American Express Velocity Escape Card

Offers 10,000 bonus Velocity Points and $0 annual fee for life, but doesn't have a lot of other frequent flyer perks.

The American Express Velocity Escape Credit Card is one of the few cards to offer frequent flyer points on your spending without ever paying an annual fee. Right now, it also offers 10,000 bonus Velocity Points when you apply by 13 December 2021 and spend $750 on your new card within the first 3 months.

It also offers a maximum earn rate of 1.75 points per $1 for eligible spending with Virgin Australia, but you'll earn 0.75 points per $1 on most of your everyday spending – and 0.5 points per $1 spent with government bodies, including the Australian Taxation Office. It has a 20.74% p.a. interest rate for purchases that is at the high end of the scale, but is still similar to other frequent flyer cards.

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Amy Bradney-George

Last Updated May 24, 2021

10,000

Bonus points

20.74% p.a.

Purchase rate

0.75

Reward points

Per $ spent

$0 p.a.

Annual fee

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Details

Product Name	American Express Velocity Escape Card
Rewards program	Velocity Frequent Flyer
Purchase rate	20.74% p.a.
Annual fee	$0
Interest-free period	Up to 55 days on purchases
Min credit limit	$2,000
Card type	American Express
Foreign currency conversion fee	3%

Minimum income	$40,000
Available to temporary residents	Yes - Conditions apply
Joint application	No

Pros

10,000 bonus Velocity Points
Ongoing $0 annual fee
Complimentary purchase and refund protection
Earn up to 1.75 Velocity Points per $1 spent on purchases made in Australia

Cons

Charges a 3% foreign transaction fee

Rewards program	Velocity Frequent Flyer
Bonus points	10,000
Rewards points per $ spent	0.75
Rewards points cap	Uncapped

Annual fee	$0
Minimum monthly repayment	2.5% of the closing balance or $30, whichever is greater
Late payment fee	$30
Foreign currency conversion fee	3%
Additional cardholder fee	$0
Number of additional cardholders	4

Go to American Express's site More info

Review by

Amy Bradney-George

[email protected]

Amy Bradney-George has been writing about personal finance for more than 13 years – including over 600 articles as a senior writer for Finder. Her work has also appeared in publications including Money Magazine, The Sydney Morning Herald, Financy, ABC News Australia and Equity Magazine. Amy has a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism and Drama from Griffith University.

Expert review

The American Express Velocity Escape gives you the rare combination of no annual fee and points per $1 spent, with an even rarer bonus points offer when you apply by 13 December 2021. If you got this offer, you’d have enough Velocity Points for a one-way economy flight between Sydney and Melbourne (7,800 Velocity Points plus fees and taxes) or a one-way business class upgrade on a Brisbane to Perth flight if you were already booked on a Flex Fare (9,800 points).

The earn rate on this card is also competitive, even when it's compared to cards that charge annual fees. This card also has fewer extra features than Velocity cards with annual fees, which may offer lounge passes, complimentary travel insurance or even travel credits. But you can still get extra value from your card with complimentary purchase protection and uncapped rewards points.

How to apply

You can apply for the American Express Velocity Escape card online in 10 minutes and receive a response within 60 seconds. Before you apply, check if you meet the eligibility criteria and have the necessary information to complete your application:

Eligibility criteria

New cardholder. To get the 10,000 bonus Velocity Points, you should not currently hold or have held an American Express card in the last 18 months.
Income. You must earn a pre-tax annual income of at least $40,000.

Residency. You must be an Australian citizen, permanent resident or holder of a current long term visa (12 months or more, not including student visas) to be eligible to apply.
Credit history. You must have a good credit history with no history of bad debt or payment defaults. If you don't know your credit score or what's on your file, you can get a free copy of your credit report through Finder.
Age. You must be at least 18 years old to apply.

Required documents

Personal information. This covers your full name, email address, date of birth, driver's licence number, marital status, number of dependents and contact number.
Velocity Frequent Flyer details. If you're already a Velocity Frequent Flyer, you'll need to provide your membership number and status tier. If not, you can create a free Velocity account so you can start earning points.
Residential details. This includes your residential address, residential status (for example if you're renting or a homeowner) and length of time at that address. If you've recently moved, you may also need to provide details of your previous address.
Employment. You'll need to confirm your salary and role as well as your employer's name and contact details. If you're self-employed, provide details of your accountant. You may also be asked to provide several recent payslips, PAYG summaries or Tax Assessment Notices to help verify this information.
Financial details. Such as any assets (such as savings or shares), debts from existing loans or credit cards and an estimate of your everyday expenses such as bills, fuel, transport and supermarket shopping.

Go to American Express's site More info

Card benefits

10,000 bonus Velocity Points. You'll earn 10,000 bonus Velocity Points when you apply for a new American Express Velocity Escape card, get approved by 13 December 2021 and spend $750 within the first 3 months of card activation. The bonus points will then be added to your Velocity Frequent Flyer account within 8 to 10 weeks.
Uncapped Velocity Points. Earn 0.75 points per $1 spent on eligible transactions and an additional 1 point per $1 spent on purchases with Virgin Australia. You will also collect 0.5 points per $1 spent on government transactions (such as your ATO bill).

No annual fee. Save on standard credit card costs with $0 annual fee for the life of the card.
Shop Small points offer. Earn extra 3 Velocity Points per $1 spent and support small businesses. Just save the American Express Shop Small offer to your card and spend with participating businesses by 31 March 2022. The offer is valid both in store and online and you can earn a maximum total of 40,000 extra points. Check out Finder's news story on Shop Small for a breakdown of how it works.
Free additional card. You can earn more points and manage expenses under one account by requesting up to 4 additional cardholders at no additional cost.
Complimentary insurance for purchases. Eligible items bought with this card get Purchase Protection Insurance for repairs or refunds if they're accidentally broken or stolen within 90 days. You can also take advantage of Refund Protection Insurance if you're refused a refund on an unused eligible item within 90 days of the purchase.
Mobile payments. If you have a compatible smartphone device, you can use the American Express Velocity Escape to make contactless payments with Google Pay, Apple Pay or Samsung Pay.
Security. If your card is lost, stolen or damaged, you can contact the American Express 24-hour global card support team and request an emergency card replacement. Your purchases are also secured by an online fraud protection guarantee.

Rates & fees

Purchase rate. The Velocity Escape charges a purchase rate of 20.74% p.a.
Interest-free days. Pay your account balance in full by the statement due date and you can get up to 55 days interest-free on purchases.

Foreign currency conversion fee. Using this card overseas or for payments made online in a foreign currency will attract a fee worth 3% of the total transaction amount.
No cash advances. You can't use the American Express Velocity Escape to pay for gambling services, to get cash out or for any other cash advance transactions.

Go to American Express's site More info

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86 Comments

Charmaine
September 25, 2018

The one time 1% balance transfer fee, how does this work and why does this need to be done?

finder Customer Care

John
September 27, 2018

Hi Charmaine,

Thank you for leaving a question.

The 1% credit plan establishment fee applies to the balance which you transferred. This is debited during the time of the balance transfer. Hope this helps!

Cheers,
Reggie

Lyn
December 9, 2016

Can you please advise how to redeem reward points in Amex.

finder Customer Care

Jason
December 10, 2016

Hi Lyn,

Thank you for your enquiry.

You may redeem your Velocity Reward from the American Express Velocity Escape Card by logging into your Velocity Rewards account and click on the redeem tab in the top menu.

Please read through our Velocity Frequent Flyer Program guide to know more about how to redeem your Velocity reward points.

I hope this helps,

Kind regards,
Jason

Lucie
October 24, 2016

How many points do you need to accumulate $100 value.
Thank you.

finder Customer Care

May
October 28, 2016

Hi Lucie,

Thank you for your question.

The American Express Velocity Escape Card lets you earn 2 Velocity Points for every dollar you spend with Virgin Australia and 1 Velocity point for every dollar you spend on other eligible purchases. The points you get do not have monetary value so we may not be able to compute the equivalent of points in dollars.

Cheers,
May

Gail
October 23, 2016

Hi I was just curious as to approximately how far the bonus 7,500 points would get me. Could I fly say from Brisbane to Honolulu or would it only be enough to get me to Sydney?

finder Customer Care

Dee
October 28, 2016

Hi Gail,

Thanks for your question.

The number of points needed for a particular flight depends on your cabin class and destination.

You could refer to the Velocity points table on their website to check how many points you will need for a particular flight.

Cheers,
Anndy

ayit
September 6, 2016

in the description it says earn 2 points for every $1 spent? but under “rewards program” it says 1 point per $1.. which one is it?

finder Customer Care

Dee
September 6, 2016

Hi Ayit,

Thanks for your question.

With American Express Velocity Escape Card, you can earn up to 2 Velocity Points for every $1 spent when you use your card to pay for Virgin Australia tickets and 1 point for every $1 spent on other eligible purchases.

Cheers,
Anndy

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American Express Velocity Escape Card