File this under ‘didn’t see that coming’! News was sent to us this morning that Neo Financial has taken the Cathay Pacific co-brand credit card partnership away from RBC. The Cathay Pacific Credit Card powered by Neo Financial will be offered in both a standard non-secured version but also as a secured version and will be available this fall.
Here are the details of the new Cathay Pacific Credit Card:
- Welcome offer: Receive up to 45,000 Asia Miles – enough to cover a one-way, economy class flight from Vancouver or Toronto to Hong Kong.
- 10% booking discount: For a limited time, get 10% off Canada-origin Cathay Pacific bookings.
- Premium rewards: Earn one Asia Mile per dollar on every purchase in Canada⁵ and double the miles on purchases outside of Canada and on Cathay Pacific flights. Plus, receive an average of 5x⁸ the Asia Miles at thousands of Neo partners and up to 15x⁸ on first-time purchases.
- Travel benefits: Get priority online check-in, access to airport lounges, in-flight Wi-Fi, and unique and memorable experiences worldwide.
- Significant insurances: Enjoy peace of mind with protection against flight cancellation, baggage loss, flight delay, car rental theft and damage, and more!
- Helpful digital features: Access spending insights¹, 24/7 chat support, real-time card management, and proactive alerts and notifications in the Neo app.
At first glance the card doesn’t appear too different than it’s current version that is being issued by RBC. The earn rates are the same for base spending and for purchases with Cathay Pacific. It also has accelerated earn for foreign currency purchases. The big difference in earn will come with those Neo partner first time purchase offers up to 15x miles – the same type of offer we see on Neo’s own cards.
Another difference that does seem to appear are the benefits provided with the new Neo Cathay Pacific Credit Card and those are the limited time 10% discount, priority online check-in, airport lounge access, and unique experiences worldwide.
It does also appear that the card will be a World Elite Mastercard (it requires $80,000 personal or $150,000 household income) and that would explain the lounge access and Wi-Fi benefits as those are standard with World Elite cards. A question remains on lounge access and whether it will just be the Mastercard TravelPass by DragonPass membership or if it will be expanded beyond that with additional lounge passes and perhaps no charge access to Cathay lounges? We have reached out to Neo to see if they can provide more details
Wrapping it up
Surprising news in the Canadian credit card space this morning with a shake up on the co-brand side of things! This fall, Neo Financial will provide Cathay Pacific credit cards in Canada – taking the portfolio away from RBC. One has to wonder if RBC Avion Rewards will also lose the option to convert points to Asia Miles when this transfer takes places! If you are interested in this card you can join the waitlist to be notified to apply for it once it is released this fall.
Click here to learn more about the new Cathay Pacific Credit Card
Update on the RBC Cathay Pacific Card:
Mint on RFD posted details of a letter they received from RBC in regards to the RBC Cathay Pacific Card. In it they state Cathay Pacific cards will be converted to RBC Avion Platinum Cards and those cardholders will receive a bonus of 20,000 Avion Points as an appreciation bonus. Read more here
Image via Neo Financial