Delivered March 24th, 2020. Contributors: Catherine, Mayank B., James C., Justin B., Evellyn D., Irina M., Zion S., Katieanne G. and
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Canadian Credit Card Rewards: TD Rewards
The requested details about TD Rewards can be found in the attached spreadsheet and a summary presented below.
Summary
TD Rewards does not charge a fee for travel redemption through its call center.
The program allows members to pay bills such as credit card balance using points. However, cardholders cannot pay their recurring bills using their reward points.
The program does not have a fixed redemption chart that outlines points required for each type of flight.
Cardholders start earning points after making payments following a missed schedule.
TD Rewards program allows cardholders to earn points when traveling outside Canada because TD Bank cards are an acceptable payment method anywhere in the world.
Scotia Rewards is one of the most popular credit card rewards programs in Canada and is offered by Scotiabank on the purchases made with one of their credit cards. We have updated the required details about the various features of the Scotia Rewards reward program in the attached spreadsheet.
Summary of Findings
Scotia Rewards Travel Service charges a booking fee if a customer redeems points for travel through the company's call center and the same is charged to the Program Card Account of the customer.
The booking fee is subject to change and is only disclosed at the time of booking. Alternatively, customers can also get to know about the booking fee by logging into their accounts at scotiarewards.com.
Scotia Rewards provides exclusive offers on air, car, hotel, and travel packages along with the best price guarantee on airfare for the travel bookings made through Scotia Rewards Travel Service.
As per the T&C of the Scotia Rewards reward program, all credit card accounts need to be in 'Good Standing' to earn and redeem the reward points.
Also, as per the program's T&C, an account is in 'Good Standing' if the same is "not delinquent (past due) or over-limit and the cardmember is not in breach of the Revolving Credit Agreement that applies to the Program Card Account." Also, an account is not in 'Good Standing' if it has been in continuous overdraft for a period of three consecutive months.
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Canadian Credit Card Rewards: Avion
The requested details about RBC Avion cards can be found in the attached spreadsheet and a summary presented below.
Summary
RBC Avion cards do not charge a fee for travel redemption through its call center.
The RBC rewards program allows members to pay bills using points. However, cardholders cannot pay their recurring bills using their reward points.
The RBC Avion reward program has a travel redemption chart that outlines points required for each type of flight.
RBC Avion does not disclose any information on disallowing credit card holders from collecting their reward points if they miss card payments. The only consequences of missing a credit card payment are losing the benefit of any introductory/promotional interest rate offer and an increase in the card holders annual interest rates.
RBC Avion card holders can earn points anywhere in the world where the card is accepted.
A foreign transaction fee of 2.5% — 3.0% is charged for purchases made outside Canada.
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Canadian Credit Card Rewards: BMO Rewards
Details regarding the credit card rewards program by BMO Rewards have been provided in row 5, column B-T of the attached spreadsheet. According to BMO Rewards' FAQ, credit cards, and terms & conditions pages, members cannot pay bills or make recurring bill payments with points, and the company does not offer a travel redemption chart.
Summary of Findings
Cardholders are charged a fee of $29.95 plus applicable taxes for phone booking only if they redeem for travel through the call center.
Cardholders will be immediately disqualified from earning points on purchases until payment is made as the "account must be in good standing."
The definition of an account being in good standing within the program's terms and conditions is that the account has "not canceled, past due, or otherwise in default."
Cardholders are allowed to earn points when traveling out of the country of their residency, eligible to earn points on those purchases made in their local currency, and there is no fee for these purchases.
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Canadian Credit Card Rewards: Airmiles
The Canadian Air Miles website outlines most of the benefits and regulations for rewards. To get some information, we used the Air Miles' customer service chat and the credit card operator, American Express. All requested information about the Air Miles reward program is included in row 6 of the attached spreadsheet.
However, it is possible to book tickets outside of the rewards travel redemption chart. Therefore, the points equivalent to one US dollar could be determined. A flight for one person from Whitehorse - Yukon to Sydney - Australia for the same date is equivalent to 18,500 travel points or US$ 1,922.25. Following the rule of three, $1.00 equals to 9.62 travel points.
Considering the American Express regulations for their credit card rewards, if a member misses a credit card payment and fulfills the payment later, the points earned can be reinstated with an additional payment fee of $35. The points must be recovered within 12 months of forfeiting, or they will be lost.
In order to better answer the request, we contacted Air Miles through the customer service chat. The conversation was saved and transcribed in the attached document. Through the chat, we were able to identify that the only credit card linked to Air Miles belongs to the American Express flag. Without the Amex Air Miles credit card, it is only possible to generate points with partner stores after scanning the Air Miles collector card. The collector card is not a credit card; it only serves to score points. Considering that some regulations lie on the credit card operator, we were able to find answers to credit card-related questions on the American Express website. Other queries not explicitly reported on the Air Miles website were also answered in the customer service chat.
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Canadian Credit Card Rewards: AMEX Membership Rewards
The Canadian American Express homepage clearly outlines benefits and regulations for rewards. All information is included in this spreadsheet.
American Express in Canada
There is no booking fee for redeeming points through a call center.
Members may request a points redemption credit to use towards monthly bills, including qualified purchases and subscriptions. 1,000 points must be redeemed at minimum, equaling a $7 credit for consumer card purchases, and $10 credit for small business credit card purchases.
Members may use 1,000 points to receive a $5.50 credit to use towards annual membership fees.
If a member misses a credit card payment, all points earned during that billing cycle are lost. However, members can reclaim lost points by paying the missed amount, in addition to the reinstatement fee. Points restart every month, even if a payment has been missed; however if the payment is not made, those new points are also removed at the end of the billing cycle.
The details on how cardholders residing in Canada can use Aeroplan's credit card rewards program, as well as what restrictions and fees apply to them, are included in the attached spreadsheet. A summary of the requested information on Aeroplan's rewards program is presented below.
Aeroplan Credit Card Rewards Program Details
Aeroplan charges customers C$30 plus taxes to redeem flight rewards through its Contact Centre.
Aeroplan does not allow rewards program members to pay bills or their annual credit card fees using their rewards points.
While the Aeroplan rewards program does provide a comprehensive mile conversion chart for flights, they do not provide a static points conversion per dollar of the cost of each flight. The number of miles flights cost is determined by their flight zones in the chart. The only exception to this is when using miles to purchase an infant ticket.
Aeroplan only allows cardholders to earn miles if they are "in good standing", a condition which is defined and regulated by the cardholder agreements of the specific credit cards offering membership to Aeroplan's rewards program.
Additionally, members of Aeroplan's rewards program can earn miles for purchases from any of their partners worldwide, but whether members are charged fees for international purchases requiring currency exchanges into CAD depends on the terms of their specific credit cards' cardholder agreements.
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Canadian Credit Card Rewards: CIBC Aventura
All requested information about the CIBC Aventura reward program is included in row 9 of the attached spreadsheet. Cardholders earn points for every $1 they spend. These points can be used for travel, shopping, bill payments, and more. For the purposes of this research, all currency values are in Canadian dollars.
Summary of Findings
CIBC Aventura does not impose a fee for redeeming travel points through its call center.
Cardholders can use reward points to pay their Aventura credit card bill and mortgage, as well as pay down a loan or line of credit.
Cardholders can only earn reward points if their accounts are in good standing.
Transactions in foreign currencies are not eligible for the reward program. However, one credit card, the CIBC US Dollar Aventura Gold Visa card, can be used and earn points in the United States. All other Aventura credit cards are only eligible for transactions in Canadian dollars.
"No, there is no additional charge to redeem points online. In fact, we encourage our customers to redeem online, as it is easy, convenient and available 24/7, 365 days a year."
"You can only complete same-day bill payments. Recurring
bill payments and postdated bill payments are not
supported. You cannot make a combined cash and Points
payment in one transaction.
"
"Points are earned for any Net Purchase made by any Cardholder
on a Credit Card Account everywhere the Card is accepted,
worldwide, beginning as soon as a Credit Card Account is open. "
"If you do not make your Minimum Payment by the Payment Due Date and you have
not paid it by the date on which we prepare your next monthly statement (your
New Statement Date), you will lose the benefit of any Introductory Interest Rate or
Promotional Interest Rate offer in which you are participating and your standard interest
rates will apply"
"Your Pay Credit Card with Points redemption is applied to
your Credit Card Account like any other payment. The
Terms and Conditions
RBC Rewards – Terms and Conditions(VPS Dkt 101060) Page 20 of 36 119753 (12/2019)
amount of your payment is applied up to your minimum
payment, first to any interest and second to any fees. "
"Redeem for flights using a fixed amount of RBC Rewards points based
on the destination through the Air Travel Redemption Schedule.
• Destinations have a maximum ticket price. If a ticket costs more than
the allowed amount, you can charge the difference to your RBC Avion
Visa Platinum card, or you can pay with points."
"Evellyn Oliveira: If I sign with Amex can I pay the annual credit card fee with my reward points? 19:20:09
NITU(agent): No, Amex is their own business, we do not have options to pay their fees 19:20:41"
"EVELLYN Oliveira: Can I pay bills with points? 19:21:51
NITU(agent): no, you can order items from our website that 's in our fulfilment centre."
"EVELLYN Oliveira: I see. For Dream Miles, there is a maximum flight dollar value for the flights? There's only Economy class? 19:25:37
NITU(agent): Yes, there's economy class. Every city pair has low and high season, you can review this under the Travel section from our website. You need to add dates to find out what price since we do not use flight dollar."
"EVELLYN Oliveira: About the Amex, if I miss a payment due date of my credit card, can I still redeem my points if I pay it over the due? 19:30:17
NITU(agent): That's a good question. You will direct your questions to Amex since we do not get data or info of your credit history/spending from Amex. We can only see what Amex posts for you in Airmiles later on. 19:31:20"
"EVELLYN Oliveira: As I travel a lot, can earn points when travelling out of the country? 19:34:37
NITU(agent): Airmiles is a Canadian program, all stores are from here. But Amex is a Partner who issues Airmiles, this works worldwide by using a charge card. 19:35:20
NITU(agent): Only what you charge a credit card with an Airmiles logo on it, then you can earn Airmiles. Hope this helps. 19:35:46"
"Yes. There are booking fees for travel reservations and can range from $10 - $50/person plus applicable taxes. These fees allow us to maintain and enhance our travel offering. The actual cost will be itemized in the taxes and fees section on each booking.
As our Customer Care Specialists have access to the same travel options and availability as online, booking online is your most inexpensive and fastest option."
"3. FOR MAKING LATE PAYMENTS
If your Linked Account is a consumer Card account or a Blue for Business Credit Card account, a Blue for Business Plus Credit Card account, a Platinum Business Credit Card account, a Business Management Credit Card account, or a Business Membership Rewards Credit Card account, you must pay the amount due on your Linked Account statement so that we receive your payment by the payment due date shown on that statement. If your Linked Account is any other kind of Business Card account or a Corporate Card account, you must pay the amount due on your Linked Account statement so that we receive your payment by the closing date of the next billing period. If you don't, you may forfeit all the points that you earned during the period covered by the statement.
If you forfeit points due to a late payment, they can be reinstated. To do this, you must return your Card account to not past due by making all required payments, then visit your Points Summary page on membershiprewards.com to reinstate the points. There is a $35 fee for each billing period and for each Card account for which you reinstate points. You must reinstate points within 12 months of forfeiting them in order to get them back."
"Charges in a currency other than Canadian dollars will be converted into Canadian dollars on the date we process the charge. If the charge is not in U.S. dollars, it will first be converted to U.S. dollars and then into Canadian dollars. If the charge is in U.S. dollars, it will be converted directly into Canadian dollars. Unless required by law or used by custom, conversion rates are based on interbank rates selected from customary industry sources on the business day prior to the processing date, increased by a single conversion commission of 2.5% of each charge. Any conversion commission charged on the original charge will not be returned on a refund."