Earn 100,000 Velocity points with the AMEX Velocity Platinum card
By Chris C., July 1 2015
One hundred thousand Virgin Australia Velocity Frequent Flyer points could be yours when applying for the American Express Velocity Platinum card, in what is the biggest-ever Velocity bonus offer on a co-branded credit card. Simply:
- Apply between July 1 and September 30 2015
- Be approved, and
- Spend a total of $1,000 or more in the first three months
That's all you need to pocket the six-figure bounty, which is more than enough for a business class flight from Sydney to either Los Angeles or Abu Dhabi – or a return journey if flying in economy – plus applicable airport and government taxes and charges.
As many points could also get you seven one-way business class flights between Sydney and Melbourne or two one-way business class journeys between Sydney and Perth (plus taxes and fees), stretching to a third one-way journey after spending just $400 more on the card with most merchants.
The offer is open to customers who don't already have a card issued directly by American Express, and who also haven't held one in the past 12 months.
(Bank-issued American Express cards such as the NAB Velocity Platinum AMEX don't disqualify you from the promotion.)
AMEX Velocity Platinum card: other benefits
Available to individuals with incomes of $65,000 or more, the AMEX Velocity Platinum card carries an annual fee of $349, but which is largely offset by a free return domestic flight with Virgin Australia.
Beyond the bonus offer you’ll also earn three Velocity points per dollar spent with Virgin Australia and at Australian restaurants; two Velocity points with other travel-related companies and when abroad; 0.5 points on most insurance, utility and government payments; and one point on everything else.
You’ll also enjoy two free passes each year to Virgin Australia’s domestic lounges plus a further two free visits to the American Express Sydney Airport lounge when flying overseas, along with travel insurance and more.
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Chris is a a former contributor to Executive Traveller.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
19 Nov 2011
Total posts 243
Oh man! Already have an AMEX Plat Edge.
Shame can't apply for this one...
Air China - Phoenix Miles
20 Dec 2012
Total posts 105
Everyone can have up to two Amex cards at the same time.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
10 May 2011
Total posts 732
But when applying for the second one you are not eligible for the 100K points...
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
10 May 2011
Total posts 732
Finally some US like sign up bonusses! Hope this iswill become a trend and we can soon start churning cards!
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer Platinum
07 Feb 2013
Total posts 548
Good luck with your credit rating trying that approach!
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
10 May 2011
Total posts 732
No issues, it is all about applying and cancelling and paying your outstanding balance on time.
Virgin Australia - Velocity Rewards
19 Mar 2014
Total posts 567
Spot on. You'll probablly only get each card issuer (Visa / MC / Amex) just the once before they retract the offer. But no effect on your credit rating.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
28 Jan 2015
Total posts 106
Not necessarily, I have taken advantage of ANZ's offers two times so far, i normally spend on them for 9 months then cancel before the renewal date. I will apply for a third time after i have served my 12 month black out period and hopefully will be successful again
Virgin Australia - Velocity Rewards
24 Apr 2014
Total posts 47
Just be careful, this activity stays on your credit file for 5 years.
03 Mar 2015
Total posts 15
If one of the Qantas providers offer this I'm in...
Etihad - Etihad Guest
02 Jul 2015
Total posts 15
Sounds like a great offer. I've never had an AMEX card before, are they widely accepted by retailers? I know they charge a higher transaction fee to merchants and are therefore less popular than Visa and Mastercard.
18 Jul 2016
Total posts 1
In my case it's about half to 3/4 of the time they are accepted, but I always have my VISA to use in case it's not suitable. For shopping and petrol at major chains it's no issues with no fees. The charges are slightly higher at other places, around 3% at times, but you get to know where to use it. I wouldn't only carry an AMEX, put it that way.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
25 Jan 2013
Total posts 240
Now that’s a sign up bonus! (Especially when you consider there was a link to a referral site which gave you 110,000 points for the Platinum and 15,000 for the Velocity Escape card, which was subtly removed).
I’d love to see Qantas do a similar thing, but American Express Qantas cards are a little fiddlier. Instead of just getting the bonus points, you get X amount of the bonus points on sign up and Y amount of the bonus when you buy something with Qantas. But they publicise it as X + Y. Seems unnecessarily complex IMHO.
03 Jul 2015
Total posts 2
"more than enough for a business class flight from Sydney to either Los Angeles"
Not sure if I'm missing something here, but it looks to me that a business class flight from Sydney to LAX is about 1 million points? Only 10 x the 100,000 offered here. Still seems a good deal though.
24 Apr 2012
Total posts 2432
A one-way business class flight from Sydney to LA or Abu Dhabi is 94,000 points plus taxes and fees – the figure you've quoted would be for the 'any seat award', which allows you to redeem points against the commercial cost of the ticket should a standard award seat (at 94,000 points) be unavailable.
03 Jul 2015
Total posts 2
Ah, thank you. That makes sense.
24 Apr 2012
Total posts 2432
Not a problem – if you're having difficulty finding a business class award between Sydney and LA, it also pays to try searching via or /from Brisbane as VA also flies daily from there and availability can differ between the two flights.
Emirates Airlines - Skywards
07 Sep 2012
Total posts 146
Whoa baby - this completes the set for me. CBA for QF, Citibank for EK, and Amex for VA. Have been looking for a good Velocity card for a while but all the rest are miserly compared to this little beauty.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
07 Jul 2015
Total posts 1
I have a corporate AMEX from the company I work for, as well as a supplementary AMEX. Does this mean I'm ineligible for the 100k points?
19 Apr 2013
Total posts 20
Hi guys,
Do you know whether this card gets you access to the Centurion lounges?
Thanks.
24 Apr 2012
Total posts 2432
Yes, but you need to pay US$50 at the door per entry. The two free AMEX lounge visits are for the Sydney lounge only.
15 Aug 2015
Total posts 1
Hi newbie here - great site thanks!
if you already have a visa velocity card can you still apply for one of these Amex velocity cards, get the 100,000 points and still use both the visa and Amex to earn velocity points Or can you only use one or the other?
Emirates Airlines - Skywards
07 Sep 2012
Total posts 146
Yes, if you have a velocity card with another provider, you can still apply for this card.
14 Sep 2015
Total posts 2
Is there a way to find out at which Asutralian Restaurants you can earn the bonus points?
11 Jul 2016
Total posts 1
Hi Chris,
Has this deal changed recently? AMEX seems to have only the 50k points deal on their site - do you have a link to the 100k offer? Also, how does the reversal work - do you just add in details in the application process? Cheers
24 Apr 2012
Total posts 2432
Hi DrWilso, this article was published 12 months ago – you'll find the latest deals here.
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