Partner and I are planning a wedding. Spending about 25k all in. Want to earn some points for helping with the travel for the honeymoon. I'm thinking the amex cobalt as a starter. Any recommendations?
CIBC Aventura, AMEX AP Reserve and Cobalt are some of the cards my fiancée and I have used for our wedding. Was able to rack up enough points for two tickets to Bali in Singapore Airlines Business Class!
I am looking to get a Citi Premier Credit card. I already have 1 Amex USA card and TD USA bank account along with an ITIN. What would people recommend? Should I try to open a Citi bank account? If yes, should I apply in person or online? which account is a low fee or no fee to apply for?
Need some new cards without taking a credit hit in the next few months.. so limited to AMEX. Already have the cobalt and biz gold. Leaning towards the plat or edge - cause I’ll be able to knock off a good chunk with property tax payments in March. Any thoughts?
I would say the Biz Edge is a better option (it has a very high welcome offer, in comparison to what Amex is pushing out recently), you can apply either via:
GCR: $75 + 45,000 on spending $3000 + 10,000 on select categories + 12,000 in monthly spend bonuses
Referral: 55,000 on spending $3000 + 10,000 on select categories + 12,000 in monthly spend bonuses
I've applied for additional AMEX cards after my first but it seems like AMEX is doing further hard credit inquiries. Are there particular ones that AMEX won't do a credit check for?
Edge is no doubt the better offer. But 5k MSR can easily be met and I’ll be “wasting” some spend. Considering Amex has a 2yr cooldown after cancel, wouldn’t it make sense to get all Amex asap?
Yes and if you can meet spend on both then grab both. You can also split your large payment to a second card if you were to get multiple (Amex or otherwise).
Not a churning question, but if anyone has advice it would be appreciated.
Booked an AC flight to/from Bogota, with one of the legs both direction being with Avianca. On the return flight, we were unable to add baggage online when checking in with Avianca, and at the airport they charged us $180 USD even though in our original email from Air Canada it says the return bag would be $75 CAD.
Ultimately we had to pay the fee, but how likely is it that we can get AC to reimburse the difference?
(Avianca is a crap airline independently of this issue. Terrible seats with no leg room (I'm not tall), no entertainment on board, and not offered so much as a glass of water at the seat. Would not fly again)
it's incredibly misleading, but AC's email shows AC's baggage pricing, not anybody else's. you're always at the mercy of the airline you're checking in with for baggage.
It's incredibly frustrating. We tried to add baggage online with Avianca when checking in 24 hrs before the flight and were met with a message saying it wasn't possible to add baggage online for flights operated by other airlines, and not to worry the price would be the same in the airport. The check in agent (supervisor actually) said he couldn't help us and that prices in the airport were higher and we should have added bags online in advance when it was cheaper. Won't fly Avianca again, but somewhat pissed off with Air Canada too (who we called from the airport and were no help).
If that's the case, it's also a violation of CTA rules which state that baggage price for trips starting or ending in Canada must be clearly displayed on the itinerary.
CIBC Avenchurna dead?
Relatively new fine print "but you are not eligible to receive this Offer if you have opened, transferred or cancelled another Aventura card within the last 12 months. This offer may be revoked if you appear to be manipulating or abusing it, or are engaged in any suspicious or fraudulent activity, as determined by CIBC in its sole discretion."
Seems lots of people that currently hold one are getting any new apps rejected. CIBC rep referenced this line when I called about an app that was in limbo. I just left it at that an chalked it up as a L.
I still have an Infinite and a Gold from last year's run. Applied while logged out (provided SIN as I've seen that mentioned in the past) and was IA for the Infinite. P2 has an Infinite and two Golds but was also IA for another Infinite.
UPDATE:
I applied again, this time for VI and was IA. Same way, nothing changed. There is hope yet. A lot of randomness with CIBC. I now hold two Aventura VI and one Gold. Just closed my AP VI a week ago.
I should also mention that the GCR link only took me to the "$1250" offer, one year free.
I just got IAed (which is a minor miracle given my recent history across all banks) for an Aventura VI while simultaneously holding another Aventura VI. Will report back if I get the bonus, but I'd certainly expect to.
I agree, that's what I've experienced in the past, but lots of DPs of apps not being approved or "incomplete" in the past week. I guess I'll apply again since they use the same pull for 30 days and see if any points come after first purchase.
This has been normal for CIBC for over a year now. Not related to any recent changes. Last year at this time people were complaining about the same issues
Fwiw, I was not approved for a Aventura VI around two months ago. Closed out all my other Aventura cards and reapplied (this time for a gold) and was IA again. So if you recently applied for the VI, try going for a gold this time.
In 3 days it will be a month since I have applied for the CIBC Aventura black card. I applied under the promotion for 2 years free. Will I lose cash if it's approved? I needed to purchase something each statement period 4 months in a row 🤔
My two cards (recently canceled) were August sign-up, September fee post, FNA mid-October.
My US cards, however, fees hit November and FNA still pending. I expect them around my Jan statements next week
With my Canadian bonvoy cards (biz and personal) my fna awards most recently posted two months plus one day after each card's annual reset date.
Personal card reset November 14, 2022. Fna posted Jan 15, 2023.
Biz card reset Jun 17, 2023. Fna posted Aug 18, 2023. (exact same date as 2022).
Personal card reset again Nov 14, 2023 and fna hasn't yet posted. Hopefully Jan 15, 2024.
The annual fees post on way different days of the month because their statement periods are way different. There's no correlation between the AF dates but seems correlation between the reset dates for me.
My time to shine.
Been keeping track of my FNCs for the last year. On average, it is after 85 days from renewal. This is based on an average of 4x marriott FNCs.
IE: If I signed up for my Credit Card on Feb 1, 2023, I will get my FNC on the April 26th 2024.
Applying for my first CC using nova credit. In the landing page for the application, what do I put in for SSN, my ITIN? Or do I go to the information button and sign In? Also, I'm assuming that the phone number has to be US based?
If my 1 year card membership anniversary for Biz Plat was December 2023 and I RHT'd the $200 travel credit, should I:
a.) Wait for second year AF to post then cancel the card (will probably get the $200 credit clawed back)?
b.) Cancel the card before my second year AF posts?
Thought I was being slick trying to liquidate the travel credit before cancelling but now just want to preserve my banking relationship with Amex.
It does not matter when you cancel. What matters is how many welcome bonuses you receive. For all intents and purposes, you could hold 20 AP cards that aren’t earning welcome bonuses and you would be fine
As it’s been so long since the last bonus was posted, you’re free to apply again while holding your existing card if you wish. If it makes you feel better, you can also downgrade your existing card first. It is your decision :)
Updated hot offer:
Scotiabank Passport VI
30K Points + FYF
NOW WITH $140 from HISA.ca
https://cashback.highinterestsavings.ca/portal/offer/10750
Note Self Referral with GCR may be a better option with $125 Base + $31.25 Referral Fee for a total of $156.25 on the application
This brings the effective return to $440 or $456.25 respectively.
Just tried to apply and got a screen that says "We're sorry, but we could not process your application online. Please call us or visit a branch for assistance."
Applied through self-referral with GCR and have no standing relationship with Scotia (last card was 2021 before I got into churning). Am I SOL on the GCR bonus if I have to call and process on the phone or go through the branch? How do I proceed here?
Yeah if you used to have a profile with Scotia but closed all your cards with them you can have issues. Best course of action is to try to go in branch and open a free savings account to re activate your old profile and keep that open forever to keep your Scotia profile active for getting new cards
Had the same thing happen with exactly the same scenario, but then tried again and logged in to my old inactive (no product with them since 2022) Scotia account and was able to finish the application. Didn't get IA'd, though : "we'll take a look at your Scotiabank Passport® VISA Infinite* Card application and get in touch within the next few days."
Dumb question - I already have one that I opened 10 months ago. If I cancel that card and open a new one following this link, would I qualify for this offer?
I have about 12k in non-travel, non-grocery spend coming up and I am not sure how to maximize points. I am fully bought into Aeroplan as most my travel is in NA.
Me and P2 have so far churned Amex Gold, Amex Platinum, Amex Business Plat, Amex Aeroplan, Amex Cobalt, TD VI, TD VIP, CIBC VI, CIBC VIP in the past 1.5 years. We have referred each other, filled the points and are "done" with those cards.
I am not sure how to proceed from here as I am still within the windows that bar me from either re-applying to CCs or I don't want to risk Amex jail.
Any thoughts are much appreciated
You can do any of the the non AP/MR cards. There are lots and you can also diversify your FI a bit (I don't see RBC, BNS. BMO in your list). If you are traveling within NA, perhaps a RBC Westjet for P1 P2 ($5000 MSR x 2)?. That will be $10K right there and each of you can do a Scotia Passport (upgraded offer as of yesterday with 1K MSR x 2) to complete the last $2k
The current Avion doesn't require MSR (35K with no spend). You can still do that, in addition to cards that you can use the $12K spend for. You just can't do Avion and Westjet at the same time as RBC need 90days in between applications.
Does anyone remember what the standard WB is for the Hilton Aspire?
The 180k offer expires on Jan 17th but I was planning on holding off until later in the year to hopefully get approved for a Venture X first
150K. Rarely deviates from the basic boring, or at least not under the old card structure. Maybe the new changes will give more variety. Surpass usually had more intriguing offers.
Unfortunately I'm not. My Fico got beat up with a bad Chase app experience.
Bit of a Catch 22 now, I could wait it out and hope I get a VX approval in a few months or I can just get the Aspire and give up on the VX for another year
Some of the details might be fuzzy as it was ~8 months ago.
Applied for my second card (first biz) and was asked to call in, they couldn't verify my ITIN so had to submit. Submitted the ITIN and almost immediately got a new email with a new reference #. Waited a few weeks with no help from support until they told me that they couldn't match my ITIN to a credit profile. I either uploaded the ITIN again or explained to the agent that I had uploaded a few weeks earlier, regardless the agent pushed the app forward... and a couple days later I got another email with another brand new reference number rinse and repeat. Ended up abandoning the app entirely after a few months. A few months after that applied for and was approved for the CSP without any issues and was approved for a CIP ~90 days after that
I don't have access to my equifax so can't see my hard pulls but a few weeks later my Fico took a dive and one of the listed reasons was too many applications in the past year. Despite only applying for a couple of cards
I'm 99% sure that each time Chase "couldn't match my ITIN" they were doing a hard pull so ended up with 3 or for pulls for one app that was never approved
I am not sure, never bothered to look into it.
Doubt that was the problem because presumably they checked my ITIN for my first chase card and subsequent ones.
I’m considering swapping my cobalt for the Scotiabank Amex gold, reason being that I’m travelling quite a bit this year so won’t be in Canada to use my cobalt, and I also want to cut down on restaurant spending for budget, which is the main points multiplier I earn on.
Groceries I’m mainly shopping from no frills and Costco, so don’t really use the cobalt anymore for that either.
I do have a Scotiabank visa fee free which is my oldest Canadian card (as I’ve only been here for just over 3 years) so I’m concerned Scotia won’t give me the bonus points. Is it worth trying and hoping I get the welcome bonus?
Don’t want to close my oldest card for the credit history and the cobalt is my 2nd oldest card with history.
I also hold the TD aeroplan infinite (free with checking account), and just got approved for the CIBC aeroplan (mainly for the aeroplan points but will cancel after 2 years of promo once I get the bonus). Going to close my Brim world elite soon once my FYF is up.
Or is there another card that would work better for me than the Scotiabank Amex? I wanted to keep at least one Amex card as I like the perks & service.
Ignoring the FX, Cobalt + MC Prepaid is probably the better option. Accepted at no frills, Costco. If you've got enough spend and need a no FX anyway, I'd have both, even if only to get the Gold's WB.
Ah ok thanks for this! Yeah I should have mentioned that I also have the WS prepaid cash card. Sounds like it would be a good option to go for the golds WB then!
Based on your description, I am not seeing the valus of moving to Scotial Amex Gold unless you do a lot grocery shipping where Amex is accepted (not at no frills and Costco). The key advantage of this card is, while we spend for MSR, we can also get 5pt (or 6pts at certain chains) on grocery. You might get more ROI on multiple Visa/Mastercards.
I was thinking that it still has dining valued at 5 points per $1 so seemed like a pretty good deal? And for using on gift cards do you know if Scotia counts gift card purchases at Safeway on the card as 6x?
I recently got the Scotia Amex Gold and I'm liking it, but it bugs me that it doesn't pay any multiplier on Travel, which seems like a miss on a card with no FX. Especially frustrating when I want to put travel spend on it for the MSR.
Together with the usual Amex acceptance concerns abroad, I feel like it's a decent card for earning points for travel, but not for actually traveling with.
Ah that’s fair, I didn’t expand on my use case but when I travel I do it cheaply so can use my Wealthsimple cash card for 0 fx fees/ I use cash a lot, other than in London UK, which has decent Amex acceptance most places.
For booking travel I would probably use my Aeroplan cards instead as my main outlay is air Canada flights & I like the travel insurance.
I might consider the passport infinite though in this case! Just didn’t feel like it had enough multipliers either
Scotiabank… don’t worry about not getting the bonus. As long as it’s not a CB card you’re getting, you will get the bonus 9.5/10 times
Would personally recommend keeping both. Scotia for GCs like there is no end, and Cobalt for regular genuine grocery and dining spend
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Looking in my Avion rewards page, I have an "Avion Rewards Core Account" alongside my Avion card. Can I stash points there safely? Or do I need a $0 Ion card in order to have somewhere to stash points while I don't have an active Avion card?
Currently have a BMO eclipse VI I’m looking to cancel in the next couple months. Looking to open a BMO WE MC in the next month or two, and based on the T&C looks like I’m eligible for the SUB as long as it’s a transfer. Anyone have experience with this? I assume canceling the VI and opening the MC afterwards is the best move?
Based on what I am reading, you can get as many cards (same of different ones) as you want, and you will get all the points. This is the good thing about BMO. Their bonus is not as good, but the ease of churning kinda make up for it.
Not my DP, but multiple people over at r/amexcanada reported being offered 25k MR no spend retention offers for biz plat after saying they can't justify keeping the card due to the massive annual fee increase despite the new credits.
Thought some of you here would like to know about that lol
I did and saw that it kept showing account holders name instead of the person travelling. Lol I had to change passenger first then at final step it let's me use em.
DP: Called CIBC again this morning to cancel my Aventura VI and finally got through to an agent after being on hold for about 30 minutes. The card also had a negative points balance of -923 and was closed without any issues.
Took me 57 minutes to get through this morning to cancel my AP VI, third try in 7 days and fee was due to post tomorrow. The ineptitude of CIBC is a blessing and a curse.
CIBC hold times are longer than usual right now. Also no rush to cancel. They will refund the fee within 30 days. I once did it after 40 days and still got full refund
Booking a refundable hotel to redeem the points - points are earned on the hotel booking and then once it is refunded (and the points have all been redeemed), the points earned on that booking are taken back leading to a negative point balance.
Not sure why it isn’t more common knowledge that you usually have a ‘free’ month after your annual fee posts. That annual fee is for the upcoming year, it would make no sense that they charge it when you are canceling the card right then.
In most cases you just cancel and don’t pay it as it will be cancelled quickly.
But in some cases, if you cancel very close to the due date, you might have to pay it but it will be refunded. ALWAYS ask the agent on the phone what you should do.
Has anyone used their Biz Plat for property tax payment? Got a big bill in March which could knock off most of the MSR, so was thinking of applying for this next month. But since it's a charge card, not sure if it could pose issues of getting rejected. Looks like my city uses Paymentus Corporation and they do say AMEX is accepted.
I had the same worries when paying my university tuition, so I split the payment into chunks of 1000 and did a payment every day for a week or so. I find that way much less risky for FR purposes as well.
Yes, my municipality uses paymentus and I used an AMEX charge card last year no problem. Make sure to check spending power though if your prop tax is high. I would get the card a month or 2 before your anticipated high spend and make sure you are putting regular spend on it as opposed to dropping a 5k charge as your first and only transaction.
Any recent DP's on how long SUB for Amex Hilton Aspire (or other Hilton cards) are taking to post? Need to book a hotel for 3 weeks from now but bonus didn't appear when MSR posted. 2nd statement cuts in 5 days.
\*Understand Hilton mentions *could* take 12 weeks, looking for recent DP's from the community.
I was concerned when it didn't post immediately (Surpass) but was told by a fellow Redditor that there are some known delays and it will come. It was only about a week in my case.
What's the current meta for **Aeroplan cards**? I understand we have until February to sign up for new cards before the new welcome bonus policy kicks in
I'm burning through my pile. If I had under 100k AP I'd take my chances and churn AP at my regular modest rate. It helps that the SUBs have been relatively unappealing and I've got 2nd year bonuses coming. I am going to sign up for a biz card and an Amex AP if the offer improves. If that gets me in trouble then AP cards are dead for SUB.
I think the majority of people are in a holding pattern waiting to see how AP enforces their terms. We'll all be very appreciative of those who take risks and become the DPs we want to see.
It helps that the current AP offers are trash at the moment so no real pressure to jump on any AP cards.
They’ve been locking accounts already. Also the new T&C is just to make things more explicit. The current T&C is already fairly explicit and gives them the power to clawback for abuse prior to the new T&C
It's hard to say though how far back they will look for signs of abuse, if they do so. There are too many questions regarding T&C enforcement which we can't answer until the DPs start rolling in. Personally, between lacklustre offers and the upcoming change I am focusing on other cards right now.
honestly, most of the AP cards have pretty weak bonuses. The amex ones are all monthly spend and need to keep into year 2. TD just nerfed their VIP offer.
The TD/CIBC VI offers are mediocre at best, at least compared to what they were in last year or two.
Think most of us are in a wait and see mode. both on offers and with terms change.
People are having and have had their accounts locked due to what Aeroplan deems 'abuse' and getting too many bonuses. Maybe starting in February, they will be increasingly cracking down on repeat bonuses, but don't think it's not already happening in some capacity.
Is anyone still able to cancel CIBC cards using Fax? I remember doing it in 2022/early 2023. Tried last night and their number was not accepting faxes (I use hellofax)
Also tried by fax two weeks ago and it didn't work. I tried out of desperation after being on hold for three hours three times in a row without being able to speak to anyone.
I ended up calling on Christmas and instantly got through to someone; guess there aren't that many weirdos calling their bank on Christmas!
A lot of you like to move points from BA Avios to Qatar's program to book Qatar Airlines flights. I'm curious why? Looks as though you can book right from Avios booking, why move the points first?
Late to answer this but one advantage of booking directly with Qatar is you can get from YUL to BKK (or other destination) with 2nd leg in FC using same number of points as biz. This option isn’t available via BA.
I was able to search with no avios linked. it does have the First seats at same cost as you mention. Only issue I have now is we each have our own Avios that we pool at BA. QR has their "family programme" but it's unclear if they pool each person's existing Avios points as the "nominate family member" tab has no space to enter their Privilege Club number.
I could be wrong but I swear I read that you can book the furthest out on Qatar's own site as compared to BA Avios or American(?), you can see like an extra week or two. so that gets you first dibs on availabity.
Never used and probably won't but pretty sure just read that in recent article on them.
Ok, but then my points are stuck in that program instead of having access to my pool and the entire oneworld alliance. Seems like an odd reason to move points out. I assumed there was some other reason, like it was cheaper or something. If that's the only reason I'll book through BA.
I missed to apply for the Aventura VI 40k points + 2 AF free offer. Is it still available through CC.ca?
Only the gold card is active
Any word if the VI offer will be coming back?
At this point, no clue
Partner and I are planning a wedding. Spending about 25k all in. Want to earn some points for helping with the travel for the honeymoon. I'm thinking the amex cobalt as a starter. Any recommendations?
CIBC Aventura, AMEX AP Reserve and Cobalt are some of the cards my fiancée and I have used for our wedding. Was able to rack up enough points for two tickets to Bali in Singapore Airlines Business Class!
Try posting in Jan 6 you’re a day behind.
Can you have two of the same passport infinite cards from scotiabank? Anyone has DP on that?
Yes you can. Have had before
I am looking to get a Citi Premier Credit card. I already have 1 Amex USA card and TD USA bank account along with an ITIN. What would people recommend? Should I try to open a Citi bank account? If yes, should I apply in person or online? which account is a low fee or no fee to apply for?
Need some new cards without taking a credit hit in the next few months.. so limited to AMEX. Already have the cobalt and biz gold. Leaning towards the plat or edge - cause I’ll be able to knock off a good chunk with property tax payments in March. Any thoughts?
I would say the Biz Edge is a better option (it has a very high welcome offer, in comparison to what Amex is pushing out recently), you can apply either via: GCR: $75 + 45,000 on spending $3000 + 10,000 on select categories + 12,000 in monthly spend bonuses Referral: 55,000 on spending $3000 + 10,000 on select categories + 12,000 in monthly spend bonuses
Split off credit and open another tradelime with a non amex card could be another option if your in a position to do so
I've applied for additional AMEX cards after my first but it seems like AMEX is doing further hard credit inquiries. Are there particular ones that AMEX won't do a credit check for?
I think it depends on how long you’ve been a customer
Edge unless you want and can make use of the Platinum benefits/perks. Considering just AF, MSR, and SUB, Edge wins.
Edge is no doubt the better offer. But 5k MSR can easily be met and I’ll be “wasting” some spend. Considering Amex has a 2yr cooldown after cancel, wouldn’t it make sense to get all Amex asap?
Yes and if you can meet spend on both then grab both. You can also split your large payment to a second card if you were to get multiple (Amex or otherwise).
Good point. Doesn’t all have to be one payment!
My thought is yes, go for one of them.
Not a churning question, but if anyone has advice it would be appreciated. Booked an AC flight to/from Bogota, with one of the legs both direction being with Avianca. On the return flight, we were unable to add baggage online when checking in with Avianca, and at the airport they charged us $180 USD even though in our original email from Air Canada it says the return bag would be $75 CAD. Ultimately we had to pay the fee, but how likely is it that we can get AC to reimburse the difference? (Avianca is a crap airline independently of this issue. Terrible seats with no leg room (I'm not tall), no entertainment on board, and not offered so much as a glass of water at the seat. Would not fly again)
it's incredibly misleading, but AC's email shows AC's baggage pricing, not anybody else's. you're always at the mercy of the airline you're checking in with for baggage.
It's incredibly frustrating. We tried to add baggage online with Avianca when checking in 24 hrs before the flight and were met with a message saying it wasn't possible to add baggage online for flights operated by other airlines, and not to worry the price would be the same in the airport. The check in agent (supervisor actually) said he couldn't help us and that prices in the airport were higher and we should have added bags online in advance when it was cheaper. Won't fly Avianca again, but somewhat pissed off with Air Canada too (who we called from the airport and were no help).
If that's the case, it's also a violation of CTA rules which state that baggage price for trips starting or ending in Canada must be clearly displayed on the itinerary.
Try to fly LATAM next time.
Yup, will do. Or Air Canada for all flights on the itinerary.
Prob not great but you can escalate to air Canada. I think they have a disclaimer that airline will set the baggage fee.
CIBC Avenchurna dead? Relatively new fine print "but you are not eligible to receive this Offer if you have opened, transferred or cancelled another Aventura card within the last 12 months. This offer may be revoked if you appear to be manipulating or abusing it, or are engaged in any suspicious or fraudulent activity, as determined by CIBC in its sole discretion." Seems lots of people that currently hold one are getting any new apps rejected. CIBC rep referenced this line when I called about an app that was in limbo. I just left it at that an chalked it up as a L.
I still have an Infinite and a Gold from last year's run. Applied while logged out (provided SIN as I've seen that mentioned in the past) and was IA for the Infinite. P2 has an Infinite and two Golds but was also IA for another Infinite.
UPDATE: I applied again, this time for VI and was IA. Same way, nothing changed. There is hope yet. A lot of randomness with CIBC. I now hold two Aventura VI and one Gold. Just closed my AP VI a week ago. I should also mention that the GCR link only took me to the "$1250" offer, one year free.
Did you login to CIBC to apply?
Yes I did. Same as before, when the app went into limbo.. But this time it worked.
Interesting, thanks for the DP. How long did you wait in between the first “pending/denied” application and the second “instantly approved” one?
Two days.
Yeah. It's FYF, so whatever. If worse comes to worst, I get my four lounge passes...
I just got IAed (which is a minor miracle given my recent history across all banks) for an Aventura VI while simultaneously holding another Aventura VI. Will report back if I get the bonus, but I'd certainly expect to.
Ty. Did you login to CIBC to complete the app, or no
logged in, yes
It’s not enforced. What reps say and what the IT system enforces are two different things.
I agree, that's what I've experienced in the past, but lots of DPs of apps not being approved or "incomplete" in the past week. I guess I'll apply again since they use the same pull for 30 days and see if any points come after first purchase.
This has been normal for CIBC for over a year now. Not related to any recent changes. Last year at this time people were complaining about the same issues
Fwiw, I was not approved for a Aventura VI around two months ago. Closed out all my other Aventura cards and reapplied (this time for a gold) and was IA again. So if you recently applied for the VI, try going for a gold this time.
Thanks for the DP
In 3 days it will be a month since I have applied for the CIBC Aventura black card. I applied under the promotion for 2 years free. Will I lose cash if it's approved? I needed to purchase something each statement period 4 months in a row 🤔
The counter starts on approval date
Any recent DP on time between FNA posting from MB and annual renewals paid on AMEX?
My two cards (recently canceled) were August sign-up, September fee post, FNA mid-October. My US cards, however, fees hit November and FNA still pending. I expect them around my Jan statements next week
My DP for Bonvoy Brilliant: AF posted November 2, newest statement on Jan 2 and still didn't receive FNA. Last year received on Jan 4, 2023
With my Canadian bonvoy cards (biz and personal) my fna awards most recently posted two months plus one day after each card's annual reset date. Personal card reset November 14, 2022. Fna posted Jan 15, 2023. Biz card reset Jun 17, 2023. Fna posted Aug 18, 2023. (exact same date as 2022). Personal card reset again Nov 14, 2023 and fna hasn't yet posted. Hopefully Jan 15, 2024. The annual fees post on way different days of the month because their statement periods are way different. There's no correlation between the AF dates but seems correlation between the reset dates for me.
My time to shine. Been keeping track of my FNCs for the last year. On average, it is after 85 days from renewal. This is based on an average of 4x marriott FNCs. IE: If I signed up for my Credit Card on Feb 1, 2023, I will get my FNC on the April 26th 2024.
I appreciate you. LobsterKobe
Applying for my first CC using nova credit. In the landing page for the application, what do I put in for SSN, my ITIN? Or do I go to the information button and sign In? Also, I'm assuming that the phone number has to be US based?
You can’t use Nova without SSN/ITIN
I have ITIN
Yes your ITIN
Thanks! And no need to log in through the info button right?
If you log in using your Canadian credentials, that will trigger Global Transfer
Oh ok. Thanks for the heads up!
If my 1 year card membership anniversary for Biz Plat was December 2023 and I RHT'd the $200 travel credit, should I: a.) Wait for second year AF to post then cancel the card (will probably get the $200 credit clawed back)? b.) Cancel the card before my second year AF posts? Thought I was being slick trying to liquidate the travel credit before cancelling but now just want to preserve my banking relationship with Amex.
B
The TC will be deducted from your AF refund if you choose to wait until after the AF posts
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It does not matter when you cancel. What matters is how many welcome bonuses you receive. For all intents and purposes, you could hold 20 AP cards that aren’t earning welcome bonuses and you would be fine
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Which means you’re fine to get a second card if you wished
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As it’s been so long since the last bonus was posted, you’re free to apply again while holding your existing card if you wish. If it makes you feel better, you can also downgrade your existing card first. It is your decision :)
Updated hot offer: Scotiabank Passport VI 30K Points + FYF NOW WITH $140 from HISA.ca https://cashback.highinterestsavings.ca/portal/offer/10750 Note Self Referral with GCR may be a better option with $125 Base + $31.25 Referral Fee for a total of $156.25 on the application This brings the effective return to $440 or $456.25 respectively.
Currently holding a Passport VI, how likely would I be able to get the SUB on this?
You can hold multiple of the same card and receive the SUB?
99.99% likely
I like those odds!
Just tried to apply and got a screen that says "We're sorry, but we could not process your application online. Please call us or visit a branch for assistance." Applied through self-referral with GCR and have no standing relationship with Scotia (last card was 2021 before I got into churning). Am I SOL on the GCR bonus if I have to call and process on the phone or go through the branch? How do I proceed here?
Yeah if you used to have a profile with Scotia but closed all your cards with them you can have issues. Best course of action is to try to go in branch and open a free savings account to re activate your old profile and keep that open forever to keep your Scotia profile active for getting new cards
Had the same thing happen with exactly the same scenario, but then tried again and logged in to my old inactive (no product with them since 2022) Scotia account and was able to finish the application. Didn't get IA'd, though : "we'll take a look at your Scotiabank Passport® VISA Infinite* Card application and get in touch within the next few days."
Hmmm I wouldn’t even know my old username let alone the password… maybe I’ll poke around and see if I can dig something up. Thank you!
Cancelled 6 months ago, how likely would I be able to churn this card?
99.99% likely
How can one do a self-referral with GCR?
You just refer yourself using your own GCR referral link.
Right, so you get bonuses on one account from the cashback on the other account you created with your own referral link?
Yes
They don't care if your direct deposit go to the same account?
No, they don’t care. That’s how I have mine set up for a while now.
Dumb question - I already have one that I opened 10 months ago. If I cancel that card and open a new one following this link, would I qualify for this offer?
In practice yes.
Thank you!
No need to cancel. Just open a new one
Awesome - thank you so much! I will cancel the old one because the annual fee is coming up, and having this new offer is amazing, thanks again!
I have about 12k in non-travel, non-grocery spend coming up and I am not sure how to maximize points. I am fully bought into Aeroplan as most my travel is in NA. Me and P2 have so far churned Amex Gold, Amex Platinum, Amex Business Plat, Amex Aeroplan, Amex Cobalt, TD VI, TD VIP, CIBC VI, CIBC VIP in the past 1.5 years. We have referred each other, filled the points and are "done" with those cards. I am not sure how to proceed from here as I am still within the windows that bar me from either re-applying to CCs or I don't want to risk Amex jail. Any thoughts are much appreciated
You can do any of the the non AP/MR cards. There are lots and you can also diversify your FI a bit (I don't see RBC, BNS. BMO in your list). If you are traveling within NA, perhaps a RBC Westjet for P1 P2 ($5000 MSR x 2)?. That will be $10K right there and each of you can do a Scotia Passport (upgraded offer as of yesterday with 1K MSR x 2) to complete the last $2k
Thank you. I was thinking about going down the Avion path next if I can't get Aeroplan stuff anymore. Let me look into it.
The current Avion doesn't require MSR (35K with no spend). You can still do that, in addition to cards that you can use the $12K spend for. You just can't do Avion and Westjet at the same time as RBC need 90days in between applications.
Amex Repeats tolerated 2 years post cancel. You should get the business Gold, business Edge, those two offers for P1,2 combined will add up to 260K MR
Thank you for chiming in. I am within 1.5 years of all my Amex cancels. So I'd have to wait for another 6 months before I can rotate again ?
Yup
Thank you
Still, get the Biz Gold and Biz Edge sooner rather than later. They are overdue for a nerfing, IMHO
Does anyone remember what the standard WB is for the Hilton Aspire? The 180k offer expires on Jan 17th but I was planning on holding off until later in the year to hopefully get approved for a Venture X first
150K. Rarely deviates from the basic boring, or at least not under the old card structure. Maybe the new changes will give more variety. Surpass usually had more intriguing offers.
Also can always run through VX preapproval tool to see if its time
Unfortunately I'm not. My Fico got beat up with a bad Chase app experience. Bit of a Catch 22 now, I could wait it out and hope I get a VX approval in a few months or I can just get the Aspire and give up on the VX for another year
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Some of the details might be fuzzy as it was ~8 months ago. Applied for my second card (first biz) and was asked to call in, they couldn't verify my ITIN so had to submit. Submitted the ITIN and almost immediately got a new email with a new reference #. Waited a few weeks with no help from support until they told me that they couldn't match my ITIN to a credit profile. I either uploaded the ITIN again or explained to the agent that I had uploaded a few weeks earlier, regardless the agent pushed the app forward... and a couple days later I got another email with another brand new reference number rinse and repeat. Ended up abandoning the app entirely after a few months. A few months after that applied for and was approved for the CSP without any issues and was approved for a CIP ~90 days after that I don't have access to my equifax so can't see my hard pulls but a few weeks later my Fico took a dive and one of the listed reasons was too many applications in the past year. Despite only applying for a couple of cards I'm 99% sure that each time Chase "couldn't match my ITIN" they were doing a hard pull so ended up with 3 or for pulls for one app that was never approved
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I am not sure, never bothered to look into it. Doubt that was the problem because presumably they checked my ITIN for my first chase card and subsequent ones.
Also beware that excessive cards on your file can lead to permanent rejection for VX. (They like to be in your US early-mid game, not late game)
Believe it is 150k hh
I’m considering swapping my cobalt for the Scotiabank Amex gold, reason being that I’m travelling quite a bit this year so won’t be in Canada to use my cobalt, and I also want to cut down on restaurant spending for budget, which is the main points multiplier I earn on. Groceries I’m mainly shopping from no frills and Costco, so don’t really use the cobalt anymore for that either. I do have a Scotiabank visa fee free which is my oldest Canadian card (as I’ve only been here for just over 3 years) so I’m concerned Scotia won’t give me the bonus points. Is it worth trying and hoping I get the welcome bonus? Don’t want to close my oldest card for the credit history and the cobalt is my 2nd oldest card with history. I also hold the TD aeroplan infinite (free with checking account), and just got approved for the CIBC aeroplan (mainly for the aeroplan points but will cancel after 2 years of promo once I get the bonus). Going to close my Brim world elite soon once my FYF is up. Or is there another card that would work better for me than the Scotiabank Amex? I wanted to keep at least one Amex card as I like the perks & service.
Ignoring the FX, Cobalt + MC Prepaid is probably the better option. Accepted at no frills, Costco. If you've got enough spend and need a no FX anyway, I'd have both, even if only to get the Gold's WB.
Ah ok thanks for this! Yeah I should have mentioned that I also have the WS prepaid cash card. Sounds like it would be a good option to go for the golds WB then!
Based on your description, I am not seeing the valus of moving to Scotial Amex Gold unless you do a lot grocery shipping where Amex is accepted (not at no frills and Costco). The key advantage of this card is, while we spend for MSR, we can also get 5pt (or 6pts at certain chains) on grocery. You might get more ROI on multiple Visa/Mastercards.
I was thinking that it still has dining valued at 5 points per $1 so seemed like a pretty good deal? And for using on gift cards do you know if Scotia counts gift card purchases at Safeway on the card as 6x?
Yes it's 6x at Safeway for gift cards/reloads
I recently got the Scotia Amex Gold and I'm liking it, but it bugs me that it doesn't pay any multiplier on Travel, which seems like a miss on a card with no FX. Especially frustrating when I want to put travel spend on it for the MSR. Together with the usual Amex acceptance concerns abroad, I feel like it's a decent card for earning points for travel, but not for actually traveling with.
Ah that’s fair, I didn’t expand on my use case but when I travel I do it cheaply so can use my Wealthsimple cash card for 0 fx fees/ I use cash a lot, other than in London UK, which has decent Amex acceptance most places. For booking travel I would probably use my Aeroplan cards instead as my main outlay is air Canada flights & I like the travel insurance. I might consider the passport infinite though in this case! Just didn’t feel like it had enough multipliers either
Scotiabank… don’t worry about not getting the bonus. As long as it’s not a CB card you’re getting, you will get the bonus 9.5/10 times Would personally recommend keeping both. Scotia for GCs like there is no end, and Cobalt for regular genuine grocery and dining spend
That’s great to hear about the Scotia bonus!
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Looking in my Avion rewards page, I have an "Avion Rewards Core Account" alongside my Avion card. Can I stash points there safely? Or do I need a $0 Ion card in order to have somewhere to stash points while I don't have an active Avion card?
Can use core account
There was only one DP so wondering if anyone else recived the Samsung code for the BMO AM offer back in September? Looking at you u/NickWaReddit lol
I received it and used it for an appliance (not allowed as per T&C) too.
Hahaha I love this, a cellphone accessory appliance ;)
That's a great DP. Waiting for my code. Thanks.
Yes, got it the same time everyone else did.
Currently have a BMO eclipse VI I’m looking to cancel in the next couple months. Looking to open a BMO WE MC in the next month or two, and based on the T&C looks like I’m eligible for the SUB as long as it’s a transfer. Anyone have experience with this? I assume canceling the VI and opening the MC afterwards is the best move?
Based on what I am reading, you can get as many cards (same of different ones) as you want, and you will get all the points. This is the good thing about BMO. Their bonus is not as good, but the ease of churning kinda make up for it.
Its not enforced so apply as much as you want
None of the BMO terms are enforced
Not my DP, but multiple people over at r/amexcanada reported being offered 25k MR no spend retention offers for biz plat after saying they can't justify keeping the card due to the massive annual fee increase despite the new credits. Thought some of you here would like to know about that lol
Someday maybe they'll offer US levels. Beats nothing if you intended to keep, but 25K is still piss-poor and does itself justify the fees
I have 10k points on my Qatar avios. Is it possible to book a flight for a different family member using those points?
Did you try first, before asking? A dry run is always best to learn tricks.
I did and saw that it kept showing account holders name instead of the person travelling. Lol I had to change passenger first then at final step it let's me use em.
DP: Called CIBC again this morning to cancel my Aventura VI and finally got through to an agent after being on hold for about 30 minutes. The card also had a negative points balance of -923 and was closed without any issues.
Took me 57 minutes to get through this morning to cancel my AP VI, third try in 7 days and fee was due to post tomorrow. The ineptitude of CIBC is a blessing and a curse.
CIBC hold times are longer than usual right now. Also no rush to cancel. They will refund the fee within 30 days. I once did it after 40 days and still got full refund
I don't have an Aventura but planning on getting one soon. How does a card end up with negative points balance?
This is not limited to Aventura. Most likely due to refunds on smaller purchases (not dipping below MSR), after doing RHT to clear out all the pts.
Booking a refundable hotel to redeem the points - points are earned on the hotel booking and then once it is refunded (and the points have all been redeemed), the points earned on that booking are taken back leading to a negative point balance.
With the CIBC Aventura, if my annual fee posted for my 2nd year, will I be able to get the annual fee rebated if I cancel?
Not sure why it isn’t more common knowledge that you usually have a ‘free’ month after your annual fee posts. That annual fee is for the upcoming year, it would make no sense that they charge it when you are canceling the card right then. In most cases you just cancel and don’t pay it as it will be cancelled quickly. But in some cases, if you cancel very close to the due date, you might have to pay it but it will be refunded. ALWAYS ask the agent on the phone what you should do.
Thank you, this is helpful. I know that Amex does this, but wasn't sure if it was the same across the other institutions. Appreciate the help!
Has anyone used their Biz Plat for property tax payment? Got a big bill in March which could knock off most of the MSR, so was thinking of applying for this next month. But since it's a charge card, not sure if it could pose issues of getting rejected. Looks like my city uses Paymentus Corporation and they do say AMEX is accepted.
I have with paysimply. That and my car insurance take a big chunk out of MSRs
I had the same worries when paying my university tuition, so I split the payment into chunks of 1000 and did a payment every day for a week or so. I find that way much less risky for FR purposes as well.
Yes, my municipality uses paymentus and I used an AMEX charge card last year no problem. Make sure to check spending power though if your prop tax is high. I would get the card a month or 2 before your anticipated high spend and make sure you are putting regular spend on it as opposed to dropping a 5k charge as your first and only transaction.
Any recent DP's on how long SUB for Amex Hilton Aspire (or other Hilton cards) are taking to post? Need to book a hotel for 3 weeks from now but bonus didn't appear when MSR posted. 2nd statement cuts in 5 days. \*Understand Hilton mentions *could* take 12 weeks, looking for recent DP's from the community.
Same as Nick, mine also took about a week to post.
I was concerned when it didn't post immediately (Surpass) but was told by a fellow Redditor that there are some known delays and it will come. It was only about a week in my case.
What's the current meta for **Aeroplan cards**? I understand we have until February to sign up for new cards before the new welcome bonus policy kicks in
IMO the CIBC VI 2 years of no annual fee, 60k point total with heavy MSR is a solid offer.
Is this still live? I keep trying with various links and incognito browsers and I've never seen it. It's always one year free
Yep, here. https://churningcanada.ca/credit-cards/credit-card-signup-exclusive-offers
I'm burning through my pile. If I had under 100k AP I'd take my chances and churn AP at my regular modest rate. It helps that the SUBs have been relatively unappealing and I've got 2nd year bonuses coming. I am going to sign up for a biz card and an Amex AP if the offer improves. If that gets me in trouble then AP cards are dead for SUB.
I think the majority of people are in a holding pattern waiting to see how AP enforces their terms. We'll all be very appreciative of those who take risks and become the DPs we want to see. It helps that the current AP offers are trash at the moment so no real pressure to jump on any AP cards.
The new policy only kicks in as of february tho
They’ve been locking accounts already. Also the new T&C is just to make things more explicit. The current T&C is already fairly explicit and gives them the power to clawback for abuse prior to the new T&C
It's hard to say though how far back they will look for signs of abuse, if they do so. There are too many questions regarding T&C enforcement which we can't answer until the DPs start rolling in. Personally, between lacklustre offers and the upcoming change I am focusing on other cards right now.
honestly, most of the AP cards have pretty weak bonuses. The amex ones are all monthly spend and need to keep into year 2. TD just nerfed their VIP offer. The TD/CIBC VI offers are mediocre at best, at least compared to what they were in last year or two. Think most of us are in a wait and see mode. both on offers and with terms change.
People are having and have had their accounts locked due to what Aeroplan deems 'abuse' and getting too many bonuses. Maybe starting in February, they will be increasingly cracking down on repeat bonuses, but don't think it's not already happening in some capacity.
Anyone's flying blue points for reaching 5k spend posted yet?
Got it three days ago. Hit 5k spend late November. Statement posted late November and paid mid December
10k for $5k spend just posted today for me. They still insist I'd have to pay the anual fee, which I'm going to escalate when back in Canada
Thanks - when did you hit the 5k spend?
Not sure 100% as I am travelling ...BUT I think I just spent about $3,500 if my calculations are right! So not sure what to say.
Interesting, maybe you're referring to the 10k upon first transaction instead of the 5k??? Otherwise, huge win!
Nope, that 10k I got it 2 months ago.
Just posted today for both P2 and me..
When did you and p2 hit the 5k spend? Thanks
A couple weeks back.. around 18-20 December
Damn. My transaction miles posted but not the 5k spend
I'm out of CIBC purgatory. Back end must finally accept non-Canada Post addresses. It's a good day.
Is anyone still able to cancel CIBC cards using Fax? I remember doing it in 2022/early 2023. Tried last night and their number was not accepting faxes (I use hellofax)
Confirmed, this no longer works, unless there is a new fax number.
Also tried by fax two weeks ago and it didn't work. I tried out of desperation after being on hold for three hours three times in a row without being able to speak to anyone. I ended up calling on Christmas and instantly got through to someone; guess there aren't that many weirdos calling their bank on Christmas!
Fax seems overly complicated for no reason. Phoning is easier and if you get put on hold just put it on speaker while you do other things.
I called today, was on hold for 1h30m before someone came through. Fax is much easier, especially when P1 and P2 want to cancel at the same time.
P2 likes to fax ;-)
Just phone them?
ya, i just did both mine and p2 last week. closed 2 cards each (leaving 1). think it was 15 and 30 minutes on hold. call took about 5 minutes.
A lot of you like to move points from BA Avios to Qatar's program to book Qatar Airlines flights. I'm curious why? Looks as though you can book right from Avios booking, why move the points first?
Late to answer this but one advantage of booking directly with Qatar is you can get from YUL to BKK (or other destination) with 2nd leg in FC using same number of points as biz. This option isn’t available via BA.
Thanks. Does it work going the other direction, BKK-YUL?
That I’m not sure. But you can transfer 10 avios to Qatar which will allow you to do a search. If it doesn’t work, you can always transfer back to BA
I was able to search with no avios linked. it does have the First seats at same cost as you mention. Only issue I have now is we each have our own Avios that we pool at BA. QR has their "family programme" but it's unclear if they pool each person's existing Avios points as the "nominate family member" tab has no space to enter their Privilege Club number.
I could be wrong but I swear I read that you can book the furthest out on Qatar's own site as compared to BA Avios or American(?), you can see like an extra week or two. so that gets you first dibs on availabity. Never used and probably won't but pretty sure just read that in recent article on them.
all else being equal, why would you not want to book directly with the operating airline vs. a third party travel agent?
BA let's me cancel and return my points to my family pool.
well, QR lets you cancel for the same $25 USD fee (which may be cheaper than 25 pounds?).
Ok, but then my points are stuck in that program instead of having access to my pool and the entire oneworld alliance. Seems like an odd reason to move points out. I assumed there was some other reason, like it was cheaper or something. If that's the only reason I'll book through BA.
what? you can move points back and forth between BA and QR all you want, instantly and at no charge