Another report, another profitable quarter for the Big Banks. Apparently Canada’s top 6 banks (in alphabetical order: Bank of Montreal, CIBC, National Bank, Royal Bank, Scotiabank, TD Canada) earned a combined $10.4 billion in one quarter or a 12.6% increase from last year. I recently wrote a post about What to do in a Declining Miles and Points Industry.
From my last update on the list of Priority Pass lounges, there were only just over 600 lounges worldwide. Now they bumped up to over 900.
We’ve updated our “Are you a business owner” page to include the option for business owners to have an American Express account manager for the first 12 months of a business card membership.
It’s no secret that it feels like the industry is tightening its belt as the economy recovers. Fewer churning options, lower sign up bonus offers, less first year fee waived opportunities. It’s so easy to write things thoughts and ideas. The hard part is to focus on the positives. So let’s get some negatives out of the way first, so that we can have a more positive post:
If you are a business owner, you may be interested in some bonus American Express Membership Rewards opportunities. Otherweise, we have also put together a list of top business credit cards to consider.
I was previously asked what are the best hotel elite benefits. I believe that this is a strongly personal question, because it is based on personal preferences, as well as specific travels. In other words, depending on where you want to go, you may want to take advantage of a different benefit. I would not get too caught up on very specific benefits, it is always better to remain flexible and open minded to what’s available, along with customizing to specific needs.
Looks like Scotiabank has taken over the relationship with More Rewards MBNA, which discontinued its co-branded credit card. We also have posts talking about Top Ways to Redeem More Rewards and Ways to Earn More “More Rewards”. Scotiabank is now offering a More Rewards Visa Card with the following highlights:
Hyatt’s Andaz is coming to Ottawa, located in the Byward Market! It will be the first Andaz in Canada as well. On Saturday, August 20, 2016 from 5:00 PM to 6:00 PM, you can join us for a pre-opening tour. The official opening is on August 23, 2016.
A few updates to the hotel elite status programs means that this list is due for an update from last time. Some of the updates include: adding Le Club AccorHotels, changes to Best Western Rewards elite program, Delta Hotel and Resorts merger with Marriott, changes to the IHG Rewards Club program and changes to Wyndham Rewards.
Aeroplan is offering a few shopping portal promotions. This is a great way to accumulate miles more quickly. I would not go out of my way to shop, just to accrue bonus miles, but if you happen to need to shop for something anyway, then it’s worth putting in some energy towards maximizing the potential rewards that you can earn.