Cineplex SCENE to lose Sport Chek partnership as of October 1st + MORE Aug 31st

The 2015 National Consumer Assistance Plan changed the way any kind of debt, including library fines and parking tickets, can be reported to the credit bureaus

News, Tips & Tricks The Cash Back Credit Card wars continue! Recently TD revamped their cash back offerings and now we have RBC launching the RBC Cash Back Preferred World Elite Mastercard. Here is a quick overview of what it offers. We’ll cover the card more in the upcoming days Limited Time Offer: Earn up to 1.75% cash back for 6 months on EVERY thing you buy – Earn up to 1.5% after the promo period on all your purchases – Get unlimited cash back, no limit to what you can get back* – Stay connected with Boingo‡ Wi-Fi at one million hotspots worldwide – Premium purchase protection for 120 days – Extended warranty triples the manufacturer’s original Canadian warranty – Protect your rental car with Auto Rental collision/Loss Damage Insurance – $99 Annual feeJust looking at this quickly, it seems OK but definitely not as good on the earn side when looking at cards like the mbna Rewards World Elite Mastercard and the SimplyCash Preferred Card from American Express. It looks like they are really trying to appeal to people who buy lots of items where the extended warranties and purchase protection plans are coveted…

Without the proper controls, you could find yourself with more debt than rewards points

Well the partnership between SCENE and Sport Chek was relatively short lived. It has been announced that as of October 1st you’ll no longer be able to earn or redeem SCENE points at Sport Chek stores across the country.This is obviously a blow to SCENE which as a program had aspirations to grow into a full fledged coalition program to compete against the likes of Aeroplan and AIR MILES. Right now coalition programs in Canada just can’t seem to make growth work in terms of adding and keeping worthwhile partners and such is the case here. Really is too bad as I have two kids involved in sports and it was nice to collect the SCENE points on those semi-frequent purchases at Sport Chek.Interestingly enough this is the second coalition program to come and go for Sport Chek as if you may recall they used to be an AIR MILES merchant a few years ago.Perhaps FGL (Forzani’s Group) will go ahead and actually launch their own program instead as was reported in the news several years ago.For SCENE members you’ll still be able to earn and burn with Cineplex, Scotia, and the Cara group of restaurants…

Home Capital Group (TSX:HCG) is standing behind Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway bid to increase its stake in the company after leading proxy advisory firm Institutional Shareholder Services advised investors to vote against the deal.
The Toronto-based alternative lender said Wednesday its prospects have improved since the American billionaire’s conglomerate announced in June that it would support Home Capital through an initial investment of $153 million for a 19.99 per cent stake in the company and by providing it with a $2 billion line of credit. That investment required only regulatory approval, which it received at the end of June.
Berkshire also agreed to invest a further $246.7 million, at $10.30 per share, which would increase its indirect stake in Home Capital to 38.4 per cent. This round requires shareholder approval in a vote on Sept. 12.
Despite ISS’s warning that the proposed second tranche will do little to enhance the already-improved stability of the company, Home Capital says the larger investment will lead to a stronger commitment from Berkshire to the long-term success of the lender…