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.

Ottawa (YOW) Miles and Points Meet up on August 27, 2017

ByMatt

Our friend from Points Miles and Bling is once again hosting the popular Ottawa Miles and Points meetup, this time at the Andaz Ottawa, on Sunday, August 27th, 2017 from 7:30pm – 9:30pm. Please remember to RSVP!

Why YOW?

The Ottawa points and miles community has become a close knit group of 30 odd passionate travellers, and always looking to grow. Join us if you love learned the tips of tricks of various topics, including:

[FAQ] Travel Insurance with Credit Cards

ByMatt

Today, we feature a special Pointshogger contributor, Luc Hamelin, who has been an Aeroplan member since the program was launched in 1984. He has learned through travel experience that reading the fine prints on travel documents can make a huge difference in outcomes and expectations. Recently, the focus of his interest has been on travel insurance associated with Canadian credit cards. He is not an insurance professional. Hopefully this FAQ for travellers will serve as an eye-opener. Bon voyage!

The information provided is for educational purposes only. It should should not be relied upon and is not a substitute for careful review of insurance policies or consultation with qualified professionals.

Two Airports Pay Millions for Longer Wait Times

ByMatt

CBC published an article about how wait times for passengers at airport security have grown so long that at least two major airports (Toronto and Vancouver) are paying millions of dollars for extra officers to help reduce the lineups. The article goes on to say that the current Canadian government cut another $10 million to the passenger screening budget.

Basically, what I am understanding is that either the government has to pay for extra security, or the airports need to pay the government to hire extra security. 

Marriott #RewardsPoints and Redeem on Mobile App

ByMatt

Marriott Rewards changing its #MRPoints program to #RewardsPoints. I think maybe this is another move towards integrating Ritz-Carleton and SPG into one rewards program. They may not longer want to only refer to their program as Marriott Rewards?

Social Media

The good news is that you can now earn even more points through social media. In the past, the earning potential was 2,500 points per year. The new potential is 45,000 points per year for engaging on social media.

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

ByMatt

Another month, another Top Credit Card Higher than Normal Sign Up Bonuses list. Keep in mind that I have been combining personal and business cards onto the same list.

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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My Updated Credit Card Portfolio

ByMatt

This question of which credit card do I have in my wallet seems to be asked fairly often. So I thought I would share my updated portfolio from last time. I generally try to shake up my batch of credit cards every 3 months, which coincides with the previous post.

Last time, I mentioned that I wanted to keep my portfolio, but it was due for an expansion.

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Best Current First Year Fee Waived Cards for July 2017

ByMatt

Below is a list of the best first year fee waived offers on the market.

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