Consumer protection watchdog could get more bite with new code + MORE Mar 24th

WestJet has decided to match last week’s Air Canada targeted offer of Double Miles with a non-targeted offer for select flights within Canada. An extremely smart move in our opinion as there are Aeroplan members who were not targeted to earn Double Aeroplan Miles and some just may be swayed to move their upcoming travels to WestJet to earn Double WestJet dollars! I see this especially true for the price sensitive and those who will not reach elite status on Air Canada this year or already have status and can move flights away from AC as they don’t need the status segments or miles.Offer DetailsDouble WestJet Dollars when you fly on select WestJet flights within Canada. Register Online (Registration is required) Register and book by Apr 15 for travel until Jun 15, 15 Want to earn even more WestJet Dollars? Check out our Bonus WestJet Dollars page for other  bonuses! 

Welcome to another week of more miles, more points and more rewards! News, Tips & TricksRewards Canada reader Andrew J advises us that Plastiq.com, the online portal for paying bills with a credit card that normally don’t take credit cards apparently is running an offer that if you pay with a MasterCard card you will only pay a 1% transaction fee instead of the regular 2.5%. We couldn’t find any of the details of the promotion on Plastiq’s website but now is the time to take your MasterCard that earns more than 1% (Diners Club MasterCard, BMO World Elite, mbna Rewards World Elite etc.) and use it to pay items like your income taxes, property taxes and utlitly bills as the rewards you earn will be worth more than the 1% fee.We did a quick test and found that the 1% offer appears to be only on select payees. For example we found Direct Energy to be 1.99% while the CRA was 1%. Please do your due diligence before paying bills to see if it is worth it!Screenshot of paying your taxes to the CRA, only a 1% service chargeOf course, this service isn’t of much use if the transaction fee is higher than what you earn on your credit card as you’ll lose out on your return unless you can maximize a reward like an Aeroplan (or other FFP) business/first class ticket or a high end Starwood Hotels stay…

NEW YORK, N.Y. – For decades, American Express was the undisputed credit card of choice among corporate road warriors, the wealthy and the well-travelled, who lived by the company’s slogan, “Don’t leave home without it.”
But changing consumer habits, extremely aggressive competition and increased pushback from its merchants are putting heavy pressure on AmEx.
Rivals are trying to steal away business and are succeeding in some cases. Costco, for example, is ending its 15-year relationship with AmEx and defecting to Citigroup and Visa starting next March. And airlines that used to give VIP lounge access to AmEx cardholders have been switching in recent years to other credit card companies.
Compounding its troubles, AmEx recently lost a major government antitrust lawsuit, a verdict that could damage its ability to compete.
“The competitive environment for AmEx is very challenging,” said Jason Arnold, a Wall Street analyst who covers AmEx for RBS Securities…

Your new business partner’s old debt shouldn’t be inherited unless expressly assumed, but have a lawyer check it and be aware it may limit your new venture’s access to credit

FCAC Commissioner Lucie Tedesco (The Canadian Press)
OTTAWA – The woman who is proud to be called the country’s consumer-protection czar remembers her first encounter years ago with the questionable actions of a debt-collection agency.
Lucie Tedesco, a law student at the time, received a phone call from the debt collector after she missed a minimum payment on a retailer’s credit card. They threatened, she recalled, to garnish her wages if she didn’t pay up.
But thanks to her studies, Tedesco said she knew full well they needed a court order to pluck cash from her paycheque. So she called their bluff.
The experience also opened her eyes.
“That really made me angry and I saw that there were perhaps practices out there that were not benefiting consumers,” said Tedesco, who became commissioner of the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada in September 2013.
Not only is the agency a key piece of the Harper government’s consumer agenda, Tedesco’s already-powerful office could become even stronger once the Conservatives introduce a long-promised comprehensive financial consumer code that would replace the existing patchwork of legislation and regulations…