Important change to the Amazon.ca Rewards Visa Card program

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kcowan
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Re: Important change to the Amazon.ca Rewards Visa Card program

Post by kcowan »

Thanks. That kind of puts the 2.5% in perspective for FX withdrawals! Emphasizes the deal that amazon gave us.
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Re: Important change to the Amazon.ca Rewards Visa Card program

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No communication yet from Chase Bank Canada regarding cancellation of Amazon. Ca Visa Rewards Card account in mid March.
I was on the website few minutes ago reviewing activity. No message popped up. I looked but could not find any reference to account cancellation. Business as usual.
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Re: Important change to the Amazon.ca Rewards Visa Card program

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kukucanuck wrote: 15 Jan 2018 10:41 No communication yet from Chase Bank Canada regarding cancellation of Amazon. Ca Visa Rewards Card account in mid March.
I was on the website few minutes ago reviewing activity. No message popped up. I looked but could not find any reference to account cancellation. Business as usual.
The letter may be in the mail (mine arrived on Friday).
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Re: Important change to the Amazon.ca Rewards Visa Card program

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My letter from Chase arrived just today.
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Re: Important change to the Amazon.ca Rewards Visa Card program

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DavidR wrote: 12 Jan 2018 17:31 Got a letter from Chase today, to confirm what many have been expecting:
"The amazon.ca Rewards Visa Card is ending, and your account is closing on March 15, 2018."

So my account is closing March 15 (Card shows Valid through 2/18).
AND today (one business day after receiving the letter) a replacement card arrived, seeing as my old one expires two weeks before March 15. New card shows Valid thru 02/22 Sheeesh...
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Re: Important change to the Amazon.ca Rewards Visa Card program

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My Chase Marriott Rewards Visa letter arrived today ... same March 15 closure date. Bleh. The good credit card deals never last.
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Re: Important change to the Amazon.ca Rewards Visa Card program

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Have not got my letter yet but expect to shortly. The blame belongs to all of us deadbeats and freeloaders who pay off our balances every month. 8)
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Re: Important change to the Amazon.ca Rewards Visa Card program

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gaspr wrote: 15 Jan 2018 21:31Have not got my letter yet but expect to shortly. The blame belongs to all of us deadbeats and freeloaders who pay off our balances every month. 8)
Yes I think it appealed to seniors who travel and always pay off their balances. I also suspect that amazon was disappointed in the bump in ordering from card holders.
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Re: Important change to the Amazon.ca Rewards Visa Card program

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gaspr wrote: 15 Jan 2018 21:31 Have not got my letter yet but expect to shortly.
Have not got mine yet, but did get a new card to replace the one that expires 2/18. New card expires 2/22. :roll:
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Re: Important change to the Amazon.ca Rewards Visa Card program

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Official announcement from Amazon.ca:
Important changes to the Amazon.ca Rewards Visa Card program occurring March 15, 2018. The credit card relationship between JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. and Amazon.ca is ending and Chase will be closing the Amazon.ca Rewards Visa Card program as of March 15, 2018. Learn more
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Re: Important change to the Amazon.ca Rewards Visa Card program

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timbr wrote: 15 Jan 2018 20:34 My Chase Marriott Rewards Visa letter arrived today ... same March 15 closure date. Bleh. The good credit card deals never last.
Did the letter mention how the annual fee is being handled?
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Re: Important change to the Amazon.ca Rewards Visa Card program

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DavidR wrote: 16 Jan 2018 12:46
timbr wrote: 15 Jan 2018 20:34 My Chase Marriott Rewards Visa letter arrived today ... same March 15 closure date. Bleh. The good credit card deals never last.
Did the letter mention how the annual fee is being handled?
No annual fee will be charged after Jan 1, and it will be prorated if already paid. There's also this: Upon closure of your Marriott Rewards Visa Card account you will be awarded your anniversary free night certificate to your Marriott Rewards Program account. My anniversary date in in Feb. I'm not sure if this means the cert that would have shown up in Feb will be awarded in March, or they are awarding everyone a free night, or something else.
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Re: Important change to the Amazon.ca Rewards Visa Card program

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timbr wrote: 16 Jan 2018 20:47
DavidR wrote: 16 Jan 2018 12:46
timbr wrote: 15 Jan 2018 20:34 My Chase Marriott Rewards Visa letter arrived today ... same March 15 closure date. Bleh. The good credit card deals never last.
Did the letter mention how the annual fee is being handled?
No annual fee will be charged after Jan 1, and it will be prorated if already paid. There's also this: Upon closure of your Marriott Rewards Visa Card account you will be awarded your anniversary free night certificate to your Marriott Rewards Program account. My anniversary date in in Feb. I'm not sure if this means the cert that would have shown up in Feb will be awarded in March, or they are awarding everyone a free night, or something else.
Thanks timbr. I was starting to rationalize that I might not get a pro-rated refund for annual fee paid in October, but at least I got a full free night (not pro-rated) in exchange. Sounds like I'll get half or more of the annual fee back, and keep the certificate awarded in October. And maybe another one issued in March? I'll let you know if my letter (which I suppose will arrive soon) mentions a March award.
Maybe it applies only to those who were due to receive it after Jan 1.

FYI Starwood SPG has an Amex card with a pretty good sign up bonus - 20,000 SPG points that can be converted to 60,000 Marriott points. (no free night each year, though....and no deal on FX.)
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Re: Important change to the Amazon.ca Rewards Visa Card program

Post by 2 yen »

One PIA of Chase was insisting on mailing out statements. I didn't even open the envelopes, just shredded them. As a result, I probably have shredded the 'letter'. Hopefully Home Trust has an online only option for statements.

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Re: Important change to the Amazon.ca Rewards Visa Card program

Post by SoninlawofGus »

pmj wrote: 13 Jan 2018 09:47 For purchases in another currency, Rogers and Fido both give 1.6% net cashback. But no break on cash withdrawals in another currency - that's the real loss with Amazon leaving.
$29 fee at Rogers, no fee at Fido. Fee at Rogers waived if you autopay a Rogers/Fido account.
In Canada, 1.75% cashback at Rogers, 1.5% at Fido.
Cashback can be auto-credited to Rogers/Fido accounts, if they're more than $20, or it has to be requested by phone annually before Dec 1st for payment sometime in Jan (waiting right now).
Interesting. For anyone not making foreign withdrawals (I don't) and with a Rogers/Fido account, this would seem to be a better deal than the Home Trust card. I have autopay set up. Terms are here.
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Re: Important change to the Amazon.ca Rewards Visa Card program

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Just got my letter yesterday. :(
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Re: Important change to the Amazon.ca Rewards Visa Card program

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Yes this is a disappointment. I have a TD USD Visa card so I only used the Amazon card for distant travel and for transferring money to family members overseas but it is still a loss. I got the letter early last week and also saw the notice when logging into Amazon. I thought it was funny that when you went into the 'FAQ' related to the shutdown in Amazon, the one question I had was not addressed, that would be whether there is a plan for a new card with a different financial institution. I didn't find Chase to difficult to deal with, though didn't charge much or need a high credit limit. I did find Citi ridiculous to deal with when they were Costco's MC provider.

Thanks for posting the link to the longer thread Keith. I'll definitely be looking for a replacement asap. Off to Africa in February again and UK in April after the shutdown. Rats.
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Re: Important change to the Amazon.ca Rewards Visa Card program

Post by kcowan »

6miths wrote: 20 Jan 2018 11:37I did find Citi ridiculous to deal with when they were Costco's MC provider.
The Costco US Visa card has just introduced no FX as a feature. But it seems to be a crappy provider:
No FX added
See comments
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Re: Important change to the Amazon.ca Rewards Visa Card program

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Just going through the application for the Home Trust Preferred Visa and see that it won't be as good for foreign ATM withdrawals at 1.5% versus Amazon's 1%. I guess no better option though.
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Re: Important change to the Amazon.ca Rewards Visa Card program

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Thanks. Is there a minimum charge for the ATM withdrawal?
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Re: Important change to the Amazon.ca Rewards Visa Card program

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kcowan wrote: 21 Jan 2018 08:21 Thanks. Is there a minimum charge for the ATM withdrawal?
http://www.hometrust.ca/documents/Prefe ... nt1999.pdf
ATM Charge:
1% of amount withdrawn (Minimum fee of $2.50 and Maximum fee of $10.00) for a Cash Advance from an ATM displaying the Visa or Plus logo located in Canada;
1.50% (Minimum fee of $4.50 and Maximum fee of $45.00) if the ATM is located in United States;
1.50% (Minimum fee of $5.50 and Maximum fee of $15.00) if the ATM is located outside Canada and the United States.

This is in addition to any other charges that may be levied by the owner/operator of the ATM.
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Re: Important change to the Amazon.ca Rewards Visa Card program

Post by longinvest »

The Home Trust Preferred Visa isn't available for Quebec residents.
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Re: Important change to the Amazon.ca Rewards Visa Card program

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OK I went onto redflagdeals to look at Home Trust Preferred Visa and have now applied. I see where Bylo hangs out now. He was an early adopter (April) and he determined that the credit limit coincidentally matched his GIC holdings with them.

During the application process, it indicated that I had applied for another card in 2014 and that was the Chase amazon card.
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Re: Important change to the Amazon.ca Rewards Visa Card program

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Yes I applied as well. Africa trip will be before Amazon shuts down but we are heading to UK and possibly Netherlands in April-May so will need a replacement. Could have gone with the Rogers card but it seemed overly complicated and like many others it seems I am not a fan of the company.

Adrian posted the minimums on ATM withdrawals so the for smaller amounts less than CAD500 there isn't really a major difference (0.5%) but as the amount goes up it gets striking. The fact that the maximum is $45 at US ATM versus $15 at foreign ATM is interesting and somewhat telling. I have USD accounts and TD USD Visa so not really an issue. I closed my US TD Bank accounts last year as they weren't worth the trouble given that I couldn't get a US domiciled credit card without a permanent address. Thank you Homeland Security!

Thank you for the link to redflagdeals. Was worth the read over there.
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Re: Important change to the Amazon.ca Rewards Visa Card program

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So while watching the football playoffs, I am transferring my regular debits from the amazon card. I try TD where we have a Visa and it says "Not available now. Try again later!" so I decide to shift them all to my RBC Westjet MC. How many times does TD lose business because of their ongoing crappy service?
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