What Credit Card gives the best (travel) points back?

[stang]

I am looking at credit cards for our small business. We have been just cutting our vendor a cheque every order, but my mom says we should get a CC with air miles then just pay it off every month, and we will would accumulate lots of Air Miles (enough to go on a trip every year)

This sounds great as we usually go somewhere every couple years, but sometimes we go all inclusive for a week, and sometimes its just a flight to Vancouver or Vegas.

Looking into them and TD visa has a TD points system that can be used for travel, and BMO has an air miles one, but not sure which one adds up to a trip faster, and which one is more flexible.

Anyone with any help? I have never used Air Miles even though my wife has been collecting them for years.

Or any better Ideas?

[MoneyGuy]

See if this helps you. Anything for a fellow Oilers fan.

http://docs.google.com/View?id=df2hb9kn_37fh7wtxgb

[Mike F]

Just a heads up, but depending on how the collection of air miles occurs (eg. if the miles are collected by the business) and how they are used (eg. by you, the business employee, personally) the reward you cash the points in for could be deemed a taxable benefit from employment.

Be sure to check with an accountant (the above was base on a fuzzy recolection from a tax class).

[Mike Oxlong]

I have an RBC Avion platinum and it seems to be pretty good. To be honest I don't know a ton about these and haven't compared a bunch of them. However we booked a trip to Hawaii on the Avion points and it was really simple. We actually booked one flight through Air Canada directly and the second on points. Like I said using the Avion points was awesome, we had no problem getting the exact same flights on the points.

Our friends who we booked with booked on CIBC Aeroplan and they couldn't even get all of the same flights. They have another trip to Austria booked later this summer which was booked through their Aeroplan as well. You should see the gong show of flights they are required to take when booking on Aeroplan, they are all over the place and again not even on the same flights.

I think Avion gives you 15,000 free Avion points when you sign up as well.

Final plug for them is the had a promotion going with British Airways where the Avion points were worth double. So you could basically book 2 flights for the price of one.

There may be better deals out there, as I say this is the only one I have used. But so far we are quite happy with it.

[MoneyGuy]

Originally Posted by Mike F

Just a heads up, but depending on how the collection of air miles occurs (eg. if the miles are collected by the business) and how they are used (eg. by you, the business employee, personally) the reward you cash the points in for could be deemed a taxable benefit from employment.

Be sure to check with an accountant (the above was base on a fuzzy recolection from a tax class).

Oh, it's taxable.

How many people declare it, however? If they started clamping down on this, I'd venture a guess that there'd be millions of Canadians who are offenders.

[Mike F]

Originally Posted by MoneyGuy

Oh, it's taxable.

How many people declare it, however? If they started clamping down on this, I'd venture a guess that there'd be millions of Canadians who are offenders.

Yeah, I figured that if the scenario I posited was accurate it would be taxable.

And you're probably right about the lax administration of the rule, but may as well let him know the law so he can make his own, informed choice as to whether to follow the letter.

[Stranger]

I have a Visa Infinite First Class Travel Card and buy all my construction materials with it. I think I get roughly $2 for every $100 spent. It adds up pretty quick. I like this better than my Airmiles card because I can book my own trip and then just call Visa and they credit my points back to the card to cover me. You can also book through Visa's travel agent and you get extra bonus points and they cover your travel insurance I think.

[Peanut]

We enjoy the Avion as well.

[jdso]

I have the RBC Avion as well. I like it due to the promotion with British Airways where you can transfer Avion points to BA miles at a rate of 1.5. The BA miles can be used on their partner airlines as well but require a lot of planning ahead.

I would check this thread out at RFD as it seems to be exactly what you're looking for.
http://forums.redflagdeals.com/compa...-cards-866773/

For a cash back card, I would recommend looking at the MBNA Smart Cash card.

[RandyHolt]

Just an FYI, the CRA changed their stance so the benefits from loyalty programs aren't really taxable anymore for the most part. You can see it here

http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/tx/bsnss/tp.../menu-eng.html

[I-Hate-Hulse]

The key is the ability to buy seats yourself so that you can take advantage of seat sales. I redeemed my points on a flight to Asia and it was actually stupid to do so as a flight could have been had cheaply.

Cashback greatly exceeds anything you get with respect to points, and offers way more in terms of flexibility, usability, and access to seat sales. At least for the main two (Air Miles / Aeroplan) cards. The TD Infinite cards that let you apply cash towards flights charged to the cards have the opportunity to be quite good - might want to look into those.

My AMEX is 2% cashback on everything, no fee, no cashback limit though being AMEX it's usability is limited to major stores.For everything else most RFD'ers are using a MBNA SmartCash card:

http://forums.redflagdeals.com/mbna-...ash-mc-722828/

[Eric Vail]

When I did the math, CIBC aeroplan could get you more bang for your buck, but is far less flexible than the alternatives.

For 25,000 points which I get from a bit less that $25,000 spent, you can fly anywhere in Continental USA or Canada. So, I have booked and travelled to Florida and Newfoundland on points with my family. Peak season flights to these places costs $773 to Newfoundland and Tampa, Florida is $1015. For $25,000 points with the Infinite First Class Travel that was quoted earlier would get you only $500 worth of flights or half way to Florida at Christmastime.

Both trips were booked close around 9 months in advance. I find that anything else you use the aeroplan points for you do not get nearly the same value (ex. car rentals, hotels, etc.).

[redforever]

RBC Avion is great. You can redeem your points for travel on any airline, and rarely is there a blackout period. Plus, the card comes with pretty good travel insurance, rental vehicle insurance, extra warranty coverage, etc.

[stang]

Thanks for all the help, I am going to look into all these... Flexibility is key for us.

[stang]

Anyone use the Capital One miles plus

[totti_07]

another for the RBC Avion Visa

[VladtheImpaler]

Originally Posted by jdso

For a cash back card, I would recommend looking at the MBNA Smart Cash card.

Everyone should get one of these for gas and groceries. We got ours a couple months back and they are fantastic - no fee, 5% cash-back first 6 months, 3% thereafter. The negative is there is a $600 limit per month (after that it's 1%), so you have to make sure you only use it at gas stations and grocery stores.

[MJK]

RBC Avion sucked for my needs. Yes it is great that you can book on any flight but they max out the ticket value on you. I needed to travel and the cost of the ticket was $1000. Booking with Avion points only covered me for $350 and I was on the hook for the rest. Now they might have changed their policy but BEWARE of this!

Aeroplan points accumulate quickly but can be difficult to book flights with.

Airmiles are harder to accumulate but easier to book flights with.

IF you are prepared to book WAY in advance (up to a year) I would go with the CIBC Aerogold card.

[stang]

Hmmm We like to book last minute usually, and would like to be able to pay all the costs towards a flight....

I am looking at the Capital one and the MNBC smartcard

[stang]

Hmmm Capital one is out... Not for Business