Velocity Frequent Flyer, the loyalty program of Virgin Australia, has today announced its membership base has grown to a whopping 11 million members – the equivalent of one member in every Australian household.
Ranked as the nation’s third-largest loyalty program, Velocity has undergone a significant transformation over the past 24 months, with new industry-leading airline partnerships, earn and redemption opportunities, a revolutionised business strategy, pioneering membership innovations and more.
More than 2,000 new members are now joining Velocity each day, representing some of the highest acquisition numbers in the program’s history, with average Points earn per member per month having more than doubled since January 2022.
The continuous upward trajectory of new members, coupled with the program’s ‘Switch-A-Roo from you know who’ offer, which saw many thousands of new members join Velocity from its nearest competitor, is demonstrating the program’s popularity among Australian travellers.
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Velocity Frequent Flyer CEO, Nick Rohrlach said the 11-million milestone and recent surge in members reflects the fact that Velocity’s renewed offering is resonating with travellers.
“We’re extremely proud of where Velocity Frequent Flyer is today, offering members value and choice while helping Australians get more from their dollar,” said Mr Rohrlach.
“We like to do things differently, take airline loyalty out of the mould and offer unique experiences, exceptional rewards and unparalleled service that attracts new members and recognises those who have been loyal to us for a very long time.
“We know we have a compelling offer for business and leisure travellers who have less discretionary spend amid rising inflation but who want better value airfares and a much easier pathway to achieve Gold and Platinum Status, all while flying with a premium and vibrant airline like Virgin Australia.
“We are laser focused on continuing to be the tailwind to get members to their status and Points goals faster and a place where members see value in their loyalty through extensive ways to earn and redeem – especially in today’s economic environment.
“The sheer volume of initiatives we’ve been able to stand up, which have contributed significantly to our growth, is testament to our people at Velocity, as well as our incredible partners and the loyalty of members who choose to fly with us.
“11 million members is a huge milestone for the program and as we look forward, our ambition is to nurture and reward our existing membership base which we know will result in even more Australians joining the Velocity family,” he said.
Velocity Frequent Flyer’s transformation highlights and customer innovations, giving Australians more value and choice:
- Expanded Flybuys’ partnership allowing members to transfer Points earnt at Bunnings and Officeworks, along with Coles, Liquorland, Target, Kmart and more, to Velocity.
- Partnered with national department store Myer, giving members access to more than 200,000 products at myer.com.au using Points or Points + Pay to drive their dollar further;
- Repriced the Velocity Rewards Store, offering more value than ever before with members now able to purchase items using up to 50 per cent less Points^;
- Better value airfares through a pricing restructure resulting in some of the airline’s domestic Economy fares for travel been capital city routes being up to 30 per cent better value than its nearest competitor**;
- Expanded international flight network to reach more places than ever before. Members can earn and redeem their Points to more than 500 destinations around the world with United Airlines and Qatar Airways now joining the program, alongside existing international partners Virgin Atlantic, Etihad Airways, Singapore Airlines, Hawaiian Airlines, and Air Canada;
- A new partnership with 7-Eleven, rewarding members with Points for topping up with fuel and purchasing convenience items;
- Renewed partnerships with major Australian banks, allowing members to earn Points on a host of credit cards, with bonus Points up-for-grabs across many cards at sign up. See latest offers, here;
- Continued to offer members unique airline loyalty program benefits including Family Pooling, Parental Pause and Australia’s first frequent flyer program for pets;
- Launched a partnership with Rocket Travel, (part of the Booking.com and Agoda conglomerate), to launch a new booking platform that offers members Points earn and redemption offers on over 400,000 hotel room deals and an extensive range of car rental options across the globe;
- Supported Virgin Australia with the launch of Virgin Australia Business Flyer to provide greater value and rewards to Australian small and medium sized businesses. Thousands of businesses have since joined the program.
Today’s announcement follows the culmination of the first stage of the Virgin Australia business transformation in September 2022, which has returned the airline group to profitability. Virgin Australia also recently announced its Bring on Wonderful campaign and Middle Seat Lottery, which has attracted headlines around the globe.
