Australians will soon be able to use their frequent flyer points to buy petrol rather than airplane tickets under a initiative between Virgin Australia and BP.
Members of Virgin's Velocity Frequent Flyer program can already earn points at the pump, at a rate of two Velocity points per litre.
But from Monday July 11 it'll work the other way, too – with those points used to buy fuel and other items sold at BP service stations including drinks and snacks.
Under the ‘Pay with Points’ scheme, Velocity members will be able to swipe their frequent flyer card and use points to redeem between $10 and $60 off their fuel bill, as well as in-store purchases at participating BP service stations.
The 'exchange rate' will see a baseline of 1,667 Velocity Points equivalent to $10.
It's an innovative twist on the usual frequent flyer formula, whereby points are widely earned through flying, using credit cards or shopping with selected retail partners – but spending those points is typically restricted to the airline's own eco-system of buying free seats, inflight upgrades or selected products at an online store.
The scheme will be aimed at Australians with relatively few frequent flyer points, as well as those with higher points balances but little opportunity to trade those points on a free seat.
“Velocity is committed to rewarding our members on their everyday expenditure, and this initiative with BP takes that one step further," explains Velocity Frequent Flyer CEO Karl Schuster.
"We know some members drive much more than they fly, so this gives them an alternative way to use their Points that will ease the pressure on their wallet."
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