Virgin Australia changes

[Mikeact]

Although not particularly relevant in the UK, I know that there are some on here that use Virgin Australia, either cash or Velocity points, as a popular destination.
My son has just upgraded his Economy Flex ticket, to Business, Sydney/Perth but was pretty upset with recent changes. He tells me it used to be 19,800 points return, and now 60,000. He tells me that this is just one of a raft of changes being announced. Due to the uncertainty going forward, he’s not sure whether to go for their new Lifetime Status, or stay with his Qantas Gold, which is easier for overseas travel.
Last time we went, it was useful for him to book a couple of internal flights for us on Virgin and I reciprocated with Avios CE over here.
Obviously, this day and age, reward travelling is becoming more and more challenging.

[JDB]

Flying Virgin is pretty pooey whether you choose the UK or Australian version. Their gimmickry and challenger status that worked for a good while doesn’t seem so good in 2024. Whenever people talk about the positives of Virgin UK, the Clubhouse comes top of the list, but an airline is a bit more than a ‘fun’ lounge that’s also now a bit past its sell by date.

VA similarly played on being more fun/contemporary than the rather staid, boring Qantas but with its infrastructure, professionalism, better resilience in face of disruption and excellent lounges, today Qantas is head and shoulders a superior product. I did five domestic sectors with them last year.

Now it seems they have stuffed points collectors in the UK and Australia so Qantas comes out way ahead again.