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Old 07-07-2020, 05:00 PM   #561
White Out 403
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For any WJ card holders looking to save on the annual fee I was able to get mine waived again, I paid it but then had second thoughts on keeping the card so they gave a $120 statement credit. Worth the conversation with customer service if you are on the fence about keeping the card
will they retro credit if i paid for it already?
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Old 07-07-2020, 07:42 PM   #562
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^They might, you have 3 months after paying it where you can cancel the card and they refund it to you.....if it's been more than 3 months they still might, definitely worth a shot. I would imagine tons of people are cancelling theirs due to lack of travel so I would think they would wanna keep customers if possible
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Old 07-08-2020, 08:57 AM   #563
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I've had the mythical Capital One card for what has to be 15 years and put a crazy amount on it during that time. My target has always been to return 2% on cards.

Sadly, I think the decrease in interchange rates from 1.9 to about 1.5% means the days of a 2% return card are numbered. I looked at the Rogers and the MBNA cards closer and it looks like the MBNA needs you to redeem points through their travel site which is overpriced. Rogers looks pretty good, but at a 1.5% rate it's equivalent to the Capital One - the real savings is the no annual fee. Not sure a $100 annual fee is worth dropping cards. The C1 has a great app and is super easy to redeem points - worth considering if you switch cards.

I have the WJ card too as a backup card but as I don't see us flying for the next 2 years I'm loathe to concentrate spend on it and give WJ any more money (as we have a lot of credits with them)

So for now I think I'll stick with the Capital One until a fully featured 2% card comes out.
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Old 07-08-2020, 10:03 AM   #564
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Originally Posted by I-Hate-Hulse View Post
I've had the mythical Capital One card for what has to be 15 years and put a crazy amount on it during that time. My target has always been to return 2% on cards.

Sadly, I think the decrease in interchange rates from 1.9 to about 1.5% means the days of a 2% return card are numbered. I looked at the Rogers and the MBNA cards closer and it looks like the MBNA needs you to redeem points through their travel site which is overpriced. Rogers looks pretty good, but at a 1.5% rate it's equivalent to the Capital One - the real savings is the no annual fee. Not sure a $100 annual fee is worth dropping cards. The C1 has a great app and is super easy to redeem points - worth considering if you switch cards.

I have the WJ card too as a backup card but as I don't see us flying for the next 2 years I'm loathe to concentrate spend on it and give WJ any more money (as we have a lot of credits with them)

So for now I think I'll stick with the Capital One until a fully featured 2% card comes out.
Yeah, I am in the same boat with the WJ card. I have $7,000 of credits and a couple of companion vouchers, and given the travel situation, it might be good to find something else for the non-restaurant, non-gas, non-grocery spending.
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Old 07-08-2020, 10:13 AM   #565
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Originally Posted by I-Hate-Hulse View Post
I've had the mythical Capital One card for what has to be 15 years and put a crazy amount on it during that time. My target has always been to return 2% on cards.

Sadly, I think the decrease in interchange rates from 1.9 to about 1.5% means the days of a 2% return card are numbered. I looked at the Rogers and the MBNA cards closer and it looks like the MBNA needs you to redeem points through their travel site which is overpriced. Rogers looks pretty good, but at a 1.5% rate it's equivalent to the Capital One - the real savings is the no annual fee. Not sure a $100 annual fee is worth dropping cards. The C1 has a great app and is super easy to redeem points - worth considering if you switch cards.

I have the WJ card too as a backup card but as I don't see us flying for the next 2 years I'm loathe to concentrate spend on it and give WJ any more money (as we have a lot of credits with them)

So for now I think I'll stick with the Capital One until a fully featured 2% card comes out.
HSBC World Elite pays you a $100 annual bonus and you redeem points by erasing balance just like the C1 (no proprietary travel sites with bad point to dollar values), but it pays at 1.5% only for all purchases except travel which is 3%. It's equivalent to the C1 but at a lower rate, unless you do a crap ton of travelling.
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Old 07-08-2020, 03:50 PM   #566
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Nm

Last edited by MillerTime GFG; 07-08-2020 at 10:54 PM.
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Old 07-08-2020, 03:52 PM   #567
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The Capital One Aspire was my daily card since I got it, so this news is definitely sad, but not unexpected. I loved their redemption process. Pay on any site and then just erase the charge from your bill with points. That was a huge plus that the card had. But with the changes I'm contemplating switching to a new card now.

I also have the BMO World Elite card but that requires going through their BMO Rewards site to book anything and use your points.

Looks like the HSBC World Elite is similar to Capital One Aspire in its redemption process? Are there any other recommended cards for travel rewards with that have a similar process?
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Old 07-08-2020, 10:59 PM   #568
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If I may ask, how much do you typically put on the CC/year to get a vacation paid in full every 2-3 years? And a vacation for how many? (Feel free to PM).

I have a WJ card on its way so am curious.
That's a vacation for 1, assuming a 1/2 decent deal can be found. Like Cuba, I've usually spent more per trip. But I went to a friend of a friend's wedding in Jamaica for $1600 and paid in WestJet dollars. So it depends but I've done all inclusive for a week in Mexico for much less too.

I put everything possible on my card, about 2.5k/month or 30k/year. Travel charges to the card you earn 2% instead of 1.5, so if I'm taking advantage of the companion flight every year plus maybe another trip and then I pay the flights and hotel for the free checked bag and they just pay me cash, so another 6-8k/year at 2%.

30k * 1.5% = 450 WestJet dollars
8k * 2.0% = 160

so ~610 WestJet dollars per year give or take.
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Old 07-09-2020, 10:14 AM   #569
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That's a vacation for 1, assuming a 1/2 decent deal can be found. Like Cuba, I've usually spent more per trip. But I went to a friend of a friend's wedding in Jamaica for $1600 and paid in WestJet dollars. So it depends but I've done all inclusive for a week in Mexico for much less too.

I put everything possible on my card, about 2.5k/month or 30k/year. Travel charges to the card you earn 2% instead of 1.5, so if I'm taking advantage of the companion flight every year plus maybe another trip and then I pay the flights and hotel for the free checked bag and they just pay me cash, so another 6-8k/year at 2%.

30k * 1.5% = 450 WestJet dollars
8k * 2.0% = 160

so ~610 WestJet dollars per year give or take.
Don't forget the companion flight - that is an important consideration. If you are single that doesn't help as much. Moneysense found it to be the best overall reward card (as long as you want travel benefits). I use it for business expenses as well as general personal, so I put $15-20k/month on it - that is a lot of "free" travel. I use the Capital One Costco M/C for restaurants (3%) and the Scotia cashback for gas/groceries/recurring bills. That has been the best 3 combination for years, and I have not heard of any better options. Mind you, you have to shop at Costco and fly on WJ for the benefits.
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Old 07-09-2020, 10:46 AM   #570
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^A decent alternative to the Scotia card is the Amex cobalt which pays 5% on restaurant//bars/food delivery/groceries, but not on recurring bills. I guess it would just depend on how much you spend at restaurants/bars
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Old 07-09-2020, 10:56 AM   #571
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I think this is the Moneysense piece to which Vlad is referring.

https://www.moneysense.ca/spend/cred...rds-in-canada/
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Old 07-09-2020, 12:33 PM   #572
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^A decent alternative to the Scotia card is the Amex cobalt which pays 5% on restaurant//bars/food delivery/groceries, but not on recurring bills. I guess it would just depend on how much you spend at restaurants/bars
That's not just introductory? I guess the main issue is that merchants hate AMEX.
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Old 07-09-2020, 04:50 PM   #573
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That's not just introductory? I guess the main issue is that merchants hate AMEX.

Ugh. Amex. The card that I was able to use at restaurants like twice in the entire time Costco was allowing it.
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Old 07-09-2020, 08:34 PM   #574
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That's not just introductory? I guess the main issue is that merchants hate AMEX.
The welcome bonus is $300 paid monthly for a year (in points) and the 5% is ongoing.

Merchants do hate Amex, I think they charge more interchange fees than others.

The nice thing about the Cobalt is you can redeem points for way more than travel. I use mine for groceries. The only big grocery store I've found that doesnt accept Amex is Superstore (they do take Visa). Cobalt really adds value when you buy gift cards for Amazon/Walmart/Starbucks etc at grocery stores to get 5% back. But all that said - Costco (Canada) doesnt take Amex
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Old 07-10-2020, 09:07 AM   #575
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The welcome bonus is $300 paid monthly for a year (in points) and the 5% is ongoing.

Merchants do hate Amex, I think they charge more interchange fees than others.

The nice thing about the Cobalt is you can redeem points for way more than travel. I use mine for groceries. The only big grocery store I've found that doesnt accept Amex is Superstore (they do take Visa). Cobalt really adds value when you buy gift cards for Amazon/Walmart/Starbucks etc at grocery stores to get 5% back. But all that said - Costco (Canada) doesnt take Amex
That's the issue - I basically shop at Costco, Amazon and Superstore, and restaurants don't like AMEX either, so leaves it as an extra niche card...
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Old 07-10-2020, 09:17 AM   #576
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More of a PSA, but I have the RBC Visa Avion Platinum Infinite or whatever it is and had a travel insurance claim denied because I had used a $50 AC credit to pay for part of my AC flight. Unless the flight is paid in full on the card, travel insurance is not valid. Not sure if all cards are like this, but I had no idea and most people I talked to didn't either.
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Old 07-10-2020, 09:32 AM   #577
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^I may be wrong but I thought that policy is consistent with all cards.
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Old 07-10-2020, 10:08 AM   #578
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^I think that's a standard clause for most cards. When I made a claim for car rental damages I had to prove the entire cost was paid on the card otherwise the claim would have been denied
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Old 07-10-2020, 10:11 AM   #579
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^I think that's a standard clause for most cards. When I made a claim for car rental damages I had to prove the entire cost was paid on the card otherwise the claim would have been denied
I've seen a couple of cards where the insurance applies once 75% of the trip is booked on the card.
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Old 07-10-2020, 10:20 AM   #580
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Yah that is standard from what I have seen.
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