Originally Posted by
yvrgary
Still relatively new to the world of churn, wondering if anyone can point me in the right direction? Goal is to generate miles for Aeroplan Mini-RTW travel and/or to upgrade Cathay tickets on transpac flights.
Currently have the following (all Canadian).
- Amex Plat (used whenever possible) - got in Nov 2013
- Amex Gold (not used) - Got in April 2014
- TD Visa Infinite First Class (daily use - for places that don't take Amex) - had for years.
Income is about $80K, credit is in good shape.
Current plans are:
- Keep the Amex Plat until just before it renews, as it earns MR faster than the Gold based on my spending patterns.
- Drop the Amex Gold so I can churn it in December
- Transition the TD Infinite to the TD Aeroplan Infinite.
Questions:
- Am I better off dropping the Plat now, and keeping the Gold? Not sure if I'd churn the Plat based on the high fees and disappearing Cathay status, but if I renewed in December, use the 2014 and 2015 travel credits, it's basically buying 60,000 MR and hotel status for $299.
- Any reason not to switch TD cards?
- If I cancel either Amex card now, can I even churn it in December?
- Any other products I'm overlooking?
Thanks folks!
Hey YVRGary,
I was considering the Amex Platinum but the Gold suits me better. And I'm surprised that it's not more versatile for others.....
Two points for each dollar spent at drug, grocery and gas stores. After travel, my biggest expense is food. And I can pretty much fit the rest of my spending into stores that the above three have gift cards for. So I continue to earn two points for stores like LCBO, Beer Store, Toys R Us, Home Depot, Home hardware, Aeropostale, good restaurant choice, etc etc. Admittedly I have to be organized enough to anticipate those spending categories and often miss out because I don't have a gift card. But I try. And just use the next best card if I don't have a gift card.it only stings a bit
.
So if I were you, only knowing what you just said, I'd keep the platinum until renewal, since you've got it already. Use the gold card on gas, grocery and drug purchases. Experiment with the gift cards on the gold card and see if it earns you double points for the rest of your spending. And continue to use the platinum for purchases that are not covered. At the very least you could do your gas, grocery and drug purchases on the Amex Gold and everything else on the Platinum.
I agree about the Amex Aeroplan. It's an easy 30k. I haven't paid an annual fee yet. I think it's worth a few extra cc apps to earn the equivalent points. But I am starting to yearn for the status. I'm sure I can be easily swayed with some perks!