Changes to the Canada and US Alaska Airlines Credit Cards
After a scare in Canada, where we thought the MBNA Alaska Airlines MasterCard discontinued, it turns out that there was a small change to some of the requirements with the card. As for the US version, there is currently a nice promotion going on. Also note that the Alaska Airlines credit card will no longer be available to Quebec residents (explained below).
Keep in mind that this post is to supplement the comparison post that I already wrote.
US Bank of America Alaska Airlines Visa Signature Credit Card
- $75 annual fee
- Earn 30,000 bonus miles after spending after spending $1,000 in 90 days
- Earn 5,000 bonus miles for referring a friend
- Earn 1,000 additional bonus miles if you sign up in-flight (if you apply before July 10, 2017)
- Earn $100 statement credit (online only, after spending $1,000 in the first 90 days and paying the annual fee)
- Earn 3 miles for every $1 spent on Alaska Airlines tickets, vacation packages, cargo and inflight purchases
- Earn 1 mile for every $1 spent on all other purchases
- Receive an annual companion fare (normally $99 USD plus taxes and fees, but free the first year if you apply before July 10, 2017) after spending $1,000 in the first 90 days
- Receive first checked bag free
- Receive a $50 Annual Airfare Discount (after spending at least $1,000 within 90 days)
- No foreign transaction fees
Canadian MBNA Alaska Airlines MasterCard
- $75 annual fee
- Earn 25,000 bonus miles after spending $1,000 in the first 90 days
- Earn 3 miles for every $1 spent on Alaska Airlines tickets, vacation packages, cargo and inflight purchases
- Earn 1 mile for every $1 spent on all other purchases
- Receive an annual companion fare (costing $99 USD plus taxes and fees)
- Income Requirement: $80,000 (personal) or $150,000 (household)
- Due to Quebec laws, this card is not available to Quebec residents
There is also a US Bank of America Alaska Airlines Visa Business Card, which I will not include in this comparison (but I did last time), since Canada does not have an equivalent version. However, it does have very similar features to the personal US version.
Annual Fee
The scare got me wondering if the annual fee increase, but it has remained the same! Not to mention the $60 cash back with GreatCanadianRebates (please email me for my referral if you are signing up for a GCR account).
Sign Up Bonus
Coincidentally, I was on an Alaska Airlines flight a few days ago, and the flight attendant mentioned over the PA system that if you sign up for the credit card in-flight, you can earn an additional 1,000 sign up bonus points.
As for the Canadian version, they introduced a spending requirement, which I completely agree with. I think that this spending requirement will make this credit card more sustainable for the long term.
Referral Bonus
The US version is offering a 5,000 referral bonus (no apparent number of referrals limit). What an amazing opportunity to rack up more bonus miles.
Annual Companion Fare
The US version is offering an incredible promotion waiving the first year $99 companion fee if you apply before July 10, 2017.
Income Requirement
Note that the Canadian version increased its income requirement from $70,000 to $80,000 (personal) and from $120,000 to $150,000 (household).
Canadian version No longer offered to Quebec Residents
As a result, this credit card is no longer offered to Quebec residents. Due to the higher income requirements and a minimum spend requirement not meeting Quebec laws.
Conclusion
In my last post, the Canadian version was fairly competitive compared to the US version. However, the promotional offers from the US version has really taken it to a much higher level.
Where does it list the minimum income criteria for the Canadian version of the card ? I don’t see it On their application form. Also I was unaware there used to be a minimum income requirement of 70,000 a year even before they changed the requirements recently – my wife doesn’t make nearly that much and was approved for the card a couple of weeks before they changed it.
I had a little help from Rewards Canada.
http://blog.rewardscanada.ca/2017/04/whats-going-on-with-mbna-alaska.html
It is wrong to state that the card is no longer available to Quebec residents due to higher income and spending requirements. Many other cards (AmEx, TD, RBC, etc…) are available to Quebec residents even if they have similar income and spending requirements.
https://www.nbc.ca/en/personal/credit-cards/mastercard-credit-cards/travel-cards/world-elite.html
I had a little help from Rewards Canada.
http://blog.rewardscanada.ca/2017/04/whats-going-on-with-mbna-alaska.html
The Canadian version sucks big time compared to the US one.
Lower sign up bonus, no referral bonus, and no category spend bonus for using the card other than buying AS tickets, which no one in Canada’s largest metropolitan area (Greater Toronto Area) will utilize because AS has not flights to/from Toronto.
MBNA and AS are really taking the wrong approach for the Canadian version of the card.
Of course there is always room for improvement, but I do think that it is still relatively competitive especially compared to the other Canadian co-branded airline credit cards.
if i already have the alaska card as a quesbec resident, I assume that nothing will change?
I believe so. Not sure what will happen at renewal though. Let us know!
Hi Matthew,
Would I lose the points I accumulated including the bonus if I cancelled the card after 6 months?
Many thanks,
Hold on a little longer if you are worried!