By James Wilkinson
Virgin Blue’s frequent flyer program Velocity is offering the prize of a lifetime, by giving one lucky traveller the chance to win a sub-orbital space flight on Virgin Galactic worth $310,000.
Win a trip on Virgin Galactic thanks to Velocity
By far the most outrageous prize ever offered from a frequent flyer program anywhere on the planet, the trip on Virgin Galactic is part of a ’25 Million Velocity Point’ campaign launched yesterday (Feb 2).
To be in the draw, people need to either transfer points from selected card partners to Velocity, or earn Velocity Points with a number of airline and shopping partners before June 30, 2009. Every single Velocity Point earns a competition entry.
“Quite simply we want consumers to be aware that they have another option in Velocity which offers more freedom and better value as well as greater reward and redemption choices,” said Velocity general manager, Phil Gunter.
“We fear if people are forced to move from broad programs into direct earn credit cards, as [some airlines are] trying to do, they will be putting all their eggs into one basket and will lose their freedom to choose where they can spend their Points.
“The bottom line is once people switch to a direct earn credit card they are exposed if they cannot get exactly what they want with that airline. They are also exposed if the airline devalues the points by increasing the number of points required for a reward seat,” he said.
The Virgin Galactic trip is one of four prizes on offer in the promotion. The others include a his and her Alfa Romeo sports car package, a luxurious holiday package and an ultimate shopping spree.
Simultaneously, Velocity is offering 25 per cent bonus points for every point transferred from selected credit card partners until Apr 15.