Virgin poaches travel partner
Australian holiday-makers may be able to travel for less as the airline wars intensify, with Virgin Australia poaching Qantas’ travel partner Luxury Escapes.
A new partnership between Virgin and Luxury Escapes, announced on Tuesday, will start mid-year and could potentially save Aussies thousands of dollars off their trips, Velocity Frequent Flyer chief executive Nick Rohrlach said.
The deal means Velocity’s 11 million-plus rewards members and Luxury Escapes’ three million customers will be able to earn and spend points on holiday packages, tours and experiences to help “stretch their dollar a bit further”.
“We’ve gone from having just a hotel booking experience to a full package experience. It’s a real big upgrade for us – a free upgrade,” Mr Rohrlach said.
The Luxury Escapes deal is part of Virgin and Velocity wanting to create more value for their customers, by expanding its partner companies.
Points expert Daniel Sciberras, of website Point Hacks, said the deal benefited holidaymakers by offering more choice.
“That is really good for frequent flyer members. Normally you can only redeem points on a partner airline or hotel but partnering with Luxury Escapes could be multiple airlines or hotels or cruises and engaging with a huge breadth of luxury holiday providers,” he said.
“As cost of living is beginning to bite a lot more, Aussies still might need a holiday and they’re going to get more bang for their buck by redeeming Velocity points.”
Melbourne couple Matt and Jaimee Flemming, who have two young children and are renting while their new home is being built, said the prospect of being able to save money by cashing in points on Luxury Escapes was appealing.
“Everything is getting more expensive these days, so anything that helps us, be it cheaper flights or accommodation is a massive help,” Mr Flemming said.
He said they used frequent flyer programs to help offset the cost of holidays.