Maximize Your Earnings, Part 2: Non-Amex Credit Card Multiplier

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.