Which Credit Cards I Would Keep Beyond the First Year Fee
If churning came to an end tomorrow, because all banks completely shut it down, then we will need to decide which credit cards we would want to retain over the medium and possibly long term.
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.
American Airlines (AAdvantage) | Avion (RBC Rewards) | British Airways (Executive Club - Avios) | Cathay Pacific (Asia Miles) | Esso Extra (Discontinued) | WestJet (WestJet Rewards)
Converting Esso Extra to Airline Miles
You probably see a lot of advertisement about the Esso Extra program. Lots of hype goes into the Esso Privileges card. However, there is actually a pretty net way of converting your Esso Extra points into airline miles and get more value. It requires a 2 step process though.
The Top Credit Card Spending Bonuses (updated March 10, 2016)
It has been just over a year since I last updated this list. With a few cancellations and changes since, I thought I’d give this list a nice little update. I find that spending bonuses are very valuable, because it rewards big spenders with a benefit that helps offset an annual fee, which will reduce the urge for churning. Personally, I would actually like to see a lot more of these types of incentives with more credit cards.
Top Cash Back Sign Up Offers for March 2016
We just released a post about the Top Sign Up Bonuses for the month of March. But that list was primarily focused on higher than normal sign up bonus miles and points. To be fair, there are some cash back promotional offers that are worth a look. I am uncertain whether this list is going to be re-posted monthly, but you can at least stay up to date on our Top Cash Back Credit Cards page.
A Bunch of TD Aeroplan Sign Up Bonus Promotions
TD Canada Trust is offering a slew of higher than normal Aeroplan sign up bonuses. This is a very competitive move by TD, which is actually very impressive.
American Express (AMEX) | Best Western (Best Western Rewards) | Chase Canada (Discontinued) | Marriott Hotels & Resorts (Marriott Bonvoy) | MBNA | Starwood Preferred Guest (Merged with Marriott Bonvoy)
Hotel Co-Branded Credit Cards Market Wide Open
It is very slim pickings for co-branded hotel loyalty program credit cards in Canada. These are only 4 credit cards left to choose from. This also means that the market is completely wide open. Unfortunately, the weak Canadian dollar is really not helping the potential for a hotel rewards program to want to enter the Canadian market.
American Express (AMEX) | Bank of Montreal (BMO) | Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC) | Chase Canada (Discontinued) | MBNA | National Bank
Top Credit Card Sign Up Bonuses for March 2016
The beginning of January started off pretty week, and things started to pick up as the month went on. Below are the top current higher than normal credit card sign up bonus offers to watch out for. As a result, February’s list looks a lot more promising with a few more choices.
50% Off VIA Rail Long Haul Trips
VIA Rail is offering a pretty sweet 50% or more sale promotion on long-haul trips. You will need to book between March 3 and 13, 2016. You need to travel between March 10, 2016 and June 30, 2016.
To Share or Not to Share a Travel Hack… That is the Question.
This seems to be a hot topic lately, so I am happy to share my thoughts. When a “secret”, “hack”, “loophole” (whatever you want to call it) is discovered, what is the fine line between sharing it publicly and keeping it a secret? As always, there are pros and cons either way.
American Express (AMEX) | Bank of Montreal (BMO) | Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC) | Canadian Tire | Capital One | Chase Canada (Discontinued) | Desjardins | HSBC | Laurentian Bank | MBNA | National Bank | President's Choice Financial (PC Financial) | Rogers Bank | Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) | Scotiabank | Tangerine | Toronto Dominion (TD) | Walmart Financial
Ranking the Credit Card Portfolios of Each Canadian Financial Institutions (updated March 1, 2016)
I did not think that I was going to be updating this post so quickly, but enough has changed from last month that it warrants an update. Every time there are some significant movements in the credit card industry, I plan on updating the rankings of this post. You will notice that under every credit card companies’ explanation for its ranking, I will be listing some of its top credit cards to choose from.