Smart Consumer – Winnipeg Edition

The chart below assumes that the prevailing city gas price would be $1.00/Litre for an entire year. I know that gas prices tend to vary a lot, but thankfully in Winnipeg gas stations always have the same posted price. The actual differences in price come from changes in discounts at the pump or rebates/credits.

Information current as of February 19, 2010. Click here for a printable copy.

A few things worth noting:

• Red River Co-op’s yearly savings varies from year to year. For 2009, it offered a return that resulted in 4.543% of your net purchases refunded & mailed to you in the form of a cheque. In previous years the return has been considerably higher, but for the purpose of this chart I decided to use the most recent information available. It is quite possible that RR Co-op’s return for next year will increase dramatically.
• Superstore Gas Bar gives you the option of saving 5¢/Litre at the pump OR getting 12¢/Litre back with money spendable at Superstore (called Superbucks). Just thought I should clear this up if the chart doesn’t communicate this clearly. If you do a lot of shopping at Superstore, this is by far the best option for getting gas.
• To complicate matters, a number of gas stations offer credit cards that can potentially increase your savings. These credit cards’ offers are summarized below.

Credit cards available for each gas bar:

1. Canadian Tire’s Cash Advantage Mastercard gives you 3% cashback on Canadian Tire gas and store purchases, in addition to the Canadian Tire money you receive at the pump. No annual fee.
2. Esso Extra Visa gives 2 Esso Extra points per $1 spent, in addition to any received upon purchase (if you opt for Esso Extra points instead of Aeroplan). No annual fee.
3. Husky Rewards Mastercard gives 2% cash back and an additional 1.5¢/L back in CAA dollars. No annual fee.
4. Petro-Points Mastercard saves you 2¢/L on fuel purchases at Petro Canada. No annual fee.
5. Shell Cashback Mastercard saves you 1.5¢ for every dollar spent at Shell. No anual fee.
6. Superstore’s PC Financial Mastercard gives you the option to get 12¢/L back in PC Points (which would work out to 624,000 points/year or $624/year), instead of 5¢/L savings at the pump. No annual fee.

If you do end up applying for one of these  gas-bar branded credit cards, just remember that any bonus you get on purchases will be rendered worthless if you don’t pay off your card each month. Credit card interest is a killer!

On the different rewards programs in place for each gas bar:

• Esso Extra points can be redeemed for a number of things, or can be exchanged for RBC Rewards or HBC Rewards points.
• Petro points can be redeemed for many different gift cards as well as a CAA membership.
• Air Miles and Aeroplan miles are redeemable for a number of different things.
• PC points are redeemable for merchandise at Superstore.
• A $25 Petro-Canada gift card can be redeemed for 45,000 Petro points.
• A $25 Esso gift card can be redeemed for 4300 Esso Extra points.
• A $50 Esso gift card can be redeemed for 6500 Aeroplan miles.
• A $20 Superstore gift card can be redeemed for 20,000 PC Points.
• A $20 Shell fuel certificate can be redeemed for 175 Air Miles.

This is a very difficult topic to tackle as there are so many factors to compare, but I hope this summarizes almost all of the information. Based on the information above I came up with these rankings:

1. Superstore Gas Bar
2. Red River Co-op
3. Domo
4. Esso
5. Shell
6. Canadian Tire Gas Bar
7. Husky/Mohawk
8. Petro Canada
9. Safeway Gas Bar

Cheers,
Nick

Note: This article was in no way written to encourage speeding. It is simply meant as an informational piece for drivers in Winnipeg.

To start off, here are the four places photo radar vehicles can park by:

1. Schools
2. Parks
3. Community Centers
4. Construction Zones

The locations of schools, parks, and community centres are all fairly easy to recognize. What’s important to note is that photo radar vehicles are not allowed to park anywhere outside of these four situations. The tricky one to avoid is construction zones. You should learn to make the mental association that orange signs and construction work = possible photo radar. Photo radar vehicles can be out at any time, even when construction for the day has long ended and it is dark out. You should also be aware that you usually have to drive slower in construction zones. This is important because it means photo radar cameras will be set off more easily.

In general, construction in a maximum 80 zone usually reduces the maximum speed to 60, so the rule of thumb is reduce your speed 20km/h whenever you see an orange sign. However, you should keep your eye out for signs that give the actual speed in such situations, just to be sure.

Do photo radar vehicles have set times of operation?
From what I have seen, the regular hours that they are out are in the morning rush (6AM to 10AM) and until dinner time (5PM to 8PM). But the truth is that they can be parked anywhere from 5AM to 10PM. Very rarely do you see them after 9PM, but it can happen.

Do photo radar vehicles park on some roads more than others?
They usually park on main roads to maximize ticket revenue, but vehicles have been known to park outside lesser known streets. As long as you’re driving past a school, park, community center, or construction zone you should be careful.

Can photo radar vehicles only take pictures in one direction?
It depends.
If there is a boulevard in the middle of the road (for example, Corydon Ave outside River Heights Middle School) the vehicles can only take photos in one direction, so they would have to be on your side of the road.

If there is no boulevard in the middle of the road (for example, Corydon Ave outside Crescent Wood Community Center) they can take photos in either direction and it does not matter if they are on the same side of the road as you. This makes them quite tricky to spot if there are many vehicles parked on either side of the road.

How fast do I have to be driving to set off the cameras?
An old rule of thumb was that if you didn’t travel 10km/h over the posted speed limit, you would never get a ticket. For example, unless you drove over 60km/h in a 50 zone you would not set off the photo radar. I have heard from sources that, depending on the time of day and where the photo radar vehicle is, the threshold can be lowered to driving 5km/h to 6km/h over the posted limit. This is unconfirmed, and I have never heard of people being ticketed for driving 55 in a 50 zone. You should always err on the safe side, though, so just be careful when passing a photo radar site.

How expensive are tickets?
Quite expensive. They range anywhere from $150 to $400+ depending on how fast you are going. Fortunately, unlike speeding tickets handed out by police officers, photo radar tickets do not come with any demerits. But if you are going 50km/h over the posted speed limit, you could lose your license.

How do intersection cameras work?
In addition to photo radar vehicles, the city has set up a number of Intersection cameras (sometimes called red light cameras). These are able to photograph and ticket you in three different situations:

• You are speeding.
• You run a red light.
• You are both speeding and running a red light.

Below is a map with the locations for each intersection camera in Winnipeg:

A larger map with the written locations of each intersection are available here.

This map (along with the written locations of each intersection) are also available at Winnipeg’s city website here.

Hope this information helps. In my history of Winnipeg driving, I have only one speeding ticket to my name (and that was two years ago). Once I learned about all this I vowed never to get another.

Drive safe!

I think it goes without saying that everybody should be a member of Air Miles & Aeroplan – They are the two biggest rewards programs in Canada and have the most sponsors. Since we’ve already covered them in the previous post, however, this list is about the other great programs in Canada.

1. Scene Points

Now I really, really love movies. I load up on New York Fries with gravy on the side and get a gigantic drink every time I go. It can all get pretty expensive, so I don’t know why it took me so long to enroll in Scene Points. Being a member gives you 10% off all concessions (which is really quite amazing, because you can spend a lot unless you’re sneaking food in). And it also gives you points each time you buy a movie:

• 100 points for each adult movie ticket you buy… So if you’re paying for a date’s ticket, you can get 200 points if you make each ticket purchase separately.
• 50 points for children’s admissions.
• 20 bonus points if you buy your movies online.
• If you already have a bank account or Visa with ScotiaBank, you can collect Scene points even quicker.

So lets say you go for 5 movie dates and end up paying for your date each time (just remember to make two separate transactions for each ticket). It would give you 1000 points. As it turns out, 1000 points are enough for one free adult admission! Personally, I love Scene points because you end up getting rewarded a lot sooner than with other programs.

2. HBC Rewards

HBC Rewards is an excellent program because Zellers and The Bay are so widespread across Canada. From everyday goods at Zellers to higher-end apparel at The Bay, there’s a good chance you’ll wind up in one of their many chains at some point. HBC Rewards can function like a cash-back bonus, for example…

• A $10 HBC gift card can be redeemed for 80,000 points.
• If you pay for everything with an HBC credit card and use your HBC rewards card, $800 spent will give you 80,000 points.
• This means HBC is giving you cash-back bonus of 1.25%.
• HBC Rewards points can also be redeemed for merchandise and many other things.

It doesn’t sound like much, but coupled with HBC’s frequent points promotions you would see a return quite quickly. You can also set your HBC Rewards account to automatic Air Miles conversion, which I think is the best option.

3. BestBuy Reward Zone

BestBuy Reward Zone is fantastic because a lot of BestBuy’s sale prices are already so low. With Bestbuy’s program, $400 in purchases will give you enough for a $5 gift card. This works out to 1.25% cash back, which is about average. The good thing about this program is you can get your gift card in really low denominations, so it doesn’t take forever to redeem your points. BestBuy’s program really shines if you are about to drop four grand on a new home entertainment system – in that case you would be getting an additional $50 back, which is nothing to scoff at. If you do a lot of research and you already know you’re getting the best price, BestBuy’s Reward Zone is like a little cherry on top.

4. Shoppers Drug Mart Optimum Points

This one doesn’t apply as much to me, as a guy, but for girls it’s great. A lot of makeup and beauty products are available at Shoppers, and there is a special Optimum Points promotion almost every weekend. Optimum Points are popular because of these frequent promotions and the fact that redemptions come much quicker than with other programs. Shoppers also mixes up its promotions and offers things like “Spend $75, get a free $25 gift card.” Speaking from experience, 24 hour Shoppers’ are a life-saver as they carry a big variety of different products, so having an Optimum card handy is always a good idea.

5. Office Depot Worklife Rewards & Staples easyRewards

My personal preference between the two programs is Office Depot’s Worklife Rewards. Because things like ink, toner, paper and print purchases give 10% cashback if you’re enrolled in the program (with 1% back on everything else). If your business uses a lot of printing products, then enrolling in Office Depot’s program is a must.

So wherever you spend your money, be sure to enroll in these programs! You’ll thank yourself later.

Oh, and an honorable mention goes to Canadian Tire Money, the very first loyalty program in Canada.

Air Miles and Aeroplan Miles are quite popular in Canada, so I thought a comparison of the two would make for a nice article. If you don’t already know, both rewards programs are free to enroll in. Once you have your card you collect points (or miles) by making purchases at different Air Miles or Aeroplan sponsors. These points can be traded for a variety of different products, or airfare, depending on how many miles you have collected.

It is important to note that for rewards programs, you should concentrate on collecting with one program over the other. This is known as consolidating your rewards. The reason for this is that if you focus your time, energy, and purchases with one program you will be eligable for rewards much quicker. Collecting equally with two or more different programs splits up your effort and will take a lot longer to redeem your points.

So which reward program should you concentrate on? That depends on three things:

1. The number and quality of sponsors for each program.
2. How and where you spend your money.
3. What sort of rewards you want (products, flights, etc).

1. Sponsors
For the first criteria in deciding, there is no better source than each program’s website. Air Miles’ partner list is here, and Aeroplan’s partner list is here. One thing you’ll realize, though, is that a small number of daily needs usually take the majority of your money. The most important things like your home, groceries, and transportation should get the most consideration. This chart shows the different types of sponsors each program has.

Click here for a printable copy.

Perhaps it is a little biased, but these are the different types of retailers that came to mind. Air Miles has a clear advantage when it comes to sponsors, especially in Winnipeg with the MLCC giving out Air Miles on purchases. There are a number of other areas where Aeroplan comes up short, as there are no sponsors which fit the criteria of a department store, restaraunt, or auto maintenance center. It is worth noting that Aeroplan has a solid online store where electronics and department store goods are available. But as far as a physical store is concerned, Aeroplan comes up short. This is a big win for Air Miles, because a lot of money can go into department store purchases and car maintenance throughout the year.

Regardless of whether or not your car gets frequent repairs, almost half of the year Winnipeg is covered in snow which makes getting winter tires very important. Fountain Tire has a very good Air Miles redemption rate on tires, making it an attractive sponsor for any Air Miles collector.

2. Spending Habits
While people vary a great deal, certain needs are standard for everyone. To get the most out of a rewards program, maximize your purchases at sponsors for each need that comes up. Say you’re collecting Air Miles and need to buy groceries for the week, furnish your home with a new work desk, and buy a new TV. If you wanted to maximize your rewards, you would get groceries at Safeway, get the new work desk at Rona, and buy the new TV at Visions. As long as you were going to buy these things anyway, and provided that you are getting a good deal for everything, you are making the most out the rewards program. For a list of the average Winnipegger’s expenditures and tips for earning miles for each of these, look below:

Click here for a printable copy.

Another thing you can do is get a credit card that earns either Air Miles or Aeroplan miles on purchases made with it. Then, on top of getting miles for each purchase you make at a sponsor, your credit card company credits you with additional miles on those purchases. This process is known as double dipping. Just be careful to pay off your balance at the end of each month, otherwise the rewards you reap will be rendered worthless at the cost of the card’s interest each month.

3. Reward Goals
This is where it gets tricky to compare, both rewards points are valued differently and are earned at different rates. Each program has many, many different credit cards you can apply for and each of those has a different earning rate (for every dollar you spend). Air Miles credit cards start at a yearly fee of $0 and go up to $99, Aeroplan credit cards start at $29/year and go all the way to a yearly fee of $499, a little excessive if you ask me. Since this article will be most useful for the person just getting into the reward points world, lets use the beginner credit card for each program. Aeroplan’s $29/year card earns 1 mile for every $2 in purchases and Air Miles $0 card earns 1 mile for every $20 in purchases.

Assuming you managed to spend $30000 with each card over the year, you would earn 1500 Air Miles and 15000 Aeroplan miles. This amount would be in addition to what you get for making purchases at sponsors. Air Miles sponsors usually give out Air Miles at 1/$20 in purchases and Aeroplan sponsors usually give out their miles at 1/$1 or 1/$2 in purchases. Aeroplan’s redemption rate is a little better, but you have to keep in mind that they have fewer sponsors than Air Miles. There are also hundreds of special offers that give out bonus miles for each program. It can get pretty confusing, so for arguments sake lets just say you managed to double your miles by shopping with sponsors for each program. That makes 3000 Air Miles over the year or 30000 Aeroplan miles over the year. Lets see what you could redeem these miles for…

Here are four different products/flights and how many miles they require for each program:
1. Flight from Winnipeg to Vancouver & Back
Air Miles – 2150 out of season, 2850 in season
Aeroplan – 25000 out of season, 25000 in season
Winner: Toss-up.
If you’re flying out of season, Air Miles has a slight advantage and it would take 8-9 months to get the flight. In season, you’re a little less lucky. It would take a whole 11-12 months to get the flight. With Aeroplan it would take 10 months to get your flight, regardless of the flying season.

2. Flight from Winnipeg to Hong Kong & Back
Air Miles – 8975 out of season, 12000 in season
Aeroplan -75000 out of season, 75000 in season
Winner: Aeroplan.
It would take 3 years to collect for an out of season flight and 4 years to collect for an in season flight with Air Miles. Conversely, it would only take 2.5 years to redeem the flight with Aeroplan, regardless of flying season.

3. An 8GB iPod Touch.
Air Miles – 2300
Aeroplan – 30500
Winner: Air Miles.
The Air Miles collector would have their iPod Touch after 9 months, while the Aeroplan collector would need just over a year before they had enough.

4. $50 Gap giftcard.
Air Miles – 365
Aeroplan – 6000
Winner: Air Miles.
It would only take 45 days for the Air Miles collector to get enough for the gift card, while the Aeroplan collector would need about 73 days.

There are a few other notes to consider:

• Aeroplan imposes a 7 year time limit on miles, after that they expire. Additionally, if you have absolutely no activity in your Aeroplan account for 1 full year you will lose all your miles.
• Neither Aeroplan nor Air Miles covers the costs of Taxes, Airport Fees, Fuel Surcharge, Baggage Surcharges, etc.
• Aeroplan allows for business class and first class travel redemption while Air Miles does not.
• With Aeroplan, if you book a 75000 point flight redemption that makes one or more stop overs to cities along the way you can stay at those locations for extended periods of time. In doing this you would get a more diverse vacation.
• If you have a CIBC Aerogold Visa then you have access to the Advantex program, which gives 50% more Aeroplan miles than you would normally get if you visit specific sponsors. (These are usually restaurants).

So if you’re a smaller spender or more interested in redeeming for free products / merchandise, then Air Miles has a clear advantage. If you are a bigger spender and more interested in travel, then Aeroplan is the way to go.

Good luck collecting!

Are you happy with your present chequing account? Regardless of whether you are or not, a better question is did you shop around before picking the account you have now? A lot of people never bother shopping around when it comes to their chequing account or bank, and there are many reasons for this. For example, did you choose which bank to open your first account in, or was it your parents? Chances are it was your parents, and quite a few people stay with their first bank for life.

Well, just because you might have been with a bank since you were young, that doesn’t mean you have to stay with them. This is especially true if you are dealing with overcharges and random fees each month. If you have dealt with banking problems before, then perhaps you have looked into other alternatives only to become overwhelmed with everything to consider. True, there are many options when it comes to bank accounts, but if you know what to look for, you can easily find the ideal chequing account.

First, I will outline the four most important factors to consider when picking a new account:

1. Convenience – this includes bank locations, branch hours, the ATM network, and services like telephone and online banking.
2. Transaction limits – do you need a smaller amount, or an unlimited amount of transactions each month?
3. Account fees – how much does your bank charge you each month to use their services? Are there any ways you can bank for free?
4. Services – does a particular bank or account have certain services that make it more attractive for you, like travel bonuses? Or perhaps you’d like to collect rewards points for your purchases.

For convenience, a close bank is wonderful. Especially if you require teller services or just enjoy dealing with people (as opposed to doing everything through an ATM). Some people, on the other hand, do prefer to do everything through an ATM. Online and telephone banking have also empowered customers to the point where they may never need to set foot in an actual bank. The importance of convenience is dependent on what you’re looking for, though, so just try to find a good balance between this and everything else.

What is the most common reason people pay too much for owning a debit card? Transaction limits. The usual way to avoid unwanted charges for going over your transaction limit is to pick a chequing account with a high number of monthly transactions. The ideal, of course, is an unlimited amount (or at the very least, about 30… although I have been known to go over this limit quite a few times). A high transaction limit is a must, especially if you make a lot of purchases using your debit card. Another way to circumvent overcharges and other fees is to utilize some type of discount.

Discounts can be found based on your age (youth, senior, etc), if you are a student, or if you keep a minimum balance in your account. In many cases they are the best way to reduce or even eliminate your account fees. These discounts become increasingly rare when you start to look at each bank’s premium or unlimited accounts, which provide specialty services.

Distinct services can make or break a good account. If you travel frequently, an excellent bonus a bank can provide is access to your money across the border or overseas. Free traveler’s cheques or a preferred rate when exchanging your cash are also useful when planning your trip. And it doesn’t end there. With some accounts you might even be eligible for a discounted or free safety deposit box. How about a bonus every time you buy something? A few banks offer rewards with their chequing accounts.

Here’s a list of which banks reward debit card purchases and how they do it:

• Bank of Montreal gives out Air Miles at a rate of 1/$40 in purchases
• PC Financial offers patrons PC points at a rate of 5/$1 in purchases at Superstore and provides multiple ways to earn more bonus PC points
• New CIBC customers receive a welcome bonus of 5000 Aeroplan Miles for opening an Unlimited Chequing Account, along with 100 bonus Aeroplan miles a month, providing they meet certain requirements
• Scotiabank rewards their account holders with 1 SCENE point for every $5 in purchases (this becomes 5 SCENE points per $1 spent at Cineplex theatres), as well as a welcome bonus of 2000 SCENE points

What does all this mean? Well, Air Miles can be redeemed for flights as well as a ton of other things– the same goes for Aeroplan Miles. PC points are great for groceries and just about everything else for sale at Superstore, and SCENE points can get you free movies at Cineplex. Each of these four banks also has a credit card you can apply for to get even more reward points or miles. However, this article isn’t about credit cards so that subject is better left for another time.

The main idea to take from this is that these banks are literally rewarding you for making Interac purchases. So even if you were to go over your transaction limit for the month and get overcharges, you’d still get a little bit back in the form of rewards. This is not the most important thing to consider when picking your chequing account, but it is something to think about along with the other factors.

To summarize all of the aforementioned points, the perfect chequing account would have the following traits:

1. Belongs to a bank that has many locations with good hours and an expansive ATM network.
2. Has unlimited (or near unlimited) transactions per month.
3. Has no account fees.
4. Has enhanced services with multiple benefits and rewards you on purchases.

Does the perfect chequing account exist with any one bank? No, not really. A few do come close, though, so depending on your needs you can probably find one perfectly suited for you. To assist you in making a decision, I’ve created a chart for everything that deserves comparison. First, the convenience of each bank is put to the test. Following that, accounts are compared based on customer groups. Read the one that applies to your demographic.

Bank convenience comparison

Youth accounts comparison

Student/Young Adult accounts comparison

Adult accounts comparison (if you require unlimited transactions)

Senior accounts comparison

Premium accounts comparison (if you require enhanced services/travel bonuses)

If you aren’t interested in all of the details and just want a general ranking, you can find that here. Keep in mind, these rankings are subjective and only reflect how I feel each bank’s offerings match up with the others.

The Top Banks and Credit Unions for Convenience:

1. TD Bank
2. RBC Royal Bank
3. Scotiabank
4. Assiniboine Credit Union
5. CIBC

The Top Chequing Accounts for Youth:

1. TD Youth Account
2. CIBC Advantage  for Youth
3. Assiniboine Credit Union Youth Chequing
4. PC Financial No-Fee Bank Account
5. BMO Plus Plan Primary Chequing

The Top Chequing Accounts for Students and Young Adults:

1. PC Financial No-Fee Bank Account
2. CIBC Advantage for Students
3. BMO Plus Plan Primary Chequing
4. Scotiabank Student Banking
5. Assiniboine Credit Union CareerStart Chequing

The Top Chequing Accounts for Adults:

1. PC Financial No-Fee Bank Account
2. Scotiabank Scotia One Account
3. RBC No Limit Banking
4. BMO Performance Plan Primary Chequing
5. TD Infinity Account

The Top Chequing Accounts for Seniors:

1. BMO Performance Plan for Seniors
2. TD Plan 60 Account
3. Assiniboine Credit Union 59 Plus Chequing
4. Scotiabank Plus Program with Scotia One Account
5. CIBC 60 Plus Advantage

The Top Chequing Accounts for Frequent Travelers:

1. Scotiabank Scotia Value Account
2. TD Select Service Account
3. BMO Premium Plan Primary Chequing
4. RBC VIP Banking
5. Assiniboine Credit Union Premium Chequing

Agree/Disagree? Feel free to leave me a comment or send an email my way, I’d like to here your thoughts.

Expect a sample article of Smart Consumer – Winnipeg edition soon! The first issue of the magazine is due out in 2010.