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.
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Best Current First Year Fee Waived Cards for April 2021

ByMatt

All the offers (Scotiabank and Brim) that expired in February actually all got extended. For this month, HSBC is up next for expiry if you were looking at their offers. Only a few days left for the HSBC promotions.

Keep in mind that permanent first year fee waived offer are not included in this list, we are only listing promotions with an end date.

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Current 10% Cash Back Portfolio for March 2021

ByMatt

This is the first month that we are eliminating the monthly Top Cash Back Credit Cards post. The reason is because there is a strong 10% cash back market (permanent and temporary offers) in Canada. We have replaced this slot has been replaced with this current post. Keep in mind that we still have the Top Cash Back Credit Cards page, which includes permanent and temporary offers if you wish to see a more complete list.

The Scotia Momentum Visa Infinite Card is set to expire this month.

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Fast Track to Best Western Elite Status

ByMatt

While not the flashiest hotel chain, I am still a big fan of Best Western, Where they may lack in luxury, they make it up in affordability, availability and customer service. 

In 2021, they have cut the requirements to qualify for its elite status program in half. So I thought I would take this opportunity to update our last rundown post from over 2 years ago. 

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Earn Aeroplan Points at Starbucks Canada

ByMatt

Air Canada’s frequent flyer program, Aeroplan, has launched a partnership with Starbucks Canada that enables Aeroplan members to earn and redeem points on Starbucks (e.g. beverages and snacks).

Link Accounts

Members need to go to aircanada.com/starbucks to link their Aeroplan and Starbucks Rewards accounts together.

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Putting Together a No Annual Fee Credit Card Portfolio

ByMatt

Due to the government lockdowns that occurred throughout the past 12 months (already? … gasp!), I find that I have dramatically reduced spending. The reduction in spending inspired me to write up this post. I’m sure that I’m not the only person to have reduced spending, so I thought I’d put together what I think would be an ideal no annual fee credit card portfolio.

Keep in mind that this post focused on credit cards with no annual fees whatsoever. This is important because I am thinking longevity (i.e. retaining the same card long term), so I will not be factoring churning, which would be a post for another day. For this post, you may notice some of the more lower profile cards, but do have some hidden value in them. 

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Top Credit Card Higher than Normal Sign Up Bonuses for March 2021

ByMatt

For this month’s list, the HSBC and RBC offers are coming to an end, but we introduce the 40,000 sign up bonus Scotiabank Gold American Express.

Top Higher than Normal Sign Up Bonuses for March 2021

[TRAIN] Rundown of VIA Preference (updated March 1, 2021)

ByMatt

It has been over 2 years since my last update regarding VIA Rail’s loyalty program: VIA Preference. Also, if you have read my other train related posts, you’ll know that I am a huge fan of trains… yes… even more than the plane when factoring the overall experience. So I always have fun writing about Canada’s primary passenger rail service!

With international travel restrictions tightening up, travel within Canada might be the way to go? Today’s post will update the features and benefits of the VIA Preference program. But also, introduce Rail passes, which I may look into writing an more in-depth post about it in the future. Let’s kick things off with one significant change to VIA Rail’s loyalty program, the expiry policy.

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Best Current First Year Fee Waived Cards for February 2021

ByMatt

Several offers are expiring at the end of the month, so if you have been thinking about these offers, you may want to apply for them soon as they expire in 3 days.

Keep in mind that permanent first year fee waived offer are not included in this list, we are only listing promotions with an end date. 

Limited Time First Year Fee Offers

Achieving and Keeping a Healthy Credit Score

ByMatt

We feature guest writer, Raúl Menéndez, who is an Outreach Specialist with Money.com. Today’s post may seem a little different than our usual theme on maximising earning rewards. Raúl will be sharing his experience of going from a low credit score to a high one, and then how to maintain it. So the credit card strategy behind going from a low to high credit score is very different than for someone who already has a strong score looking to leverage for more rewards (which is a post for another time!). For now, thank you Raúl for taking the time to share your knowledge with us, we really appreciate it!

Approved List of Hotels for Quarantine Now Live

ByMatt

It is official, the February 22, 2021 hotel quarantine rules for incoming air travellers are now in effect and the list of approved hotels are out on the Government of Canada website. 

Keep in mind that there are currently only 4 airports in Canada accepting international flights. This means that if you are flying into a different part of the country, you will probably have a connecting flight at one of these airports. Keep in mind that you will still need to quarantine in one of these hotels because being able to board your connecting flight several days later, as you wait for the test results.