VA transfer to SQ 1.35:1 VA

[JohnK]

Dunno - one can get to SIN and then can go SIN-BKK very cheaply ...

SIN-BKK and return is not that cheap with luggage and golf clubs.

The taxes on SQ are horrendous but at least there is some flexibility in picking up business saver awards. Although in saying that 01 August 2015 does not appear to have availability. Qantas is the same so must be some special weekend.

Wish VA and VS come to the same type of arrangement so I can get rid of the orphaned VS miles.

 

[Ben6]

I think I would be correct in stating that most (but not all) people would consider this announcement to favour the Velocity side of the equation but given that SQ own 50% of VA and therefore 37.5% of the Velocity program, I think it's a really smart way of helping VA and VFF compete with QFF. There would be many domestic frequent flyers who don't have access to other means of collecting significant points from credit cards, the ATO, etc. Given how relatively difficult it is to redeem QFF, this offering will surely tempt those travellers to switch their domestic allegiances. We have learnt from QFF how valuable frequent flyer programs are in there own right and this will surely increase the total value of VFF and therfore directly benefit SQ.

It isn't going to change my behaviours because I already fly VA and use my VFF points for travel to the USA and occasionally Europe with EY. The bulk of my points come via AMEX which I can already transfer to SQ at 1:1 but it's still nice to have the option. I will be very surprised if this move leads to a major flooding of the SQ reward fares but time will tell. As stated earlier, VFF take more points than SQ but the taxes are considerably lower and even have the option of completely tax free flying. This is not the case on SQ, with the taxes often almost as much as a discount Y fare, making only J and F reward fares worth considering.

Like most of the permutations and combinations with points collecting and using, we all have different priorities. What seems clear to me is this is good news for just about all of us except QFF!

 

[Fruitcake]

I think I would be correct in stating that most (but not all) people would consider this announcement to favour the Velocity side of the equation but given that SQ own 50% of VA and therefore 37.5% of the Velocity program, I think it's a really smart way of helping VA and VFF compete with QFF.

It's not quite that much, SQ owns 22% of VA.

	Holder Name				Amt Held	% Out
	AIR NEW ZEALAND LTD				913,503,208	25.92
	SINGAPORE AIRLINES LTD				779,211,072	22.11
	ETIHAD AIRWAYS PJSC				746,648,045	21.18
	VIRGIN GROUP				258,973,973	7.35

 

[Ben6]

It's not quite that much, SQ owns 22% of VA.

	Holder Name				Amt Held	% Out
	AIR NEW ZEALAND LTD				913,503,208	25.92
	SINGAPORE AIRLINES LTD				779,211,072	22.11
	ETIHAD AIRWAYS PJSC				746,648,045	21.18
	VIRGIN GROUP				258,973,973	7.35

Whoops, really need to check facts before posting. General principle still holds though!

 

[clarkkent]

Also, from the Velocity announcement email, "As a Gold member you will also enjoy an enhanced travel experience, with your Velocity membership level now printed on your Singapore Airlines and SilkAir boarding pass."

 

[bean]

Think I'll save my points for Melb to LA and just pay full fare for th trip to coughet..

 

[VAG newbie]

Think I'll save my points for Melb to LA and just pay full fare for th trip to coughet..

Yes, for trip to coughet, maybe consider buying lifemiles. Given their "devaluation", going to Asia now only cost you 40000 miles one way in J (=$600 with promotion).

Also, consider using VA points to redeeming Etihad! In a way I envy you living in Melbourne. As soon as Etihad start their A380 service to MEL, you can enjoy their Apartment which is better than SQ suite (well, at least based on the pictures), assuming they don't run out of food! And one day. the residence perhaps!

I recently redeemed Sao Paulo to BNE via AUH on Etihad business for just 125000 VA points + $72 in taxes. That's pretty good for 30hrs flight!

 

[bean]

Yes, for trip to coughet, maybe consider buying lifemiles. Given their "devaluation", going to Asia now only cost you 40000 miles one way in J (=$600 with promotion).

Also, consider using VA points to redeeming Etihad! In a way I envy you living in Melbourne. As soon as Etihad start their A380 service to MEL, you can enjoy their Apartment which is better than SQ suite (well, at least based on the pictures), assuming they don't run out of food! And one day. the residence perhaps!

I recently redeemed Sao Paulo to BNE via AUH on Etihad business for just 125000 VA points + $72 in taxes. That's pretty good for 30hrs flight!

Sorry what do you mean by 'life miles'? Also Im really sorry if I sound completley stupid but what do you mean by "Given their "devaluation", going to Asia now only cost you 40000 miles one way in J (=$600 with promotion)."

What do you mean by their devaluation, and what do you mean with 40,000 miles=$600? sorry again...urghhh

 

[ap_spd]

Also, from the Velocity announcement email, "As a Gold member you will also enjoy an enhanced travel experience, with your Velocity membership level now printed on your Singapore Airlines and SilkAir boarding pass."

That I think is the best part of the announcement for those of us who will not be transferring the points across or have no KF account

 

[anat0l]

When linking your VA and SQ accounts, if you only intend transferring them in one direction (e.g. VA to SQ but not the other way around), do you need to complete the linking procedure on both accounts, or only the account where you want to transfer out of (e.g. in this case, VA)?

 

[rtyuiop]

Linking one completes the other (although the first time I tried it didn't work 100%).

 

[VAG newbie]

Whoops, really need to check facts before posting. General principle still holds though!

I agree. As long as customers are lured away from Qantas, it's a win for SQ! Don't forget Australian domestic market is a very high yield market. We have a land mass bigger than Europe, we have no high speed train and we only have practically 2 airlines! (Jetstar and Tiger are really Qantas and Virgin) Yet we have some of the world's busiest routes, MEL-SYD-BNE, the golden triangle! Virgin's success is 22% SQ success!

I'm keeping my fingers crossed that VA will sign a similar deal with DL, that way we will have access to the entire Skyteam network! This will make Velocity points the most flexible FFP currency, with access to Star alliance (and SQ suites!), Skyteam and Etihad! Qantas will have a hard time!

 

[quokka77]

Easy on the exclamation marks VAGnewbie, your shift key will wear out.

 

[cove]

The 35% fee for administration is quite high and currently I will not need to use the facility as I try to land our points earn into the correct places each month. This transfer ability is good to avoid points expiry but you do lose 26% of your points stash which is better than a 100% loss if the points expire.
I did take up the 15% Virgin offer bonus and I might do some more as VA have good availability on domestic runs out of Perth in business class.

 

[Rob.au]

Also, from the Velocity announcement email, "As a Gold member you will also enjoy an enhanced travel experience, with your Velocity membership level now printed on your Singapore Airlines and SilkAir boarding pass."

This sounds good but I'm trying to figure if this has any real practical value. I've never had any difficulty having my membership card recognised at Business check-in, though this gives me more confidence in the common situation of having to travel with a membership card more than a month after its expiry date because the replacement has arrived while you are away due to VA being so tardy in issuing new cards.

Will it make checking into the KF/SK lounges any quicker or will they still have to manually write down our details on a sheet of paper as they do now?

Priority boarding doesn't seem to work too well on SQ anyway. At ports outside SIN it's usually a joke. SYD I find usually doesn't bother with it and elsewhere they seem to try to push all the families and kids to the front of the line before boarding starts despite them following KF/SA Gold in the official sequence. In SIN they call the boarding sequences correctly but don't usually check and I've found increasingly everyone and their dog just rushes on.

Will the linkage give us any better access to advanced seat selection?

 

[AviatorPJ]

Think I'll save my points for Melb to LA and just pay full fare for th trip to coughet..

Yes Bean, the VA sectors to HKT via PER from MEL are good earners- esp. during any VA double SC offer (like last year) as well as for points.

 

[Warks]

Singapore Airlines partnership

Got this email overnight. Surprised no one has posted about it? I didn't know this was happening. Not a big concern of mine not flying with Singapore. Still interesting deal.

We’re pleased to announce a world first in partnership with Singapore Airlines.

Velocity and KrisFlyer members can now combine their Points and Miles from both programs*, to access flight upgrades and Reward Seats across the combined international networks of Virgin Australia and Singapore Airlines.

As a Gold member you will also enjoy an enhanced travel experience, with your Velocity membership level now printed on your Singapore Airlines and SilkAir boarding pass. Simply remember to add your Velocity membership number to your booking and carry your card with you when you travel.

Convert your Velocity Points to KrisFlyer Miles at a rate of 1.35 Points to 1 Mile to redeem or upgrade on Singapore Airlines and SilkAir flights

Convert your KrisFlyer Miles to Velocity Points at a rate of 1.35 Miles to 1 Point to redeem or upgrade on Virgin Australia flights

Convert your KrisFlyer Miles to Velocity Points at a rate of 1.35 Miles to 1 Point for rewards like car hire, holiday packages, gift cards, merchandise and more

How Points Conversion Works

If you are a member of the Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer program then you can set up a link with both Accounts using the simple steps below. For every 1.35 Velocity Points converted you will earn 1 KrisFlyer Mile and there is a minimum of 5,000 Points per conversion.

These new benefits are in addition to the range of enhancements made to our Singapore Airlines partnership which have been introduced over the last 12 months.

There's that word 'enhancements' again.

EDIT - saw there's a whole long thread about this here which I never looked at as I didn't understand the title's relevance to this.

Delete or merge this at will.

 

[Fiches Mouser]

Re: Singapore Airlines partnership

http://www.australianfrequentflyer....lia-velocity/va-transfer-sq-1-35-a-63206.html

 

[SydneySwan]

Re: Singapore Airlines partnership

I like the words a 'world first' - perhaps they are referring to the 35% fee they are taking on the conversions!

 

[knasty]

Wish VA and VS come to the same type of arrangement so I can get rid of the orphaned VS miles.

Can't see it happening JohnK. My plan is to use my 400k for MH J redemptions then it's all Velocity.