Virgin Australia’s lounge network: how to gain access including paid lounge membership options

As a key benefit of the American Express Platinum Charge card, it is worthwhile to look over a number of the different lounge access options the card offers, as well other ways to gain access to the same lounges using other methods.

While not ‘officially’ advertised as a benefit, it is known that New Zealand Platinum Charge cardholders can get access to Virgin Australia lounges when travelling domestically in Australia simply by flashing their card at the entry.

In this post, I run through the lounges in each city, what to expect when you use a lounge, and a quick look at the Virgin paid lounge program. Continue reading…

The best uses of Etihad Guest miles for travellers in New Zealand

Etihad is a Virgin Australia partner for points earn and redemption, making it a useful program to know about – and it has some especially good redemption rates for many Virgin Australia Trans-Tasman and South Pacific routes.

In this guide, we’ll look at the options for redeeming Etihad Guest miles mainly on partner airlines, and we’ll explain why outright redemptions and upgrades on Etihad flights don’t make much sense from New Zealand. Continue reading…

Virgin Australia 737 Domestic, Trans-Tasman, and South Pacific Business Class overview

For anyone with a growing Velocity or Etihad Guest points balance, and looking for a extra space and service on domestic and international short-haul flights with Virgin Australia, the experience of flying in their Business Class cabin is very good.

Many people understandably wouldn’t choose to redeem points for Business Class travel on shorter flights – but if your travel preferences see you wanting the Business Class experience then you shouldn’t be disappointed. I’ve redeemed hundreds of thousands of points across tens of flights and have generally always come away impressed. Continue reading…