Accommodation bookings unlock a whole world of potential for earning more Velocity reward points.
Virgin’s Velocity frequent flyer rewards program boasts over 75,000 hotel partners across 180 countries. It also has a partnership with online accommodation booking service Agoda, and options for transferring points from a hotel rewards program. All of these different options mean you have another easy way to earn Velocity frequent flyer points when you travel. Whether it’s an overnight work trip, a weekend getaway, or a full-blown holiday, you can earn Velocity Points with the following:
Velocity hotel partners
Booking accommodation through Agoda
Transferring points from a hotel loyalty program to Velocity
Velocity Holiday packages
With varying points potential and different booking processes, having all this information in one place means you can plan for an upcoming trip or just keep these options in mind for the next time you’re travelling.
Credit cards that offer Velocity Points
Rates last updated March 8th, 2016.
American Express Velocity Escape Card
Bonus Velocity Points field has been updated from 15,000 to 7,500.
February 29th, 2016
Virgin Australia Velocity Flyer Card - 0% Interest Offer
0% purchase and balance transfer offers extended until 3 April 2016.
March 1st, 2016
Virgin Australia Velocity Flyer Card - Balance Transfer Offer
0% for 14 months balance transfer offer has been extended until 3 April 2016.
March 1st, 2016
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Bonus Points
Rewards Points per $ spent (VISA/MC)
Rewards Points per $ spent (AMEX)
Purchase rate (p.a.)
Balance transfer rate (p.a.)
Annual fee
American Express Velocity Escape Card
7,500 bonus points
0
1
20.74% p.a.
0% p.a. for 12 months with 1% balance transfer fee
$0 p.a.
Go to site
More info
Virgin Australia Velocity Flyer Card - Balance Transfer Offer
10,000 bonus points
1
0
20.74% p.a.
0% p.a. for 14 months
$64 p.a. annual fee for the first year ($129 p.a. thereafter)
Go to site
More info
Virgin Australia Velocity Flyer Card - 0% Interest Offer
1
0
0% p.a. for 12 months (reverts to 20.74% p.a.)
0% p.a. for 6 months
$129 p.a.
Go to site
More info
American Express Velocity Platinum Card
50,000 bonus points
0
1
20.74% p.a.
0% p.a. for 12 months with 1% balance transfer fee
$349 p.a.
Go to site
More info
Virgin Australia Velocity High Flyer Card - 20k Bonus Points offer
20,000 bonus points
1.25
0
20.74% p.a.
1.9% p.a. for 12 months
$144 p.a. annual fee for the first year ($289 p.a. thereafter)
Go to site
More info
American Express Velocity Business Card
0
1
$249 p.a.
Go to site
More info
Complete guide for Velocity frequent flyer programBack to top
Velocity hotel partners
The Velocity Frequent Flyer rewards program has an extensive range of hotel partners in Australia and around the world, with well-known brands including Hilton Hotels, Intercontinental, Adina, Crown Hotels, Holiday Inn, Medina, Travelodge and Parkroyal. With over 75,000 hotel partners around the world, there’s a good chance you will earn points for any hotel you stay at. To make it even easier, you can search for specific hotels directly through the Velocity website. When it comes to earning points with a Velocity hotel partner, all you have to do is book directly with them and show your Velocity membership card when you check in. The amount of points you earn varies depending on the hotel and where it is located, with Velocity breaking it down into Australian and overseas options
With Australian hotel partners, you can earn:
3 points per $1 AUD spent at most domestic hotel partners
2 points per $1 USD spent at hotels and resorts within the Hilton Portfolio
2 points per $1 AUD spent at Travelodge
1 point per $1 AUD spent at qualia
Take note of the Hilton Portfolio option, which calculates points based on the amount of US dollars spent, while the others are based on Australian dollar spending. So even though you’ll generally pay for Hilton Hotel bookings in Australia using AUD, the points are converted based on equivalent USD values.
With overseas hotel partners, you can earn:
1,000 Points per stay at most international hotel partners
600 Points per stay at selected international hotel partners
2 Points per $1 USD spent at hotels and resorts within the Hilton Portfolio
1 Point per $1 USD spent at Jumeirah Hotels & Resorts
Up to 35,000 Points per stay at Virgin Limited Edition properties
The big difference with international hotel bookings is that some offer a flat rate of points, while others offer points per dollar spent. So you can maximise the number of points you earn based on which hotel you book with and how long you stay.
Staying on hotel that charges $300 per night
If you’re staying at a US hotel that charges $300 per night, the 1,000 points offered for most international hotel partners is a great deal, working out to be just over 3 points per $1. On the other hand, if you’re booking accommodation for more than a few nights and it’s going to cost more than $1,000 all up, the points-per-dollar rates offered for Hilton Portfolio or Jumeirah Hotels and Resorts will give you more bang for your buck.
Hotel point specials
Velocity also runs specials for different hotel partners, such as double points per $1 spent with a certain hotel, or bonus points for your bookings. These offers are only available for a limited time, but can be a great way to boost your point balance. Some of the recent examples include:
Ayers Rock Resort. Double Velocity Points at Ayers Rock Resort when you book by 30 April 2016 and complete your stay by 30 June 2016.
Hilton HHonors. Double Velocity Points with Hilton HHonors when you register for the promotion and stay at any Hilton Portfolio hotel before 30 April 2016.
Hamilton Island. A bonus 1,000 Velocity Points for Hamilton Island bookings of three or more nights when you make a reservation by 21 February and complete your stay by 30 June.
Some of these offers add a huge amount of value to accommodation bookings, so it’s a good idea to check the latest specials on the Velocity website before locking in your next hotel stay.
Other things to consider when booking with Velocity hotel partners
There are a lot of terms and conditions when it comes to hotel partner bookings. One of the key things to remember is that in order to earn Velocity Points, you need to have a booking where you’ve paid the “qualifying room rate” – generally the standard price for a room at that hotel. So most promotional rates, group discounts or third-party booking specials won’t help you earn Velocity Points for your accommodation. As far as the rest of the fine print goes, here are the highlights:
A “qualifying stay” is one or more nights at a partner hotel.
The points are calculated based on room rates and may exclude other expenses depending on the hotel.
The name on the Velocity account must match the name on the hotel booking.
Points take 2-8 weeks to be credited to your account after your stay at the hotel.
These rules can vary depending on the hotel, so if you want to go into it in more detail, check out the terms and conditions on the Velocity website and scroll through to find information for specific partners.
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Booking accommodation through Agoda
Agoda is one of the top 10 online travel companies in the world, with over 700,000 properties listed on its site and some 37,000 locations. Rather than searching for a specific hotel, Agoda lets you search and compare a range of options based on where you’re going so you can get the best rate possible. To earn points for Agoda bookings, you just have to go to the Agoda/Velocity website, search based on your travel plans and book through the site. You earn 3 points per $1 as standard, with Velocity members of Silver status or above getting the following bonuses:
Card type
Points
Silver
50% bonus (4.5 points per $1)
Gold
75% bonus (5.25 points per $1)
Platinum
100% bonus (6 points per $1)
The great thing about booking through Agoda to earn Velocity Points is that it opens up an even wider range of accommodation options. If you want to book with a hotel that isn’t a Velocity partner, for example, or even a backpackers or youth hostel, you have that option and can still get reward points for it.
The fine print
As with Velocity’s hotel partners, you’ll need to make sure the name on the booking you make with Agoda matches the name on your Velocity membership to claim points. It’s also important to note that you’ll only earn points for the initial accommodation booking costs, with extra charges for things like food or hotel luxuries excluded from the deal. Unless otherwise specified, points can’t be claimed for free stays, industry discounts and package holidays. On the flipside, multiple rooms can be included in one booking. So if you’re planning a family or group trip and need to book more than one room, doing it all under your name could mean you get even more Velocity Points.
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Transferring points from a hotel loyalty program to Velocity
If you’re a member of a hotel loyalty program, you can also earn Velocity Points through a transfer. The process to transfer points from one loyalty program to another may vary a bit, but here’s a basic, step-by-step guide for transferring hotel rewards to Velocity:
Log in to your hotel rewards program account.
Go to the “redeem points” option.
Select “transfer points”.
Follow the prompts to enter your Velocity account details.
Confirm the transfer.
It may take several weeks for the points to be credited to your Velocity account. If you’ve previously earned points through a hotel rewards program that you hardly ever use, this could be a great way to add to your Velocity rewards balance. Alternatively, if you have booked into a participating hotel but don’t have your Velocity account details on you when you check in, you could sign up for their loyalty program, earn those points and then transfer them over.
Participating hotel loyalty programs
Point transfers to Velocity are currently available with the following hotel loyalty programs:
Loyalty programs
Bonus points
Starwood Preferred Guest
1 Starpoint = 1 Velocity Point. Transfer 20,000 Starpoints and receive 5000 bonus Points
LeClub Accor Hotels
1 Le Club AccorHotels Point = 1 Velocity Point. A minimum transfer of 4,000 Le Club AccorHotels Points per transaction applies
Choice Privileges
20,000 Choice Privileges Points = 3,000 Velocity Points
Hilton HHonors
10,000 HHonors Points = 1,500 Velocity Points
IHG Rewards Club
10,000 IHG Rewards Club Points = 2,000 Velocity Points
Golden Circle
1 Golden Circle Award Point = 1 Velocity Point
With most of these loyalty programs, it’s better to earn points directly with Velocity (through a partner booking or otherwise). If you do end up with hotel rewards points that you don’t think you’ll ever use, transferring them to Velocity means you can still get some benefits out of them.
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Velocity holiday packages
While not strictly an accommodation option, another way to earn Velocity points for where you stay is to book a travel package through Virgin Australia Holidays. This service lets you search and create customised packages including flights, accommodation and activities both in Australia and overseas.
With this option, you earn a standard rate of 3 points per $1 spent on the package, with Silver, Gold and Platinum Velocity members earning bonuses of 50%, 75% and 100% respectively. There are also options that cover accommodation and events, excluding flights – so you can shop around for the best price there too, or make your way without flying at all.
Velocity has also made it easy for you to see both the dollar and points values of each option, listing both when you search. You can also choose packages that include flights, accommodation and everything else, or accommodation and events only. As with most holiday packages, these options are designed to save you money and time by making it easy to get all your travel needs sorted in one go. It is worth noting that the packages are only available for certain locations in Australia, New Zealand, Asia, the Pacific and North America – so places in Africa or Europe are off the cards if you take this route.
All of these different accommodation options mean that you can earn Velocity points pretty much anywhere that you stay. Now that you know the details for all the accommodation booking options available, you can choose the right one for whatever travel you’re planning to make sure you get the most out of your membership and your money.Latest Virgin Australia promo codes and deals
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