Review: Bank of Melbourne Amplify Platinum Visa card

Introduction

With the ability to earn frequent flyer points with Qantas, or to collect points that can later be converted into Virgin Australia Velocity Points or Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer, the Bank of Melbourne Amplify Platinum card keeps fees low and those all-important frequent flyer points flowing in.

Here's what Bank of Melbourne has to offer, whether you select the Amplify Platinum card with Qantas Points, or the Amplify Platinum card with Amplify Points.

Bank of Melbourne Amplify Platinum card: fast facts

• Grade/tier: Platinum
• Card type: Visa
• Loyalty options: Qantas Points (Qantas Frequent Flyer) or Amplify Points (Amplify Rewards).
• Qantas Points earned per A$1 spent (Qantas Frequent Flyer): 0.5 on eligible purchases.
• Or, Amplify Points earned per A$1 spent (Amplify Rewards): 1.0 on eligible purchases.
• 1 Amplify Point ($1 spent) = 0.5 Velocity Points, 0.5 Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer miles.
• Points capping/tiering: From 1 January 2022, earn 0.5 Qantas Points per $1 up to a maximum of $100,000 spent on eligible purchases annually. Bonus Qantas Bonus Qantas Points not included in the cap.
• Supported mobile wallets: Apple Pay, Google Pay, Samsung Pay

Bank disclaimer: Eligible purchases do not include interest, fees and charges, cash or ATM cash advances, cash equivalent transactions, gambling transactions, a purchase from or payment to a local, state or federal government or government related agency, BPAY or similar transactions (such as Post Billpay), refunds and balance transfers debited to the card account.

Bank of Melbourne Amplify Platinum card: fees, charges and interest

• Annual fee: $99 (for Qantas) card fee, or $29 first year card fee for Amplify ($99 thereafter)
• Additional/supplementary cardholder fee: $0
• Interest rate on purchases: 19.49% p.a.
• Interest-free days on purchases^: Up to 55
• Interest rate on cash advances: 21.49% p.a.
• International transaction fee: 3.0%
• Minimum income requirement: No defined minimum
• Minimum credit limit: $6,000

Earning points for free flights:

On a quest for Qantas Points? Start your journey with 60,000 bonus Qantas Points when you apply for the Amplify Platinum card with Qantas Points by 31 December 2022 and spend $3,000 on eligible purchases within 90 days.

Take this path, and you'll be able to earn Qantas Points on your everyday purchases too, paying an annual fee of $99.

Or, through the Amplify Rewards option, you could earn 100,000 bonus Amplify Points when you apply by 31 December 2022 and spend $3,000 within 90 days. Choosing Amplify rewards also gives you a $70 discount on your first year annual fee, bringing it down to $29. 

Whichever path you select, you’ll also pay no interest on balance transfers for 15 months (a 1% balance transfer fee applies).

Through the Amplify Rewards program, the points you earn can be converted into Virgin Australia Velocity Frequent Flyer points, or Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer miles.

Regardless of the rewards option you choose, as there's no extra fee for having an additional cardholder on the account – such as a partner – this makes it easy to boost your points balance, as the primary cardholder will earn points from the total combined spend.

Airport lounge access:

As standard of most Platinum-grade cards, airport lounge access isn't part of the package.

However, the higher-tier Bank of Melbourne Amplify Signature card with Amplify Points does include a complimentary Priority Pass lounge membership with the first two visits each year given at no charge (access fees apply thereafter).

Free insurance coverage:

When using the Amplify Platinum card to pre-pay A$500 or more in travel costs related to an overseas journey of three months or less, the cardholder may be covered by complimentary overseas travel insurance.

Those pre-paid expenses could be a number of things, including your return international airfare and taxes, overseas accommodation costs, or other "overseas itinerary items". These could also be payments to cover taxes, fees and charges on bookings made using frequent flyer points.

However, restrictions and added exclusions may apply during the COVID-19 pandemic. Refer to the policy documents or the insurance underwriter for more information and to confirm eligibility.

Other coverage included with the card is a 12-month extended warranty boost when purchasing eligible new appliances, as well as transit accident insurance. Again, refer to the policy documents to confirm whether you qualify, and whether the cover meets your needs.

Absent are interstate flight inconvenience insurance, rental vehicle excess insurance or access to a 'guaranteed pricing scheme', as you'd find on some other Platinum cards.

Bank of Melbourne Amplify Platinum card: the verdict

With a relatively low annual fee, the Bank of Melbourne Amplify Platinum card isn't the highest points earner in the market, but the points it does provide are uncapped and tier-free when you choose Amplify Rewards (the Qantas option is limited to earning points on the first $100k spent annually).

That means regardless of how much you spend on eligible purchases, you'll continue earning points at the same rates.

The promise of 60,000 bonus Qantas Points via the Amplify Qantas path, or 100,000 bonus Amplify Points via the Amplify Rewards option, could also help to justify the card's annual fee for new applicants.

Overseas travel insurance is another nice add-on, but one of limited utility for the time being – making the bigger focus on fees and points, which this card balances nicely.

Also read: Bank of Melbourne Amplify Signature credit card review

Bank disclaimer: ^If your account has an interest free period for purchases, to be entitled to that interest free period, you need to pay off the “monthly payment balance” listed on your statement of account (not the full closing balance) by the relevant payment due date.