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American Express® Velocity Platinum Card
Get a free annual return Virgin Australia flight and a high Velocity Points earning rate with the American Express Velocity Platinum credit card.
- Signup bonus
- 100,000 bonus Velocity Points, when you spend $3,000 or more on your new Card within the first 3 months
- Points Earned
- 1.25 Velocity Points earned per $1 on all eligible spend except for government bodies; 2.25 Velocity Points per $1 spent on selected Virgin Australia purchases; 0.5 Velocity Points per $1 on Government spend
- Annual fee
- $375 p.a.
The owner of Australian Frequent Flyer may receive a commission from the card issuer for each applicant of this card.
Why we like the American Express Velocity Platinum credit card
The American Express Velocity Platinum credit card is one of the highest Velocity points-earning cards in the Australian market. With an uncapped earn rate of 1.25 Velocity Points for every dollar spent – plus bonus points when purchasing Virgin Australia flights – you’ll supercharge your Velocity Points balance in no time!
The $375 annual fee is offset by a complimentary annual return Virgin Australia domestic flight, two annual Virgin Australia Lounge passes and two Amex Centurion Lounge visits each year.
This card can also help you to achieve a higher Virgin Australia status tier, by rewarding you with 100 status credits in Virgin Australia’s Velocity Frequent Flyer program when you spend at least $50,000 on the card within your membership year.
Key Information & How to Apply
Key facts about this card
- Card type
- American Express
- Signup bonus
- 100,000 bonus Velocity Points, when you spend $3,000 or more on your new Card within the first 3 months
- Annual fee
- $375 p.a.
- Interest rate
- 23.99% p.a.
- Interest-free days
- Up to 55 days
- Minimum monthly repayment
- 2.5% of balance or $30, whichever is greater
- Minimum credit limit
- $3000
- International transaction fee
- 3%
To apply for this card, you will need
- To be an Australian citizen, resident or long-term visa holder aged 18 or over
- No history of bad debt or payment default
- Your Australian driver’s licence number and proof of income
- 10-15 minutes to complete your application
The owner of Australian Frequent Flyer may receive a commission from the card issuer for each applicant of this card.
Table of contents
Sign-up bonus
Apply for an American Express Velocity Platinum card by 15 May 2024 to earn 100,000 bonus Velocity Points!
A minimum spend of $3,000 on eligible transactions on your card within the first 3 months from the approval date is required to receive the bonus.
This offer may be changed or withdrawn at any time and is not available to existing Amex Card Members, or if you have been the primary Card Member of an Australian Amex card in the past 18 months.
What you could do with Velocity Points
To give you an idea, it would cost 71,000 Velocity Points + around $235 for a return Virgin Australia Business Class flight from Adelaide to Bali!
Alternatively, with 75,000 Velocity Points, plus taxes & carrier charges, you could fly one-way from Sydney to London in Economy Class with Virgin’s partner airlines Etihad Airways, Qatar Airways or Singapore Airlines.
Travel benefits
Here’s an overview of the travel benefits you can expect…
Free return Virgin Australia flight
Simply make a purchase using your American Express Velocity Platinum credit card each membership year to receive a free return Virgin Australia flight!
This offer can be used to fly on selected domestic routes, as outlined on the interactive flight map on the Amex website. Note that, while you can’t use this free flight to travel from the Australian east coast to Perth, you can use it to fly from Perth to the east coast and back. 😉
You can redeem this free flight using Amex’s dedicated online booking portal or by calling Virgin Australia on 1300 153 006 (instead of the usual Guest Contact Centre phone number).
To use this benefit, there must be availability in the fare classes “T” or “Q” on the flight/s you wish to book. Note that some flights might not have any seats available in these fare classes.
See our guide to redeeming the Amex Velocity Platinum free flight for details. You can also check the full terms & conditions of this and other card benefits on the Amex website.
Airport lounge access
American Express Velocity Platinum Card Members receive two annual Virgin Australia Lounge passes. These can be used up to two hours prior to any Virgin Australia flight when you’re departing from a domestic airport with a Virgin Australia Lounge available.
You’ll also receive two complimentary visits to the Amex Centurion Lounges in Sydney and Melbourne every calendar year. You can access these lounges when departing from Sydney or Melbourne on any international flight, even if you’re not flying with Virgin Australia. See the American Express website for locations and opening hours.
Complimentary travel insurance
This credit card comes with complimentary domestic and international travel insurance, including some cover for COVID-19. The insurance is underwritten by Chubb and is available when you pay for your return trip using your American Express Velocity Platinum card.
Before using this insurance, we’d encourage you to read the PDS here.
This card also comes with complimentary Card Purchase Cover & Card Refund Cover.
Bonus Velocity status credits
The Amex Velocity Platinum is one of the few credit cards that allows you to earn status credits! This could be helpful if you’d like to upgrade your Virgin Australia status tier – or renew your existing status.
You’ll receive 100 Velocity status credits if you spend at least $50,000 during your Amex card membership year. Once you’ve met this target, your status credits will hit your Velocity account within two weeks.
To attain or renew Velocity status, you’d still need to fly a minimum number of eligible Virgin Australia flights each year in addition to earning the required status credits.
Earning points
With the American Express Velocity Platinum card, earn 1.25 Velocity Frequent Flyer points per $1 spent on eligible transactions (excluding government payments).
Plus, you’ll earn an extra Velocity Point for every dollar spent (bringing the total to 2.25 Velocity Points per $1) on eligible Virgin Australia purchases.
There is no monthly or annual point-earning cap. You can earn an unlimited number of points at the full rate.
Velocity Points may expire if there is no activity in your Velocity Frequent Flyer account for 24 months. But earning Velocity Points with your credit card will keep your account active.
Earning points for ATO & government payments
Payments made directly to the Australian Tax Office (ATO) or other government bodies in Australia with your Amex Velocity Platinum card will earn points at a reduced rate of 0.5 Velocity points per $1.
However, you can use a payment service such as pay.com.au or Sniip to pay tax and other bills with this card, and still earn points at the full rate!
Amex Offers
From time to time, American Express Card Members receive exclusive offers of bonus points or cashback when spending at specific retailers. These Amex Offers can be quite lucrative.
Amex also runs Shop Small promotions from time to time, giving rewards for shopping at participating small businesses.
Using Velocity Frequent Flyer points
There are many ways to redeem Virgin Australia Velocity Points, both in the air and on the ground.
If you don’t want to use your points for flights, Velocity Points can be redeemed for wine, hotels, car hire bookings and products or gift cards from the Velocity Rewards Store.
But you’ll generally get the best value for your Velocity Points by redeeming for UpgradeMe Points upgrades on Virgin Australia or reward seats.
You can book reward seats on any of Velocity’s partner airlines. In addition to Virgin Australia, these include Singapore Airlines, Qatar Airways, United Airlines, Etihad Airways, Air Canada and Hawaiian Airlines.
You can check the number of Velocity Points you’d need to book a reward seat on the Velocity Frequent Flyer website.
It’s also possible to convert Velocity Frequent Flyer points into Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer miles! You’d just need to transfer at least 5,000 Velocity Points at a time, and the conversion rate is 1.55 Velocity Points = 1 KrisFlyer mile.
Note that taxes & carrier charges are payable in addition to the points on reward seats. The availability of reward seats may also be limited, particularly in Business Class on popular international routes and during peak travel periods.
See our Overview of Virgin Australia Redemptions for more information.
Summary
Pros
- One of the highest earning credit cards in Australia for Velocity Frequent Flyer points, with no points cap
- Get a complimentary return annual Virgin Australia domestic flight
- Receive two Virgin Australia Lounge passes and two Amex Centurion Lounge visits each year
- Earn up to 100 Velocity status credits
- Possibility to convert Velocity Points earned from this card into Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer miles
- Earn bonus points on Virgin Australia purchases
- Complimentary domestic and international travel insurance
- Compatible with Apple Pay, Google Pay & Samsung Pay
Cons
- International transaction fees apply
- Points are earned at a reduced rate when spending with government bodies
- American Express cards are not as widely accepted as Visa & Mastercard
- High interest rate (this could be a problem if you don’t think you’ll be able to repay your balance in full each month)
- By earning Velocity Points rather than Amex Membership Rewards points, you forfeit the flexibility to transfer points to other frequent flyer programs (other than KrisFlyer)
- Signup bonus
- 100,000 bonus Velocity Points, when you spend $3,000 or more on your new Card within the first 3 months
- Points Earned
- 1.25 Velocity Points earned per $1 on all eligible spend except for government bodies; 2.25 Velocity Points per $1 spent on selected Virgin Australia purchases; 0.5 Velocity Points per $1 on Government spend
- Annual fee
- $375 p.a.
The owner of Australian Frequent Flyer may receive a commission from the card issuer for each applicant of this card.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
To apply for an American Express Velocity Platinum card, you would need to be an Australian citizen, resident or long-term visa holder. Other criteria may apply.
The minimum credit limit is $3,000.
American Express Velocity Platinum Card Members receive two annual Virgin Australia Lounge passes and two complimentary visits to the international Amex Centurion Lounges in Sydney or Melbourne each calendar year.
Yes, but payments to government bodies including the Australian Tax Office (ATO) will earn points at a reduced rate of 0.5 Velocity Frequent Flyer points per dollar (instead of the usual 1.25 points per dollar on everyday purchases). You can still earn full points on ATO payments by using a bill payment service such as Sniip or pay.com.au.
Receive a complimentary annual return Virgin Australia flight, two annual Virgin Australia Lounge passes, and the possibility to earn 100 Velocity status credits by spending at least $50,000 on the card during the year.
You can redeem this free return domestic flight using Amex’s dedicated online booking portal or by calling Virgin Australia on 1300 153 006. There must be commercial airfare availability in T or Q class on the eligible Virgin Australia flight/s you wish to book.
Velocity Points will only expire if you do not earn or redeem at least one Velocity point for two years. As long as your Velocity account remains active, i.e. by earning and/or redeeming points at least once every 24 months, your points will not expire.
Yes. If you spend at least $50,000 on eligible purchases during your Amex Velocity Platinum card membership year, you’ll be rewarded with 100 Virgin Australia status credits. They’ll be credited to your Velocity Frequent Flyer account within two weeks of meeting the spend criteria.
Yes, the American Express Velocity Platinum card supports Apple Pay, Google Pay and Samsung Pay. So, you can still use this card to make purchases when you’re out and about without carrying the physical card.
Yes, Amex Velocity Platinum Card Members can add up to four additional cardholders at no cost. Additional Card Members must be at least 16 years old.