Westpac Altitude Velocity Black Card

Why we like the Westpac Altitude Velocity Black card

The Westpac Altitude Velocity Black is a great mid-tier credit card in Australia for those who want to earn Velocity points!

For every $1 of everyday spend, you’ll earn up to 0.8 Velocity points, capped at $10,000 per statement period.

Cardholders also receive two single-entry Virgin Australia lounge invitations per year, two Economy X seat upgrades, 0% foreign transaction fees for the first 12 months plus complimentary overseas travel insurance, purchase protection insurance and extended warranty on purchases.

Sign-up bonus

Earn up to 120,000 bonus Velocity Points when you apply for the Westpac Altitude Velocity Black credit card!

The bonus is split into two parts. The first 90,000 Velocity Points will be awarded after you spend $6,000 or more on eligible purchases within the first 120 days of approval. You’ll receive an additional 30,000 bonus Velocity Points after your first eligible purchase in your second year of holding the Westpac Altitude Velocity Black card.

This offer is not available to existing customers who hold a Westpac Altitude Platinum or Altitude Black card with Altitude Rewards, Qantas or Velocity, or if you’ve held any of these cards in the last 24 months.

Wondering how far 120,000 Velocity Points can take you? As an example, you could fly in Singapore Airlines Business Class to Singapore from Sydney for 74,000 Velocity points + taxes.

Travel benefits

Enjoy an elevated travel experience with the Westpac Altitude Velocity Black. Here’s what to expect…

Lounge passes

The Westpac Altitude Velocity Black credit card includes two Virgin Australia lounge invitations per year.

Complimentary travel insurance

Westpac Altitude Velocity Black cardholders receive a range of insurances, including international travel insurance underwritten by Allianz. To be eligible for the complimentary international travel insurance, you must meet all of the following criteria:

• Reside in Australia,
• Begin and end your journey in Australia,
• Spend at least $500 on prepaid travel costs on your Westpac Altitude Velocity Black credit card before leaving Australia,
• Have a return overseas travel ticket before leaving Australia, and
• Be under 81 years of age at the time you’re eligible for insurance and meet the conditions above.

Ensure you read the PDS here before using the complimentary travel insurance on your Westpac Altitude Velocity Black card.

Economy X upgrade vouchers

Westpac Altitude Velocity Black card holders enjoy two complimentary Economy X Seat Upgrade Vouchers each year.

You can use these on eligible domestic flights. To apply the upgrade, you must book using your Westpac Altitude Velocity Black credit card and then call the Virgin Australia contact centre.

Personal concierge service

Westpac Altitude Velocity Black cardholders can access an exclusive Personal Concierge Service. This 24/7 service allows you to book experiences online, including tickets to concerts and events, restaurant reservations and more.

Earning points

With the Westpac Altitude Velocity Platinum credit card, you’ll earn Velocity points at a rate of 0.8 Velocity points per $1 spent on everyday transactions, excluding government payments. You’ll earn 1.2 Velocity points per $1 on international spend, while you’ll earn 0.5 Velocity points per $1 on other purchases. The full points-earning rate is capped at $10,000 per statement period, after which you’ll earn 0.25 Velocity points per $1.

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

You won’t earn any Velocity Points on direct payments to the Australian Tax Office (ATO), or other Australian government bodies.

But you can use your Westpac Altitude Velocity Black credit card with a payment service such as Pay.com.au. This allows you to pay taxes and other bills to collect Velocity Points from your card.

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 and Air Canada.

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

Summary

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)