The Virgin Flyer credit card is a rare breed offering the combination of Velocity points and money saving features such as their 1.9% p.a. balance transfer for 9 months deal. A frequent flyer credit that let’s you earn points and helps to save you money? In a nutshell, that’s exactly what the Virgin Flyer credit card does!

Frequent Flyer Points

As you would expect, the Virgin Flyer credit card is linked with the award-winning Velocity Rewards program. You can earn 1 Velocity point for every dollar spent on the card up to $1,500 per month. Any purchases after you reach the $1,500 cap will be rewarded at the rate of 1 Velocity point per $2. Velocity Rewards points can be redeemed for flights with Virgin Australia, other Virgin airlines and a range of partner airlines flying to a variety of destinations both domestic and international.

Other Rewards

It’s not all about the free flights and upgrades though. Velocity Rewards points earned with your Virgin Flyer credit card can also be redeemed for hotel stays and to purchase various merchandise on the Velocity Rewards store.

Pros

The main benefit of the Virgin Flyer credit card is fairly obvious, earning Velocity points that can be redeemed for flights. Although other frequent flyer credit cards have blackout periods where you can’t use your points to books flights, generally during peak travel times, with the Virgin Flyer credit card you can redeem your points for a flight at any time you want. Just be mindful that availability of seats does vary and supply can be constricted during peak travel times like Christmas and school/bank holidays.

There are other benefits to this card. You’ll also get access to a range of special offers and discounts on products from other Virgin businesses. And when you do fly with Virgin Australia, you’ll get a discount on their in-flight entertainment.

Interest rates and the annual fee to keep your Virgin Flyer credit card account open are all fairly standard when compared to other similar offers. However, the 1.9% p.a. offer on balance transfers for 9 months is a real money saver.

Virgin Flyer credit cardholders also get 4 free one-way Virgin Australia flights every year within Australia. (Note that a flight with a stopover is technically deemed as a two-leg journey, e.g. Melbourne to Brisbane, stopping in Sydney.) However, this offer alone makes it worth the annual fee.

Cons

The Virgin Flyer card is tailored to the person who wants to earn Velocity Rewards points on their monthly spend, whether that may be for groceries or fuel. However, the 1:1 points earning ratio is capped and drops to 1 point per $2 on whatever you spend above $1,500 per month. That may not be an issue for some, but if you are using your card to purchase everything you can in order to earn more points, this cap can seriously reduce your points earning potential.

Another missing feature are the insurances often included as part of the frequent flyer card deal. If you would like to earn Velocity Rewards points and get complimentary travel insurance, among other insurances, then it would be worthwhile comparing what the Virgin Flyer credit card has to offer against the NAB Velocity Gold credit card which has complimentary overseas travel insurance and interstate flight inconvenience insurance as well as various other insurance policies.

Eligibility

If you want to apply for the Virgin Flyer account you’ll need to be an Australian citizen who is at least 18 years old and can prove that you have a salary of at least $35,000 If you have defaults on payments against your name or a poor credit rating, this is not the card for you.

Is This Card Right For You?

Want to earn Velocity Rewards points as you spend and enjoy travelling with Virgin Australia? Then apply for the Virgin Flyer credit card.