Virgin Australia, Delta boost points on business class flights

Passengers travelling in business class or first class with Delta Air Lines can now earn more Velocity points for every mile they fly on a range of fares, including when booking their flight as a Virgin Australia codeshare journey on a VA flight number.

On those VA-coded tickets, purchasing any seat in first class with Delta now provides two Velocity points per one mile flown, up from 1.5 points per mile previously, covering routes from short hops like Los Angeles-San Francisco through to longer treks like LA to Boston, where seats at the pointy end are sold as ‘first class’ instead of ‘business class’.

In practical terms, that means you’ll now fetch 5,222 Velocity points for a one-way ‘first class’ flight from Los Angeles to Boston, compared to 3,916 Velocity points as before – or 674 Velocity points on an LA-San Francisco flight, increased from 505 previously.

When booking business and first class flights direct with Delta on a DL flight number, Velocity members can also now earn two Velocity points per mile flown on all fares, compared to the previous approach of earning between 1.25 and 2.0 Velocity points per mile on the same, which varied based on your exact ticket type.

On Delta’s Sydney-Los Angeles flights, that means you’re now sure to scoop up 14,990 Velocity points on any paid business class fare, one-way: and if continuing your journey onward from LA to New York, you can add an extra 4,950 Velocity points to your collection.

Compare that to the previous earn rates on the same routes – which began at 9,368 Velocity points between Sydney and Los Angeles and were as low as at 3,093 Velocity points between LAX and New York in business class – and the difference on just one return trip from Sydney to New York clocks in an impressive 14,958 Velocity points, for travellers previously earning points at the '1.25 points per mile' rate.

That’s almost enough points to book a return trip from Sydney to Melbourne in economy, or a one-way flight in business class: and only from the extra points you’d earn under this change, not even using all the points you’d pick up along the way.

Codeshare flights booked through Delta but operated by Virgin Australia (such as a flight with a DL flight number aboard a Virgin Australia aircraft – also now earn points at these higher rates.

Delta last adjusted its Velocity earn rates in 2015, when similar increases were seen for some passengers travelling up the front, but cuts were made to points earned on less-expensive tickets, including in business class.

Chris C.

Chris is a a former contributor to Executive Traveller.