I’m a big fan of using a rewards credit card for my everyday spending to collect points and earn cash back. Even better if I can pair up my purchase with a loyalty program to earn freebies and perks at the places where I shop the most.
With hundreds of credit cards and loyalty programs on the market today, it’s hard to figure out exactly which ones to focus on to maximize your rewards. The key is to find a loyalty program that best matches your spending habits and then determine how you want to cash in on your rewards.
Survey says:
According to a new survey by TD Bank, nearly three-quarters of Canadians say they’re loyal to loyalty rewards programs, carrying at least one credit card that offers a rewards program. And for most cardholders (82 percent), rewards are a priority when selecting a card.
Some credit cards allow you to earn more points in categories like groceries and gas, while 42 per cent of loyalty card holders redeem their points for travel.
But with the loyalty and rewards landscape becoming increasingly more competitive, savvy customers are expecting greater value from their cards, including more choice and flexibility in how they earn and redeem rewards.
To offer customers more redemption options, TD Travel Rewards program cardholders now can shop online at brand-name retailers and use some or all of their TD points at directly at online check-out.
Know someone headed to school? TD rewards points and Aeroplan Miles can be redeemed through HigherEdPoints and applied towards tuition, residence, meal plan fees – or even to pay back student loans!
The need for flexibility and choice extends to where we swipe our cards, where the TD survey found that half of Canadians often change where they shop to earn more points and get rewards faster.
With such a wide variety of loyalty rewards programs available and so many ways to collect and redeem points, make sure you understand how the earning and redemption mechanics of the card work in order to get the maximum benefit from it.
Tips to get the most from your loyalty rewards program
Patrick Sojka, loyalty points expert and founder of RewardsCanada.ca, offered the following tips to maximize your rewards:
1. Read the fine print
“Make sure you understand how the earning and redemption mechanics of your credit card work, including any expiration policies for loyalty rewards programs.”
It pays to examine the details of your rewards programs to make sure you’re getting top value when it comes to earning and redeeming points. Pay careful attention to your statement and to how certain purchases get categorized.
2. Double-dip:
“Look for ways to earn up to double the points from one transaction.
One of the best ways to earn extra points is to take advantage of promotions that offer to multiply the points you can earn on certain categories of purchases, or during promotional events offered by some retailers or card providers.
For example, at participating retailers, use the TD Aeroplan Visa to make a purchase and then swipe your Aeroplan membership card to earn Miles twice in one transaction.”
3. Begin with the end in mind:
“It sounds simple, but a great way to get to your goals faster is to know where you’re headed. Setting or revisiting goals about how you want to use your reward points goes a long way to help pick the right card for you, and start racking up points towards your goal.
And Aeroplan’s online goal setter tool (www.goals.aeroplan.com) helps members set and track their progress, with suggestions to help members reach their goals faster.”
Planning will help you resist the urge to redeem for smaller rewards – particularly if there’s a more generous offer waiting down the road. Redeeming too early is a sure-fire way to turn a potentially lucrative rewards program into just an okay rewards program.
4. Funnel your spending:
“Once you’ve identified your goal and your card, consider putting all of your credit card purchases on the one card to accumulate points quicker.”
When you find the credit card that fits your spending patterns, funnel all of your spending onto that card. You’ll rack up the rewards when you charge everything from groceries, gas, dining, entertainment, and recurring bills, plus travel and other retail spending to your credit card. Just be sure to pay off your credit card balance in full and on time to avoid interest and get the most from your rewards program.
Final thoughts
While it’s great to learn new tips and tricks on how to get the most out of your credit card and loyalty rewards program, you need to be careful not to let the rewards tail wag the spending dog.
Academic research has shown that consumers spend more when using credit versus cash, and, as the TD survey confirmed, our spending patterns change when there’s a chance to earn rewards. Understand that this behavioural bias exists and remember to never chase a bad deal just for the chance to earn rewards.
Please note this post has been brought to you in partnership with TD, all thoughts and opinions are my own.
The Capital One Aspire Travel World Elite MasterCard offers arguably the best value for everyday travellers. The flagship credit card from Capital One has been one of the top travel rewards cards in Canada for many years, and a recent facelift made it even better.
I’ve been using the Aspire Travel World Elite MasterCard for several years now and this latest update – which removed the tiered redemption structure and made it incredibly simple to redeem miles – further cemented its claim as the go-to rewards credit card for all of my spending, including when I travel.
Capital One Aspire Travel World Elite MasterCard
What’s so special about the Capital One Aspire Travel World Elite MasterCard? For starters, new sign-up’s get a 40,000 reward mile bonus when they spend $1,000 in the first 3 months. That’s worth $400 in travel rewards! Cardholders also get 2 reward miles for every $1 spent – regardless of spending category. That means your points will continue to add up quickly even after the early-spend bonus becomes a distant memory.
What about redeeming your reward miles? Most travel rewards programs are inflexible when it comes to redemptions; forcing members to book through a specific travel provider, putting up restrictions on when and where you can book, and then adding fuel surcharges and taxes onto your bill.
With Capital One’s Aspire Travel program you can use your card to book with any airline or hotel and then simply redeem your miles online afterwards. There are no tiers – for example if you redeem a charge for $149 it will cost you 14,900, and if you redeem a charge for $550 it will cost you 55,000.
Don’t have enough reward miles to erase that $550 travel charge? No problem! Just make a partial redemption against that charge with the miles that you have. In this case, you might only have 39,500 miles, which means you can make a partial redemption of $395 and apply against the $550 charge.
That’s why I’ve declared the Capital One Aspire Travel World Elite MasterCard to be the best value for everyday travellers today and why I now funnel all of my spending onto this card to reap the juicy rewards.
Capital One Aspire Travel World Elite MasterCard benefits
Here’s what this best in class travel rewards credit card has to offer:
• Early-spend bonus: 40,000 points = $400 in travel rewards once you spend $1,000 within the first 3 months
• Earn rate: 2 reward miles for every $1 spent = 2% back in travel rewards
• Booking travel: Book your own trip – including the hotel, airline or rental car of your choice
• Points redemption: Redeem your miles to cover any travel expenses with no minimum requirements. 100 points = $1 in travel.
• Partial redemption: Redeem on a portion of a transaction – for example, redeem half of an overseas flight.
• Annual fee: $150
Apply for this card here and earn $400 in bonus travel rewards
• Interest rate: 19.8% interest on card purchases
• Additional card fee: $0 additional card fee
• Insurance: 22-day travel emergency medical coverage, trip cancellation, trip Interruption, flight delay, baggage loss, baggage delay, purchase assurance, extended warranty, and car rental
• Eligibility: $70,000 personal annual income OR $120,000 annual household income
How much can you earn with the Capital One Aspire Travel World Elite MasterCard?
• Spend $2,000 on your card each month
• Earn $480 in travel rewards each year
• Add $400 travel rewards early-spend bonus in the first year
• = $880 travel rewards this year
Final thoughts
Many of the top travel rewards credit cards offer a generous sign-up bonus but the everyday value of the program, combined with the hassle and difficulty of redeeming points, fails to live up to the early hype.
With the Capital One Aspire Travel World Elite MasterCard, you get the best of both worlds. A generous early-spend bonus, plus a healthy 2% earn rate on everyday spending that keeps points accruing quickly. The best part is how easy it is to redeem points. After all, there’s not much point to earning reward miles if you can’t use them when, where, and how you want to.