New Info For Cardholders In The TD CIBC Aimia Deal + MORE Dec 31st

When considering financing options for home buying, borrowers have two options: a bank or a mortgage broker.
According to the Eastern Morning Herald, Canadians are looking for the best possible mortgage rates. The statistics show that as Canada's housing market continues to recover from the global recession in 2008, mortgage brokers are favored for helping people with financing needs for their homes.
In one year, the National Bank Composite House Price Index was up 2 percent in April 2013. That's the smallest increase in 15 years. With the slow growth, tighter requirements and low interest rates, the mortgage market in Canada is becoming competitive.
The May 2013 Canadian Mortgage Market Report found that 25 percent of existing mortgages were through brokers and 57 percent were through banks, regardless of when loans were obtained. Since 2012, the use of brokers has been increasing with 31 percent of buyers obtaining a mortgage or renewal through a broker as opposed to 51 percent through a bank…

The clock is ticking down on CIBC’s current agreement with Aimia, and a last minute deal has been finalized for Aeroplan Visa cardholders. After months of being left in the dark, we can finally shed some light on what this blockbuster deal will mean for millions of cardholders, as details became available on Friday.
TD, the New Home of Aeroplan
TD has long been criticized for lagging in the credit card reward space. This will change in 2014 – that’s when TD will become the primary issuer for new Aeroplan Visa reward cards in a deal that will carry through the next decade. That’s fine and dandy for new cardholders, but what about the millions of existing CIBC cardholders affected by this deal? The lack of communication has been frustrating to say the least!
The Details On The Move
Let’s recap the situation. Aimia’s original plan was to move all CIBC Aeroplan Visa cardholders to TD Bank at the end of its current 10-year deal with CIBC. That didn’t sit well with CIBC, who didn’t the idea of giving up cardholders with CIBC accounts like chequing, lines of credit and mortgages…