Velocity Frequent Flyer has introduced its new Platinum Plus tier – a level above regular Platinum status – as part of a broader evolution of the program. Designed to recognise Virgin Australia’s highest-spending travellers, it promises VIP treatment across the airline’s network.
With Velocity shifting to a spend-based earning model for status, is the higher threshold for Platinum Plus really worth pursuing?
What is Velocity Platinum Plus?
Platinum Plus now sits above Platinum as Velocity’s ultimate recognition for members who spend big with Virgin Australia.
To earn or maintain Platinum Plus, you’ll need to earn at least:
- 2,000 Status Credits (SCs) within 12 months
- At least 1,500 of those earned on eligible Virgin Australia-marketed or operated flights that you’ve flown on. The rest can come from partner airlines, Flybuys, Family Pooling, credit cards and other sources.
The new dollar-based Status Credit model, introduced in 2025, rewards higher spend. That means travellers buying Business or Flex fares will earn Status Credits faster than ever before. The same goes for last-minute travellers – such as those taking to the skies for work. Leisure travellers in Economy will likely find the climb steeper.
Assuming you’re not regularly flying on Lite fares, you’ll earn 1 status credit for every $12 spent. That means to earn or retain Platinum Plus, you’ll need to spend $24,000 a year – roughly equivalent to eight return Business Class flights between Sydney and Perth.
For comparison, regular Velocity Platinum is still pegged at 1,000 Status Credits, so this is effectively double the effort.
The key benefits of Platinum Plus
The jump to Platinum Plus unlocks a suite of new perks, building on all the benefits of Platinum. Members can look forward to:
- Four complimentary Business Class upgrades per year on VA domestic and international short-haul (which Platinum Plus can use from Choice fares, as well as Flex fares)
- Ability to gift a Platinum membership
- Ability to Fly Later, moving to a later domestic flight that day, subject to availability
- Enhanced recognition with dedicated support via the priority phone service in Australia when available
- Singapore Airlines SilverKris Business Lounge access in Singapore when flying Singapore Airlines
- Increased baggage allowance of 5x 32kg on Virgin Australia flights
- Highest priority for upgrade waitlists across domestic, short-haul and long-haul Virgin Australia services
Additionally, existing Platinum benefits will continue to be offered. Highlights include:
- Free Economy X seats for the member and up to eight passengers on the same booking
- Virgin Australia lounge access for the member + three guests
- Virgin Australia international partner lounge access, where offered
- Additional carry-on baggage allowance
- Free Wi-Fi on Virgin Australia flights
- Fly Ahead, the ability to move onto earlier domestic flights that day (except on Economy Lite tickets)
- Economy Reward Seat Guarantee (available once per year, when booking at least six months in advance)
- 100% bonus points on Virgin Australia and selected partner airline flights
According to Nick Rohrlach, CEO of Velocity Frequent Flyer, the addition of Platinum Plus and Forever Gold “reflects our continued investment in those who invest most with us.”
“We’ve structured the changes to balance the interests of all members, from everyday earners to our most frequent flyers, so everyone continues to benefit,” he said.
Platinum vs Platinum Plus: What’s different?
| Feature | Velocity Platinum | Velocity Platinum Plus |
|---|---|---|
| Status Credits to qualify | 1,000 (500 on VA flights) | 2,000 (1,500 on VA flights) |
| Status Credits to retain | 800 (400 on VA flights) | 2,000 (1,500 on VA flights) |
| Complimentary upgrades | 4 upgrades (Flex fares) | 4 upgrades (Choice or Flex fares) |
| Baggage allowance | 3x 23kg in Economy 3x 32kg in Business | 5x 32kg |
| Gift status | Gift Gold after earning 1,300 SCs in a year (650 from VA flights) | Gift Platinum |
| Singapore Airlines lounge access (SQ flights in SIN) | KrisFlyer Gold Lounge | SilverKris Business Lounge |
| Same-day flexibility | Fly Ahead | Fly Ahead or Fly Later |
Weighing up whether to go for Velocity Platinum Plus
If you’ve already earned Velocity Platinum and are considering chasing the blue ‘VIP’ digital boarding pass, here’s what to think about before setting your sights higher:
1) Are you planning to spend enough on Virgin Australia?
Platinum Plus is clearly aimed at high-flying business travellers. If regular travel on Flex or Business fares is still on your radar after hitting Platinum, then Platinum Plus may be the next natural progression.
However, if you’re finding it challenging to add more paid trips to your calendar, you might be better off booking additional trips as reward seats to save money (these don’t earn Status Credits, but you’ll pay less and can still enjoy your Platinum perks). Or, you may want to redirect future travel to other programs.
2) Is the extra effort worth it for you?
For many, Platinum already delivers the essentials: lounge access, priority boarding, and bonus points. Platinum Plus goes further, but will only make sense if you think you’ll benefit from the new set of perks.
The ability to gift Platinum, bring up to 5x 32kg bags, and access to the Australian-based call centre are all handy. ‘Fly Later’ and the ability to use complimentary upgrades from Choice fares are great tools to keep up your sleeve if you’re a regular traveller.
Singapore Airlines SilverKris Business Lounge access is helpful if you fly Singapore Airlines Economy or Premium Economy regularly. SilverKris First Class Lounge access was initially trialled during the roll-out period, but unfortunately this was scaled back when Platinum Plus officially went live.
3) Do you see yourself travelling less next year?
If you have the capacity to go for Platinum Plus this year, but are planning to dial back your travel next year, Platinum Plus could be a good way to ensure you have a few more years of status perks later on. Because of the ‘soft landing’ system, you’ll drop to Platinum the following year (if you fail to requalify), and then Gold the year after, guaranteeing at least two years of the core perks such as lounge access and priority benefits.
Summing up
Platinum Plus isn’t for everyone, and it’s not meant to be. For most frequent flyers, Velocity Platinum remains the sweet spot, offering the majority of premium benefits at half the cost.
But if you’re already clocking up the flights and want the best service Velocity has to offer, Platinum Plus could be worth chasing – for both the perks and the prestige of sitting at the very top of the Velocity ladder.
Personally, I view Platinum Plus as a ‘sweetener’ tier that serves as a good incentive for regular business travellers who already expect to spend a significant amount with Virgin Australia. However, it’s not quite yet an ‘aspirational’ tier that would drive a lot of extra spending from someone who has already stretched their budget to reach Platinum.
Some future additions could include food and beverage benefits for members in Economy – perhaps a free drink or a number of credits per year. A couple of annual passes to the Beyond Lounge and upgraded international partner lounge access could go a long way as well.
I will not seek to retain V Platinum going forward.
No business to pay for flights and benefits of Platinum much better especially considering I have quite a few trips overseas next year.
QF Platinum now “easier” to retain than Virgin – who’d have thought.
Qantas has exceptional First Lounges — a real highlight — whereas Virgin performs well on the Triangle routes, but beyond that, reliability drops. If a plane breaks down in somewhere like Queenstown or Bali, you’re left stranded — possibly sleeping on the terminal floor.
In reality, the new program has devalued the Virgin brand. But let’s be honest — the Bain executives have already made their money so the thought process on value adding to make it better has gone from their minds.
I’ve been very loyal to Virgin for a long time..
My new model moving forward will be to just retain Vel plat, and go after QFF plat after that..
In fact, I’ve never even contemplated shifting any spend over to QFF until velocity recently changed everything for the worse recently…
So good one guys lol
For the record, I have VA gold and QF platinum at the moment. I won’t pay more than a small premium in ticket cost to fly QF rather than VA domestically, and if I flew internationally on SQ, ANA or UA I’d weigh my decision about whether to credit flights to VA or SQ.
Ps, SYD -PER Virgin bus is more like $2k, so more like 12 trips…
For more context, you would need to make 40 ADL MEL return business flights to earn 2000 SC…
That’s almost every week right…
Virgin really need to introduce a meaningful carrot for P+.. like maybe beyond lounge access for example..
Why would I want access to the Above & Beyond Lounge too. Other than act like a Mr Bean in the presence of others in a place that, to others, I shouldn’t be! These perks should either be written in to the benefits, which they are not, and not given on an ad hoc basis to a select few because this only serves to diminish the value of the perks given.
VA still has a long way to go to emulate the QF P+ offering and in my experience, many VA team members still need to learn how to make P+ members feel special and rewarded for their spend and loyalty. Because this is not happening, there will be many Velocity members not retaining P+ over the following year due to the inconsistent benefits and feeling of being loyal to VA.