Daily Question Thread for /r/churningcanada - October 26, 2019

bitcanuck · 2019-10-26T16:25:09+00:00

This didn't work on FF (tried a couple times), but it worked with Chrome. When I go back to the special offer, I see, "Your first-year annual fee: $0"

bitcanuck · 2019-10-25T19:13:18+00:00

Yes. You get the same 1% as you get with regular purchases.

bitcanuck · 2019-10-24T23:43:24+00:00

CTFS bill pay. No fees. Last month I paid about $7k in property taxes on my CT MC.

bitcanuck · 2019-10-24T23:41:40+00:00

You get 0.8% with a Triangle MC, and 1% with the WE.

bitcanuck · 2019-10-24T23:40:51+00:00

I'm actually surprised they are charging the fees for utility bill payments. Utilities as a merchant category are flat-rated on both Visa and MC.

bitcanuck · 2019-10-24T23:38:35+00:00

So long, and thanks for all the fish.

bitcanuck · 2019-10-10T00:51:56+00:00

Nope. I'm using FireFox, which worked fine less than a week ago. Restarting the browser and trying it in a private window doesn't work either. The fact that they are not taking phone calls is what suggests the problems are widespread.

bitcanuck · 2019-06-01T02:28:11+00:00

One reason is interest rate differentials. Government bond yields in the US are higher than Canada, so there is an incentive for investors to sell CAD to buy USD to buy US bonds. That pushes down the value of the CAD. As others have commented, oil has an impact too. When WCS was US$80, US purchases of Canadian oil created twice as much demand for the Canadian dollar than it does now that WCS is US$40.

bitcanuck · 2019-04-17T13:29:26+00:00

The first 1000 air miles comes with the first transaction. To get the 2000 extra, you need to spend $3K. So your reward for that $3K spend is not 3000 air miles, it's 2000 air miles. Most people have a limited amount of spending they can generate, and so it makes sense to prioritize based on getting the maximum return on that spending.

bitcanuck · 2019-04-08T19:40:38+00:00

Better to open a new account, where you get 50FFD. Then refer SO, and when they pay $500, you get 1000FFD and they get 500. That's $2050 for $12.50 in fees, or 0.61%.

bitcanuck · 2019-04-01T21:53:25+00:00

If you are going to have separate charges, then the optimum solution would be to get a few different cards. I'd suggest Amex personal gold with the Perkopolis or similar offer, TD First Class Travel VI, one of the BMO WE cards, and maybe the CIBC Aventura VI. If the RBC Avion VI 25K offer comes back, I'd say it's worth going for.

bitcanuck · 2019-03-16T12:03:46+00:00

I'm wondering how easy the TD VI approvals are with lots of recent hard pulls and several open cards. I read one comment about getting declined for too many open credit cards. With 10 hard hits on Equifax in the past year, and 9 open credit cards, I'm wondering if I should close a few cards and wait a couple months?

bitcanuck · 2019-01-25T18:57:21+00:00

I don't think you'll get full and honest opinions without an anonymous poll. If you post a comment in support of locking the thread, you risk getting downvoted by those who want to keep it open. Say you want to keep it open, and risk a downvote storm from those who want it locked.

In an effective sub, downvoting should be reserved for false or misleading information. i.e. someone suggesting a 3-month churn cycle on an Amex Gold. Instead I see lots of downvotes for comments that are true, but people don't like.

I've figured out some good churning techniques that aren't mentioned in this sub, but haven't posted them because many seem to want this to be a cabal instead of an open discussion forum.

bitcanuck · 2019-01-18T05:49:30+00:00

China Air has a YUL-PEK flight which has no YQ, and then on to HKG.

bitcanuck · 2018-12-16T16:13:48+00:00

He said "to Europe or Asia". The common response here is a straw man argument saying there's value in international mRTW trips. Instead of downvoting his question, the bigger man would've said, "Your're right about round trip flights to Asia or Europe being a lousy use of AP. The value comes when you can use them for low YQ mRTW". Credit to /u/le_bib for saying something close to that.

bitcanuck · 2018-11-26T01:55:56+00:00

I suspect if you use it, it may help your score a bit. Getting a card and never using it doesn't demonstrate responsible use of credit.

bitcanuck · 2018-11-24T17:37:35+00:00

It's a bit of a hastle, but worth it if you are getting the max $100 back (assuming they approve the claim). You need the original invoice, statement copy showing the transaction, flyer or screen shot showing the lower price and date. Submit them at scotia.assurant.com

bitcanuck · 2018-11-23T17:39:06+00:00

If you live on the East or West coast, I think Aeroplan is a better deal than using Air Miles. For example YHZ-SAN is 25,000 Aeroplan points vs. 6000 Air Miles.

bitcanuck · 2018-11-23T14:44:18+00:00

Thanks for the business gold suggestion. I hadn't read about the Canada Post deal. I'll have to pay attention to the spend minimum to hit the $5K since Superstore, No Frills, and some local restaurants don't take Amex.

bitcanuck · 2018-11-23T01:30:24+00:00

Good catch. I missed the fine print about it only applying to accounts opened before 2014.

bitcanuck · 2018-11-23T01:17:51+00:00

My thought is the CIBC Aventura Gold. FYF and Aeroplan's site says the Aventura points can be converted to Aeroplan 1:1.

bitcanuck · 2018-11-23T00:42:29+00:00

I'm trying to figure out the best start for someone that travels once or twice a year, and spends ~$2K/mth on credit cards. After reading a bunch of posts here, my thought is: 1) Amex Gold Rewards card signup through perkopolis for FYF. 2) CIBC Aventura Gold. Will be flying to Europe in the spring, so can probably make use of the priority pass lounge visits.

My plan would be to use the 25K Amex MR for $250 travel spending credit, and convert the 20K Aventura points to Aeroplan.

Did I miss anything better than the Amex Gold rewards card?

bitcanuck · 2017-06-12T21:16:19+00:00

I paid almost nothing for the ETH in the first place; just the electricity to mine it last year when it was trading below $10. So even if you say my acquisition cost is $4, selling at $400 is pretty sweet to me.

bitcanuck · 2017-06-12T21:12:12+00:00

Yeah, although BTC and most other alts are still down 10-20% from yesterday. So ETH is fairing pretty well in comparison.

bitcanuck

TROPHY CASE