Month: July 2022

Welcome back to our series on how credit card multipliers can increase your chances of earning. In Part 1, we focus on the cards issued by American Express.

American Express is a huge bank with which points can be collected due to the huge array of transfer partners. It also has a co-branded card with Air Canada, which makes it easy to collect airplane points, a major player in our Canadian landscape.

Unfortunately, not all retailers accept Amex by paying their high merchant processing fees. There will definitely be a time when you need to get a MasterCard or Visa, so in Part 2 of this series, we’ll see. Multiplier of cards issued by other banks.

For simplicity, we will only focus on Canadian cards as opposed to cash back cards or other point currencies that earn airline point currencies or their equivalents.

Canadian Bank with airline partners

American Express has the most flexibility in transferring partners, including a total of six airline partners and two hotel partners. However, there are still some good Visa and MasterCard options.

In Canada, RBC, HSBC, CIBC, and TD all have credit cards that can earn you airline points.

RBC

RBC offers several credit cards that can earn airline currency directly:

RBC has its own Avion credit card line that earns RBC rewards points, which can be transferred to up to four airline partners.

The transfer ratio from RBC award to airline currency is as follows:

With these partners and ratios in mind, let’s look at what credit card multipliers are

RBC earnings rates are pretty easy to remember. Without the money spent on premium cards and airline expenses, you will earn Costs 1 point per dollar.

For a high earning rate 1.25 points per dollar, Take a premium card, but make sure you can justify a higher annual fee (probably redeeming 2 cents per point for a business class flight).

HSBC

HSBC offers their own group MasterCard which earns HSBC award points, which can be transferred to three airline partners in the following proportions. Note that a minimum of 25,000 HSBC reward points have been transferred.

With these partners and ratios in mind, let’s see what credit card multipliers are.

Sometimes looking at multipliers can be confusing. You also need to consider the transfer ratio.

Let me give you an example to illustrate this. Imagine that you have to spend $ 15,000 on a two-week Mediterranean cruise.

If you put this cost on an HSBC Travel Rewards Card, you will earn 3x points on the trip, thus earning 45,000 HSBC Reward Points. When transferred to a British Airways Avios account, you will have 18,000 Avios for an effective earnings rate 1.2 Avios per dollar. Not bad for a card that doesn’t have an annual fee.

If you spend on an HSBC World Elite MasterCard, you will earn 6x points on the trip, you will have 90,000 HSBC reward points. By converting these to 36,000 Avios, you will have a higher effective earning rate 2.4 avios per dollar For a card that has a $ 149 annual fee, with an annual 100 travel credit it effectively brings it down to $ 49.

Looking at the other advantages of this card, it does not take any foreign transaction fee, which makes it my top choice when traveling abroad.

TD and CIBC

I grouped TD and CIBC together because they both have only one airline partner, Aeroplan, although keep in mind that any Aeroplan points can be redeemed at any one of the many airline partners.

Both banks offer different tiered Visa cards that will directly earn airplane points:

Let’s take a look at how their income rates compare:

Remember that for TD cards with a Starbucks multiplier, you must link your TD credit card to your Starbucks account to earn the multiplier.

Earnings rates are quite similar between different levels of TD and CIBC cards, so when deciding between a TD or CIBC card, it can come down to other factors such as welcome bonuses and other credit card benefits.

If you are looking for a no-fee entry-level keeper card, the CIBC Aeroplan Visa Card is a better option than the TD Aeroplan Visa Platinum, which charges an annual fee of $ 89.

Keep in mind that TD and CIBC often offer first year free discounts on their Visa Infinite cards, so with a higher income rate, you may be better off choosing one of these cards for at least the first year.

Which non-Amex credit card should you use?

To determine which card will best maximize your earnings, you need to do a personal analysis to see what you need. Cost and travel patterns Is

Your spending patterns will determine which factors are most relevant to you Your travel types will determine which airline program you want to invest in, how many points you may need, and whether you can justify a higher annual fee in exchange for other benefits that come with the card.

Below is a chart of the various expense categories and credit card summaries, including the best multiplier based on which airline currency you want to deposit.

When collected Airplane points Your goal, the only option one TD or CIBC Airplane Visa Card. Which level of card you choose will depend on what you spend the most on, whether your spending can support the annual fee and the welcome bonus at that time.

If you can justify an unlimited privilege card annual fee, you can maximize your earnings 1.25x And as a base earning rate 1.5x Most of the expenditure is on the main department.

Such as if you are saving for an ambitious flight experience Singapore Suite, Then your only option would be HSBC and the best card for cost HSBC World Elite MasterCard Or HSBC Premier World Elite MasterCard, Which will earn a minimum of 1.08 miles per dollar spent.

If you are planning to fly on an airline that is part of it One world Alliance, then consider your spending patterns.

For regular costs, it’s an intimate race in between RBC Avion Visa is an infinite privilege Or RBC Avion Visa Business, Which earns 1.25 avios or Asia Miles per dollar HSBC World Elite MasterCard Or HSBC Premier World Elite MasterCard, Which earns 1.2 Avios per dollar for your Oneworld redemption.

For any travel-related expenses, the Twin HSBC Premium Cards are rewarded at 4 2.4 Avios or 1.96 Asia Miles for every dollar spent.

Consider possibly having both an RBC Visa and an HSBC MasterCard so that you have one in each of your wallets, as not all merchants will accept both.

I intentionally omitted the American Airlines AA Advantage program from the charts for simplicity, because the conversion from Avion is not the largest and both Avios and Asia Miles can be used to redeem for their flights.

There is really not much use for the AAdvantage program in the Canadian landscape due to Qatar Airways joining the Quechua Avios family. However, there may be an exception if you want to book Qsuites with minimal taxes and fees – in that case, RBC Avion cards would be the preferred choice.

If you’re looking at higher base income rates, you’ll want to look at Visa Infinite Privilege Cards, which earn 1.25 points per dollar at regular costs and 1.5 points per dollar at dining.

However, higher income rates alone may not justify a higher annual fee of $ 599, unless you take advantage of the other benefits that come with the card.

And finally, if you’re a Starbucks fan, you’ll probably want to see a TD card instead of CIBC, because they’re offering a 50% earnings bonus if you link a TD Airplan card to your Starbucks account.

Conclusion

Unfortunately, there are still many merchants who don’t take American Express, but that doesn’t mean you have to stop earning airline points.

RBC, HSBC, TD, and CIBC are the banks that offer MasterCard and Visa, which in some cases offer better earnings rates in airline currency than American Express.

Take some time to analyze your own costs and travel types and see which cards or cards will help you quickly reach your travel goals.

Shop Small and a $ 30 grocery credit Amex offer that appeared this week, American Express now also offers their best statement credit offer Lululemon Shopping, exclusively on American Express Platinum card.

Also, other Amex cards have some different Lululemon offers, so let’s take a closer look at all the possibilities.

Amex Platinum Card: Spend $ 50, get $ 50 twice with Lululemon

From now until now June 30, 2023, Members of the American Express Platinum Card can register their card and then earn $ 50 statement credit by spending $ 50 with Lululemon, up to a total of two. Up to $ 100 in statement credit.

The offer is valid in all Lululemon locations across Canada, through the Lululemon mobile app and the Lululemon website. After spending $ 50, you will get a full refund as a statement credit, which means there are no out-of-pocket expenses to take advantage of.

The first $ 50 purchase must be completed by December 31, 2022, and the second $ 50 purchase must be completed between January 1 and June 30, 2023. For each purchase, you will receive a $ 50 statement credit, two credits up to a total of $ 100.

This particular offer seems to be limited to American Express Platinum card members, with other cardholders having no option to register manually.

Keep in mind that a growing Lululemon purchase will count for offers, so even if your items are shipped separately and therefore charged separately, this shouldn’t be a problem.

And if you have multiple Platinum cards in your home, you can ask Lululemon Cashier to split your purchase into অংশ 50 + portions to maximize the credit on each card.

The terms of the offer specify that the credits will be applied to your account “within 90 days of 30/06/2023”. However, in reality, you should see them within a few days of completing your purchase.

Other Lululemon Amex offers

Also, there have been a few different Lululemon offers in the last few months, although they are not as lucrative as the new Platinum Card offer listed above.

Still, if you have at least one American Express card, you’ll be able to get some discounts on Lululemon purchases in the next few months.

Spend $ 125, get $ 25 with Lululemon

The offer has been seen on a wide range of American Express personal and business credit cards.

After spending $ 125 on one or more purchases from the Lululemon mobile app or the Lululemon website, you can earn a one-time 25 statement credit – equivalent to one 20% discount.

This offer expires on August 31, 2022 and has a registration cap of 40,000 cardholders, so be sure to register if you want to take advantage.

Spend $ 150, get $ 15 with Lululemon

It represents the least effective version of Lululemon Amex offers, but it is still a great way to recoup some costs if you shop there.

After spending $ 150 on one or more purchases from the mobile app or Lululemon website, you can earn a one-time $ 15 statement credit – equivalent to a 10% discount.

This offer is valid till August 31, 2022, with registration cap for 20,000 cardholders.

It is also worth noting that unlike many other Amex offers we have recently seen, none of these Lululemon offers can be registered manually using a Scotiabank-issued Amex card.

What is Lululemon Gift Card Count?

The usual rule of buying a gift card applies: theoretically, no, but in reality, it could be.

The terms of the offer are as follows:

Only valid purchases made or shipped within Canada and paid in CAD. Excludes outlet location, B2B and strategic sales, phone orders and gift card purchases. Shopping for Lululemon Like New and The Mirror has also been dropped.

In practice, however, purchasing a ul 50 gift card at a Lululemon store should work in addition to a regular purchase, since the charge looks like a Lululemon in any way. Lululemon also sells gift cards online and it seems to be charged just like regular online shopping.

Conclusion

American Express has long had one of their best Amex offers: “Spend $ 50, get $ 50 twice” for a total of $ 100 in free Lululemon gear.

The first $ 50 statement credit will now apply to any Lululemon purchase between December 31, 2022, while the second $ 50 statement credit will apply to purchases between January 1 and June 30, 2023.

The offer should appear on all American Express Platinum cards, unless you have had the card for several months and have started seeing Amex offers roll.

In the meantime, for non-Platinum cardholders, there are two more less lucrative deals, but it’s worth taking advantage of the way you shop at Lululemon anyway.

Now that we’ve reached July 2022, if you’re an Airplane Elite Status member, you can now choose the best Select 2022 facility After logging in to your Aeroplan account in the member portal.

Since valid in July of any given year through eUpgrade credit Follow In the calendar year, you can now start searching for eUpgrade space and apply “Latitude Attitude” to upgrade to Business Class for Air Canada flights in 2023.

Choose your 2022 Select Benefit

Airplane Elite Status benefits are divided into main benefits and selection benefits.

All members automatically receive the main benefits associated with their status level at the beginning of the year and have the option to choose from two separate bundles of select benefits, based on which improving the travel experience may be most important to them.

As an Aeroplan Elite Status member, you can select your Benefits for 2022 via the “Choose Benefits” option under the “Benefits” tab of your dashboard.

The Select Benefit Bundles available for each Airplane Elite Status Level are summarized as follows:

(Benefit 1 Bundle is a more meaningful set for most travelers. Bundle 2 offers eUpgrades or status qualifying miles in exchange for buying a flight using Air Canada Flight Pass, so it will not be relevant if you do not normally travel using a flight pass.)

Which selection facility should you choose?

Among the Select Benefit choices, I would definitely recommend choosing 7 Allocate additional eUpgrade credits As one of your advantages (or your only advantage as an Aeroplan 35K member).

Collecting more e-upgrades is invaluable, since the “Latitude Attitude” strategy allows you to redeem airplane points for an economy latitude ticket and instantly upgrade to Business Class.

With direct bookings in business class often dynamically priced at a high level, latitude attitude can be an invaluable strategy.

Meanwhile, choosing a second option for Aeroplan 25K, 50K, 75K and Super Elite members will depend on your own preferences as a traveler.

Anyone who frequently takes a paid flight can pay bonus airplane points on an Air Canada flight, anyone who wants to share their benefits with their loved one can choose a status pass or status gift etc.

Earn valid e-upgrades until 2023!

From January 1 of this year, it has been possible to choose your selected benefits So why is it more convenient to do it now starting from 1st July?

OK, the validity period of eUpgrades is determined as follows:

• Any e-upgrade acquired between January and June of a given year has a validity period within that year.
• Any e-upgrade acquired between July and December of a given year has a validity period Through the next year.

What does this mean in practice? OK, e-upgrades are being chosen as your preferred feature from today, July 1, 2022, That means those e-upgrades will arrive in your account by the January 16 expiration date, 2024Rather January 16, 2023!

And remember: the trip must be within the validity period of the eUpgrade credits to apply those eUpgrade.

So if you want to use the Latitude attitude to ensure a business class upgrade for any trip that takes place in 2023, you will need -2023 e-upgrades through that valuable legit to do so.

Effectively, by delaying your Select Benefit decision so far until July 2022, you’ve got a valuable head start to grab the alluring “R” space and ensure your instant upgrade across Air Canada’s 2023 Business Class flight.

After locking the benefits of your choice, additional eUpgrade credits may take a few days to appear. Once they are done, you will be able to plan your 2023 trip in Air Canada Business Class with “Latitude Attitude” in mind.

Conclusion

Now that it’s July 2022, members of Aeroplan Elite Status can choose their Select Benefit Bundles in an optimized fashion, securing an allocation of valuable e-upgrades that are valid until 2023 and January 2024.

Personally, I have so far waited to pick my electoral benefits for this exact reason, so that I can earn valid eUpgrade credit for an instantly confirmed upgrade from Latitude Economics for the next 18 months.

Remember: Once you select Select Benefit Bundles, they cannot be changed, so it is important to take some time to think about your decision before locking it.

Mahjong piece scene + loyalty has started to fall into place in the program.

On the one hand, the company is stealing the Sobeys partnership from under the nose of the sick Air Miles program. On the other hand, Scene +’s main partner and major shareholder, Scotiabank, is fighting hard to create a place for itself in the increasingly-competitive Canadian loyalty market.

What does this mean for you? Bank of Nova Scotia is making it clear in no uncertain terms that it plans to supercharge its credit card suite to make it more attractive to customers.

Scotia Amex Gold: Sobeys Grocery Store 6x Views + Points

I have already covered the changes to Scotiabank’s credit card portfolio on July 1, 2022. These include, but are not limited to:

As it turns out, these upgrades are not savings for the Amex-powered Scotiabank portfolio. From October 1, 2022, exciting changes are taking place in both the Baseline Red Card and its high-class cousin, the Scotiabank Gold American Express Card.

As we can see, the earnings rate of Gold Card is going up Cost 6 dollars per scene + points Participating Sobeys-affiliated grocery stores: Sobeys, IGA, Safeway, Foodland, FreshCo, Voilà by Sobeys, Voilà by IGA, Voilà by Safeway, Chalo! FreshCo, Thrifty Foods, IGA West, Les Marchés TradItIon, Rachelle Béry and Co-Op.

The basic “red” Scotiabank American Express card is also improving somewhat. Its increased earnings rate per dollar cost is 2 cents + point, coming July 1, 2022, it will be further increased. Cost 3 dollars per scene + points On the same list of Sobeys-affiliated grocery stores.

This is equally great for moviegoers and travel enthusiasts, because it means that Visual +, a great program to achieve both, is trying to gain market share from its competitors by encouraging you to use their products.

The revenue they have increased in detail will make the Scotiabank Gold American Express card the most competitive in the market, especially when one considers that it does not pay any foreign transaction fees.

The inability to transfer points to competing partners such as Airplane makes American Express cobalt cards, which earn Cost 5 MR points per dollar, A little stronger in my eyes. However, the new Scotia Amex Gold earnings rate is really fantastic.

Scotiabank Visa Card: Up to 3x View + Points at Sobeys Grocery Store

However, love does not stop with Scotiabank’s Amex card. Their co-branded Visa cards that earn Scene + points will also receive a similar upgrade. Let’s take a look:

In the case of the co-branded Scotiabank Scene + Visa card, it will no longer just be a card to remove from the drawer on movie night.

Instead, it needs to start earning 2 views + points cost per dollar In the Sobeys suite at the grocery store, it makes a no-fee card without the need for any income that earns 2x more frequently locally. Not too bad.

+ A beautiful future for the scene?

All of these improvements to Scene + co-branded credit cards are so exciting because the program is now becoming the most versatile in Canada.

The ability to bring your own travels to any scene + the denominated card makes them much more powerful to keep in your wallet, as you can choose to spend points for the type of travel you want at 1 cents per point (cpp) flat.

One feels compelled to ask the question: Is this increase in scene a sustainable future for the Sobeys-Cineplex-Scotiabank Trinity?

The ability to burn at 1cpp on your favorite trip is undoubtedly a surprise, but the IT of the Visual + app is still not perfect, and I have read or heard (or lack) multiple complaints from travel enthusiasts about customer service provided by Scotiabank and Scene + Call Center Being.

I certainly wish the scene success + because it surpasses Air Miles and competes among Canada’s top loyalty programs, but it would be terrible if this program followed the next trajectory. Multiple underestimation of Air Miles has ultimately turned it into one that customers have treated cautiously and partners have publicly avoided and should therefore avoid.

View + One of the best ways to keep customers at peace is to invest in superior customer service and IT, which is not something that customers are observing right now.

Conclusion

Changes in Scotiabank’s credit card portfolio show that they want a competitive advance in the market and that banks and Scene + partners are ready to work for their customers.

In particular, the Scotia Gold Amex Sobeys-affiliated grocery store increases its earnings rate by 6x Scene + points, making it one of the best grocery returns you can find on any Canadian credit card.

Here it is to be hoped that the story of Scene + will not try to lower the price of travel or increase the price of complimentary movie tickets. Until then, I say guys go out and give Scotiabank’s revised products a spin – some other financial institutions should take note.

Until next time, never let your point balance dry up.