By
Patrick Sojka - CEO Rewards Canada | Posted Feb 23, 11
CIBC
has become the second major bank in Canada to issue both Visa and MasterCard cards
with the launch of their CIBC Aventura World MasterCard. Much like its
Aventura Visa equivalent, the Aventura World MasterCard looks to attract customers
who want the ability to redeem points for flights without blackout dates and have
the option to convert those points to Aeroplan Miles. Where this card differs
from its Visa equivalent is on the benefits side, the World MasterCard option
provides more in terms of the benefits included then the Visa Infinite branding Overview Falling
into our Hybrid Credit Card category the CIBC Aventura World MasterCard
becomes the best travel rewards card offered by CIBC. The card offers the same
earning ratio as all the CIBC Infinite Visas (Aerogold & Aventura) along with
the same sign up bonuses. Where this card stands out against CIBC's Visa cards
is in the benefits it provides. The card has a set reward chart for flights allowing
for up to 4% return and has extra insurance coverage that the Aerogold or Aventura
Infinite Visas do not have.
Costs The
CIBC Aventura World MasterCard comes with an industry standard $120 primary
card annual fee. The card offers a decent 15,000 point welcome bonus which can
get the cardholder a free short haul flight. Supplementary cards are $50 each
which is on par with most of the high end cards although the emerging trend from
this card's competitors has been to offer these for free. The interest rate on
the card is 19.99% which is in the middle of the pack for these type of cards
(most high end cards range from 18% to 21%).
Earning
The CIBC Aventura World MasterCard earns 1 Aventura
Point for every dollar spent on the card for purchases with an increased earning
of 1.5 points at gas stations, grocery stores and drug stores.(On your first $80,000
in total annual account spending) It also offers double points for travel purchased
with the CIBC Aventura Rewards Centre and bonuses at participating CIBC Bonus
Rewards restaurants, resorts and golf courses, spas and retailers across Canada.
This earning ratio on the card is the same as the other CIBC Cards and when compared
with the rest of the industry for high end travel cards like these it is average.
The card's 15,000 point sign up bonus is equivalent to the other CIBC Visa's and
is similar to most of its competition.
Redeeming On the redemption side, the points
earned with the CIBC Aventura World MasterCard can be redeemed for any
flights via the CIBC Aventura Rewards Centre. The World MasterCard has a set reward
chart for flights with a limited amount at the lowest level and more at the higher
levels. If you are lucky enough to get a $400 short haul ticket at the 10,000
point level, congratulations you have received the maximum return on this card
of 4%. The return diminishes as the tickets go up in price and availability becomes
tighter, see the following: - Canada and U.S. (Short Haul) 10,000 - 25,000
points (Max. $400 ticket value) - Canada and U.S. (Long Haul) 20,000 - 40,000
points (Max. $650 ticket value) - Mexico, Alaska, Hawaii, Central America,
Caribbean 40,000 - 60,000 points (Max. $1,000 ticket value) - Europe 50,000
- 70,000 points (Max. $1,200 ticket value) - Rest of the World 75,000 - 125,000
points (Max. $2,000 ticket value) Tickets at the lowest point redemption levels
are limited and are not available for certain times, flights or destinations.
The maximum ticket price is before taxes, fees and other surcharges. These must
be paid by the cardholder at the time of
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booking with an Aventura card or with Aventura points at a rate of 100 points
to $1. At the time of booking, you can also purchase up to 20% of the required
points at $0.03 each to reach a specific redemption level is so desired.
The
card also allows members to convert their Aventura points to Aeroplan Miles in
10,000 point increments at a ratio of 1 to 1.
Features
and Benefits The CIBC
Aventura World MasterCard features the
best insurance and benefits package out of all the CIBC Travel Cards and is comparable
to some of the other top cards from other issuers.
The card features your standard travel accident, baggage and car rental insurance
that are found on almost all fee based rewards cards but it also includes some
that are only found on a few select cards. These include, Trip cancellation which
is only offered as a standard feature on a half dozen other travel rewards cards
and Travel Medical insurance which only comes standard on about 50% of the cards
in the market. In comparison to the Visa cards issued by CIBC this new MasterCard
heavily outweighs them in this category not only because of the trip cancellation
insurance but also by the fact it has purchase protection and extended warranty
insurance.
What is good
about this card This card can relatively hold its own in the premium
credit card market with its reward and benefits offering. The ability to book
travel via CIBC's travel agency or convert the Aventura points to Aeroplan miles
definitely helps this card out. The increase in insurance and benefits over CIBC's
other cards makes this the best CIBC travel rewards card on the market. The potential
to get high rate of return of up to 4% can make this card a really good value
but one has to make sure they try to maximize their reward to see this.
What
is not so good about this card Most of what is not so good with
this card is the redemption category. The emerging trend in the industry has been
to let the cardholder book travel how they want and with whom they want and then
redeeming points against the charge. Unfortunately, this card makes the cardholder
book via the CIBC Aventura Reward center and while it is a full service travel
agency, they may not be able to find the same deals you could online. Another
redemption issue are the restrictions placed on the flight rewards, these are
text book frequent flyer program rules with restrictions on the lowest redemption
rates and the need to pay for the fees and taxes over and above the redemption
rate.
Conclusion The CIBC Aventura World MasterCard may not be
the best travel rewards credit card in the Canadian market when compared
to other Hybrid or even other travel card categories but it definitely does take
the top spot from CIBC's credit card offerings for travel rewards. If I banked
at CIBC and was loyal to them I would choose this card as it offers the flexibility
of booking flights on almost any airline or converting the points to Aeroplan.
Overall the card may not impact the travel rewards industry tremendously in Canada,
but does allow for a good card option for those who want to stick with CIBC and
have all the benefits that many competitors have been offering to their cardholders.
This card will be included in our next Canada's
Top Travel Rewards Card feature which will be out this summer! Where will it end
up? You will just have to wait and see.
We would like to hear your thoughts
on the new CIBC
Aventura World MasterCard by commenting on our blog!
CIBC
has become the second major bank in Canada to issue both Visa and MasterCard cards
with the launch of their CIBC Aventura World MasterCard. Much like its
Aventura Visa equivalent, the Aventura World MasterCard looks to attract customers
who want the ability to redeem points for flights without blackout dates and have
the option to convert those points to Aeroplan Miles. Where this card differs
from its Visa equivalent is on the benefits side, the World MasterCard option
provides more in terms of the benefits included then the Visa Infinite branding
