Meridian Visa Infinite Travel Rewards Card: Should You Keep It?

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Meridian Visa Infinite Travel Rewards Card Review

The Meridian Visa Infinite Travel Rewards Card is a travel rewards credit card that lets you earn rewards points for everyday purchases that can be used for travel, merchandise, gift cards, or special events.

The Cost

Annual Fee = $99 (First year free). Additional cards = $30

Minimum annual income required = $60,000 (personal) or $100,000 (household)

Rewards Points Snapshot

– Earn 1.5 points for every $1 spent in all credit card purchases

- Earn 3 points for every $1 spent in foreign currencies

– No caps, no tiers, no restrictions

First Time Bonus

None

Anniversary Bonus

None

Features & Benefits

– Complimentary 24/7 Visa Infinite Concierge.

– Emergency Medical Insurance (48 days<59, 23 days=60–64, 15 days=65-75, None>76, Amount: 5 M/per person).

– Travel Accident Insurance (up to $1,000,000 CAD, No age limit).

– Auto Rental Theft and Collision/Loss Damage Insurance (Up to 48 days)

– Trip Cancellation Insurance ($2,000 each).

– Trip Interruption Insurance (Unlimited).

– Flight Delay Insurance (Not clear – No mention of after how many hours, Looks like $2,000, but please call Meridian to confirm).

– Lost and Delayed Luggage (Not clear - No mention of after how many hours, Looks like $500-$1,000, but please call Meridian to confirm).

– Extended Warranty Insurance (1 additional year, $50,000 lifetime limit).

– Purchase Security (90 days, $50,000 lifetime limit).

– Price Protection Insurance (60 days, $100 per item, $500 per year limit)

– Mobile Device Insurance (Up to $1,000)

What’s Missing

– Hotel/Motel Burglary Insurance

Meridian Visa Infinite Travel Rewards Card - My Take

The Meridian Visa Infinite Travel Rewards Card is a new entrant on the Canadian credit card market. The rewards points earning rate is not that great because it generates only 1.5 percent return on everyday purchases. However, the 3 percent return on foreign purchases would offset the 2.5 percent foreign transaction fees and there will still be a half percent return. Most Canadian cards charge foreign transaction fees. If you want to know which cards do not charge foreign fees, watch my video on that.

The interesting twist this card has is its insurance. It offers rich travel insurance for a $99 annual fee. Also, the Emergency Medical Insurance offers longer coverage than most other Canadian travel credit cards (and a higher amount, up to $5 million) for up to 75 years old.

If you pay careful attention to insurance providers, there are two providers working together here. For travel related insurances such as emergency medical, trip interruption, trip cancellation, baggage delay, etc., the provider is Desjardins Financial Security Life Assurance Company. For other segments of insurance such as auto rental, mobile device, purchase + price protection, extended warranty, etc., the provider is American Bankers Insurance Company of Florida (ABIC).

Whichever travel credit cards you use (such as Scotia Gold Amex, Capital One Aspire Travel World Elite MasterCard, and many other Canadian cards), travel insurances are provided by American Bankers Insurance Company of Florida. I would stay away from these, as there are numerous complaints and bad reviews online about these providers when it actually comes to processing claims. So, for the travel insurance elements, the provider is Desjardins and not ABIC, which is a good thing.

Now, it all comes up to your decision making if you are comfortable trusting Desjardins as your insurance provider. Of course, I am assuming they are better than ABIC, but I am not too familiar with Desjardins when it comes to processing claims. You don’t want to take chances paying out of pocket for, let’s say, a $500,000 bill should you require an airlift from a foreign country to Canada and your provider is finding causes to decline your claims.

To wrap it up, Meridian Visa Infinite Travel Rewards Card should not be your primary card to maximize rewards/points earning (except foreign transactions). But it can be a good card for travel insurances if you are fine with Desjardins being the travel insurance provider. Always do your research and make an educated decision.

As of this writing, I do not hold this card.

 

What Is An RRSP?

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The following is an Excerpt from my first book Invest Now. Invest Now is jam-packed with timely information and timeless advice for the beginning Canadian investor. Invest Now covers a broad range of topics including RRSP. Invest Now will be published in a few weeks.

What Is An RRSP?

An RRSP (registered retirement savings plan), or registered account, is not something you actually buy. This is just an account type, and you buy qualified investments to hold inside that registered plan. Think of the RRSP as an umbrella sheltering you from the sun. Think of the sun as the Canada Revenue Agency. As long as you are under the umbrella, you are protected from the heat. As long as you are inside your registered plan, you are protected from taxes.

Advantages of an RRSP

  • Deposits generate tax receipts to provide tax breaks.
  • If the account generates income, no taxes have to be paid, because income is sheltered.
  • If you sell your holdings and achieve profits, you pay no taxes on capital gains, but you pay withholding taxes on withdrawals.
  • You pay no taxes on growth and switches made inside your account, as long as you are not going outside the registered plan

Disadvantages of a Registered Account

  • The account is registered with Canada revenue Agency (CRA). That’s where the term registered comes from.
  • You are only allowed to deposit so much money.
  • Withdrawals are restricted.
  • You are taxed on the amount you withdraw. The more money you withdraw, the more taxes you pay. See withholding tax rates listed at the end of this chapter.
  • You can’t keep this account forever. The account has to be terminated once you are 71, and you have to convert this account to a Registered Income Fund (RIF), from which you have to receive annual income by law. Also, you can take out all your money once you are 71, but this is not a good idea, as you have to pay hefty taxes.

First Published: ADawnJournal.com Feb 26, 2008

Alternative to iRobot Roomba Vacuum Cleaner

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ILIFE A4 Robotic Vacuum Cleaner Review

I’ve been contemplating buying a robotic vacuum cleaner for some time. Especially seeing my nephew grabbing one and talking highly about how it saves lots of time and does a good job cleaning. However, the steep price tag (around $1000) has always refrained me from getting one of these modern day marvels.

My curiosity remained, however, and I thought to myself that there must be some cheaper versions of Roomba that would work just fine. After searching for months and going through lots of reviews, finally I decided on ILIFE A4.

The main difference I can see is that ILIFE does not follow a mapped pattern or advanced navigation system to program its movement, so it does not keep repeating same spots. Rather, it cleans randomly going here and there. In my condo, I found out that there are some places it keeps going back again and again and again. Also, it does not have Wi-Fi or smart phone connection.

At the end of the day, ILIFE does its job, possibly taking longer and repeating some places more than others. However, these are minor flaws and I don’t mind, considering the fraction of a price I paid. And I don’t really need Wi-Fi or a fancy smartphone app to track its movement or obtaining a cleaning report.

The quality of cleaning is something I cannot complain about as well. It does the same level of cleaning I would do with a hand-held vacuum. So the precious time it’s saving me is sweet and I can even program it to clean my condo when I am at work; one less thing to worry about in life.

After finishing its job, ILIFE goes back to its home (or docking station) and sleeps there quietly until it’s next shift. I have made 2 videos on ILIFE where you can see me unboxing and following ILIFE all around my condo. I will provide you with those links here for you to watch.

The only regret I have at this point is that I did not buy this modern-day marvel before; it would have saved me so much time and hassle. If you are planning to buy a low-cost robot vacuum, research well before buying anything so you don’t regret it later. They exist and you don’t have to break your bank to enjoy one.

Are Money Making Ads Real or Just Hype?

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Can I make money on the Internet?

 It seems everywhere we look from our mailbox to the television some one is getting rich fast on the internet. In addition, the moneymaking possibilities are endless. If you are interested in making money, how does one know where to start? Do we buy into the ads and start selling for EBay or Google, or do we find our own niche and market the minefield of green? Whatever the base for your online money making business it is best to remember that nothing comes free. Hard work and dedication are needed in any venture and sticking a lot of money into “proven systems” may not be your best bet.

When dealing with Internet business it is in your best interest to find a niche that you are familiar with and can be happily involved in on a daily basis. Once you find your optimal business opportunity, create a website, and are ready to start selling it is important to sell the website as well to drive traffic to your site. SEO Articles are helpful but it is important to find available search engines and to create the articles needed to advertise. This in itself for the Entrepreneur can be very daunting but there are several services that can help market your wares. There are freelancers available to write your articles and companies to incorporate your articles into useful formats. The most important thing is to generate SEO Articles that are useful and informative, including well written. The trend today seems to be computer-generated articles with a lot of unuseful information with several keywords to drive traffic. This can drive traffic but it is best to stay ahead of the trend and keep it honest for a lasting customer base.

If selling yourself or a product is not what interests you but possibly maintaining a website that sells itself and creates income from generated revenue depending on the visitors and ads placed on your site then there are several opportunities as well. One such tool is Google Ad sense and offers you to be paid per click or sale from other sites. You advertise their links on your site, blog, forum, hub and other tools. This can be lucrative if you have content that people are searching for and the ads generate themselves in relation to your content or you can customize these ads as well. A good tool in combination with this system is to advertise and generate through other forms such as Facebook or Twitter. The idea is the more you market, the more traffic you generate and the more money possibilities you earn in this type of Internet business.

Including moneymaking ads, you can also include Affiliate Accounts in which you provide direct links to sites selling products in which you are paid a percentage of sales. As with all other ventures, you have to market your advertising format to get the traffic to become customers. With so many struggling Entrepreneurs today, it is easy to fall to the bottom of the barrel, and lose traffic to similar sites. Keeping your sites, hubs or blogs current and adding new content daily will help you rise to the top. Besides promotions, you may also venture to add specials or discounts that will attract heavier traffic flow.

Keeping these moneymaking opportunities in mind, do not forget to research all avenues to ensure you have the time, patience and attitude to stick with your ventures until they become fruitful.
First Published: EntrepreneurJourney.com Nov 15, 2009

Google Finance Canada

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Google Canadian Financial Site

First Published: ADawnJournal.com Jan 08, 2010

You have got to check Google Finance Canada out. Because it’s a Canadian financial site and from Google. Google lunched Google Finance Canada in August 2007. Google Finance Engineer Dion Roy, a Canadian, stated in his blog that Canadians are the second largest users of the original Google Finance and Google Finance Canada is a localized version tailored specifically for Canadians. I like Google Finance Canada for the following:

  • Unbelievably simple to use. Looking for a stock or a company? Just start putting the name or trading symbol in the search box. Let’s say you want to know about Bombardier, and you don't know the trading symbol. Just write bom and see what happens. This autocompletion feature is really a brilliant idea. Try it now.
  • An Ad-free site (yes, it is ad-free but hard to say how long it will remain ad-free).
  • simple layouts. Easy to navigate.
  • Create a portfolio to watch your stocks. Google has made this so simple. Try it out. You can even add Price and Number of Shares to monitor how much money you are making (or loosing).
  • Watch Canadian financial news, Canadian economic data, Canadian stocks and mutual funds data – all in one page.

You will not find lots of tools(like Yahoo Finance) on Google Finance Canada because it is a very new project. I am sure Google will be improving this site rapidly and will be adding lots of features. Another positive feature Google Finance Canada has is that it does not have too many things crammed up in too little space, unlike Yahoo. Click here to visit Google Finance Canada.