The American Express Gold Rewards card: Should You Keep It?

The American Express Gold Rewards Card Review

First Published Date : August 12, 2015

The American Express Gold Rewards card is a flexible highbred travel rewards credit card that lets you earn American Express points for everyday purchases that can be used towards eligible travel costs without any blackout periods or restrictions.

The Cost

Annual Fee = $150. Additional cards = $0

Minimum annual income required = $20,000

Rewards Points Snapshot

– Earn 2 points for every $1 spent at eligible gas stations, grocery stores and drugstores in Canada.

– Earn 2 points for every $1 spent on eligible travel purchases.

– Earn 1 point for every $1 spent on everything else.

First Time Bonus

A 25,000-point (valued $550 or more) welcome bonus when you spend $500 within 3 months. Also, the annual fee is waived for the first year.

Anniversary Bonus

None.

Features & Benefits

– Book any travel purchases with this card and use points to pay them when appear on statement.

– This is a charge card. Balance has to be paid in full every month.

– Transfer points to Aeroplan or AVIOS at 1:1

– Emergency Medical Insurance (15 days<65, none>65 or older, Amount: 5 M/per person).

– Travel Accident Insurance (Up to $500,000 CAD).

– Auto Rental Theft and Collision/Loss Damage Insurance ((maximum $85,00)

– Trip Interruption Insurance ($1,500 each, maximum $6,000).

– Flight Delay Insurance (After 4 hrs, maximum $500 per occurrence).

– Lost Luggage (maximum $500)

– Hotel/Motel Burglary (maximum $500)

– Extended Warranty Insurance

– Purchase Security

What’s Missing

Some of the important benefits this card does not offer:

– Price Protection Insurance

– Trip Cancellation Insurance
– No Concierge services

My Take

Although the American Express Gold Rewards card is a highbred card that charges a high $150 annual fee, it is missing some important elements of insurance and services you would expect from a $150 per year credit card, and it has no anniversary bonus to consider to add it to your credit card portfolio.

For a cheaper annual fee, for example $120 per year, you will find many other cards that offer features that the American Express Gold Rewards card is missing, such as Trip Cancellation insurance, Concierge service, etc., and you will find more value for your dollar.

I personally do not hold this card as of this writing and I’m planning not to hold it after its 1st year even if I get this card in the future.

However, a point worth mentioning is that this card earns 2 points for every $1spent at gas stations, grocery stores and drugstores and then lets you convert them to Aeroplan points. This makes it a high Aeroplan earner (2 Aeroplan points for each dollar) comparing any other cards.

Disclosure: Information provided here may not be accurate and no longer valid. The mentioned card provider is not related to A Dawn Journal and neither monitor this site nor responsible for any inaccurate information. Contact the card company directly for accurate and updated information. A Dawn Journal or my YouTube Channel are not compensated by or affiliated with any credit card companies. All credit card articles are 100% unbiased and honest.

How To Give Your Children The Best Start In Life Financially

Teach Your Kids Good Money Habits

First Published Date: July 19, 2009

As the old saying goes “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.” The same, or at least similar, applies to giving your children the best start in life financially. If your children are forever coming to you asking for money, it can be very hard not to give them a few dollars, especially if they have been well-behaved recently. However, this is something that should never become a habit. After all, you had to learn at some point that you cannot keep relying on other people. The message is that if you can save some of what you get from time to time, and find a (legitimate)  way of making to money it will stand you in much better stead for the future.

This is not a case of advising people to never give their children money. It is true that your children need to learn the value of money, but this is no more likely to be learned by giving them nothing than it is if you give them money every time they ask. All that you guarantee by withholding money every time is that they will one day start making money for themselves and rebel against everything you told them by spending like an heiress in a street full of boutiques. There is a sensible balance to be struck. If your child has a good reason for asking for the money, that scores a point. If they are not asking for much, that scores another. If they really do not ask all that often, then they deserve another point.

You can come up with your own points system, but do your best to make it fair while not being excessively flimsy. How likely is it that a child who knows they will get everything handed to them will grow up understanding that money needs to be earned. The old saying “Money doesn’t grow on trees” may be irritating, but it is also true. It has to come from somewhere, so it is worth encouraging your child – once they are old enough – to get a job which they can do on weekends earning just enough to pay for their leisure pursuits. This doesn’t mean you need to stop paying their way – it is even better if you top up what they earn with a little from your own pocket to show them that good behaviour is well rewarded.

There may seem to be some madness in the above stratagem, but rest assured there is method to it. Giving your child a decent appreciation of the benefits of working for money, a recognition that they cannot rely on someone to just hand it to them, and yet the reassurance that you will not turn them down if they really need help, is the strongest way of reinforcing the lessons of good financial behaviour, and your child will be more likely to thrive financially in times to come.

To streamline and minimize blog maintenance, I will be discontinuing maintaining the Canadapersonalfinancewebsite.com website (however, I will still hold the domain). I will gradually move all articles from this site to A Dawn Journal. This article originally published on the above website on July 19, 2009.

Fragile Global Economy and China

Risks Still Exist

First Published Date: August 18, 2015

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) recently stated that although the global economy is recovering, it is still fragile and there are risks on the horizon.

The US is a strong performer and although China has had some recent stock market turmoil, its economy is still resilient.

The Eurozone economy is expected to grow 1.5 percent in 2015 and 1.7 percent in 2017. These figures are a lot better than 0.8 percent growth in 2014.

A downward trend in commodity prices will hurt emerging economies. And then there is the possibility of a US rate increase – which will likely to have impact on economies around the globe.

After a 0.1 percent slump in 2014, Japan will likely grow 0.8 percent in 2015.

China’s economy is strong enough to withhold volatility and is expected to grow 6.8 percent in 2015. Although this rate is the slowest since 1990, it’s still not bad compared to other global economies. Even with the recent stock market selloff in China, stocks are 80 percent higher than one year ago.

Burj Khalifa — The Tallest Building in the World

World’s Tallest SkyScraper

First Published Date: Feb 6, 2010

In September 2004, the Burj Dubai project started, intending to build what was expected to become the world’s tallest building. In officially opening the building, this January of 2010 – some two years after the originally intended completion date in 2008, the opening ceremony is a testament to the spirit of co-operative human endeavour, overcoming all obstacles, including the global recession, to achieve an outcome which is recognized as being second to none – the achievement of having built the tallest building in  the world.

Despite good progress until late 2008, the fate of the Burj Dubai was left somewhat in the balance when the exposure of the emirate of Dubai to the financial havoc caused by global recession became apparent, with Burj Dubai looking likely to become one of many fire sale items that might need to be sold off to get the emirate out of the red. However, in the pomp and ceremony of the opening day was included a re-naming ceremony for the Burj Dubai – and it was formally opened as the Burj Khalifa – by way of tribute to the leader of Abu Dhabi – Sheik Khalifia bin Zayed Al Nahayan  who recently provided financial assistance to the neighboring Dubai to the tune of  CAD 11 ($10) billion securing the financial future of Dubai and ensuring completion of the Burg Khalifa, enabling it to take its place as the fully accredited tallest building in the world. It can be seen from 95 kilometers away. The Khalifa Tower is around half a mile high and overlooks the entire city, including existing tall buildings, it is expected to be a tourist magnet, not only for its unique height, but its location from which can be accessed all of the wonders of Dubai – the world’s largest arch bridge, the twirling tower, a refrigerated beach and some artificial islands shaped like a map of the world – for a vacation or a stopover, this new centre for tourism in Dubai promises an experience in the grandest style and well worth including in your travel plans, particularly for those who enjoy fine dining and those who love to shop.

There are over 160 levels in the Burj Khalifa – including the area given over to the Armani Hotel. The elevator has the longest travel distance in the world and there are double deck elevators which travel at 10 meters per second-the highest speeds to take you up to the highest level observation deck, where breath taking panoramic views can be enjoyed by night and day. Most of the lower levels of the Burj Khalifa are taken up by the luxurious Armani Hotel with 160 guest rooms, suites and nine hundred one or two room living accommodation units. There are 37 floors of office space all fitted out with the very latest in design and e-technology – the Burj Khalifa is a new hub for both business and social interaction and will bring some much needed new tourism and trade into the economy of Dubai.

To streamline and minimize blog maintenance, I will be discontinuing maintaining the realestateexpedition.com website (however, I will still hold the domain). I will gradually move all articles from this site to A Dawn Journal. This article originally published on the above website on Feb 6, 2010

Singapore Economy Expected to Slow In

Singapore Economy Growth

First Published Date: August 31, 2015

As Singapore reaches 50, it rises from a poor state to the 5th highest GDP per capita in the world. The average income for Singaporeans is now $56,000, which is far than the $600 figure from just 50 years ago.

Singapore is now one of the world’s top financial centres, holding 40 percent of the Asia-Pacific headquarters (319 out of 500 global fortune 500 companies).

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) predicts that Singapore’s economy will grow 2.9 percent in 2015, supported by external demand, macroeconomic policies, and lower energy costs. The Asian Development Bank predicts the growth to be 2.8 percent, Bank of America predicts the growth to be 2 percent, and the Singapore government predicts between 2 and 4 percent.

For 2016, Bank of America predicts GDP growth will be 2.2 percent. The new growth outlook for Singapore appears to be closer to 2 percent than the old growth rate of 4+ percent. Global weaker economic growth – especially weaker growth in Singapore’s neighboring countries such as China, Malaysia, Thailand, and Indonesia – will contribute to slowing down Singapore’s economy.

Singapore ranks very well in international competitive rankings. For example:

2014 World Economic Forum Global Competitiveness – Ranks 2 out of 144 countries
2015 World Bank Ease of Doing Business – Ranks 1
Transparency International Corruption Perception Index – Ranks 7 out of 175 countries