there are a few things that i noticed in the last couple of months (among many). but some of the unique propositions that i've written about have changed for me.
1) pivot visa by petro canada is now too hard to use
i've had to stop using this because of the inability to buy reloadable cards. i've tried to use my scotia bank gold american express (4% cash back at gas stations), and invariably, the attendants would turn me down. common reasons were: "oh, our machine is broken today" (some people might push the issue, but i don't), "oh, let me call our authorization centre ... oh, we are still on hold ...", and probably the most truthful, "we don't accept credit cards for those kinds of purchases." i respect that.
but because i can't reload the card anymore using the american express, there is no longer any value in keeping the reloadable visa card. i've paid $10 to buy the card and $59.95 for the annual option, but luckily, i was able to more than break even.
2) sears and petro-canada are no longer partners
i logged into my petro-points account recently and found out that sears points and petro-points are no longer transferable.
it kind of makes sense given sears' difficulty in canada. i don't normally care for sears points except that i have their sears financial no-forex, no-fee mastercard. it was an amazing opportunity where $1 spent on the card earned 12 petro-canada points, which could then be turned into 1.2 asia miles. i have yet to find a card that is this generous. but sadly, it's no longer an option. had i known, i would have transferred my points out before the deadline, but i missed the announcement. if there was an announcement.
given the difficulty in redeeming sears points in store (namely because the stores are disappearing quickly), i think the best recommendation for no-forex, no-fee cards is now the chase amazon 1% cash back card. the original discussion was here, but is now in need of an update.
Thanks for the post! Great that you followed up on the original from 2013. I'm just starting out with my own FF collection and was fortunate enough to stumble onto your blog dedicated to Canadian content.
ReplyDeleteThe PIVOT Card seemed like a great way to create MS but I suppose the cost has simply risen too high. It also appears that Visa and Mastercard prepaids have far too high of an activation fee per dollar to make it worthwhile.
Would you happen to have any other tips to generate cost-effective MS in Canada? We could always exchange emails if it's easier.
Thanks in advance!
hi al,
ReplyDeletethanks for stopping by! the PIVOT card is still a great way to manufacture spend if you use the scotia bank gold american express (or the scotia bank momentum visa, which is less lucrative). my problem with the PIVOT was that no one was willing to sell me PIVOT reload cards from the gas stations.
there is another prepaid card that's sold by safeway (i can't recall the name right now), but it looks like you might be able to reload it via credit card. unfortunately, it looks like you'll need to cycle through at least $1000 a month in order to break even, and that leaves me feeling uncomfortable.
otherwise, i'm just keeping an eye out for things that would be worthwhile ...