In the world of loyalty programs, a new year means a reset of the meter. This is especially an opportunity to review your short- and long-term goals, credit cards and various benefits and statuses.

Let’s focus on the goals for the coming year.

2017: goals to set in your points and miles hunt

Loyalty programs…and your goals for 2017

Everyone has different goals for a new year. Some may wish to travel to the other side of the world, take a short getaway or do some renovations.

For each of these situations, there is a loyalty program tosave money.

This can be Aeroplan for airfare, Marriott Bonvoy for hotels or cash back programs.

With loyalty programs, it is always necessary to set short-term (less than 6 months) and medium-term (less than a year) objectives.

Beyond that, there is a risk of facing a devaluation or even the disappearance of the program. Look at the example of AIR MILES which was a saga in 2016.

A concrete example of a goal for 2017: a move

Let me give you a personal example. This year we will be moving and doing some work in our new home. But we will also have to develop it, pay the famous welcome tax, notary fees and so on.

So I’m going to be particularly interested in loyalty programs that offer me great cash back on all home furnishing and renovation expenses. In this case, the Tangerine MasterCard discount credit card caught my attention since it offers 2% on 3 categories (being a Tangerine customer).

Here is a promotion that ends soon to take advantage of the Tangerine Mastercard discount credit card.

The timing of my subscription will therefore be essential to maximize my cash back!

But it’s not just about cash back! There are also cards that offer very high points & miles as long as you spend between $1,500 and $5,000 in the first three months. Here is a list of several credit cards to get lots of points for less.

A welcome tax is a lot of money, as are municipal or school tax payments. A service like Plastiq. com allows you to pay these types of expenses with a credit card.

This is a good opportunity to sign up for some credit cards, which require minimum spending to earn a bonus.

In short, why not take advantage of expenses that we would have had to make anyway to collect significant cash back, and many points & miles!

Examples of common objectives

Everyone has different goals to achieve and loyalty programs help to achieve them.

Here are some examples of objectives, and we will discuss how to achieve them in a later article:

• 1 round-trip economy ticket anywhere in North America: Vancouver, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Miami with Aeroplan points
• Travel in comfort with airport lounge access: cards that offer Priority Pass membership
• 1 return short-haul economy ticket: Toronto, New York, the Maritimes with AIR MILES miles
• 2 to 5 nights of hotels for a short getaway with Marriott Bonvoy points
• 1 one-way business class ticket to Europe with Flying Blue miles
• 1 mini world tour with Aeroplan points
• 7 to 10 nights of hotel accommodations for a long trip to Asia with Marriott Bonvoy points

As you can see, these are very focused goals for using points in the coming months.

We will also tell you about loyalty programs and credit cards that will allow you to save money for your everyday expenses.

Share with the community

Feel free to come discuss your goals on the milesopedia Facebook group. You will be able to ask for advice on how to earn desired points or optimize your credit card applications!