I was able to get my Equifax score for free a few years back, but had to sign up with a credit card for one free month, and then cancel. I am not sure if they still offer that deal, but it's a good way to get your score if you're interested...

RBC Avion to Avios Converstion promo
 

The 50% RBC Avions to BA Avios promotion will return June 1st - July 15th

That reminds me.. What's the general consensus on what's the better deal?

Amex&RBC-> Avios (1.5x promo on RBC, not sure if there's Amex promos?)
Amex->Aero (no more promos :() and RBC->AA (only 1.25x promos)

? I'm torn between Avios and AA... I'll be using it mostly for flights from YVR-ZRH so I can fly AA all the way by connecting through JFK (or CX for the awesome YVR-JFK plane)

(I live in YVR, my family in ZRH and I do the roundtrip once a year)

BA has worse award pricing than AA but better conversion value... Has anyone done the math on this or can tell me about some other factor I'm forgetting?

BA has fuel surcharges. AA has more carriers without fuel surcharges.

BA doesn't have fuel surcharges when flying/redeeming with AA though, AFAIK?

fuel surcharges still apply on AA when booking BA flights (and IB, but less than BA)

The recent devaluation of avios ( on April 28th) is making Visa BA less appealing. And the bonus offered is light, too.

Avios was only hammered at the mid to top range. The best value, the 4,500 mile short haul (and its less desirable cousin, the 7,500 mile slightly longer haul) are alive and well, and even their business class version is unchanged. I've never redeemed Avios for anything larger (well... once, HKG-KIX in F just for the hell of it), but the best value remains those two.

Whats the deal with the Amex Business gold card? 40k points with a referral? This still alive?

yes it is, here is the info from the general refer-a-friend page:

https://www.americanexpress.com/cana...GoldRewardCard

Yeah it's still around. Please get a referral from a member (or self) so that at least someone benefits :)

As others said, it's 40K WITH referral, 30K without referral signup
or self-refer if you already own AMEX Gold or Plat

Applied (online)and approved for CIBC Aerogold Business Visa (FYF, 20,000 aeroplan points). While I do have a legitimate small business, agent only inquired about my annual salary from my job. Agent approved application after verification.

For my next churn I am looking at the Chase Marriott, the TD Aeroplan Infinite and the Amex SPG. Fingers crossed, the 3 will go through in 1 day.

Looking for input from experienced churners here on the forum:

- should I do this as soon as credit score goes up, or wait a few days (how many) after score increase?

- should I do them in a particular order?

- is there a difference in success rate between application sites? (RFD, GCR, direct with institution)

- if an application gets denied on one site, proceed to resubmit on the other site or let be for 90 days?

I'd love to hear some official inputs on this as well, but I don't think anybody really knows for sure

Heck, if I were you, I'd do all 3 in 1 day and see if that reduces a credit check somehow