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.

Rundown of Porter Airlines’ VIPorter (updated January 23, 2019)

ByMatt

It has been a while since I last wrote (over 3 years, gasp) a significant post about Porter Airlines’ loyalty program VIPorter, so I think this post was due for an update.

What triggered this post idea is the negative changes to the lounge at Billy Bishop. Basically they discontinued offering snacks and coffee. Compounding with Aeroplan no longer teaming up with Porter, that is why I delayed writing this post as I do not like writing about negatives. I also wanted to see if Porter would make any additional changes in the New Year before providing an updated rundown of the program. So here it is!

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Top Cash Back Credit Card Offers for January 2019

ByMatt

This is the first cash back list of the new year, so expect that most of the offers are carried over from 2018.

I must say, 2018 was an amazing year for cash back credit cards. Can they top it this year?

Personally, I still rather collect miles and points. So my hope is that the competitive cash back market is going to put pressure on partnerships with airlines and hotels to up their game. That being said, I feel slightly pessimistic about this hope because it does seem like the industry is going to continue to shift towards more cash back. Here’s hoping that I am wrong!

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Air Canada Completes Acquisition of Aeroplan

ByMatt

It’s official. Aimia (owner of Aeroplan) is now sold to Air Canada for approximately $497 million (Press releases: Air Canada, Aimia).

Deep down inside, I had still hoped that the deal would fall through, because I was excited for all the initiatives that Aeroplan was planning in my interview with their CEO, for life after Air Canada. I really wanted to see Aeroplan compete with Air Canada, as competition is usually a positive for consumers.

Rundown of WestJet Rewards (updated January 8, 2019)

ByMatt

In celebration of the newly added Platinum status to WestJet Rewards, I thought this post was due for proper overhaul to include more details regarding its rewards program overall.

There is actually a lot of value to be had with WestJet Rewards. However, my hope is that they will either expand more towards the Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan program or eventually join a major airline alliance. 

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Top Credit Card Higher than Normal Sign Up Bonuses for January 2019

ByMatt

We start the new year with many offers carrying over from 2018. It usually takes a few months before the new year gets going due to the carryovers. I ranked the credit cards by the price of the annual fees…

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My 2019 Predictions for the Miles and Points World

ByMatt

Back in 2016, I began a new tradition of trying to predict the rewards world. The first year was rough, but it got better (2017, 2016). Let’s see how I did this year and my predictions for the following year.

Happy New Year! 2019 Wish List

ByMatt

Happy New Year!!
A new year means a new wish list! Below is my 2019 wish list for the rewards world.
Note that I generally provide a mid-term report on Canada Day (July 1) and a final report on New Year’s Eve.
To be fair, all wishes need to be a win/win/win scenario for everyone involved in the transaction. This includes the rewards company, the retailer and the customer.

My Top 5 Miles and Points Addict Habits

ByMatt

I just wanted to put a disclaimer before I got this topic going. I’m not trying to brag or show off. But I do want to answer a frequent comment that I hear: “Matt, I don’t know how you do it” (i.e. the miles and points game).

You have probably seen lots of blogs posts and videos mentioning “top habits that rich people do or don’t do” lately. So I thought I’d write a post with a similar theme.

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Best Current First Year Fee Waived Cards for December 2018

ByMatt

Several promotions expired at the end of October, so there are quite a few changes and extensions this month.

Note that we also have two other types of monthly lists going on:

Top Cash Back Credit Card Offers
Top Higher than Normal Sign Up Bonus Offers