Coming out of seemingly nowhere, Virgin Australia has dropped a nice little announcement with the airline aiming directly (and obviously) for Qantas Frequent Flyers via a cheeky status match for both Qantas Gold members and Qantas Platinum members, as well as equivalent members from other airlines. It comes at a time when the seeds of discontent with Qantas are most definitely bearing some rotten fruit, with the Virgin status match looking to swoop in and catch former loyalists with the Switch-A-Roo Discover God status match offer.
The Virgin status match promo is open to elite frequent flyers from any airline that is not already a Virgin Australia partner. So Air Canada, Etihad Airways, Hawaiian Airlines, South African Airways, Air Canada, Qatar Airways, Singapore Airlines and United Airlines elite members can ignore this offer.
And while that might seem like a long list of exclusions, Virgin is still casting the net quite wide to welcome elite members from plenty of other airlines and their respective loyalty tiers. These include:
- Air New Zealand: Airports Gold, Elite
- Qantas: Gold, Platinum, Platinum One
- American Airlines: AAdvantage Platinum, Platinum Pro, Executive Platinum
- Cathay Pacific: Marco Polo Club Gold, Diamond
- British Airways: Executive Club Silver, Gold
- Emirates: Skywards Gold, Platinum
- Delta Air Lines: SkyMiles Gold, Platinum
- Fiji Airways: Tabua Club Plus
- Finnair: Gold, Platinum
- Turkish Airways:
- Air France: Flying Blue Gold, Platinum
- Japan Airlines: JMB Sapphire, JGC Premier, JMB Diamond
- Air India: Flying Returns Golden Edge Club, Maharajah Club
- China Eastern: Eastern Miles Elite Status Silver, Gold
- Korean Air: Skypass Morning Calm Premium Club, Million Miler Club
- Vietnam Airlines: Lotusmiles Gold, Platinum, Titanium
Eligibility for Virgin’s Switch-A-Roo Discover Gold status match offer isn’t limited to just the above airlines, but the round-up should give you a fairly good idea of how many top-tier frequent flyers the airline is aiming for when this fast-track promotion. It ropes in members from many non-partner airlines across Star Alliance, SkyTeam and Oneworld.
You’ll have to get in before Monday, September 26. The offer is only running until then to get your Velocity Gold or Platinum Status match, so getting all your documents together at your earliest convenience is advised. Not that you’d need much to take advantage of this status match offer.
Eligible For The Virgin Australia Status Match Offer?
If you pass the buck and can take advantage of Virgin’s status match program – that is, you hold the equivalent of Velocity Gold or above with a frequent flyer program of an airline that is not currently partnered with Velocity – then you just need to click the button at the end of this article. Make sure you’re a member of Virgin’s Velocity Frequent Flyer program first (it’s free to join) and you’ll be fast-tracked to Velocity Gold and Platinum.
In terms of what you’ll need to do, it’s quite simple. You’ll take a photo or a scan of the loyalty card that you hold with a competing airline and e-mail it through to Virgin ([email protected]) with your full name, Velocity membership number and an indication of your competing airline status equivalency to either Velocity Gold or Platinum.
As long as you haven’t held Velocity Silver or above since April 2020, you’ll be fast-tracked to your equivalent Velocity tier.
The airline will then take up to four weeks to process your status match application on a first come, first served basis. And that’s important because allocation is a bit limited – Virgin won’t be taking everyone who applies into the fold, so speed is essential. That is, if you already feel like you’re eligible then stop reading, scroll down, and click through to start the application process.
Once you’re in, you’ll get an initial three months of Velocity Gold Status via a trial Discover Gold Status trial membership. This is regardless of whether you apply to fast-track into the Velocity Platinum. You’ll get all the associated benefits – complimentary lounge access, preferential seating, higher checked baggage allowance, bonus Velocity points and priority boarding – for the three months, during which you’d need to lock yourself into a full 12 months of Velocity status by booking at least one Virgin Australia flight and earning 80 Status Credits during the trial.
And that’s easy. Just book a return Business Class flight on a Virgin Australia service between Sydney and Melbourne and you’d get the 80 Status Credits in one go.
Those applying for Velocity Platinum will need to earn 200 Status Credits within that three-month period before moving up the tier for a full 12 months. That’s when family pooling could be quite useful. Just note that those Status Credits need to come from Virgin Australia flights – partner airlines don’t count.
For more information about the Virgin status match offer click here, and when you’re ready to apply click the button below.
