AMEX boosts Virgin Australia points, teases 100,000-point bonus

American Express is revamping its Virgin Australia Velocity frequent flyer credit cards to introduce a higher everyday earning rate and a boosted sign-up bonus with its AMEX Velocity Platinum Card.

New AMEX customers who apply for the Velocity Platinum Card by July 31 2017 and spend at least $1,500 on everyday purchases within the first three months will fetch 100,000 bonus Virgin Australia Velocity frequent flyer points – twice the number of points routinely on offer.

What’s more, everyday transactions now accrue a flat 1.5 Velocity points per dollar spent across the board, uncapped (previously 1 point per $1): including on payments to insurers, telcos and utilities, being three times as many points per dollar spent over the previously 0.5/$1 earning rate in these categories.

Bonus points are no longer awarded on transactions with restaurants, travel providers or when overseas, although using the AMEX Velocity Platinum Card to book flights with Virgin Australia now pulls in 2.5 Velocity points per dollar spent, over and above what you’d earn from the flight itself.

As part of the changes, the card's annual fee does climb slightly from $349 to $375 – still inclusive of a complimentary return domestic flight each year and four airport lounge visits – although government spend continues to attract 0.5 Velocity points per dollar spent.

The fee-free American Express Velocity Escape Card is also being tweaked with government transactions lowering from one Velocity point per dollar to 0.5 Velocity points on the same, but with no cuts or caps placed on the card’s everyday earn rate of one Velocity point per dollar spent everywhere else, and double credit card points on Virgin Australia flight bookings.

These moves follow cuts to credit card frequent flyer points announced by CBA, NAB and Westpac, and ANZ’s decision to stop issuing new American Express cards entirely, ahead of a new RBA cap on credit card ‘interchange fees’.

Read: How the interchange cap will affect credit card frequent flyer points

Spenders who already have the AMEX Velocity Platinum Card and the AMEX Velocity Escape Card will continue earning frequent flyer points at their existing rates until given notice of the changes directly by American Express.

Chris C.

Chris is a a former contributor to Executive Traveller.