My Credit Card Portfolio (October 2015 Version)

It’s that time again, when I need to go through all the credit cards in my wallet and decide which ones to keep until the next quarter year. I posted one of these in the past with my current portfolio at the time. Today, I will update you with the credit cards I am frequently using the most at the moment.

American Express Air Miles Platinum Card

Because the American Express Gold Rewards Card annual fee was due, I decided to ditch that one for the American Express Air Miles Platinum Card which gave me 2,000 sign-up bonus miles with a $500 minimum spend requirement over three months. This card is great if you need to juggle between your Aeroplan and Air Miles account. With a 1 air mile earning per every $10 spent at sponsors, I will continue to keep this card until I can apply for the Gold Rewards card again.

Best Western Platinum Plus MasterCard

I had been contemplating bringing my focus on hotel points to another brand, but the original 20,000 sign up bonus for this credit card just didn’t give me enough justification to sign up. Fortunately, Best Western heard my cries and boosted the sign up bonus to a whopping 40,000 points. I jumped on that one right away. It is my first time dealing with Best Western and although the hotel quality may not be comparable to other luxury hotel brands, the service they provide towards their valued customers is exceptional.

Chase Amazon.ca Rewards Visa Card

Due to work, I had been ordering a lot of things off Amazon. So I decided it was time to get one of these. At approval of application, you will automatically receive a $20 gift card which gets added to your Amazon account. You can then earn a 2% cash back on any purchases made on Amazon. Since there is no annual fee, this card is beneficial to keep as foreign transaction fees are waived when you make purchases out of the country.

RBC Platinum Avion Visa

I managed to get this annual fee waived, so it gave me a reason to start pushing my Avios account (after being a loyal Aeroplan member for years), as Avion points transfer to British Airways’ Executive Club for Avios at a 1:1 ratio. With a 15,000 sign-up bonus after your first purchase, you can easily book a short haul flight. Although the earnings aren’t great at 1 RBC point per $1 spent, I am happy they have provided me with a fixed rate option when redeeming rewards. The RBC Platinum Visa Card allows you to redeem for travel, hotels, vacation packages and car rentals at a rate of 100 points for $1 CAD. You can also transfer your points to two other airlines: Cathay Pacific Asia Miles and American Airlines AAdvantage, also at a ratio of 1 to 1.

MBNA Smart Cash Platinum Plus MasterCard

From my last credit card portfolio update to this one, I still haven’t changed this one. And the reason is quite obvious. This is a very good no annual fee credit card to keep in my pocket for when I do not need to complete a minimum spend requirement. You can earn 2% cash back on eligible gas and groceries purchases and a 1% cash back on all other purchases. This one will remain in my wallet until a similar credit card is introduced.

Bottom Line

So here it is. Due to annual fees coming up and rarely used benefits of previous credit cards, I have removed them from my credit card portfolio. Although the above mentioned credit cards may have brought many benefits to me, this may not apply to you in the same way as lifestyle preferences and spending habits gear us towards different credit cards.

As I am moving into a self-employed status, in the next few months, I will be shifting my focus to a business credit card portfolio so please keep a look out for that!