Virgin now flies American Express Platinum cardholders

So about 3 hours after posting this blog entry, it just happened that I received a letter in the post from American Express stating that they have changed their airline provider from Qantas to Virgin. This means from the end of August, if you book your free flight through the Platinum call centre, you will be flying Virgin Airlines. Until then, all bookings will still be with Qantas. 

So what does this mean for the American Express Platinum holder? 

Pros

• Greater number of destinations to choose from 
• You will still receive a reasonable 23kg luggage allowance. 

Cons

• Obviously flying with Qantas is worth much more money than Virgin. 
• You will no longer get an in flight movie but instead you will have to put up with revolving ads begging you to swipe your credit card to end the pain. 
• You won't get any free food unlike with Qantas. 
• You will no longer earn Qantas frequent flyers on your flights. 

Following this announcement, I am considering cancelling my platinum card as it does not justify the $395 fee. If you are a member of the Chartered Accountants or some other institutes for Engineering or something, you are probably paying $295. 

Perhaps what may change my mind is if Virgin offers free entry into their lounge as part of this new change.


Other AMEX posts

• Platinum Edge free return flight around Australia for only $149 / year!
• More about Virgin Velocity Platinum 
• More about Velocity Gold 
• Free flights with Velocity Platinum  
• Which is better? Platinum Reserve vs Virgin Velocity
• Platinum Edge Free Travel Insurance but is it Good?