Vancouver Forum: Best Air Miles Credit Card so far?

Check out the ING Aeroplan VISA. Credits are the same but the fee is only $10.00

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Whoops!  Sorry, that was my roommate playing silly buggers.  There's no such thing as the ING Visa.... Apologies!

Does any body have any ideas or suggestions about this issue?

How many reward miles do you need to accumulate before you can start thinking about redeeming them for points?BMO MasterCard claims that flights start at 1600 reward miles with no blackout periods. You can get a "Bronze" Air Miles MasterCard for free if you don't mind the accumulation rate of 40 dollars per Air Mile.

Oh, sorry, didn't read as closely as I could have. Flights start at 800 reward miles, but I guess the big hitch is that they're with WestJet, so if you're thinking of international travel, you may not have much luck.

Thank you! I could use the FREE AIRMILES CARD if I am going to get 1 mile for every $20.00 I spend! I think the American Express Card I mentioned above is still the best deal in the market so far, unless someone else in this forum knows about a better Airmiles Credit Card!

I think the American Express Card I mentioned above is still the best deal in the market so far, unless someone else in this forum knows about a better Airmiles Credit Card!

I'm still wondering how many Air Miles will get you a cheap flight with the Amex Card. What airline(s) can you fly with? Are there any blackout periods to consider?

American Xpress has signed an agreement with Air Canada. Each dollar you spend, you get 1 air mile with Air Canada. I think this is FAIR!

Yes, one dollar gets you one Air Mile, but how many of those Air Miles do you need to save up to get a flight?

I'm still waiting to find out.

the best deal for air miles credit card would have to be visa promotion credit card offering one air miles per dollar  spent.

And how many air miles will get you a decent flight?

on aeroplan to hawaii is 40,000 points
and you have to go
yvr-sea-pdx-lax-hnl
return is direct though.....

The best card out there for heavy collectors is the American Express Aeroplan Plus PLATINUM Card.
You get 1.25 aeroplan miles for every $1 and 1.5 aeroplan miles for every $1 over $25,000 in a calendar year. The only kicker is the annual fee of $399, but it does get you in to all the maple leaf lounges in all the airports, and you can check in at the airport at executive check-in (ie. no lineups at the airports)
If you run a small business, and/or travel lots, this is the best card.  It also has a slew of insurances that cover your butt when you travel.  My flight got delayed overnight in Toronto, I had to stay at a $200 night hotel, and Amex reimbused me for it because it is one of the insurances on the card.

dont use bmo airmiles

i had that card for about 4 years and it pretty much got me nothing...i did charge on average 1200-2000 per month but the way you accumalate miles is so slow.

i recently switched to the rbc platinum avion.

I have a BMO gold airmiles card.  I get 1 airmile (not aeroplan) for every $15 dollars.  Airmiles offers a deal with WestJet that allows you to fly anywhere Westjet flys in Canada and the US for 1400 to 1600 points.  For every $21,000 to $24,000 I spend on my Credit Card I get a free flight.  This seems to be the best deal if you are flying within North America.
I pay $90 per year and my interest rate is 10.9%.  Rona, Safeway, Shell, Dominion, Ontario/Alberta liquor store, etc give you airmiles.

Get rid of the credit card pay cash or interact you will
save a lot of money in interest payment.
Who wants to make money for the banks any way! 

You don't get charged interest if you clear the balance every month. On average I don't have to pay for a CC purchased item for 6 weeks. In that 6 week period, one can make money via interest, investments, etc.

actually

Watch out for Amex credit cards. If you decide one day you do not need the card, they WILL NOT CANCEL the card from your credit history, no matter how they tell you. Their system will cancel your card to you, however they will go every year to Equifax

Sorry had to stop typing.
They will call Equifax and keep renewing your card with them, You will end up having a deficency of the amount of your credit card with you for life. So you want to get mortgage, you are down because your credit show you still have a credit card with Amex. You will call them in Mumbay and they will tell you the card is dead, they do nor understand the dillem a about our credit history in North America. My experience, No matter what they offer, do not go with Amex.
On other hand, ask a store why they do not carry Amex, they will tell you they are lousy in their payment. Why less places accept Amex, ... the list goes on.
Your choice man, try something better,

I just Amex Aeroplan Basic which costs me nothing.  It gives me 1 airmile for every $20 compared to the BofMontreal 1:$40.    I got the card primarily so I dont have to use in cash at Costco and I also earn airmiles faster than with my BoM card.

I am curious to hear though that Amex won't cancel your card.  If that's the case, you have to send your request in writing to them and then about 6 mths later get a credit check with Equifax and Trans Union.  Be prepared to show backup if the info is incorrect and then dispute the report. It may not be a bad idea to ask for written confirmation from Amex.

the cibc aeroplan visa annual is $120 but u get 15,000 bonus miles when you sign up
thats equal to one domestic flight so I think it is a good deal

Minnie

Posted - 2/21/2007 8:17:37 PM the cibc aeroplan visa annual is $120 but u get 15,000 bonus miles when you sign up thats equal to one domestic flight so I think it is a good deal

Luke warm at best...the price of a one way ticket (locally) is typically about the same price as the annual fee (including taxes).

Don't forget aeroplan  is diferent than airmiles.
If you can be bothered -  you would do better to switch cards.
Also if you are planning on making some very large purchases it might be wise to take the paid card.  I just use the free Amex card.  If I make a large purchase I might put it on a diferent card for diferent points.  Many places won't take Amex. 

I like the theoretical view that if a person uses a credit card they can use “someone else’s” money for 21 days (or whenever your credit card balance is due), however, I fail to understand what the advantage is from doing this. To make interest on money that you would have used to purchase goods with, but instead chose to use a credit card, you would need to have quite a bit of money/investment funds in order to make it worthwhile.

 

I could only come up with a few good reasons to use credit cards;

 

1. You don’t have to carry around cash/change.
2. You can purchase things and not have the money to pay for them immediately.
3. You can choose not to pay off the credit card balance, in essence choosing to create your own payment plan for your purchase albeit, at 20 + %.
   [/list]

    

   Am I on my own on this one?

   
   

I looked all the 'aero cards' over, and then went with an MBNA Platinum Rewards card. I get 1% cash back every fiscal year. I've built two housed in the last two years, used the card on as much material as I could...over $4000 cash back. No I didn't get to 'fly for free' anywhere. But 4 grand in hand beats 40,000 airmiles that I need to spend, and then throw accomodations/food on top...And no, I don't carry balances and pay interest. People who can't pay balance in full before due date, should probably not use cards at all....

That last comment on the 1% cash back, I think u meant $400 back vs 40k in aeroplan miles (if that was what u were referring to), since the amex aeroplan gives u 1 mile per $1. So that's a viable option given the price of the average flight (and no annual fee on the cash back card - new td cash back visa). 

Cheers.

Aeroplan is points not miles very different!!

highflyer

icon_posticon.gifPosted - 6/11/2007 8:17:30 PM Aeroplan is points not miles very different!!

Ditto, in addition most CC companies are reducing the grace free period.  The average now is around 19 days.

Furthermore, nobody has been able to show that one plan (airmiles vs aeropoints) is better in accumulating rewards than the other.

On the MBNA card, do you have a annual fee?

I'm so confused with air miles and points...whats the diff?? I have a MBNA mastercard world point card. It gives me 1 point for every dollar spent. I get $100 for every 10,000 points. Is that good or what??? I have to book thru their redemption center. Can anyone shed some light on this for me???????? Thanks

MoneySense magazine -Dec/Jan 2007 issue, p.8 -had a comparison chart
on "Which card offers the best travel rewards".  We are talking aeroplan - not air miles here.  Again it seems the more you pay for your annual fee,  the better the point accumulation.  I have a friend who recommends the TD Gold Travel Visa because they are offering 15,000 points ( 5000 pts = $75).  That means that you can cover the $120 annual fee and still be ahead $105 if you absolutely plan to take a flight in the next year.  This is a time limited offer till September something.  I still hate paying an annual fee and never have before. But I need to improve my card because my current card gets me nothing and I can do better than that. 
  Besides aeroplan cards, there is the whole issue of what is the best cash back or rewards card available to Canadians.

I am a store owner, and am also interested in getting a personal credit card.  We don't accept American Express Cards due to the cost they charge on transactions to our busisness.  A friend also has an American Express Card and she says no one will take them in this town.  Our personal card is a Visa Aeroplan card.  The rewards aren't as great.  Our busisness card is a BMO MasterCard, the reward miles are fantastic as is the rewards catalogue if you choose to get items rather than go on trips.  I would like to change my personal to something similar yet need to get the names different to avoid confusion.  With what I know I would never get an American Express.  Also, when travelling in Europe, American Express Card holders are treated with disdain because the U.S. is not a popular country.  Canada is.  I would not want anyone to assume for one second I am a U.S. citizen.  I want a card with a Canadian Flag or something on it representing Canada, as a do my luggage. "Air Canada".

I have an Airmiles card.... I pay it off every month... but I think I'll swith to a 'cash-back' card.

I just booked my first flight on points. I collect Aeroplan and Air Miles (not on credit cards, I still haven't decided on that) so I compared direct flights on Air Canada paying it myself, booking through Aeroplan and with Air Miles. The full trip, all in, was about $380. 17,000 Aeroplan points was not enough for a round-trip flight--that would take 25,000 points. The extra cost (in addition to using all my points) was only about $40 less than just paying for the whole flight. Air Miles is flying me round trip for 1,350 points (it's low season, high season would be 1,800 points) and I'll still have more than 450 points left. I even got the same direct Air Canada flight I wanted in the first place. Flying West Jet would have saved me an extra 10% in points (there is a special on right now) but then I would have to connect through Toronto. All WJ flights connect through Toronto, it seems.
Air Miles (haven't checked Aeroplan) has a great map on their site that shows exactly how many points you need to get from your region to other regions in the world.

So. I am now more in favour of Air Miles because it seemed to serve my needs better this time. I am exploring the credit cards available for Air Miles, with no fee. Yes, the points-to-dollar ratio and the points-per-flight ratios are key in making your decision. Thanks for all the great info on the forum!