Flights vs. Foot Spa: Which Is the Smarter Use of Velocity Points?

What is the best way to spend 25,000 Velocity Points? A $119 foot spa or flights to four AFL games across three cities in one weekend? This week I chat to our Customer Experience Specialist, Josh Weckert: the only man brave enough to ask these questions and then actually test it out.

Watch his original video below to learn how we carried out this very scientific experiment.

In this episode we cover:

• Comparing 25,000 Velocity Points spent on a foot spa vs. on domestic AFL flights
• Why flights almost always beat merchandise redemptions in cents-per-point value
• How to navigate Virgin Australia’s dynamic pricing on reward seats
• Booking tips: when to lock in the lowest redemption rates and how Business Class differs
• How newcomers can build up a points balance without credit cards
• Final cents-per-point calculations and what this says about the true “floor vs. ceiling” value of Velocity Points

Key Takeaways

Flights tend to outperform merchandise:
Using Velocity Points for flights gave us ~2.3 cents per point value. In contrast, the foot spa delivered closer to ~0.5 cents per point.

Book early:
Virgin Australia’s economy reward flights are priced within a set range based on distance and demand. As my experience showed, waiting just a few days can cost you thousands more Velocity Points points for the same itinerary.

Earning enough Velocity Points to fly domestically can be easy:
By combining credit card sign up bonuses, everyday spending (groceries, fuel, shops), and loyalty programs, you can quickly build up a decent stash of Velocity Points. Enough to get you anywhere in Australia.

Further reading and helpful links

Read more about Josh’s AFL experiment and how to book a trip like this for yourself.

The top 5 ways to earn Velocity Points without flying.

If you’re in the mood for more alternative uses of frequent flyer points you’ll love another Josh Weckert idea – using Qantas Points to fly First Class and save money on a romantic night out.

Ready to fly? Credit card sign-up bonuses and point earning credit cards are often one of the most effective tools to boost your Velocity Point balance. Take a look at the card below or peruse our list of Velocity Point earning credit cards to find a card that suits your needs.

Citi Premier Credit Card

Offer Currently Not Available

Sign-up Bonus:

110,000 bonus Velocity Frequent Flyer Points¹

Rewards Earn Rate:

2 Citi reward Points per $1 spent on Eligible Transactions online or overseas and 1 Citi reward Point per $1 spent on Eligible Transactions everywhere else, capped at 200,000 Citi reward Points over a 12-month period

Annual Fee:

$300 p.a. ongoing

The Citi Premier Credit Card offers 110,000 bonus Velocity Points¹ for new cardholders who spend $8,000 or more on eligible purchases within 3 months from approval. The card earns up to 2 Citi reward Points per dollar on eligible transactions and includes complimentary membership and two airport lounge visits every year when you enrol in Priority Pass™, plus the ability to automatically transfer Points from the Citi Rewards Program to Velocity Frequent Flyer each month with Points Autosweep⁴. Offer ends 23 October 2025. This product is provided by National Australia Bank Limited, using certain trademarks temporarily under license from Citigroup Inc.

Where to watch and listen

For the full experience, including additional tips and footage from our adventures, you can watch Point Hacks on our YouTube or Facebook pages. We also publish our key takeaways on Instagram and TikTok.

Prefer to listen? Point Hacks is now available in your favourite podcasting app including Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Podbean, iHeartRadio, and good old fashion RSS.

Video and podcast produced by Tobias Venus. Video captured by Tobias and Josh, travelled who travelled at Point Hacks’ expense.