Card Offers Refreshed Amex Velocity Platinum Credit Card: 60,000 bonus Velocity Points (expires 21/1/25)

Get unlimited Virgin Australia Lounge access, a free annual return domestic flight + more...​

Learn more and apply for this card:

American Express® Velocity Platinum Card

Get a free annual return Virgin Australia flight and a high Velocity points earning rate with the Amex Velocity Platinum credit card.

www.australianfrequentflyer.com.au

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What are the main benefits of this card?

1. Get a free annual return Virgin Australia domestic flight
2. Enjoy complimentary lounge access whenever you fly Virgin Australia, plus two annual lounge guest passes
3. Signup bonus: 60,000 bonus Velocity Points when you apply by 21 January 2025 and spend at least $3,000 within 3 months of approval
4. Earn 1.25 Velocity Points per $1 on eligible purchases, uncapped, plus an extra point per $1 spent with Virgin Australia
5. Up to 100 bonus status credits per year when you spend $50,000 on your card
6. Complimentary domestic and international travel insurance

Why we like the American Express Explorer credit card

The American Express Velocity Platinum Credit Card is one of the highest Velocity Points-earning cards in the Australian market.

Not only this, but you receive a complimentary annual return Virgin Australia flight and unlimited Virgin Australia Lounge access whenever you fly Virgin within Australia! You also get two single-entry Virgin Australia Lounge passes each year to share with friends or family travelling with you. These benefits more than offset the $440 annual fee, which is less than the cost of an outright Virgin Australia Lounge membership.

This card can also help you to achieve a higher Virgin Australia status tier, by rewarding you with up to 100 bonus Velocity status credits each year. You'll get 50 bonus status credits when you spend $25,000 on your card within a year, and another 50 if you spend $50,000.

Read our card guide for full details, terms & conditions:

American Express® Velocity Platinum Card

Get a free annual return Virgin Australia flight and a high Velocity points earning rate with the Amex Velocity Platinum credit card.

www.australianfrequentflyer.com.au

AFF members are welcome to discuss this card in this thread.

 

[ols]

The referral link now seems to be available to get your 20,000 points for referring someone to the Platinum Velocity card.

 

[bktraveler]

"As part of these new and updated benefits, your annual Card fee is increasing to $440 on your next Card membership anniversary, after 2 February 2025."

So it looks like if your renewal is before 2nd Feb next year it will be $375.

I just was on chat with AMEX today as I wasn’t sure if my anniversary was the date of card approval (30 Jan) or the date my card became activated (5 Feb). I found it is the former (30 Jan), so I seemingly will get the 375 fee for the renewal. The agent on chat said that is not the case though. He said he had different info on his end that he looked up, and it showed that anyone with a renewal after 6 Nov 2024 would have the new 440 fee. We had a mild chat debate back and forth, and I left it at that. Told him I plan to cancel if the email statement is false and I’m charged $440. Agent didn’t blink at that.

Not happy at all with this change as I already have V lounge access and don’t need the 50 status credits at 25K. I did use the 2 Centurian Longe passes in the past, so it’s a net loss for me. Great for semi-frequent or better solo travellers without lounge access though. Huge win for you.

 

[kangarooflyer88]

The addition of Virgin lounge access will appeal to the solo domestic traveller who travels enough where lounges start to make sense but not enough where they can earn status with Virgin (let's call him kangarooflyerlite, who travels every couple of weeks on $40 Virgin lite fares between MEL/SYD). Because let's face it, once you hit Velocity Gold you pretty much get everything from this card and then some. Yes the free roundtrip could make it worth while, particularly if you manage to use it, but again it's a bit of a stretch particularly if you don't have a compelling reason to use Virgin over the Roo.

On the other hand, if you are a frequent traveler, particularly one who travels internationally, then none of the travel cards from AmEx make sense aside from the Platinum card. That Platinum card gets you lounge access for yourself and a guest at a number of lounges including Virgin Australia, Lufthansa and Delta Airlines when travelling with them. It also gets you Priority Pass lounge access, access to Plaza Premium Lounges and Centurion lounges irrespective of who you fly for yourself and a guest. Oh and it gets you hotel elite status with Hilton Gold, Marriott Gold, etc. Oh and you get an annual $450 travel credit, $400 dining credit, Accor Plus membership (with free hotel night) and the list goes on and on. And the best part? You can add up to 4 card holders for free meaning they'll get the same lounge and hotel status benefits as you. The only downside is that $1,450/year annual fee. It's steep there is no sugar coating that fact. And it's not for everyone. It's for someone who travels a lot, and doesn't like having to be tied down to one airline or alliance when they traverse the world. Qantas Platinum status does me sweet nothing when I am stateside and flying Delta, but the AmEx Platinum card has helped me out there. Ditto for flying from São Paulo to Florianopolis, Brazil - my LATAM Black and Qantas Platinum status may as well be a paperweight when it comes to accessing lounges. But the Platinum card got me into a lounge with my partner.

I did use the 2 Centurian Longe passes in the past, so it’s a net loss for me.

I'm happy they are ditching Centurion lounge access for airline credit cards. I know it feels like a kick in the teeth, but it actually did you a big disservice here. It lulled you into thinking that an airline specific travel card would suit your travel needs when it likely didn't. Going back to my days as a Platinum cardholder, I was guaranteed lounge access pretty much anytime I travelled. Often I was flying JetStar out of Terminal 2 of Sydney which anyone who has flown out of there knows, there isn't a Qantas lounge. But you know what is there? A Rex lounge that is accessible via Priority Pass which I get from my AmEx Platinum card. Here's another example, flying back from LA last year, I could use the arrivals lounge at Sydney International for a shower and breakfast before heading to work. This is something that even if I was flying First Class with Qantas, I wouldn't have access to with my ticket.

-RooFlyer88

 

[MooTime]

The addition of Virgin lounge access will appeal to the solo domestic traveller who travels enough where lounges start to make sense but not enough where they can earn status with Virgin (let's call him kangarooflyerlite, who travels every couple of weeks on $40 Virgin lite fares between MEL/SYD). Because let's face it, once you hit Velocity Gold you pretty much get everything from this card and then some. Yes the free roundtrip could make it worth while, particularly if you manage to use it, but again it's a bit of a stretch particularly if you don't have a compelling reason to use Virgin over the Roo.

On the other hand, if you are a frequent traveler, particularly one who travels internationally, then none of the travel cards from AmEx make sense aside from the Platinum card. That Platinum card gets you lounge access for yourself and a guest at a number of lounges including Virgin Australia, Lufthansa and Delta Airlines when travelling with them. It also gets you Priority Pass lounge access, access to Plaza Premium Lounges and Centurion lounges irrespective of who you fly for yourself and a guest. Oh and it gets you hotel elite status with Hilton Gold, Marriott Gold, etc. Oh and you get an annual $450 travel credit, $400 dining credit, Accor Plus membership (with free hotel night) and the list goes on and on. And the best part? You can add up to 4 card holders for free meaning they'll get the same lounge and hotel status benefits as you. The only downside is that $1,450/year annual fee. It's steep there is no sugar coating that fact. And it's not for everyone. It's for someone who travels a lot, and doesn't like having to be tied down to one airline or alliance when they traverse the world. Qantas Platinum status does me sweet nothing when I am stateside and flying Delta, but the AmEx Platinum card has helped me out there. Ditto for flying from São Paulo to Florianopolis, Brazil - my LATAM Black and Qantas Platinum status may as well be a paperweight when it comes to accessing lounges. But the Platinum card got me into a lounge with my partner.



I'm happy they are ditching Centurion lounge access for airline credit cards. I know it feels like a kick in the teeth, but it actually did you a big disservice here. It lulled you into thinking that an airline specific travel card would suit your travel needs when it likely didn't. Going back to my days as a Platinum cardholder, I was guaranteed lounge access pretty much anytime I travelled. Often I was flying JetStar out of Terminal 2 of Sydney which anyone who has flown out of there knows, there isn't a Qantas lounge. But you know what is there? A Rex lounge that is accessible via Priority Pass which I get from my AmEx Platinum card. Here's another example, flying back from LA last year, I could use the arrivals lounge at Sydney International for a shower and breakfast before heading to work. This is something that even if I was flying First Class with Qantas, I wouldn't have access to with my ticket.

-RooFlyer88

Centurion lounge access was a good thing, how getting rid of it is a good thing only you could imagine.

Those of that fly international just once a year found it handy.

It's a disservice to remove it.
It did not lull us users of this sevice at all.

Best to not drink the coolaide.

Thanks for your life story again though.