News, Tips & Tricks
News started trickling out yesterday that American Express Canada is following in the footsteps of their U.S. counterparts in that they will be limiting sign up bonuses on their cards to only once per lifetime per card. In other words no more churning American Express cards. We reached out to American Express and they have confirmed that as of this month they "are beginning to enforce gaming controls" I know for some of our readers this is going to put a big dent in the ability to travel cheaply as they were swapping out cards every 6 to 8 months to earn the sign up bonuses over and over again. Currently the terms and conditions have only been updated on cards that earn Membership Rewards points (Gold Rewards, Platinum etc.) Aeroplan and AIR MILES. At this time the SPG card has not had these terms changed.
We'd love to hear your thoughts on this change! I know a lot of readers do not churn but I'm guessing there will be a small percentage of you who who will be very upset with it!
Posts since our last update:
- Cathay Pacific Asia Miles: 20% Bonus Miles when converting RBC Rewards Points (RBC Avion cardholders only)
Yesterday saw the launch of a 20% bonus for transferring RBC Rewards Points to Cathay Pacific Asia Miles for Avion...
Bonus Offers
airBaltic PINS (on FrequentFlyerBonuses.com only)
- Double PINS on all Sixt rentals Worldwide. More...Until Jul 20, 15
Binter Canarias BinterMas (on FrequentFlyerBonuses.com only)
- Double BinterMas points for stays at Barcelo Hotels & Resorts in the Canary Islands. More... Until Jul 31, 15
- Double BinterMas points for stays at Iberostar Hotels in Tenerife. More... Until Jul 31, 15
British Airways Executive Club
- Triple Avios for stays at over 2,800 Accor Hotels Worldwide. More... Jun 1 - Aug 31, 15
- Double Avios plus up to 20% off for stays at participating Fairmont Hotels & Resorts in Europe. More... Until Oct 30, 15
- Triple Avios for stays at any of the 550 Hyatt Hotel Worldwide.More... Until Sep 30, 15
- Earn up to 20,000 Bonus Avios for bookings made via Kaligo. More... Book by Sep 30, 15 for stays until Jul 31, 16
- Double Avios for stays at participating Mandarin Oriental Hotels Worldwide. More... Until Sep 30, 15
- 3,000 Bonus Avios on your first Rocketmiles booking More... Until Dec 31, 15
Cathay Pacific Asia Miles
- Earn up to Triple Asia Miles for stays of 2+ nights at Harbour Plaza Hotels & Resorts across Hong Kong and China. More... Until Sep 30, 15
- Triple Asia Miles when you book your accommodation with HRS. More... Until Oct 31, 15
- Earn up to Triple Asia Miles for stay at participating properties of Okura Hotels & Resorts, Nikko Hotels International or Hotel JAL City. More... Until Sep 30, 15
- Double Asia Miles for stays at participating Millennium & Copthorne Hotels Worldwide. More... Until Sep 30, 15
- Earn up to Triple Asia Miles for stays at New Century Hotels & Resorts. More... Until Sep 30, 15
- Earn up to Quadruple Asia Miles when you rent a car from any participating HERTZ locations in USA, Canada, Europe, Australia, New Zealand or Asia. More... . Until Aug 31, 15
- Triple Asia Miles for every pre-paid car rental with Rentalcars.com across the US, Australia, Thailand, Japan and the UK. More... Until Jul 31, 15Until Sep 30, 15
Germanwings Boomerang Club (on FrequentFlyerBonuses.com only)
- Double Boomerang Miles when you fly between Köln-Bonn, Stuttgart, Hannover, Berlin, Hamburg, or Düsseldorf and Naples. More... Book by Jul 31 for travel until Aug 31, 15
Iberia Plus
- 25% Bonus Avios when you fly Iberia on select routes Worldwide. More... Register by Jul 12 for travel until Aug 30, 15
- 25% Avios Discount when you redeem for award tickets on select Iberia routes Worldwide.More... Book by Aug 31, 15
- Up to Triple Avios when you fly Iberia Regional Air Nostrum on select routes.More... Register by Jul 12 for travel until Aug 31, 15
- 25% Avios Discount when you redeem for award tickets on select Iberia Express routes.More... Book by Aug 30, 15
- 50% Avios Discount when you redeem for award tickets on select Iberia Regional Air Nostrum routes. More... Until Aug 30, 15
Voila Hotel Rewards
- Triple VHR Points & Double Elite Tier Status Points when you stay at any participating Voila Hotel Rewards hotels Worldwide. More... Until Dec 31, 15
- 20% VHR Points Discount for each award night at participating Voila Hotel Rewards hotels Worldwide. More... Until Sep 30, 15
It seems to be, at least now, that referrals do not have the new Amex terms. Just gave it a go, with all the screenshots, to see what happens. Could be a struggle getting the bonus points but I always find getting Amex to post points a hassle anyway.
ReplyDeleteIt will be interesting to see what happens in the rest of the card space in Canada. If the other majors allow churning, then what will AMEX do to attract customers back to their fold?
ReplyDeleteI agree that AMEX needs to offer extra (not just if others allow churning, but because of the many places in Canada where it isn't accepted), but they probably don't want to attract churners anyway. If they move some of those savings towards higher earn rates (which are already pretty good for Aeroplan points anyway) they'll stimulate greater spending on their cards and end up ahead. I have always used new AMEX cards until I hit the minimum spend, then stash away, cancel, rinse, repeat... not getting the bonuses again sucks for me, but if they can get me to actually carry the card in my wallet they'll surely be better off than they currently are.
ReplyDeleteWhat airline gold status will Amex platinum offer now that they dropped CX gold? Starting to become a useless card. I have had the same Amex card since 1999. I want more for my $699 a year fee
ReplyDeleteAMEX is putting nails into their coffin. (not that I own a gold amex or pay for any of their cards). Gone are the golden days where AMEX was a prestigious card. Costco dropped them for M/C and with their high merchant fees, I can't see them being a golden card company anymore.
ReplyDeleteRubbish rule. This is yet another reason to forget Amex. They will not be able to compete with BMO with their World Elite card or others. Even the Scotia Amex is better than the Amex only card.
ReplyDeleteThe Canadian MR programme is useless. Aeroplan is also useless with all the high taxes and surcharges. Canadian credit cards are such poor value compared to the US - we need major competition and innovation here!
I can understand that AXEX may want to discourage regular churning every 3-6 months. But if the bonuses are once in a lifetime only, how on earth do they every convince former clients to come back to their service again?
ReplyDelete