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…
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…
You’ve been busy building up your points balance and eyeing a redemption, so when can you get first dibs on an award seat? Continue reading…
We take a look at Virgin Australia’s largest lounge, last refurbished and doubled in size during 2014 to cope with the increase in passenger load. It serves all the Virgin Australia flights leaving Melbourne from Terminal 3 and is unique in its design as it is located before security. Continue reading…
Following from my previous review of using Qantas to get to New Zealand, we decided to use Virgin Australia to get back to Perth. We definitely didn’t have enough Velocity Frequent Flyer points to fly everyone back, so some creativity was required. Continue reading…
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…
This overview of Virgin Australia’s Sydney Business Class Lounge outlines who can gain entry to the lounge, opening hours, info about premium entry as well as our thoughts and photos. Continue reading…
In this overview, we take a look at Virgin Australia’s Perth Lounge, which opened in late 2015 as part of their dedicated Domestic T1 Pier at Perth Airport.
It serves all the Virgin Australia flights leaving Perth, although some smaller regional flights depart from the purpose-built T2 Regional Terminal, where Virgin Australia also have a small lounge. Continue reading…
Back in May, Etihad Airways joined the likes of American Airlines, Alaska, United, Avianca and Starwood in selling miles for their frequent flyer program, Etihad Guest.
In its first promotional offer, you can earn a 20% bonus on purchases over 5,000 Etihad Guest miles until 6 December. Continue reading…
