Virgin Australia Velocity High Flyer Credit Card

Pauline Hatch

Pauline is a personal finance expert at CreditCard.com.au, with 9 years in money, budgeting and property reporting under her belt. Ask Pauline a Question about this card.

The Big Review: Virgin Australia Velocity High Flyer Credit Card

With the Virgin Australia Velocity High Flyer Credit Card you can enjoy high flying features, excellent rewards, and an appealing introductory offer. As a cardholder, you can earn Velocity Points on your everyday spending, while taking advantage of an exclusive $129 Virgin Australia Gift Voucher each year, plus complimentary insurances. And, if you apply today, you could earn up to 100,000 bonus Velocity Points.

• Earn up to 100,000 bonus Velocity Points
• Earn up to 1 Velocity Point per $1 spent
• Exclusive $129 Virgin Australia Gift Voucher each year
• Get up to an additional 100 Bonus Status Credits each year
• Two complimentary Single Entry Lounge passes each year
• Complimentary travel and retail insurance covers
• Visa Signature benefits, including a Personal Concierge
• Samsung Pay compatibility
• Up to 44 days interest free on purchases
• Annual Fee: $329
• Additional Cardholder Fee: $89
• Purchase Rate: 20.74% p.a. (variable)
• Cash Advance Rate: 20.99% p.a. (variable)
• Minimum Credit Limit: $15,000
• Minimum Annual Income Requirement: $75,000
• Any transferred balance left unpaid at the end of the 12 month introductory period reverts to the cash advance rate.

This Card: The Lowdown

Offering an array of extras, the Virgin Australia Velocity High Flyer Credit Card is the ideal option for cardholders who want to earn rewards points on the Velocity frequent flyer program, while taking advantage of fantastic features both at home and overseas.

As long as you are aware of the annual fee, and you know that you are getting more back from the card than you are putting in, the Virgin Australia Velocity High Flyer Credit Card could be a very rewarding choice. And, while the bonus points offer does require a fairly high spend to qualify, as long as you’re spending that much on the card anyway, it’s a pretty decent sweetener.

• You can earn up to 100,000 bonus Velocity Points with 40,000 Velocity Points credited to your account each month you spend $3,500 on eligible purchases in the first 2 months from card approval. Plus, get an additional 20,000 Velocity Points when you keep your card open for over 12 months.
• Earn 1 Velocity Point per $1 spent up to $8,000 per statement period, and 0.5 Velocity Points per $1 spent thereafter.
• Get away for less with an exclusive $129 Virgin Australia Gift Voucher provided to you as a cardholder each year.
• Fast-track your Velocity status with up to 100 Bonus Status Credits each time you fly on eligible Virgin Australia flights and pay using your High Flyer Card.
• As a cardholder, you will have access to a superb range of Visa Signature benefits, including exclusive privileges and offers on travel and entertainment, and the services of a Personal Concierge, available 24/7.
• If you have a Samsung device, you can sync it with your card to utilise Apple Pay, Samsung Pay and Google Pay for a more convenient shopping experience.
• You can save on everyday interest with up to 44 days interest free on purchases.

With the Virgin Australia Velocity High Flyer Credit Card, you can also benefit from a range of complimentary insurance covers. These include:

• International Travel Insurance
• Domestic Travel Insurance
• Extended Warranty Insurance
• Purchase Protection Insurance
• Rental Vehicle Excess Insurance in Australia

Digging Deeper

With the basics covered, it’s time to dig a little deeper into what’s on offer with the Virgin Australia Velocity High Flyer Credit Card, so you can decide whether this card is right for you.

This Card: As a Rewards Card

First and foremost, the Virgin Australia Velocity High Flyer Credit Card is a rewards card. So, what does it have to offer in the way of rewards?

Bonus Points Introductory Offer

Enticing new cardholders to apply, the Virgin Australia Velocity High Flyer Credit Card is currently offering up to 100,000 bonus Velocity Points. However, the points are only available in increments, once a minimum spend on the card has been made.

As long as you spend $3,500 on eligible transactions each month for the first 2 months, you will be credited with 40,000 bonus Velocity Points each month. Plus, you can get an additional 20,000 bonus Velocity Points when you keep your card open for over 12 months. Points will then be credited to your account within 60 days of the qualifying spend being met.

While you may need to check the small print for more info, most everyday purchases are classed as ‘eligible’. Excluded purchases include cash advances, balance transfers, special promotions, BPAY payments, purchases of foreign currency and travellers cheques, transactions made in operating a business, bank fees and charges, and government-related transactions.

To be eligible for the offer – aside from meeting the card’s standard eligibility requirements – you must apply through the specific Virgin Australia Velocity High Flyer Credit Card page or call them direct, indicating that you would like the High Flyer Card 100,000 bonus Velocity Points offer.

It is worth pointing out that the eligible spend criteria on this card is fairly high. Plenty of rewards cards offer bonus points with an eligible spend criteria, but that usually involves a one-off amount to be spent over a period of three months or so.

To unlock the full bonus on the Virgin Australia Velocity High Flyer Credit Card, you'll need to spend at least $3,500 per month for two consecutive months and keep your card active for over 12 months to receive the additional 20,000 Velocity Points. It’s a great deal if you already plan to spend that much — but less ideal if it doesn’t align with your regular budget.

Bonus Status Credits

Another standout feature of the Virgin Australia Velocity High Flyer Card is the 20% Bonus Status Credits offer. If you're a frequent flyer with Velocity, this perk could give your status a welcome nudge. To qualify, you just need to book eligible Virgin Australia flights directly (via the website, app, or call centre), pay with your High Flyer Card, and have your Velocity number on the booking.

Bonus Status Credits are capped at 100 per card anniversary year, but they do count toward upgrading or maintaining your status. It’s a great little extra for those who fly often and want more out of their membership.

Everyday Earning

As an everyday earner, the Virgin Australia Velocity High Flyer Credit Card makes it easy to earn Velocity Points on your day-to-day purchases. The earn structure is as follows:

• Earn 1 Velocity Point per $1 spent up to $8,000 each statement period,
• Earn 0.5 Velocity Points per $1 spent thereafter.

You can earn points when booking travel with Virgin Australia and its airline partners, plus you can earn bonus points when booking with a Velocity accommodation, car hire or holiday and travel partner. If you are a Platinum, Gold or Silver Velocity member, you can earn even more bonus points, helping to increase that points total further.

Finding out more about how the Velocity frequent flyer program works is a must if you’re new to it all. Checking out their website provides easy ways you can earn more points using your card, simply by choosing to make purchases at certain partners, such as BP service stations, Virgin Active and EnergyAustralia.

Redeeming Points

Much like its competitor, the Qantas frequent flyer program, Velocity offers cardholders an amazing range of ways in which they can spend their points. As a Velocity member, you can use your points for flights to over 600 destinations worldwide, you can upgrade your flight status, or you can redeem your points for holiday packages, accommodation and car hire.

If you want to treat yourself to a bit of retail therapy, you can use your points in the Velocity Rewards Store to pick up anything from the latest gadget to a designer handbag, or alternatively, you can redeem your points for fuel or in-store at participating BP service stations. If you’re short on points but have your eye on something special, you can purchase points to get there sooner.

This Card: As a Travel Rewards Card

As a Virgin Australia credit card, the Virgin Australia Velocity High Flyer Credit Card can easily be classed as a travel rewards card, providing cardholders with a selection of travel-related features perfect for the frequent traveller.

Virgin Australia Gift Voucher

Balancing out its annual fee somewhat, the Virgin Australia Velocity High Flyer Credit Card offers cardholders an exclusive $129 Virgin Australia Gift Voucher each year. To benefit from this feature, all you need to do is make a retail purchase on the card within two months prior to requesting your voucher.

The voucher can then be used when booking Virgin Australia flights on any fare type (including sale fares), or on selected Virgin Australia Holidays’ packages any time within six months of the voucher issue date. Take note that this voucher is only provided to primary cardholders, not to additional cardholders, and you must be a Velocity Frequent Flyer Member to be eligible.

Lounge Access

Another appealing feature of the Virgin Australia Velocity High Flyer Credit Card is its complimentary lounge access. As a cardholder, you will receive two Single Entry Virgin Australia domestic Lounge passes each year, allowing you to relax and enjoy some time out before your flight.

These passes will automatically appear in your Velocity account each year as an anniversary present, and are valid until your next card anniversary. Again, these passes are only given out to the primary accountholder, not additional cardholders.

International Travel Insurance

As part of the Virgin Australia Velocity High Flyer Credit Card’s suite of complimentary insurance covers, its international travel insurance provides peace of mind when travelling abroad. To benefit from this cover, simply use your card to pay for your and your family’s overseas flights, and you’ll receive international travel insurance for you, your spouse and any dependent children, provided they travel with you.

The cover provided includes medical expenses for illness or injury, loss or theft of personal items, legal liability and more, but be sure to read the card’s Complimentary Insurance Terms and Conditions to make sure it offers all the cover you need.

This Card: Extras on Offer

Prestige cards such as the Virgin Australia Velocity High Flyer Credit Card are often sold on their extras. Aside from its rewards program and travel-related features, this card also offers some handy extras that may bring real value to cardholders.

Extended Warranty Insurance

When using your card to buy items under warranty, you can benefit from an extension of the manufacturer’s warranty with this extended warranty insurance. With the cover, the manufacturer’s warranty period is generally doubled, for up to 12 months, giving you some added protection should the item fail within that extended period.

Purchase Cover

Another retail-related cover perfect for everyday spending, this purchase cover provides 90 days free insurance against loss, theft or accidental damage on a wide range of new personal goods purchased anywhere in the world using your card.

Visa Signature Benefits

Unique Visa privileges are provided to Virgin Australia Velocity High Flyer Credit Card holders in the form of Visa Signature Benefits. As a cardholder, you can enjoy holiday offers on hotels and resorts around the world and up to 30% discount on green fees at some of the most prestigious golf clubs around the world.

With Visa Entertainment, you’ll have access to the hottest entertainment offers, and with Visa Concierge, you can make use of your very own personal assistant, available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

This Card: The Essentials

Having covered everything the Virgin Australia Velocity High Flyer Credit Card has to offer, now it’s time to look at what you can expect to pay to keep it in your wallet. As it is a feature-packed rewards card, the Virgin Australia Velocity High Flyer Credit Card has a relatively high annual fee, charging $329 for the primary cardholder, and $89 for each additional cardholder.

Both the purchase rate and cash advance rate on the card are not particularly low, so it’s best to avoid cash advances whenever possible, and also clear your statement month to month to avoid interest accruing. Be aware that to be eligible for card approval, you need to earn at least $75,000 per year, and you can expect a minimum credit limit on the card of $15,000.

Decision Time

The Virgin Australia Velocity High Flyer Credit Card markets itself as ‘seriously rewarding’ – and for the most part, it is. You can earn Velocity Points on everyday spending, with the opportunity to earn bonus points with Velocity partners. You can also enjoy a fantastic selection of travel-related features and extras. Earn up to 100,000 bonus Velocity Points, receive a $129 Virgin Australia Gift Voucher each year, plus up to 100 Bonus Status Credits per card anniversary year.