After thirteen years a long and bitter friendship came to an end recently when I finally cancelled my Visa Aerogold credit card. For those who aren’t familiar with this card, it is a rewards card that gets Aeroplan points which can be used to buy airplane flights.
Why cancel?
Mainly because it’s just not worth it anymore. The annual fee for this card is $120 and when I added my wife to the account (so she could get a card too) the fee went up to $170 which broke this camel’s back! I have redeemed a number of flights using points in the past but when I look at the annual fees, the charges for booking flights and the amount that I charge each year on the card, it doesn’t seem to be worth it. The other big aggravation with Aeroplan is that you have to book a long time in advance if you want a reasonable flight. I can remember trying to book a flight from Toronto to Calgary a few years ago and my only options involved a two day flight with two stops which is ridiculous for a four hour journey.
A new card?
I was going to do some research on Million Dollar Journey’s post on the topic and then figure out the best card to buy, but when I called Visa to cancel the card, the customer service rep told me about their “Dividend” card which has a cash back reward and no fees. At the end of each year you get 0.25% on the first $1500 charged, 0.5% on the next $1500 and then 1% on everything over $3000 which seemed like a reasonable reward system. And there are no fees! The interest rate on the card is 19.5% but since I haven’t paid credit card interest in over ten years, that is of no concern to me.
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Thanks for the mention FP. In terms of credit card choices, it really depends on what your looking for. IMO, the best CASHBACK credit card available in Canada right now is the AMEX 2% cash back card, however, it’s not as widely accepted as Visa or Mastercard. For non cash back cards, I like the no annual fee SPG M/C, where it gives you starwood hotel points for when you travel.
Look forward to your post about which credit card you choose.
FT – I’m going with the Visa “Dividend” card. It meets my needs.
Mike
I just got Aerogold in Oct 2007, and has already wanted (and tried) to cancel it
It’s quite annoying, how they won’t let me cancel with full refund despite them saying so during signup, or they’ve halted my card without contacting me, forcing me to use other cards for big $ purchases
In comparison, I am a happy AMEX user, be Aeroplan Plus, or 2% Cashback
In new year, I am staying with my 2% AMEX card and hopefully break > $6250 soon to get 2% all the way afterwards
NSB – why do you want to cancel your Aerogold card?
Mike
Congratulations. I dropped my Visa Avion nearly a year ago now. The fees just don’t seem worth it.
I have to say though that I always got my free flights when I wanted them.
I now have a plain regular no-fee. I must look into the dividend option.
Hi Lise – I’ve heard from friends that Avion is a much better rewards program because it’s much easier to book flight compared to Aeroplan.
Mike
Another alternative to AMEX Cashback is Citi’s Enrich MasterCard: no annual fee and 1% cashback starting from the first dollar.
Instead of cashback, I opted for Citi’s Platinum Driver’s Edge MC, which also has no annual fee, 2% bonus towards car purchase/lease, and with the added benefit of being a platinum card (price protection, extended warranty, travel accident insurance, CDW on car rental, free supplementary card, among other things).
Cindy, the Citi card sounds like a good option. I mainly went with the dividend card because of convenience but I will keep that card in mind for the future.
Mike
I’ve been really happy with my AMEX blue card (which does some sort of graduated percent rebate at the end of the year). Hard to beat cash.
Hard to beat cash.
Amen to that!
Happy new year Mike! And everyone on 4P and in the Canadian blogosphere!!!
I have a Dividends card with a low limit- $1000. I use it mainly for work items now, and obviously nothing big, but I earned $10 in rewards in the 6 months since I switched. Overall happy to have some cash back from a credit card!
I used to be an Aeroplan Gold Visa holder as well and have moved to the TD Gold Elite (dividend no tiers). The fee is $99 (+ $19 for a 2nd car) but includes autoclub membership so we were able to cancel CAA (we have older vehicles) so it was a wash.
If you put a lot on your credit card (and of course pay off your balance each month), it’s great. We’re looking at a $400 dividend cheque coming up as we pay almost all our bills & expenses via the Visa.
Hi Telly, that sounds like a good card for you. In our case we don’t charge that much anymore plus we have roadside service on our car for another three or four years.
Mike
Yeah, the dividend cheque reminds us of how spend-y we’ve been over the past year!