An ace up the sleeve of Velocity’s top tier Platinum members has forever been complimentary upgrades from economy to business class. For every year they maintain Platinum status, Velocity Frequent Flyer sends out four complimentary upgrade credits.
Typically these upgrade credits can only be applied to the most expensive Freedom fares, but until October 31 Virgin is allowing Platinum members to use their complimentary upgrades when travelling on an Elevate fare, in addition to Freedom fares.
Already used your complimentary upgrades for the year? Don’t worry, Virgin Australia has gifted one additional complimentary upgrade credit to many members who have already redeemed their existing credit. Members can check their remaining upgrades under ‘My Benefits’ on their Velocity account.
Elevate vs Freedom
Virgin Australia offers five main fare types on domestic flights, with three of those being economy seats. Getaway is the cheapest, followed by Elevate and then Freedom. Each fare type has different inclusions and flexibility, but all have become similar with Virgin’s Flexible Flying policy offering no change fees for travel up to 28 February 2022.
Here’s how Virgin Australia’s five fare classes stack up for a one-way journey in the first week of November.
Adelaide to Melbourne:
- Getaway: $59
- Elevate: $139
- Freedom: $219
- Business Saver: $299
- Business: $349
Brisbane to Melbourne:
- Getaway: $149
- Elevate: $199
- Freedom: $335
- Business Saver: $345
- Business: $395
Perth to Melbourne:
- Getaway: $235
- Elevate: $299
- Freedom: $449
- Business Saver: $1,149
- Business: $1,199
Based on our dummy booking, you’d be saving $80 flying Adelaide-Melbourne, $136 flying Brisbane-Melbourne and $150 on Perth-Melbourne by booking in Elevate over a Freedom fare. It’s not a massive saving but does increase the value of upgrade credits on flights where booking a Business Saver fare over Freedom only costs a little extra, such as Brisbane-Melbourne where the increase is $10.
How to apply a complimentary upgrade to your booking
You can check how many upgrade credits you have and when they expire under the ‘My Benefits’ section of the Velocity site. Applying an upgrade to an existing booking is as simple as calling Velocity Frequent Flyer on 13 18 75 between 8 am and 8 pm AEST Monday to Friday. Upgrades can be processed over the phone up to two hours prior to the scheduled departure time, but can not be applied online.
If you’re travelling domestically you can also request an upgrade when checking in, or at a Virgin Australia lounge up until 30 minutes before departure. This isn’t our preferred method as travellers who request last-minute upgrades are not guaranteed full catering on board. To be safe it is best to request your upgrade at least the day before your flight.
