The American Express Velocity Business Card is offering 200,000 bonus Velocity Points and 12 months of Velocity Gold Status for New American Express Card Members who apply by 15 May 2024 and spend $5,000 or more on eligible purchases within the first 2 months of the approval date.

The card can benefit small businesses who travel frequently with Virgin Australia or any of its partner airlines. It offers 1 Velocity Point per $ spent on most purchases, automatic transfer of Points earned each month to Velocity Frequent Flyer, plus Travel Insurance along with Travel Inconvenience Cover.

The card also attempts to simplify the monitoring of business expenditures with integrations into various accounting packages.

Choose your Velocity exclusive benefit: how it works

 

Take out a new Velocity Points earning credit card (like this one!) by 31 March 2024 and be rewarded twice. First up with a generous sign-up bonus Velocity Points offer from your chosen credit card. And then with an additional benefit directly from Velocity. For this benefit, you can choose to pocket even more Velocity Points, or instead some extra Status Credits. Sound good? Here’s a quick outline of the process.

 

  • Click on the “Apply now” button below and we will take you to the relevant pages to complete the process in two easy steps.
    Step 1: You will be directed to the Velocity website (ie. in a new tab) where you will be able to sign up or sign in to your Velocity account and select your exclusive benefit – 30,000 additional bonus Velocity Points or Status Credits! Once you’ve selected your benefit, close this tab.
    Step 2:  You will be taken to the application page of the Velocity Points earning credit card (ie. the original tab). Apply for this card as you would for any new credit card application.
  • You’re done! From here, if your new credit card is approved, make sure to meet the applicable minimum spend requirements to earn both the sign-up bonus Velocity Points for your chosen card and your exclusive Velocity benefit that you selected. When you become eligible to receive the sign-up incentive from the card issuer, Velocity will apply your additional exclusive benefit within 30 days.

 

To illustrate an example, let’s say you successfully applied for this credit card offer and earned 200,000 bonus Velocity Points directly from the card. By choosing 30,000 Velocity Points as your additional benefit, you’d get 230,000 Velocity Points in total.

 

Apply now

 

Plus, new Card Members who are already Virgin Australia Business Flyer Members with a Tier 1 Level Status are eligible to be upgraded to Tier 2 for 12 months.

Non-members who sign up for the Virgin Australia Business Flyer within the first 2 months from the American Express Velocity Business Card’s approval date are also eligible to be upgraded from Tier 1 to Tier 2 Level Status.

Benefits of Tier 2 Level Status include a 12-month Velocity Gold Membership. Read more about Virgin Australia’s Business Flyer program here. Note that existing Virgin Australia Business Flyer members who are already at Tier 2 or 3 Level Status are no longer eligible for Tier upgrade. Terms and conditions apply.


Earning Points

The American Express Velocity Business card has the following variable earn rate structure:

  • 2 Velocity Points per $1 spent for purchases with Virgin Australia
  • 1 Velocity Point per $1 spent on Card purchases, except those listed in 0.5 Points category
  • 0.5 Velocity Point per $1 spent on utilities, insurance providers (with the exception of American Express) and government bodies

Virgin Australia purchases will only attract the 2 Velocity Points per $1 for purchases made in Australia, that is, for purchases that are transacted in Australian Dollars.

For example, a purchase of a return Sydney to Los Angeles airfare through the Australian version of the Virgin Australia website would attract the 2 Velocity Points, however, a return Los Angeles to Sydney flight purchased through the US version of the site (and billed in USD) would not.

Card Details

CardAmerican Express Business Velocity Card
Loyalty programVelocity Frequent Flyer
Points earned from spend1 Velocity Point earned per $1 on all eligible spend except for government bodies
2 Velocity Points per $1 spent on selected Virgin Australia purchases
0.5 Velocity Points per $1 on Government spend
Points capNone
Earns Points at ATOYes (reduced earn rate of 0.5 Point/$)
Travel benefitsEach year: 2x Virgin Australia lounge passes
Included insurancesMedical Emergency Expenses Cover
Business Trip Completion Cover
Trip Cancellation and Amendment Cover
Personal Liability Cover
(PDS)
Overseas transaction fee3% of the converted amount
Mobile walletApple Pay, Google Pay and Samsung Pay
Minimum income requirementAnnual business revenue of $75,000 or more
Annual fee$249 p.a.

Complimentary Insurance

Complimentary Domestic and Overseas Travel Insurance comes as a feature of the card, providing both the cardholder and any additional card members with cover when you use the Card to pay for the return trip.

The card also comes with Travel Inconvenience Cover, providing coverage for flight delays, missed connections or delayed luggage, and Travel Accident Cover, where up to $20,000 of outstanding charges will be waived when the cardholder finds themselves in a serious accident while travelling for business.

Full terms and conditions for this insurance can be found here Insurance Terms and Conditions – American Express Velocity Business Card.

This guide references some of the benefits of insurance policies provided with this card. You should read the PDS and obtain independent professional advice before obtaining this product.

Complimentary Virgin Australia Lounge Entry

Two complimentary single passes to the Virgin Australia lounge are on offer every year, allowing cardholders to experience the amenities available in Virgin Australia branded lounges within Australia.

For a more about the benefits of lounge access, take a look at our guide to Virgin Australia lounges →.

Keeping track of Business Spending

To assist with keeping track of the business’s financial performance and spending, the American Express Velocity Business Card allows for statements and transaction details to be downloaded and balances to be viewed using Quicken, MYOB or Microsoft Excel.

Eligibility

To be eligible for the American Express Velocity Business Card, you must meet the following criteria:

  • 18 years or over
  • Australian citizen or permanent resident
  • Have an annual business revenue of $75,000 or more
  • Have no history of bad debt or payment default

The American Express Velocity Business Card comes with an annual fee of $249, which may be tax deductible if the card is used solely for business purposes.

This is a Charge Card

An important point to note is that this card is a charge card, meaning that the balance of the card must be paid in full every month. However, there is no pre-spending limit as long as the balance is paid in full every month, providing more spending and cash flow flexibility for the company.

No pre-spending limit however does not mean unlimited spending, with purchases being approved based on a variety of factors, including current spending patterns, your payment history, credit records, and financial resources known to American Express.

Unparalleled mobile wallet integration

American Express cards support Apple Pay, Google Pay and Samsung Pay, meaning you can use this card on your smartphone for easier payments.

Read the Point Hacks guide to using Apple Pay or for using Google Pay and Samsung Pay, including instructions on how to add your American Express card to those services.

With this feature set up, it means you could still use your NFC-enabled phone to make purchases with your American Express account, even if your physical card is lost or stolen and pending replacement.

Summing Up – Velocity Business American Express Card

With a moderate annual fee, the card provides many small business and travel friendly features, such as complimentary Travel Insurance, Travel Inconvenience Cover and Transport Accident Cover and the ability to easily monitor business transactions.

Small businesses can earn meaningful travel rewards through a generous earn rate on Virgin Australia purchases, and if travel rewards aren’t the preferred redemption option, the ability to redeem for a large variety of redemption options.

Ultimately the Velocity Business card could be viewed alongside the consumer-centric offering from American Express, the Velocity Platinum. This has a higher annual fee but offers a number of additional categories of spend with bonus Points, and a free domestic Virgin Australia flight each year, which for some people may work better to earn you more Velocity Points and offer greater value.

You’ll have to weigh up whether the business specific features of the Velocity Business card are more important than the benefits of the Velocity Platinum.

200,000 bonus Velocity Points with the American Express Velocity Business Card + an additional 30,000 Velocity Points Exclusive Benefit was last modified: March 26th, 2024 by Daniel Sciberras