After thirteen years a long and bitter friendship came to an end recently when I finally cancelled my Visa Aerogold credit card. For those who aren’t familiar with this card, it is a rewards card that gets Aeroplan points which can be used to buy airplane flights.
Why cancel?
Mainly because it’s just not worth it anymore. The annual fee for this card is $120 and when I added my wife to the account (so she could get a card too) the fee went up to $170 which broke this camel’s back! I have redeemed a number of flights using points in the past but when I look at the annual fees, the charges for booking flights and the amount that I charge each year on the card, it doesn’t seem to be worth it. The other big aggravation with Aeroplan is that you have to book a long time in advance if you want a reasonable flight. I can remember trying to book a flight from Toronto to Calgary a few years ago and my only options involved a two day flight with two stops which is ridiculous for a four hour journey.
A new card?
When I called Visa to cancel the card, the customer service rep told me about their “Dividend” card which has a cash back reward and no fees. At the end of each year you get 0.25% on the first $1500 charged, 0.5% on the next $1500 and then 1% on everything over $3000 which seemed like a reasonable reward system. And there are no fees! The interest rate on the card is 19.5% but since I haven’t paid credit card interest in over ten years, that is of no concern to me.