Comments on: Air Miles Blows http://www.investingintelligently.com/2007/08/30/air-miles-blows/ Not just another (Canadian) financial blog Fri, 05 Dec 2008 10:33:54 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=abc By: larry http://www.investingintelligently.com/2007/08/30/air-miles-blows/#comment-8147 larry Wed, 12 Nov 2008 19:39:59 +0000 http://www.investingintelligently.com/2007/08/30/air-miles-blows/#comment-8147 I find it funny that people say they will get rid of there airmiles card... ahahahah fine do it its a free service to begin with so why not get somthing for free anyway?? i have never had a bad expreince with them they always have the flights i need and in some cases i have booked up to one week beforehand genrally speaking with airmiles if you are flying for xmas or spring break best get that booked 5 monhts in advance but most other times of year it is easy I find it funny that people say they will get rid of there airmiles card… ahahahah fine do it its a free service to begin with so why not get somthing for free anyway?? i have never had a bad expreince with them they always have the flights i need and in some cases i have booked up to one week beforehand genrally speaking with airmiles if you are flying for xmas or spring break best get that booked 5 monhts in advance but most other times of year it is easy

]]> By: David http://www.investingintelligently.com/2007/08/30/air-miles-blows/#comment-7095 David Thu, 06 Sep 2007 22:59:55 +0000 http://www.investingintelligently.com/2007/08/30/air-miles-blows/#comment-7095 I picked up a airline mileage credit card a couple of years ago with the intent of flying to Hawaii. I later found out those flights usually are'nt available for use with frequent flyer mileage. I was able to use some of them to fly my son to Kentucky this summer though. I picked up a airline mileage credit card a couple of years ago with the intent of flying to Hawaii. I later found out those flights usually are’nt available for use with frequent flyer mileage. I was able to use some of them to fly my son to Kentucky this summer though.

]]> By: Dave http://www.investingintelligently.com/2007/08/30/air-miles-blows/#comment-7093 Dave Thu, 06 Sep 2007 14:52:54 +0000 http://www.investingintelligently.com/2007/08/30/air-miles-blows/#comment-7093 Well that does it. I think I will get rid of Air Miles and I don't think I will get TD Gold Travel Visa because we just don't use our credit card enough. I prefer to pay for things straight from our bank accounts. This has proven time and time again to save us money as we spend more money and buy more things if we use a credit card than if we use money in our bank accounts. It's not psychological, it's just that sometimes we don't have enough money in our bank accounts so that causes us to delay and rethink big purchases. The only problem is my wife is not convinced yet and our account is joint now. Well that does it. I think I will get rid of Air Miles and I don’t think I will get TD Gold Travel Visa because we just don’t use our credit card enough. I prefer to pay for things straight from our bank accounts. This has proven time and time again to save us money as we spend more money and buy more things if we use a credit card than if we use money in our bank accounts. It’s not psychological, it’s just that sometimes we don’t have enough money in our bank accounts so that causes us to delay and rethink big purchases. The only problem is my wife is not convinced yet and our account is joint now.

]]> By: Canadianfinancialdiy http://www.investingintelligently.com/2007/08/30/air-miles-blows/#comment-7092 Canadianfinancialdiy Thu, 06 Sep 2007 09:24:09 +0000 http://www.investingintelligently.com/2007/08/30/air-miles-blows/#comment-7092 Your Air Miles experience exactly describes what I went through with them ...ten years ago. One summer I had to fly back and forth between Ottawa and Moncton every weekend for eight weeks. After the usual interminable wait (don't you love that message 'due to the higher than normal call volumes ...') I was told by the agent that there was not a single weeke nd for which a flight was available that remotely suited my schedule. That was the end of Air Miles. Aeroplan is only a tiny bit better - I've actually booked a half dozen flights in the 22 years I've been a member. Since about seven years ago, I'm like Nabloid - TD Gold Travel Visa. Have had little problem phoning their in-house travel agents, or doing bookings through the web, and the flights/ hotels can be from any airline, at any price. Their system of granting $75 dollar credit per 5000 points redeemed works just fine. I do all my spending on my Visa - even groceries - and get about one free flight per year or two. Some cards may offer more redemption value per dollar spent but the TD Visa's total flexibility more than makes up for that. Points that you cannot effectively redeem are worthless, aren't they? Your Air Miles experience exactly describes what I went through with them …ten years ago. One summer I had to fly back and forth between Ottawa and Moncton every weekend for eight weeks. After the usual interminable wait (don’t you love that message ‘due to the higher than normal call volumes …’) I was told by the agent that there was not a single weeke nd for which a flight was available that remotely suited my schedule. That was the end of Air Miles.

Aeroplan is only a tiny bit better - I’ve actually booked a half dozen flights in the 22 years I’ve been a member.

Since about seven years ago, I’m like Nabloid - TD Gold Travel Visa. Have had little problem phoning their in-house travel agents, or doing bookings through the web, and the flights/ hotels can be from any airline, at any price. Their system of granting $75 dollar credit per 5000 points redeemed works just fine. I do all my spending on my Visa - even groceries - and get about one free flight per year or two. Some cards may offer more redemption value per dollar spent but the TD Visa’s total flexibility more than makes up for that. Points that you cannot effectively redeem are worthless, aren’t they?

]]> By: Nabloid.com http://www.investingintelligently.com/2007/08/30/air-miles-blows/#comment-7080 Nabloid.com Fri, 31 Aug 2007 18:08:11 +0000 http://www.investingintelligently.com/2007/08/30/air-miles-blows/#comment-7080 May I suggest you get TD Travel Points... as long as you use your TD Visa, you get rewards at any retailer. The beautiful thing about it is, I use the credit card to pay off all my business bills... I think I have abotu $1,500 worth of TD travel points to use... not bad! May I suggest you get TD Travel Points… as long as you use your TD Visa, you get rewards at any retailer. The beautiful thing about it is, I use the credit card to pay off all my business bills… I think I have abotu $1,500 worth of TD travel points to use… not bad!

]]> By: Dave http://www.investingintelligently.com/2007/08/30/air-miles-blows/#comment-7079 Dave Fri, 31 Aug 2007 16:12:51 +0000 http://www.investingintelligently.com/2007/08/30/air-miles-blows/#comment-7079 Here are some completed Canadian eBay auctions for gift cards/certificates: http://tinyurl.com/3a7qgg Most sell very close to their face value (80-90%). Here are some completed Canadian eBay auctions for gift cards/certificates: http://tinyurl.com/3a7qgg
Most sell very close to their face value (80-90%).

]]> By: Dave http://www.investingintelligently.com/2007/08/30/air-miles-blows/#comment-7078 Dave Fri, 31 Aug 2007 15:50:44 +0000 http://www.investingintelligently.com/2007/08/30/air-miles-blows/#comment-7078 CC: I was just thinking of that "workaround" yesterday... We have 7500 miles. We have been collecting for 10 years. Only ever redeemed one night in a hotel and a couple Famous Player gift certificates (which, to our dismay, were only valid Sunday-Thursday and they expired). Never redeemed a single flight but as I said I've tried numerous times. We have enough for two flights to Asia and I keep thinking that we should use it to fly there but I am now convinced that they won't have the right times/dates for us. Just had a look at the gift cards available. We could get $1000 worth of Chapters gift cards, for example. I might actually do that and then sell them on eBay at a discount. The cash is worth more to me (even at a discount) because I usually try not to buy books from places like Chapters anymore anyways. I buy expensive textbooks from China and India through http://abebooks.com and other books from used book stores, the library, or trade them on http://www.bookmooch.com If I buy an assortment of gift certificates I will be forced to shop at all those stores and will probably end up spending more than the what is on the gift card. CC: I was just thinking of that “workaround” yesterday… We have 7500 miles. We have been collecting for 10 years. Only ever redeemed one night in a hotel and a couple Famous Player gift certificates (which, to our dismay, were only valid Sunday-Thursday and they expired). Never redeemed a single flight but as I said I’ve tried numerous times. We have enough for two flights to Asia and I keep thinking that we should use it to fly there but I am now convinced that they won’t have the right times/dates for us.

Just had a look at the gift cards available. We could get $1000 worth of Chapters gift cards, for example. I might actually do that and then sell them on eBay at a discount. The cash is worth more to me (even at a discount) because I usually try not to buy books from places like Chapters anymore anyways. I buy expensive textbooks from China and India through http://abebooks.com and other books from used book stores, the library, or trade them on http://www.bookmooch.com If I buy an assortment of gift certificates I will be forced to shop at all those stores and will probably end up spending more than the what is on the gift card.

]]> By: Fawn http://www.investingintelligently.com/2007/08/30/air-miles-blows/#comment-7077 Fawn Fri, 31 Aug 2007 15:39:06 +0000 http://www.investingintelligently.com/2007/08/30/air-miles-blows/#comment-7077 We used to fly on Aeroplan fairly regularly - you earn points much faster with Aeroplan than with Air Miles and while booking could be annoying and had to be done well in advance, we were still able to take advantage of it at least once every year. I gave up on my Air Miles long ago. Having said that, we've switched from Aerogold to TD Visa because we are completely fed up with Air Canada. Since you earn cash values that can be used with any airline, this should make travel a lot easier (we hope!). I don't think all reward programs are bad, Dave, but finding something that will work better for you might take a bit of research. :) Good luck! We used to fly on Aeroplan fairly regularly - you earn points much faster with Aeroplan than with Air Miles and while booking could be annoying and had to be done well in advance, we were still able to take advantage of it at least once every year. I gave up on my Air Miles long ago.

Having said that, we’ve switched from Aerogold to TD Visa because we are completely fed up with Air Canada. Since you earn cash values that can be used with any airline, this should make travel a lot easier (we hope!). I don’t think all reward programs are bad, Dave, but finding something that will work better for you might take a bit of research. :)

Good luck!

]]> By: Canadian Capitalist http://www.investingintelligently.com/2007/08/30/air-miles-blows/#comment-7076 Canadian Capitalist Fri, 31 Aug 2007 15:13:53 +0000 http://www.investingintelligently.com/2007/08/30/air-miles-blows/#comment-7076 It's not just Air Miles. A colleague was complaining that she tried to use some of her zillion Aeroplan points to book a vacation to Hawaii. No dice. So, how about buying the cheapest ticket and upgrading the ticket? No dice again. We don't travel all that much, so I guess I am better off just requesting a bunch of gift cards from both Air Miles and Aeroplan and be done with it. It’s not just Air Miles. A colleague was complaining that she tried to use some of her zillion Aeroplan points to book a vacation to Hawaii. No dice. So, how about buying the cheapest ticket and upgrading the ticket? No dice again.

We don’t travel all that much, so I guess I am better off just requesting a bunch of gift cards from both Air Miles and Aeroplan and be done with it.

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