jerry305

I don't think the value of anything has doubled, though.

The previous earning was 1.9%. The new earning will be 2%.

They'll double the number of points you have, but I'm pretty sure that 100 old points would've got you $1.90 of value, but those same 100 points will become 200 points, which will be worth $2.00.

jerryhung

Thank you, for another card to add to my collection (for 1 year)

Woofy

You are probably right... I reread the letter last night and realized that they really just made the rewards points easier to understand now, and throw in a additional 0.1% towards travel redemption.

Oh well... at least we get free additional cards now.

jerry305

BMO phone reps told me today that they're only offering the 15,000 point bonus. However, the 20,000 point bonus offer remains active on the BMO website.

This promo will definitely end August 31, because that's the date that BMO converts to new points system, and doubles everyone's existing points balances. Even if the 20,000 were to continue, 20,000 then is worth much less than 20,000 before the end of August.

I don't 100% guarantee whether BMO will award the 20,000 without some prodding, but the offer's there, on their website. $400 credit on travel, $150 annual fee. Also, the $400 credit is $400 off against a larger purchase, which is a lot easier to use than Capital One's "any purchase up to $XXX" deal.

If you're looking for a good signup bonus, this is hard to beat.

jerry305

User durberville reports on the Milesbuzz! Canada thread that he/she had originally taken the 15,000 point offer, and was able to get a phone rep to add 5,000 points to the account.

If you also took the 15,000 offer, be sure to call before August 31! The 20,000 point offer is likely to end on or before that date.

Post:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/21336250-post110.html

Full Milesbuzz! Canada thread:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/miles...-canada-8.html

jerryhung

Or.... BMO could offer even better offers after 8/31, so hard to say

I've applied too many "free" CC in the last few weeks (CIBC Aerogold #2, MBNA Alaska Air with GCR $75 cashback), so will skip this one for now to not speculate

Let's hope for a 1st year free, 20K offer, after 8/31 one can hope right...

jerry305

Fair enough. If any of us knew for sure what banks were going to do, we would be rich. And not posting on FT.

The 20,000 point ($400) offer is only available online. For a $150 annual fee card, that's the best award bonus on a Visa or MasterCard that I know of. Since the phone reps have been told that offer is no longer available, and BMO just bumped up the earn rate, my guess is that they're not going to increase the signup bonus.

Here's hoping that I'm wrong, and that a credit card bonus war is on the horizon.

Eracine

My experience with it only dates back to when it was originally introduced (so it was what, about 2-3 years ago).

I think you could select between Y/J cabins and it definitely supported the major airlines; what I mostly recall (not surprisingly) was that their travel site occasionally spitted itineraries containing more segments than usual. Not necessarily a bad thing for MRs, yet somewhat surprising when a simple search between major cities results in a 5-6 segment trip.

The part I disliked the most was that you had to book through their website in order to redeem your points. You could also call their TAs, but then had to pay extra fees. Their search engine did not provide the same flexibility as other tools we've come to use (for example, one couldn't search for hotels with a corporate rate #), so the final price was invariably higher - which reduced the actual point value and benefit.

It may have been possible to book something on your own and then redeem points after the fact, but then you had to call and argue. This was too much of a hassle, so I didn't renew. If things have changed since then and they now allow greater flexibility in redeeming points, then I may reconsider BMO again (especially with a 20K offer that may soon turn to 40K; tick, tick, tick...).

Tshoobaka

Hey I've worked at BMO and i still bank with BMO but I can tell you that it's probably the worst rewards card out there. I dont even know what travel agency takes care of their travel, I think its Carlson which I'm not a fan of.
It also depends what you're looking for. From what I read you value airport lounges a LOT.
I personally have the Amex Gold with Scotiabank. Service over the phone is awful for bookings and I regret switching from the Visa Gold with Scotia.

If you're looking for
Best bargain : RBC Rewards
Best flexibility of points with a nice service : Scotia VISA Gold
Best flexibility with airport lounges benefits : Scotia AMEX Gold

Oh and Scotia includes you a nice Concierge service, the best insurance out there and a 5% cashback on air, cruise, package bookings made throught the Visa.

Might seem like im patronizing Scotia VS BMO but I'm not, I'm still loyal to my
bank but they need to get their airmiles in order, the redemption isnt fun.

AMEX Gold was sort of a new program so they had like 30K points which are 300$ but I think its down now.
But to be honest "being able to pay taxes" is the most normal thing nowadays and thats why it's not a bog surprise to me.
Double-check RBC I cant remember exactly how they work but feel free to message me if you have amex/visa gold questions

drwilliams

I cannot compare this card to a Scotiabank card, but my experience with booking through BMO using points has been relatively simple.

Log in

Search for hotels or flights

Select

Book

I do not see it being difficult at all. And at effectively 2% back now it is a pretty good deal I think.

92redragtop

BMO started waiving the fee for the first year (not sure how long this promo is on for)

http://www.bmo.com/home/personal/ban...ite-mastercard

jerryhung

Wow, this is getting crazy, so many GOOD FYF promos last 30 days
AMEX Gold 25K
AMEX AP Gold 30K
MBNA Alaska $75 - $75 GCR rebate
CIBC Aerogold
now BMO

92redragtop

Yes! Got in on the Amex AE offer recently and also got the 40K BMO WE offer (20Ksignup bonus if account opened before Aug 31st) and then got the fee waived yesterday.

I think with the TD/CIBC AE upheaval and confusion there are going to be a lot of competitive offers to win cardholders who are in play. TD has been active buying up credit card portfolios for a couple years now so I'm curious to see what they come up with to retain and also signup new customers when the dust finally settles.

lily23

I've got all of the above except the MBNA alaska and BMO card...I've already done 3 cards this month, so I'm thinking I should maybe just get one more and then wait a bit for the next batch - any thoughts on whether to go for the MBNA or the BMO? Never banked with BMO so can't comment on how easy it is to use their points.

Thanks for any advice! =)

jerry305

The first-year-free BMO World Elite offer is hard to beat. Using the points appears to be straightforward. Note the income requirement for individuals or households.