Virgin Australia has launched an innovative Business Flyer loyalty program to reward its small to medium-sized business (SME) customers and snare new SME clients.
Called Virgin Australia Business Flyer the loyalty program has a host of benefits.
- Free membership, no sign-up costs, and no minimum spend.
- Velocity Points earn for businesses today with Points earned for every dollar spent on eligible flights by the business member as well as Velocity Points and Status Credits earn for the individual flyer.
- Three new tiers of loyalty with a faster Velocity Points earn rate and more exclusive benefits for higher tiers.
- Discounted airfares, with a reduction of up to six per cent off the base airfare cost.
- Two Velocity Pilot Gold memberships are gifted to Business Flyer members who join and spend at least $2,000 on flights in the first three months of membership.
- Discounted Lounge memberships are available for just $379 per annual membership.
- Dedicated Virgin Australia Business Flyer travel management portal accessible via the Virgin Australia website.
- Velocity Points earnt by the business can be transferred to any personal Velocity account to use for flights, upgrades, hotel car hire and through partners.
After joining for free, Virgin Australia Business Flyer members will receive further discounted airfares and Lounge memberships, as well as Velocity Points for their business – an expansion of the Velocity Points earning potential for every dollar spent on eligible Virgin Australia flights (allowing members to double-dip on points earnt from every flight). As members spend and fly more, their Points earn rate and benefits will increase.
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Velocity Points for business can be reinvested or transferred to any personal Velocity Frequent Flyer account of a staff member of the business, allowing members to double-dip on Points to directly redeem on flights, upgrades, hotels, car hire, through partners or for purchases at the Velocity e-store.
Virgin Australia Business Flyer members will immediately be able to access up to six per cent off the base ticket fare.
Each Virgin Australia Business Flyer member will sit within three new loyalty tiers.
Tier 1 – $0-$9,999 flight spend per annum
• Earn 1 point per $1 spent on eligible flights.
• An additional 4 per cent off Flex Economy fares and 6 per cent off Business Class fares.
• $379 discounted Virgin Australia Lounge Membership.
• Two Pilot Gold Memberships for three months when they spend at least $2,000 on flights in the first three months of joining.
Tier 2 – $10,000-$49,999 flight spend per annum
• Earn 1.5 points per $1 spent on eligible flights.
• An additional 4 per cent off Flex Economy fares and 6 per cent off Business Class fares.
• $379 discounted Virgin Australia Lounge Membership.
• Other exclusive benefits and offers
Tier 3 – $50,000-$300,000 flight spend per annum
• Earn 2 points per $1 spent on eligible flights.
• An additional 4 per cent off Flex Economy fares and 6 per cent off Business Class fares.
• $379 discounted Virgin Australia Lounge Membership.
• More exclusive benefits and offers.
Virgin Australia Business Flyer members who spend a minimum of $2,000 on eligible flights in the first three months of joining will receive two complimentary Velocity Pilot Gold memberships – immediately elevating two nominated employees to Velocity Gold status.
To retain Velocity Gold on a rolling 12-month membership, Virgin Australia Business Flyer members will simply need to fly on one eligible Virgin Australia service and earn at least 80 Velocity Status Credits during the first three months of membership.
Virgin Australia Group CEO Jayne Hrdlicka (below) said “great value and award-winning service is at the heart of Virgin Australia, and we’ve raised the value stakes even higher with the launch of the Virgin Australia Business Flyer rewards program.
“We are continuing to provide exceptional service experiences and product offerings at great value prices, and we know that’s important for small to medium-sized businesses and corporates who are emerging from the pandemic more conscious of the value provided by their partners than ever before.
“Virgin Australia has always played an important role in the travel needs of small and medium-sized businesses and our team has been working hard over the last 15 months to re-imagine the best way to bring value to this part of our customer base. Today’s announcement is the beginning of our journey to add even higher levels of value to this community and ensure that we fiercely compete for our fair share of our heartland customers.
“There is no other Australian airline that offers a free rewards program for businesses, lounges in every capital city, three types of domestic seating choices including Business Class, jet services to hundreds of destinations around the country, and all the bells and whistles at such an excellent value-for-money price point.
“Business Class fares are up to 60 per cent cheaper than what they were prior to the pandemic**, and in an independent airfare study released in July 2021, our Economy fares were found to be up to 67 per cent cheaper#. With the additional airfare discounts, we are offering under the Business Flyer loyalty program, on top of Velocity Points earn for businesses, it’s going to be very hard for any business owner to look past Virgin Australia when choosing a domestic airline partner,” she said.
