Last Chance to Redeem Velocity Points on Etihad & Hawaiian Airlines

Virgin Australia is about to lose two of its international partner airlines: Etihad Airways and Hawaiian Airlines. This unfortunately means that you only have a short time left to redeem Velocity Points for travel on these airlines.

The airline’s partnership with FlyPelican will also wrap up at the end of this month, but it was never possible to redeem Velocity Points for FlyPelican flights.

Book now to secure reward seats on Etihad Airways

Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways will cease to be a Velocity partner airline on 1 June 2025, as Virgin Australia instead doubles down on its partnership with part-owner Qatar Airways.

You can still redeem Velocity Points for flights up to May 2026, but you’ll need to book by 31 May 2025 at the latest.

You’ll still be able to change your travel dates up to 12 months after the date your ticket is issued, but any changes will be subject to reward seat availability and you’ll have to complete all travel by May 2026.

Etihad Airways offers convenient flights from Sydney and Melbourne to Abu Dhabi, with onward connections to Europe, the Middle East and Africa. These flights can be a great use of Velocity Points, especially in Business Class.

Etihad also now flies its Airbus A380 from Singapore to Abu Dhabi, with onward A380 connections to London and Paris. This is interesting because Etihad offers an amazing First Class product on its A380. Booking Etihad First Class is a particularly great use of Velocity Points, if you can book a seat.

If you have Velocity status, keep in mind that Etihad won’t honour Velocity status benefits if you fly after 1 June 2025. This is particularly something to keep in mind if booking an Economy Class flight.

Premium cabin seats released up to 30 days before departure

Since last year, Etihad has only been releasing Business and First Class reward seats to partner airline members up to 30 days prior to departure. Unfortunately, because the last day to book with Velocity Points is 31 May 2025, you’ll only be able to redeem Etihad Business & First reward seats for travel up until the end of June 2025.

That said, Etihad does often release more premium cabin seats within a few weeks of departure. So, if you want to book a last-minute trip, you might be in luck. For example, at the time of writing, we found First Class availability on these Etihad flights from Singapore to Paris via Abu Dhabi.

How to redeem points for Etihad flights after June 2025

After Etihad’s partnership with Virgin Australia ends, you’ll still be able to book Etihad reward seats using points or miles in other frequent flyer programs. These include:

• Etihad Guest
• Air Canada Aeroplan
• American Airlines AAdvantage

You can transfer points from four Australian credit card reward programs to Etihad Guest, including Amex Membership Rewards Points.

Book now to Hawaii with Velocity Points

Velocity’s partnership with Hawaiian Airlines will end on 1 July 2025. This means you have until 30 June to book in any last-minute Velocity redemptions on Hawaiian, which flies non-stop from Sydney and Auckland to Honolulu.

As long as you book by 30 June, you can still use your Velocity Points to travel on the Hawaiian Airlines network up until 28 February 2026.

Hawaiian Airlines reward seats do not appear on the Virgin Australia website, so you need to call the Velocity Membership Contact Centre to check availability and book. However, you can use the American Airlines website (or for advanced users, ExpertFlyer) to get an indication of Hawaiian reward seat availability before calling.

If you’re looking for Business Class reward seats to Hawaii, this airline tends to release more availability within a few months of departure. Right now, there is actually a fair bit of availability for travel in June 2025, as well as a few seats in July and September.

If you can’t find any seats on the Sydney-Honolulu route, you might have more luck searching for Auckland-Honolulu.

Without Hawaiian Airlines, the only ways to get to Hawaii on Virgin Australia partner airlines will be via Japan or mainland USA/Canada.

Hawaiian Airlines will partner with Qantas and join Oneworld

While this is your last chance to spend Velocity Points on Hawaiian Airlines, this airline is currently in the process of joining Oneworld. In fact, you’ll soon be able to use Qantas Points for flights with Hawaiian. So, if you have points with Qantas or another Oneworld airline, all is not lost.

In the meantime, the airline’s own HawaiianMiles loyalty program is also a transfer partner for Amex Membership Rewards in Australia.

Matt Graham

The editor of Australian Frequent Flyer, Matt's passion for travel has taken him to more than 100 countries… with the help of frequent flyer points, of course!
Matt's favourite destinations (so far) are Germany, Brazil, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. His interests include aviation, economics & foreign languages, and he has a soft spot for good food and red wine.

You can connect with Matt by posting on the Australian Frequent Flyer community forum and tagging @AFF Editor.