They do love a new client in the credit card business.
It’s common for card issuers to offer bonus points to new clients, and sometimes a waiver of the first year’s fee. Bonuses for existing clients are pretty much non-existent – unless you ask.
According to Patrick Sojka of RewardsCanada.ca, credit card companies may offer retention bonuses to keep existing clients. Here are some tips from Mr. Sojka for getting one of these bonuses:
- Be a loyal customer, and a significant spender: Retention bonuses are most likely to be paid to clients with a long history who use their cards frequently for more than small purchases. You might be seen as trying to game the system if you ask for a retention bonus after big spending on a card for only a short while. Card issuers want to avoid giving retention bonuses to people who have no intention of sticking around.
- Be flexible in what you ask for: Mr. Sojka said he’s seen card issuers offer bonus points, fee waivers and statement credits. The annual fee for many reward cards is $120 a year or more – that’s not a bad payoff for a phone call to your card company.
- Raise the idea of cancelling: It’s likely cheaper for a card issuer to keep an existing client than acquire a new one. If you don’t want to threaten to leave, just say you’ve received a very attractive offer from a competitor.
If you are in the market for a new card, you can compare welcome bonuses on websites like RewardsCanada, Ratehub.ca, Ratesdotca, Milesopedia and CreditCardGenius.
Calling all DINKS (dual income, no kids)
Are you a double income no kid couple, over the age of 30? Globe reporter Salmaan Farooqui wants to know how living as a couple without kids has changed your finances, from how much more have to spend to to how much – or how little – you work. Then there’s the questions about your safety net in retirement. To share your personal story, e-mail sfarooqui@globeandmail.com Here’s a link to a recent Stress Test podcast episode on this very topic.
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Rob’s personal finance reading list
Enjoy tonight is back
All about Loblaw backing down on a plan to phase out the 50 per cent discount on items that are at the best before date. These items typically have an “enjoy tonight” sticker on the package. Buying food right on the best before date is one way to fight the rising cost of groceries.
34 ways to save money as a senior
A listing of seniors discounts at major retailers, hotels, car rental companies and more. Note that some apply to people at age 50 or 55.
Retirement at sea
An Ontario couple talks about living on cruise ships after retirement. The cost is comparable to living in a house.
Just make your coffee at home
The Beaverton has some fun with the uproar over the proposed 10.5 per cent property tax increase in Toronto. Fixable by giving up avocado toast and lattes.
Ask Rob
Q: I have four different investment accounts with my online brokerage – RRSP, LIRA, TFSA and non registered. Am I covered for $1-million for each account, in the eventuality of brokerage fraud, bankruptcy, etc.? Or, am I covered for a maximum of $1-million for the grand total?
A: Here’s how coverage of brokerage accounts works at companies that are members of the Canada Investor Protection Fund.
Do you have a question for me? Send it my way. Sorry I can't answer every one personally. Questions and answers are edited for length and clarity.
Tools, Explainers, Guides and Charts
What happens to a registered education savings plan, or RESP, if your child does not attend college, university or a training school?
The Money-Free Zone
Michel Pagliaro’s What the Hell I Got, a great moment in Canadian pop-rock from 1975. I remember hearing it on 1050 CHUM as a kid in Toronto, and it sounds just as good today.
On social media
A post on X comparing housing affordability in Canada to other G7 countries.
What I’ve been working on
– The first four months of the year are a ‘danger zone’ for TFSA contributors
– Of course, Gen Zs and millennials can retire comfortably. Here are five steps to make it happen
– A warning to people planning to take over their own investments in retirement
More Rob Carrick and money coverage
Subscribe to Stress Test on Apple podcasts or Spotify. For more money stories, follow me on Instagram and Twitter, and join the discussion on my Facebook page. Millennial readers, join our Gen Y Money Facebook group.
Even more coverage from Rob Carrick:
- 🎧 Catch up on Stress Test: Why millennials and Gen Z are Alberta-bound for a more affordable life • Rising interest rates brought pain for new homeowners – and opportunity for house hunters • Why more Canadians are choosing to be childfree or delay parenthood • Love in the time of inflation: How to manage rising costs when dating • You're not bad at money – you're suffering from money shame • Retirement might look different for Gen Z and millennials. Here's how to plan for it • Recession-beating tips for the job market, housing, investing and the cost of life • Is the middle class dead for millennials and Gen Z?
- ✔️ The housing file: A house isn’t special. Get your head straight about the reality of home ownership • The good, the sad and the unaffordable: Saving for a home down payment in Canada’s big cities • Property taxes are popping in some cities – how worried should you be about other tax hikes? • Our other real-estate problem – people have too much wealth tied up in houses • Borrowers and savers, here’s how to time the eventual rollback of interest rates
- 📈 Investing: Canada's top digital broker is TD Direct Investing, with an assist from the TD Easy Trade app • 2023 Globe and Mail ETF buyer's guide part one: Canadian equity ETFs • For the ultimate in cheap investing, check out the Freedom .08 ETF Portfolio • Yes, there is risk in Canadian bank deposits for the unwary and complacent • CDIC covers bank deposits, but who protects your investments if your broker goes bust? • Answers to your questions about the low-risk ETF paying almost 5% • Happy fifth birthday to one of the all-time best investing products for everyday people • An investing strategy that wins cleanly over the long term by outperforming in bad years like 2022
- 💰 Your money: Mortgage holders, savers and GIC investors, it’s time to change your thinking on interest rates • How much debt is each generation of Canadians carrying, and how do you compare? • For the sake of their financial futures, young people should leave Toronto and Vancouver • This practical new spin on a savings account might just peel you away from your big bank • Rental fraud grows amid rise in fake, falsified tenant applications • Are Canadians worse off financially now than in the 1980s? • From groceries to auto loans, here’s how much more it costs to live right now • When saving for retirement, should you change your asset mix over the course of your career? • Do retirement income needs always rise alongside inflation? Not necessarily • When the bank suggests you lock in your variable rate mortgage, it has an angle
Rob Carrick