Hey Walter,

The cards are almost identical. The Aventura Visa Infinite has slightly better benefits. Your wife can only use the lounge passes if you’re travelling with her.

Aljovin,

Good is a relative term as in the end, it depends on what you want. The GOld card does give you a higher earn rate, but it also comes with an annual fee of $139, whereas the CIBC Aventura Visa has no annual fee. In theory, if you accept the upgrade, there should be no change to your credit limit. They may even increase it.

The point I’m trying to make is that you don’t need to stick with CIBC. If you’re looking for a better credit card, you should shop around.

Hi Barry,

Im a CIBC ADVENTURA PLATINUM card holder right now but they are offering me to upgrade to GOLD, Is that a Good offer or what? And does affect my credit limit?

Thank you Barry

Cesar,

Your credit limit would likely carry over from your old card. You could always ask for an increase. Always try to pay the full balance whenever your statement is due. If you pay anything less, you’ll incur some pretty big interest charges.

I just got upgraded from to the Aventura Gold. They haven’t told me if I’m getting a credit limit increase though.
What credit limit does it have? Or does the credit limit depend on the person and credo score?
I currently have a 5000 dollar limit and I always make a minimum payment of 300 to 400 bucks a month or more.

Mat,

I personally think Air Miles is a terrible program. Aeroplan is okay, but their co-branded credit cards aren’t the best e.g. I think the Amex Gold Rewards card where you can transfer your points 1:1 to Aeroplan is better than the TD Aeroplan Visa Infinite card.

I always favour taking advantage of sign up bonuses if you can meet the minimum spend. Always go for the ones that you can use in the near future. E.g. if you know you need to fly WestJet soon, get the card since you $250 WestJet dollars, free checked bags, and a companion voucher. Even if you’re not flying a specific airline, signup bonuses are worth it e.g. the BMO World Elite Mastercard gives you $250 in points as a sign up bonus and there’s a current offer where you get a $100 travel credit when you make a minimum travel purchase of $100 within the first six months of cardmembership as long as you apply by the end of March I believe.

In other words, it’s always worth monitoring promotions and sign up bonuses.

Thanks Barry, we usually travel once a year for 7-10 days and I don’t think we’d take advantage of the lounge access etc…probably makes sense to stick with what we have and maybe get a couple new ones to to take advantage of the sign-up bonus. Do you recommend getting a stand alone air miles or aeroplan card, not connected to a cc?

Hi Mat,

I think you need to ask yourself a few questions first

– Do you enjoy travelling? No point getting a travel card if you don’t like to travel
– Are additional benefits important to you such as travel insurance, lounge access, etc.?
– How comfortable are you with having multiple credit cards? To maximize your points, it’s really about the sign up bonuses – https://www.moneywehave.com/the-best-travel-credit-cards-in-canada/

If you’re earning $800 – $1,000 per year in cash back with the Scotia Infinite Momentum Visa, you’re either spending a lot a year or maximizing your return on the 4% categories. Most travel credit cards only give you a 1-2% base return, but your points can be more valuable with transfer partners. E.g. With the Amex Gold card, the points are worth 1%, but if you transfer to Aeroplan, they can be worth 3-4 X more. Of course, you also need to factor in blackout dates, taxes, and if you Amex is accepted where you travel.

If you happen to fly WestJet on a regular basis, the WestJet RBC Visa Infinite card is a great card.

I also like the Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite card since it’s a good all in one travel card. It has a decent earn rate, no forex fees, and 6 annual lounge passes. Those passes alone are worth about $450 alone.

To me, it doesn’t make sense to have a premium cash back card AND a premium travel card unless you’re getting one of them for “free” either through your bank or the first year annual fee being waived.