The American Express Velocity Platinum Card is currently offering increased Welcome Bonus of up to 130,000 Velocity points. If your Velocity points balance is looking a bit sad and you would like to give it a healthy boost, now is a good time to consider getting this card.
The card carries an annual fee of $375 which is more than offset by the included perks and benefits, more on this a little later. While a sizeable dose of bonus points is a strong incentive to get the card, here are 6 reasons why the card deserves a permanent place in your wallet.
Welcome Bonus of up to 130,000 Velocity Points
Velocity Frequent Flyers have a limited time opportunity to earn up to 130,000 bonus Velocity points. For this;
- Make your selection of the Exclusive benefit on Velocity website and choose 30,000 bonus Velocity points as your benefit, by 31 March 2023.
- Apply for the Card online by 11 April 2023, be approved and spend $3,000 on eligible purchases within 3 months of card membership to receive 75,000 bonus Velocity points.
- Receive an additional 25,000 bonus Velocity points upon your annual fee renewal in the 2nd year of your card membership.
That’s 105,000 Velocity points (30,000 + 75,000) after you meet the necessary spend, plus the remaining 25,000 points upon card renewal. I value Velocity points at 1.5c per point meaning the Welcome Bonus in the first year itself is worth $1,575. That is more than 4x the value of annual fee which makes this offer incredibly valuable.
As with all American Express Cards, Amex applies a strict criteria in determining the eligibility for welcome bonus. Basically, anyone who has held an American Express Card at any time in the past 18 months is excluded, although this does not include the two co-branded David Jones cards.
Disclosure : If you apply for the card using links in this post and are approved, pointsHq or it’s related entity may receive some referral points.
Free Annual Domestic Flight
Cardmembers receive a complimentary Virgin Australia return Economy domestic flight each year after the first transaction on the card. Even if you fly just once every year, this feature alone can offset a large portion, if not all of the annual fee.
The destinations you can fly to depends on where you live. For instance, if you live in Sydney you can fly to all these cities.
Most City pairs are eligible, although there are some exceptions. Then you have some City pairs where you can fly from City A to City B, but not in the opposite direction. For example, you can fly from Sydney to Adelaide but cannot fly back, as shown in the map above via the airplane symbol.
However, if you live in Adelaide you can fly between Adelaide and Sydney in both directions as seen below.
I can’t say why & how Virgin Australia arrived at this rather odd rule, but it is what it is. Thankfully, to make it easier for cardholders to workout eligible complimentary flights, American Express have built a handy interactive map on their website, which you can check out via this link.
Airport Lounge Access
The Card offers 2 complimentary entries per year to The Centurion Lounge at Sydney and Melbourne International Airport. If you are traveling solo, you can utilise this benefit twice, travelling as a couple you can use up both entries at once.
To enter, simply present your American Express Velocity Platinum Card and the boarding pass to staff at reception.
The Centurion Lounge, Sydney International Airport
The Card also comes with 2 single entry Virgin Australia lounge passes for use at any of airlines’ domestic lounges. The passes are attached to your Velocity membership card which you need to present alongside the boarding pass to gain access prior to your outbound travel.
Virgin Australia Lounge, Adelaide Airport
Earning Points on the Card
The American Express Velocity Platinum Card is one of the highest Velocity points Card in the market. With this card, you will earn:
- 2.25 Velocity points per $1 on purchases made with Virgin Australia such as flights, Virgin Australia Lounge Memberships or holiday packages. These points are automatically transferred to your linked Velocity account every month after the statement is generated.
- 1.25 Velocity points per $1 on all other purchases except payments made to Government bodies where you earn 0.5 Velocity point per $1.
Velocity points are one of the most valuable points currency you can earn in Australia. While they are naturally handy on Virgin Australia flights, you could also redeem Velocity points to fly some of the major global carriers such as Qatar Airways, Singapore Airlines and Etihad.
Redeem Velocity Points to fly Qatar Airways First Class
100 Bonus Status Credits
If you are a loyal Virgin Australia flyer and would like to earn status in Velocity Frequent Flyer Program, you will love this benefit. The American Express Velocity Platinum Card offers 100 bonus status credits each year upon spending $50,000 on the card.
For instance, if you want to earn Velocity Gold status which gives you unlimited access to Virgin Australia lounges, extra baggage allowance, priority check-in and boarding etc, you are required to earn 500 status credits within a 12 month period. If you are able to meet the required spend of $50,000, the 100 status credits you earn will get you 20% of the way towards earning the status.
Alternatively, if you are someone with an existing Gold status in the program, the 100 bonus status credits will put you a quarter of the way towards the 400 status credits required to maintain your status.
Free Travel Insurance
The American Express Velocity Platinum Card comes with a whole host of insurances. Some of the included covers are:
- Medical emergency expenses
- Public transport accident up to $400,000
- Trip cancellation and amendment up to $12,500
- Loss or damage to baggage, money or documents up to $10,000
- Travel inconvenience if your flight is delayed
- A range of cover for COVID-19
As is generally the case with insurance, there are conditions attached to each of these cover and it’s important that you familiarise yourself with them by referring to the Insurance document on this link.
In Conclusion
If Velocity points are the main points currency you collect, getting The American Express Velocity Platinum Card and earning the limited-time Welcome bonus of up to 130,000 Velocity points is a no-brainer.
The card offers well rounded benefits, great perks, fast-track to earning Velocity status and an annual fee that can be mostly offset with the complimentary flight benefit.
Apply here for up to 130,000 Velocity points Welcome Bonus on The American Express Velocity Platinum Card.
Do you have The American Express Velocity Platinum Card? Leave a comment below.
