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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American Express Membership Rewards 25% Avios Transfer Bonus

ByMatt

It has been 18 months since the last time we saw an American Express Membership Rewards transfer bonus to British Airways’ Executive Club. Personally, I thought that we would never see a transfer bonus like this again from American Express, so I was pleasantly surprised to see a 25% transfer bonus. 

Transfer bonuses are my favourite way to boost my loyalty accounts. 

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List of Airline Alliances (updated September 10, 2017)

ByMatt

Airline alliances frequently change their members. This list was due for an update from last time. Most significantly, I added two regional airline alliances: U-Fly Alliance and Value Alliance. 

Personal Airline Alliance Portfolio

As usual, a quick recap of my personal portfolio. Basically, I have at least one core frequent flyer program per airline alliance that I can bank all my miles to on paid flights. Most of my personal trips have been on reward flights, which is why you may not see me utilizing many different programs.

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Ranking the Credit Card Portfolios of Each Canadian Financial Institutions (updated September 8, 2017)

ByMatt

It has been 4 months since the last time I updated this list, so it is probably due for an update (especially since we are adding a new company to the list!) as we approach the last third of the year. Last year was a strong year for credit cards, so I anticipated a slow year in 2017.

I always have fun ranking the credit card companies out there. It helps me get an idea on which companies are making progress and which ones are regressing.

143 million Equifax Consumers Cyberattacked

ByMatt

Equifax announced that approximately 143 million U.S. consumers, as well as some Canadians had their personal information hacked. The announcement only hit the news today, but the cyberattack occurred between mid-May 2017 and July 2017. 

That is an outrageous number of people, that is almost half of the United States population, granted some of them include businesses. This still sounds very scary. I usually suggest checking your credit information once per year, especially if you get declined a few credit cards in a row. Furthermore, identify theft is also a growing concern. 

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Top Credit Card Higher than Normal Sign Up Bonuses for September 2017

ByMatt

Another month, another top list. Note that this list only mentions the higher than normal sign up bonuses. You can also check out the top credit cards by category on the drop down menu on our main.

We also have two other types of monthly lists going on:

Top Cash Back Credit Card Offers
Best Current First Year Fee Waived Cards

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[DISCONTINUED] Chase Marriott – Discontinuation Confirmed

ByMatt

I wrote a post earlier today about the Chase Marriott Rewards Premier Visa possibly discontinued. According to my contacts at Marriott International Canada, effective September 5th, 2017, no new customer applications are being accepted into the credit card program, but existing card members will continue to be serviced. Note that this only applies to applications in Canada and does not impact the US program.

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[DISCONTINUED] Chase Marriott Rewards Premier Visa Discontinued?

ByMatt

I was hoping that this is just a temporary glitch, but all the Chase Marriott Rewards Premier Visa links are broken. 

I called Chase Canada customer service to confirm what was going on and they said that they are “no longer offering the Chase Marriott credit card for the moment”. When I asked what she meant by “for the moment”, she said it may or may not come back, but I would need to ask Marriott Rewards to find out.