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Locked: Canadian SPG Amex * 20,000 pts for new (accepted) applications

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Deal Addict
Nov 27, 2005
3579 posts
610 upvotes
najibs wrote: Now that I have the details, even with the annual fee I'd gladly trade my Amex 2% for the new Amex SPG. Simple as that.
I never followed the old SPG MC thread much. But I think I did read that it was about a 4-6% return depending on how you redeemed. Hopefully that will be the case here even with the annual fee.
Sr. Member
Jun 5, 2007
582 posts
269 upvotes
North York
I find it cold for me. 120 bucks and not accepted everywhere. Better off with rbc avion as long as ba conv continues. My spending is also not too high. 15k per yr tops.
Jr. Member
User avatar
Feb 16, 2009
154 posts
2 upvotes
hash76 wrote: I find it cold for me. 120 bucks and not accepted everywhere. Better off with rbc avion as long as ba conv continues. My spending is also not too high. 15k per yr tops.
+1, I already have TD visa infinite and annual fee waived. :)
Deal Addict
User avatar
Dec 6, 2005
1784 posts
652 upvotes
St. John's
The only way I can imagine myself giving this card a shot is if they either let me try a year free, or if they offer a $60 or more rebate through a site like GCR.

Triple digit annual fees are not for me. I feel ripped off just thinking about it.
Deal Guru
User avatar
Nov 18, 2005
11955 posts
3699 upvotes
Kingston
darkness_falls wrote: Tough call here 1.5x on Avion with the BA Miles Transfer vs. 1.25x on a hell of a lot more airlines or the hotel rewards. Counterbalanced by the places that don't take Amex though.
Is the 1.5x BA miles through Avion a periodic offer or is it always available? I am not an Avion cardholder, but my impression was that it is a periodic offer that is not a card feature. If so I would definitely choose 1.25x available everyday on a lot of airlines (including BA) over an offer that may (or may not) be available.

I expect I will get this card, but will wait for all the details. If there is no fee for the first year (like the Cdn Amex Gold for small business) it will be a no brainer. If there is an additional fee over $120 for each supplementary card (like CIBC Aeroplan and RBC Avion), that will be approaching my "pain" threshold. It would definitely bring the Capital One cards ($99 annual fee covers all supplementary cards) back into play for me.
Deal Fanatic
Aug 25, 2005
5485 posts
2762 upvotes
i think the fact it is an amex, makes this a cold deal. Generally not accepted at your local convenience store, any privately owned stores and even some online retailers. I'm gonna take a stab and say you would only be able to reach about 80% of your normal spendings on amex.
Deal Addict
User avatar
Jun 6, 2004
4154 posts
128 upvotes
I think TD First Class Infinite with fee waived still trumps all CC in the Canadian market right now.
Sr. Member
Jun 5, 2007
582 posts
269 upvotes
North York
clydegui; wrote:+1, I already have TD visa infinite and annual fee waived. :)
how you get td infinite with fees waived?
Deal Expert
User avatar
Dec 1, 2003
21468 posts
4884 upvotes
YUL
hash76 wrote: I find it cold for me. 120 bucks and not accepted everywhere. Better off with rbc avion as long as ba conv continues. My spending is also not too high. 15k per yr tops.
clydegui wrote: +1, I already have TD visa infinite and annual fee waived. :)
We knew this was going to be the most common recurring complaint from RFD. We even talked about it with the people from Amex, and again, it's not a card for everyone, especially a lot of the RFDers who want something for nothing, like the MBNA card. The new card is a better card, and thus you will pay for it, however it is priced competitively for the Canadian market.

As for the person who asked before why in the USA these cards cost less money, well it's simple. The USA has 300m people. We have 10% of that in Canada. There is WAY more competition down there in the credit card market, and in it's market there if it was priced at $120 it wouldn't be successful, whereas here in Canada that's a huge and very successful market. It's a premium card, with a premium price.

We knew that RFDers were going to react like this. Go to a different forum like FLyertalk though, and the $120 annual fee people wont even blink twice about spending the money. They'll get it anyways, as will I.
BenK wrote: i think the fact it is an amex, makes this a cold deal. Generally not accepted at your local convenience store, any privately owned stores and even some online retailers. I'm gonna take a stab and say you would only be able to reach about 80% of your normal spendings on amex.
I disagree. Almost everywhere I shop takes Amex.
Deal Addict
Nov 27, 2005
3579 posts
610 upvotes
najibs wrote: I disagree. Almost everywhere I shop takes Amex.
My main card is the Amex 2%. About 75% of my yearly spending goes on this card. The other 25% to my MBNA cashback card. However, this is partially skewed since I prefer to pay gas/groceries with this card. Actually it's only skewed because of the gas since the grocery stores I go to do not accept amex, except walmart.
Deal Addict
User avatar
Jan 11, 2009
3517 posts
358 upvotes
Toronto
i got to pay more attention to the cards accepted at places where i do most of my spending...

biggest spendings for me are gas and food (eating out) and groceries

before i never carried cash in my wallet b/c i had my M/C...now since not everyplace accepts amex i will have to carry some cash, maybe like 5 bucks...lol...
Deal Addict
Nov 27, 2005
3579 posts
610 upvotes
boredstudent3 wrote: i got to pay more attention to the cards accepted at places where i do most of my spending...

biggest spendings for me are gas and food (eating out) and groceries

before i never carried cash in my wallet b/c i had my M/C...now since not everyplace accepts amex i will have to carry some cash, maybe like 5 bucks...lol...
Why don't you just carry a MC for those situations and slowly collect points? Still better than paying cash I think.
Member
Aug 24, 2008
404 posts
59 upvotes
boredstudent3 wrote: before i never carried cash in my wallet b/c i had my M/C...now since not everyplace accepts amex i will have to carry some cash, maybe like 5 bucks...lol...
Just carry an Amex and a MasterCard.
Sr. Member
Feb 11, 2010
502 posts
262 upvotes
najibs wrote: The new card is a better card, and thus you will pay for it, however it is priced competitively for the Canadian market.
Whether or not it is a better card remains to be seen but the second part of this quote really smacks of the philosophy of our wireless market in Canada. The Big 3 constantly roll out the "priced competitively" argument for their colluded pricing.

One could argue that any premium card that decides to distinguish itself from the competition by offering lower annual fees would stand to benefit from an increased number of potential users.

I will wait for the rest of the info to come out but I am not exactly excited about this offering in the least at the moment.
Deal Expert
User avatar
Dec 1, 2003
21468 posts
4884 upvotes
YUL
Jor wrote: Whether or not it is a better card remains to be seen but the second part of this quote really smacks of the philosophy of our wireless market in Canada. The Big 3 constantly roll out the "priced competitively" argument for their colluded pricing.
I disagree. If you want cable, or a phone you have to pay for it, and there's not many choices, so they control pricing. When it comes to credit cards, there are TONS of FREE credit cards out there. Low interest and rewards. The choices are abundant. When you price a product disproportionate to the market value it could also hurt you because people may perceive it as an inferior product. Amex and SPG are both premium brands. MBNA was not a premium brand. Here you're paying an annual fee, but you're getting a better points structure than the MBNA card. $120/yr prices it the same as Avion and Aerogold, which I'm sure is the target market as well for this card, but in my eyes, and many other people's eyes, SPG is a much superior and flexible points system than both Aerogold and Avion. Aeroplan gets worse and worse every year, and Avion is only worthwhile when the BA promo is in effect. SPG is great all year round, not just for flight, hotels, but also experiences, and all for the same price as Avion and Aerogold. What's not to like? THere are TONS of people who pay for those cards and get shafted with an inferior rewards plan.

Again, it's al about value and perceived value. If you only spend less than $10k a year, this is probably not your card, but if you spend $30k and up, which a LOT of MBNA SPG card users did and then complained about the lack of rewards after $30k spending, then this card is ideal if you travel. Great rewards, great rate of return, etc...
Deal Fanatic
User avatar
Aug 16, 2007
6814 posts
581 upvotes
When comparing to the us card remember that they are getting 25k points, wheras 'er aren't. That's the biggest factor.
Deal Addict
Nov 27, 2005
3579 posts
610 upvotes
najibs wrote: Again, it's al about value and perceived value. If you only spend less than $10k a year, this is probably not your card, but if you spend $30k and up, which a LOT of MBNA SPG card users did and then complained about the lack of rewards after $30k spending, then this card is ideal if you travel. Great rewards, great rate of return, etc...
So what do you expect the rate of return to be? 4-6% for regular spending? And with gold status, 4x that for relevant purchases?

For the past 2 years I've spent approximately $40k on my AMEX and $13k on my MC. Hopefully I could maximize my return on this card it would give me more benefits than I am getting now.
Deal Addict
Oct 8, 2006
2051 posts
125 upvotes
Jor wrote: Whether or not it is a better card remains to be seen but the second part of this quote really smacks of the philosophy of our wireless market in Canada. The Big 3 constantly roll out the "priced competitively" argument for their colluded pricing.

One could argue that any premium card that decides to distinguish itself from the competition by offering lower annual fees would stand to benefit from an increased number of potential users.

I will wait for the rest of the info to come out but I am not exactly excited about this offering in the least at the moment.
+1. Thank you for saving my time.

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