Which FF program to use?

[jkhastings]

Good afternoon all.
I have a few domestic and international flights coming up (Economy) and need some advice on the best way to go.
I want to get back to gold on Virgin Australia. That's the priority so I can access the VA Lounge in Aus, as well as lounges for SQ and AC. when going OS.
SQ is my favourite airline to fly but it's too hard to get Gold with them.
It seems that going Gold with Virgin is the easiest option as they seem to be partners with SQ and AC and perhaps have reciprocal lounge access around the world.
So all the upcoming flights, I am planning on nominating my VA FF on my Qatar flight (booked as VA flight number), my return flights to Calgary and my return flights to London. Does that make sense or should I go with another option? My VA status is halfway to Silver.

 

[Mattg]

Based on what you’ve said, going for Velocity Gold seems to make sense.

 

[Montien]

This is a solid plan, but there’s a critical logistics hurdle you need to watch under the new October 2025 Velocity rules. From 1 October 2025, to earn or retain a status level, at least 50% of the Status Credits you need must come from Virgin Australia marketed and/or Virgin Australia operated flights.

You’ll want to keep a close eye on how much of your Status Credit earn is coming from VA‑coded or VA‑operated sectors. Your plan to book Qatar Airways flights using a VA flight number is ideal, because those VA‑marketed Qatar sectors will count toward that 50% Virgin Australia requirement as well as earning SC in the usual way. However, be careful with the Calgary (Air Canada) and London legs. If those sectors are ticketed on AC or SQ flight numbers rather than VA codeshares, they can still earn Velocity Status Credits as partner flights, but they will not count toward the 50% Virgin Australia marketed/operated component.

If you’re currently only around halfway to Silver and much of your upcoming travel is on non‑VA‑coded partners, you may need to add a few domestic Virgin Australia “status run” sectors to make sure at least half of the SC you earn for the year are from VA‑marketed or VA‑operated flights.