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Virgin Australia Velocity Flyer (page 3 of 4)
Don't even bother
The latest booking stuff up, flight VA973 SYD -BNE. Why would VAust bump me from a window seat to a middle seat? Don't worry, they fixed it by placing me in the very last row! Absolutely fed up and tired of the incompetence!! I don't think the organisation realizes the minor changes and cost neutral strategies that can be implemented to make this airline a joy to once again fly with. You need to be engaging with frequent flyers. And quickly before we start walking.
Don't value platinum members with seating allocations - moving to Qantas!
- 4 reviews
- 1 like
Application process is a nightmare!
The initial step of 'instant' pre approval was fine - they called my workplace within the hour, great! I receive an e-mail asking for some ID documents to send - no problem - that's where to process becomes tricky. They want you to post or fax the documents - but they email you to ask for them? It's 2013! Who uses a fax machine or an envelope?!
So I neatly PDF the documents they asked for and replied to the e-mail that came through. In the meantime you get your first call from them making sure you know what to do. My e-mail bounces back, I ...
Read morecall and get given a different e-mail address - it bounces back! I call back and get a third e-mail address - it finally works. Whilst they're taking 24 hours to open your mail, you get e-mails every few hours asking for the documents you've already sent and a text message at 7am on a Saturday morning asking for the bloomin' documents again! Then, when you finally think you're done - you get a third call saying thanks for your documents but now they need your Medicare card too and when you point out that wasn't mentioned in their original request they send you another generic e-mail with a completely different set of documents they need. Seems a bit shambolic to be honest and I haven't even got the card yet! The interest free period seems good Call centre team that can't give you the right answer first time and too many calls, texts and e-mails
- 4 reviews
- 1 like
Useless service
I am generally a fan of Virgin products but my experience in applying for this credit card has disappointed me enormously. I agree with other reviewers comments on the call centre. Woeful. Honestly they wanted so much personal information which I was quite reluctant to give them but I wanted the card as I am traveling soon and wanted a Visa card in my repertoire and am always happy to get some extra velocity points.
They have copies of all my personal identity documents now and goodness knows where they are. I don't fit inside the box ...
Read morewhen it comes to income and the call centre staff simply couldn't cope. How many times can I explain something to someone who doesn't have a clue about what I am talking about! The number of calls and automated texts to me was bordering on harassment. The last thing they wanted from me was my bank statements which I refused to give them. Then all went ominously quiet. I couldn't face speaking to them again so I used the online tracker to discover my application was declined. No doubt this will now be a blot on my credit record! Which is even more annoying because I said to them if they couldn't deal with it I would withdraw the application to which I received a panicked "no" from the other end of the line! This is the second worse call centre I have dealt with, after Telstra. (Oh and just for the record, I have a good income, have an unblemished credit history and assets so it wasn't declined because I was a credit risk.). I will be writing to virgin to let them know how this product is impacting on their good brand name. A scripted call centre using people who are untrained in the credit business
- 6 reviews
- 2 likes
Overall, a good credit card with good rewards
I signed up for this credit card for the flights promotion - up to 4 complimentary flights when you purchase a virgin flight - which seemed perfect as I often go interstate.
I found the online application fine. I did find I had to provide quite a lot of supporting documentation in comparison to other banks, but happy to do so. I did take a couple of days to get the supportings docs to them and they called me every day reminding me! That became annoying. They were also quite forceful on the credit card insurance that I didn't want, and as...
Read moreked me why I didn't want it - none of their business! Setting myself up for internet banking took quite a long time - I had to ring Virgin once to activate my internet banking login, then the process of getting started on online banking took awhile, and then couldn't see my transactions until the next day. I can understand the reason it's complex, but it was still time consuming, and I would imagine would be very frustrating for people who may not be great with computers. I booked some flights for myself and my partner using the flights promotion, pretty easy and simple, takes a bit of time just organising it over the phone. The tickets were more expensive that if I had done it myself over the internet, so I don't save 50% getting a "free" flight, it works out to be around a 35% saving. Still a good deal for me (was return flights from Syd to Perth), but if you are thinking of only getting short flights that are usually cheap(ish), you may not actually save enough to cover the annual card fee. Service has always been really good. Some operaters are hard to understand sometimes, but they seem happy enough to repeat what they've said.
Find out how Virgin Australia Velocity Flyer compares to other Frequent Flyer & Travel Credit Cards
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Terrible customer service
Basically I signed up to the card due to the 20K velocity points promotion. I received the first 10K points, but haven't received the 2nd 10K points for spending $X within 3 months. I spent that within the first 2 months. 7 months later, after numerous calls to the customer service line, and numerous attempts by the customer service rep to get the points allocated, and numerous times being told I will have them soon, I still haven't received the 10K velocity.
They don't live up to their promises. I have started looking for alternative solutions for credit cards linked with Velocity reward points.
1 velocity reward points for each $1 spent.
Customer service is terrible.
- 13 reviews
- 13 likes
Appalling service - hopeless call centre
I was lured in by the flights promotion. I filled in the online paperwork and waited. I have a Commonwealth pension and a full time job - that just didn't make sense to their call centre staff, who literally reached the end of the scripting screen and started again. I've also worked in a call centre, I know how it all works - they are simply scripted and they can't think for themselves..and don't want to ... .
I then made a formal complaint - rec'd a call from someone promised me the world (e.g. waive the annual fee for the first year)....
Read more Today I rec'd my first statement - annual fee applied. It will be "waived" next billing period, but I have to pay the minimum fee and if I miss it, there's the interest to be paid. (there's nothing else on the card) This for a fee that shouldn't have been put there in the first place ?? When I rang them to complain, there's no record of my complaint or anything (yes, I kept all the e-mails just in case). I've been promised it will be fixed... I am now in the process of closing the account and will use the Ombudsman if things aren't resolved. I've never dealt with a more useless lot in my life! Please, if you value your sanity.. just don't go there Update: 26 May. Despite being told there is no way the annual charge can be imposed and credited on the same statement - two days after this review and enclosing a copy the the Ombudsman letter to Virgin Money - it's been reversed. Just galling it had to get to this level of correspondence to get something done. Call centre staff who have no idea. Misleading promotions, Poor record keeping detail
- 6 reviews
- 1 like
Never again!
Got this card because of the free flights about 18 months ago and recently cancelled it because of terrible customer service.
A bit of background: I am obsessive about paying off my credit card. I last used my card in December 2011 and paid it off a couple of weeks later.
The same month I ended up in hospital with pregnancy complications. I paid off my card while in hospital.
In February 2012 I gave birth to my first baby 3.5 weeks early. Apparently around this time the card issuer issued a statement which charged its annual fee of ...
Read more$90. There was no indication in the emailed statement that it included this annual fee. As far as I was aware no further charges had been incurred on the card. In mid-April our mail redirect expired. With all the drama I forgot I hadn't notified Virgin Money (aka Citibank) of the new address. However, any correspondence sent prior to 15 April should have reached us.
I understand your frustration, but you said there was nothing to indicate it was overdue, but I'm sure if you opened your email and looked at the statement it would've said it was overdue....
It's...
Read more your responsibility to keep a check on these things not Virgin's responsibility to call you and check you're making payments, you're lucky you didn't get a bad credit rating.
True but the fact is it wouldn't have taken much on their part to change the subject line of their email or call or text me. If Optus can send me a text to let me know my phone bill is overdue I don't...
Read more see why the credit company can't. Instead they have lost a potentially good customer for life - all over a $90 fee! Why not suspend my account until it's paid? I do think another company would have made more of an effort to contact me; as you can see I'm not the only one complaining about their service.Related Articles
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- 3 reviews
- 2 likes
Completely shambolic user experience
Activation process of online account doesn't make sense. The mailout directs you to call in to activate, but then the IVR has no appropriate option. I simply cannot download a statement (and therefore workout how to pay) when I try to access the default 'e-statement'. Ridiculously, you have to download your activity statement in a range of file types, the most user friendly is a .CSV file that you look at through in an Excel doc, (that you then need to adjust all the column widths to see the content! Also hard to believe but there is no way...
Read more of changing your card's PIN number! This is just amateur hour. The only thing that has gone as expected has been the booking of a 2 for 1 flight through the Virgin Australia call centre. Redemption of 2 for 1 flight through Virgin Australia call centre. No problem. Online banking does not work. Did not send online activation password when asked. Inability to change Card PIN.
- 3 reviews
- 2 likes
nightmare with Credit Card Virgin
after many call`s numerous docs finaly got my card & transfered my balance ask for direct debit form 5 times no joy got 6 calls regarding non payment you have to send me an invoice as my internet link still do`s not work waiting on password /number now legal action over non payment final went to city bank & got the bapy number (comment thay think Virgin credit as a joke)
terrible service
Find out how Virgin Australia Velocity Flyer compares to other Frequent Flyer & Travel Credit Cards
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Scared off, thankfully.
The call centre wouldn't even pick up so I could activate my card. After reading these reviews... I won't bother.
They also tried to scam me out of the 20,000 Velocity Points. After a email to the Australian Virgin Expert Centre, followed by a three week wait, I was granted the points if I activated my card.
One or two poor customer service staff is forgivable. However the entire CitiBank brand seems to have an attitude problem. I was refused to speak with a supervisor.
Thank you everyone for taking the time to write in. You saved me from a major future headache.
Cool design on card.
Untrustworthy, terrible communication, arrogant.
Worst experience ever.
Impossible to get a statement.Staff agree with you and do nothing about it.Staff are all liars,tell you what ever you want and do nothing. I can not understand how a big company can treat customers so badly.Virgin Credit cards are worst I have ever delt with.I advise anyone not to go near this company.
They are terrible!
Stay away!
I have held my virgin credit card since 7th of February this year (now 19th May) and I am not happy with the level of service I have been receiving.
- I have requested a credit limit of at least $10,000 upon applying for the card, got $7500 instead with good steady income proven. Because of the level of expenses I have I have to keep topping the card up several times a month so I do not run out of credit, something very annoying to do. Although I spend more than the $10k every month that would save me some top ups. I referred this to a CS re...
Read morep once and nothing ever happened. - I have been unable to log on onto my virgin online account for over 2 months now. After the first 2 weeks using the account my online access simply got blocked (while using the right username & PW) stil no luck. Then in the frustrating process of re-setting the password that I had right at first I was told that I had to get a new internet pin as I had thrown mine away not thinking that was necessary. At the end of the lengthy “online signing up” process you do not know what to keep and what not to keep as there are way too many letters and passwords and pins, etc so I threw away what I thought to be useless and got burnt. Although I had requested for a new internet pin to be sent back then it took 2 MONTHS for the new internet pin to arrive – and yes I had to ask for it twice. Having to top up my card every so often as I have no idea how much credit is left and not knowing when and how much the card is due for I get paranoid. Sure you can always call the friendly customer service (yes they are friendly) but having to wait 40 minutes to be spoken to every time is hard... tried calling them at 12:30am today and it worked, got picked up right away so the trick is watch all them movies on TV and leave the credit card call for when everyone else is sleeping.Find out how Virgin Australia Velocity Flyer compares to other Frequent Flyer & Travel Credit Cards
Know better, choose better.
Avoid Virgin Money!!
I do not recommend this card or Virgin Money in general.
I have used the card for a balance transfer.
Here are my complaints:
1) They charge you interest on the card fee - which doesn't get paid off until the balance transfer is paid. I have used other balance transfer cards and have never encountered this before!
2) The online banking portal is difficult to access and requires you to call a call center to get it working.
3) They charge late fees all the time. Due to the difficult online banking portal access, I put off calling th...
Read moree call center, and just paid an even amount every four weeks when I get paid. Just recently I figured I should try to see my balance - so I called and asked for a paper statement to be sent next month. I don't use paper statements with any other bank - it is just literally easier than having to deal with their online portal!!
virgin flyer credit card do not apply!
I fly with virgn every week and spend thousands of dollars per year with them and I cant even get a credit card approved! They state that all you need is to earn over a certain amount per year, which I triple that! and still got declined. I have a perfect credit rating and dont owe any debts. They would not tell me why it was declined and told me to apply again in a few months time. No way, i will not waste my time with an un helpful company.
Hello qantas! goodbye virgin!
everything. dont apply for this
Misleading Conditions for the High Flyer Card
Made the mistake of thinking that a Virgin product was different than any other product from the corporate end of town. Totally misleading terms and conditions for the high flyer card. The 4 free flights, or 2 for the price of one are riddled with fine print that is not even on the virgin moneys terms and conditions. To book these free flights you can only get an F class ticket (usually the 6am, or 8pm ticket). The terms and conditions states that you can book a saver, flexi and premium class fares, and not available on sale fares. When you spe...
Read moreak with the (off shore) call centre they say there is nothing they can do, and the problem is with Virgin Australia. Might as well be a credit card from the big 4. Nothing any more. Misleading terms and conditions.
- 21 reviews
- 23 likes
Terrible
This is a stinking card with misleading terms and conditions. The free flight offer is a definite bonus but any money you save will be lost when they ping you with their ludicrous interest charges. The flight availability is very poor. The card states that you get 44 days interest free on purchases but this is misleading because to be considered for the 44 days the balance needs to be paid in full, by the due date for two consecutive months. The statement arrives and you get about 4 days to pay. If you don't pay then they hit you with 20.99% on...
Read more each and every item on the card from the day you buy it. The 44 day offer only comes back into play when you pay in full for two consecutive months again (you are paying 20.99% on everything until this point from the moment you swipe your card!). If you take advantage of a balance transfer offer for the 3 months interest free period, the fact that you don't pay off the balance within the first month means that you will fall victim to the no 44 day interest free trick. Misleading, sneaky, disgusting! Nice colour card Misleading, sneaky, VERY poor value- 3 reviews
- 3 likes
What a waste of valuable time!
I wish I had read this page before I bothered to respond to the invitation to apply for a Virgin Flyer Credit Card. I spent about two hours filling in the online form, to finally click 'Submit', and it didn't work! I called the number but they were closed, so I had to go through the whole thing again the next afternoon with someone at a call centre in, I would guess, the Phillipines. Finally finished that, get left a message about an hour later, at 7.30pm, asking me to call back, and I do - the message says 'we close at 5pm, call back tomorrow'...
Read more! I call back the next day only to be asked all the information I had supplied, again. And so on. Every day, more calls at 7.30pm, leaving me to call back the next day. They demanded I fax a payslip, my Medicare card, a phone bill. They could simply not get that I have both permanent employment and am self-employed. They lied about having rung my work to verify my details. They finally did ring my work. Then they called me again, this time they wanted me to call my accountant to tell him to ring them. They subsequently, to quote him, drove both him and his secretary mad with several calls. They did the same thing of calling him back the next day to 'verify the details' he had given them, day after day. He lodged a complaint (as had I) with no response (nor to me). They kept calling him, asking if I worked for him!!.... You get the picture. I just came home to a letter from them, after 10 days of this incompetence, saying I was declined, but that they were 'unable to provide specific reasons for our decision' and that if I could provide 'additional information ... eg other forms of income or investments', they would reconsider (I earn over 100k per annum). I have a perfect credit rating, was offered a Diamond card from the Commonwealth Bank for no fee, but I'm not good enough for Virgin - even though I get unsolicited offers from Citibank offering me a pre-approved card, and even though I was one of the original Virgin cardholders years ago, before they went bust. All up I have wasted about twenty hours of my valuable and expensive time on this useless exercise dealing with incompetent people, just to earn some extra Velocity points. I might add that I got a GE Creditline account approved in less than five minutes when purchasing something from the Good Guys, with a higher credit limit than I wanted from Virgin. You could tell how angry I am from how long this review is! Are you listening, Richard Branson? Do what I didn't do, read this and then DON'T BOTHER APPLYING. Terrible incompetent non-service
2 for 1 flights = too much hassle
If you're getting this card for the savings offered by the "Buy a seat and get a second seat FREE", like I did, don't bother. It's a nightmare booking these flights and next to impossible to access low cost fares via this deal.
standard credit card, earn velocity points when used
process around booking 2for1 flights is a complete nightmare, not worth the time
Expensive card but good rewards if you like flying Virgin
I got this card for the complimentary 4 free flights a year, which you can get when you buy a domestic seat on Virgin. I was a bit worried they would be hard to redeem, like a lot of frequent flyer seats, but actually so far have found the process pretty easy and have not had a problem booking seats when I want them.
All up, great perks if you like flying Virgin. But be warned, don't be fooled into thinking this is a cheap card just cos its from Virgin. The interest rate is around 20% and there is a $99 annual fee, so definitely make sure you pay off your bill in full each month otherwise you will be paying way too much interest and the perks won't be worth it.
4 free flights a year offer is great
High interest rates and annual fee
Complete incompentence. Rude service. Unable to verify transactions. Caused me a lot of stress.
I was one of the first people to sign up to a Virgin Flyer card, after having years of good experience with Virgin Australia and Virgin Money.
At first I thought Virgin Money were ok, my online transactions seemed to add up and I could access my statements on Safari on my Mac, although not Firefox. Imagine my surprise one day when a payment of nearly $4000 never showed in my transactions, even a month later, and their statements would not work on either Firefox or Safari. Meanwhile they began ringing me to insist that I pay their bill. I ex...
Read moreplained that I had no confidence my last payment was received, in fact it appeared otherwise. They said they had received my payment (where was it then?) and that I had to pay. When I explained my problems, they said its a known problem they have with Mac computers (i.e. too bad for me because I own a Mac.) Getting nowhere with this representative, I wrote a lengthy email to the Help Centre, who took days and days to respond and then completely missed the point and said I had a late payment fee because I paid my last bill too early in the month! I then had to write another lengthy email to Virgin and explain my problems, in detail, with attached pictures, by which time it was causing me a lot of stress. It took another two weeks for them to sort out, in the meantime I continued to accumulate interest and late payment fees. They insisted on calling me at work on numerous occasions when I had asked them not to, and I knew they called after work hours as I had received calls before at that time. One representative even insisted that I talk to her now despite the fact she had called me on my work phone!! By this time I had well and truly had it with Virgin Money and decided to pay in full and cancel my card. The flights are a waste of time (see cons). You end up paying more in late payment fees, 21% interest and annual charges than you ever get back in free flights, which are not free anyway because of fuel surcharges, taxes, etc. The 44 day interest free period, like the other reviews have said, is too difficult to manage because you have to pay off your bill in full at the time of the month designated by Virgin Money, and have paid at this time for the last two months, otherwise you get charged in full from the day you purchased each item. If you miss a month's full payment, the huge interest charges show up again. Overall, the worst experience I have had with any company at any time, ever. I'm still amazed at the incompetence of the service and the rudeness of the staff. Virgin's brand will be going nowhere fast with the addition of this awful service. Received some Virgin Flyer Points, but cost me more in fees and charges than the point value was worth.
- 3 reviews
I would not apply for another Virgin Credit Card Again!
First - no mailing address on the application form (that's why the post office has post office boxes!) - so we didn't get our card. After about 45 minutes on the phone we got through to somebody who had to reissue the card. Then, it had to be activated - called but it didn't go through. Called again then tried to use the card for PayPal - blocked. Called again - they activated it for EVERYTHING but PayPal. After ANOTHER call, still no internet activation code. And on top of this, it is SO hard to understand them. I'm fed up. I've never had so many problems with a credit card company. No more Virgin finance products for me. Stay away - use AMEX.
Being able to choose the color - that says it all.
Thanks to all who posted here. I think I'll stick with my Westpac Altitude Amex. At $295 it's not cheap but there are no hassles and great customer service.
- 2 reviews
- 1 like
I JUST DON"T TRUST THEM
As everyone has said, it was a dreadful experience dealing with robotic people who had absolutely no idea on how to connect with a potential Australian client. After many calls and supplying a large number of personal documents,I have received approval and have been asked to activate my card. After trying to make sense of the Terms and Conditions and suspecting jargon is hiding traps I thought it best to proceed with caution. I have reviewed this product review site and conclude that the experience I had has been the experience of others. Looks...
Read more like I'm not going to proceed and will not activate the card to avoid the $99 even if I did nothing else. Thank you all for your comments. You may have saved me a lot of future hastles. I liked the possibility of a link with Virgin Airlines. Disgraceful phone experience. Unfathomable Terms and Conditions.
A waste of time
Like other reviewers, here, I found applying for this credit card a waste of time. I applied, supplied all required documents (including an original superannuation statement and officially stamped and signed bank records) and after receiving a cute "the approval stamp is hovering" email, I've had nothing from them except a series of phone calls to corroborate the same financial information several times. When I called to check on the application's progress, I was told my finances were "very suspicious" in as arrogant and rude a manner as I've e...
Read morever encountered. I've now told them to keep their cards. Time consuming process, no on-going application status reports, rude call centre employees, no clear communication route other than call centre
Only got it for Frequent flyer points otherwise avoid
Well I'm into the process of trying to accumulate virgin frequent flyer ponts. So I chose this card. (virgin high flyer)
Firstly it took a while and numerous phone calls to get approved. A process of about weeks.
They only gave me $10,000 credit limit on gross annual income of over $1 million pa (medical specialist), which is unfortunate because I keep reaching my credit limit before the month's up. (I have a CBA credit card with a $17,000 limit but that's linked to Qantas FF).
When asked about increasing the limit they said you have t...
Read moreo have the card for 9 months before even they allow credit increases. I'm not sure if this is a deliberate way to restrict your spending having a very low spending limit, as in the end this is a Platinum Visa Card.
Not only Dr Bob I have identical experience see artificer on Virgin High Flyer it might as well be a scam!
Virgin win the top prize for the worst customer service in the world
I have been a loyal Virgin customer for years having come from the UK. I fly with the airline very frequently and decided also to join the wine club. I am a silver member and close to becoming gold. I have flown to Thailand business class with them and was just about to book business class to the UK.
I applied for the credit card - primarily to get the points on all this stuff but got declined!!
I own and operate a finance company which is doing fantastically well. I kept getting calls from an offfshore call centre who could not understan...
Read mored anything I was saying - they were trying to verify my income but it all seemed too hard for the caller to understand. In the end my accountant called them and tried to get them to understand but I got declined again!! Is this how you treat your 'valued' customers? I think not. Goodbye Virgin Airline, Goodbye Virgin Wines - hello Quantas! There is nothing good here that I can find The worst customer service in the world.Other Frequent Flyer & Travel Credit Cards
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People in Australia dont ever get a Virgin Credit Card.!!
Read moren a fraudulent transaction however would NOT give me ANY information whatsoever. Kept telling me it was under investigation and could disclose any info. I spent over an hour on the phone from customer service to supervisors without any success. All I wanted to know was when, where and the amount in question so I could avoid further corruption. Apologies dont work when this is my account, my personal information and I should have the right to answers. Other credit card institutions have always supplied this infomation. Obviously dealing with offshore people is a waste of time and energy. Time tio get out of this VIRGIN nightmare. Customer service and management were absolutely useless and a waste of time.Last night I had the worst banking experience ever with Virgin Money in regards to my credit card.
I received a call telling me there had bee...