Velocity’s 2,000,020 flybuys point competition: Why I’m not entering
The points giveaway sounds generous, but you could end up shortchanging yourself.
So Velocity is kicking off the new year with a mass giveaway of flybuys points.
One lucky customer will score 2,000,020 flybuys points, which is enough to take a business-class flight anywhere that Virgin currently flies.
That might sound tempting, but as with the last competition like this that Velocity ran, I'm staying away.
Why? Because the entry mechanic works like this. Each time you convert 2,000 flybuys points into Velocity Points between now and 14 February 2020, you get an entry into the prize draw. One winner gets the 2,000,020 points, while the next 200 drawn will get 2,020 points each.
There's a big opportunity cost here. I only transfer flybuys points to Velocity when there's a bonus points offer running. When that happens, typically in May and November each year, you score 15% extra. That means you get 1,000 Velocity Points for each 2,000 flybuys points, rather than just 870 flybuys points.
I'd much rather have the guaranteed extra points than the lower transfer rate and tiny odds of winning. Velocity has 10 million members, so there's a lot of potential competition. And my strategy has put me in the top 2% of flybuys earners, so I'm going to stick with it.
That doesn't mean all of those members will enter, of course. For one recent promotion, just 116,279 people took part. But while that improves the odds, I'd still rather have extra points than a less than 1 in 100,000 chance of winning the main prize.
Incidentally, Velocity calculates the total value of the prize pool of 2,424,020 flybuys points at a very precise $66,069.41.
That suggests each individual point is worth about 3 cents, a value which reflects turning those flybuys points into Velocity Points and using them for a business-class flight.
So that's the main lesson to learn from this competition: set yourself a points goal and stick with it. Don't get distracted by giveaways.
Angus Kidman's Findings column looks at new developments and research that help you save money, make wise decisions and enjoy your life more. It appears regularly on Finder.
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