Hi there,
Keen to receive some advice on the best way to redeem my Velocity points for 2 X 1 way business class flights to Europe (Dublin or Manchester) in August 2016.
I will have 250,000 Velocity points within the next 3-4 weeks. I’ve browsed the redemption search and there’s various ways of redeeming these points through Virgin, costing the full 250,000 plus about $90ea flight in taxes. Etihad via Sydney is one option, via Perth or direct from Melbourne, all booked directly through Virgin.
The plan was to use the Velocity points so my partner & I can both go one way business, then use my AMEX Velocity card to pay for a one way return - I understand this entitles me to an exclusive buy one, get on free offer so it would end up costing me ~4k for both of us to fly return to Europe in business class.
I understand there’s another option of transferring the Velocity points to KrisFlyer; however I’d lose about 0.3 per Velocity point transferred. Is this a sensible option and if so, would the redemption end up more/less cost effective? My preference would probably be to fly Singapore as I find their service standards much higher - this is based on economy experience with both Etihad & Singapore, appreciate Etihad business is probably pretty good too.
Outside of the above, is there another option which would make more sense to any of you? I know there’s a Velocity Vs KrisFlyer article on the site but it’s not that contextual so I’d appreciate any advice you guys can offer.
Thanks,
Chris
Double check with that buy one get one free deal. AFAIK it no longer exist. Even when it did, it was limited to VA marketed and operated flights. So you can’t use it in code shared flights operated by EY. \r\n\r\nAs to the option of transferring to KF. There are 2 zones in Europe in their award chart. The cheap one requires only 68k one way in J, these includes cities such as AMS/CPH/ATH. The rest of the cities will be ~85k. These equates to 91.8-114.75k VA points. In terms of points, it is cheaper. But also note that SQ charges fuel surcharges whereas VA doesn’t. So you will be looking at extra $800-1000 in tax for both of you and it is something you need to factor in when you redeem.
Hi Chris
There is a Singapore Airlines code share flight you can book directly with Virgin
I searched a random date in august for you and the two cheapest options were sold out
If you are not seeing it when on the virgin site put your dates into Sky Scanner then just select Virgin and you can click on the redirect link.
I am no expert but i believe if you change your points to Kris flyer and book direct it will cost you less in points but more in tax there may be better availability though.
Sorry i have not really answered your question i think you may need to do some more research.
Congratulations on saving so many points well done.
Have been looking at similar routing myself. Best value seems to be using Velocity points to book Etihad. (Avoiding KF’s taxes)
Two points to remember though
- If you fly back from Dublin you will save at least $200 by avoiding the UK's APD (departure tax).
- Pay attention to the aircraft been used. Significant differences between EY's A380 and the others on the Aus routes.
Good luck !