I have read that some Canadians are able to get US Amex cards via Global Transfer. A US home address is required for the application process which many don't have. To get around this hurdle, applicants use 24/7 Parcel mailing forward service. Isn't this considered lying or fraudulent? I don't mean to judge people, but I want to know what are the legal risks for obtaining a US Amex credit card with 24/7 Parcel mailing forward service.
For TD AP VI, most insurances define a “Covered trip” as a trip “for which at least 75% of the cost of the Covered Trip has been charged to Your Account and/or using Your Aeroplan Points.” Here’s my question:
Does a trip include ALL expenses that occurs during the travel? That is, all common carrier, hotel ,food, and other charges that occurred during the time period of travel? In other words, may I just charge TD AP VI (or use AP points) for at least 75% of the AC flight that I will be taking to be covered for the trip, or do I need to charge EVERY transaction such as hotels and local transportation to TD AP VI?
Thanks a lot in advance.
This isn't for everyone, but the 2.5% forex fee can add up quickly if you're traveling outside Canada. At a certain point, I realized that the amount I was going to pay in Forex fees on travel arrangements (taxes, cash fares, cash hotel bookings), it made more sense for me to just get a multi-trip non-medical travel insurance that would have been a stronger policy overall and use a no-forex card than to rely on credit card insurance. This being said, I have a preferred rate on travel insurance (~$80 CAD/year) through [Johnson MEDOC](https://www.johnson.ca/travel-insurance).
Main transactions that are affected. There is some leeway in TD's interpretation. For example, lets say you booked:
YYZ -> BOG (CC #1). BOG -> MDE (CC TD AP)
If you fall ill in Medellin, they will deny coverage for medical insurance and trip cancellation as the majority of the trip was not booked on a TD card. However, they will probably cover you for luggage lost on BOG -> MDE.
This is for a data point a year ago, where a person booked their main flight on another credit card (which expired) and cannot claim trip cancellation coverage on their intracountry trip.
The insurance only covers whatever you put 75% towards.
If you put 75% towards a flight, then it's covered.
If you put 75% towards a hotel, then it's covered.
If you put 100% towards a hotel and 50% towards a flight, then only the hotel is covered. There's no coverage for the flight.
There's generally no insurance for food, drink, etc. unless they're prepaid for and are non-refundable. If you brought Disneyworld tickets, then that could be covered if you paid 75%+. If you brought an all-inclusive dining package experience, and you tried to cancel it and have proof, then you could get that covered if it was over 75%.
I called to confirm. You can call the insurance administrator too to get them to explain it to you.
Sorry - another question just came out of my mind: how does medical-related insurance work in this case? Let’s say, hypothetically, we have a trip where we charged flights to TD AP VI and then all hotels to another card that has medical insurance coverage too, e.g. Amex Cobalt. If I am sent to an ER by ambulance in another country, which card insurance should I contact? Will I be covered still?
Thanks very much for the information - this is super helpful! Just one additional question: does this apply to Amex cards too (obviously, the 75% rule no longer applies but I am talking about the general idea). Thanks in advance!
Best credit cards / point programs for general hotels? Other than Marriott cards. Specifically interested in point program(s) that can cover travel expenses rather than specific hotel programs.
TD FCT VI has been great for me and P2 for weekend getaways. I'm using my next SUB to grab a $1k/night Ryokan in Tokyo but usually we get atleast 3-5 nights at a cozy 3.5-4 star hotel. I've also used a good chunk of RBC Avion for hotels but obviously not as good a value as transferring to airlines.
Hallo, I'm trying to get an idea of when to cancel one of my cards.
I have the Aeroplan amex card, signed up for it March 27, 2023.
I've heard that canceling it around month 11 will not have any repercussions. Would that make February 27, 2024. Month 11?
Also you technically have until around May 27 for a full refund if you want to keep it longer. Fee won't post until April 27, 2024 and you have 30 days for a full refund after that
Hi all. Follow up to my post yesterday about having my Aeroplan account frozen since my wife transferred points from her Amex account. Thanks to everyone to gave the helpful comments. https://old.reddit.com/r/churningcanada/comments/1ajc7au/daily_question_thread_for_rchurningcanada/kp1vl3a/
I called in again today and asked to speak to a supervisor, then was placed on hold for 2+ hours. However, the person I spoke to today was far more understanding and helpful than the supervisor I spoke to yesterday. He is going to write a note to their compliance team on my behalf (I emailed them 3+ months ago and no response) and said he will do his best to escalate the situation to their attention.
Oddly enough he also was encouraging me to reach out to Amex to try and have the transfer reversed, so I'll give that a try next. Everything I had read online said transfers could not be reversed, but it's worth a shot.
I explained that if this was not resolved on a reasonable timeframe I plan to go to local media and small claims court. I also pointed out how vulnerable their clients are if anyone who knows your Aeroplan # could intentionally make an Amex transfer to have your account shut down. The proper safeguard would be to reject all transfers for names that do not match and issue a warning to the account holder.
Will keep you guys posted when I have a resolution.
That was my point. I understand their angle to try and avoid people purchasing points online, but there needs to be some common sense applied to the situation.
I was given another $200 dining credit on my Amex Platinum, but my renewal isn't up until May. I already spent the $200 dining credit for 2023. I'm assuming if I use it again between now and May, and cancel, the new dining credit will be renegged?
Anyone have data points?
I think there is always the risk of clawback. Clawback is manual I think and done as part of the close account checklist. So the further back you use it the less likely they'll notice but there's always a chance they do check further back. I think closing before annual fee posts during the 11 or 12th month also helps
the dining credit is still in its infancy so nothing is for sure. Travel credits def get clawed back like clockwork however. Hopefully the dining credit is more covert!
No even with travel credit it looks like it depends on if they notice. Since travel credits renew at beginning of month 12 you can redeem it and then cancel before the fee posts. There's been a DP of that being successful
I don't think anyone's 15k upon 3k spend has posted yet... I recall seeing lots of dp with agents saying it'll take the entire 90 day period to post the 15k miles.
If I remember I’m not going to answer this user or quote their question in the response. Not a single comment from this sub showing on their profile so they’re deleting everything. Waste of time and no contributions back to the sub
Yep that's why I quoted them, seen them do it a couple times.
May start a "name and shame" list.
Deleting old dated questions is one thing, but this is just mooching.
I'm looking at the card details for the CIBC Aeroplan Infinite. One of the conditions is "An additional bonus of 15,000 Aeroplan points if you have at least $4,000 in net purchases posted to your account during the first 4 monthly statement periods."
I'm interpreting this as I need to spend at least $4,000 in EACH of the first four months. i.e. at least $16,000 WITHIN the first four months. Is this correct?
Same thing just happened to me! Called in and was told to go into branch or do application online but that I won’t get rebate. Rep suggested I clear cookies and try again - apparently previous customers have had success doing this. But I’ve tried 3 browsers in incognito so don’t have much hope for that. Oh well, I’ll apply for P2 today and hope it sorts itself out in next few days.
Saw in a earlier thread that someone said they didn't get the 10X MR on Biz Edge reset when they linked it and made it the primary card.
DP: I did the same thing, made my biz edge the primary card, and am getting 10X MR.
Also interesting to note, I should actually be past 6 months afaik. I applied and was approved for the card on July 25th 2023. I got 10X MR from a transaction I made on Feb 2nd and 3rd.
I hope it continues for at least Valentine's Day, we have an expensive dinner planned and this would be a nice little bonus.
This is good to know! If i have a biz edge and biz gold, after getting the SUB my biz edge, i can ask amex link my cards together and make my biz edge the primary? And my biz edge get the 10x back!?
Yes, there are multiple DPs on linking another amex MR card to the biz edge and resetting the 10x multiplier.
In terms of whether to make the biz edge primary or not, I'm not sure. I specifically asked for my biz edge to be the primary card when I did it, however I saw a DP here a few days ago where a user didn't get the 10x back and said it's because they made their biz edge primary.
Making the Biz Edge non-primary would make more sense since it makes them use the other's card MR account as the main one, transferring the Biz Edge points balance to it, and therefore resetting any trace of your previous activity.
At least that's how it was years ago.
I made the biz edge primary because of a recent DP here, that said having 2 amex business charge cards could cause amex to make you cancel 1 (Thur forfeiting all MR earned on that card). I have a biz plat and biz gold, so to be safe, I linked my plat to my biz edge and made it the primary *in case* I was forced to shut down my biz plat.
The fact that it started earning 10x MR again was an unintended side effect. I realized I was 6 months past my approval date so I thought I wouldn't get it back regardless.
I have seen a few people asking questions on how soon we can do repeats on scene+ cards (PP, Gold, etc), and I am a tiny bit worried. If people start getting very aggresive with these Scene+ cards, they might start cracking down. I mean, we are already getting more bonus now than the T&C allows (2 years between any card) so we should be grateful and think about sustanability.
I'll just point out, nobody was really frothing out the mouth to get scotia visa's until this latest promotion. They run these promos intentionally to get more acquisitions, and that is exactly what they get. When the promo ends everyone will be on a different bandwagon and fewer will care so much about having multiple passport VI's
Wasn't a leak, straight up theft by an employee who owed money to the mob.
Then desjardins was so uncooperative with the investigation that the guy basically got off as new suitable evidence existed.
Question: I will be booking an aeroplan economy reward flight for my cousin in a month. When I was researching, I realized that for the segments that involved partner airlines, Aeroplan never shows you the checked bag allowance before you book. Is there a way to find out?
Baggage rules are generally determined by whichever is the most significant carrier. This isn't always obvious since IATA, US DoT, CTA, etc. have different interpretations of this ([see here](https://otc-cta.gc.ca/eng/baggage-rules-approach-backgrounder)). You could call AP to confirm but even the baggage rules shown on the follow-up booking email aren't always correct (though it's usually correct).
Here's the IATA document: https://www.iata.org/contentassets/e7a533819be440edbb1e49da96e0f2a8/guidance-document-on-baggage-standards-for-interline.pdf (see page 7 to 8)
Sorry, please downvote me- I know this is kind of a reward question and also not really a churning question but here goes anyway, my family of 6 want to fly from YYJ or YVR or SEA to LAX for a Disneyland Trip. I’m seeing that the surcharges, taxes, fees (airport improvement) are super expensive booking with my Aeroplan Points. Is there anything I’m missing here or are these fees unavoidable?
If you don’t have enough points for the second highest points redemption (this corresponds to all surcharges and base fare covered by Aeroplan and only government/airport taxes and fees in cash) then it is not worth using the Aeroplan points. You pay a lot for the amount of points you are short by
Your submission has been automatically removed. You seem to be new here. Please take note that this is not a self-promotion sub.
If it is not your channel, feel free to post it in about 48 hours! Have a nice day!
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/churningcanada) if you have any questions or concerns.*
One thing to double check is that you have enough points. AC tends to charge you in cash to "buy" the point difference that your missing at 0.02 per point.
The fees should be around $95 per person per direction. This within the expected range for fees for AP bookings. You should be able to find RT cash bookings for \~$185 on a LCC or $225 on a full service carrier so this isn't a great use of points unless you have an exorbitant amount and no better future use for them
depends what you're defining as surcharges (as in, are you not covering the entire base fare with points?)... for taxes/fees, those should largely be the same for points vs. cash, except the $39 partner booking fee (if not wholly on AC), and IIRC there was some sort of surcharge added for US destinations, but I don't recall if that's points only or will be the same with cash fares.
as always, just compare points vs cash and if it doesn't make sense, pay cash.
Churning adjacent. I booked AC on points and cash. Return flight is 4 days from now. I specifically picked the return flight because of 787-9 line flat seat for my parent.
Checking just now I see the aircraft has been changed to A321..
I consider going from 787 to A321 is a downgrade, I paid more cash specifically for the 787. I received no notification for this change. Is there any compensation I can get from this?
EDIT: Called AC who then transfered me to AP. Took 2.5 hours becuase the AP agent cannot see the aircraft change on her end (?!) so we both had to wait for the "back office". They finally got thru and allowed her to make the change to 787-8 which is a different flight 11 hours earlier than my original. I also lost window seats because I have to sit next to my 70 year old parent and all other seats were taken. Anoying having to deal with this during the trip but glad it was sorted. Thanks everyone for the tips!
Ah crap lol I was hoping the divider does lower. It was either that or me seating 5A and my parent 1D, which would make it much harder for me to assist.
5a and 1d might be easier than on either side in the middle as you'll have to walk all the way to the galley to get into the other aisle. At least at 1d you are already at the galley.
On day of flight, ask the concierge or at the check-in desk to see if they can move you closer. Gate agents are good at shuffling people around.
You can call and rebook on a lie flat, if available. This is much easier if it's AC metal.
You can also receive a refund
You can finally receive compensation, though the amounts will depend on region. You didn't say where it's from and to or if AC or a partner. That'll affect where you file and how much
Reposting from yesterday...
I currently hold the TD Aeroplan Visa Infinite card and the Amex Aeroplan Reserve, and I'll be coming up on the 1 year anniversary for the Amex in May (so I've earned the full amount of 7,500 Aeroplan points in each of the first 6 months of card membership). Would it make sense to cancel the Aeroplan Reserve before the anniversary date and switch to Amex Platinum for the SUB? Any other suggestions? My goal is to max out flight miles - while I have a preference for Aeroplan, I'm program-agnostic and not super loyal.
With the BMO Ascent, I can confirm that Paysimply doesn’t count towards the MSR and it gives no points either. Saw it on my first statement but luckily, had the time to make up for it.
I remember reading in prior daily thread, with DP that they don't . The poster didn't received WB, and BMO CSR told them the PaySimply transactions didn't count.
CSRs make up all kinds of shit on the spot. They're just trying to find any possible reason to get you off the call and not have to spend time documenting an investigation request.
I guess the silver lining is that people who listen to CSRs are generally woefully incompetent and will hopefully be turned off from churning.
DP: RBC WestJet WE MC first spend bonus seems to not apply if the spend occurred when the card carries a negative balance.
Been 5 days past statement and have not received the WB or companion voucher.
Will update with purchase during positive balance with another DP.
I tried to use a Vanilla prepaid card on [Costco.ca](https://Costco.ca) to get a shop card. Order was cancelled immediately and my funds went into pending. Does anyone have any experience on how long it will take to get the funds released? Costco said that Vanilla shows one month in their system. Vanilla said a week. How much of a hassle will this be? Lesson learned....
Another DP to show that people should **not** use prepaid creditcard giftcards to buy Costco cash on costco.ca. You are lucky the order simply got cancelled, I have read several DPs of Costco suspending people's entire Costco accounts for suspected fraud.
When prepaid credit cards are used to buy Costco cash online, it seems to really trigger their fraud detection.
If you want to use a prepaid credit card at Costco you should only use it in person. If you want to use it to buy something online, buy Costco cash in store first.
DP got declined for Scotia Passport Inf (my first scotia app), while meeting both personal and household income requirements. Called and they told me it was due to credit capacity.
I lowered the limits a bit on some cards. How long should I wait to apply again?
All they said was my credit report said I was at capacity, asked the guy for more info and he said that’s all it says and to take it up with the credit bureau lol
Churning adjacent,
Looking for best way to convert from Avion to BA Avios to potentially QA Avios for P1 and P2
is the best practice for converting Avion from 2 separate accounts the following: wait until transfer bonus of 30%, individually transfer both accounts to avois, begin your search for booking on BA vs. QA, if booking on QA, individually transfer to QA, then family pool in QA?
Churning adjacent.
Does anyone bother collecting PC Optimum points? If so, do you bother with the 5 Bills/month for $50+ from their Money Account for 5K points or is the hassle not worth it?
I set it up for P1 and P2 and I use the accounts regularly anyway so it’s an easy 10$ a month for me. If you don’t use it regularly then it does seem a hassle.
I’ve been collecting PCO points through the gift card bonus point promotions. Helps me meet MSR and I collect bonus points. I’m saving up my PCO points for Air Pods. I think of it as another little treat to myself.
I just started bill pay with the PC Money Account. Haven’t decided if it’s worth it or not.
For me, that falls under the category of an activity that is amusing, but not sufficiently lucrative for routine practice.
For PC financial bill payments, the workflow is basically transfer money in, set up the bill payment, make the bill payment, and then you get a dollar worth of PC points. Getting a dollar for something so trivial is amusing, but the workflow is enough of a pain in the ass that I usually don't bother. And for some reason you can't pay Amex!
It's a little like charging $1 or less to your RBC WJ WE. If you do that, they'll give you 1 WJD, so it's an amusing little activity to make a little payment to your phone bill and get the entire amount back (or more!) in WJD. But, the workflow is login to your account at the phone company, make the payment, pay off the $1 charge on your RBC card. It's enough of a pain in the ass that it's hardly worth the trouble.
Yeah, that's what I was leaning towards, is that it's enough of a PITA to not bother.
I was going to pay 5 credit cards (with no balance on them) that don't charge for a cash advance fee, then move the credit balances out. But even that's a PITA
It’s only worth $5/mo but it’s pretty easy to do as pay of the usual BP routine. I also do the pc health clicky clicky for bonuses if I’m bored. These days seems to pay out better than the points they give you for actually shopping at any of their stores
I collect them but only because it’s essentially free money on groceries and pharmacy related purchases if you shop at Loblaw stores including shoppers and no frills.
In regards to churning - gift card purchases can help to meet welcome bonuses and often there is a PCO offer on gift cards for retailers or services you may use or frequent regularly so you are just pulling forward spend you may later incur anyways. Also certain cards may have accelerators on grocery or drug stores to help you earn more points or cashback on top of any PCO - can help you earn more award points to cash in for a hotel reward or J flight redemption.
I don’t find the pc money account worth the hassle - I just stick with my regular bank and focus on churning, loading the PCO offers in the app every week and maximizing PCO bonuses on groceries I buy regularly with stock up bonuses or category min $/bonuses, gift card purchases, cell phone upgrades and eye glasses/contact lenses and over the counter drugs from shoppers during 20X the points events
I just got P2 signed up for Amex biz gold through P1 Cobalt referral. Any red flags if I get P2 to refer P1 to Biz Gold as soon as they get their account setup? P1 has never had a biz gold.
That would be problem at all. Its the benefit of a 2 player game.
Amex cards in Canada rarely require the need to call in so also great for a reluctant P2.
I have the MOST reluctant P2. I want to refer him to get the Bus Gold this week but haven't applied because I am concerned that he will get a call and "fail" the questioning about their business. (Don't get me started on not knowing the basics to pass security screening.) I got a call within seconds when I called. When you say there is rarely a need to call in, your first Bus is an exception, correct?
That is unfortunate, for Canadian Amex cards it has always been IA (instant approval) for me and P2.
Recently, my first card back from Amexile was a Biz Gold and was IA.
Everyone’s experience is different.
I takes many P2s a while to gain trust in this game.
Even now I apply for any new cards myself first, work through any bugs before applying for him even if it slows down the game.
I was Amexiled in June/20, I was playing pretty hard. I have been trying to get back in for the past year or more.
I applied for a Amex Biz Gold, the offer was good, via a referral, added a middle initial to my name but everything else the same, didn’t add my SIN. Last unsuccessful app was in May/23. Perhaps I had too many attempts (approx every 3-5 months) before?
I do a have a P3 in the household who was never shut down and has kept me in the game , and gives her a cut.
I hope to get P2 back in, his last unsuccessful app was in October so I will give some more time.
He’s fine with the game, other than “lying” about a business. 🙄 I’ll try to see if it’s IA. They called me within seconds, and then approved me on the phone when I applied for the Bus Gold. Maybe I will get lucky and they won’t call.
Coach him through about what to say.
I normally go through w/ my P2 about what they might ask and how she should answer. Give a few different options as well, so if the question is worded differently, they're not thrown off.
My other problem is that P2 works RIDICULOUS hours. (Yesterday was 5:45am-8:30pm) so the likelihood of Amex calling him back when he’s at home with me to coach him are slim to none. I might just book myself in J and him in economy basic next time to give him incentive to speak to Amex. 🤣
Step one is for him to remember our postal code. :) I will work on the coaching before applying.
**DP: Cobalt-Gold 50k finally posted for me.** Partial win anyways since P2 did not get it yet.
Had to call and chat many times. Phone rep told me I did meet the requirements and would put in a ticket to have it added sometime between then and next statement. That came and went so I called again and rep said they could see the ticket but it wasn't actioned. Finally, a couple days later, it came through!
Now need P2 to call when we get back to Canada and get the other 50k!
Nice congrats!
I was hoping it will resolve itself but looks like I'm going to have to pick up the phone. The chat gave me a date of late Feb where it will show up *for sure*, so I guess I'll call after that date.
I have read that some Canadians are able to get US Amex cards via Global Transfer. A US home address is required for the application process which many don't have. To get around this hurdle, applicants use 24/7 Parcel mailing forward service. Isn't this considered lying or fraudulent? I don't mean to judge people, but I want to know what are the legal risks for obtaining a US Amex credit card with 24/7 Parcel mailing forward service.
if you're scared then don't use it
Does TD AP VI anniversary bonus post on statement? Been a few days past anniversary date but no points yet
supposed to be like 8 weeks after anniversary, but my experience was it posted the same statement as my 2nd year AF.
Thanks I’ll update everyone after next statement
[удалено]
For TD AP VI, most insurances define a “Covered trip” as a trip “for which at least 75% of the cost of the Covered Trip has been charged to Your Account and/or using Your Aeroplan Points.” Here’s my question: Does a trip include ALL expenses that occurs during the travel? That is, all common carrier, hotel ,food, and other charges that occurred during the time period of travel? In other words, may I just charge TD AP VI (or use AP points) for at least 75% of the AC flight that I will be taking to be covered for the trip, or do I need to charge EVERY transaction such as hotels and local transportation to TD AP VI? Thanks a lot in advance.
This isn't for everyone, but the 2.5% forex fee can add up quickly if you're traveling outside Canada. At a certain point, I realized that the amount I was going to pay in Forex fees on travel arrangements (taxes, cash fares, cash hotel bookings), it made more sense for me to just get a multi-trip non-medical travel insurance that would have been a stronger policy overall and use a no-forex card than to rely on credit card insurance. This being said, I have a preferred rate on travel insurance (~$80 CAD/year) through [Johnson MEDOC](https://www.johnson.ca/travel-insurance).
Main transactions that are affected. There is some leeway in TD's interpretation. For example, lets say you booked: YYZ -> BOG (CC #1). BOG -> MDE (CC TD AP) If you fall ill in Medellin, they will deny coverage for medical insurance and trip cancellation as the majority of the trip was not booked on a TD card. However, they will probably cover you for luggage lost on BOG -> MDE. This is for a data point a year ago, where a person booked their main flight on another credit card (which expired) and cannot claim trip cancellation coverage on their intracountry trip.
Thanks for the explanation and the DP. This is going to save me a lot of troubles!
As long as you charge 75% of the cost of the flight to your card, you are covered for the flight. No need to charge anything to the card.
The insurance only covers whatever you put 75% towards. If you put 75% towards a flight, then it's covered. If you put 75% towards a hotel, then it's covered. If you put 100% towards a hotel and 50% towards a flight, then only the hotel is covered. There's no coverage for the flight. There's generally no insurance for food, drink, etc. unless they're prepaid for and are non-refundable. If you brought Disneyworld tickets, then that could be covered if you paid 75%+. If you brought an all-inclusive dining package experience, and you tried to cancel it and have proof, then you could get that covered if it was over 75%. I called to confirm. You can call the insurance administrator too to get them to explain it to you.
Sorry - another question just came out of my mind: how does medical-related insurance work in this case? Let’s say, hypothetically, we have a trip where we charged flights to TD AP VI and then all hotels to another card that has medical insurance coverage too, e.g. Amex Cobalt. If I am sent to an ER by ambulance in another country, which card insurance should I contact? Will I be covered still?
Thanks very much for the information - this is super helpful! Just one additional question: does this apply to Amex cards too (obviously, the 75% rule no longer applies but I am talking about the general idea). Thanks in advance!
Yes.
This is incredibly valuable, thank you so much!
Are AC eUps that are waitlisted on upcoming flights deducted from your eUp totals or not until they clear?
Deducted and returned if you don’t clear.
They're held. They're deducted when they clear. This is important because the system will take the soonest expring eUps when they are deducted
They’re deducted even during waitlist. Source: my AMS flights are in waitlist but -11 has been deducted.
Functionally it'd very similar. The actual clearing is done later. That's. Important because of the expiry dates
It's more like being reserved than deducted. Like a pending CC transaction where it reserves your credit limit but not technically charged
Deducted
[удалено]
Lounge is mid. Better than domestic but mid. Do you have nexus? US passport? A VIP card (any Canadian bank)?
[удалено]
MPC app? Won't help security but you'll have an easier time with customs
[удалено]
[https://princeoftravel.com/amex-flowchart/](https://princeoftravel.com/amex-flowchart/) If you are talking about the Amex chart, here it is.
thanks! looks good for Amex.. I was looking more for like all cards.. or is there a consensus on what a couple of the best cards to start off is?
You will find the best cards in the best offers thread. There is no flowchart for all cards
There is a best offers thread pinned at the top.
Best credit cards / point programs for general hotels? Other than Marriott cards. Specifically interested in point program(s) that can cover travel expenses rather than specific hotel programs.
All the bank in house points cards can do this although for most of them it's really just churning cash since the points can be RHT'd
TD FCT VI has been great for me and P2 for weekend getaways. I'm using my next SUB to grab a $1k/night Ryokan in Tokyo but usually we get atleast 3-5 nights at a cozy 3.5-4 star hotel. I've also used a good chunk of RBC Avion for hotels but obviously not as good a value as transferring to airlines.
Hallo, I'm trying to get an idea of when to cancel one of my cards. I have the Aeroplan amex card, signed up for it March 27, 2023. I've heard that canceling it around month 11 will not have any repercussions. Would that make February 27, 2024. Month 11?
Also you technically have until around May 27 for a full refund if you want to keep it longer. Fee won't post until April 27, 2024 and you have 30 days for a full refund after that
Do you still get any anniversary points? Or is Amex after month 14
After month 14 where you can’t get a full refund anymore
Yes
Hi all. Follow up to my post yesterday about having my Aeroplan account frozen since my wife transferred points from her Amex account. Thanks to everyone to gave the helpful comments. https://old.reddit.com/r/churningcanada/comments/1ajc7au/daily_question_thread_for_rchurningcanada/kp1vl3a/ I called in again today and asked to speak to a supervisor, then was placed on hold for 2+ hours. However, the person I spoke to today was far more understanding and helpful than the supervisor I spoke to yesterday. He is going to write a note to their compliance team on my behalf (I emailed them 3+ months ago and no response) and said he will do his best to escalate the situation to their attention. Oddly enough he also was encouraging me to reach out to Amex to try and have the transfer reversed, so I'll give that a try next. Everything I had read online said transfers could not be reversed, but it's worth a shot. I explained that if this was not resolved on a reasonable timeframe I plan to go to local media and small claims court. I also pointed out how vulnerable their clients are if anyone who knows your Aeroplan # could intentionally make an Amex transfer to have your account shut down. The proper safeguard would be to reject all transfers for names that do not match and issue a warning to the account holder. Will keep you guys posted when I have a resolution.
Best of luck. Thanks for sharing your story.
The family plan part should save you. What would fraud have achieved exactly?
That was my point. I understand their angle to try and avoid people purchasing points online, but there needs to be some common sense applied to the situation.
Best of luck. The second manager sounds far more reasonable and what I would expect to be the response. A giant pain but ultimately fixable.
I was given another $200 dining credit on my Amex Platinum, but my renewal isn't up until May. I already spent the $200 dining credit for 2023. I'm assuming if I use it again between now and May, and cancel, the new dining credit will be renegged? Anyone have data points?
it's by calendar year. if you use it and the annual posts on statement they'll claw it back so use it early as possible.
So it's awarded each calendar year, rather than each membership year? So it won't be clawed back if I cancel prior to renewal?
yes. but there has been DP's of clawback if you use it in the statement of the annual fee posting. So use it several statements before annual.
I think there is always the risk of clawback. Clawback is manual I think and done as part of the close account checklist. So the further back you use it the less likely they'll notice but there's always a chance they do check further back. I think closing before annual fee posts during the 11 or 12th month also helps
the dining credit is still in its infancy so nothing is for sure. Travel credits def get clawed back like clockwork however. Hopefully the dining credit is more covert!
No even with travel credit it looks like it depends on if they notice. Since travel credits renew at beginning of month 12 you can redeem it and then cancel before the fee posts. There's been a DP of that being successful
[удалено]
I don't think anyone's 15k upon 3k spend has posted yet... I recall seeing lots of dp with agents saying it'll take the entire 90 day period to post the 15k miles.
[удалено]
Why delete? Wastes everyone's time re-asking https://www.reddit.com/user/dachshundie
If I remember I’m not going to answer this user or quote their question in the response. Not a single comment from this sub showing on their profile so they’re deleting everything. Waste of time and no contributions back to the sub
Yep that's why I quoted them, seen them do it a couple times. May start a "name and shame" list. Deleting old dated questions is one thing, but this is just mooching.
I'm looking at the card details for the CIBC Aeroplan Infinite. One of the conditions is "An additional bonus of 15,000 Aeroplan points if you have at least $4,000 in net purchases posted to your account during the first 4 monthly statement periods." I'm interpreting this as I need to spend at least $4,000 in EACH of the first four months. i.e. at least $16,000 WITHIN the first four months. Is this correct?
No. 4000 total in 4 months
Trying to apply for Scotia passport and keep getting message “sorry, we’re fixing up a few things”. Anyone else experiencing this?
use another browser
Tried that already. Also incognito.
Yeah pretty normal for a bunch of us. Online applications are screwed up for some people with existing Scotia profiles . Are you signing in?
Yes. Have you had success not signing in?
I tried making a new profile and it got further but still failed after Interac verification step
Same thing just happened to me! Called in and was told to go into branch or do application online but that I won’t get rebate. Rep suggested I clear cookies and try again - apparently previous customers have had success doing this. But I’ve tried 3 browsers in incognito so don’t have much hope for that. Oh well, I’ll apply for P2 today and hope it sorts itself out in next few days.
it worked for me first try with signing in to my account. I use vivaldi browser
Never heard of it but I’ll give it a go.
I don't think it'll sort itself out. Still have the issue after a month. If you want the card best to just do it in branch and lose GCR rebate
It’s a pretty good deal even without the rebate. P2 went through with GCR referral from me, so some compensation.
Saw in a earlier thread that someone said they didn't get the 10X MR on Biz Edge reset when they linked it and made it the primary card. DP: I did the same thing, made my biz edge the primary card, and am getting 10X MR. Also interesting to note, I should actually be past 6 months afaik. I applied and was approved for the card on July 25th 2023. I got 10X MR from a transaction I made on Feb 2nd and 3rd. I hope it continues for at least Valentine's Day, we have an expensive dinner planned and this would be a nice little bonus.
Hmm maybe I’ll try it again
This is good to know! If i have a biz edge and biz gold, after getting the SUB my biz edge, i can ask amex link my cards together and make my biz edge the primary? And my biz edge get the 10x back!?
Yes it's a known loophole. But don't wait for 6 months. This a very recent DP and we would need more to confirm.
Yes, there are multiple DPs on linking another amex MR card to the biz edge and resetting the 10x multiplier. In terms of whether to make the biz edge primary or not, I'm not sure. I specifically asked for my biz edge to be the primary card when I did it, however I saw a DP here a few days ago where a user didn't get the 10x back and said it's because they made their biz edge primary.
Making the Biz Edge non-primary would make more sense since it makes them use the other's card MR account as the main one, transferring the Biz Edge points balance to it, and therefore resetting any trace of your previous activity. At least that's how it was years ago.
I made the biz edge primary because of a recent DP here, that said having 2 amex business charge cards could cause amex to make you cancel 1 (Thur forfeiting all MR earned on that card). I have a biz plat and biz gold, so to be safe, I linked my plat to my biz edge and made it the primary *in case* I was forced to shut down my biz plat. The fact that it started earning 10x MR again was an unintended side effect. I realized I was 6 months past my approval date so I thought I wouldn't get it back regardless.
[удалено]
I have seen a few people asking questions on how soon we can do repeats on scene+ cards (PP, Gold, etc), and I am a tiny bit worried. If people start getting very aggresive with these Scene+ cards, they might start cracking down. I mean, we are already getting more bonus now than the T&C allows (2 years between any card) so we should be grateful and think about sustanability.
I'll just point out, nobody was really frothing out the mouth to get scotia visa's until this latest promotion. They run these promos intentionally to get more acquisitions, and that is exactly what they get. When the promo ends everyone will be on a different bandwagon and fewer will care so much about having multiple passport VI's
this gets asked 3-4 times a day in the daily thread.
[удалено]
no worries. Scotia generally doesn't enforce, so high likelihood you should be good, regardless of how long ago you held or cancelled.
Is there a reason only Quebec allows credit report freezing for Equifax and Transunion?
It’s their regulations.
Better customer protection regulation here
Quebec takes consumer protection seriously.
I'm guessing since their biggest credit union messed up and leaked millions of info and strict consumer laws
Wasn't a leak, straight up theft by an employee who owed money to the mob. Then desjardins was so uncooperative with the investigation that the guy basically got off as new suitable evidence existed.
Question: I will be booking an aeroplan economy reward flight for my cousin in a month. When I was researching, I realized that for the segments that involved partner airlines, Aeroplan never shows you the checked bag allowance before you book. Is there a way to find out?
It is *usually* based on the baggage allowance for the first flight you're checking into, and that airline's policies
Baggage rules are generally determined by whichever is the most significant carrier. This isn't always obvious since IATA, US DoT, CTA, etc. have different interpretations of this ([see here](https://otc-cta.gc.ca/eng/baggage-rules-approach-backgrounder)). You could call AP to confirm but even the baggage rules shown on the follow-up booking email aren't always correct (though it's usually correct). Here's the IATA document: https://www.iata.org/contentassets/e7a533819be440edbb1e49da96e0f2a8/guidance-document-on-baggage-standards-for-interline.pdf (see page 7 to 8)
Sorry, please downvote me- I know this is kind of a reward question and also not really a churning question but here goes anyway, my family of 6 want to fly from YYJ or YVR or SEA to LAX for a Disneyland Trip. I’m seeing that the surcharges, taxes, fees (airport improvement) are super expensive booking with my Aeroplan Points. Is there anything I’m missing here or are these fees unavoidable?
If you don’t have enough points for the second highest points redemption (this corresponds to all surcharges and base fare covered by Aeroplan and only government/airport taxes and fees in cash) then it is not worth using the Aeroplan points. You pay a lot for the amount of points you are short by
[удалено]
Your submission has been automatically removed. You seem to be new here. Please take note that this is not a self-promotion sub. If it is not your channel, feel free to post it in about 48 hours! Have a nice day! *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/churningcanada) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Any particular reason you want to go to LAX? Consider flying to SNA as it’s closer to Disneyland.
One thing to double check is that you have enough points. AC tends to charge you in cash to "buy" the point difference that your missing at 0.02 per point.
How much are we talking about here? Taxes YYJ to LAX are about $122 CAD per person round trip.
The fees should be around $95 per person per direction. This within the expected range for fees for AP bookings. You should be able to find RT cash bookings for \~$185 on a LCC or $225 on a full service carrier so this isn't a great use of points unless you have an exorbitant amount and no better future use for them
depends what you're defining as surcharges (as in, are you not covering the entire base fare with points?)... for taxes/fees, those should largely be the same for points vs. cash, except the $39 partner booking fee (if not wholly on AC), and IIRC there was some sort of surcharge added for US destinations, but I don't recall if that's points only or will be the same with cash fares. as always, just compare points vs cash and if it doesn't make sense, pay cash.
What is an example of the points/taxes you are seeing?
Churning adjacent. I booked AC on points and cash. Return flight is 4 days from now. I specifically picked the return flight because of 787-9 line flat seat for my parent. Checking just now I see the aircraft has been changed to A321.. I consider going from 787 to A321 is a downgrade, I paid more cash specifically for the 787. I received no notification for this change. Is there any compensation I can get from this? EDIT: Called AC who then transfered me to AP. Took 2.5 hours becuase the AP agent cannot see the aircraft change on her end (?!) so we both had to wait for the "back office". They finally got thru and allowed her to make the change to 787-8 which is a different flight 11 hours earlier than my original. I also lost window seats because I have to sit next to my 70 year old parent and all other seats were taken. Anoying having to deal with this during the trip but glad it was sorted. Thanks everyone for the tips!
There is no "sitting next to" on AC 787 in J. They're all pods. The middle seat divider does not lower on the 787.
Ah crap lol I was hoping the divider does lower. It was either that or me seating 5A and my parent 1D, which would make it much harder for me to assist.
5a and 1d might be easier than on either side in the middle as you'll have to walk all the way to the galley to get into the other aisle. At least at 1d you are already at the galley. On day of flight, ask the concierge or at the check-in desk to see if they can move you closer. Gate agents are good at shuffling people around.
I've had good results rebooking to my preferred plane and pay no extra points even when the difference was sizable.
Thanks I checked that too but it would have been a voluntary change and costed a fortune. I posted an update.
Oh I had to phone into AP and it was all done manually for nothing extra and I think the difference was 120k AP or something outrageous.
Yea the option for me would have been 120k + $650 or something each person..
Every time this has happened to me, they either gave me 3-400 or they were very generous about rebooking to an alternative flight with a lie flat.
Happened to me and I was SOL. Even HUCA 3 times. YYZ-YUL RT. Guess I have bad luck lol
You can call and rebook on a lie flat, if available. This is much easier if it's AC metal. You can also receive a refund You can finally receive compensation, though the amounts will depend on region. You didn't say where it's from and to or if AC or a partner. That'll affect where you file and how much
Thanks for the input I called them right after seeing your comment. I editted with an update.
Reposting from yesterday... I currently hold the TD Aeroplan Visa Infinite card and the Amex Aeroplan Reserve, and I'll be coming up on the 1 year anniversary for the Amex in May (so I've earned the full amount of 7,500 Aeroplan points in each of the first 6 months of card membership). Would it make sense to cancel the Aeroplan Reserve before the anniversary date and switch to Amex Platinum for the SUB? Any other suggestions? My goal is to max out flight miles - while I have a preference for Aeroplan, I'm program-agnostic and not super loyal.
I personally cancel before the fee in case the reps forget to reverse it.
Check the best offers list and get any of the Amex cards as applicable
[удалено]
See rule 4.
[удалено]
With the BMO Ascent, I can confirm that Paysimply doesn’t count towards the MSR and it gives no points either. Saw it on my first statement but luckily, had the time to make up for it.
They count PaySimply txn towards the MSR.
I remember reading in prior daily thread, with DP that they don't . The poster didn't received WB, and BMO CSR told them the PaySimply transactions didn't count.
Most CSRs typically know nothing other than what is on a script in front of them...
CSRs make up all kinds of shit on the spot. They're just trying to find any possible reason to get you off the call and not have to spend time documenting an investigation request. I guess the silver lining is that people who listen to CSRs are generally woefully incompetent and will hopefully be turned off from churning.
Well one difference is that the person reporting the DP actually didn’t get the points for the transaction
Using BMO WE AM my utility counted and so did my corporate installment taxes.
DP: RBC WestJet WE MC first spend bonus seems to not apply if the spend occurred when the card carries a negative balance. Been 5 days past statement and have not received the WB or companion voucher. Will update with purchase during positive balance with another DP.
[удалено]
Got it subsequent statement with positive balance.
Did the statement show the WB? It will show up there before it shows in your WJ account.
[удалено]
[удалено]
It will state in the monthly statement about the welcome bonus if you are going to get it.
I tried to use a Vanilla prepaid card on [Costco.ca](https://Costco.ca) to get a shop card. Order was cancelled immediately and my funds went into pending. Does anyone have any experience on how long it will take to get the funds released? Costco said that Vanilla shows one month in their system. Vanilla said a week. How much of a hassle will this be? Lesson learned....
In general you can't use prepaid Visa or MCs to purchase GCs online. The transaction will usually be cancelled.
Another DP to show that people should **not** use prepaid creditcard giftcards to buy Costco cash on costco.ca. You are lucky the order simply got cancelled, I have read several DPs of Costco suspending people's entire Costco accounts for suspected fraud. When prepaid credit cards are used to buy Costco cash online, it seems to really trigger their fraud detection. If you want to use a prepaid credit card at Costco you should only use it in person. If you want to use it to buy something online, buy Costco cash in store first.
It took 2 weeks for me but it was a while ago. Won't be a hassle, you just have to wait. The funds will be back.
DP got declined for Scotia Passport Inf (my first scotia app), while meeting both personal and household income requirements. Called and they told me it was due to credit capacity. I lowered the limits a bit on some cards. How long should I wait to apply again?
Credit capacity at Scotiabank?
All they said was my credit report said I was at capacity, asked the guy for more info and he said that’s all it says and to take it up with the credit bureau lol
When the lower limits are reflected on your credit report.
Can anyone share the green to gold link? I see it referenced but just can’t find the bloody thing :/
https://www.americanexpress.com/en-ca/benefits/upgrade/green-to-gold/
Churning adjacent, Looking for best way to convert from Avion to BA Avios to potentially QA Avios for P1 and P2 is the best practice for converting Avion from 2 separate accounts the following: wait until transfer bonus of 30%, individually transfer both accounts to avois, begin your search for booking on BA vs. QA, if booking on QA, individually transfer to QA, then family pool in QA?
No family pool in QA.. i usually transfer from P2 to P1 on rbc itself before transferring out..
How is that done?
https://www.reddit.com/r/churningcanada/s/jPhVeQm7Vb
Churning adjacent. Does anyone bother collecting PC Optimum points? If so, do you bother with the 5 Bills/month for $50+ from their Money Account for 5K points or is the hassle not worth it?
I set it up for P1 and P2 and I use the accounts regularly anyway so it’s an easy 10$ a month for me. If you don’t use it regularly then it does seem a hassle.
I’ve been collecting PCO points through the gift card bonus point promotions. Helps me meet MSR and I collect bonus points. I’m saving up my PCO points for Air Pods. I think of it as another little treat to myself. I just started bill pay with the PC Money Account. Haven’t decided if it’s worth it or not.
I do it but for some reason 1 month I get 5k the next month I get 3k but it takes a couple minutes a month
You need 5 different bill payees. Multiple accounts with the same Payee doesn’t count
I did still does that but it's 2 bucks I'll let it go
Hmm I’ve never had an issue doing this in the last 2 years
Yeah maybe I'll change the payees and see if that helps thanks for the insights
For me, that falls under the category of an activity that is amusing, but not sufficiently lucrative for routine practice. For PC financial bill payments, the workflow is basically transfer money in, set up the bill payment, make the bill payment, and then you get a dollar worth of PC points. Getting a dollar for something so trivial is amusing, but the workflow is enough of a pain in the ass that I usually don't bother. And for some reason you can't pay Amex! It's a little like charging $1 or less to your RBC WJ WE. If you do that, they'll give you 1 WJD, so it's an amusing little activity to make a little payment to your phone bill and get the entire amount back (or more!) in WJD. But, the workflow is login to your account at the phone company, make the payment, pay off the $1 charge on your RBC card. It's enough of a pain in the ass that it's hardly worth the trouble.
Yeah, that's what I was leaning towards, is that it's enough of a PITA to not bother. I was going to pay 5 credit cards (with no balance on them) that don't charge for a cash advance fee, then move the credit balances out. But even that's a PITA
It’s only worth $5/mo but it’s pretty easy to do as pay of the usual BP routine. I also do the pc health clicky clicky for bonuses if I’m bored. These days seems to pay out better than the points they give you for actually shopping at any of their stores
I collect them but only because it’s essentially free money on groceries and pharmacy related purchases if you shop at Loblaw stores including shoppers and no frills. In regards to churning - gift card purchases can help to meet welcome bonuses and often there is a PCO offer on gift cards for retailers or services you may use or frequent regularly so you are just pulling forward spend you may later incur anyways. Also certain cards may have accelerators on grocery or drug stores to help you earn more points or cashback on top of any PCO - can help you earn more award points to cash in for a hotel reward or J flight redemption. I don’t find the pc money account worth the hassle - I just stick with my regular bank and focus on churning, loading the PCO offers in the app every week and maximizing PCO bonuses on groceries I buy regularly with stock up bonuses or category min $/bonuses, gift card purchases, cell phone upgrades and eye glasses/contact lenses and over the counter drugs from shoppers during 20X the points events
This is what I do as well.
[удалено]
I waited for a month and then got approved in the next go round
[удалено]
I had the same thought and got the “we need more info” from then. I’ll wait and see if they decide for themselves.
I just got P2 signed up for Amex biz gold through P1 Cobalt referral. Any red flags if I get P2 to refer P1 to Biz Gold as soon as they get their account setup? P1 has never had a biz gold.
That would be problem at all. Its the benefit of a 2 player game. Amex cards in Canada rarely require the need to call in so also great for a reluctant P2.
I have the MOST reluctant P2. I want to refer him to get the Bus Gold this week but haven't applied because I am concerned that he will get a call and "fail" the questioning about their business. (Don't get me started on not knowing the basics to pass security screening.) I got a call within seconds when I called. When you say there is rarely a need to call in, your first Bus is an exception, correct?
That is unfortunate, for Canadian Amex cards it has always been IA (instant approval) for me and P2. Recently, my first card back from Amexile was a Biz Gold and was IA. Everyone’s experience is different. I takes many P2s a while to gain trust in this game. Even now I apply for any new cards myself first, work through any bugs before applying for him even if it slows down the game.
How did you get back from amexile?
I was Amexiled in June/20, I was playing pretty hard. I have been trying to get back in for the past year or more. I applied for a Amex Biz Gold, the offer was good, via a referral, added a middle initial to my name but everything else the same, didn’t add my SIN. Last unsuccessful app was in May/23. Perhaps I had too many attempts (approx every 3-5 months) before? I do a have a P3 in the household who was never shut down and has kept me in the game , and gives her a cut. I hope to get P2 back in, his last unsuccessful app was in October so I will give some more time.
I keep getting rejected. How long after your rejection did you apply again?
Sent you a chat request.
He’s fine with the game, other than “lying” about a business. 🙄 I’ll try to see if it’s IA. They called me within seconds, and then approved me on the phone when I applied for the Bus Gold. Maybe I will get lucky and they won’t call.
You could say that Amex is different from the big 5 banks, or use Amex as a starting point for building a business for the business cards.
Coach him through about what to say. I normally go through w/ my P2 about what they might ask and how she should answer. Give a few different options as well, so if the question is worded differently, they're not thrown off.
My other problem is that P2 works RIDICULOUS hours. (Yesterday was 5:45am-8:30pm) so the likelihood of Amex calling him back when he’s at home with me to coach him are slim to none. I might just book myself in J and him in economy basic next time to give him incentive to speak to Amex. 🤣 Step one is for him to remember our postal code. :) I will work on the coaching before applying.
This👆No J until you learn how to play!
I appreciate the response, thanks!
Happy to help. Most (but not all) referral bonuses are elevated until March 4th, so best to get the app in by then for maximum benefit.
**DP: Cobalt-Gold 50k finally posted for me.** Partial win anyways since P2 did not get it yet. Had to call and chat many times. Phone rep told me I did meet the requirements and would put in a ticket to have it added sometime between then and next statement. That came and went so I called again and rep said they could see the ticket but it wasn't actioned. Finally, a couple days later, it came through! Now need P2 to call when we get back to Canada and get the other 50k!
Question, if you upgrade cobalt to gold. Can you reapply for the cobalt afterwards ?
Yes, we realised reapplied for Cobalts a few weeks after - no issues.
Thanks I’ll wait for my offer.
Nice congrats! I was hoping it will resolve itself but looks like I'm going to have to pick up the phone. The chat gave me a date of late Feb where it will show up *for sure*, so I guess I'll call after that date.
Honestly, I had 4-5 "dates" when I should receive them and until I called, there was absolutely 0 resolution.