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The information provided on this page is purely factual and general in nature. You should seek independent advice and consider your own personal circumstances before applying for any financial product.
Virgin Money credit card customers will earn fewer Virgin Australia Velocity frequent flyer points on their everyday spends from next year with the popular two-for-one flight discounts also being scrapped.
Come April 1 2016, Virgin Australia Velocity Flyer Visa cardholders will earn a lower 0.66 Velocity points per dollar on the first $1,500 spent every month – down from the current rate of one point per dollar for the same – and will continue to earn 0.5 points per dollar above this threshold.
To lessen the pain, these cardholders will also keep earning one point per dollar on all spend with Virgin Australia, such as on flights and airport lounge memberships, without any capping or tiering.
Similar changes are afoot for Virgin Australia Velocity High Flyer Visa users with the card’s more-impressive 1.25 points/$1 earning rate pared back to an even one point per dollar on the first $10,000 of monthly spend, and 0.5 points per dollar thereafter (uncapped).
However, from April 1 the card also picks up Virgin Australia as a bonus partner – awarding three Velocity points per dollar spent with Virgin Australia (uncapped), up from 1.25 Velocity points regardless of where you shop and spend.
That’s also when the discounted two-for-one flight benefits of each card come to an end, instead replaced with a yearly $129 Virgin Australia gift voucher from “mid-2016”, and also two free Virgin Australia lounge passes for High Flyer customers.
Earlier this week, Citibank – which issues Virgin Money credit cards – also unveiled reductions to frequent flyer earning rates across its range of points-earning plastic, affecting all Qantas, Virgin Australia, Singapore Airlines and Emirates-earning cards.
For more information, head to the Virgin Money website.
Also read: Citibank cuts credit card frequent flyer points
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Disclaimer
Executive Traveller may receive a commission when you apply for these credit cards via our links.
The information provided on this page is purely factual and general in nature. You should seek independent advice and consider your own personal circumstances before applying for any financial product.
Chris is a a former contributor to Executive Traveller.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
19 Nov 2011
Total posts 243
These co-branded cards should have booking fee of $7.70 and $30 international fee scrapped.
How could these card issuers not see this potential benefit too?
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer Platinum
07 Feb 2013
Total posts 548
Cue the whingers in 3, 2, 1 ......
04 Nov 2015
Total posts 4
With this news in mind, is ANZ Black now the best VISA/MC earner for potential velocity points? (1 to 1 I believe). Anyone else?
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
09 May 2013
Total posts 144
Was going to ask the same. I have one of these cards. 1:1 is not bad, but the drop off after $10,000 is the hard one to swallow.
Virgin Australia - Velocity Rewards
16 Dec 2015
Total posts 41
The stastement to be made is simple.
The annual fee stays the same, however the earn rate is cut by either 20% or 33% for the first earn bracket and then further for the next.
Citi (and Virgin) need to give themselves a reality check - they are the first to devalue their programs and are handling the communications to existing cardholders terribly.
Upon pointing this out to staff at Citi, I was promised a conversation with an Account Management Specialist - this is yet to occur.
The fact of the matter is that Citi does not have the acquiring and deposit base in Australia to be a reasonable partner with Virgin. The strange tendency of people to give their mortgage, transaction account, credit card and insurance business to the same bank is but one reason Citi is strugling in this market.
That and the RBA's ignorant attitude toward interchange rates.
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