not one direct flight in business. I’ve since been told that KrisFlyer release the seats a few weeks before Virgin does so yeah, nearly no chance anymore direct out of Sydney.
    A tip, if you change the word “First” in the search URL to Business manually on the virgin website, then cut and paste that into a new window, it will refine the search and only show you the purple wording “reward seats available” if business is available, a big time saver.

  • hmm. 7% cashback with CashRewards too. Or maybe 2.8% back. Either way, something.

    • Maybe 1.75% or maybe 0% because Virgin Australia isn't listed as a partner airline.

    • Are you talking about points.com? Clicking through to that from cashrewards doesn't seem to give any option to purchase airline points

  • When does this promo end?

    • +1

      28th july

  • Thanks OP. Bought a ticket through points and saves up $170 pp.

  • When this promo first went live there were a lot of EY flights which seem to have disappeared soon after, new ones don't seem to be getting released either.

  • Bugger missed the deadline, silly wrong timezone.

  • Did anyone have issues with their credit card not being debited for the points. They tried twice with Bankwest, showed pending and then disappeared so we never got the points

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