Even if travel isn’t on your radar anytime soon, racking up Frequent Flyer Points should be a priority. Particularly since this type of generous Credit Card offer doesn’t come around nearly as often as you’d hope.
We’re talking the latest offering from the American Express Velocity Platinum Credit Card, which is a very tempting offer for Virgin Velocity Frequent Flyers, offering 100,000 bonus Velocity Points, 2 Virgin Australia Lounge Passes, 2 passes to the American Express lounge in Melbourne or Sydney, and a complimentary domestic return flight if you:
- Earn 100,000 bonus Velocity Points when you apply online by 15 May 2024, are approved, and spend $3,000 on eligible purchases on your new American Express Velocity Platinum Card within the first 3 months. T&Cs apply. Available to new American Express Card Members only.
Velocity Frequent Flyers who want to offset their spending by earning points and extra perks should be all over this American Express offer, especially since both international and domestic travel are well and truly back on the cards.
Assuming you meet the eligibility requirements, and have the key documents and details at the ready, and are ready to stump up the annual fee of $375, you’ll be able to apply for an American Express Velocity Platinum card online and complete the entire process in roughly 10 minutes.
Below we’ll discuss things such as the purchase rate (23.99% p.a) and annual fee, and weigh this up against the various benefits and membership rewards you can access when you sign up for this particular offer, as opposed to the numerous other points-earning Velocity frequent flyer credit cards out there.
The Eligibility Criteria You’ll Need To Meet
If you’re ready to apply for the American Express Velocity Platinum Card to take advantage of their current offer of 100,000 bonus Velocity Points, do take note of a few short and sweet eligibility criteria you’ll need to meet before you apply online.
- To be able to apply for the generous bonus Velocity points and Status Credits offer, you must not hold or have held an American Express credit card in the last 18 months. Unfortunately, that means those who currently hold or who have previously held any Credit Card issued by American Express in the last 18 month period won’t be able to take advantage of this particular offer.
Start Earning Those Velocity Points
American Express offer a direct earn Velocity Frequent Flyer credit card, which means that all you’ll need to do is link your American Express Velocity Platinum Card to your frequent flyer account upon application. You’ll then start automatically earning those Velocity Points as you make eligible purchases, where they are typically credited to your account at the end of each statement period.
Eligible purchases on this particular American Express card typically include day-to-day essentials like grocery shopping, as well as travel bookings and overseas spending. The earn rate for the American Express Velocity Platinum Card is especially attractive with 1.25 Velocity Points per $1 on everyday spend, and 2.25 Velocity Points per $1 spent with Virgin Australia, uncapped.
To put that in perspective – given you earn 1.25 Velocity Points per $1 spent with your American Express card on everyday purchases – if you buy a $10 item from a store like Woolworths or Coles, you potentially rack up 12.5 Frequent Flyer Points from that purchase. You can see how quickly this can add up, which along with the bonus, and with travel now officially back on the menu – means you can see the world with your points.
Just as important as it is to take note of eligible purchases, it pays to be aware of what won’t earn your points on American Express. Eligible purchases do not include cash advances, interest, as well as fees and charges for traveller’s cheques and foreign currencies.
The 100,000 bonus Velocity Points that comes with this particular American Express offer will be awarded to the eligible American Express Card Member’s account 8-10 weeks after the minimum spend criteria has been satisfied.
Also note that any Status Credits earned through this offer are subject to expiry after 12 months from earn, just like any regularly earned Velocity Frequent Flyer Status Credits would be.
Other Perks With The American Express Velocity Platinum Card
With the American Express Velocity Platinum in your hand, there are a number of other valuable travel perks you get access to.
This includes a complimentary Virgin Australia domestic flight, travel insurance, and the lounge passes mentioned above each year to use for eligible lounges, including any American Express Lounge.
Those Virgin Australia lounge passes don’t roll over each year, so you’ll want to use up your Virgin Australia lounge passes each year.
Also note that you can use your Amex Velocity Platinum Card to access any American Express lounge – that includes any American Express lounge overseas, as well as any American Express Lounge domestically, including the one in Melbourne International Airport, and the American Express lounge at Sydney International Airport.
With the complimentary flight, it’s important to note that only purchased flights will net you Status Credits. Complimentary flights won’t count towards helping you climb up the Velocity Frequent Flyer status ladder.
Having a generous amount of Virgin Australia lounge passes at your personal whim is one of the many ways to add value to your new Amex Velocity Platinum credit card, helping to offset the annual fee of $375 and purchase rate (23.99% p.a).
If you pay your balance in full by the due date on each American Express statement you can get up to 55 days interest-free on purchases, affording an incredible amount of flexibility for card members.
Another perk is the ability to attain an additional card for a partner or family member for free. Not having to pay any additional cost allows you to better maximise credit card awards and share your account. The points this second American Express credit card earns is at the same earn rate as the primary card – up to 2.25 Velocity Points per $1 spent with the American Express card – will also be credited to your Velocity Frequent Flyer account.
What Can I Spend My Bonus 100,000 Velocity Points On?
There are plenty of ways you can spend 100,000 Velocity Points, giving you a great range of options when it comes to travel.
- Brisbane, Sydney, or Melbourne to Auckland return twice in Economy (32,000 points return + taxes & fees).
- Brisbane, Sydney, or Melbourne to Auckland return once in Business (35,000 points one-way + taxes & fees)
- Between Melbourne and Sydney 4 times in Business (15,000 points one-way + taxes & fees)
What Else Can I Spend My Velocity Points On?
Velocity have a remarkably flexible and comprehensive rewards program so card members are able to spend their points in a variety of other ways.
When it comes to redeeming your Velocity Points, you can opt for purchases with Virgin Australia for domestic flights, flight upgrades, accommodation, and products via the Velocity Rewards Store.
You are also able to spend Velocity Points on various gift cards with a great range of companies. Although do note that flight upgrades and airfares are almost always going to offer better points per dollar value than using your rewards points for gift cards.
However, if you did want to forego that extra domestic return flight or other Virgin Australia return flight (for example, across the ditch to New Zealand), then take note of some of the following popular redemptions for both gift cards and products from the Velocity Rewards Store.
- 45,000 points will get you a $250 gift card for David Jones, Coles, JB Hi-Fi, Myer, or Harvey Norman.
- 121,416 points will get you a Breville Bambino Plus Coffee Machine (currently retailing for around $436).
- 98,812 points will get you an Apple Watch SE with GPS and Cellular Aluminium Case (currently retailing for around $409).
- 49,500 points will get you an Antler Cyberlite II 70cm suitcase (currently retailing for around $189).
Even if you couldn’t resist temptation and ended up buying something from the Velocity Rewards Store, the credit card earn rate of 2.25 Velocity Points per $1 spent would get your account looking fit again in no time.
This also makes it much easier to stomach the annual fee ($375) so you can work up the best budget according to your individual lifestyle and needs.
Is The American Express Velocity Platinum Credit Card Worth It?
As long as you’re playing it smart and you keep in mind the purchase rate (23.99% p.a) and annual fee ($375) regularly when planning your spending, the Amex Velocity Platinum Credit Card is a wise choice for a number of reasons.
The 1.25 Velocity Points per $1 on everyday spend and 2.25 Velocity Points per $1 spent on Virgin Australia is a very generous earn rate when compared to other Velocity Frequent Flyer Cards.
This is balanced against the rather high annual fee, but as long as you play it smart it will work in your favour.
You can also add value by taking full advantage of all the extra features like the complimentary lounge passes, the complimentary Virgin Australia return flight, and travel insurance.
Here’s A Quick Overview Of Everything You Should Know About This Amex Velocity Platinum Credit Card Offer
- Earn 100,000 bonus Velocity Points when you apply online by 15 May 2024, are approved, and spend $3,000 on eligible purchases on your new American Express Velocity Platinum Card within the first 3 months. T&Cs apply. Available to new American Express Card Members only.
- Earn 1.25 Velocity Points per $1 spent on everyday purchases and 2.25 Velocity Points per $1 spent with Virgin Australia, uncapped.
- Annual fee ($375)
- Purchase rate 23.99% p.a
- 1 complimentary Virgin Australia domestic flight per year.
Looking for even more points? The American Express Platinum Charge Card is currently offering 150,000 bonus Membership Reward points.
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