BOO BOO BOO BOO
What is going on in Canadian CC ?
MBNA is TD, Chase is Scotia
Tangerine is Scotia
Where are the davids in this world for competing on offering value against the goliaths?

How would they keep VISA without:
Oh I am so mad at Chase right now.

Milesbuzz: Canada
 

Right everyone panic.....

Highly skilled center? Seriously?

We barely used our Amazon.ca card yet they let a one way, few days out AC booking for 3 fraudsters to the middle east pass. $4700!!!!

But I hope they don't kill the no forex feature. Given the oligopoly of our banks I'm not hopeful.

The lack of a forex fee is the only reason I have the Amazon.ca Visa card....I will watch for changes, and I'm anticipating they will come before long.

On the other hand, I was so impressed with the way TDCanadaTrust handled my cancelling their First Class Visa card, it almost makes me want to get another of their cards to thank them for their good service ;)

I may be in the market for a new Visa card, it seems.

And to add insult to injury, the chance of a dreamed about Chase Canada United Airlines card is now pretty much nil.

CIBC sure make a fuss when you try to cancel a card, at least in my wife's case anyway.

Shop.ca 3000 points just showed up from the TD offer :)

After how long

Milesbuzz: Canada
 

Came up this morning. I purchased the items when the deal went live (3rd Sept)

Hoping some seasoned veterans can help me out here.

My current main card is the ScotiaBank Momentum Infinite VISA. Love the 4% return on groceries/gas, 2% on bills, and travel insurance is decent. Before this, I had the AMEX Platinum and LOVED IT(!) however the $699/year was a hard pill to swallow.

However, I moved to a new job where travelling is required and it's a reimbursement process, so I'm looking to maximize my personal return. So I need one with great travel insurance, good ratio on airline tickets primarily, and low/moderate annual fee.

I'm not picky on aligning myself to a bank but I don't like being limited to a certain alliance/airline so something with Aeroplan/WestJet are out. I wouldn't say no to Air Miles as I had good redemption through them before.

I did my due diligence and I found the following to fit me but I'm open to better cards or helping me pick which of the ones I gathered works best:

- SPG Amex: Love it because I love the Starwood product line and I have Gold with them. However it's 1:$1 ratio and might take a while to get some perks back.

- Marriott Rewards VISA by Chase: Love it because it has no added ForEx fee but I don't use the Marriott product line. Have no experience with them.

- AMEX Gold: Bread & butter with 2:$1 ratio for travel/gas, which will be the primary uses for the card but the $150/yr annual is on the high side. I *think* the insurance is up-to-par with the Scotia VISA I already own

- CapOne Aspire World Elite: 2:$1 on everything and bonus points galore. Unfamiliar with the CapitalOne redemption system though.

CapitalOne's redemption system is very easy. Every point is worth 1 cent (so the return is 2 cents on the dollar), and you can claim it against pretty much any travel purchase you make with the card, anywhere. The way it works is you buy your travel first, and as soon as it posts on your card, you can redeem points against that purchase to reduce the amount of the purchase. There are no minimums and you can make partial redemptions.

A combination of cards is a good choice. TD First Class Visa Infinite gives 4.5% CB on hotels AND flights. Downside is having to deal with Expedia CS and book through the Expedia portal, but I do that with >100 flights per year and it's been worth it for the savings. Good insurance coverage as well.

And then an Amex of your choosing. Either Plat for it's many associated perks, or the SPG for earning. The numbers only you can crunch.

Why dismiss Aeroplan so quickly? Sure it's far from perfect but it's easy to rack up a few hundred thousand miles with card churns. I've got some redemptions that are 8-10c a mile for J and F. You can also rack up MR miles even easier and instant transfer to AP if needed. I think using MR against travel is like a measly 1%?

I used the Aspire card when I needed to divert spend from AP cards, it's good at 2%.

I too have gotten some excellent returns using Aeroplan points for first class tickets to and from Europe, and I'd still be a supporter if it weren't for Rouge......that alone has devalued the points in my opinion. I'll still use them when I can for first class mainline travel, but it kills me to use them for the much lower value of flying Rouge. So I switched to Membership Rewards.

Same here, I have a LOT of MR thanks to the BizGold 55,000 per card. I have to admit they will probably end up at AP at some point. Avios isn't great for the long hauls we are doing lately. But plans might change.