Trying to go to japan with 115k velocity points

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Hi folks,

I have 115k velocity points and want to go to Japan. What are my options? Do I have to convert them to krisflyer? Is there a chart I can consult for possible flights

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What class of travel are you looking at? At 115k va points I don't think you can travel other than economy.

You have 3 options:

  1. Redeem Singapore airlines (SQ) directly from velocity website. However, it will be rather expensive as the redemption on SQ flights using VA points aren't great. As velocity is distance based award, you'll need to add the distance from Aus to SIN then SIN to Japan. My guesstimate is 65000 points one way or 130000 return on economy, which you don't have enough for return booking.
  2. Convert to kris flyer (KF) and redeem on SQ. As KF is a zone based program, wherever you depart from Australia (except PER) it will be 63750 KF miles (including 15% discount for online booking), or 86062.5 VA miles. You have enough points but SQ charges fuel surcharge. For return to Japan, it's $671.06. Consider a lot of economy class flight sells quite cheap, even direct flights (my mom in law got BNE-NRT rt for $799), I personally don't think it's worth using 80k va points for $120 saving.
  3. You can us KF to redeem star alliance flights, which you have many choices including ANA, Thai and Asiana. But they charge 90k KF miles return, or 121.5k va points, which you don't have enough, and you have to pay fuel surcharges similar to above. So I wouldn't even bother.
These award ward charts can be easily viewed on each program's website. But at your point balance, I would strongly recommend you to wait and collect more and aim for a business class redemption. If your trip to Japan is necessary, please consider buying a revenue ticket. Alternatively, consider purchasing miles from American, Alaska airlines or Lifemiles if you want to fly business class cheap (Please read Keith's guide on mile purchases).
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