Velocity Frequent Flyer is discontinuing its travel money card, Velocity Global Wallet. This is the Visa debit card found on the back of most Velocity Frequent Flyer membership cards.
From the end of this year, you’ll no longer be able to load money onto your Velocity Global Wallet card. From then, there will be a gradual winding down of the product ahead of its eventual closure in 2021.
From 1 February 2021, you’ll no longer be able to earn Velocity points for purchases made on the card. Velocity Frequent Flyer will no longer be associated with the Global Wallet product from this date.
There will also be a new $2 fee applicable for all ATM balances enquiries withdrawals, and there will be a $10 fee to redeem funds held on the card (other than by ATM withdrawal) from 1 February 2021. So if you currently have funds stored in a Velocity Global Wallet card, make sure you spend the full amount or withdraw your money by 31 January 2021!
You’ll still be able to withdraw any funds held on the card at an ATM, or deposit the money back into your bank account – albeit with fees attached – until 31 July 2021. But from 1 August 2021, any money left on Global Wallet cards will be converted to Australian Dollars and you’ll need to submit a funds redemption request within 7 years to withdraw the money.
There’s more information about the changes on the Velocity Frequent Flyer website.
Velocity launched Global Wallet, its travel money card product, in July 2013. This was around the same time that Qantas Frequent Flyer launched Qantas Cash, which was later renamed in Australia to Qantas Travel Money, on the back of its own membership cards.
The Qantas Travel Money card continues to operate in Australia, but Qantas Cash was discontinued in New Zealand last month.
The Velocity Global Wallet card has been handy for earning Velocity points overseas, and as a points-earning debit card for people unable to apply for a credit card. But the product has been criticised for offering poor exchange rates. In May this year, Velocity also reduced the Velocity points earn rate and tweaked some of the card’s fees.
Some AFF members, such as Denali, are sad to see the Velocity Global Wallet card go…
Yeah, hubby got the email and he is not happy. It was always a good splash money account for something indulgent while OS.
Others, including twiningb, feel it’s no great less as the product wasn’t that competitive anyway.
Travel-money cards are in general not particularly useful products, so this doesn’t seem like a particularly great loss.
Join the discussion on the Australian Frequent Flyer forum: Velocity Global Wallet is closing down in 2021
