Now that TD, CIBC and American Express has unveiled their Aeroplan co-branded cards to coincide with the revamped Aeroplan program, I wanted to provide a quick snapshot to get an idea of how sad the new offers are. On the surface its doesnt appear to be “generous” to entice new members/cardholders and the welcome bonuses seem relatively weak.
If we initially compare the old and current offers of TD and CIBC, we see that most of the offers are lower in terms of Welcome Bonus and also come at an increased Annual Fee albeit the First Year is Free.
The only two cards that come out ahead are the entry level cards, namely the CIBC Aeroplan Visa card and CIBC Aeroplan Visa card for Students.
Here are the only two cards where the Welcome Bonus Offers are higher:
CIBC
CIBC Aeroplan Visa card from None to 10,000 Aeroplan.
CIBC Aeroplan Visa card for Students from None to 10,000 Aeroplan.
Here are the cards where the Welcome Bonus Offers are lower:
CIBC
CIBC Aeroplan Visa Business Card from 35,000 to 10,000 Aeroplan.
CIBC Aeroplan Visa Business Plus Card from 35,000 to 10,000 Aeroplan.
CIBC Aeroplan Visa Infinite Privilege Card from 25,000 to 20,000 Aeroplan.
CIBC Aeroplan Visa Infinite Card from 20,000 to 10,000 Aeroplan.
TD
TD Aeroplan Visa Infinite Privilege Card remains same at 50,000 Aeroplan
TD Aeroplan Visa Infinite Card from 25,000 to 10,000 Aeroplan.
TD Aeroplan Visa Platinum Card from 20,000 to 10,000 Aeroplan.
TD Aeroplan Visa Business Card rom 20,000 to 10,000 Aeroplan.
It looks like TD and CIBC are targeting travellers who don’t travel much and also not focussed on travel in premium cabins as the Buddy and Companion passes are eligible for bookings in Economy class only. This appears to be a gamble by the Credit Card issuers that card holders may not use the passes, hence I would rather prefer the Aeroplan points as they can be used to book on any of the Star Alliance partners and can also be pooled as a family.
So, the winners in terms of Welcome Bonus seems to be American Express:
American Express Aeroplan Reserve Card with 65,000 Aeroplan
American Express Aeroplan Business Reserve Card with 65,000 Aeroplan
and
American Express Aeroplan Card with 15,000 Aeroplan.
So, its not exactly a time to be excited and go rushing to apply for these new cards for several reasons:
– The Welcome Bonus is quite low
– The Buddy/Companion pass is eligible for booking in Economy Class only
– TD has fineprint that specifically says “If you have opened an Account in the last 12 months, you will not be eligible for this offer.”
– If one signed up with American Express to get on the waitlist and get the additional Welcome Bonus – we are still waiting for it.
I am sure a lot of us interested in Award Travel will be waiting for the next round of offers hopefully in January 2021.
Written by Dominic Fernandes aka CanadaPointsGuy.
Image courtesy of aircanada.mediaroom.com.