dragon888

I was just surveyed by Burak Johnson a research company for CIBC aerogold visa. They are gearing up to increase their business at the expense of AE Platinum Plus. AE is increasing their annual fee to $500. I will not renew it. They will offer 1.5 points for every dollar spent and give you guaranteed seat access on AC.
I sense some changes in Aeroplan from talking to the surveyor. They are (surprise) going to increase the points necessary to get classic/avenue seats and may have a fluctuating daily market price for seats. Normally the seats will go for a premium but once in a blue moon you can get a seat at LESS than the daily market price.
OK I know some of this is nonsensical but I couldn't make notes fast enough. Other forum members will have taken the survey and can report more accurately on events. To get more info dial 1 800 570 2657 and try to get Mark Grant to run the survey for you

eleonas

Are you saying the Aerogold Visa will offer 1.5 points per $1 spent going forward?

If so - it would confirm my thoughts that CIBC will not actually introduce a new card, just boost the offering on the current Aerogold Visa.

They are really trying to move it out the door these days, the 10,000 bonus signup is apparently going to be an ongoing first time user incentive (used to be 5k).

This is really a staple product for CIBC and counts for almost 20% of their bottom line (which is huge on the retail side of things). Another interesting thing to note is that more than half of people carrying an Aerogold card have no other products with CIBC. I can't really understand that much, as they are an excellent bank. Just goes to show you though - if CIBC screws this card up, ever, they are in for some big trouble (probably why they introduced the Aventura card in hopes of reducing their reliance on aeroplan).

why fly

They might have got the new card as people bailed from the Aerogold card because they cant get seats on the plane..

painintheuk

$500 for a gold card! I definitely won't be paying that unless benefits are wildly increased. A guaranteed seat is of no interest to a whole lot of customers. I agree that they would be mad to mess with such a successful product.

Dr. PITUK

Ben Lipsey

I was under the impression that the OP was referring to the AMEX Plat's new fees ($499) not the new CIBC card...

DanJ

That's how I took it too. AE=Amex, not AE the shortform for Aeroplan. But I wasn't clear whether the 1.5 points per dollar or the guaranteed seat on AC was part of the Amex card or what the surveyor was saying for the CIBC card.

AnselmAdorne

Very interesting post, eleonas. I'm one of those who use the Aerogold card exclusively but do all of my banking with another company. I'll be extremely interested in the coming changes.

painintheuk

Oops - my bad . Thanks for the clarification. So now I read it as 'I will now get more points, possibly at the same time as the points are worth less'. Unfortunately my points are mostly earned by flying right now. Strange, I know .

Thanks,

Dr. PITUK

jral

this sure doesn't jive with the requirements of all their STAR partners, does it?

Cdnroadie

My question is, what would a survey company for a bank know about what changes Aeroplan is making .... The two companies are not related (i.e. the Bank and Aeroplan) and would be making their own independent decisions. so I'm not sure I follow.

Thanks

Tractor Boy

This sounds like the new dynamic rewards to be introduced at some point in the next 60 days (search under dynamic rewards and you will find lots of threads). AE has announced that avenue awards are disappearing and will be replaced by "unlimited" dynamic rewards - the cost of which will depend on the load of the specific flight you are looking at - ie if Tango seats are available it might be 150% points, if Lat Plus is all that's left it may be 300%.

Shareholder

CIBC has been polling with optional schemes for AeroGold for years, so there is little new here. As noted, what is asked in a survey is not often what is offered as a final product. If CIBC is enhancing the product, it will have to trump Amex's Plat product in not only price, but benefits. This means adding the MLL feature as well as upping the earning to at least 1.25, possibly to 1.5 though even Amex is backing down on this one.

As for "guaranteed seat" do you mean for revenue bookings, or awards. You go on to talk about awards for AE redemption, which again is nothing new because AE has announced its "Dynamic" awards several times but not yet unveiled them. (I am not sure we will see them for STAR awards, just AC ones. As noted, STAR would require considerable negotiation with dozens of carriers, and offering something even those carriers don't offer their own elites.) Be prepared to really get soaked for "anytime" AC seats.

All in all, nothing new in this thread...in fact, we've been reading the same thing for years.

mikeyyz

it's a little late to be surveying, I thought they were releasing the new product within days!

and CIBC being a good bank? Yikes, if you like Web banking or say, going to the bank after 5pm, I can't imagine using CIBC. (I love being able with one login being able to access several personal and business accounts with TD, or going to the branch at 7:30pm)

Plus the branches are generally so gross! I'm definately an Aerogold-only customer, and that switched to my backup card once I got my AX Plat.

anti_ice

I am the same way with CIBC...I have my main chequing account with CIBC only because I have had it since I was a teenager. They haven't offered it for a long time and any accounts they do offer now don't come close. If they ever try to change my account terms, I'd be totally out.

eleonas

Not to get too far off topic, but my experience with CIBC has been nothing but positive. I agree, the hours are not as good as TD - but many branches are open on weekends and that works just fine for me.

Also, through my CIBC online banking I can see my mortgage, CIBC Aerogold, Line of Credit, all bank accounts and investors edge accounts. Everything is integrated - I have used RBC, TD and BMO and I found CIBC's web banking to be the best.

I think every bank has their pros and cons ...