Originally Posted by Shareholder

Remember, AMEX is a Charge Card that requires full repayment each month. TD and CIBC Visas are Credit Cards, so balances can be carried (though not sure how many premium cardholders don't pay off their balance each month). AC/Aeroplan originally had AMEX as its Charge Card partner, and CIBC Visa as its Credit Card partner. When CIBC renewed its partnership first time around, it insisted that AMEX no longer allow Membership Rewards earned with its Platinum Credit Card (Optima) to be transferrable for Aeroplan miles. When the Credit Card partnership came up for renewal, Aeroplan opened it up and TD made a better offer than CIBC. Ultimately, TD agreed that rather than a sole Credit Card partner, Aeroplan could keep CIBC but only for those Visa cardholders who had other accounts with the bank. AMEX has had a long relationship with AC, so managed to get Aeroplan to agree to having a Charge Card partner in addition to a Credit Card partner. I don't see this changing ever with the more direct VISA involvement.

What isn't clear to me is just how the TD/CIBC/VISA involvement in the purchase will work if Aeroplan returns to being an AC division? If these three are putting up dollars towards the buy-back then they'd have some form of equity in the unit, which would be through AC. Unless their involvement is only to backstop the unredeemed mileage liability, and AC's putting up the actual cash. Or they're lending AC much of the money to do the buy-back.