If you have an existing high credit line with the same bank, it may not be so generous with additional credit accounts.

“Pay It Plan It” is a flexible payment option offered by American Express in some personal credit cards. Is it worth it? Here’s everything you need to know, including fees and tips.

A new CreditCards.com poll finds only 15 percent of Americans have swapped out their go-to credit card in the past year. Meanwhile, 30 percent have never changed the card that sits atop their wallet.

Here is the first major airline bonus mile offer from the newly rebranded Marriott Bonvoy program! Sure there have been some one offs – bonus miles for three airlines at the Sharm El Sheikh Marriott Resort but that’s not as extensive as this offer, which still isn’t huge by any means since it is only for stays in Canada, and weekend stays at that. But it is the offer many of us do like for our domestic travel. I do consider it first major airline promotion for Marriott and it comes hot on the heels of Marriott’s own Double Points promotion for Bonvoy members. Unfortunately you can’t double dip with both offers – you’ll have to choose one or the other.Offer detailsEarn 1,000 Bonus Aeroplan Miles per night for stays on Thursday to Sunday nights at Marriott hotels in Canada. Maximum bonus of 4,000 miles per stay. Full details & online booking. Until May 31, 19Be sure to set your Marriott Bonvoy earning preference to Aeroplan miles to earn the bonusFind many more Aeroplan bonus miles offers here!

Here are the Rewards Canada Top 5 Credit Card Sign Up offers for the month of March! This is not a ‘best’ credit card list like our Top Travel Rewards Credit Card rankings but instead a look at cards that have very good acquisition (sign up) offers. As always when choosing a card you should always take other factors into account other than the just sign up bonus, but when most or all of these cards are first year free, they can and do pay off even when you grab them strictly for the sign up rewards.  This month we’re back to adding one annual fee card into the mix along with four cards that offer first year free waivers.Three new cards are in the mix this month which is also one of the richest ever with all the card offers combined coming in at nearly $2,000 in travel value. TD’s big push for their cards this month see two of their cards added, the TD Aeroplan Visa Infinite Card and the TD First Class Visa Infinite Cards and we also see the addition of the Marriott Bonvoy American Express card! We added it even with HSBC’s  first year free offer for their World Elite Mastercard but that is only worth $150 and TD’s Platinum Travel offering 25,000 points with first year free but that has only a $125 value…

American Airlines AAdvantage and World of Hyatt announced a new partnership today that will see reciprocal benefits being extended between the two programs. Similar to United & Marriott’s partnership (and Delta, Emirates, China Eastern with SPG back in the day) this partnership awards elite members in both programs with more points when staying at Hyatt Hotels and/or flying on American. No date has been set yet for the launch of the partnership but we should see it later this year (Source Hyatt)Through this relationship, elite members in both the American Airlines AAdvantage and World of Hyatt loyalty programs will be rewarded with more access to earning both points and miles on qualifying American flights and Hyatt hotel stays. AAdvantageIn addition to World of Hyatt points earned through Hyatt hotel stays, AAdvantage Gold, Platinum, Platinum Pro, Executive Platinum and ConciergeKey members will be able to earn one AAdvantage bonus mile for every eligible dollar spent at qualifying Hyatt properties…

According to this FlyerTalk thread WestJet opened up their first lounge on March 1st. Albeit this is only an interim lounge and a step for them opening up no less than nine lounges worldwide over the next few years.  This lounge is in Calgary and many will know it as the Chinook Lounge. Up until March 1st it was owned and operated by Swissport as a third party lounge that was utilized by WestJet, American Express, Priority Pass and numerous other lounge access providers. However you’ll notice that if you go to Swissport’s website it’s no longer listed which seems to confirm this news.The third party providers like Priority Pass do however list them on their sites still and still have access to the lounge.  What we are unsure about is whether it continues to be a lounge accessible under the American Express Canadian Lounge program. Based on the screenshot below it doesn’t seem like it but remember the Platinum Card gives you Priority Pass benefits so that would count – just not your whole family like the Amex Canadian Lounge program provides…

If you graduated from school, it’s also time to graduate from a student credit card to a regular card. Upgrading comes with a few benefits, if you know how to do it right.

Three different Marriott Bonvoy credit cards are currently offering 100,000-point sign-up bonuses. Are they worth it? It all depends on your travel and spending habits.

Check out the latest Aeroplan eStore bonus that offers 5x Aeroplan Miles for shopping at over 170+ retailers! This offer runs until March 10 Find out more here. The much anticipated route launch by Aer Lingus between Montreal and Dublin has now been shelved until 2020. Citing delays of their new A321LR aircraft the Irish carrier had to make some schedule changes and that includes the new Montreal route. Aer Lingus will reaccomodate you on other airlines if you have booked this route. (Source Aer Lingus via OMAAT) Posts since our last update: British Airways Executive Club: 30% Bonus Avios when you transfer hotel points until March 31 British Airways Executive Club has brought back their transfer bonus for moving points from hotel programs into Avios. The…Travel Deals Air Canada Worldwide Seat Sale is now! Book by March 7 for some great deals to almost anywhere Air Canada flies. Find out more here. Hilton Asia Pacific Resort Sale: Up to 35% off when you book by March 19 for stays March 20, 2019 – February 2, 2020…

If you’ve just started building credit with one card, a second one could have a bigger impact on your score than if you had many accounts with long histories.

Air Canada has renewed their agreement with American Express to have Amex issue cards in the new loyalty program plus continue on as a Membership Rewards partner!! Yay!New premium American Express card products to launch with Air Canada’s new loyalty program in 2020 10-year deal will provide continuity for joint customers The companies will expand and deepen their partnership in the consumer, small business and corporate space Membership Rewards customers in Canada and the US will be able to transfer their points into Air Canada’s new loyalty program once it has rolled out. American Express Aeroplan cardmembers will become members of Air Canada’s new loyalty program in 2020, and all their miles will be transitioned at a 1:1 rate. In the interim, members may continue to earn and redeem Aeroplan Miles, and enjoy cardmember benefits as usual. (Source Air Canada) World of Hyatt has added another 57 hotels from SLH Hotels to the portfolio of locations you can earn and redeem points at…

It goes without saying that finding the right credit card could save you hundreds if not thousands of dollars a year. Whether you’re looking for lower fees, higher net reward points or simply valuable perks like travel medical insurance or rental car savings, every dollar counts. If you use your credit card wisely, pay off your balance monthly and find the right rewards program for you, you’re sure to come out ahead. There’s a slew of credit card options out there, so making a choice can be perplexing. To help you find a keeper or two, MoneySense has done a lot of the heavy lifting for you.
To come up with Canada’s Best Credit Cards 2019, we tapped our credit card tool, which is powered by our partner Ratehub.ca‡. The methodology took into consideration numerous factors, including welcome bonuses, great cash-back value, rental car discounts, flexible travel with no restrictions, high cash-back value, superb insurance packages, and more. Ratehub.ca provides us with results based on their algorithms and the team at MoneySense uses that information and also makes additional considerations when determining the final rankings…

A recent Congressional hearing sought more accountability for the credit reporting industry, and a legislative proposal is also seeking more consumer rights relating to their credit scores.

If you’re a student looking to build a credit history, a simple no-fee card that offers a great combination of generous rewards and low annual fees is exactly what you need. The key is to be responsible with your spending and pay off the balance every month so that buying a first car or home in the future will be within your grasp.
The best student credit cards in Canada 2019

BMO SPC CashBack MasterCard — Best for cash back
Scotiabank Scene Visa Card — Best for rewards points
Tangerine Money-Back — Best for students with income
BMO SPC Air Miles MasterCard – Honorable mention
More on the best credits cards – View a complete list of top cards by category
Our methodology – For greater insight into our rankings

Best student credit card for cash back
BMO SPC CashBack MasterCard*
Warm welcome bonus: 5% cash back on everything for the first 3 months up to $2,000 in purchases
Straight-up rewards: 1% cash back on all purchases after the welcome bonus ends
It’s free: No annual fee
Free SPC membership: A value of $10…

Air Canada announced some new routes today and the big one is Dreamliner service from Toronto to Honolulu for the 2019/2020 winter season! Ever since AC pulled their internationally configured 767 off of the Calgary to Maui route there have not been any lie flat seats available between Canada and Hawaii. Now we see the return of them and this is lucky for Torontonians! This move almost seems like a preemptive strike at WestJet who have been hinting at using their 787 Dreamliners to Hawaii. Granted if WS does it will likely be out of Calgary but with AC going direct with theirs you won’t see many YYZers connecting in YYC for the lie flat option! These Toronto-Honolulu flights will operate three times per week from Dec 14 to Apr 26. (Source Air Canada)The other routes announced today from Air Canada include Montreal to Sao Paulo, Brazil (3x weekly, winter seasonal service), Vancouver to Auckland, New Zealand (4x weekly, winter seasonal service) and Toronto to Quito, Ecuador (Rouge 3x weekly, winter seasonal service)WestJet will be launching seasonal summer service between London Ontario and Montreal…

Yesterday AIR MILES launched the 2019 version of the airmilesshops.ca Mix & Match promotion. With this offer you can earn up to 300 bonus AIR MILES Reward Miles for shopping online via the airmilesshops.ca portal. To earn the bonus miles you have to shop at online retailers from various categories. You’ll earn 50 bonus miles if you shop from two different categories and 300 bonus miles if you shop from three or more categories. There is a minimum $50 spend requirement for each purchase to be eligible.These are the separate categories:All purchases have to be made by March 18 (23:59.59 ET) to be eligible for the bonus. We always stress that you should do as much of your online shopping via these online portals so that you can earn the extra miles and bonuses like these are just icing on the cake!Find out more about the 2019 Mix & Match Promotion here!BMO AIR MILES World Elite Mastercard

While credit cards seem an obvious choice for pay-at-the-pump convenience while also potentially earning rewards, more drivers are swiping a debit card for their fill-ups.

February 27, 2019: The average credit card interest rate soared Wednesday to another all-time record high.

Episode 52 – February 26, 2019 TD Aeroplan Visa Infinite Card 30K offer, Platinum Card from Amex Changes and WestJet 787 tour This week we have an update podcast covering the great new offer for the TD Aeroplan Visa Infinite Card, the changes to the Platinum Card from American Express and we highlight our tour of WestJet’s first Boeing 787 Dreamliner. Click Here to download the podcast  Or download/subscribe via: Links relating to this week’s topic: Great new offer for the TD Aeroplan Visa Infinite Card – Up to 30,000 bonus miles & first year freeThe Platinum Card from American Express gets revamped – Metal Card, Earning Changes (up to 3x points) and no increase to annual feeWestJet 787 Dreamliner Photo Tour

 Thanks to news from Marriott we knew this card was coming soon. As of today the Canadian Starwood Preferred Guest Credit Card ceases to exist. It is replaced by the Marriott Bonvoy American Express Card. Essentially the same card as its predecessor, it has only one change to make note of and it’s a good one. The welcome bonus is now 60,000 Marriott Bonvoy points up from 50,000 on the SPG card. One of the predictions I made at the start of the year has come true! I was always guessing that the card would be upped to 60K once the Category 8 hotels took effect and here we have it. (And for those asking – I didn’t have knowledge of this change until 4:37pm MT yesterday – so yes it was a good prediction!) We also have published confirmation of the 15 elite night credits that we learned about from the letters we received from American Express Canada in 2018.This 60,000 point bonus is truly the highlight of the card. It will get you one night in an expensive Category 7 hotel all the way to 12 nights in a Category 1 hotel during an off-peak period!Or you can choose to convert those points to 40 airlines that Marriott partners with…

As general market credit cards become costlier to accept, retailers are under pressure to lure cardholders away from premium rewards cards. That could mean discounts for using gift cards, store cards and other payment methods.

Here’s a new Air Canada flight bonus for select routes in Canada and between the Canada and the U.S.. This offer is not targeted so it should be available to all members. You can earn up to 200% Bonus Miles on all eligible flights that are booked by March 11th and the offer is good for flights flown between until April 30, 2019. Once again the terms state only the first person on a reservation gets the bonus (come on Air Canada, that’s the worst term and condition possible, even worse than the New Bookings only that we see with all their promotions) so if you are booking for more than one person you’ll either forego the miles for the rest of the people on your reservation or have everyone book their own flights.And some background – I received this email today from Air Canada about this new offer, the day after I booked a business class flight on the Palm Springs to Calgary route. I thought to myself shoot – they always make it that you have to book when the offer comes out and of course since I got the email today I missed out…

Here’s a great new offer from WestJet Rewards! You can earn up to Double Qualifying Spend credit on flight you book with WestJet within Canada and to the U.S.. You must book Econo or higher fares by March 31 for travel until April 17. The bonuses vary based on the fare class you buy:Bonus Qualifying Spend (QS) will be awarded as follows:Eligible QS on Econo fares will get a 25% bonusEligible QS on EconoFlex fares will get a 75% bonusEligible QS on Premium, PremiumFlex, Business and BusinessFlex fares will get a 100% bonusRemember WestJet Rewards’ elite status qualification is based only on spend so this is a great way to get yourself closer or over that requirement to get you to that next elite status level. To reach Silver status you have to have $3,000 in qualifying spend, $5,000 to reach Gold and $8,000 to reach Platinum.Offer detailsEarn up to Double Qualifying Spend when you purchase and fly on WestJet econo class or higher fares within Canada or between Canada and the U.S.. Register Online (Registration is required) Register and book by Mar 31 for travel until Apr 17, 119WestJet RBC World Elite MasterCards

Many issuers target different cards to specific niches of customers, including specific age groups. Here’s how to find a credit card that’s in sync with your financial goals, no matter what decade of life you’re in.

BMO Rewards has a special redemption offer available when you redeem via their Points for Cash option! This is essentially the cash back feature of cards like the BMO World Elite Mastercard and the BMO Rewards Mastercard. Until Thursday you can redeem 20% less points for a $50 credit. Normally is costs 15,000 points to get the $50 credit however with this discount you only have to redeem 12,000 points. Even with the discount redeeming for travel will get you much more value (12,000 points = $85 for travel) however for some of you maybe you don’t have any travel planned or maybe need a bit more cash flow where this redemption can make sense. Find out more here! Posts since our last update:NOW LIVE: IHG Rewards Club PointBreaks – 95 Hotels (5 in Canada) for only 5,000 to 15,000 points per night until May 31, 19 The latest IHG Rewards Club PointBreaks hotels are now available for booking! We didn’t get any previews this time…WestJet Rewards: Up to Double Elite Qualifying Spend on flights within Canada or between Canada and the U…

Just like most couples have a spender and a saver, I suspect many relationships include one person who plays the rewards game and another who isn’t nearly as interested.

 Flair Airlines is cutting service to Miami and St. Petersburg-Clearwater International Airport (near Tampa Bay) in Florida, and Palm Springs, California earlier than planned. The airline will contact you if you are booked on any of these flights. (Source Global News) IHG Rewards Club is going to be testing out dynamic or variable award pricing for their free hotel award nights. Now common place among many loyalty programs, we here in Canada are most accustomed to Aeroplan’s Market Fare Rewards where the amount of miles you need will depend on the price of the flight. However we don’t know what they mean exactly by variable pricing. Will it be tied to price or will it be fixed variable like Marriott Bonvoy with Peak, Standard and Off-Peak pricing. We also don’t know is how big this test will be as in if it will be across the board or only at select hotels. (Source IHG) HT Head for PointsHere’s the excerpt from IHG’s Preliminary 2018 results that mentions this: Strengthen loyalty programme – Continuing to innovate IHG Rewards Club to build stronger and deeper relationships with our guests to drive high value revenue across our hotel estate Loyalty room revenue contribution up 4%pts in 4 years to 43%, including ~50% in the Americas…

Apple and Goldman Sachs will launch a new joint credit card this spring, according to media reports. It will be linked to new personal finance tools on the iPhone.

It starts with what sounds like a promising phone call: For a one-time fee, you can lower the interest rate on your credit card. But the person on the other end of the line isn’t with your bank or credit card company. And what they’re really after is your identity.

If you want to apply for a home loan, but are currently unscoreable, there are ways to build up your credit file. But it may take six months to a year.

Some CIBC Aventura Bonus Offers to let you know about! Firstly, if you book a Fiji Airways flights via the CIBC Rewards Centre from North America to Fiji you’ll earn 5,000 bonus points. Yes they don’t fly from Canada however you can buy tickets direct from major Canadian cities and fly Air Canada to Los Angeles or San Fransisco to connect to Fiji Airways. You can credit these flights to your Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan account if you like! Bookings must be made by February 29. Find out more here.The second offer is for flights on Air Transat.You can earn 5x Aventura Points when you book Domestic Air Transat flights via the CIBC Rewards Centre. Bookings must be made by March 31. Find out more here.Special shout out to Anshul (Points Miles and Bling) for alerting us to this news. It appears that Aeroplan is now charging Carrier Surcharges (YQ) for award tickets on Air China to/from Canada. However for the time being those charges are not being levied for Air China flights to/from the U…

Here is a rare bonus from Canada’s own Coast Hotels Coast Rewards. If you join the program by February 28th they will give you 875 points right off the bat. So everyone go out and join Coast Rewards now. Then complete one stay by April 30 and they’ll award you another 875 Coast Rewards points. In total you’ll now have 1,750 points (plus the base points you earn on the stay) which are enough for a free night award in a comfort room at any of their hotels including the Waimea Plantation Cottages in Hawaii! Or you could choose to have three room upgrades as those run only 500 points each.You can also choose to convert the points to Aeroplan or Alaska Airlines:Offer detailsEarn up to 1,750 Bonus Coast Rewards Points when you join the program and complete a stay. You will be awarded 875 points just for joining and 875 when you complete your first stay. Full details. Join by Feb 28 and complete your stays by Apr 30, 19

A new poll from CreditCards.com revealed 56 percent of credit card holders carrying balances have been doing so for more than a year. However, half of indebted card users say they aren’t particularly stressed out about it.

February 20, 2019: The average credit card interest rate ticked up Wednesday to another record high, according to the CreditCards.com Weekly Credit Card Rate Report.

Americans have plenty of expenses they consider non-essential these days. And for millennials, those discretionary purchases are taking a big bite out of their budget.