updating the canadian cash back card list: MBNA 2% (with a fee) is back!

back in april, i wrote a list of all the credit cards offering cash back. that post is here for the raw details. but then i found that a few of the cards needed updates, and i thought it would be helpful to point out. the original had many kinds of cash back cards, and really, some of them are not even worth repeating because the rate of return is insulting. so i'll just focus on the stronger cards.

1) capital one cash back card downgraded to 1% cash back
back in april, i noted that this no-annual fee card gave 1% cash back on all purchases and then topped it off with a 50% bonus at the end of the year. this would give an effective rebate of 1.5%. after taking a look at their website today, it looks like the bonus is gone. this makes the card no different than most other 1% cash back card. that being said, it does have strong insurance offerings, including price protection (up to $100 within 60 days), extended warranty, purchase protection, baggage theft, car rental, and common carrier accident insurance.

2) MBNA rewards world elite mastercard is back!
grandfathered from the old days, i have the mbna rewards world elite mastercard with the annual fee waived yearly. the perk was that it gave 2% cash back across the board. they don't allow you to sign up for the free version, but they once again allow you to sign up for the $89 annual fee version. this also comes with price protection, concierge service, purchase protection, extended warranty, rental car, common carrier, personal effects insurance etc. it's a strong card.

is the MBNA rewards world elite (RWE) worth it with the annual fee?
if you're comparing this to any of the other free 1% credit cards out there, then you have to spend the equivalent of $8,900 a year to simply break even with the 1% cards. this is to say that the extra 1% earned on the MBNA RWE after spending $8,900 will pay back the annual fee. any additional spending on the RWE will give you a better rate of return. (i.e., greater than 1%)

is the capital one aspire travel world mastercard a good deal?
compared to the MBNA RWE, the capital one aspire travel world mastercard it is a great deal. for each dollar spent, you receive up to 2% cash back (provided that the travel that you want to spend your points on is greater than $600). the annual fee is $120, but it is offset by the $100 yearly credit, making the effective annual fee $20. its insurance package is just as strong, if not stronger, than the MBNA RWE. it includes travel medical, trip cancellation and trip interruption insurance.

if you have the capital one aspire travel world mastercard, compared to the no-fee 1% cards, you would need to spend $2,000 a year in order to break even on the annual fee. everything after that will net you a higher rate of return.  (i.e., greater than 1%)

where does the pivot visa come into play?
if you're able to use the scotiabank amex gold card with its $99 annual fee, you can get a 4% return on pivot reloadable visa purchases. by buying the pivot visa's $69.95 annual fee version, you can get at least a 3.2% return on all purchases (except for gas/grocery/dining/entertainment, which would use your scotia bank amex gold card for its 4% return). i wrote about this strategy extensively here.

if you were to do the scotiabank amex gold card and the pivot visa's $69.95 annual fee, you will pay a total of $168.95. assuming that you don't get any additional gas/grocery/dining/entertainment expenses on your scotiabank amex gold card, which is unlikely, your minimum rate of return is 3.2%. because you will spend money on gas/grocery/dining/entertainment, your rate of return will likely be higher than just 3.2%.

• compared to the regular 1% cash back cards (like the PC financial cards that everyone is carrying these days), you would only need to spend $7,679 a year to break even on the annual fees. everything after that would get you a higher rate of return. (i.e., greater than 1%)
• compared to just the capital one aspire travel mastercard, you would pay an extra $148.95 in annual fees. therefore, you would need to spend $12,412.50 in order to break even. anything after than would net you a higher rate of return. (i.e., greater than 2%)

what if you don't want the pivot visa? would you just add the scotia bank amex gold card?
the pivot visa is a nuisance sometimes because some petro-canada stations don't like to sell these cards. so what about other comparisons can you make?

• if you have the world aspire mastercard, you would do even better with the addition of the scotia bank gold american express card strictly for gas, grocery, dining, and entertainment expenses. you would need to spend $4,950 in those special categories a year in order to break even with the $99 annual fee. any additional spending above $4,950 in those categories will net you an overall higher rate of return. (i.e., greater than 2%)
• if carrying two rewards cards with fees are too much, then you can just keep the 1% no fee cash back cards. in this case, in order to break even with the amex's $99 annual fee, one would need to spend just $3,300 a year. again, anything above this amount in those certain categories will net you a higher rate of return. (i.e., greater than 1%)

before applying for the scotia bank amex gold card, i would flip through your last 12 credit card statements to make sure that all gas/grocery/dining/entertainment expenses add up to the "break even" number (e.g., $4,950). note that walmart supercenter and costco, even though they sell groceries, do not count. 7-11 does, for whatever reason. also note that you can increase your rate of return by buying gift cards from safeway, petro-canada, 7-11 etc.

(note: i do not earn any form of affiliate rewards for any of these cards.)

links from the web: killed over baggage, 15 bonus airmiles, neat in flight safety demos, delta's mistake fares

1. from flyertalk which references a link from abc, a turkish airlines employee was stabbed and subsequently killed by a passenger over a luggage dispute. you can be irritated at having your luggage lost, but i'm sure that killing someone crosses a line somewhere ...
2. wpgpoints on the flyertalk says that you can earn 15 air miles for "liking" the heart and stroke foundation on facebook. this is for the first 10,500 people only. link is here.
3. view from the wing writes about the inflight safety demo, "t'was the flight before christmas", and links a youtube video as proof.
4. my friend's friend managed to book a super low, mistake fare to hawaii from portland on delta airlines on boxing day. i think overall, he paid $90.30 all in for a business class return flight. granted it had some awful connections, but i'm sure he will manage. delta has said that they will honor those tickets. my friend and i mused that someone at delta probably just lost their job ...

starwood's 1st trimester 2014 promo is up

last month, starwood announced its first promotion for the 2014 year. it has been discussed here on flyertalk. registration is now open.

register by february 28, 2014 and for every 5 eligible nights you stay, you will receive 2,500 points to a maximum of 10,000 points for 20 eligible nights. if you stay an additional 5 nights after that, you receive a 5,000 point bonus instead. thus, the maximum earning potential of this promotion is 15,000 points for 25 eligible nights. only stays between jaunary 5 through april 30, 2014.

the last promotion (that wrapped up december 15, 2013) was slightly more generous where you got 2,500 points for every 5 stays and double base points. however, there was a sizable list of exclusions, including the four points by sheraton downtown seattle and the westin bellevue. this was big for me given that i typically stay at the former at least once a month. this upcoming promotion makes up for that by not having any property exclusions. thus, all properties are eligible. this makes for a good promotion.

intercontinental hotel's "big win" first quarter promo is up

IHG (intercontinental, crowne plaza, holiday inn, indigo, etc.) released their first quarter promo a few days ago. you can log in to their website for details. they ran a similar promo this year as well, which i didn't really participate in as i was gunning for platinum status with starwood.

all hotel programs have varying bonuses throughout the different quarters, and IHG has an interesting one for the first quarter. it gives you various tasks to complete (which typically involve staying at their hotels), and then collecting bonus points. what makes this offer neat is that it appears to be customized depending on your previous stay patterns. it could be that your offers are completely different than mine.

the promo runs from january 1, 2014 to april 30, 2014. the offers that i received were:

• stay more and earn: stay a total of 4 nights and earn 8,000 points
• explore our brands: stay at 2 different IHG brands and earn 16,000 points
• win in a weekend: stay 2 saturday nights and earn 8,000 points
• IHG mobile app booking: book 2 separate stays through our IHG app and earn 8,000 points
• stay smart: stay at 2 holiday inn hotels and earn 8,000 points
• survey the win: complete a simple survey and earn 100 points
• win big: complete 6 of your offers and earn 48,000 points

at the very least, everyone should do the simple 5-minute survey for the 100 points. if you are in a rush, the survey can be done in less than a minute by pushing random buttons. i don't think it cares.

for myself, i've already booked a stay at the crowne plaza changi airport for my 11-hour stay in february while i'm on transit in singapore. so in order to take advantage of this offer to its maximum, i'd simply need to:

• book 2 separate saturday nights via the mobile booking app for holiday inn properties -- luckily, i live 100 meters away from one
• book 1 other IHG hotel ... whichever one is the cheapest/most convenient.

in doing so, i'll earn 96,000 points. in my own experience, each individual point is worth roughly 0.5 cents (most major cities) to 1 cent (edmonton, alberta). sometimes they're worth more if you can catch their 5,000 point break specials. remember that when paying by points, it takes care of both the base cost of the hotel and the taxes.

at 96,000 points, that's worth anywhere from $480 to $960, all by booking 3 hotel nights. also, remember that you will earn points themselves for the stays themselves, usually at a rate of 10 points (5-10c) per dollar spent. it's something to consider.

alaska adds more elite qualifying mile partners

i wrote about alaska airline's mileage plan program in the past. i touted it as a great backup program to credit all the otherwise orphaned oneworld and skyteam points. for my own personal case, all of my star alliance flights are credited to asiana airlines, whereas all of the accidental oneworld or skyteam partners would be credited to alaska airlines.

according to their website, and discussed online, beginning january 15th, all international partners will now offer elite qualifying miles, not just regular miles. this means that the journey to status on alaska airlines just got a little bit easier.

of course, the benefits of status are limited on a smaller airline. the benefits are the greatest for alaska airlines itself (complimentary upgrades, lounge access, priority boarding, luggage allowances). the benefits on delta airlines as an alaska elite are less generous (priority boarding, extra luggage allowances, limited complimentary upgrades). the benefits are even less on american airlines (priority boarding, luggage allowances, access to main cabin extra). there are no additional benefits on the other airline partners).

but all this being said, some status is better than no status at all.

on getting into car accidents ... in a foreign country. part 2

last time, i wrote about being involved in a car accident while on my mattress run to platinum last week. i spoke about the mechanics of the crash, the injury, the medical evaluation, and coming back home. and now for the other stuff.

5) what about insurance?
for a 14 year old car, i opted out of comprehensive collision insurance. this meant that if the car was damaged, they would pay no part of it. however, at 14 years old, ICBC (the government-run insurance provider that everyone in the province of BC must use) had evaluated my car as being worth no more than $2,500. if i were to accept a $1,000 deductible, they would charge me $600 a year for the comprehensive. of note, i still had third party liability, and if i injured myself in a crash, i would also be covered.

i did some quick math. if i did claim insurance for a collision which i would be at fault for (if i wasn't at fault, then the other person's insurance would cover it), then i move up 5 steps on the claims-rated scale. this would mean that for each of the following 5 years, my insurance costs would go up by 12.5%, on average. i calculated this to be worth at least $225 a year, or at least $1,125 over 5 years. on top of the $600 per year comprehensive insurance charge, the amount of money that i would get back for the car ($2,500 - $1,000) would be less than the total cost over the next five years. so it made sense to  decline coverage.

6) medical insurance as a part of my work benefits
ICBC had suggested that i claim with them anyway for the medical costs. the costs of the ultrasound, x-rays, and medical visit would probably easily cost over $1,000. they suggested that my medical plan wouldn't cover it if it was a car-related accident. it makes me upset that they would try to mislead me like this. why?

• my travel insurance (pacific blue cross) covered any emergency, and in talking to them, they confirmed that if the car accident led to something that would be a medical emergency, then this would be covered
• in speaking with pacific blue cross, the government of BC would re-imburse me the equivalent of what they would have paid out to their own doctors for the service. this is provided that i submit my claim within 90 days of receiving the services. i would be left to cover the excess, which is still quite significant as medical care list prices are often higher than canada's.
• they assumed that my $1,000 medical bill would be worth more than the $1,125 cost in increased insurance premiums in the future

7)  how does ICBC work?
i called in my claim monday night. there wasn't an out of province claims adjuster available until the following day. i received my claim number. they said they couldn't give me advice about what to do with the car until then. they suggested that i call back on tuesday. on tuesday, an adjuster still wasn't available, but that they had forwarded my claim to them and that they had 1-3 business days to call me back. i opted to go back home to vancouver on tuesday. she told me to just leave the car as is, and despite knowing what my policy had stated, that ICBC would cover the cost of the impounding and towing.

i hadn't heard anything from them by thursday (which i thought was 3 business days, but they apparently started the clock on wednesday. because when horrific car accidents happen, it is okay to make them wait up to 5 days before contacting you). i called them on thursday and spoke with the claims adjuster who told me that she "just" received my file that morning. reviewing the details of my policy (which i think anyone could have done on their end), they re-confirmed the fact that i would be responsible for disposing of my vehicle etc. they wanted nothing to do with it. if i didn't take the initiative to call, i think she would have called me back on friday.

8) did you know that impounding costs money?
so i knew that the tow and the impounding itself had a fee. but i didn't know that there was a $50 a day fee for storage. and if i tried to retrieve the vehicle on a weekend, there was an additional $100 call-back fee. oh, and i didn't know that you have to be there in person to release the vehicle (or send a notarized letter). ICBC forgot to mention this. and ICBC would have probably called me back on friday, which would have meant that i would have to arrange to go to seattle over the weekend, which in turn would cost me an extra $150 in impound fees. i ended up renting a car for friday to drive down for a day trip. i paid the hefty $392 impound fee using my no-forex fee credit card.

9) what happens to a totaled car?
the impound lot had suggested, correctly, that my car was done for. they gave me two auto wrecking companies nearby to call. they would simply crush up the car and sell it for scraps. they offered to tow the vehicle to their facility and then pay me out for the car. in this particular case, they offered me $275. i didn't know what the going rate for scrap cars was. i still don't know what i could have gotten for it. but i called two places, and this was the better of the two deals. i was willing to accept anything, really, provided that they took the car off my hands as soon as possible. and they did.

"who does that raisin belong to?" one guy asks his coworkers as he entered the building. his coworker then pointed at me.

it is important to bring your registration and driver's license to the auto wrecking company. you have to sign away your car, sign a release of information, and give a photocopy of your driver's license. all of this data goes to the state department for processing at months' end. in washington, you have to bring the "deed" to your car, but in british columbia, the deed is the same as the registration. at least that's what i was told. i tore that portion off of my insurance forms, and that's what they accepted.

10) things i wish i had done differently
first of all, i'm grateful that i was the only person involved in the accident. i was grateful that asides from a bruised/cracked rib, that's the only injury remaining. i'm grateful that i didn't die, i'm grateful that i am intact. i'm grateful to realize that i have really good friends.

that being said, there are a few things i would have done differently after having an accident:

1. take pictures at the scene of the accident. i figured that the guy was long gone, and the one witness that did stop didn't catch the license plate number. i figured that it would be up to my own insurance policy, and knowing that i had nothing to cover this particular kind damage, taking pictures was pointless.
2. take down the state trooper's and witness' name and number. i was in so much psychological confusion at the time that i didn't think to do that. the state trooper entered everyone's details into their computer system, so i know it's present, but i wish i had done that sooner.
3. knowing the policy and the plan, i would have pressed the insurance people a bit harder instead of waiting until thursday. 
4. i would have dealt with the vehicle on tuesday. this would have saved me $150 in impound fees, and i wouldn't have had to drive back down to seattle for a day trip. 
5. i would have cleaned out my car the day that it went into the impound. nothing was stolen, there was nothing of value, but it's peace of mind.
6. i wish that i brought a wrench to extricate the license plates with me. i had to get the auto wrecking people to do it for me. bringing back the license plate was necessary to get a partial refund of my car insurance. i had paid $1,300 for car insurance beginning on october 22, 2013. with the license plates in hand, i was able to get back $1,084. no need to carry insurance on a car that doesn't exist anymore.
7. i shouldn't have purchased the ICBC car rental insurance for $10 per calendar day. i should have just purchased the budget $5/24-hr policy for third party liability. after all, i already had comprehensive medical insurance and my credit card had a CDW insurance. i could have saved $15 this way (one 24-hr period vs. two calendar days)
8. i would have iced my injuries instead of relying on maximum daily doses of ibuprofen for relief of inflammation. i think the ibuprofen may have caused my knee to bruise up even more than it should have. i think i should have also alternated between high doses of ibuprofen and acetaminophen for pain control.
9. i would have avoided stairs, i would have avoided carrying my luggage up and down everywhere, i would have used the elevator more, and quite frankly, i should have just sat in the senior's/handicapped area of the bus instead of standing on a bad knee.

i debated posting this publicly, but it's a reminder that accidents happen. and for those who haven't experienced this kind of situation before, i hope this helps in some way.

on getting into car accidents ... in a foreign country

last week, i got into a car accident while doing my run to platinum status at the starwood preferred guest program. i had 17 stays for the year, and needed 8 more. so i booked an 8-stay mattress run between seattle and portland for the week in order to hit it. i had completed two stays in seattle, then was off to portland. en route to portland, i was involved in a car accident.

i've separated this story into two posts. the first post is the mechanics of the accident. the next part is the insurance portion, the costs, and how i dealt with things when back in canada.

1) the mechanics of it all
the speed limit was 60 mph, or roughly 100 km/hr. i was driving in the middle lane and another car was driving in the lane to the right of me. there were 4 lanes in total. i do checks regularly, and knew that there was a car behind me but no one on the left.


this particular day, the car on the right was overlapping mine by about half a car. this meant that i couldn't see his tail lights, couldn't see him signal, didn't know any of his intentions. and i must have been in his blind spot, because he quickly moved into my lane as if to lane change. if i hit the brakes suddenly, i would have caused an accident for the person behind me. if i let him hit me, there would be an accident by definition. but if i quickly maneuvered to the empy left lane, that would have worked. and that's what i tried.

but there's something strange about sudden, panicked lane changes while going at 100 km/hr. you end up losing control of the car. i was swerving for tense seconds, right and left and right and left, and then it finally just stuck left. there was a high concrete median separating the southbound traffic that i was on from the northbound traffic, and i was heading right for it.

i can't say that i was scared or that my life was flashing through my eyes. i feel like that's almost made-for-tv. i knew that i was going to hit the median -- that was inevitable. but i had a mental checklist: 1) i was wearing my safety belt, 2) the car has airbags, and 3) this happens all the time on television. in my mind, i was thinking that it would be a simple love tap.

front driver's side impact, sudden twist, rear passenger side impact.

i didn't lose consciousness, i didn't feel pain. it just felt like a hard bump with anti-climatic sounds. there was no shattering of windshields. the airbags deployed somewhere in that process. they weren't those marshmallow-like bags that you see on the crash test dummy commercials. they were these hard cloth-like bags, which had deflated somewhat soon afterwards. there was smoke in the car

and there i was, busy traffic rushing by, two deployed airbags, and crinkled car. oh, and the other guy drove away, probably none the wiser that he should have shoulder checked.

2) on exiting the vehicle
i'm a doctor by training. i didn't hit my head, there was no loss of consciousness. my hearing was blunted a bit, but it was coming back quickly. i could feel and move all four limbs. no c-spine pain. i quickly palpated for tenderness along the c-spine and all the way down. satisfied, i grabbed my phone, and my mifi and carefully exited the car. another driver had stopped to make sure i was okay. an off duty police officer had stopped and waited with the witness and i. the state trooper came by and took our details. he didn't issue me a ticket, so i assume that i wasn't going to be hit with an at fault claim. and then the tow truck came and my 14 year old car went to the impound lot.

while waiting for the state trooper to come, using my mifi (mobile internet hotspot specifically for america), i started texting people. the mobile internet battery only lasts so long, as does the phone's, so i had to choose who to text carefully. luckily, i had an amazing friend in seattle. he picked me up from the impound lot, handed me a diet coke (more for reassurance and comfort, rather than to prevent hypovolemic shock), and figured out my medical plan.

3) medical care in america
my employer gives me free travel medical benefits that are included in its health and dental plans. i had called their claims number on my friend's phone (because they want you to call them first), but they simply told me that if it was an emergency, then to just get the care first and contact them again later. i figured that a 100 km/hr collision, a bruised up knee, and right upper quandrant tenderness would qualify as an emergency. but it wasn't emergency enough to think that i needed to go to an emergency room.

my friend got me in to see his family practice group. it's apparently a more expensive clinic, and hence the lack of wait. this was all being covered by my benefits, so i really didn't care. interestingly, they charged $135 for this appointment, while the equivalent billing fee in the province of british columbia was just ~$33. and it was a nurse practitioner who saw me as well, which would have normally cost the system even less.

he waited with me while we shuttled to get an urgent x-ray of the knee and leg (which, after the physical exams, i was pretty confident they weren't broken ... but if it's free ...), and an ultrasound of the abdomen (i've never had any of those before). they were all normal.

now coming up to a week later, my knee, while bruised, is better. there isn't any pain when walking anymore. the neck, which initially felt so strained that it was difficult to lift my head off the bed unsupported, is completely back to normal. no whiplash so far. my rib still hurts -- it's most likely cracked, which i expect will take some time to heal up.

4) and the unexpected night in seattle
my friend was kind enough to look after dinner and the evening for me. the main starwood hotels were all full for the night, so my friends were kind enough to let me stay at their place for the evening. trying to figure out how i was going to get back to vancouver on the cheap, i learned about the joys of the bolt bus and even signed up for bolt rewards. i found my way down to the king street station in downtown seattle, and boarded the bus that took me to the main street / terminal station in vancouver. all for $17 one way. clean, power plugs, wifi, not crowded at all. it was a comfortable ride up.

oh, and there was also the comfort of knowing that if a car were to decide to merge into our lane without doing an appropriate shoulder check, well, they would be the ones with a problem, not me.

a cyber monday offer for the scotia bank gold american express

my friend showed me a promo for the scotia bank gold american express card a few days ago. through this link via kanetix.ca you get a little bit more than you usually do.

as mentioned in my previous posts, this particular american express is very valuable. you get 4% back from your gas, grocery, dining, and entertainment expenses, and 1% back in everything else. it has a very decent insurance package. it comes with a $99 annual fee, compared to the $120 that comes with most other big name travel rewards cards. therefore, the best strategy is to use this for the bonused spending (gas, grocery, dining, entertainment), and the no-fee 1.25% capital one world cash back card or the no-fee 2% MBNA travel rewards card for all other purchases.

i've since learned that redeeming points is quite easy: you book your travel as you normally would though your regular channels (airline websites, travel agents, expedia etc). you log into your scotia bank rewards website, and it will list all of the eligible travel charges. you choose which one you want to redeem your points for (it will always work out to 1 pt = $0.01 off), and it takes gives you a credit on your next statement. no hassle whatsoever. no minimum redemption amounts, no tiered systems, no risk for blackouts, no odd travel connections, and it can be used for business class tickets. you can also earn points for these bookings too (from the airline/hotel chain, if applicable).

the best deal i've seen so far is 20,000 bonus points upon signing up, or a $200 credit statement. normally, the sign up deal is for 15,000 bonus points. via kanetix, you get:

• 15,000 bonus points
• your first year free ($99 value)
• and upon approval, kanetix will give you a 75% gift card

this is a much better deal than i got. and i would still recommend this card to everyone for now. please note that i don't get a referral commission from any of these links. i just really think they're a great deal!