How can I buy Virgin Velocity Status Credits?
What are your options for Status Credits apart from actually flying?
Status Credits are a key consideration for Velocity frequent flyers. You can't spend them on free flights or other services, but you need to earn a certain number each year to get into Virgin's Silver, Gold and Platinum tiers. You can learn more about how they work and how many you need for each tier in our complete guide to Velocity membership status tiers.
If you need a few extra Status Credits to reach the next tier, what can you do?
There is no direct way to purchase Velocity Status Credits (unlike points, which you can purchase). The main way you earn them is through flights on Virgin Australia and its airline partners.
The number of credits you'll receive varies depending on the length of the flight, and also on the flight class. Business earns more than any economy fare, and basic Lite fares earn less than pricier Choice or Flex Fares.
As an example, the table below shows the number of Status Credits you'd earn on a Sydney-Melbourne flight in the different fare categories, as well as an indicative price for what you might typically pay for that flight.
| Fare | Status Credits earned | Typical price |
|---|---|---|
| Lite | 5 | $139.00 |
| Choice | 15 | $159.00 |
| Flex | 25 | $409.00 |
| Business | 55 | $599.00 |
People keen to maintain their status will often take a "status run", a flight designed purely to ensure they earn enough Status Credits in a given year. In effect, this is like buying Status Credits, but you actually have to take the flight.
There are two other main ways you can earn Status Credits. If your Flybuys accounts is linked to your Velocity account (and we definitely recommend that), you'll earn 1 Status Credit each month per $100 you spend at Coles, Coles Online, Liquorland or First Choice Liquor. This is capped at a maximum of 10 Status Credits per month.
That's a nice way to score extra credits, but it doesn't make sense as an emergency strategy. To earn 10 Status Credits this way, you'd need to spend $1,200. It would be cheaper to pay $159 or so for a Choice fare.
The American Express Velocity Platinum Card offers 100 Status Credits if you spend $50,000 on the card in a calendar year. That's a generous dose of credits, but it does presume that you'll spend that amount of money each year, and that you can afford the $375 annual fee. The card has lots of other benefits for regular Virgin customers and is worth considering for that reason, but signing up for it purely to get the Status Credits doesn't really make sense.
Finally, if you have several family members all in Velocity, another option is to use Family Pooling to credit all the available Status Credits from each person to a single account. Our Family Pooling guide explains that in more detail.
Status runs aren't for everyone, but if you're flying frequently enough to find maintaining a higher status useful, they're worth considering. And they remain the most cost-effective way to score extra Status Credits if you need them. Happy flying!
Want to keep your frequent flyer points balance growing? Check out the latest credit card sign-up deals.
We updated this guide in September 2023 with current earning rates and fare details.
Image: Finder/Photographer: Angus Kidman