Looking to sign up for a travel points card but not sure which one is the best bet? Every card is different, and the best one is the one that fits your unique needs and wants. I spoke with Aeroplan’s Vice President of Partnerships, David Houston, to get his advice on what Canadians should be looking for when picking a new travel points card. Here are seven key things you need to consider before choosing the card that’s right for you.
Decide how you want to be rewarded
Before blindly signing up for a points program, you need to decide what it is that you are hoping to get out of it. “Free” points may sound like a great idea, but if they’re just going to sit there and not be used then they are rather useless. There are many types of travel points cards available on the market. Some are airline specific, others are hotel specific. And then there are generic rewards cards that allow you to collect and redeem points in a variety of consumer categories. Take a good look at the options, and the benefits attached to each one. Then decide which program’s rewards closely match your needs and wants.
Look at your spend patterns
Take a good look at where your money is going right now. Is a big chunk of your spending going towards groceries, travel or other generic vendors? More importantly, can you consolidate your spending towards one credit card? If you want to maximize your points, your goal should be to try to get points on as many of your regularly incurring expenses as possible.
“Move all your spending onto one card, and move your cash or cheque transactions onto your credit card as well,” says Houston. Consolidating all of your spending into one account is the best way to maximize point collection.
The more partners, the better
Determine what type of industries and merchants you will be spending with and then take a good look at the partners attached to various points programs.
For example, Aeroplan has over 75 partners and 150 global brand affiliates around the world. Not only are you able to collect miles when spending with travel brands such as Fairmont, Starwood and Star Alliance, but you can also collect miles when spending with retail brands like Esso, Sobey’s, Rexall, Home Hardware and many others.
Picking a brand that has the most partners that you regularly transact with will allow you to maximize the amount of points you collect without changing your spending habits.
Multiple users
Check to see if a points program will allow you to have multiple users registered to one account.
“That allows you to aggregate that spend and pool it together, an important factor to bring all those miles and all that earning power together,” says Houston.
Make sure you have multiple cards for your account that can be used by every qualifying member of your household. Pooling all the points together will help you reach for a higher points count faster and will increase your chances in collectively attaining elite status in a program.
Annual fees vs. card benefits
Yearly fees for a card can vary from anywhere between $120 for a standard gold card all the way up to $500 for a premium platinum level card. However, the benefits of each of these cards (and every level of card between them) varies a great deal too. Where a basic card would offer travel insurance on top of point accumulation, a platinum card on the other hand is likely to offer bigger perks such as lounge access at airports, front-of-the-line ticket access, priority check-in and even a Pearson Priority lane at Toronto Pearson Airport that lets you breeze through airport lines. Determine which of the available benefits you would make the most use of, then pick a card that offers the most features that line up with your lifestyle. The annual fee will be worth it if you are constantly taking advantage of the available perks.
Bonus miles and accelerators
Most points programs will offer a healthy chunk of bonus points when you first sign up. It’s key to check what this amount is because this is your head start towards getting your rewards.
You should also check for a program’s accelerator policies, which could help you get more points faster. For example, the CIBC Aerogold Visa will get you 50% more miles if you spend at a drug store like Rexall or Pharma Plus, and after spending 25,000 on the American Express AeroplanPlus Platinum Card you earn 1.5 miles on every dollar spent instead of just 1 mile per dollar spent.
The best points program is the one with a large sign-up bonus but, more importantly, accelerators that kick in faster and most frequently.
Online shopping
Another thing to keep an eye out for? Online shopping. If a points program lets you punch in your loyalty program number while buying stuff online, you can rack up the points simply by doing your regular online shopping.
If you’re spending any money day-to-day, getting a travel points card is totally worth it. Find the right one for you and start benefiting from some free perks!
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