pennyhp

We have the Amex Gold card. We get four times the points for Gas, groceries and entertainment (not sure about what that includes).
Everything else in $1 = 1 point.
It was better when Costco took Amex, but it works well for us.

Also you are not tied into booking flights through them. You book and pay for your flights with your Amex and apply the points after.

not2old

never mind the $150 annual fee, how do you earn 4x points?

https://www.americanexpress.com/ca/e...-rewards-card/

Cyan

I have two cards which generate different types of points.

PC World Elite Mastercard = I shop a lot at Loblaws

American Express Gold = 25,000 points if you spend 1,500 in first 3 months. Points are convertible 1 to 1 for Aeroplan should you so choose. No fee for first year.

pennyhp

Mine is with Scotiabank. They do the four points for Gas, entertainment and groceries.
I hadn't realised it was not applicable to all Amex cards in Canada.

Its $128 for primary card holder plus spouse.
And it has comprehensive travel insurance.

Scotiabank American Express Gold Card | Scotiabank

That's the link from my browser but I am not good at these things so it might not work.

not2old

thanks

I like the calculator that shows how many points & what they are worth towards travel

Travel Rewards Calculator – Compare Travel Credit Cards

edit: always read the small print

1. You will earn 4 points per $1 on the first $50,000 in purchases made annually at American Express merchants classified in the American Express network as: Gas Service Stations and Automated Fuel Dispensers; Grocery Stores and Supermarkets; Eating Places and Restaurants, Drinking Places, Fast Food Restaurants; and Entertainment including Motion Picture Theaters, Theatrical Producers, Ticket Agencies, Bands, Orchestras and Miscellaneous Entertainers.

Some merchants may sell these products/services or are separate merchants who are located on the premises of these merchants, but are classified by American Express in another manner, in which case this added benefit would not apply.

You will earn 1 point per $1 on purchases made after you have reached the 4 points per $1 $50,000 annual spend maximum and on all other purchases made with the card.

Points are not awarded for cash advances, Scotia Credit Card Cheques, Scotia Rewards Dollars, returns, payments, casinos and gambling, annual membership or card fees, interest charges or service transaction charges. Scotia Rewards points must be redeemed within 60 days of account closure or they will be deleted permanently. If your account is not in good standing, the accumulated Scotia Rewards points are not eligible for redemption.

2. The bonus points offer applies to new accounts opened by February 28, 2017. To qualify for the welcome bonus you must have at least $750 in net purchases (purchases less returns) posted to your account in the first 3 months from the account open date. The bonus points will appear as an adjustment on your Scotiabank Gold American Express Card statement within two statement cycles after the third billing cycle has passed. Offer applies to new accounts opened by February 28, 2017.


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BristolUK

It's hard to get away from the idea that if you can spend a lot you make some nice gains.

For others the best deal likely comes from an initial bonus for sign up.

I think I got $20 worth of points with PC around 2009 and I've accumulated a further $20 only about three times since.

I get far better value from Shoppers Optimum. It's not a credit card but it was linked to one with a hefty sign up bonus when I applied.

If there are larger priced items that you regularly need - medical stuff like needles, test strips, some of the more pricey vitamins/supplements, maybe reading glasses, first aid supplies - and even make-up, posh toiletries & scent, chocs even....buy them when it's 20 times the points and you're quids in.

Aviator

Cash back cards give a better return. Points are worth very little, often around .008c per $. Some cards will give 1.75% cash back, 1.75c per $.

One exception is RBC Visa Infinite, transferred to BA Executive Club and used for flights. Especially when there is a 50% bonus offer on.

bc2015

Got a BMO Airmiles Mastercard, got some bonus points. Ditched that card and got an Amex Airmiles card and got even more bonus points. So far in 2 and a bit years I have redeemed airmiles for a fancy Breville Coffee Machine (about $700), a Waterpik Flosser and a return Air Canada flight from YVR-EWR. The trick seems to be to change cards every so often to get bonus points/miles.

SchnookoLoly

100%. A lot of cards offer great rewards with a first year free option on the annual fee, so the trick is to just change cards regularly. It's a balance because opening and closing constantly isn't great for your credit, but 1 open/close a year is totally fine.

It is absolutely worth keeping at least one card longer-term, though. (My husband has the BMO World Elite, I have the Tangerine CashBack, and we both usually open/close one additional card, I just closed my TD Aeroplan which gave me a big Aeroplan points bonus for signing up as well as lounge access on a flight we'd booked on points last year.)

SchnookoLoly

I'm not sure what you're surprised about in this, this is pretty standard. On #1, my Tangerine card gives 2% cashback on Grocery, Restaurant, and Gas... but it doesn't classify Costco as Grocery, even though about 95% of what I buy there is food. The second half is again standard, every card will have those exclusions (cashback, etc).
#2, there is often a minimum spend, usually anywhere from $500 to $2000 in the first 3 months. I think the Amex Gold my husband had a few years ago was $1000? I can't remember for sure. But there is often a minimum spend, and only after you hit that spend do you get the bonus points. I remember on one card I had in the UK I'd been awarded the bonus and then did a return and they revoked the bonus because the return dipped me back under the spend threshold. They reinstated the bonus a few days later once a few more purchases put me back over.

So which part of the small print confused you?

Aviator

From last August Canada's best cash-back credit cards of 2016

MelVan

SchnookoLoly, did you have to secure that BMO Mastercard with a deposit?

My +1 has kept his bank account alive with BMO since leaving Canada in 1987, but let his credit card lapse at some point. So hard to know whether he would still have a credit history in Canada that would get him an unsecured card. But I want my own credit card in any event and I won't of course have any credit history in Canada (notwithstanding I have very solid and unblemished credit ratings in the UK, USA and Australia!), so I am assuming I will need to secure my credit card.

SchnookoLoly

He did, yes. We just went with it because it was a good card with good perks, and he did get the deposit back. It was a starting point and it meant we could start building credit. So, whatever. My husband had to do it for his cell phone as well.

I did not need a deposit for my Tangerine card, but I think that was because I had a savings account with Tangerine already, so they could see I wasn't a huge risk. (Even though I do have some Canadian credit history, because I was in the UK for over 5 years my history was deemed dormant, so I pretty well had to start from scratch.)

MelVan

Many thanks SchnookoLoly.