Last Updated: 27 Aug 2017

Disclaimer: This post contains a referral. This referral gives me a 30,000 Velocity Points if you apply and are approved.

American Express Velocity Platinum Credit Card

The American Express Velocity Platinum Credit Card is a decent Credit Card overall, with the current highlight being a 60k Velocity Points bonus. There is no explicitly stated expiry date.

Summary of the card:

• The 60k Velocity Points sign-up bonus
  • As usual, this excludes those who either currently hold, or have previously held an American Express Credit Card issued by American Express directly (i.e. not NAB/CBA/Westpac/ANZ) in the last 18 months from obtaining this sign-up bonus.
• $375 annual fee
• Min Household Salary Requirement: $65k p.a.
  • Note that this is per household, which theoretically means you could factor in a partner’s salary
• A free domestic flight every card year on Virgin Australia [See here for routes]
  • This flight does not have to be booked in the name of the cardholder
  • To search for approximate availability, search Virgin Australia‘s website using the “Points + Pay” option to see if there is any “Saver” economy class availability on your desired route & date.
• A unique Travel Insurance covering Domestic & International Travel which does not have a requirement for:
  • Minimum spend
  • The flight to touch Australia
  • A return airfare to be purchased
• 2x Access to the Sydney/Melbourne International Airport American Express Lounge per calendar year
  • The Melbourne version is not open yet, but is tipped to open later in the year. I would assume eligibility to use the lounge would be the same.
• 2x Virgin Australia lounge invitations per card year
• Ongoing earn rate of 1.5 Velocity Points/$, equivalent to 1.1 KrisFlyer Points/$
  • 2.5 Velocity Points/$ for expenditure on Virgin Australia
  • 0.5 Velocity Points/$ for expenditure on “government bodies” (including Australia Post)

What can 60k Velocity Points get you?

• $300 in Coles Gift Cards
• 7x short Domestic flights (under 600 miles, e.g. SYD-MEL, SYD-BNE) – not including tax cost
• 44444 KrisFlyer Miles, which is enough for the following:
  • Australia one-way to Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Southern China, in Economy Class (28k Miles – cheaper from Darwin/Perth) or vice versa
  • Australia one-way to Northern China (Beijing, Shanghai) in Economy Class (38k KrisFlyer Miles – cheaper from Darwin/Perth) or vice versa

Is this a good ongoing card?

I would rate this card a solid 7/10. This rating is based on:

• The inclusion of a versatile free domestic flight which does not have to be booked in the name of the cardholder
  • For those based in Perth who would utilise a Perth-Adelaide or Perth-Sydney return trip, this represents awesome value which will likely be more than worth the $375 annual fee
• The uniquely (good) Travel Insurance which covers both Domestic & International Travel, and does not have a minimum spend amount, nor a requirement for the trip to be based in Australia
• [Sydney/Melbourne] 2x Access to the Sydney International Airport American Express Lounge per calendar year. A Melbourne lounge is tipped to open up later in the year.

However..

• The American Express Explorer Card which I posted about last week is probably better for most people, with the only exception I can think of being for those who are based in Perth who would prefer the option of having a Perth-Adelaide/Perth-Sydney return flight over an arguably more versatile $400 Travel Credit.
• In particular, the ongoing earn rate of 2 Membership Rewards Gateway Points/$ can be converted to 1.5 Velocity Points at any time, but it is also convertible to many other program currencies, making it superior

Any questions, comments, or experiences with this card you’d like to share? Feel free to comment and don’t forget to subscribe if you like my content!

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