Bonus Points and a Personalized AMEX Account Manager
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.
Author: Matt
Matt has been an avid points collector since 1992 (an elementary school student), when his dad signed up for the new (at the time) Air Miles program. Since then, Matt took a keen interest in learning how the miles and points world works. He quickly found out that there is a lot of value in leveraging miles and points to fund his passion for travelling.
What to do in a Declining Miles and Points Industry
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:
Company with the Best Business Credit Card Portfolio
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.
AccorHotels (Le Club AccorHotels) | Best Western (Best Western Rewards) | Choice Hotels (Choice Privileges) | Club Carlson (Merged with Radisson Rewards) | Hilton (Honors) | Hyatt (World of Hyatt) | Intercontinental Hotel Group (IHG Rewards Club) | Marriott Hotels & Resorts (Marriott Bonvoy) | President's Club (Merged with Le Club AccorHotels) | Starwood Preferred Guest (Merged with Marriott Bonvoy) | Wyndham Rewards (Wyndham Hotels & Resorts)
Favourite Hotel Elite Perks Listed by Loyalty Program
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.
The New Scotiabank More Rewards Visa Card
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:
PointsU Meetup: New Andaz Ottawa Pre-Opening Tour
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.
AccorHotels (Le Club AccorHotels) | Best Western (Best Western Rewards) | Choice Hotels (Choice Privileges) | Club Carlson (Merged with Radisson Rewards) | Hilton (Honors) | Hyatt (World of Hyatt) | Intercontinental Hotel Group (IHG Rewards Club) | Marriott Hotels & Resorts (Marriott Bonvoy) | President's Club (Merged with Le Club AccorHotels) | Starwood Preferred Guest (Merged with Marriott Bonvoy) | Wyndham Rewards (Wyndham Hotels & Resorts)
List of Requirements for Attaining Hotel Elite Status (updated August 11, 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.
A Few Aeroplan Shopping Promotions
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.
Credit Cards for Newcomers and Students
Newcomers to Canada and students are in a very similar situation where they have minimal to no credit history. So they have to start somewhere. There are several ways to get started. This is how I got started. I walked into a bank, locked in a some money into a guaranteed investment certificate (GIC) and was issued a secure credit card. At the time, I was given the CIBC Shoppers Optimum Visa (has since been discontinued). I used this opportunity to start building my credit history.
American Express (AMEX) | Bank of Montreal (BMO) | Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC) | Scotiabank
Top Credit Card Higher than Normal Sign Up Bonuses for August 2016
The list has really trimmed down for this month. I really hope that it picks back up as we lead into the fall. That being said, 2016 has been a pretty good year for credit card sign up bonuses, so we were due for a break month. I expect that things will pick back up in the fall, as companies will want to close out the year strong.