Have you contacted your credit card company yet to ask for a retention bonus?
I wrote about retention bonuses in a recent newsletter – they’re bonus points or annual fee waivers given to loyal and valued cardholders who ask for them. That’s the thing about retention bonuses – you have to ask.
Peter Hambly, a newsletter subscriber from Hanover, Ont., read the post about retention bonuses and decided to ask for a waiver of his annual fee of $120 plus $50 for a spousal card. It worked. “In appreciation of your relationship with us, we will reverse the annual fees you will incur on June 30, 2024 as a one-time exception,” his card issuer said in an e-mail.
Let’s look at Mr. Hambly’s story in a bit more detail because it may help clarify what it takes to qualify for a bonus. Mr. Hambly said he’s held a credit card from this particular issuer since the mid-1970s and spent more than $275,000 on it over the previous four years. You don’t need to be as loyal and avid a customer as this to get a retention bonus, but you do need to imagine whether your card company would feel regret about a competitor scooping up your business.
Mr. Hambly didn’t threaten to cancel his card, but he did say he and his wife have been looking at other options. “You give out extra rewards to new cardholders, so let’s do the same for a good customer,” he wrote in his e-mail to the bank.
That’s so well put. Card issuers shower new clients with bonuses, while taking existing clients mostly for granted. Retention bonuses are how existing clients even the score.
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Rob’s personal finance reading list
A dream trip, gone in 60 seconds
I cannot say this strongly enough: Never give out your personal banking info on the phone or in response to an e-mail or text. The risk of being scammed is serious enough to warrant this blanket statement. Here’s how scammers conned an Ottawa couple out of $10,000 put aside for a six-month trip around the world.
Life in rental hell
The latest in Toronto rental horror stories – a basement corner that goes for $500 per month, including bed, night table and lamp. Now for some good news for renters: Toronto rents are edging lower.
Caskets from Costco
A detailed rundown on the costs and benefits – and disadvantages – of a Costco membership. News to me: You can buy a casket at Costco now for as little as $1,099.99.
No-buy January: A final accounting
A young person from New York on her successes and challenges in trying to buy nothing beyond essentials in January. Useful insights here on what works and doesn’t work in trying to live a more frugal life.
Ask Rob
Q: I am thinking of opening a first home savings account and investing in an exchange-traded fund. I hope to buy a place in five years. With a shorter investment window, how should I balance my investment between income and equity?
A: On the principle that homebuying can happen on an accelerated time frame, I’m going to suggest keeping your FHSA 100 per cent safe in either an investment savings account or high interest savings account ETF. Both are designed for investment accounts and hold all or mostly bank deposits that deliver after-fee returns between 4.55 and 4.9 per cent these days. This rate will go down when and as the Bank of Canada lowers its overnight rate, but you’re 100 per cent safe from losing money in the stock or bond markets. If you prefer a more aggressive approach, how about 75 per cent ISA or HISAs and 25 per cent stocks?
Do you have a question for me? Send it my way. Sorry I can't answer every one personally. Questions and answers are edited for length and clarity.
Tools, explainers, guides and charts
A credit counselling agency’s take on private mortgages, which are an option for people unable to get a mortgage through conventional lenders.
The Money-Free Zone
A reader suggestion this time: All Those Things, by the New Zealand singer-songwriter Barry Saunders. I really like this song. World weary vocals and an arrangement featuring a triple threat of guitar, accordion and horns.
Watch this
A video in which grocery prices in Mexico are compared to Canada. Lots to chew on here.
On social media
A simple guide to how your credit score is calculated.
In case you missed these Globe and Mail personal finance-related stories
- Why owning a dog or cat in Canada has become so expensive
- Auto insurance rates to rise in 2024 over record thefts, higher replacement costs car parts
- ESG isn’t dead, it’s just evolving
- Feeding teenagers is expensive. Here are some money-saving grocery tips for parents
- How supporting elderly parents can affect a financial plan drastically
More Rob Carrick and money coverage
Subscribe to Stress Test on Apple podcasts or Spotify. For more money stories, follow me on Instagram and Twitter, and join the discussion on my Facebook page. Millennial readers, join our Gen Y Money Facebook group.
Even more coverage from Rob Carrick:
- 🎧 Catch up on Stress Test: Why millennials and Gen Z are Alberta-bound for a more affordable life • Rising interest rates brought pain for new homeowners – and opportunity for house hunters • Why more Canadians are choosing to be childfree or delay parenthood • Love in the time of inflation: How to manage rising costs when dating • You're not bad at money – you're suffering from money shame • Retirement might look different for Gen Z and millennials. Here's how to plan for it • Recession-beating tips for the job market, housing, investing and the cost of life • Is the middle class dead for millennials and Gen Z?
- ✔️ The housing file: A house isn’t special. Get your head straight about the reality of home ownership • The good, the sad and the unaffordable: Saving for a home downpayment in Canada’s big cities • Property taxes are popping in some cities – how worried should you be about other tax hikes? • Our other real-estate problem – people have too much wealth tied up in houses • Borrowers and savers, here’s how to time the eventual rollback of interest rates
- 📈 Investing: Canada's top digital broker is TD Direct Investing, with an assist from the TD Easy Trade app • 2023 Globe and Mail ETF buyer's guide part one: Canadian equity ETFs • For the ultimate in cheap investing, check out the Freedom .08 ETF Portfolio • Yes, there is risk in Canadian bank deposits for the unwary and complacent • CDIC covers bank deposits, but who protects your investments if your broker goes bust? • Answers to your questions about the low-risk ETF paying almost 5% • Happy fifth birthday to one of the all-time best investing products for everyday people • An investing strategy that wins cleanly over the long term by outperforming in bad years like 2022
- 💰 Your money: Mortgage holders, savers and GIC investors, it’s time to change your thinking on interest rates • How much debt is each generation of Canadians carrying, and how do you compare? • For the sake of their financial futures, young people should leave Toronto and Vancouver • This practical new spin on a savings account might just peel you away from your big bank • Rental fraud grows amid rise in fake, falsified tenant applications • Are Canadians worse off financially now than in the 1980s? • From groceries to auto loans, here’s how much more it costs to live right now • When saving for retirement, should you change your asset mix over the course of your career? • Do retirement income needs always rise alongside inflation? Not necessarily • When the bank suggests you lock in your variable rate mortgage, it has an angle
