Hi there. I’m in the market for a new iPhone and I’m trying to maximise my velocity points. I currently have a flybuys account and onepass and a Coles platinum rewards Mastercard.
I have been looking at buying gift cards (that I could use at Officeworks) when there is a promotion on at Coles to get more flybuys points to transfer to my velocity account. I don’t know how often these deals are offered though.
I’m keen to get some advice here to learn if this is a wise idea or if there are better ways to maximise my velocity points?
This is the best method I can think of; others might know an even better way to do it. But I’ve used this in the past myself for my (and family and friends’!) Apple purchases and it’s gotten me a truckload of points over the years:
Wait for a 20x Flybuys points promotion for purchasing Apple gift cards from Coles. They do this every couple of months. Buy cards to the value of whatever new iPhone you want to buy.
Add these cards directly to your Apple account. I do it by going to “Account” then “Redeem” in the Music app in MacOS, but there are plenty of other ways to do this. But you will end up with credit on your Apple account. NB. It is important that you do this, because the Velocity eStore will not give Velocity points for purchases paid for with Apple gift cards.
Purchase your iPhone directly from Apple, but via the Velocity eStore (currently 2 Velocity points per dollar spent, but they do have occasional promotions where you can earn up to 6 points per dollar spent). If you want to buy an iPhone 16, you’ll have to wait a couple of months until it becomes eligible for Velocity points.
So hypothetically:
Say you wanted to purchase a $1500 iPhone. If you purchased $1500 worth of Apple cards from Coles with, say, an AmEx Platinum Edge credit card and then used the Apple credit to purchase the phone via the Velocity eStore, the points earn would be something like…
4500 AmEx Membership Reward points = 2250 Velocity points (1500 points if you use your Coles Mastercard, assuming you haven’t reached the $3000 monthly spend threshold)
30000 FlyBuys points for the gift card purchase = 15000 Velocity points
Purchase from Apple via Velocity eStore = 3000 Velocity points.
That’s over 20,000 Velocity points for purchasing a $1500 phone.
If you can wait until late November, Velocity eStore often increases the earning rate on Apple purchases during the Black Friday sales (one year I made a purchase for 6x Velocity points) – just be careful that if you’re buying an iPhone 16, Apple has made it eligible for Velocity points by then.
But even if you want an iPhone 16 before the eStore makes it eligible, that’s still 17,000ish Velocity points for a $1500 purchase.
Hi @sixtyeight
I was just looking into your reply again and wanted to check in with you if possible. I haven’t shopped through the velocity e-store and the answer to my question may be obvious…will this take take me to the apple site to pay and is that how come I can pay using my apple credit that I’ve redeemed by super-charged apple gift cards from Coles?
Yes, the Velocity eStore is a portal which enables Velocity to track your purchases with online retailers. You’re still purchasing from the online retailers, not from Velocity. So if you click on The Apple Store from the Velocity eStore, you’ll be taken to the Apple website and you will be purchasing from Apple.
It is a little finicky: you’ll have to make sure that cookies are enabled, that ad-blocking is disabled, and that you don’t visit any other website while you’re completing the purchase (if you do, just go back to the eStore and enter the Apple Store again via the eStore link). Also make sure you read the fine print, because there are exclusions (currently the iPhone 16 is one such exclusion).
The complete Point Hacks guide to the eStore is below and it’s worth reading before you use it.
@sixtyeight one last question for you if I may. I’ve just seen that Coles have the apple gift card promotion on soon.
Do you know if there is a limit on how many cards I can buy or on the value of them to be eligible for the bonus flybuys points? Meaning can I just buy $2000 with in one go and get 20x flybuys points? Seems too easy…?
I haven’t seen the upcoming catalogue/promotion yet, but you should always read the Terms & Conditions to check if there is a limit.
In the past, with Coles, the limit has been $2500 worth of gift cards. If that’s the same this time around, yes, you’ll be able to buy $2000 worth of cards and convert them to 20,000 Velocity points.