VIRGIN AUSTRALIA: Double Status Credits in ‘Pick your bonus’ promo. A longer runway than Qantas

Virgin Australia has responded to Qantas’ latest double rewards offer with its own ‘Pick Your Bonus‘ 2026 promotion, giving Velocity Frequent Flyer members the choice of double Status Credits or double Velocity Points on eligible flights.

Qantas’ current offer is limited to flights between 12 May and 31 August 2026. Virgin’s version runs through to 31 December 2026, making it much more useful for winter trips, spring travel, Christmas holidays, work travel, family visits or a late-year status push.

You must activate before you book. Velocity members must choose their bonus through the Pick Your Bonus Offer landing page between 12.01 am AEST on 7 May 2026 and 11.59 pm AEST on 15 May 2026. Only after activation should they book ticket-eligible flights during the same promotion period. Travel must be completed between 7 May and 31 December 2026. Once you choose double points or double Status Credits, you cannot change your mind.

Why double Status Credits matter

For many Velocity members, double Status Credits will be the more valuable option.

Velocity moved to a more spend-based status model in April 2025. The standard earn rate is now one Status Credit per $12 spent on Economy Choice, Economy Flex and Business fares. On cheaper Economy Lite fares, the earn rate drops to one Status Credit per $24 spent.

That means earning status now requires a serious amount of Virgin Australia spend. Velocity Silver requires 250 Status Credits, Gold requires 500, and Platinum requires 1,000. At the standard one Status Credit per $12 rate, that equates to at least $3,000 for Silver, $6,000 for Gold and $12,000 for Platinum. Economy Lite requires even more spending because of the lower earning rate.

A double Status Credits offer can effectively halve the eligible spend needed to reach or retain a tier.

Virgin also says this is the only Pick Your Bonus offer it will run in 2026.

What flights are eligible?

Eligible flights are wider than in the Qantas promotion too. They includ domestic, trans-Tasman or international short-haul flights that are both marketed and operated by Virgin Australia. Examples are destinations such as Bali, Fiji and Vanuatu, provided Virgin Australia is both selling and operating the flight.

They must be booked and ticketed after activation, during the promotion period, and flown between 7 May and 31 December 2026. For the double points option, the fare class must normally earn Velocity Points. For the double Status Credits option, the fare class must normally earn Status Credits.

What is excluded?

The offer does not apply to Reward Seats, long-haul international flights to or from Doha operated by Qatar Airways for Virgin Australia, domestic flights flown as part of an international long-haul journey, Virgin Australia charter flights, interline or codeshare flights operated by partner airlines, flights booked before the promotion period, or changes to existing bookings made before the promotion period.

Also excluded are flights that earn according to total miles flown, or TPM. If you book a Virgin Australia flight in the same booking as another airline, whether that airline is a Virgin partner or not, the earn may be based on TPM. Flights earned this way are not eligible. Tickets bought on codeshare services or Virgin-operated flights combined in the same booking with a partner- or non-partner-operated flight are also excluded.

If you want the bonus, keep the booking clean. Book eligible Virgin Australia-operated flights separately and avoid mixing them with partner-operated long-haul sectors.

Doha and domestic connection traps

Virgin’s Doha flights are out because they are operated by Qatar Airways for Virgin Australia. They may wear Virgin branding in the booking path, but they do not meet the “marketed and operated by Virgin Australia” test.

Domestic sectors can also catch you. Virgin excludes domestic flights flown as part of an international long-haul journey. So if you book something like Perth–Sydney–San Francisco, with the international leg operated by United Airlines, the Perth–Sydney sector will not earn the Pick Your Bonus double points or double Status Credits. It will receive only the normal earn.

Double Velocity Points

If you choose double Velocity Points, the bonus applies only to base Velocity Points earned at the standard rate.

Velocity says the bonus is based on the standard earn rate of four Velocity Points per $1 of eligible spend. Tier bonuses for Silver, Gold, Platinum and Platinum Plus members are earned separately and are not doubled as part of the base points bonus.

The tier bonuses are 50% of base points for Silver, 75% for Gold, and 100% for Platinum and Platinum Plus. However, the tier points bonus does not apply to Economy Lite fares.

There is also a credit card wrinkle. Velocity members who have earned points on an eligible Velocity points-earning credit card within the 12 months before flying with Virgin Australia or Link Airways can earn five base points per $1 spent on the all-inclusive fare when flying on a Virgin Australia-operated flight with a VA flight number, or a Link Airways-operated flight with a VA flight number. Members without that eligible credit card activity earn four base points per $1 spent.

Bonus Velocity Points may take up to four weeks to appear after the eligibility criteria are met.

Double Status Credits

If you choose double Status Credits, eligible flights earn double the Status Credits that would normally apply to the flight and fare class.

The bonus Status Credits are applied to the originally purchased fare class. Upgrades do not attract bonus Status Credits. There is no stated cap on the number of times the double Status Credits offer can be redeemed, provided each flight meets the eligibility rules.

If multiple guests are on the same booking, each traveller needs to activate the offer and have their own valid Velocity number attached.

Commonwealth travellers: no dice

Virgin includes the same sort of warning seen in Qantas promotions. The offer is not available if you are travelling for Commonwealth purposes. Members are individually responsible for complying with their organisation’s travel policy. If required, Velocity members can contact the Membership Contact Centre to have Status Credits or points removed.

2PAXfly Takeout

Virgin’s Pick Your Bonus 2026 offer is marginally better than the Qantas promo, mainly because the travel window runs all the way to 31 December 2026.

For most Velocity members, double Status Credits will be the smarter choice. This offer can reduce the cost of reaching or retaining Silver, Gold or Platinum on eligible Virgin-operated flights.

But the exclusions are substantial. This is not a partner airline bonanza. It does not cover Reward Seats, codeshares, Qatar-operated Doha flights, charter flights, domestic legs inside long-haul international itineraries, or Virgin flights bundled in the same booking as partner or non-partner airline sectors.