From planes to phones, broadband internet and wine, the Virgin Group has made a name for itself across a range of industries and their credit cards are no different.
As an alternative to other frequent flyer reward cards, the Virgin Money credit cards earn cardholders Velocity points that can be spent on Virgin flights, as well as a range of other partner airlines and companies.
But this rewards program is still relatively new and unfamiliar to some people, so to help highlight the pros and cons, here is a rundown of what Velocity Rewardshas to offer and how much value you can get out of credit cards linked to Virgin.
Velocity Rewards Membership
Unlike other airline loyalty programs, Velocity Rewards is free to join via the website.
Velocity members will earn points when they book Virgin airline tickets and can travel almost anywhere in the world through Virgin’s own flight network as well as the company’s partnerships with international airlines including Air New Zealand, Etihad and Delta Airlines.
When booking a Virgin Australia flight, Velocity members will earn five points per $1 if they are logged into their account. These points can also be claimed retrospectively if need be.
To fly to another Australian capital city, you would need at least 9,800 Velocity points and flights overseas start from around 14,000 points.Velocity points can also be redeemed for other rewards, including:
- Car hire
- Accommodation
- Travel and entertainment offers; and
- Charity donations
There is also the option to browse the Velocity Rewards Store, with a range of gifts, vouchers, home wares and food and drink items that can be redeemed for rewards if people do not want to use the points for flights.
Velocity Credit Cards
As well as the Virgin Flyer and Virgin High Flyer credit cards, there is another Velocity-based reward card currently on the market from NAB.
With these credit cards you will earn around one Velocity point per $1 spent on everyday purchases, making it a lot easier to save enough points to fly anywhere you want.
When these cards are used in conjunction with Virgin Australia bookings or purchases from one of the program’s reward partners, cardholders will be able to earn even more Velocity points in one go.
A significant amount of the partners in this program are online retailers, which also makes a Velocity or Virgin credit card ideal for people who like to shop online.
While anyone can earn Velocity points once they are a member, having a Velocity credit card will maximise the potential so that you can use points for whatever you want.