4% or More Cash Back Options
I have said this for a while now, with the way things are going (clamping down on churning), cash back credit cards become more valuable.
American Express (AMEX)
American Express (AMEX) | Bank of Montreal (BMO) | Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC) | Canadian Tire | Capital One | Chase Canada (Discontinued) | Desjardins | HSBC | Laurentian Bank | MBNA | National Bank | President's Choice Financial (PC Financial) | Rogers Bank | Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) | Scotiabank | Tangerine | Toronto Dominion (TD) | Walmart Financial
Ranking the Credit Card Portfolios of Each Canadian Financial Institutions (updated April 1, 2016)
I will be looking to update this list every time I see some significant movement in the industry. This is the third time that this is being updated (February and March).
American Express (AMEX) | British Airways (Executive Club - Avios) | Membership Rewards (American Express)
Last Day of the American Express Transfer Bonus to British Airways
Today (March 28, 2016) is the last day to receive the 25% transfer bonus between American Express Membership Rewards and British Airways Executive Club (Canadian offer only).
Building a Credit Card Portfolio (around $5,000 spending per month)
For the people who fall under this category of monthly spending ($5,000 or more), more than likely they are frequent travellers. So I will be going with the following monthly spending breakdown:
American Express Referral Sign Up Bonus Increases
Finally some good news coming out of American Express. It does not completely make up for changing the rule to once-in-a-life-time sign up bonus and decreasing the number of credit cards that qualify for a referral bonus, but it does take some sting out of the hit.
American Express (AMEX) | Bank of Montreal (BMO) | Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC) | Capital One | Chase Canada (Discontinued) | MBNA | National Bank | Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) | Scotiabank | Toronto Dominion (TD)
Best Credit Card for Each Financial Institution (March 13, 2016)
I have written posts ranking each financial institution, but I thought it would be fun to write a post listing the top 1 credit card per institution. I have listed the credit cards based on the most recent financial institution rankings. Maybe one day I will list the top credit cards, but it highly depends on a person’s needs, so it is very subjective.
Which Credit Cards I Would Keep Beyond the First Year Fee
If churning came to an end tomorrow, because all banks completely shut it down, then we will need to decide which credit cards we would want to retain over the medium and possibly long term.
The Top Credit Card Spending Bonuses (updated March 10, 2016)
It has been just over a year since I last updated this list. With a few cancellations and changes since, I thought I’d give this list a nice little update. I find that spending bonuses are very valuable, because it rewards big spenders with a benefit that helps offset an annual fee, which will reduce the urge for churning. Personally, I would actually like to see a lot more of these types of incentives with more credit cards.
American Express (AMEX) | Best Western (Best Western Rewards) | Chase Canada (Discontinued) | Marriott Hotels & Resorts (Marriott Bonvoy) | MBNA | Starwood Preferred Guest (Merged with Marriott Bonvoy)
Hotel Co-Branded Credit Cards Market Wide Open
It is very slim pickings for co-branded hotel loyalty program credit cards in Canada. These are only 4 credit cards left to choose from. This also means that the market is completely wide open. Unfortunately, the weak Canadian dollar is really not helping the potential for a hotel rewards program to want to enter the Canadian market.
American Express (AMEX) | Bank of Montreal (BMO) | Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC) | Chase Canada (Discontinued) | MBNA | National Bank
Top Credit Card Sign Up Bonuses for March 2016
The beginning of January started off pretty week, and things started to pick up as the month went on. Below are the top current higher than normal credit card sign up bonus offers to watch out for. As a result, February’s list looks a lot more promising with a few more choices.