As first reported by PointsHogger, CIBC has updated their credit card policy to be in lockstep with American Express’s Once in a Lifetime policy. In layman’s terms, this means that if you have collected a sign up bonus on a CIBC card, you may not qualify for another sign up bonus if you apply for the same product in the future.
The new terms state:
You are eligible for this offer only if you apply and are approved for your first CIBC credit card. If you are a current or former CIBC cardholder, we may approve your application but you will not be eligible for the offer.
This currently affects only the Aerogold Visa Infinite Privilege, Aventura Visa Infinite, Aventura Gold Visa and the Aventura Visa.
Currently the AeroGold Visa Infinite and Aero Platinum Visa are not affected by the change in the terms and conditions but it’s only a matter of time before the adopt the same policy.
Even with 22 active credit cards, I currently do not have any CIBC cards because there are much more lucrative cards out there for the Travel Hacker including the American Express Gold, American Express Gold Business, American Express Platinum and American Express Platinum Business.
As I mentioned earlier, American Express has similar language in their terms and conditions but all things being equal, I would choose Membership Reward (MR) points over Aventura or Aeroplan points because MRs provide extreme flexibility (as detailed in my reviews on the American Express cards).
Hopefully this news does not indicate a trend for credit issuers in Canada.
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