Podcast Episode 90: Loyalty Lesson - The first points & miles credit card you should get

If you are new to world of points, miles and/or rewards credit cards but want to get a head start at the game as you begin to immerse yourself in research to learn the ins and out of loyalty programs, there is one credit card you should get right away. Not only is this card a great card for beginners, it is in fact the number one card to have for even the most seasoned points and miles enthusiasts and we discuss why in this episode of the Rewards Canada podcast!

Loyalty Lesson: The first points & miles credit card you should get

 

We released a new feature today on the main Rewards Canada site for those of you who are new to the world of points, miles, cash back and loyalty rewards in general. This feature takes a look at the first credit card you should consider getting to get yourself started down this rabbit hole! The great thing about this card is it is perfect to get before you have even started to learn about and research loyalty programs. It covers the best of the best for earning, burning, value and more and thus it gives you a head start to collecting points while you begin to educate yourself and learn what reward or rewards will be best for you.

Last minute loyalty program laundry - check for expiring miles and points, vouchers and more

 
With just a week left in 2021 now is a good time to double check if you have any points and miles that will be expiring at the end of this year. For the most part, the majority of loyalty programs have extended the pause on points and miles expiry into 2022 however there are a select few that are not. The biggest program I can think that is not extending points expiry after December 31, 2021 is World of Hyatt. There are others as well which I list further below in the post.

November 23 Update: Scotia credit card updates, Hotels. com Black Friday Double Stamps plus 30% off & an earn and burn loyalty lesson

Here's your Rewards Canada Daily update! Your daily dose (or near daily dose) of loyalty program, credit card and travel news, bonuses, deals and more. This update is brought to you by the HSBC World Elite Mastercard which is currently offering a welcome bonus of up to 100,000 bonus points worth $500, has no foreign transaction fees and no annual fee in the first year! 

 
Yesterday was supposed to mark the launch of the new Scene+ program however technical difficulties behind the scene delayed that. However it also was the day for updates across the board from Scotia for their credit cards. All of the Scotia Rewards points earning cards are now worded as earning Scene+ points and for entire Scotia portfolio we only see one card with a new increased welcome bonus and that's the Scotia SCENE Visa Card. That card is now offering 5,000 bonus points as its welcome bonus. Their two most popular points cards, the Scotia Gold American Express Card and Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite card both saw their point offers lowered while the Momentum cash back cards all had their current offers extended. Click here to see all of the Scotia card offers on our site.

Avianca LifeMiles potentially becomes a better frequent flyer program for Canadians

Avianca LifeMiles is an extremely popular frequent flyer program for mileage maximizers, points hounds or whatever term you would like to call us. The use of buy miles bonuses to fly business or first class on Star Alliance airlines around the globe has been a key factor in that popularity. However the program is rarely looked at for flights within North America but that may change now. As reported earlier today by Ben at One Mile at a Time, LifeMiles has made some changes to their redemption model for flights in Canada and between Canada and the U.S.. And unlike most changes to programs this one actually makes it better if you can find flights to redeem for!

Loyalty Lesson: Is a 30% return on credit card spending possible? Yes, it sure is!

 
This is one of those posts that wasn't planned but it kind of fell right into my lap and I had to write it after I completed another post on our site. That other post was A closer look at the credit card that Canada voted as the number one overall travel rewards card in Canada where we took a detailed look at the TD Aeroplan Visa Infinite Card. In that post we provided an example of how you could redeem Aeroplan points for a Business Class ticket between Calgary and Toronto and get 6 cents per point in value.

Podcast Episode 84 - See who Canada chose as their favourite credit cards and loyalty programs

 

Loyalty Lesson: Why hybrid rewards credit cards are the best bet for most Canadians

Whether you are a frequent flyer, a points & miles junkie or just someone who wants to have the utmost in flexibility with your travel rewards then there is one type of credit card that is the best for most of you and in reality for most Canadians. That type of card is the Hybrid Card. Hybrid cards are the moniker for these cards that Rewards Canada instituted many moons ago. Also known as Flexible Points card, Hybrid cards give the cardholder the best of all worlds when it comes to being rewarded from their credit card spending and welcome bonuses.

My favourite Starbucks Rewards redemption

 
We don't cover Starbucks Rewards very often here on Rewards Canada, in fact the last time I wrote about them was when the program was going through changes early in 2019 (read that post here) that were for the most part worse than better. However I've been meaning to write about the program, well more so about my favourite redemption for sometime now and am I finally getting around to it.

On this week's Podcast - Interviews with CIBC on the Aventura Visa card enhancements, delving into the HSBC World Elite Mastercard and a loyalty lesson learned

Episode 47 - November 5, 2018 -- Interviews with CIBC on the Aventura Visa card enhancements, delving into the HSBC World Elite Mastercard and a loyalty lesson learned!

Rewards Canada's Jeff Fredericks had the pleasure of attending a special CIBC event that celebrated the five new enhancements to the CIBC Aventura Visa cards and Jeff was able to conduct several interviews with CIBC about them! Also we look into the relatively new HSBC World Elite Mastercard and how the bank is now targeting the entire Canadian credit card market. Finally we look at our first Loyalty Lesson Learned feature and learn why you should always be looking at using loyalty programs.

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Links relating to this week's topic:

• CIBC Aventura Card enhancements coming on October 15 - Priority Pass with lounge visits, NEXUS credit and more
  CIBC has been a bank that has kind of sat on its laurels over the past few years with…
• HSBC World Elite Mastercard Review
  As part of WestJet's global strategy which included the unveiling of their 787 routes today, they have also announced…
• Loyalty Lesson Learned - Don't brush off reward programs
  We welcome guest contributor, Matthew Couto - a Millennial traveller who left his desk job to travel the world.…

Loyalty Lesson Learned - Don't brush off reward programs

We welcome guest contributor, Matthew Couto - a Millennial traveller who left his desk job to travel the world. We learn a lesson from his travels and time off - using a rewards program credit card could have helped him save a lot more money by helping to pay off some of those travels. In this piece Matthew gives us his background and three credit cards he hand picked that he would have liked to have before his adventure started. 

I left for Australia almost two years ago after quitting my desk job. I had a one-year visa, financial freedom and no plan. I decided if I woke up one morning and wanted to be in Sydney, I would leave that day. I had it all figured out.

My second night in Melbourne, I met my girlfriend.

We fell in love over the next six months, and went long distance when I left for Europe. But there’s a catch: she is half Australian, half French. Her father’s family lives in Melbourne, her mother’s near Montpellier and her sister in Mexico City. She is a global woman and travels frequently to stay in touch with her family. Naturally, as her partner, I came along for the ride.

What I expected to be a year in Australia blossomed into a round-the-world adventure. Since November 2016, I’ve taken six intercontinental flights which meant I used my credit card much more than I expected.

My Flight Path
Infogram

I’ve realized too late what I could have been earning if I’d used a rewards points program. They were never on my radar, and now I’ve missed the opportunity to turn my expenses into a free flight - or more.

Looking back, I put nearly $25 000 on my credit card over 19 months. Here’s what I would have had today using one of these three travel credit cards.


1. Scotiabank More Rewards VISA

Great for the budget traveller, this card has no fee and only requires an annual income of $12 000. You get 4 points per dollar spent and 6 points per dollar at featured businesses like Overwaitea Foods, which are primarily in Western Canada. It’s best used to book flights, where it gives a 2.54% return with featured businesses. You also get 15 000 bonus points if you sign up before October 31, 2018.

Since I was spending outside of Canada, I would have received the normal return of 4 points per dollar, and earned 115 000 points (including the sign-up bonus). This amounts to approximately $500 to put towards flights booked through MyRewards.ca.

Conclusion: Within the coming year I will certainly fly round-trip to Mexico City to visit my girlfriend’s sister, and if I had been using the Scotiabank More Rewards VISA, that flight would be free.

2. American Express Cobalt Card
With up to 30 000 bonus points in your first year if you spend at least $500 per month (not difficult while traveling), and a $10 monthly fee that saves you from a full-year commitment, this accessible card has a great return on a variety of products.

You get 5 points for every dollar with restaurants, bars, grocery stores and food delivery in Canada, 2 for eligible travel purchases and 1 for everything else.

I spent about $1000 on eating and drinking out while in Toronto for four months in the middle of my trip (5 points), $6000 on flights (2 points) and $18 000 on everything else (1 point). With the 30 000 point bonus, that’s 65 000 points with a value of more than $600 to put towards flights purchased through AMEX or shows with Ticketmaster.ca. You can also redeem points towards Amazon.ca purchases, hotel stays and car rentals.

Conclusion: I rented a car for a week in Queensland, Australia to go camping with my girlfriend. That rental could have been free. We’ve also discussed renting a hotel room when we need space from our crowded 2-bedroom apartment currently housing six people (it’s a long story). That solitude could have been free too.

3. Rogers Platinum Mastercard
Most rewards points programs give you a better return on eligible purchases made in Canada. However, for someone leaving Canada immediately and spending solely overseas, this card is a great option. With no annual fee, you get a 3% cashback return on purchases in foreign currencies - cancelling out the foreign exchange fee of 2.5% and earning a 0.5% cashback with the difference.

I spent around $20 000 in foreign currencies during my trip, which equals $600 of cashback rewards. Unlike points programs, you can use that money however you want.

Conclusion: My transactions were mostly in foreign currencies and the cashback rewards would have been significant.

A Life Lesson

I’ve always thought rewards programs weren’t worth the time and effort, but I’ve realized with the right program anyone can earn significant savings. These programs aren’t just for frequent flyers on business trips. I signed up for a new credit card anyways before I first left Canada, and if I had just done a little research, I could have saved with a travel credit card.

I missed out on the opportunity to have my next flight, hotel stay or car rental - you name it - for free. If you’ve been thinking about a trip of your own, I hope you have as wild of an adventure as I did. Just don’t make my mistake.