Virgin Australia are pushing usage of their Global Wallet product, which comes with every Velocity Membership Card, by offering an easy 1,000 points to anyone who hasn’t yet activated their account.

To get the 1,000 points, you’ll need to activate your account on the Velocity Global Wallet website, and then load it with a minimum of $100 via BPAY or POLI – so it’s best to go in with a use in mind to try it out. If you don’t spend the money on the card, you can always withdraw it from an ATM – which is fee-free in Australia.

The offer is targeted so you’ll need to have received an email with the details to be eligible, however I received it as I had an unactivated new membership card, despite having used the service before – so it’s probably widely available to those who haven’t yet activated their account. The terms on the email I received stated the offer is valid for funds loaded by September 25th.

For those who haven’t noticed this before, the Global Wallet function of your Velocity Membership card gives life to use as a reloadable prepaid Visa, with a range of useful functions. You can load the card with a range of different currencies, converting between them as you need online or via their app, and then spending overseas as you wish – either over the counter like a credit card, or but withdrawing cash at an ATM.

I used Global Wallet extensively on our long trip to Europe early this year – in Hong Kong, the UK and Europe – and it was pretty helpful. I primarily used it for cash withdrawals, knowing I could lock in exchange rates in advance and still pay for goods using that balance and earn points if the need arose.

I also ended up preferring the account management functions, both the website and the app, over Qantas Frequent Flyer competitor, Qantas Cash.

Virgin Australia offering 1,000 Velocity Points for activating and loading your Velocity Global Wallet account was last modified: September 7th, 2014 by Keith