A new month, a list new, but there are no changes from last month. Do note that some offers end sometime this month and the rest at the end of October.
Top Higher than Normal Sign Up Bonuses for August 2020
For the rest of the credit cards, I ranked the credit cards by the price of the annual fees (lowest to highest):
BMO Air Miles MasterCard
See also: COVID-19 Updates for our most up-to-date tracking.
Things have evolved quite a bit since March 2020 when the coronavirus lockdowns hit the travel industry. As time went on, airline and hotel program made adjustments to stay afloat. They also tried to make things more generous for customers, while trying to juggle their balance sheet.
Many people would argue that airlines would get government bailouts anyway, so all they really need to do is sit back and relax. Whether true or not, today’s post focuses on extensions given to member account balances. Several of those extensions have now expired, while some programs made some more permanent changes to their expiry policies.
I’ve held off writing this post for a while now because I am still a little shocked and sadden by the changes.
You may have read about the Capital One World Elite Aspire Travel MasterCard that was discontinued almost 3 years ago to new applicants. However, existing cardholders were allowed to keep their cards with the same features and benefits. At the time, I found that to be a very generous move by Capital One. I am proud to say that I kept the card all this time.
This month’s list has really trimmed down with CIBC now offering more permanent first year fee waived offers. Because of that, I have also taken off the ongoing first year fee waived offers as that list grew too long.
Keep in mind that we have an ongoingly updated Top Credit Cards pages. Here are some of the more relevant ones to this post:
Top Cash Back Credit Cards
Top Hybrid Credit Cards
Top Specialty Credit Cards
Aeroplan initially paused Aeroplan miles expiry until July 14, 2020. When that came to an end, a few days later, on July 20, 2020, Aeroplan announced that it will be expanding its expiry policy from 12 months to 18 months. Basically miles continue to stay active as long as there is an activity, i.e. earn or redeem.
Since we are this topic, here is a quick recap of their current policies due to the pandemic. Also note that we have a page that is continually updated found on the menu bar called COVID-19 Updates.
Air Miles has been trying to elevate its game this summer. To be fair, I think that this is their chance to shine, with the travel industry down. Air Miles is more diversified in its reward options. Today, they are launching two new initiatives.
Rewarding Canadians
Air Miles unveiled a new brand platform today called Rewarding Canadians, every day. Rewarding Canadians features Collectors experiencing moments of reward. At the very least, I think that this is a good reminder for everyone to redeem their miles for something that is worthwhile.
Here is the video to get the ball rolling:
With the economy slowly opening up through Canada and parts of the United States, Marriott Bonvoy is launching a 15% off gift card promotion. Effective today, July 20, 2020, until July 24, 2020, residents of Canada and the US only can purchase Marriott Bonvoy Gift Cards at a 15% discount with no expiry date.
This list has really trimmed down over the past few months, even though the remaining offers are somewhat competitive. Keep in mind that this monthly list includes temporary offers. We have an ongoing list of all offers in the Top Cash Back Credit Cards page.
Top no annual fee cash back credit card offers for July 2020
Everyone has complimentary membership for the remainder of 2020. Criteria for 2021 will be announced this fall.
We are back with our increasing popular interview series. Today we are interviewing Vanessa Crooker from American Express Canada who will share more thoughts with us about the new Shop Small campaign. Thank you for taking the time to answer our questions Vanessa, we appreciate your time!
Q: Please tell us about yourself. What is your role with American Express Canada (AMEX)?
I’m Vanessa Crooker, the Vice President of Merchant Marketing at American Express Canada. In my role, I’m responsible for leading a team that focuses on engaging our network of Merchants.