Virgin Amex Velocity Platinum card now 110k points

[wchiri]

Wow she's really lucky. I don't know why she would sign up people above the cap and waste the referral bonuses though.

Would've been better off letting one of the people she referred use that up so it didn't go to waste.

I would suggest that AFFer's here lucky to have hit the cap or are getting near it to update their posts and delete their links so the referral bonuses don't get wasted.

The reports in this forum suggest it can take some time for the referrals to come through as well so if you are nearthe cap and think you're about to hit the cap you night want to consider deleting your referral link so its not wasted and so other AFFer's can share in the love.

I hope they extend the offer but given the apparent popularity I am expecting it to be either canned or downgraded.

Worlds greatest referral link

Hey mate,

She didn't get any referrals from this website, it was all from her work place. I posted mine up and got 2 referrals on mine.

With her account she is well over the 20 referrals or 200,000 points. She's at 32 referrals now. They definitely aren't enforcing that 'max referrals' rule.

 

[ninja-tim]

I think our payroll officer and several others got multiple referral 20,000 points at a time.
ninja-tim I put one in for you as you have assisted on the ATO thread.

Just passing the love along as like everyone else on here.

 

[ninja-tim]

Hey mate,

She didn't get any referrals from this website, it was all from her work place. I posted mine up and got 2 referrals on mine.

With her account she is well over the 20 referrals or 200,000 points. She's at 32 referrals now. They definitely aren't enforcing that 'max referrals' rule.

Wow 32?????? That's a massive amount of points. Enough for 3 F return flights to europe I believe.

 

[anat0l]

It's getting funny how many points Amex (or Velocity) are dishing out here if they aren't capping the referrals.

KrisFlyer mightn't be too happy, although the premium they take in from Velocity conversions should pay them off a bit.

At least for Virgin Australia themselves, all they might be on the hook for are a bunch of gift cards and some domestic redemptions.

 

[psi999]

Hey mate,

She didn't get any referrals from this website, it was all from her work place. I posted mine up and got 2 referrals on mine.

With her account she is well over the 20 referrals or 200,000 points. She's at 32 referrals now. They definitely aren't enforcing that 'max referrals' rule.

Yep I've got 15 / 16 on each of the 3 cards I'm running. There is no limit.

 

[anat0l]

Yep I've got 15 / 16 on each of the 3 cards I'm running. There is no limit.

3 cards? Do we have a few alter egos, or are you simply managing someone else's finances?

 

[psi999]

3 cards? Do we have a few alter egos, or are you simply managing someone else's finances?

Myself, partner & father. Tried to keep each card at 10 referrals (limiting waste) but looks like it didn't matter in the end.

edit - I did mention it a few weeks ago in this thread which got a few noses out of joint. I guess i'm quite lucky in the fact I work in a white collar FIFO environment and became 'that points guy' - the offer sold itself as no one likes missing out

 

[ninja-tim]

It's getting funny how many points Amex (or Velocity) are dishing out here if they aren't capping the referrals.

KrisFlyer mightn't be too happy, although the premium they take in from Velocity conversions should pay them off a bit.

At least for Virgin Australia themselves, all they might be on the hook for are a bunch of gift cards and some domestic redemptions.

I wonder what the stats are on points redemption. Wonder what % is actually maximizing points by using on international J/F flights, assuming there is no other better way?

 

[anat0l]

I guess what will be interesting now is how will everyone spend their windfalls - whether it's 110k points or even half a million?

My parents are already cashing in a couple of return Y flights to Asia. Don't laugh - to them it was cheaper than paying peak travel prices in cash.

 

[anat0l]

I wonder what the stats are on points redemption. Wonder what % is actually maximizing points by using on international J/F flights, assuming there is no other better way?

Well my folks aren't contributing to that stat.

VA longhaul J is very hard to get. Ditto NZ J. Domestic, on the whole, however, is pretty easy. On the worthwhile partners, that leaves basically SQ and EY. SQ benefits from the KrisFlyer sweep (which is currently uncapped annually) so that also opens Star Alliance.

However, as you say, all those start to get more and more esoteric in a way. For us as seasoned frequent flyers, it is no problem.

Many common people will likely be getting gift cards out of this. Others will basically ensure they have lots and lots of cheap flights, or J flights, within Australia for a while.

I'm assuming many here on this forum will be able to take a flight or two to spoil themselves. The timing may be an issue but there should be enough to go around, as such. One thing is that this sign up was not able to rope in the common bloggers or the like, so there's not really the scale of "exploitation" that it could have had in those arenas.

Let's not forget we are probably all not doing this at once. I may have fallen in a windfall of some 150,000 Velocity points, but I don't know when and how I am spending that just yet. Also, some may have started with a balance close to 0 so 110,000 points by itself is nice but not something which you just blow straight out without thinking through (e.g. yes that's a SQ F flight between MEL and NRT, but you need to work out how to get back). Others with pre-existing balances have a better range and chance.


I guess that's the argument for not putting the brakes on, as such. Amex/Velocity could have dished out as many of these points as they liked, and what was the damage? If there are not enough good seats to go around, they're not on the hook for them. Spreading that demand over a few years will help them balance the damage. Some may cash in on smaller rewards (toasters, iPads, gift cards). And some may forget about the points (breakage). All the while, Amex can collect annual fees and interest (if some don't pay up on time). Velocity has a nice side cart to claim on the liabilities side of the balance sheet when it wants to.

 

[burmans]

Hey mate,

She didn't get any referrals from this website, it was all from her work place. I posted mine up and got 2 referrals on mine.

With her account she is well over the 20 referrals or 200,000 points. She's at 32 referrals now. They definitely aren't enforcing that 'max referrals' rule.

Not 100% true, as noted above they aren't capping at 200k but some of us have had points reversals to take points back late (and a somewhat terse letter suggesting it's our fault they didn't restrict as per the T&Cs, which says they "will" restrict from now on).

 

[anat0l]

Not 100% true, as noted above they aren't capping at 200k but some of us have had points reversals to take points back late (and a somewhat terse letter suggesting it's our fault they didn't restrict as per the T&Cs, which says they "will" restrict from now on).

They have only a month after the error, really, to do any reversal. After they sweep out to the target Velocity account, they're hosed. Sure, they could put your points account into "debit", but I don't think negative points can sweep to Velocity. Besides, at that point, you could just cancel the card and tell them to go jump.

 

[Fifa]

I just checked my account and I have only received one referral bonus from my +1.

If anyone would like to make a last minute application you are welcome to use my Amex referral link .

 

[burmans]

They have only a month after the error, really, to do any reversal. After they sweep out to the target Velocity account, they're hosed. Sure, they could put your points account into "debit", but I don't think negative points can sweep to Velocity. Besides, at that point, you could just cancel the card and tell them to go jump.

Agreed, was just noting they are "trying" to restrict referrals, if with only limited success.

 

[Alanslegal]

There might be a few thousand people with 100,000 or more points through the signing up of these cards - and the dream to fly J or F is probably the reason behind it - but a lot of those folks will be disappointed (and maybe come here, sign up and whinge why they can't book a premium seat) when they can't be flexible or want the whole family to be flying up front. Points is great but when one doesn't understand the pros/cons of booking premium seat, then they will be sorely frustrated in due course.

 

[wchiri]

In terms of how people have used the points:

Wife and I booked Abu Dhabi - Munich - Business with Etihad. And then Zurich - Singapore SUITES then Singapore - Perth Business.

 

[ninja-tim]

Let's not forget we are probably all not doing this at once. I may have fallen in a windfall of some 150,000 Velocity points, but I don't know when and how I am spending that just yet. Also, some may have started with a balance close to 0 so 110,000 points by itself is nice but not something which you just blow straight out without thinking through (e.g. yes that's a SQ F flight between MEL and NRT, but you need to work out how to get back). Others with pre-existing balances have a better range and chance.

Woops my bad, think I posted earlier that you needed 80k SQ miles (110k Velocity to fly MEL-South East Asia return J. Got mixed up with AsiaMiles redemptions.
110,000 pts + 2 referral bonus = 150k, which will net you roughly 110k SQ miles, which then will get you return J flights to SEA.

 

[ninja-tim]

In terms of how people have used the points:

Wife and I booked Abu Dhabi - Munich - Business with Etihad. And then Zurich - Singapore SUITES then Singapore - Perth Business.

Was this with points all coming from your wifes card's bonus + referral points? If so, good work!

 

[anat0l]

There might be a few thousand people with 100,000 or more points through the signing up of these cards - and the dream to fly J or F is probably the reason behind it - but a lot of those folks will be disappointed (and maybe come here, sign up and whinge why they can't book a premium seat) when they can't be flexible or want the whole family to be flying up front. Points is great but when one doesn't understand the pros/cons of booking premium seat, then they will be sorely frustrated in due course.

Most here are (or should be) aware of that. Others outside may not see the whole F or J seats thing at all, and just book Economy seats. Mind, since VA doesn't charge fuel, getting a very cheap Y redemption right off the bat on the card signup bonus (e.g. to the USA) is attractive enough a proposition for many people.

110k points is 7 return flights of either BNE/SYD or SYD/MEL, after throwing in about $30 each time. Some might find that already attractive.

My parents looked immediately at the quick fix on the points. After all, to them it was paying $349 to get the points, so if it can net something else that costs more than the net cost of the points plus the taxes, that's already a win, even if it isn't the best value you could make out of them.

Luckily VA points hardly expire (they need 3 years), and lucky for VA, some may just end up being written off as breakage, so bonus for the company. At least VA isn't looking to boost prices or charge fuel for now, so most have enough time to muster up an idea.

Woops my bad, think I posted earlier that you needed 80k SQ miles (110k Velocity to fly MEL-South East Asia return J. Got mixed up with AsiaMiles redemptions.
110,000 pts + 2 referral bonus = 150k, which will net you roughly 110k SQ miles, which then will get you return J flights to SEA.

Nice to know, although for me that's not a worthwhile redemption most of the time.

 

[Radio8tiv]

With only a few more days to go I thought Id try my luck with my link iforms.do
I have not had any referrals yet so here's hoping, I'm trying to save enough points for a
special 25th anniversary trip in 2017 for me and the better half.