Comments on: TD Rewards Guide | How to maximize your points

By: Canada's Bank Travel Rewards Programs Ranked - Money We Have

Canada's Bank Travel Rewards Programs Ranked - Money We Have — Thu, 27 Feb 2020 14:36:23 +0000

[…] TD Rewards is a good program and I recommend it to anyone who wants an easy program to understand. However, TD Rewards still ranks low compared to others for a few reasons. Although you can redeem 200 points for $1 off ExpediaForTD, you need 250 points for $1 when using the Book Any Way feature which decreases the value of your points. […]

By: Barry Choi

Barry Choi — Tue, 28 Jan 2020 20:53:51 +0000

In reply to Kim.

Hey Kim,

Although I haven’t compared any programs head to head, I do have reviews for almost every individual program. I also have a general article ranking all of the programs.

https://www.moneywehave.com/canadas-bank-travel-rewards-programs-ranked/

By: Kim

Kim — Tue, 28 Jan 2020 20:49:53 +0000

I really love your articles.

Like Mike said, there are programs out there that are better than this for a lot of people. Really read the small print before choosing. I completely agree on that foreign exchange thing. It’s got me really looking at the Amazon credit card for Canada right now because TD is really biting me on that.

I’d love to see you write a piece comparing the travel dollar values of these ‘point collection programs’ (for example: td versus scotia versus pc).

Although maybe you have and I just haven’t found that article yet.

K 🙂

By: Mike

Mike — Mon, 02 Dec 2019 17:04:50 +0000

In reply to Barry Choi.

Hi Barry,
I agree that it shouldn’t be a must-have “deal-breaker.” But I do believe forex fees is something people should definitely be taking into account when estimating total return value and comparing travel cards and travel rewards programs. For some who only spend two weeks outside Canada every year, it won’t make a big difference, but they shouldn’t ignore it.

By: Barry Choi

Barry Choi — Mon, 02 Dec 2019 15:57:47 +0000

In reply to Mike.

Hey Mike,

In my ranking of all the programs, I have TD at #6 and Scotia at #3 so I agree with your assessment. Although TD doesn’t have a card with no forex fees, there are many cards without an annual fee and with no froex fees so I don’t consider that a major deal-breaker.

By: Mike

Mike — Mon, 02 Dec 2019 15:44:31 +0000

Great review Barry. However, I consider the combination of the Scotia Passport Visa Infinite and Scotia’s rewards program far superior because of the absence of foreign transaction fees. I think that’s paramount when selecting a travel rewards card (and its associated rewards program) because you are obviously interested in travel and presumably some portion of your travel is outside of Canada. If you’re retired like we are and spend a good portion of your year outside the country, those 2.5% (or higher) fees add up quickly and can dwarf the $100-$200 in annual card fees. The bottom line is everyone should run the numbers based on their own spending patterns to determine which card and rewards program will deliver the best value. In our case, it wasn’t even close.

By: Barry Choi

Barry Choi — Fri, 20 Sep 2019 19:16:52 +0000

In reply to GYM. GYM, Gift cards are such a low value, I'm surprised you guys used your points for that.

By: GYM

GYM — Fri, 20 Sep 2019 18:54:43 +0000

We redeemed ours for Home Depot gift cards and got $175 off a Weber BBQ and now husband just got the card and we will book our interisland Hawaii flights with the bonus points. Straightforward program and easy to use.