Canadians rethink current travel rewards card options to end "Points Pain"

Nearly half of all card holders say booking trips is a frustrating experience, led by hidden fees and 'blackout dates'

TORONTO, Sept. 24, 2013 /CNW/ - A recent survey conducted by Capital One Canada, shows that nearly half (46 per cent) of travel rewards card holders say they're aware of the recently announced changes regarding a leading airline travel rewards program. Among this group, 75 per cent said they are now taking a closer look at their options, with 38 per cent saying they plan to change their travel rewards credit card, says an in-depth survey commissioned by Capital One Canada and conducted by Angus Reid Forum.

Overall, 41 per cent of Canadians have at least one travel rewards credit card, 45 per cent of men and 37 per cent of women, the study reveals. Among the 68 per cent who have experienced frustrations when redeeming their points, 60 per cent cite hidden fees, 53 per cent blackout dates and 48 per cent the lack of available flights as their main points of frustrations.

"Cashing in travel rewards is supposed to be the fun part, not a source of stress," says Rob Livingston, president, Capital One Canada. "The good news, as our new survey shows, is that the current upheaval in the travel card rewards industry is spurring Canadians to start exploring their options to end points pain."

The Capital One Canada PointsPain consumer survey, which interviewed more than 900 adults across the country, shows that 49 per cent of travel rewards credit cards holders say cashing in their points is a frustrating experience, with recent travel rewards card industry changes prompting three-quarters of them to take a closer look at their current travel rewards card choices.

"We strongly urge Canadians to do some research and see which travel rewards cards are best," says Livingston. "They will see that the Capital One Aspire Travel World MasterCard stands out with very generous rewards and absolutely no hidden fees or blackout dates. We're committed to offering hassle-free redemption to Canadians without any points pain."

Capital One has been engaging with Canadians on Twitter speaking directly with consumers about their points pain redemption challenges, hearing firsthand what Canadians want with a travel rewards card. Follow @EndPointsPain on Twitter and visit www.endpointspain.ca to hear what other people are saying and to learn how the Aspire Travel World MasterCard from Capital One can end #PointsPain.

About the Survey

From September 17th to September 18th 2013 an online survey was conducted among 924 randomly selected Canadian adults (excluding Quebec) who currently have a credit card where they actively collect travel reward points and who are Angus Reid Forum panelists. The margin of error—which measures sampling variability—is +/- 3.2%, 19 times out of 20. The results have been statistically weighted according to education, age, gender and region (excluding Quebec) Census data to ensure a sample representative of the entire adult population of Canada. Discrepancies in or between totals are due to rounding.

About Capital One
With offices in Toronto and Montreal, Capital One has offered Canadian consumers a range of competitive MasterCard credit cards since 1996, and now includes the Aspire suite of rewards cards which are regularly cited by leading rewards experts for the great value they offer consumers.  Capital One Canada is a division of Capital One Bank, a subsidiary of Capital One Financial Corporation of McLean, Virginia (NYSE: COF).

SOURCE: Capital One Canada

Andrew Clarke
Capital One Canada
Email: [email protected]
Phone: [phone]