- Limited time bonus Points:Earn 20,000 bonus Velocity Points when you apply online as a new cardholder, are approved, and spend $1,000 on eligible purchases on your new American Express Velocity Escape Plus Card within the first 3 months from the approval date.
- Earn points: Per $1, earn 1.75 Velocity Points spent on eligible Virgin Australia purchases, 1 point everywhere else except government bodies in Australia (including Australia Post and the ATO) where you'll earn 0.5 points. After a total of 12,000 points is earned in a calendar year, the everyday earn rate changes from 1 to 0.75 points per $1. T&Cs apply.
- $50 Virgin Australia Statement Credit: Receive a $50 Statement Credit once per redemption period when you save the benefit to your card and spend $50 or more on eligible flights with Virgin Australia. Benefit ends 31 December 2026. Exclusions apply.
- Travel perks: Access complimentary domestic and international travel insurance when you pay for your return trip on your card (terms, conditions and exclusions apply, such as maximum age-limits, pre-existing medical conditions and cover limits).
- Other extras: Add up to 4 additional cardholders at no extra cost. Use Plan It Instalments to pay off your card balance in monthly instalments (monthly fee applies). Sync your card with Apple Pay, Google Pay and Samsung Pay.
- Retail insurances: Includes Amex's Fraud Protection Guarantee plus Card Purchase Cover and Card Refund Cover when you use the card to pay for eligible items (terms, conditions and exclusions apply).
- Terms and conditions apply to all card benefits.*
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American Express Credit Cards
American Express Velocity Escape Plus Card
Updated 23 December 2024
Flights, hotels, car hire, gift cards and more: this card earns Velocity Points that you can spend however you please with its flexible rewards program.
Earn 20,000 bonus Velocity Points if you meet the criteria, and get a $50 Statement Credit per redemption period when you purchase eligible Virgin Australia flights. Plus, you can access a range of complimentary insurances and add up to 4 additional cardholders at no extra cost.
Terms and conditions apply.
Points Earn Rate (per $1 spent)
1 point
1.75 pts/$1 on eligible VA purchases. After 12k pts/year, earn rate is 0.75 pts/$1
Rewards Program
Velocity Frequent Flyer
Bonus Points
20,000 pts
spend $1,000 on eligible purchases in the first 3 months
Pros and cons
- High interest rate, so pay off the card in full by the due date to avoid interest charges
- The 12,000 points threshold per calendar year is very low
Creditcard.com.au review
Editor Review
American Express Velocity Escape Plus 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.
Overall rating
A travel buddy that lets you use the armrest, the Amex Velocity Escape Plus Card is a helpful tool for saving on travel costs. For a limited time you could also earn big bonus Velocity Points, which is a truly helpful extra for this card.
You also get a $50 Virgin Australia Statement Credit per redemption period when you save the benefit to your card and spend $50 or more on eligible flights with Virgin Australia, which can help offset some of the card costs and lets you make the most of its travel perks. The benefit ends 31 December 2026.
What I love about the Amex Velocity Escape Plus Card and the card benefits*
Amex has included some good extras on this card, including the ability to earn a $50 Virgin Australia Statement Credit per redemption period.
So, I’ll start by explaining the bonus points and the $50 credit offer first, and then look at the points you can earn every day and the travel benefits.
20,000 bonus Velocity Points: You can pocket 20,000 bonus Velocity Points when you apply online, are approved, and spend $1,000 on eligible purchases on your new American Express Velocity Escape Plus Card within the first 3 months from date your card is approved.
You'll only earn the bonus points if you haven't held any other Amex card in the previous 18 months. The points are awarded to your account 8 to 10 weeks after you've met the spend criteria.
$50 Virgin Australia Statement Credit: You’ll receive a $50 credit each redemption period when you spend $50 or more on eligible Virgin Australia purchases. Purchases include flight tickets, seats, bags and upgrades made online at Virgin’s website, in-person at the self-service kiosk or Guest Relations desk at the airport in Aussie dollars.
The credit can be earned once per redemption period, which are:
- 30 October 2024 - 31 December 2024
- 1 January 2025 - 31 December 2025
- 1 January 2026 - 31 December 2026
Note: this benefit is for the primary cardholder only. You need to save the benefit to your card first via your online account or the Amex App. This benefit ends 31 December 2026. Exclusions apply.
Earning and redeeming points*
The Amex Velocity Escape Plus Card earns Velocity Points at these rates:
- 1.75 Velocity Points per $1 spent on eligible Virgin Australia purchases.
- 0.5 Velocity Points per $1 spent at government bodies in Australia, including Australia Post and the Australian Tax Office.
- 1 Velocity Point per $1 spent everywhere else (this is the everyday earn rate).
Once you’ve earned 12,000 Velocity Points in a calendar year, the everyday earn rate will change from 1 to 0.75 points per $1 spent.
The Velocity Points program is a flexible and - quite frankly - huge frequent flyer program. Here’s a snapshot of the ways you can redeem Velocity Points.
For flights:
- Book Reward Seats to more than 500 destinations with Virgin Australia and other airline partners worldwide. Partners include Singapore Airlines, Etihad Airways, Qatar Airways, United Airlines and Hong Kong Airlines.
- Use Points + Pay to save on flights and use cash to pay the shortfall.
- Upgrade to Economy X or Business on eligible Virgin Australia fares.
For travel:
- Use points or Points + Pay to book with over 400,000 hotels around the world.
- Hire a car from a selection of different vehicles.
- Book eligible hotels, resorts, tours, cruises and more with Luxury Escapes.
For retail:
- Redeem points for gift cards or shop for the latest tech, fashion, homewares and more at the Velocity Rewards Store.
- Redeem points at Virgin Wines Redemption online store, where you can choose from a huge range of wines and champagnes.
- Shop online at Myer and use points for thousands of products.
Travel and card extras*
You’ll get domestic and overseas travel insurance when you book and pay for your return trip with your Amex Velocity Escape Plus Card.
The travel insurance includes:
- Medical Emergency Expenses Cover
- Trip Cancellation and Amendment Cover
- Personal Baggage, Valuables, Money And Travel Documents Cover
- Personal Liability
There are terms, conditions and exclusions such as maximum age limits and pre-existing medical conditions, so it's important to read the Terms and Conditions document to make sure the insurance is right for you.
If you’re travelling and something unexpected happens, you can contact Amex 24/7 using the number on the back of your card for assistance.
Additional cardholders. You can add up to 4 additional cardholders over 16 years old at no extra cost. Eligible purchases made by additional cardholders contribute to your total points.
Plan It Instalments. Plan It Instalments lets you nominate a transaction or a portion of your card balance to pay off in equal monthly instalments. A fixed monthly fee will apply.
Retail insurance. You’ll be able to access Card Refund Cover if you’re having trouble getting a refund on an item, and Card Purchase Cover which covers stolen or damaged eligible items within 90 days of purchase. You need to use the card to pay for the eligible items to get the cover, and remember terms, conditions and exclusions apply.
What’s not so great
When you (and all your additional cardholders) earn a total of 12,000 points in a calendar year, the everyday purchases earn rate drops from 1 to 0.75 per dollar. That’s a low threshold for points, so you’ll need to work out if you’ll get the value out of it over the course of a year.
Who suits the Amex Velocity Escape Plus Card?
This card earns Velocity Frequent Flyer points and rewards you for spending with Virgin Airlines, so it suits those who prefer to fly with Virgin or its partner airlines.
It’s a simpler frequent flyer card, making it a potentially good fit if you’re after a cheaper rewards card or want to dip a toe into the rewards space without paying a hefty annual fee or being confused by a million extras.
Sources:
American Express Velocity Escape Plus Card Information PDF
*American Express Velocity Escape Plus Card Benefits terms and conditions
$50 Virgin Statement Credit terms and conditions
American Express Velocity Escape Plus Card insurance
American Express Velocity Escape Plus Card TMD
User reviews
Rates and fees
Interest rates
Purchase rate 23.99% p.a.
Cash advance rate N/A
Interest free period on purchases up to 55 days
Credit limits
Minimum credit limit $2,000
Maximum credit limit $25,000
Fees & repayments
Annual fee $95 p.a.
Additional cardholder fee Up to 4 at no extra cost
Foreign transaction fee 3%
Minimum repayment $30 or 2.5%, whichever is greater (personal & business); N/A (charge cards)
Cash advance fee N/A
Late payment fee $30
Rewards and points
Rewards program
Rewards Program
Velocity Frequent Flyer
Bonus points 20,000 points
Annual points cap uncapped
Bonus points spend criteria spend $1,000 on eligible purchases in the first 3 months
Earning points with this card
Velocity Rewards points 1 point per $1 spent
Points cap per month 1.75 pts/$1 on eligible VA purchases. After 12k pts/year, earn rate is 0.75 pts/$1
Overseas earn rate same as standard earn rate
Additional features
Complimentary insurance
International Travel Insurance Yes
Flight Inconvenience Insurance No
Transit Accident Insurance No
Smartphone Screen Insurance No
Purchase Protection Insurance Yes
Extended Warranty Insurance Yes
Rental Vehicle Excess In Australia Insurance No
Extras
Eligible with Apple Pay, Samsung Pay and Google Pay
Travel insurance underwritten by Chubb Insurance
Overview
American Express Velocity Escape Plus Card
Key features
- Receive 20,000 bonus Velocity Points when you apply online, are approved, and spend $1,000 on eligible purchases on your new American Express Velocity Escape Plus Card within the first 3 months from the approval date.
- Earn 1.75 Velocity Points per $1 spent on eligible Virgin Australia purchases
- Earn 1 Velocity Points per $1 spent, except government bodies in Australia where you will earn 0.5 Velocity Points per $1 spent. After 12,000 points are earned in a calendar year the everyday purchase earn rate changes from 1 to 0.75 points per $1.
- Receive a $50 Statement Credit once per redemption period when you save the benefit to your card and spend $50 or more on eligible flights with Virgin Australia (benefit ends 31 December 2026).
- Complimentary domestic and international travel insurance when you use the card to pay for your return trip (terms, conditions and exclusions apply, such as maximum age-limits, pre-existing medical conditions and cover limits)
- Up to 4 additional card holders for no extra cost
- Card Refund and Card Purchase Covers, Online Fraud Protection Guarantee
- Pay off your credit card balance with Plan It Instalments. A fixed monthly plan fee applies
Minimum criteria to apply for this card
-
Be over 18 years old
-
Good Credit and have not applied for multiple credit cards recently
-
Australian citizen or permanent resident or hold a long term visa (at least 12 months; does not include student visas)
You have your personal details ready to complete the online application
Pauline is a personal finance expert at CreditCard.com.au, with 9 years in money, budgeting and property reporting under her belt. Pauline is passionate about seeing Aussies win by making their money – and their credit cards – work smarter, harder and bigger
Recently Asked Questions
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Ask a question61 questions (showing the latest 10 Q&As)
What are the foreign transaction fees with this card?
Hi Marianne, the American Express Velocity Escape Credit Card charges a foreign transaction fee of 3%. Thanks!
Underfraud
14 February 2023Zero fee
Recommends this cardCreditcard.com.au Visitor
1 May 2013Double points when I book Virgin - work give me the flight money and hey presto points for no cost
Recommends this card