Bill 791 to 134 - Rewards Credit Cards & Loyalty Programs Survive in Quebec

Rewards Credit Cards & Loyalty Programs in Quebec Canada

Part 1

I wrote Part 2 before May 1, 2017. But just before publishing, I found out that the Quebec government is pursuing a different bill, Bill 143, instead of 791. Bill 134 does not have the clause prohibiting devaluing loyalty programs as I mentioned in point 3 below. As a result, the Part 2 article below is no longer valid. Had Bill 791 passed, it would have been the end of rewards cards and programs in Quebec. However, I am publishing Part 2 anyway for your information and reference purposes.

Part 2

Will This Be The End of Rewards Credit Cards & Loyalty Programs in Quebec Canada?

Bill 791 Puts Rewards Programs at Risk of Extinction

One of the Canadian provinces, Quebec, has introduced a bill Quebec 791. This bill proposes three new legislative requirements for loyalty programs that operate in Quebec to protect consumers.

What Bill 791 means (if comes into reality) in simple terms is that rewards or loyalty programs will have to abide by these rules:

- Inform public how to collect + use the rewards

- The rewards won’t expire (once collected)

- The program or value cannot be changed when you use the rewards, devaluing the program

Loyalty or rewards programs can accept rule # one or two mentioned above. But rule # three is one with which no loyalty companies can comply. In theory, this sounds like a great idea because you are guaranteed to retain the value of the points you are collecting, whether it’s airline, hotel, or other points. In reality, this is not sustainable by any hotel, airline, or other rewards programs.

Changing the award chart, adjusting rewards redemption rate, or devaluing loyalty program, whatever you call it, is a necessity for the loyalty programs and it’s a must to survive. It’s kind of like inflation making grocery prices going up; whether you like it or not, it will happen.

Restricting loyalty programs to make necessary adjustments to survive will only make things worse and chase these programs away from Quebec. Quebec residents are the one who will suffer in the end.

And there is no need to wait to see the consequences. It’s already happening – MBNA Alaska Airlines MasterCard has already pulled out of Quebec. Other programs like SPG, IHG, Hilton Honors, Aeroplan, Avios, Amex, and many more will have to follow the same path.

If this bill passes, it will possibly be the end of rewards credit cards and loyalty programs in Quebec, especially those are international. Quebec residents and point collectors should take a hard look at this bill before it’s too late.

Is it possible to hold an annual fee credit card and still pay no annual fee?

Annual Fee Credit Cards

Is it possible to hold an annual fee credit card and still pay no annual fee? I am not talking about a no annual fee credit card. I am talking about credit cards with attached annual fees. Let me answer the question now. Yes, it is possible to have an annual fee credit card and pay no annual fee whatsoever.

I am not just saying this because I know it. I am saying this because I actually do it. I have an Aeroplan Credit Card which comes with an annual fee and so far I have managed to pay no fee year after year. How I do that? Follow these tips to start enjoying an annual fee credit card without paying any fess:

You have to have lots of transactions on your card. Your credit card company will not waive an annual fee on a card which has no or a few transactions. The more transactions you have, the better it is. Instead of using many cards, use only one. A few hundred dollars annual expenses may not be enough but a few thousand dollars will be enough for your card company to waive your annual fee.

Keep an eye on your monthly statements. Once you see an annual fee charge on your statement, call your credit card company and ask that you would like this annual fee charge to be reversed or you won’t be able to keep your account.

Do not expect the customer service associate to say yes right away. They are trained to hook people into a fee paying card. Once you tell them that you don’t want to pay any annual fee and would like to cancel your account, they will give you many reasons to keep your existing card or switch into another annual fee bearing card. Let me give you some examples to give you an idea of what you can expect to hear from your customer service associate -

If you cancel your account, you will lose all your credit records involving this credit card.

I can switch you to a different credit card with a lower fee.

Do not be intimidated by what you hear. Be firm and stick to your point, you will get what you want. One point worth mentioning here is that this article applies only to those who pay credit card balance in full every month. If you carry a balance and not able to pay your balance in full, there is no point calling your card company as you have no cards in your hand to play.

First Published: Aug 23, 2007

How to Handle Tangerine Money-Back Credit Card Negative Changes

Tangerine Credit Card Cuts Its Cash Back Rewards

If you have a Tangerine credit card that offers cash back rewards, the good old days of getting excellent rewards with no fee are over. Starting April 29, 2017, Tangerine will slap on a few negative changes that will make its popular no- fee credit card less desirable.

There will be several negative changes. However, today I will only mention those that I feel will have the most impact on day-to-day uses of this credit card.

The Tangerine Money-Back credit card earns 2 percent on 2 selected categories (actually there can be 3 categories if you choose to deposit your cash bank in a Tangerine Savings account) and 1 percent on everything else. This 1 percent on everything is where it’s getting axed by Tangerine to a reduced 0.5 percent return. Another popular feature this card used to have is a 1.5 percent foreign transaction fee instead of the 2.5 percent that most other Canadian credit cards charge. Tangerine is axing this as well to a 2.5 percent foreign transaction fee.

A point worth mentioning is that there are credit cards in Canada that do not charnge a foreign transaction fee. I talked about these cards here in my YouTube video here: Credit Cards That Save You Foreign Transaction Fee

What you can do if you are already a Tangerine cardholder is keep using your Tangerine Money-Back credit for those selected 2 or 3 categories where it still returns 2 percent and switch to other credit cards that offer a better rate than 1/2 percent on everything else. The BMO Cash Back MasterCard and Simply Cash from American Express are two such cards that offer a flat 1 percent and 1.25 percent returns on everything across the board. The Rogers Platinum MasterCard also offers a flat 1.75 percent on everything, but there is a $29 annual fee if you are not a Rogers customer.

I have a video on cash back credit cards as well. There are many other free and annual fee cash back credit cards available. Research online to find the card that best suits your needs. My site www.AhmedDawn.com and YouTube channel www.YouTube.com/ADawn provide lots of information on credit cards that will help you find your credit cards. And unlike most other sites, my opinions are unbiased because I do not accept money or provide affiliated links to make money from credit card companies.

SimplyCash Preferred Cash Back Credit Card Annual Fee Goes Up

American Express Cash Back Credit Card

Amex’s annual fee cash back credit card is going through a bit of a facelift, including receiving a higher annual fee. However, existing users will be able to continue paying $79 per year.

With a new $99 annual fee, there is a promotional bonus of 5 percent cash back for the first three months, capped at $300. What this means is that you can spend a total of $6,000 in three months or $2,000 each month to catch this promotion.

Also, there is no more spending limit on 2 percent cash back. This card comes with some insurances, such as emergency travel medical, travel accident insurance, and car rental theft & damage insurance.

The 2 percent return on all spending is a good cash back rate, but there are other Canadian cash back cards that offer the same return. MBNA Rewards World Elite (2% flat), Scotia Momentum Visa Infinite (4% on selected categories), Scotia Gold American Express (4% on selected categories), BMO Cashback World Elite MasterCard (1.75% flat, but has various added perks) are just a few.

On the no-annual fee side, Amex has its own SimplyCash card that earns 1.25 percent flat on everything. Some other no-fee credit cards to consider include Rogers Platinum MasterCard (free for Rogers customers, 1.75% cash back), Tangerine Money-Back Credit Card (2% flat on selected categories), and the RBC Cash Back MasterCard.

Here are some links to my YouTube video on cash back credit cards I have released in the past:

Which Credit Cards Give the Most Rewards Points of Cash Back?

What Are Some of the Best Cash Back Credit Cards?

Let Your Credit Card Company Pay Your Interest

Credit Card Pays Interest

By paying your balance every month in full, you are actually using your card company’s money for free for your full billing period. Your card company always wants you to carry a balance so they can charge you interest and that’s how card companies make money.

If you are paying your balance in full, you are actually using your card company’s money at their high interest rate for free. Let me give you an example. In Sep 2006, I bought five British Airways return tickets for my trip at approximately $2000 each. My total cost was $2000 * 5 = $10,000. Most of the card companies charge 20% annual interest rate. If I do an approximate calculation for $10,000 at 20%, my one month interest charge would be $165. Yes, that’s right.

My one month interest charge would have been $165. But I avoided this charge by paying my balance in full and definitely my card company did not like it because they lost $165. If you look at this little differently, you can say that I borrowed money for one month at 20% interest rate but I have not paid any interest because my credit card company paid it for me.

What do all these translate into? Know how you are being charged and what your interest rate is. Pay your balance in full. It’s like using your card company’s money at their expense.