Hi, travel card award noob here. I posted a similar question in the American forums but they referred me to here because I am from Canada. Basically I was asking if thr minimum amount I need to spend in order to get the welcome bonus from Amex can be made by buying prepaid visa cards. Does this classify as a purchase or no?

Yes, any purchase (except cash advance) would work
and buying gift cards (any of them, Cdn Tire, Costco, Sobeys, Esso, Petro, Shell, etc...) is an easy way to meet the minimum spending requirement

Do NOT buy prepaid VISA/MC cards, they have crazy fees

Thanks Jerryhung.

Also, for the Amex gold rewards card, does it give you the option to log in and pay bills using the card? For my business I make monthly transactions from my bank averaging 30k and are wondering if I could somehow use the Amex card for those transactions. Also what would be the recommended duration in months to churn Amex cards?

So you're paying business-related bills out of your bank account? If that's the case, then it's more of a matter if your suppliers will accept Amex as payment. If they do, you're golden (pun intended). Pay using Amex, then pay Amex through Bank. An extra step that's worth it. If you have $30k/monthly expenses, then you should really consider getting the Amex biz gold (if you don't already). $5k of spending within three months yields 40k Amex points (through a referral).

As far as churn goes, typical response is apply, hold the card for 6 months, cancel and wait 6 months before re-applying.

And the Amex Business Gold is first year free right now. You can self refer from the personal Amex MR Gold you're already using.

To add to that, you should be churning cards both personally and through your business. I have personal Amex's and Visa's for both my wife and I as well as both cards for my company. Quite a few of our suppliers accept credit cards. My accountant, lawyer and insurance agent all take it. Here in BC, Worksafe (WCB) excepts Amex as well. Easy way to amass AE and Amex MR's

For those who missed it on the first round, the Tim Horton's $400 offer is on again as of 1 November to 27 February. Apologies if this has been posted already, I've been following the thread.

Terms & Conditions cut from their site:

https://www.cibc.com/ca/features/tim...EPCA-Bean400-E

† The offer period begins on November 1, 2014 at 12:01a.m. (EST) and ends on February 27, 2015 at 11:59 p.m. (EST). Only offered to residents of Canada who: (i) have reached the age of majority; (ii) at the start of the offers period, were not a holder (or joint holder) of a CIBC chequing account; and; (iii) have applied to be the primary cardholder of the new CIBC Tim Hortons Double Double™ Visa Card between July 2, 2014 at 12:01 a.m. (EST) and December 31, 2014 at 11:59 p.m. (EST) (and, within 3 calendar months of such application, have been approved). With the exception of the CIBC Everyday� Banking Bundle and the CIBC Homeowner™ Banking Bundle, the offer cannot be combined with any other offer or rebate. To qualify, an eligible client must first open a: (i) CIBC EverydayPlus™ Chequing Account; (ii) CIBC Unlimited� Chequing Account; or (iii) CIBC PremierService� Account. Next, within 3 calendar months, register for CIBC Online Banking or CIBC Mobile Banking and then pay a bill or send an Interac e-Transfer� to be eligible to receive a $100 CAD cash reward; and/or set up at least one (1) eligible recurring direct deposit or at least two (2) different eligible recurring pre-authorized debits to be eligible to receive a $300 CAD cash reward. Further terms and conditions apply, see the Terms and Conditions for full offer details.

1 Tim Cash is earned on all CIBC Tim Hortons Double Double Visa Card credit purchases less returns, and not on cash advances, interest, fees, balance transfers, payments, CIBC Convenience Cheques or Tim Cash redemptions. Double Double Visa Card program may change without notice. Taxes, fees and other charges may apply to redemption of Tim Cash. Tim Cash is awarded to the primary cardholder’s Tim Card� Account immediately upon processing of CIBC Tim Hortons Double Double Visa Card credit purchases, provided that your card is open in good standing at the time of purchase). See Program Terms for details.

2 Interest rates will change from time to time on at least 30 days prior notice to primary cardholders. "Cash" means cash advances, balance transfer and convenience cheques.

3 CIBC Mobile Banking ranked first in Canada by Forrester Research Inc., “2004 Canadian Mobile Banking Functionality Benchmark” Report, May, 2014.

4 Within 3 months of the New Account open, ensure that at least (1) eligible recurring direct deposit; OR at least two (2) different and eligible pre-authorized debits goes through your New Account. Other conditions apply.

Hi, unfortunately I looked into paying suppliers by Amex and although most of them accept it, the largest supplier does not accept it, but accepts bill payment instead. The monthly transaction for this one supplier is over 20k, which is the bulk of the monthly expenses.

That was why I was inquiring whether or not the Amex card allows online log in and Bill payment option which I assume they do not. However, I do have a non aeroplan rbc visa which allows this and was wondering if anyone here has an rbc/cibc/or td aeroplan visa/Mc which allows online log in and Bill payment options. I assume that only the big Canadian banks do this. Any info on this would be gratefl as iI would LOVE to accumulate 30000 points monthly.

As for churn duration, I was under the impression to churn every 6 months (ie: apply and get the card in January, cancel in July and reapply in July. So there is another 6 month wait period?

All the Candian big bank credit cards treat an online bill payment as a cash advance and cash advances do not earn reward points. And interest starts immediately. I would love to be wrong on this!

There is some YMMV in this, but best practice is to keep a card for six months and then wait six months before reapplying. Some cards need twelve months. Marriott Rewards was a year but someone recently posted he did it three months after reapplying.

The Amex cards are six months from cancelling to reapplying to ensure you get the sign up bonus again.

For those having a hard time or debating on how they would meet the $5000 minimum spend for the Amex Gold Business card, there is this…. It doesn't earn double points and it ties up $5K in gift cards but the Amex Gift card activation fees are waived:

http://www.americanexpress.com/canad...business.shtml

"We’re waiving the purchase fees on Gift Card and Reward Card orders!

Between March 16, 2014, and December 31, 2014, when new business customers make a minimum purchase order of $5,000 in denominations of $50 or higher, no card purchase fees will apply."

My non aeroplan RBC visa allows bill payments and does not classify them as cash advances..... can anyone who has a cibc/td/rbc aeroplan card confirm?

Depends on what type of bill. Cell phone, tv cable, internet, insurance bills can be paid with any credit card and not considered a cash advance. Most cards considered payments to utility companies as cash advance

note that the fess are only waived after entering promo code "phone206"

We're looking for a card for + 1. Between being recent immigrants (short credit history) and disparate income, it hasn't been easy. Which banks allow you to apply using household income? So far, Capital One, Amex, and Scotiabank all appear to require personal income on their applications.