Pocket 40,000 Virgin Australia points for just $150 with NAB

Savvy flyers can pocket 40,000 Virgin Australia Velocity frequent flyer points for just $150 when applying for new NAB Velocity Rewards Premium cards.

From Flexi fares, those points could see you upgraded to business class on two return trips from Sydney, Melbourne or Brisbane to Perth on the Airbus A330, or on eight one-way flights from Sydney to both Melbourne and Brisbane.

Crunching the numbers, you’ll effectively pay just $18.75 for each upgrade to business class on those shorter flights, or a mere $37.50 for a lie-flat bed on each transcontinental trek.

After applying for and receiving your new credit cards, you’ll earn those 40,000 bonus points after making your first purchase.

Read our review: NAB Velocity Rewards Premium cards

The generous sign-on bonus was set to wind up on July 31, but has been extended for new applicants until October 19 2014.

That’s also true of the base-level NAB Velocity Rewards cards, which are paying out 20,000 Velocity points against a $65 annual fee.

If you’d prefer to earn Qantas Points, the NAB Qantas Rewards Premium cards also serve up an easy 40,000 points, but with a higher annual fee of $250.

Still, 40,000 points is enough for a one-way upgrade from economy to business class between Sydney and Singapore or Hong Kong – which at $250 is still a steal.

Or at the lower end, the standard NAB Qantas Rewards cards match the Velocity deal: 20,000 Qantas Points in exchange for $65.

That’s enough for four one-way business class upgrades between Sydney and Melbourne on flexible fares – coming out at just $16.25 per upgrade.

Also read

• Review: Virgin Australia Boeing 737 business class
• Virgin Australia business class upgrade guide
• Review: NAB Qantas Rewards cards
• Qantas business class upgrade guide

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Chris C.

Chris is a a former contributor to Executive Traveller.