heraclitus - Where did you see an offer for this card at FYF?? Was it targetted??

Shoppers Optimum points:

As with all things points, there always seems to be something new to learn and take advantage of. Tomorrow is a 20 x points day for Shoppers Optimum.

It's not really for travel since SDM points are only redeemable for SDM products, but if you do mental accounting Shoppers points leads to some serious savings that you can allocate to travel.

First off, if you buy a Shoppers gift card, you earn 10 points /$1 on that purchase. When you later redeem that gift card, you earn 10 points /$1 again. AND you can purchase other merchant gift cards with that Shoppers gift card. I did a test run today and loaded $200 on a Shoppers reloadable card (no fees). Instantly I was able to buy a Beer Store cash card and $7 of stuff with a great sale price at SDM. I loaded so much because I am hitting the store tomorrow for 20X. I paid with my Amex Gold MR at 2 points / $ and earned another 2000 SDM points plus another x10 /$ for my small spending today.

SDM has a HUGE selection of merchant gift cards.... Much better than the grocery store. and your Amex Gold earns double points.... For Beer store, LCBO, Home Depot, Canadian Tire, Home Hardware, Rona, Staples, Indigo, all kinds of clothing stores, and restaurants etc etc....

.... So you can earn double Amex MR points and double SDM points.

Who cares about SDM, you ask? They're worth more than you'd think once you think about it:

If you double up on SDM points using their gift card trick and you shop on the 20x Saturdays and you stick to sale items it takes a minimum of $435 of regular targeted spend at Shoppers to earn $170 of rewards (95,000 point redemption for Shoppers products only ... Does not include gift cards sadly).

And this does not account for redeeming those points on the premium redemption days! It's an even better return if you strategically redeem.

You can pay for scripts with the gift cards and still earn points. SDM has some great sale items as well as regularly great priced items like eggs and milk. I looked at the flyer today and easily came up with a quick list of great deals that put me over the $50 spend to get the 20x multiplier.

I've added in Shoppers Optimum to my hacking arsenal. I just need to see how good I am at mental accounting!

NJD

P.S. Don't judge me for the Beer card. That was for DH. I'm an LCBO kind of girl.

I should show my math for correction, since it's actually better than $435 spend. I calculated it based on buying a $400 gift card to redeem on the 20X days.

10 points / $1 spend on gift card purchase amount
10 points / $1 spend using gift card for purchase

95,000 points = $170 standard redemption

Example
$400 gift card = 4,000 points
$400 spend using gift card = 4,000

95,000 - 8,000 = 87,000 points
$435 spend on 20x the 10 points / $1 days = 87,000 points

So... It's actually a lower spend but I don't want to redo the math for the extra $35 difference.

Feel free to correct me. I should have double checked my math before hitting the libations and posting this!

they've had a long running promo where if you bring in a competitor's VISA Infinite they'll give 15K points + FYF on their Avion Infinite card.

regarding Shoppers, once earlier this year, i went in to try to use a Shoppers GC to buy another GC from their stack (Esso i think), and they wouldnt let me. I actually went to grab a GC to check, and it really did say on the back, that you can not purchase gift cards with shoppers gift cards. I simply went to a different Shoppers and they were fine with it.

it was a new thing back then, because the Shoppers GCs i had bought from Shell (was when i was double dipping Air Miles and Aeroplan at the same time) didnt say that. i dont know if the current GCs have that printed on the back, but you may want to double check that!

Thanks. Yes I knew of this promo - but is it still alive? Has anyone tried it lately?

I got it in May and it was still on. i think i saw someone on RFD since then get it too. Admittedly this may not be as "lately" as you hoped for :p

Thanks for the info.

I regularly receive this offer in the mail and from my banker, but I do almost all of my banking with RBC so that probably has something to do with it.

Thanks for the info.

So I called Amex seeing if they would upgrade my gold to platinum without a credit check and get the 50,000 points (didn't happen). However, I was talking to the rep asking if there is anything to replace the huge loss of the Marco Polo benefit. He indicated that there is something big in the works with Aeroplan. He said that is all he has heard. The first thing I thought of was Star Alliance Gold status. Wouldn't that be nice? But who knows what he really knows.

In my opinion, Amex is becoming only good for sign-up bonuses in most cases (although the Plat card benefits can be beneficial), especially now that I don't need it for Costco anymore. Until I need points, I'm changing my spend to money back cards for travel - Capital One my case.

Why dont you do a self referral get the referal Bonus 15000 points and the The Platinum bonus 60000points. ( after $1000 spend in 3 months. )

I think OP wants to avoid the credit check.

I'm really thinking that this worldwide maple leaf lounge access that shows up in the lounge search for the Plat card, yet is supposedly incorrect, could be an upcoming offering.

Hopefully it isn't as it's both a serious downgrade from CX gold as well as a garbage product to begin with. Even for those without status (and *a gold is so easy to attain anyways) this benefit would barely be worth anything and most importantly is even more likely to be valued at 0 by plat's more valuable customers.

that would be very cool.

*G isn't THAT easy to get, now that A3 closed their loophole last month. But it's a really good perk: Domestic and international lounge access for you and a guest.

I have CX Diamond and MLL Worldwide through Amex, and I must disagree with this generalization. The MLL Worldwide I have used many times for priority checkin and lounge access. CX Diamond a couple of times.

It may be worth zero for some Amex customers, but I consider myself a valuable customer (amex may disagree ;) )and I assign decent value to it.

Bonaventure was referred to "access to Maple Leaf Lounges" when he said "valued at zero". :-)

OK, I find more value in MLL access than CX Diamond. To say MLL access has no value is just not true for many people, myself included.

To call it a garbage product is also untrue.

*G would be a benefit that would put AMEX way ahead of the game. It would be a net loss for me, since that means losing out on AA lounge access when flying AA domestically, and I already have *G status.

But for 99% of people, this would be a benefit. Very few people fly AA or CX or OW in Canada. Unless Westjet is going to join OW, which I don't see happening anytime soon.

Just noticed that GCR pulled the MBNA alaska card link.. :-(

Oops, I just saw that this has already been mentioned on the Alaska Airlines forum in the thread Alaska Airlines Canadian MasterCard. Sorry.

Can anybody confirm that they will actually pull another credit check if you already have an active AMEX?

yes, they've been pulling for each new card app for me, even tho i put down my existing amex/account

This was posted in the "Churning Amex in Canada" thread, but Amex is now offering their Amex Business Gold card ($250/year, FYF, 30K MR after $5000 spending (or 40K via referrafl). Perhaps it's worth adding to the Wiki?

Done...added.

Wee, here goes the business card gravy train. I'm tempted to get a few but I'm terrified to book travel on anything other than my Platinum card... I want my ridiculous insurance, after getting burned a few times.

I edited the Churning AMEX Wiki

Not sure if we need 2 AMEX threads/discussions (this one and that AMEX)
but no harm, since I'm sure not many people even read the Wiki at the top

I called RBC today and asked about this promo. I have a CIBC Aerogold Visa Infinite and she checked some list and said yes, that this promo was still on and that my card was one of the qualifying cards. She said I'd get one year free, 15k points BUT it is another credit pull and I'm trying to be careful about which ones I do for the next year. Apparently the TD Aeroplan Infinite does NOT qualify but the TD First Class Infinite does qualify. That's all I know so far.

So just to update, the promo for RBC to waive the first year fee on their Visa Infinite Avion is still on.

What are the main benefits of the platinum insurance vs the business card insurance?

Hmmmm....I just may do this. I've been considering getting the Avion card to replace my CIBC Aeroplan Visa, and getting the FYF is cool! Do you know if there is an expiry for this promo? I still have several months without a fee on my CIBC Aeroplan Visa and I may wait a bit...

The RBC branch manager said it's an ongoing offer but I don't know for how long. I'd think til the end of the year, but who knows
I still have until March 31 on my CIBC Aerogold Infinite too but it's a card that I do not plan to let go of as it's the only card I have that covers Aeroplan reward tickets. I've had it for a long time to so don't want to get rid of it. I just want the Avion points. I was told I could switch my US Dollars Gold Visa at RBC to their Infinite to avoid a credit hit, if approved. However, to make up for that, I want to open up a RBC US account stateside (I have a US savings at RBC Canada but will close it and open one stateside) and then get the free Visa Signature Black Stateside which has excellent benefits and still gives me a US card. They use your Canadian credit for this. The manager at my branch said that it can all be done with one credit hit because the Stateside RBC will require a credit hit but they won't do another one in Canada to switch my cards, if that makes sense.
I am going to wait as I want to get the Amex Biz Gold, Amex Airmiles Plat and Chase Marriott cards now. I'm hoping if I do all 3 applications at one, the Amex will both hit TU credit bureau and the Chase Marriott the Equifax and it will look like one or 2 hits max. Apparently, charge cards make less of a dent on credit scores than credit cards so the Chase and RBC would effect my credit more.

I think you'll like the Air Miles Plat. With the referral, you'll get 2100 AM which will get you over $200 in GC. I'm using some of my Keg GC next week in YYZ! Don't waste your time on flight redemptions. Too complicated, and little value. Let Amex pay for your baseball steak instead!

I'm gonna have to sit out the Amex Biz Gold promo. $5K is too steep for me.

Really? I'd hoped that Airmiles had decent flight redemptions. There are no sweet spots? What about for hotels? I've never used it before but have about 4k airmiles already that I wanted to boost up to actually use for something good. Maybe I should forgo the Amex Airmiles Plat and just use up the miles I have and concentrate on better programs.
I'd even considered getting the BMO Airmiles card for the bonus and 25% less airmles redemption despite the $99 fee when I actually went to use them. I thought the Amex Airmiles plat was only 1500 miles, 2000 is even better and 2100 with referral.
If the program is that bad, then I don't think I'll do it.
I have to spend 5k on the Amex Biz Plat and then $500 on the Airmiles and forget what o the Chase. This will be a hard churn, maybe too hard.

Sweet spot on Air Miles is remote communities with ridiculously high regular airfares.

i would say AM is decent, even on short haul between Canadian cities

the one we use the most is YWG-YYZ for my parents. 2000 AM + $125 in taxes/fees vs $500 (often even more, especially recently) cash ticket is 19 cents per mile

sure, it means going out of your way to earn them with CC is not great, but a offer where you get FYF + sign up bonus is still worth nearly $400, which is acceptable for us every now and then (when other options are limited)

Get the Chase for sure, as you get the bonus after first purchase, any amount. As for the AM Plat, $500 is also an easy spend, for over $200 value. You get 500 AM for the referral and 1600 more for the bonus. The 5K though is very steep. Tough to MS that in Canada.

I think you have to pay for your ticket with the card, but I'll have to check on that.

My mistake, that's wrong. You just have to book your ticket using your Westjet ID that your RBC World Elite MC is attached to in order to receive the first checked bag free.

C

best credit card available to Canadians for U.S. travel
 

With the Canadian dollar getting weaker,we are looking to minimize the exchange fee on our credit card when travelling in the U.S. At the same time, we want our Aeroplan or Amex points! Anyone know what card would be best?