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Virgin Australia’s Velocity Frequent Flyer program has scored a major coup, winning a Commonwealth Bank (CBA) loyalty partnership over Qantas.
While existing Commonwealth Bank credit cards will continue to provide Qantas Frequent Flyer points at a lower earn rate, CBA customers in the bank’s Yello Rewards program will have the option to convert their Yello points to Velocity Points.
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“By bringing together Australia’s largest retail bank and Velocity, we’re making it easier for millions of Australians to earn Velocity Points through the banking they’re already doing every day,” said Velocity CEO Nathan Cleary.
“At a time when cost of living matters, this isn’t about spending more, it’s about helping Australians get more value from everyday financial decisions.
“As the rewards landscape evolves, credit cards will continue to play an important role in Velocity, but we’re broadening our financial services offering to create more ways to earn Velocity Points through products like home loans and transaction accounts.
“The more everyday banking our members do with CommBank, the more opportunities they’ll have to earn Velocity Points and turn those everyday financial decisions into travel opportunities.”
According to Virgin, points redemptions for its reward seats are seeing new heights, with Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane remaining the most popular reward destinations domestically.
Internationally, Japan and Europe remain popular destinations through ANA, Qatar Airways, and Singapore Airlines, with Canada also gaining ground.
“Demand for Virgin Australia Reward Seats has never been stronger, with domestic Reward Seat bookings reaching a record high last financial year,” said Cleary.
“That’s exactly why we’re creating more ways for members to earn Velocity Points to get to their next holiday sooner, and this offering is the first of a number of enhancements we’ll announce across our financial services offering in the coming months.”
In a statement, Angus Sullivan, Commonwealth Bank group executive for retail banking services, said the Yello program will reward customers for everyday banking.
“The reimagined CommBank Yello will deliver enhanced banking rewards, working with established brands including Woolworths Everyday Rewards, Origin Energy, Myer, Velocity Frequent Flyer, DoorDash, bp, and Qatar Airways making rewards clearer, more useful and easier to use,” he said.
It comes after CBA-commissioned YouGov research found that almost half of Australians view loyalty programs as being more important to them than 12 months ago, and 78 per cent use them to help manage rising costs.
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