Travel Rewards Credit Cards

[jesseps]

All economy seats.

 

If you were ever looking for a credit card with travel rewards and had no idea where to start. The CIBC/TD Aeroplan may be for you, the only issue is that you have to pay taxes for that flight, while with the RBC Avion and BMO World Elite (the points you have covers everything). You probably could get better flights with BMO World Elite Mastercard if you prefer not to fly with Air Canada or Star Alliance members, so the results above may differ.

Edited January 30, 2014 by jesseps

[WestAust]

I have a hard time reading your table, but one thing to consider is that with the RBC Avion card, you can transfer your points to AA or BA and get flights through those programs and its more effective than AE for certain routes in north america.

[jesseps]

I have a hard time reading your table, but one thing to consider is that with the RBC Avion card, you can transfer your points to AA or BA and get flights through those programs and its more effective than AE for certain routes in north america.

 

It seems drag and drop doesn't work out well.

 

I'll do the comparison with AA and other airlines down the road.

[monctezuma]

Je suis avec AEROPLAN TD, j'ai débuté avec CIBC mais je me suis fait envoyé à la TD quand TD a acheté des blocs de cartes de CIBC. CIBC sera maintenant avec AVENTURA je crois.

 

Tout ce ceci pour dire que je suis satisfait de AEROPLAN même si je n'ai jamais utilisé mes points jusqu'à présent. J'ai la tranquillité d'esprit qu'ils n'expireront jamais.

[WestAust]

Je suis avec AEROPLAN TD, j'ai débuté avec CIBC mais je me suis fait envoyé à la TD quand TD a acheté des blocs de cartes de CIBC. CIBC sera maintenant avec AVENTURA je crois.

 

Tout ce ceci pour dire que je suis satisfait de AEROPLAN même si je n'ai jamais utilisé mes points jusqu'à présent. J'ai la tranquillité d'esprit qu'ils n'expireront jamais.

 

Oui et non, certains clients restent avec une carte CIBC Aeroplan, a la base c'était ceux qui ont d'autres affaires bancaires avec la CIBC (compte de banque, prets, hypotheques) mais il semble que ca soit de plus en plus aléatoires. J'ai d'ailleurs recu une lettre de CIBC il y a quelques semaines m'indiquant que ma carte allait rester avec eux et non etre transférée à la TD.

[WestAust]

It seems drag and drop doesn't work out well.

 

I'll do the comparison with AA and other airlines down the road.

 

The table is now showing much better and clearer!

 

Quick comparison, for YUL-NYC, with transfer from Avion to BA, it costs 9000 avios + 58$ in taxes to fly on AA.

 

Another card that is worth adding to the comparison is the AMEX Gold, which earns you 2pts/dollar on groceries+gas, 1pts/dollar on the rest + First Year Free at the moment + 25k signing bonus

Edited January 29, 2014 by WestAust

[jesseps]

The table is now showing much better and clearer!

 

Quick comparison, for YUL-NYC, with transfer from Avion to BA, it costs 9000 avios + 58$ in taxes to fly on AA.

 

Another card that is worth adding to the comparison is the AMEX Gold, which earns you 2pts/dollar on groceries+gas, 1pts/dollar on the rest + First Year Free at the moment + 25k signing bonus

 

Thing is do all retailers take AMEX in Montreal now?

 

Plus I am changing some stuff around and I'll try and see if I know someone who has AAdvantage so they can check the points needed, with the dates I am looking for. So everything won't be so biased. I do have to say.... 9000 pts with RBC Avion to fly with American Airlines is pretty impressive.

Edited January 30, 2014 by jesseps

[WestAust]

Thing is do all retailers take AMEX in Montreal now?

 

Plus I am changing some stuff around and I'll try and see if I know someone who has AAdvantage so they can check the points needed, with the dates I am looking for. So everything won't be so biased. I do have to say.... 9000 pts with RBC Avion to fly with American Airlines is pretty impressive.

 

Not all retailers, but some as Costco only take Amex. Would I carry only an Amex, no, but it's nice to have 2 cards and use them where it's the most valuable to do so. Another Advantage of Amex is that you can then transfer those MR points to either Aeroplan or British Airways (Both at the same 1:1 ratio, sometimes there are promos), so it's a nice addition to any program you want to use.

 

As for the 9000pts, it's RBC Avion transfer 1:1 to British Airways Avios then redeem as a partner airline on American. This is due to how the redemption chart is made for BA, it's distance and segment based rather than region base.

 

Doing the same but on AA (Avion to AAdvantage) then redeem on AA for a flight between Canada and US it's listed as 12500pts to 17500pts + taxes and fees.

[jesseps]

Not all retailers, but some as Costco only take Amex. Would I carry only an Amex, no, but it's nice to have 2 cards and use them where it's the most valuable to do so. Another Advantage of Amex is that you can then transfer those MR points to either Aeroplan or British Airways (Both at the same 1:1 ratio, sometimes there are promos), so it's a nice addition to any program you want to use.

 

As for the 9000pts, it's RBC Avion transfer 1:1 to British Airways Avios then redeem as a partner airline on American. This is due to how the redemption chart is made for BA, it's distance and segment based rather than region base.

 

Doing the same but on AA (Avion to AAdvantage) then redeem on AA for a flight between Canada and US it's listed as 12500pts to 17500pts + taxes and fees.

 

Thanks for that. May'be I'll get the RBC Avion Infinite card and start flying with American Airlines. Seeing it makes more sense to spend $9000 to get 9000 avios points for NYC, instead of spending over $12500 or even $15000 with Aeroplan.

 

Now the fun begins. Transferring my Aeroplan points to Avios. It sucks that the way it works, I will be losing points in the process.

 

I am not sure why RBC doesn't do advertising for this. I did see an offer that expired. You could transfer 1 RBC point and get 1.5 AVIOS points, which is pretty amazing.

 

Plus I ended up signing up for AMEX Gold also, free for a year plus I can double my points where I shop / eat most of the time.

 

AMEX GOLD + RBC Avion Plat. = 40,000 pts (Avios) + transferring from Aeroplan to Avios (when there is the 1.5x) multiplier. I will have over 100,000 pts.

Edited January 31, 2014 by jesseps

[jesseps]

All economy seats and excl. taxes/fees.

Examples:

1 - 80,000 pts to Sydney from Montreal (round trip with Air Canada) + $1,010.55

2 - 140,000 pts to Sydney from Montreal (round trip with British Airways / Qantas) + $1,728

3 - 135,000 pts to Sydney from Montreal (round trip with American Airlines / Qantas) + $-,---

 

1 - 25,000 pts to Austin from Montreal (round trip with United) + $114.55

2 - 29,000 pts to Austin from Montreal (round trip with American Airlines) + $64

 

1 - 45,000 pts to Honolulu from Montreal (round trip with United) + $130.55

2 - 60,000 pts to Honolulu from Montreal (round trip with American Airlines) + $88

 

1 - 75,000 pts to Tokyo from Montreal (round trip with United) + $405.97

2 - 75,000 pts to Tokyo from Montreal (round trip with American Airlines) + $108

 

One issue with Avios, you can't book A to B online. So you have to call and book over the phone and from what I heard there is a $25 booking fee (which you can get waived because you can't do it online), that is what I read online.

 

 

I just need to check if there is a delay when transferring points from AMEX/RBC to Avios.

 

One thing, if you log into Aeroplan you can get more points with purchases with certain partners (which might give you more points), but that would have been hard for me to calculate.

 

Now the fun part begins, traveling enough to get: American Airlines Gold or British Airways Bronze elite status = Oneworld Ruby (1x Tokyo round trip + 1x Austin round trip)

 

Results may vary

Edited February 2, 2014 by jesseps