Earning Air Miles and Credit Cards

[Guest Edwarder]

Hi,

 

I am just wondering if it would be worthwile to get a credit card that rewards air miles for purchases? I will be paying my tuition that way and flying between two cities quite a bit. Is the yearly fee worth it for a med student? If so, can anyone recommend a good credit card?

 

Thanks,

 

Ed

[Guest Kels2004]

Bank of Montreal Mastercard has a no fee air miles card. I've had mine since 97 and just now have enough miles for a flight! :rollin

 

I think it is one mile per $40 spent, or something, OR you can pay an annual fee (maybe 40 bucks?) and get one mile per $20.

 

I personally find the no fee one just fine (even if it does take a while for them to add up!)

[Guest peachy]

Personally, I love my Shopper's Optimum Visa. I earn points really fast, and they translate immediately into real cash to spend at Shopper's - I prefer it over waiting ages for a free flight.

[Guest Kirsteen]

Hi there,

 

CIBC has an Aerogold VISA that earns you one airmile per dollar spent. The airmiles may be redeemed for Air Canada flights, and a short-haul flight, e.g., from Toronto to New York or Boston will cost 15,000 miles.

 

Also, if you have a proclivity for dining out, there are certain affiliate restaurants that will award you bonus Aeroplan miles (it might be one third more?) if you pay the bill with your Aerogold VISA.

 

Cheers,

Kirsteen

[Guest Mimicat65]

Kirsteen is right about the cibc gold aeroplan - good program, but just to clarify that visa gives Aeroplan points which is Air Canada's reward program and is mostly only redeemable for flights.

 

The Airmiles program is a more independent rewards program which is offered through various vendors and credit card companies. For instance you can collect points at Pharmasave, Sportchek, Reitmans, The Shoe Company and many other stores. I also have the BMO mastercard which collects miles - you can pay an annual fee and collect 1 airmile/$20 charged, or have the no-fee card and collect 1 airmile/$40 charged. The nice thing about the airmiles program is that the rewards include lots of merchandise and certificates for things like movies, park admittances, hotel stays etc. There are flight certificates too, but MANY other ways to use your miles.

[Guest cutieyellow]

I personally have the American Express no annual fee card where i get 1 mile per $20. I also have the Bank of Montreal Mastercard at no fees that gives me 1 miles/$40. Over the years, i have accumulated my fair share of miles...haven't splurged on anything yet, still hoping for a free flight to somewhere far far away

 

I like airmiles a lot better than aeroplan, just because of the fact that it allows for much more and is also available as a separate card that you can present while making purchases at different places (double the miles!). Also, the way Air Canada is going...i'd rather stick with airmiles

 

CY

[Guest walkorbike]

Hello,

 

Has anyone had any luck paying tuition by credit card? The thing I got from UBC suggests cash (yeah, right), debit card or cheque, but I would love to harvest air miles by using my cc. Thanks,

-walkorbike

p.s. Edited twice to say I cried wolf. Having just checked the FAQ, it looks like payment by credit card at UBC is okay and can be done online.

students.ubc.ca/finance/fees.cfm#options

[Guest iddle]

Mastercard also has a cash back plan of .5% (no fee) or 1% ($50/yr?). I spend quite a bit for my business and it really adds up. It's a great idea for tuition, I think we all could use the extra $150.

iddle

[Guest Tara191]

Hi there!

 

Just wondering what type of limit you can get with your Bank of montreal credit card. Can you actually get a limit high enough to pay for tuition (ie ~$7000)?

 

thanks!

[Guest iddle]

My current limit is $9,900 but I've also had the card for over 10 years.

(It is with the BOM)

[Guest walkorbike]

Hi, Tara191,

 

While this comment doesn't help a while lot now, it can be useful to call your credit card provider every six months and say that on the strength of your good payment history you would like a higher minimum. That way you can build up your minimum in increments so that when whopping transactions like this occur, you have a way to field them.

-walkorbike

p.s. edited to add, I have zero expertise on this subject and am not qualified to provide financial advice!

[Guest luch]

Hey Walkorbike, you can definitely pay your tuition with your credit card, I have always done this (and have received a few free flights because of it). Also, you should be able to get at least a $15 000 limit if you ask for it. I have two cards, both with limits of $15 000.

 

luch

[Guest walkorbike]

Hi, luch!

 

The free flights sound really good. I hope you're enjoying Calgary!

-walkorbike

[Guest moo]

I really do not like airmiles. I think my parents said it took em like 5 years or more to save up for one ticket and when they bought the ticket for me to interview (from Vancouver to Greensboro, NC) it still cost them 200 something bucks in taxes (original ticket was 1200 or something). Anyway, the best plan to get in Canada is aeroplan esp. if you fly a lot. In the US, I have the United Mileage Plus college credit card from Bank One, no annual fee, 1 mile per 2 dollars spent, and you get a domestic NA flight for 25000 miles (it's even hooked up to the mileage plus account so you can accrue miles in the same account as you fly). United is the same as AC (Star Alliance), so definitely, I would stick with aeroplan if I were back in Canada (for ex, I can fly on any AC flight using United miles).

[Guest Lactic Folly]

I have been spending my Air Miles on Chapters gift certificates (for medical books).. if you shop online, use yourshops.ca for extra miles!

[Guest blinknoodle]

I don't have much experience with the aeroplan, other than when my family of 4 took an Ottawa-Calgary flight and had to book over a year in advance to get seats. I also recently tried to get a trip from Ottawa to Ireland, and it would've taken 5 stop-overs (Ottawa->Toronto->Chicago->London->Frankfurt->Dublin) -- too long to make it feasible. Personally, I prefer to get cash back so I can spend it as I please!

 

I have really enjoyed having my President's Choice Mastercard. There is no annual fee or any hidden fees (in fact they pay you to activate your card).. You collect points with every purchase on the card.. basically it adds up to 1% on each purchase (which is even better then the CIBC Dividend card which gives you up to 1% cash back). The points can be redeemed at Loblaws/Fortinos/Zehrs/No Frills (whatever store is in your area) but they also have deals where you can purchase gift certificates online for Chapters, Famous Players, and all other stuff... The only kicker is that you need at least $20 worth of points before you can redeem them. I, however, have been very happy with it... besides, who doesn't need groceries??

 

-bn

[Guest Kirsteen]

Hi there,

 

I've been accumulating Air Canada Aeroplan miles for years, since I used to travel to far destinations a fair bit for business. Thus, I ended up with a fairly large collection of miles to use. Redeeming Air Canada Aeroplan miles for flights is fairly straightforward (it can be done online or via telephone) but there are a few tips to getting the flights and itineraries that you'd like.

 

1) if you're hoping to use your miles for some big-ticket flights, e.g., I used some of mine to fly to India and Australia, then you need to book as far in advance as possible. I booked both of those flights ~ 9 months in advance since I knew that Air Canada don't allocate too many rewards miles seats on those types of flights, i.e., those that don't fly too often. Booking that far in advance gave me lots of choice in terms of dates and seats. The closer your booking date to your travel date for those long-haul destinations, the tougher the time you may have to secure your ideal flights.

 

2) If you're hoping to use your miles to book a domestic flight, or one to the US, then you can often book flights as little as 2 weeks from your intended departure date. I've done that a lot recently, zipping back and forth between Toronto and Calgary. You'll find great success if your schedule can be flexible, but if it's not and you try to book your itinerary online and get nowhere then call Air Canada Aeroplan directly. Often, they will have access to flight information that is not available to us mortals online, and they will be able to find you an itinerary that works.

 

Cheers,

Kirsteen

[Guest vitegeist]

Most of the reward cards require $15000 or $35000 of annual income (and they don't count scholarships, it has to be employment income). Does anyone know of an airmiles/aeroplan card that a person not working full-time could get?

[Guest tim23]

I just got a platinum avion card from RBC, double rewards points, if your in med it shouldn't be a problem to get one

[Guest blinknoodle]

As a CMA member, you can get a CMA/MD Platinum or Gold Mastercard. I think platinum gives you travel rewards. The gold one is free and still includes free car insurance, etc.

[Guest Kirsteen]

Hi there,

 

As mentioned above, the platinum Avion card from the Royal Bank is available to medical students. It's a great program (far better than the CIBC Aerogold card), in my opinion (I have had both cards for a while). There are a number of reasons why it's such a strong program. For one, you accumulate miles just as you would with any other card; however, once you have accumulated the miles, if you wish to redeem them you call a number which takes you through to a travel agency. The agency takes care of booking the ticket for you and they give you a dollar-value credit towards your flight, based on whether it's short-haul or long-haul (this dollar credit is traded for your points). They can then search for a flight on any airline (not solely Air Canada) and pay for the flight using their own account. This means that: 1) you have complete flexibility in selecting airlines on which to fly; 2) you are not subject to any sort of blackout period, as is often the case with individual airline redemption programs; 3) if you have access to upgrade certificates, you can use them with your ticket (as long as your purchased fare is in an eligible upgradeable class); 4) the miles that you fly are not considered reward miles, so you will also be credited with those miles flown, i.e., if you fly Air Canada, then you will receive Aeroplan credit for the miles flown on your reward ticket (which is not the case if you fly on an Aeroplan reward ticket).

 

I've had my platinum Avion card for quite a few years now, and when I found out about all of the above (just a few months ago), I've been able to cash my miles in for 2 flights: one long-haul and one shorter-haul and have saved a nice amount of money doing so. I'm quite pleased with their program.

 

Cheers,

Kirsteen

[Guest vitegeist]

Thanks for the info, Tim and Kirsteen. I'm going to try and get the fee waived on a platinum avion card at RBC when I go in to get my LOC.

 

Hurrah for free flights!

[Guest AC]

I was wondering how you plan on getting the fee waived. Is that common practise on the part of the bank?

[Guest nby]

i tried to and they flat out refused - and i was playing them up against CIBC

[Guest tim23]

maybe its not as easy to get the fee waived as I thought, the bank charges me and then credits my account with the fee- so maybe I was just lucky.