That's correct... the lounge situation is *extremely* confusing. I'm surprised you got a knowledgeable agent who explained all of that. I had one attempt to convince me that the Platinum card got access to MLL lounges... and was super surprised when I had to explain to her that they weren't the same as other lounges that Priority Pass permitted access to. Sigh.

When you mention the $50GC offer, are you referring to the GCR rebate for signing up for the Amex Gold? If so, be careful, since that loses you referral points.

YYZ-LHR is very different from YVR-YYZ because it's "international" and some companies treat that differently :)

As far as cards we keep, it'll depend from person to person on what their requirements are. I generally skip on most of the "non-frequent flyer miles" cards, so Scotiabank, Aventura and all that are completely out of my area of expertise. Not because they are bad, but just because they do not bring any critical value to me (I don't really care about cash, hehe). So I carry the Amex Platinum and the TD Visa, and that literally covers 100% of my daily expenses.

If you're having trouble discovering which lounge you can go to in a particular airport, the loungebuddy app could be useful to you. You tell them which credit cards you, and it'll show you the lounges which you can access, how much they'll cost, and the amenities they'll have.

I have questions about the $200 annual travel credit with the Platinum card. So I know I get it each calendar year, but does the trip have to be within that calendar year (e.g. can I book the hotel in 2014, but stay at the hotel in 2015, without using my 2015 travel credit?). Also, does the travel credit have to cover a single transaction (e.g. can I book a $150 hotel room, then later a $50 car rental?)

It does not need to be in the same calendar year, but it must be one transaction.

Not sure if this has been posted elsewhere, but I just noticed. Looked like TD and CIBC are both offering some new promos on the Aeroplan cards.

TD:
Aeroplan Infinite Visa
15,000 miles + 10,000 miles after spending $1,000 in 90 days
$120 fee not waived

CIBC:
Aerogold Visa Infinite
15,000 miles + 5,000 after spending $500 in first 3 billing cycles
$120 fee not waived

Thanks for posting. The TD promo was mentioned in the TD Aero thread. And the CIBC card has been unchanged since March.

One thing that may not be apparent is that CIBC are no longer offering their regular Aerogold Visa, so in order to get the 15K+5K offer it will have to be an Infinite version...which means that a good chunk of previous card applicants are now shutout, since the Infinite requires "a minimum personal income of $60,000 or a minimum household income of $100,000". One has to wonder if this was part of an agreement they had to keep, since the TD Aero cards force the lower income applicants to apply for the TD Platinum (10K) Visa. CIBC's lower income version is its Aero Platinum, with a dinky 5K welcome bonus.

So, TD's cards in both categories look somewhat better than the CIBC versions.

Infinite Visas:
TD - 25K after $1000 spending, $120/yr
CIBC - 20K after $500 spending, $120/yr

Platinum Visas:
TD - 10K after first purchase, $89/yr
CIBC - 5K after first purchase, $39/yr

I would say that's it for this year, in terms of the $0 FYF offers...Amex just (Sep 3) yanked it off from the Aeroplan Plus Gold, while TD's new promo is also non-waived fees. Only CIBC might offer a hope that we'll get a FREE promo upcoming, as they haven't announced anything new since March when their $0FYF ended, other than dropping the regular Aerogold Visa from their lineup.

Looks like my credit score is going to be healing faster than I wanted. :(

Leg one of my mileage run is in the books. I'm in the united club in IAH. Leg 2 coming up: SEA. Not sure if there's a 24 hour lounge there. If not, I'm on the floor for 5 hours till my flight back to IAH leaves!

And right about now is when I'm thinking this mileage run was a mistake! Just landed in Seattle. No lounges open. My plane back to Houston leaves in 5 hours. The united club next to my gate opens at 4:30 am. Till then, it's just me, the floor and my ultra thin UA blanket I sniped from the plane! I'll give it back later this morning...

Personal Cards
Amex Platinum 1.25 MR per $1
Amex Gold Rewards (Groceries Gas and Travel only) 2MR per $1
TD Aeroplan (for those that don't take Amex) 1 Aeroplan per $1
Chase Marriott Visa (for all international charges) No Foreign Exchange fee and Marriott Points

Business Cards
Amex Platinum 1.25 MR per $1
Amex AeroPlat 1.5 Aeroplan per $1
TD Aeroplan 1 Aeroplan per $1

The card I think everyone should have is the Amex Gold Rewards.

Hahaha. Seattle is a tiny airport and yeah, I'd have told you it's dead overnight. I'm surprised they let you stay in the airport! For some reason I thought they closed it.

What do we not do for status. I flew YUL-YYZ-IAH-SFO-SEA once; IAH-SFO was one of the worst flights of my life (4 hours and change on a CRJ). I also flew YUL-ORD-HNL-SFO-SEA once - that was also not the most ... should I say, "direct" routing. At least it was kind of fun.

Crazy 'merikans:!
Just keep dreaming about those *G benefits you'll be getting for this ordeal...it'll make that floor seem softer than it really is! :D

It's definitely better than the previous offers, but I'm waiting for a FYF promo!

:confused:
That was the point of my post...if it wasn't clear, those are NOT the greatest offers, and the $0 FYF offers are probably not available for the rest of this year, except maybe if CIBC kicks off a promo.

Head's up! Costco will stop accepting AMEX in Canada, starting January 1st. http://www.thestar.com/business/2014...in_canada.html

TD Aeroplan cards for Non-Canadian Citizens
 

Is any Non-Canadian Citizens got any of TD cards. Eligibility states only canadian citizens...

oh dang...