A little while ago I wrote about this Citi Ready Credit Promo offering 70,000 Qantas points. The requirements under the promo aren’t onerous, the way it is structured is that as long as you did everything right, you could walk away with 70,000 Qantas points for a cost of around $200, pretty good deal I would say.
You can read more about that deal over here.
Well guess what, Citi are now offering the same deal to Velocity Frequent Flyers, except that it’s significantly better value than the Qantas deal.
Disclaimer
The views expressed in this post is author’s personal opinion, it does not constitute advice of any kind and must not be relied on. PointsHq is not asking or recommending that you apply for this product. You must assess your own personal circumstances and needs to determine whether this product is appropriate for you.
Earning 70,000 Velocity Points
I will keep this part fairly short as the Velocity promo is almost identical to the Qantas one. Although I will point out the differences between the two, along the way.
To earn 70,000 Velocity points :
- Apply for a new Citi Ready Credit account before 30 August 2023. You can make the application via this link or over the phone by calling 1300 790 926.
- If approved, request $500 or more to be transferred to your bank account within 3 months from approval. Note that under the Qantas deal, you had to transfer at least $5,000.
- Maintain a debit balance on your account and make repayments on time.
- Provide your Velocity Frequent Flyer number to Citi upon request. This will be requested via email within 6 weeks from the date the initial transfer is processed to your bank account.
- From this point, it may take up to further 8 weeks for Citi to deposit the points in your account.
- At all times throughout this process, your Citi Ready Credit account must remain open, be in good standing and have a debit balance.
Fees & Charges
There are couple of different types of fees you need to be aware of if you are going to apply for this offer.
- An establishment fee of $99 will be applied to your account on the date your first statement is issued. Under the Qantas deal, this fee is $199. That’s a saving of $100 straight up.
- An introductory rate of 6.9% pa will be applied on the initial amount transferred to your bank account for 5 years.
- Any subsequent transfers, ongoing purchases and cash advances will attract a rate of 20.49% pa. Any unpaid balance at the end of 5 years will also attract the standard
variable rate of 20.49% pa.
Redeem Velocity Points to fly Air Canada Business Class
Cost of the Deal
If my Math is right, the deal has a net cost of around $100. This includes $99 establishment fee, plus less than $1 in interest costs (for a duration of 14 weeks) provided you pay back most of the initially borrowed amount and only retain a small debit balance of no more than $50.
Once you receive the points, you can pay off any remaining balance and close the account.
Is the Deal worth it?
My own valuation of Velocity point sits around 1.25c per point. So by that measure, the 70,000 points are worth $875. However, if you redeem those points for Business or First-Class flights, you will be able to extract at least 3-4x more value out of them.
As an example, you can fly Singapore Airlines Business Class between anywhere in Australia and Singapore one-way for 67,000 Velocity points. The cash price for those flights are generally in-excess of $3,000. That is excellent value if you ask me.
So yes, I personally believe the deal is absolutely worth it for those who can make it work.
Are you planning to take advantage of Citi Ready Credit Offer and earn 70,000 Velocity points? Leave a comment below.
Disclaimer
The views expressed in this post is author’s personal opinion, it does not constitute advice of any kind and must not be relied on. PointsHq is not asking or recommending that you apply for this product. You must assess your own personal circumstances and needs to determine whether this product is appropriate for you.
