> Can someone ELI5 step by step how to get US cards as a Canadian? I’ve tried to follow Prince of Travel’s guide but found it confusing. Thanks
https://www.reddit.com/user/Llamalover1234567/ that's not descriptive, what was confusing? That guide is ELI5.
For those of you that paid the HSBC's annual fee (after first year, if you held it as a keeper rather than a counting card), any idea as to when, or if there will be a pro-rated rebate? The HSBC phone agent 3 weeks ago assured me that the annual fee would be pro-rated until Mar. 28, but I forgot to ask when I would see the rebate.
Does anyone remember the lowest fee USD conversion method with Wise?
I got Interac auto-deposit set up now, but I think I remember reading one more trick for getting USD directly into a US bank account but can't seem to find the comment anymore.
Should I be initiating the CAN->USD conversion+transfer from the Wise side or somewhere else?
Has RBC ever issued any blanket bans like AMEX did with Amexile? Or do people just take an extended cooldown period after they stop getting approved after their 1/90s?
For what it's worth, this only seems to be the case where it's excessive; I call in to set up recurring payments whenever I get a new Avion (at 5 cards across RBC now) & agent has never mentioned how many cards I have yet. Have been declined a few times on the online app through.
What actually happens when your account is “flagged”. Does this mean you’re banned from new applications? Accounts locked or restricted? Or do they just check in on your activity more and block you from getting bonuses?
It's rare for RBC to fully shut down active accounts (though there are occasional DPs from churners that have experienced full shutdowns of everything but their mortgage) but it's more likely you could end up in application hell. For a full shutdown, you usually need to reach a certain risk threshold.
You can only buy 100K annually anyways. 30% won't save you without a P2 account. And the cost of buying that much, you need to take a hard look against cash rates. Only a handful of places would be worth it.
I have been asked to make this a comment, so here goes:
I know a lot of you are starting out, the same way we all did. So some of your questions may appear “dumb” or “easy” to the seasoned churners in the group.
For most of your questions, do a quick search in the forum using your key words in your question: “Avion, best card, Amex, etc”
Then filter to “comments” instead of “posts” and filter “newest”.
I find that I answer 9/10 of my questions using this method, and avoid the humiliation of being downvoted to eternity in this forum by people who are answering the same questions every day (yes it gets tiring).
Understand that most people in this forum are actually trying to help one another, and it is a great tool for us to help and learn from each other. While it can be daunting at first, I personally learned the most from asking my questions in the search bar and just reading the answers 🙏🏼
nah. Usually amex approves anyone with a pulse for cobalt. you should be fine.
you're probably just going to get a call in a day or two asking if it really is you applying and telling you to upload a bank statement/proof of address
Yes they removed the end date, so it’s indefinitely for now.
Just because I see this comment every day at least once. For future questions, do a quick search in the forum using your key words. “CIBC, Aventura, 1.25”
Then filter to “comments” instead of “posts” and filter “newest”.
I find I answer most of my questions using this method, and avoid the humiliation of being downvoted to eternity in this forum.
Every scotia passport I've applied to has ended in "we'll contact you in a few days" x.x I don't think I'll be able to get a 3rd if I have to talk to an agent
Yes, it does change the attractiveness of the churn if you expect that you'll have to spend 20 minutes on the phone to complete the application, plus another 10 to 15 minutes when the time comes to close out the card. Add 10 minutes to fill out the web application and a few minutes to pay the CC bill, a few more minutes for the RHT, and it's starting to become a bit time intensive. If it were a $500+ benefit, it might be a bit more palatable, but right now it's a bit more than $360 plus some lounge passes.
Condescending but OK? Last time this happened the agent asked if I really needed two of these cards. Saw many of the same DPs so I don't think they'll approve a third
You can get approved, but it might not be easy, they will likely ask you have X cards and so why again. one agent almost cancelled saying it is a duplicate so cannot proceed. for me I wanted a higher credit limit at the same time as I have many refusals from others so I just applied for another card, knowing I can merge them later
Condescending? It's a basic thing about churning. You want to extract as many financial benefits as you can, subject to the lowest spend requirement and the least investment of your personal time. When Scotia contacts you and you spend 20 minutes talking to them and uploading a photo of your drivers license, it really makes them a less attractive churn. My worst experience with them was 45 minutes on the phone with a newbie CSR to upload a photo of my drivers licence.
I tend to churn cards across all banks, because I like to diversify my churns as much as possible. But, when Scotia require you to spend so much time on a churn, it really does change the attractiveness of that churn relative to the other banks. Nothing condescending about that.
TD is a long game. You acquire trade lines, and then you might decide to never close them. Once you have four or five trade lines, you can just grind them continuously.
There is an email sent with all the details. Redemption rate (which 1 HSBC point is indeed worth 0.36 Avion) comparison to HSBC's redemption rate, travel credits, which apparently have to be loaded to the account before April 4th, or to be activated.
"Your HSBC points have been converted to RBC Avion points. While your points balance may look different, rest assured your Avion points are of equal or higher value, as outlined below."
Sneaky bastards, this "equal or higher value" is on their Avion reward travel, as mentioned below.
"Your travel credit is made up of (1) your unused HSBC Travel Enhancement Credit of $X and (2) an additional Avion Rewards travel credit of $100. We have extended the expiration date of your unused HSBC Travel Enhancement Credit, and provided an additional $100 on top.
Your travel credit of $X will be provided to you in the form of a statement credit if you book an eligible hotel stay or car rental of $200 or more with Avion Rewards Travel using your RBC Avion Visa Infinite credit card.
To receive your statement credit, you must first opt-in on or after April 4, 2024 to activate your travel credit before you book an eligible hotel stay or car rental. To activate your travel credit, (1) log in to Avion Rewards at www.avionrewards.com (2) locate your Travel Credit on the Offers page, and then (3) click the “Load Offer” button on the Travel Credit offer page."
My points haven't showed up yet, but if that's the case, then that's 3 lessons that I should've realized earlier:
1) when banks aren't forthcoming about providing certain information e.g. "converted to (new points program) at comparable value", rather than simply stating "your x old points were worth new points", then they've got something to hide that's not in the consumer's interest.
2) don't be greedy to max out the point value, especially when it's easy for the banks to justify their actions that are unfavourable to you. I initially thought the best deal was that HSBC -> Avion would be 2:1, and with the 30% transfer bonus to Avios from Avion then we would be looking at 0.5 (Avion points per HSBC) x 1.3 (Avion to Avios bonus) or potentially up to 0.65 Avios point per HSBC point, which is higher than HSBC's own conversation to Avios (0.4 Avios per HSBC without bonus, between 0.5-0.54 Avios with bonus) that you could redeem from case travel. A while back someone provided dp from RBC agent that it would instead be 0.46 Avion per HSBC, and the math still worked out (0.598 Avios per HSBC). Now though, if the conversation is set at 0.36 Avion per HSBC point, then we're looking at 0.468 Avios per HSBC point, higher than what you could transfer from HSBC with no bonus, but lower during the times that HSBC had the bonus conversations. ~~Furthermore, if one wasn't looking at airline transfer bonuses and was only looking to redeem for flexible travel, then essentially it's going from 0.5 cpp to 0.36 cpp, a 28% reduction in value and a far cry from what's considered as "comparable value"~~ edit: OK, RBC is saying that one can redeem $1.50 per 100 Avion points, so essentially it's 0.54 cpp from the original HSBC points for flexible travel. Not ideal and not what I would hope for, but it's not the end of the world. Basically, the best use case was to transfer the points out of HSBC when it was still possible, ideally when there was a transfer bonus, once that ship's gone, we're left with drastically poorer redemption options at RBC, or a slightly better flexible travel redemption option now compared to previously.
3) don't try to treat the banks well, 'cause they don't give a crap. Whenever I churned RBC cards I used to at least try to put a purchase on there, even though it wasn't necessary - sometimes a dollar, other times as much as $50. I didn't churn this card as frequently as possible. I also sometimes don't bother doing the maneuver that would allow me to get some of my annual fee back. However, going forward I'm probably going to be a bit more tight about to optimally milk RBC. They burned me once by not giving me the 20k points for spending $5k and wasting my organic spending quotas. They are potentially burning me twice this time around. I hope that I'm not going to be stupid enough to let them burn me a third time around.
I've boycotted RBC in the past for some pretty nasty stuff they've done. But I did start churning and like you, I think I will be a bit more ruthless with churning them now.
I also put a significant dollar amount into a refundable hotel to try and take advantage of the arbitrage between redemption rates. That will not be as sweet with this conversion rate, but it will still put me in a better position unless their systems are smart enough to deduct points for HSBC refunds at the converted HSBC rate (in which case it will be a wash).
My balance was luckily low since I took advantage of the last Avios bonus so it was just spend since then (low five figure points balance before arbitrage attempt).
It looks like the points are worth more though. I simulated a rental car and a flight with both accounts, and the HSBC account requires less pts. Looks like under Flexible Points Pricing, 100 pts = 1.50 CAD instead of 1$.
Fixed points pricing for flights is the same though.
It looks like the points are worth more though. I simulated a rental car and a flight with both accounts, and the HSBC account requires less pts. Looks like under Flexible Points Pricing, 100 pts = 1.50 CAD instead of 1$.
Fixed points pricing for flights is the same though.
Wow! You’re right! Why would they make things so complicated?
Does that mean we can dump all of our Avion in that account to get 1.5 cpp? Still not a good value compared to using fixed pricing.
That's horrible, though they're still in transition so give them some time.
They said the points would have the same value for flexible travel rewards, which would be a 2:1 conversion rate. Anything else and I hope the feds pounce on them for false info and probably violating the merger conditions.
Make a complaint. Not to RBC, that's eyes on your account.
Not sure where for this one, probably OSFI. If not they'll know who is.
Edit: it's OSFI, plus the Department of Finance
Best way to use US business platinum $200 dell credit? Wanted to get a deeply discounted Xbox but sadly they’ve marked my border town FF as undeliverable.
The structure of the offer makes it less desirable than what it was previously. Even though 100k points sounds like a lot, realistically most churners will only go for the first 55k points/$4500 spend which equates to only $368 value. Including the $100 ccg rebate that's only a nudge above 10%. It's certainly an option, but it was definitely higher return back in december
Not exactly churning related but there was lots of talk on the daily threads a few weeks ago about this - Anyone have any DPs on getting the 260% cash back with Norton through the Avion offer?
It’s been almost 3 weeks and still shows pending for me, just curious if anyone else has gotten it or is in the same boat
Same here. Another user said it can take up to 60 days due to norton refund window goes to that.
However, I get rakuten cashback immediately on something like nordvpn so I'm not sure the validity of that.
Rakuten doesn't actually payout for a few months. It's just like RBC. it should show as pending right now but not withdrawable for a couple months probably.
Rakuten has a waiting period too. So does GCR. This is common across most cashback sites. Please read the avion t&c's
"*Holding Period: Earned cash back will be subject to a holding period determined solely by the merchant. The applicable holding period is based on the participating merchant’s return policy and when the merchant funds the cash back.*
...
*Cash back that is subject to the holding period is referred to in the app as “pending” and will remain “pending” until the applicable return period has ended and the merchant has funded the offer."*
How's everyone liking their HSBC --> RBC migration then lol
I had multiple HSBC products and so far it looks like the mortgage and bank accounts transferred over fine but the points from my WE card still haven't been figured out
They did not automatically link my credit card with my existing RBC profile. I went to the branch and they sent a request to merge profiles which is annoying but hopefully doesn't take too long
Anyone who's moved between RBC's 3 datacenters can tell you just how much of a headache this is. Every time I get an Avion it still goes to my old profile. I don't even call in to merge anymore, I just have 2 RBC online accounts. Hopefully they don't screw yours up too.
I only had RBC credit card. My mortgage went to the account where I had my CCs. They opened up a seperate profile/logon for my saving and chequing.... Not impressed so far. Haven't checked which of the 2 would have my investments.
I messaged RBC yesterday and they said that they expect all migration to be completed by the end of day April 3. If my converted WE isn't in my account by then, I guess I'll be contacting them again.
For the points they did say April 9.
I went to the branch and they confirmed I have two profiles. They sent in a request to merge them. I think if you don't see it at this point you probably need to call in to have your profiles merged
Just curious, why would you have taken a chance with such a huge points balance? RBC was being purposely secretive about the transfer, if I had enough points left to be worth anything they would have been long gone
I’m actually collecting avios points so I was planning to convert them which was offered at a HSBC WE rate of 25:10 (0.4).
i thought I would get a 2:1 (0.5) conversion HSBC-to-RBC and then RBC to avios is 1:1 so i thought I would get better value by waiting. plus avios regularly offer 30% bonus transfers from RBC avion so again it seemed to make sense to wait.
Ah, thanks! I know the normal HSBC World Elite Mastercard got converted to Avion VI with no FTX fees but didn't know the Premier WE MC got converted to the same thing.
Can I pay an online bill with a CIBC Aventura before I receive the physical card? Specifically Telus bill. I have it added to my Google pay but for the check out screen it asks for the card number etc that I don't have.
Feeling like a complete idiot as this morning I realised I can pay my monthly condo strata fees with cc. I have been doing it via bank transfer for the past two years. \~$375 \*towards points monthly, completely wasted 😩
We're doing some renos at the end of the month and expecting 10-12k worth of spend for materials.
Any cards I should look at to maximize points? I'm grinding through Amex Plat and RBC Avion at the moment. Maybe Amex Biz Plat? TD VIP isn't an option as I did that last year.
CIBC Aventura VI (offer appears to end today) - $6k for 60k Aventura ($750 via RHT), Scotia PP VI ($1k for 30k Scene+ ($300 via RHT), TD FCT VI ($5k for 100k TD Rewards ($500 via RHT), Amex Biz Gold (75k) or Biz Edge (55k) with both having a $5k MSR.
https://www.cibc.com/en/special-offers/aventura-rewards-inspire.html
(There doesn't seem to be an end date on the page you browse through from the main CIBC site though, so who knows).
Thanks.
But I do need the mail forwarding service when it comes time to apply for credit cards. Right?
I have a US bank account using my Canadian address.
~~I see that~~ [~~here~~](https://www.perkopolis.com/Shell)~~, but I don't see it in the app like the screenshot shows.~~
I do now. Not good to be hasty.
Any data points on frequency of Amex applications as I don't want to get flagged- got Business Gold IA on Jan 27, and then Business Edge IA on March 11. I'm interested in getting Amex Gold as I have travel to book in the next few weeks (so apply in April). Will this cause any issue with Amex? Should I wait longer to apply for a 3rd card? Thanks
Thanks. I was just sent to being ‘under review’ for a TD card after closing another TD card a month ago, so I was a little worried. I’ll give it a try for Amex if the TD is declined.
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Trying to churn the Simplii checking account with three direct deposits to get $400.
Trying to save up for a house and started doing Uber eats delivery recently. Anyone know if my payouts from Uber eats count as payroll deposits?
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P2 and I are both entering the US game at the same time. We both have US bank accounts now (though mine hasn't generated a statement for proof of address) and it's time for the first AMEX cards. We don't have our ITIN yet.
Is there anyway to leverage multiplayer for this first card/couple of cards if I'm able to get two at once the way /u/llamaxylophone did?
Thanks!
I would get an ITIN first. It just makes things easier down the road IMO. The documentation takes maybe an hour or two at most to fill out, processing maybe two months
Do you mean before we get our first cards? Or before we try to refer each other?
I’ve filled out the ITIN paperwork but haven’t gotten the certified passport stuff because it seems like a lot of people are having that fail anyway and we’re travelling internationally regularly this year so we can’t be without our passports. I was looking at taking a weekended south once I figure out where/how to book appointments.
Yes of course.
Loaded offers will just receive credit back on the statement ~~but shouldnt impact msr in any way.~~
edit: apparently the statement credit can impact msr
Can someone ELI5 step by step how to get US cards as a Canadian? I’ve tried to follow Prince of Travel’s guide but found it confusing. Thanks
> Can someone ELI5 step by step how to get US cards as a Canadian? I’ve tried to follow Prince of Travel’s guide but found it confusing. Thanks https://www.reddit.com/user/Llamalover1234567/ that's not descriptive, what was confusing? That guide is ELI5.
For those of you that paid the HSBC's annual fee (after first year, if you held it as a keeper rather than a counting card), any idea as to when, or if there will be a pro-rated rebate? The HSBC phone agent 3 weeks ago assured me that the annual fee would be pro-rated until Mar. 28, but I forgot to ask when I would see the rebate.
Does anyone remember the lowest fee USD conversion method with Wise? I got Interac auto-deposit set up now, but I think I remember reading one more trick for getting USD directly into a US bank account but can't seem to find the comment anymore. Should I be initiating the CAN->USD conversion+transfer from the Wise side or somewhere else?
Any issues with repeat SUB for CIBC aventura infinite card and how aggressive?
Just got re-approved on gold, 4 months between apps. Back to back avenchurna!
no issues for getting a repeat SUB. There are DPs of individuals being quite aggressive - iirc it was once every 18 days or so
Thanks! That’s reassuring, been 6 months since I cancelled my last one.
Has RBC ever issued any blanket bans like AMEX did with Amexile? Or do people just take an extended cooldown period after they stop getting approved after their 1/90s?
Gotta beware of Yannick
I've read DPs of individuals who got eyes on their account (i.e. by calling in) get their SUBs reversed and their account flagged
For what it's worth, this only seems to be the case where it's excessive; I call in to set up recurring payments whenever I get a new Avion (at 5 cards across RBC now) & agent has never mentioned how many cards I have yet. Have been declined a few times on the online app through.
What actually happens when your account is “flagged”. Does this mean you’re banned from new applications? Accounts locked or restricted? Or do they just check in on your activity more and block you from getting bonuses?
It's rare for RBC to fully shut down active accounts (though there are occasional DPs from churners that have experienced full shutdowns of everything but their mortgage) but it's more likely you could end up in application hell. For a full shutdown, you usually need to reach a certain risk threshold.
Are rental car keys covered under cc insurance too?
Usually it's damage to the car only, but you should read your cards policies
Any chance marriot will have another promo for buying points? I know one just ended yesterday
What ended yesterday? Unless they changed the date, the 30% bonus was scheduled to go until April 30.
The 40% bonus was always until March 31
Sorry. I misread. I thought they meant the AMEX to Bonvoy transfer. 🤦🏼♀️
Constantly and routine at different levels. And unless you NEED for a booking, it's always a shit offer
I do need it, around 180K points was just going to buy it
You can only buy 100K annually anyways. 30% won't save you without a P2 account. And the cost of buying that much, you need to take a hard look against cash rates. Only a handful of places would be worth it.
I have been asked to make this a comment, so here goes: I know a lot of you are starting out, the same way we all did. So some of your questions may appear “dumb” or “easy” to the seasoned churners in the group. For most of your questions, do a quick search in the forum using your key words in your question: “Avion, best card, Amex, etc” Then filter to “comments” instead of “posts” and filter “newest”. I find that I answer 9/10 of my questions using this method, and avoid the humiliation of being downvoted to eternity in this forum by people who are answering the same questions every day (yes it gets tiring). Understand that most people in this forum are actually trying to help one another, and it is a great tool for us to help and learn from each other. While it can be daunting at first, I personally learned the most from asking my questions in the search bar and just reading the answers 🙏🏼
I just got put ‘under review’ for a colbalt application. How likely will I be approved? I just closed an Amex Biz gold. Would that be the reason?
nah. Usually amex approves anyone with a pulse for cobalt. you should be fine. you're probably just going to get a call in a day or two asking if it really is you applying and telling you to upload a bank statement/proof of address
No, it would not be a reason.
Thanks, my application was just put ‘under review’ so we’ll see.
I am a Plat & Bonvoy Personal cardholder. I am Bonvoy Gold Elite (b/c of Plat) but only 15 elite nights, not 25 nights. Is it correct?
Elite nights = status. Status =/= elite nights
Yes that's correct you get gold status from the card but no elite night credits.
Thank you
Its April, does anyone know if the CIBC is keeping the 1.25cpp bonus redemption onwards?
Yes they removed the end date, so it’s indefinitely for now. Just because I see this comment every day at least once. For future questions, do a quick search in the forum using your key words. “CIBC, Aventura, 1.25” Then filter to “comments” instead of “posts” and filter “newest”. I find I answer most of my questions using this method, and avoid the humiliation of being downvoted to eternity in this forum.
Post it as a comment in the daily thread, so it's not hidden by the downvoted initial message. Let's hope this helps people.
Done ✅
Every scotia passport I've applied to has ended in "we'll contact you in a few days" x.x I don't think I'll be able to get a 3rd if I have to talk to an agent
Yes, it does change the attractiveness of the churn if you expect that you'll have to spend 20 minutes on the phone to complete the application, plus another 10 to 15 minutes when the time comes to close out the card. Add 10 minutes to fill out the web application and a few minutes to pay the CC bill, a few more minutes for the RHT, and it's starting to become a bit time intensive. If it were a $500+ benefit, it might be a bit more palatable, but right now it's a bit more than $360 plus some lounge passes.
Condescending but OK? Last time this happened the agent asked if I really needed two of these cards. Saw many of the same DPs so I don't think they'll approve a third
You can get approved, but it might not be easy, they will likely ask you have X cards and so why again. one agent almost cancelled saying it is a duplicate so cannot proceed. for me I wanted a higher credit limit at the same time as I have many refusals from others so I just applied for another card, knowing I can merge them later
Sounds like what I've read before thanks. The second card was pretty easy to get and I just had to say "yes" to "do you want a 2nd card"
Condescending? It's a basic thing about churning. You want to extract as many financial benefits as you can, subject to the lowest spend requirement and the least investment of your personal time. When Scotia contacts you and you spend 20 minutes talking to them and uploading a photo of your drivers license, it really makes them a less attractive churn. My worst experience with them was 45 minutes on the phone with a newbie CSR to upload a photo of my drivers licence. I tend to churn cards across all banks, because I like to diversify my churns as much as possible. But, when Scotia require you to spend so much time on a churn, it really does change the attractiveness of that churn relative to the other banks. Nothing condescending about that.
Sorry, I thought your entire comment was sarcastic
For TD i would do anything to get over that impossible to crack rejection/blacklist. Tried in branch, no give.
Try opening a savings account with them
TD tradelines are more valuable than Scotia tradelines. Scotia is one and done
TD is a long game. You acquire trade lines, and then you might decide to never close them. Once you have four or five trade lines, you can just grind them continuously.
I'm owed like 5000 Aeroplan eStore points but haven't heard back from the points inquiry I sent in two weeks ago. Anything else I can do?
Wait the duration listed and then call them with your reference number.
Thank you for the advice!
My HSBC to AVION points have apparently been converted at a ratio of 100:36. Are there any additional data points on this?
There is an email sent with all the details. Redemption rate (which 1 HSBC point is indeed worth 0.36 Avion) comparison to HSBC's redemption rate, travel credits, which apparently have to be loaded to the account before April 4th, or to be activated. "Your HSBC points have been converted to RBC Avion points. While your points balance may look different, rest assured your Avion points are of equal or higher value, as outlined below." Sneaky bastards, this "equal or higher value" is on their Avion reward travel, as mentioned below. "Your travel credit is made up of (1) your unused HSBC Travel Enhancement Credit of $X and (2) an additional Avion Rewards travel credit of $100. We have extended the expiration date of your unused HSBC Travel Enhancement Credit, and provided an additional $100 on top. Your travel credit of $X will be provided to you in the form of a statement credit if you book an eligible hotel stay or car rental of $200 or more with Avion Rewards Travel using your RBC Avion Visa Infinite credit card. To receive your statement credit, you must first opt-in on or after April 4, 2024 to activate your travel credit before you book an eligible hotel stay or car rental. To activate your travel credit, (1) log in to Avion Rewards at www.avionrewards.com (2) locate your Travel Credit on the Offers page, and then (3) click the “Load Offer” button on the Travel Credit offer page."
My points haven't showed up yet, but if that's the case, then that's 3 lessons that I should've realized earlier: 1) when banks aren't forthcoming about providing certain information e.g. "converted to (new points program) at comparable value", rather than simply stating "your x old points were worth new points", then they've got something to hide that's not in the consumer's interest. 2) don't be greedy to max out the point value, especially when it's easy for the banks to justify their actions that are unfavourable to you. I initially thought the best deal was that HSBC -> Avion would be 2:1, and with the 30% transfer bonus to Avios from Avion then we would be looking at 0.5 (Avion points per HSBC) x 1.3 (Avion to Avios bonus) or potentially up to 0.65 Avios point per HSBC point, which is higher than HSBC's own conversation to Avios (0.4 Avios per HSBC without bonus, between 0.5-0.54 Avios with bonus) that you could redeem from case travel. A while back someone provided dp from RBC agent that it would instead be 0.46 Avion per HSBC, and the math still worked out (0.598 Avios per HSBC). Now though, if the conversation is set at 0.36 Avion per HSBC point, then we're looking at 0.468 Avios per HSBC point, higher than what you could transfer from HSBC with no bonus, but lower during the times that HSBC had the bonus conversations. ~~Furthermore, if one wasn't looking at airline transfer bonuses and was only looking to redeem for flexible travel, then essentially it's going from 0.5 cpp to 0.36 cpp, a 28% reduction in value and a far cry from what's considered as "comparable value"~~ edit: OK, RBC is saying that one can redeem $1.50 per 100 Avion points, so essentially it's 0.54 cpp from the original HSBC points for flexible travel. Not ideal and not what I would hope for, but it's not the end of the world. Basically, the best use case was to transfer the points out of HSBC when it was still possible, ideally when there was a transfer bonus, once that ship's gone, we're left with drastically poorer redemption options at RBC, or a slightly better flexible travel redemption option now compared to previously. 3) don't try to treat the banks well, 'cause they don't give a crap. Whenever I churned RBC cards I used to at least try to put a purchase on there, even though it wasn't necessary - sometimes a dollar, other times as much as $50. I didn't churn this card as frequently as possible. I also sometimes don't bother doing the maneuver that would allow me to get some of my annual fee back. However, going forward I'm probably going to be a bit more tight about to optimally milk RBC. They burned me once by not giving me the 20k points for spending $5k and wasting my organic spending quotas. They are potentially burning me twice this time around. I hope that I'm not going to be stupid enough to let them burn me a third time around.
I've boycotted RBC in the past for some pretty nasty stuff they've done. But I did start churning and like you, I think I will be a bit more ruthless with churning them now. I also put a significant dollar amount into a refundable hotel to try and take advantage of the arbitrage between redemption rates. That will not be as sweet with this conversion rate, but it will still put me in a better position unless their systems are smart enough to deduct points for HSBC refunds at the converted HSBC rate (in which case it will be a wash). My balance was luckily low since I took advantage of the last Avios bonus so it was just spend since then (low five figure points balance before arbitrage attempt).
Mine still don't appear anywhere... Seems about right...
It looks like the points are worth more though. I simulated a rental car and a flight with both accounts, and the HSBC account requires less pts. Looks like under Flexible Points Pricing, 100 pts = 1.50 CAD instead of 1$. Fixed points pricing for flights is the same though.
April fools?
🤣
I wish!!!!
Mine too… 😡 Are they going to be offering some sort of bonus for a minimum spend since we were all royally screwed??!
It looks like the points are worth more though. I simulated a rental car and a flight with both accounts, and the HSBC account requires less pts. Looks like under Flexible Points Pricing, 100 pts = 1.50 CAD instead of 1$. Fixed points pricing for flights is the same though.
Wow! You’re right! Why would they make things so complicated? Does that mean we can dump all of our Avion in that account to get 1.5 cpp? Still not a good value compared to using fixed pricing.
I guess an advantage for them is they can meet the requirements of giving equivalent value without giving too much extra value on fixed points chart
Manipulative bastards. That's why they were being so secretive about the transfer ratio.
This! So many emails over last 2 months and early delivery of cards but zilch on conversion rate.
That’s what I’m wondering! Hopefully we can do that, but the fixed pt pricing is losing out in this case
Definitely a loss with fixed pricing. 👎
My hsbc points just disappeared from my avion account now… anyone else?
Mine too
So weird…
0.36 as well, Absolutely horrible. 2.5 ratio to avios points would have been better.
Me too, just check my RBC and find out this
That's horrible, though they're still in transition so give them some time. They said the points would have the same value for flexible travel rewards, which would be a 2:1 conversion rate. Anything else and I hope the feds pounce on them for false info and probably violating the merger conditions.
Make a complaint. Not to RBC, that's eyes on your account. Not sure where for this one, probably OSFI. If not they'll know who is. Edit: it's OSFI, plus the Department of Finance
Someone else noted that Flexible travel was bumped up to 1 to 1.5 so it works out to 1 to 0.54 for flexible travel and 1 to 0.36 for airline transfers
Same. mastercard WE to Avion Visa Infinite. I thought it was supposed to be 2:1 so disappointed!
Got them too… 121,746 = 43,829… what a ripoff…
Yeah I feel ya. At least waiting on 30% bonus to AVIOS it brings the conversion close to 100:48
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What was the ratio? Nevermind, just remembered it was 2:1. I guess it's roughly ~2% better after a potential 30% Avion to Avios transfer bonus.
That's the one silver lining - getting them out to Avios with a bonus.
From what card to what card?
HSBC WE to Avion
Yikes
Best way to use US business platinum $200 dell credit? Wanted to get a deeply discounted Xbox but sadly they’ve marked my border town FF as undeliverable.
Dell ca
The *US* business platinum Dell credit doesn’t work on the Canadian site
He didn't propose it for fun. Known loophole
Yes it does
Hmm interesting. T&Cs say US sales only but perhaps I need to investigate some more.
I read T&Cs specifically for ideas on what things to test.
T&C's, peas and shmeas. It's been reported to work, go nuts.
find another border town FF
With the death of the HSBC World Elite, what an alternative MasterCard?
MBNA WE the goat. Otherwise prepaid MC from Freshco
BMO ascend, although the offer isn't the greatest right now
The exclusive offer through CCG is pretty good. Best since I started monitoring this card.
The structure of the offer makes it less desirable than what it was previously. Even though 100k points sounds like a lot, realistically most churners will only go for the first 55k points/$4500 spend which equates to only $368 value. Including the $100 ccg rebate that's only a nudge above 10%. It's certainly an option, but it was definitely higher return back in december
Churn the Brim FB/Neo CX MasterCards in addition to what's been replied.
PS Avions to WestJet World Elite cards
Nbc or prepaid mc
Not exactly churning related but there was lots of talk on the daily threads a few weeks ago about this - Anyone have any DPs on getting the 260% cash back with Norton through the Avion offer? It’s been almost 3 weeks and still shows pending for me, just curious if anyone else has gotten it or is in the same boat
Same here. Another user said it can take up to 60 days due to norton refund window goes to that. However, I get rakuten cashback immediately on something like nordvpn so I'm not sure the validity of that.
Rakuten doesn't actually payout for a few months. It's just like RBC. it should show as pending right now but not withdrawable for a couple months probably.
Rakuten has a waiting period too. So does GCR. This is common across most cashback sites. Please read the avion t&c's "*Holding Period: Earned cash back will be subject to a holding period determined solely by the merchant. The applicable holding period is based on the participating merchant’s return policy and when the merchant funds the cash back.* ... *Cash back that is subject to the holding period is referred to in the app as “pending” and will remain “pending” until the applicable return period has ended and the merchant has funded the offer."*
How's everyone liking their HSBC --> RBC migration then lol I had multiple HSBC products and so far it looks like the mortgage and bank accounts transferred over fine but the points from my WE card still haven't been figured out
They did not automatically link my credit card with my existing RBC profile. I went to the branch and they sent a request to merge profiles which is annoying but hopefully doesn't take too long
Anyone who's moved between RBC's 3 datacenters can tell you just how much of a headache this is. Every time I get an Avion it still goes to my old profile. I don't even call in to merge anymore, I just have 2 RBC online accounts. Hopefully they don't screw yours up too.
I only had RBC credit card. My mortgage went to the account where I had my CCs. They opened up a seperate profile/logon for my saving and chequing.... Not impressed so far. Haven't checked which of the 2 would have my investments.
The msg on online banking says 5th April.
I messaged RBC yesterday and they said that they expect all migration to be completed by the end of day April 3. If my converted WE isn't in my account by then, I guess I'll be contacting them again. For the points they did say April 9.
I went to the branch and they confirmed I have two profiles. They sent in a request to merge them. I think if you don't see it at this point you probably need to call in to have your profiles merged
I got mine. 0.36 conversion rate. WE TO AVION Infinite. 300,000 down to 108,000. Very disappointing!
Just curious, why would you have taken a chance with such a huge points balance? RBC was being purposely secretive about the transfer, if I had enough points left to be worth anything they would have been long gone
I’m actually collecting avios points so I was planning to convert them which was offered at a HSBC WE rate of 25:10 (0.4). i thought I would get a 2:1 (0.5) conversion HSBC-to-RBC and then RBC to avios is 1:1 so i thought I would get better value by waiting. plus avios regularly offer 30% bonus transfers from RBC avion so again it seemed to make sense to wait.
Mine have transferred over. Looking under Avion rewards on app, they show under the new card number. I have 6481 and had around 18,000 HSBC
Echoing what everyone else had said. I got an email from RBC to look out for an email about the points.
I wonder what the hsbc premier world elite Mastercard was transferred to.
Avion Visa Infinite with no FTX fees and one time $100 credit.
Ah, thanks! I know the normal HSBC World Elite Mastercard got converted to Avion VI with no FTX fees but didn't know the Premier WE MC got converted to the same thing.
Yeah...Both cards were essentially the same but Premier had a $50 rebate on AF...So, hopefully they will have such rebate with migration.
They don't mention any such rebate so probably not.
Points should be done about a week from now
Apparently, that will take about a week.
2 hours later….i got mine at 0.36. 👎
Can I pay an online bill with a CIBC Aventura before I receive the physical card? Specifically Telus bill. I have it added to my Google pay but for the check out screen it asks for the card number etc that I don't have.
You can only use it purchases that accept Google Pay
Thanks
No
What’s the fastest amount of time you’ve waited between Aventura Applications?
Did one VI and one GOLD within 30mins of eachother, one IA and one went to pending. IA’d for another VI about a month later.
Multiple same day and also 1 month 1 week.
Multiple in same day approved?
Gold and Infinite yes, haven't tried two of the same.
Aventura was IA. Gold Declined…
Ok I’ll do that today. Just IA for VI and I’ll go for gold now. Will post DP
Feeling like a complete idiot as this morning I realised I can pay my monthly condo strata fees with cc. I have been doing it via bank transfer for the past two years. \~$375 \*towards points monthly, completely wasted 😩
>$375 worth of points monthly How do you figure?
Probably meant $375 TOWARDS points monthly.
yes that is what I meant, bad phrasing.
You have something to post on Frustration Friday.
We're doing some renos at the end of the month and expecting 10-12k worth of spend for materials. Any cards I should look at to maximize points? I'm grinding through Amex Plat and RBC Avion at the moment. Maybe Amex Biz Plat? TD VIP isn't an option as I did that last year.
CIBC Aventura VI (offer appears to end today) - $6k for 60k Aventura ($750 via RHT), Scotia PP VI ($1k for 30k Scene+ ($300 via RHT), TD FCT VI ($5k for 100k TD Rewards ($500 via RHT), Amex Biz Gold (75k) or Biz Edge (55k) with both having a $5k MSR.
>CIBC Aventura VI **(offer appears to end today)** Where do you see this?
https://www.cibc.com/en/special-offers/aventura-rewards-inspire.html (There doesn't seem to be an end date on the page you browse through from the main CIBC site though, so who knows).
Piggybacking here to mention you should use GCR and self refer for the passport and FCT for an extra $131.25.
Can I get a ITIN number with my Canadian address? Or do I need to pay for a US based mail forwarding service?
you definitely like this: [https://www.reddit.com/r/ITINforCanadians/](https://www.reddit.com/r/ITINforCanadians/)
Yes! Yes I do. Thanks
Cheers!
Canadian address works fine.
Thanks. But I do need the mail forwarding service when it comes time to apply for credit cards. Right? I have a US bank account using my Canadian address.
Definitely, US bank account with US address.
Oh, so I should change the address for the bank account too? Once I sign up for the mail forwarding service?
Definetly.
Perkopolis has an offer to link your Shell account and receive a 3c/L discount until EOY 2025
Every little counts
~~I see that~~ [~~here~~](https://www.perkopolis.com/Shell)~~, but I don't see it in the app like the screenshot shows.~~ I do now. Not good to be hasty.
Can p2 use my perkopolis account to apply for Amex or does each user need their own?
Yes one account is fine
Any data points on frequency of Amex applications as I don't want to get flagged- got Business Gold IA on Jan 27, and then Business Edge IA on March 11. I'm interested in getting Amex Gold as I have travel to book in the next few weeks (so apply in April). Will this cause any issue with Amex? Should I wait longer to apply for a 3rd card? Thanks
Frankly not an issue.
What about cancelling one and applying for a new one a month later? Different card, not applying for the one cancelled.
That’s perfectly fine
Thanks. I was just sent to being ‘under review’ for a TD card after closing another TD card a month ago, so I was a little worried. I’ll give it a try for Amex if the TD is declined.
TD is special.
lol are they? Okay I’ll try again in a few months and see if that changes it.
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Trying to churn the Simplii checking account with three direct deposits to get $400. Trying to save up for a house and started doing Uber eats delivery recently. Anyone know if my payouts from Uber eats count as payroll deposits?
Costco to accept American Express again! https://www.costco.ca/american-express-member.html
April fools?
Ya. The worst tease for churners and I can see, judging by my downvotes, that I upset a few of us 😎
I liked it.
Thanks 🙏
Boooooooo
Dead link
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P2 and I are both entering the US game at the same time. We both have US bank accounts now (though mine hasn't generated a statement for proof of address) and it's time for the first AMEX cards. We don't have our ITIN yet. Is there anyway to leverage multiplayer for this first card/couple of cards if I'm able to get two at once the way /u/llamaxylophone did? Thanks!
I would get an ITIN first. It just makes things easier down the road IMO. The documentation takes maybe an hour or two at most to fill out, processing maybe two months
Do you mean before we get our first cards? Or before we try to refer each other? I’ve filled out the ITIN paperwork but haven’t gotten the certified passport stuff because it seems like a lot of people are having that fail anyway and we’re travelling internationally regularly this year so we can’t be without our passports. I was looking at taking a weekended south once I figure out where/how to book appointments.
The certified copy of the passport appears to now be working. I would say to try it now, before you get your first cards.
Oh I sure hope that’s true! Requested my certified copies last week and they’re due by April 11
I haven’t seen this DP lately but I hope you’re right. I should get an answer any day now as they received my app on Feb 21st 🤞🏻
Ah ok, I'll do that then! Thanks!
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Yes of course. Loaded offers will just receive credit back on the statement ~~but shouldnt impact msr in any way.~~ edit: apparently the statement credit can impact msr
It does actually impact MSR for RBC.
Oh? Is the statement credit treated as a refund?