The 'BEST' credit card....

[bcrdukes]

There are a few people on RS who have an ITIN and have done this but I forget who they are. Hopefully they will chime in.

[winson604]

Originally Posted by Hehe

If you primarily fly AC, TD Aero or AMEX Aero are the two best cards.

But if you don't fly AC or like me, who avoid AC whenever I have the option, I suggest AMEX Cobalt. The requirement isn't all that bad and the transfer partner flexibility is amazing.

This is especially useful if you want to fly first class on points as most airlines with truly good F now kinda reserve their F for only their own mileage members.

Of course there's AMEX Platinum if you are big business spenders. Unlike Cobalt, which has a usual limit, the Platinum has no hard limit per se unless they suspect a fraud. Works great for businesses (or if you can get reimbursed) since you never want to be in a position where your card gets declined. A buddy of mine racks up anywhere from 200-400k a month on average and up to 800k for his video production business, he's firm AMEX Plat believer as he never has to worry getting to close to the spending limit. It's not a perk for most, but if you are spending for business, it's definitely worth looking into and one that I rarely hear people talking about.

Only been collecting Aeroplan points for a year via the TD card, by no means am I trying hard but even if you don't fly AC but fly with their partners the card is still worth it no?

[roastpuff]

The card doesn't give you any benefits with AC partners iirc.

AP points can just be transferred straight over from Amex MR in a 1:1 ratio.

I prefer the Amex Plat benefits over the VIP AP Visa benefits.

[Hehe]

Originally Posted by bcrdukes

There are a few people on RS who have an ITIN and have done this but I forget who they are. Hopefully they will chime in.

ITIN is hard to apply nowadays. They want proof you actually have a reason to "need" it before getting one.

The easiest way is either one of the big 6 who also has operation in US (TD and BMO) or AMEX, which you could request to have your credit history transferred over to get their US counterpart. I got through this way earlier in the day as AMEX Plat was one of the card without FX fees that's kinda accessible for us Canucks.

As for US cards, if you have a legitimate reason to have an ITIN, usually meaning you file taxes in the US, it's actually not that hard. All they need is an established address and whatever and away you go. I've had many cards before when I was into churning for points. But ultimately just consolidated into 3 cards now (1 visa for general, AMEX Plat for US/travel expenses and 1 MC for Costco).

Originally Posted by winson604

Only been collecting Aeroplan points for a year via the TD card, by no means am I trying hard but even if you don't fly AC but fly with their partners the card is still worth it no?

If you are not flying strictly with AC, I don't see reason to go with TD or AMEX AC card. As roastpuff pointed out, none of the benefits from the card transfer to *A partners and there's no way you can transfer AC points to other airlines. And if redemption to F is somewhat in mind, Amex MR points are miles ahead of AC points. Not only you can transfer to other airlines, you can also transfer to hotels and whatnot to fully utilize the points.

My friend that I mentioned above accumulated so many points through his business, that he almost never pay for his personal trips thanks to AMEX where he could just redeem miles for other alliances as well as hotel chains.

[winson604]

Ahh ok but in reality I don't get many AC benefits anyway I just have the Infinite card. So no lounge benefits the only one really is a free checked bag which only applies if you book a fare that comes with no checked bags at all which I would never be booking. This is just a secondary card as well so I spend half on this card and half on another.

[Badhobz]

id agree with hehaw, if you run a buisness grab amex platnium or something along those lines where you can swap amex points into anything you want usually for 1:1 or even 2:1 if youre lucky (depending on promo)

If youre just a regular shmoe and are loyal to 1 airline, grab whatever airline card they have and rack up the points. These go a lot further than any cash back rewards. 599 annual fees seems like a lot, but in reality one companion pass that you get for free would automatically pay off that 599 and then some. Ohhh and you can use the metal card to cut up your coke, handy!