This Credit Card Sign-Up Trick Gets You More Bonus Points

How to Get More Credit Card Miles

First Published Date: July 2, 2016

If you are applying for rewards credit cards the traditional way, by calling the Credit Card Company or going on their website, you may be losing out big on additional bonus points or miles. Today, I will talk about how to maximize receiving points or miles when you apply for credit cards.

What you need to know is that there are 3rd party sites that are always offering better offers than credit card companies. To get the most out of your credit card applications, use these sites instead of the credit card companies’ own sites or call centers. Think of it like buying plane tickets. You are likely to get better deals from a 3rd party than the airlines selling tickets themselves.

Here is a real example to help me illustrate. The MBNA Best Western MasterCard was running a promotion recently with a sign-up bonus of 60,000 points. However, this promotion was only available through 3rd party websites. MBNA Canada’s own website was offering only 20,000 points. Even when customers called in to apply over the phone, their reps were unable to match the offer that existed on 3rd party sites.

Now the question is: how do you find these websites that offer better promotions? I will provide you with some sites here that are always offering various credit card deals and promotions such as additional miles, points, gift cards, and so on. These are:

Greedyrates.ca

Greatcanadianrebates.ca

However, don’t settle for anything until you do thorough research, as there can be better deals somewhere else. Here are some keywords you can use to search online – “Best credit card offers”, “credit card promotions”, etc.

A little research and effort can make a huge difference between travelling on points for free/paying very little or paying the ridiculous full cost. I choose not to pay and travel on points for free or at a ridiculous low cost.

Finally Free Credit Score Comes to Canada

How to Check Your Credit Score for Free

First Published Date: July 9, 2016

Canadians have always had access to free credit reports, but not free credit scores. All that has changed recently – now you are able to know your credit score for free and there is no need to pay $24 each time.

Two online loan providers are giving free access to your credit score when you open an account with them. There is no catch, really. Your free account will show your credit score and better yet, you will have an updated credit score every three months for free as well.

These two providers are: www.borrowell.com and www.mogo.ca. I opened an account with Borrowell to try it out and I was surprised at the ease and simplicity of the whole process. Within 5 minutes I was able to view my score on-screen. To make things better, there are free online credit courses and free articles on how to improve your credit score also.

Keep in mind that the credit score you are provided for free is an Equinox credit score, which is a proprietary model of Equinox. This is different than FICO®, which is a proprietary model created by Fair Isaac Corporation (FICO).

It is a good idea to keep an eye on your credit score and since this is free it makes even more sense. One more thing, don’t worry about your score dropping when you check

Avoid These Common Credit Card Mistakes

Avoid These Common Credit Card Mistakes

First Published Date: July 31, 2016

Credit cards are a part of our daily living and they are good things, if you know how to manage them. Today, I will talk about how some common and simple mistakes can ruin your credit score. These small mistakes are so negligible that we often forget they can have a big impact on our finances. Learn these mistakes, avoid them, and make them a thing of the past.

Making Late Payments – This is the most common mistake we all make. A late payment can incur late payment charges and bump up your interest rate higher. It can also hurt your credit score, depending on how late it is. Use online tools like Google Calendar or anything that works for you to remind you 3 days ahead of the actual due date so you don’t get caught up making late payments.

Paying Only The Minimum – In Canada, by law, credit card companies now have to show how many years it will take to pay your full balance if you only make the minimum. Add some extra dollars with your minimum, whether it’s $20 or $50 a month, and you can shave off years and save lots interest costs on your credit card balance.  

Using a Credit Card for Cash Advances – Withdrawing cash using a credit card hurt you 2 ways. The first is you pay a high cash advance fee. This fee could run from $20 to $50, depending on your bank. The other bad thing is you start paying high interest the moment you take out cash advances. Never use credit card for cash advances. It’s the worst way to borrow money.

Paying Annual Fees – Many credit cards will try to hook you up offering reward points or cash back in exchange for annual fees. Just to cover these fees, you have to spend more than $20,000 or $30,000 annually. Read the fine print and figure out if it’s really worth it to spend that much money for reward points or cash back after covering annual fees. Use a no annual fee reward or cash back credit card instead; there are lots of them available in the market.

What Are Some of the Best Cash-Back Credit Cards?

Top Cash-Back Credit Cards

First Published Date: August 7, 2016

ou are familiar with A Dawn Journal, you already know my take on cash-back credit cards. I prefer travel rewards credit cards over cash-back cards, as travel cards provide the maximum returns for your dollars. However, for ease and simplicity some of you may want to go with cash-back rewards credit cards.

Today, I will go through briefly some cash-back rewards credit cards that you can consider, so you can pick the one that suits your needs.

MBNA Rewards World Elite MasterCard – Although marketed as a travel rewards credit card, this card provides 2 percent cash back across the board with no strings, no limits, no caps, no tiers, no problems. Annual fee = $89.

Scotia Momentum Visa Infinite – With 4 percent cash back on groceries and gas, 2 percent on recurring bills, and 1 percent on everything else, a perfect card for those who want maximum return on selected categories. Annual fee = $99.

BMO World Elite Cash Back MasterCard – A flat 1.75 percent cash back across the board without any limits. Provides the best insurance benefits among all cash back cards.

Tangerine Money-Back Credit Card – Options to choose up to 3 categories where you can earn 2 percent unlimited cash back. Annual fee = free.

The SimplyCash Card from American Express – A flat 1.25 percent cash back on everything without limits. Annual fee = free.

In the future, I will review some of these cards on A Dawn Journal and on my YouTube channel. There are many other cash-back cards available on the market. However, I believe these I mentioned above offer most value for your dollars spent. Do your thorough research before picking any cards and stay with the one that most suits your needs.

Price Protection Not Covered by Travel Insurance

My Grand Bahia Principe Runaway Bay Jamaica Trip and Do You Need Price Protection Guarantee?

First Published Date: August 21, 2016

Today, I am presenting a video of my recent Grand Bahia Principe Runaway Bay trip to Jamaica. I will not talk about the details of my trip, because you will have a good idea of the full trip after watching the video. However, I will talk about a price protection guarantee customers can buy in all-inclusive vacation packages – which might come in handy if vacation prices drop.

All-inclusive vacation packages are popular among North American vacationers going to Caribbean countries. Flight, hotel, unlimited food, drink – basically everything is included in this type of package. Travellers who are looking to relax without worrying about anything else usually choose this type of all-inclusive package.

Price protection guarantee is a separate add-on that you can purchase for all-inclusive vacations. It can run from $50 to $100 or even more. Price drop protection is actually not covered by premium credit card insurances that cover all sorts of travel insurances such trip cancellation, trip interruption, medical emergency, flight delay, and so on.

When I bought my vacation package in November from a 3rd party travel agent, the original vacation provider was offering a price protection guarantee as a promotion free of charge, so I did not mind accepting it – just in case. At the same time, I setup a price drop alert on the travel website that would alert me when the price drops below what I paid previously.

In April, I received an email alert stating my vacation price has dropped roughly $200. I contacted the claim call centre to find out the procedure. I was told that I could claim only once, so if the price even drops further I won’t be able to claim if I decide to claim it right then. My options were to claim at that time or wait for a further drop to claim later, so I decided to claim right away.

The process was simple. You just need to give the agent all your related info and mention you would like to claim. I received the difference on what I paid versus what it had dropped to within three business days in my bank account.

All-inclusive vacation packages tend to drop significantly before two months or just before the departure date, as vacation providers try to empty their unsold inventories. So it may make sense to have this feature added if you would like to minimize your risks. However, you need to decide on whether you would like to pay extra to buy this protection. There is also the possibility that the price won’t drop at all. Based on your risk tolerance and lifestyle, make an educated decision before paying for anything extra and always do your research