Velocity Reinstating Singapore KrisFlyer Transfers “Shortly”

Velocity Frequent Flyer members will soon be able to convert their points to Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer miles again, with Velocity CEO Nick Rohrlach promising to bring the option back within months.

The ability to transfer points between the Velocity and KrisFlyer loyalty programs was a hugely popular program feature until it was suspended in April 2020. The suspension happened without warning at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, at a time when Velocity was trying to limit the number of points members could redeem amid fears of a mass “run” on Velocity points. (Just two weeks later, Virgin Australia entered voluntary administration and Velocity temporarily stopped allowing members to redeem points for anything.)

At the time, Virgin Australia said transfers to KrisFlyer would resume “once flight schedules return to normal”. That has taken a while, but with Australia’s international border reopening in less than two weeks and Singapore Airlines back to operating a significant schedule between Australia and Singapore, the time has almost come.

It comes as Virgin Australia has just reinstated the ability to redeem Velocity points for Economy Class reward seats on most Singapore Airlines routes.

KrisFlyer transfers resuming: What we know so far

Velocity Frequent Flyer announced this week that the ability to transfer points between KrisFlyer and Velocity “is expected to resume shortly”. This is good news for Velocity members, as there had been some doubts about whether this program feature would ever return at all.

But the devil will be in the detail – and that’s still unknown.

“We know how much our members value the incredible service and expansive network of destinations across Asia and Europe that Singapore Airlines offers, and we are really thrilled to have their seats back in the program,” Velocity Frequent Flyer CEO Nick Rohrlach said.

“Initially members will be able to use their Points to book Economy seats with Singapore Airlines and we anticipate expanding Reward Seat availability into their premium cabins soon. We also know how much Velocity and KrisFlyer members value the ability to transfer points between the programs and we are working to restore this feature within the next few months.”

Until April 2020, it was possible to transfer points between the Velocity and KrisFlyer loyalty programs at a 1.55:1 rate in both directions (this worked out to be around a 35% penalty), with no limit to the number of points you could convert. It’s not yet clear whether transfers between both programs will continue to be offered on the same terms as they were pre-COVID.

The conversion rate between the two programs was originally 1.35:1, but this was devalued in January 2019.

Singapore Airlines no longer owns a stake in Virgin Australia and ACCC authorisation for their alliance expired last year, but the two airlines remain partners.

Why would you want to transfer Velocity points to KrisFlyer?

There are several advantages to transferring Velocity points to KrisFlyer.

The main one is access to reward seats on more airlines, through Singapore Airlines’ membership in Star Alliance. With Velocity members currently unable to redeem Velocity points in Singapore Airlines’ premium cabins, this could also open up more redemption options in Singapore Airlines Premium Economy, Business and First/Suites.

In addition, Singapore Airlines offers a lucrative Star Alliance round-the-world for 240,000 KrisFlyer miles in Business Class, and access to award seats on other selected partners like Vistara.

KrisFlyer miles can be used to upgrade on Singapore Airlines flights and across the Star Alliance network as well.

But there are some downsides of transferring points, such as KrisFlyer’s fixed three-year expiry of miles.

Incidentally, many of the Velocity members who transferred their points to KrisFlyer in late 2018 – prior to the last devaluation – are now stuck with unused KrisFlyer miles that are at risk of expiring in early 2023 if KrisFlyer stops extending their validity due to COVID-19.

Velocity brings back reward seats on Singapore Airlines

The news comes as Velocity resumes offering Economy Class reward seats for travel on Singapore Airlines, except on routes to or from India, Hong Kong or China. Redemptions in other cabins are still unavailable for now.

You can book Singapore Airlines reward seats on eligible routes on the Virgin Australia website.

Velocity reinstated redemptions on most partner airlines on 2 November 2021, after blocking all international and partner airline redemptions throughout the pandemic. But Singapore Airlines redemptions were not brought back in November. This was due to Singapore Airlines not making award inventory available to any partner airlines for an extended period “due to the complexities of enforcing global travel restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic”.

Singapore Airlines began making Economy award seats available to Star Alliance partners again last week.

“As international travel demand returns to the market, our partnership with Singapore Airlines provides a really fantastic way our members can use the Points they’ve accumulated during the pandemic to travel to hundreds of destinations across the globe. When we look at the most popular Singapore Airlines’ redemptions from 2019, Singapore, London, Paris, and Bangkok were top of the list, and we expect a similar trend as our members start to make bookings again,” Rohrlach said.

“Singapore Airlines is one of seven leading global airlines we have partnered with to allow Velocity members to redeem their Points on international travel and we look forward to expanding our partnerships across the program this year.

“Velocity is committed to opening a world of travel opportunities to our members and this is just another example of how we are doing things differently to provide even more value to our members.”

Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer members have been able to redeem their miles for Virgin Australia flights throughout the pandemic.

Join the discussion on the Australian Frequent Flyer forum: Velocity reinstates Singapore Airlines redemptions

Matt Graham

The editor of Australian Frequent Flyer, Matt's passion for travel has taken him to over 70 countries… with the help of frequent flyer points, of course!
Matt's favourite destinations (so far) are Germany, Brazil & Kazakhstan. His interests include economics, aviation & 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.