If you’re a savvy points collector, you no doubt love Velocity Points.
Not only can they take you anywhere in the world thanks to Virgin Australia’s excellent partner network, but it’s also often easier to find classic reward seats via Velocity compared to Qantas.
When it comes to choosing the best credit card for earning Velocity Points, our readers almost always pick the Amex Velocity Platinum Card as their favourite.
And it’s easy to see why: this is Amex’s most popular and rewarding Velocity card, letting you earn points fast while enjoying a range of travel perks, including complimentary domestic flights and lounge passes.
We’re very excited to partner with Amex to also offer our readers a massive 100,000 bonus Velocity Points – the equal largest sign-up bonus in 18 months!
Our readers will receive 100,000 bonus Velocity Points when you apply online via our Amex partner link by 15 May 2024, are approved, and spend $3,000 on your new card within the first 3 months (new Amex Card Members only).
That’s enough points to book a classic reward flight to North America or Asia in economy return or one way in business class with Virgin Australia and partners like Singapore Airlines and United Airlines.
Points don’t expire so long as you keep your Velocity Frequent Flyer account active by earning or redeeming at least one point every 24 months. Plus, points bookings are refundable if your plans change.
Here’s an overview of the benefits you can enjoy with this card.
1. Earn piles of points and fly with top airlines
You’ll turbocharge your Velocity Points balance by earning 1.25 points per $1 spent on purchases: one of the highest earn rates in Australia.
You’ll earn 2.25 Velocity Points per $1 spent with Virgin Australia and 0.5 points per $1 spent with government bodies.
Hundreds of thousands of merchants accept Amex in Australia, and that number is growing, so there’s no shortage of places where you can rake in the points with this card.
There’s also no cap on how many points you can earn.
You can use those points to fly with Virgin Australia and an array of international partners, including:
- Singapore Airlines
- United Airlines
- Etihad Airways
- Qatar Airways
- Air Canada
- All Nippon Airways (ANA)
- Hawaiian Airlines
- South African Airways
- Virgin Atlantic.
With so many partners to choose from, the whole world is within reach.
Explore the globe with partners like Singapore Airlines
2. Take off with a complimentary domestic return flight each year
You can book a complimentary Virgin Australia domestic economy return flight when you first receive your card, and then on each anniversary of your card membership.
This gives you an opportunity every year to enjoy a holiday, explore somewhere new, or visit family and friends.
This perk easily offsets most or all of the $375 annual card fee.
There are many eligible routes to choose from, as you can see in the table below.
| Departure City | Eligible Destinations |
|---|---|
| Adelaide | Alice Springs, Brisbane, Canberra, Coolangatta (Gold Coast), Melbourne, Sydney |
| Brisbane | Adelaide, Cairns, Canberra, Darwin, Emerald, Hamilton Island, Hobart, Mackay, Melbourne, Newcastle, Proserpine, Rockhampton, Sydney, Townsville |
| Hobart | Brisbane, Melbourne, Sydney |
| Melbourne | Adelaide, Brisbane, Canberra, Coolangatta (Gold Coast), Hobart, Launceston, Maroochydore (Sunshine Coast), Newcastle, Sydney |
| Perth | Adelaide, Kalgoorlie, Melbourne, Sydney |
| Sydney | Adelaide, Ballina/Byron, Brisbane, Canberra, Cairns, Coolangatta (Gold Coast), Hamilton Island, Hobart, Launceston, Maroochydore (Sunshine Coast), Melbourne |
| Other cities | Click here to see the routes from other cities. |
It’s simple to book the flight online or over the phone, and you can reserve it for yourself or any person you choose.
And here’s how you can use this benefit to get complimentary flights for you and a partner together: Since the flight booked can be at any time in the future, simply wait until near the end of your membership year to book seats for yourself, then when your card anniversary ticks over and you’re entitled to another free flight, book seats for your partner right next to you.
3. Enjoy four airport lounge entries each year
Relax before your next flight in style, even if you’re flying economy.
Each year you’ll receive two passes to a Virgin Australia Lounge, which gives you access to stylish spaces around the country to relax in before your flight.
These passes will be automatically loaded onto your Velocity membership card, and you can use one to bring in a guest with you.
Relax in the lounge before you fly
You’ll also receive two entries each year to Amex’s exclusive The Centurion Lounge at Sydney Airport international or Melbourne Airport international, which are the two airports in Australia that have Amex lounges so far.
Simply present your Amex card at the door to get in, and you may use one of the passes for a guest (children under the age of 17 get in for free).
4. Earn 100 Velocity Status Credits
Attain elite Velocity status faster by receiving 100 Status Credits when you spend $50,000 on eligible purchases within a membership year.
Eligible purchases are all spend made by you and Additional Card Members, except cash type purchases like travellers’ cheques and foreign currencies, and interest, fees and charges on the account.
This is a very handy perk for frequent flyers chasing status, as you only need 250 Status Credits to attain Silver (200 to keep it in subsequent years) or 500 Status Credits to attain Gold (400 to keep it in later years).
The higher your status, the more perks you enjoy – like additional Virgin Australia lounge passes when you hit Silver and unlimited lounge access when you reach Gold.
5. Travel securely with domestic and international travel insurance
You’ll receive comprehensive travel insurance cover when you pay for a return trip with your card or use Velocity Points to book.
This cover extends to your domestic partner and dependent children up to the age of 25 when they are travelling with you.
You’ll be covered for:
- inconvenience (flight delays, cancellations or missed connections, and delayed luggage)
- medical emergency expenses
- damaged, destroyed, lost or stolen baggage, money or documents
- travel cancellation and amendment costs
- personal liability
- COVID-related trip change and cancellation costs.
If you’re currently paying for travel insurance and this cover meets your needs, you can save money by relying on it.
6. Earn more points, save money and enjoy lifestyle benefits
There are many other perks to enjoy with this card, including:
- up to 4 complimentary Additional Cards for family members or friends over 16 years of age – an easy way to earn points faster
- up to 55 days interest-free on purchases
- ‘buy now, pay later’ with American Express Plan It™ Instalments: pay off your card balance in equal monthly instalments with 0% interest and a fixed monthly fee
- use your card with Apple Pay, Google Pay or Samsung Pay
- Amex Offers: save money and earn bonus points via regular offers with top brands
- American Express Experiences: access sought-after events like music, theatre and film, including via pre-sale tickets, and enjoy exclusive lounges at selected events.
Plus 100,000 bonus Velocity Points
Receive a huge 100,000 bonus Velocity Points when you apply online via our Amex partner link by 15 May 2024, are approved and spend $3,000 on your new card within the first three months (new Amex Card Members only).
If you need help to meet the minimum spend, you could buy some supermarket gift cards to use on groceries later in the year, manually pre-pay bills or get free Additional Cards for family or friends to use.
With your points you could book classic reward seats:
- from Brisbane, Sydney or Melbourne to Los Angeles or San Francisco with United Airlines, costing 89,600 points in economy return or 95,500 points in business class one-way (plus taxes and fees)
- from anywhere in Australia to Tokyo with Virgin Australia, costing up to 69,600 points in economy return or 71,500 points in business class one-way, depending on your departure city (plus taxes and fees)
- to many destinations across Asia with Singapore Airlines, costing up to 100,000 points in economy return or 92,000 points in business class one-way (plus taxes and fees).
To book classic reward seats to Europe with Qatar Airways, Etihad or Singapore Airlines, you’ll be close to having the required 150,000 points for economy return or 139,000 points for business class one-way (plus taxes and fees).
Fly to the USA in style with United Airlines
This offer is only available to new American Express Card Members. That means you must not have held an American Express card in the last 18 months. However, you are eligible if you’re an Additional Card Member on someone else’s account (including a corporate account).
There is no specified minimum income to apply for this card.
It’s very simple to apply, including on mobile devices.
We’re delighted to partner with Amex to bring our readers this huge offer. It’s only available for a short time via our partner link below, so don’t miss out – you could be booking a holiday in no time!
To access this offer and apply, click here (mobile friendly).
American Express is one of our valued partners. If you apply for this card, we may receive a commission from Amex, which helps keep our site running. Thank you for the support!
