New Year’s Eve! Recap of 2015
I actually really enjoy writing up this post. Today, I am providing an assessment of my 2015 wish list that I provided at the first day of the new year. I already provided my Mid-Year Report on Canada Day. Below is the result of my full year’s report:
1) More transfer bonuses between programs
- This wish was granted in a big year. We saw multiple transfer/conversion bonuses throughout the year. RBC Avion offered multiple transfer bonuses: 25% to WestJet, 50% to Avios, 20% to Asia Miles and 30% to Avios. We also saw a revival of American Express Membership Rewards with its bonus of 25% to Avios.
Result: Success!
2) More incentive to retain a credit card beyond the first year fee waived
- As I mentioned in the mid-term report, this will always be a pipe dream. But I will continue to wish and hope for it, because I really believe that it is a great incentive to encourage people to retain their credit cards for a longer period of time.
Result: Fail
3) More co-branded credit cards
- In 2015, we saw the end of the Capital One Delta SkyMiles credit cards, MBNA More Rewards, and Capital One IHG Reward credit cards. But we didn’t see the introduction of any new co-branded credit cards. I am really hoping to see more airline and hotel co-branded credit cards on the market.
Result: Fail
4) More reward availability
- There is only so much that hotel and airlines can do, as more and more people get on board with loyalty programs, I actually expect less award availability as a result of demand and supply. I realize now that I probably shouldn’t have had too high of expectations on this factor.
Result: Neutral
5) Improved safety and security for travellers
- Wikipedia actually has a page that tracks all the aviation incidents. Unfortunately, 2015 was actually hit with quite a few incidents. Probably more than what we would like to see.
Result: Needs improvement