July re-mark: Aeroplan holds 2.1¢, and three clocks start ticking

Welcome to the first Standard Brief. One promise: every number in this email traces to the public index and a dated card review — nothing here is paid placement, and the methodology is open.

The mark

The July re-mark is live, and every program held: Aeroplan at 2.1¢, Membership Rewards at 2.0¢, Avios at 1.7¢, Avion at 1.6¢ — six months of flat readings across the index, with the fixed currencies (Scene+ 1.0¢, BMO 0.67¢, TD 0.5¢) fixed by definition.

When the marks don't move, the number that matters is the spread: Aeroplan is 2.1¢ on partner business-class awards but closer to 1.0¢ on economy dynamic pricing. The same 100,000-point bonus is worth $2,100 or $1,000 depending on how you redeem it. The index prices discipline, not luck — full table, floors, and trends at the Points Standard Index.

Off the index, three moves this week:

• Rogers Bank quietly closed the Platinum Mastercard to new applications (existing cardholders keep it). The $0 no-FX seat now belongs to the Rogers Red World Elite — 2% flat, no fee.
• TD's Emerald Flex Rate — the best-known low-rate card in Canada — is confirmed closed to new applicants. What's still open, ranked: the low-interest ranking.
• BMO's CashBack World Elite is waiving its first-year fee and paying 10% on groceries and gas for 3 months (to $3,000 spend) — worth knowing before the Costco section below.

Clock running

Offer	Full value	First-year net	Ends
RBC Avion VI Privilege — 100K Avion	≈ $1,600	≈ $480	Jul 15
Amex Platinum — 170K MR	≈ $3,400	≈ $2,400	Jul 28
Aeroplan Reserve — 150K	≈ $3,150	≈ $1,710	Jul 28
Amex Aeroplan Card — 45K	≈ $945	≈ $615	Jul 28

Read the second column, decide on the third: it's the headline value minus the fee and the tranches that don't pay out in year one. Deadlines confirmed against issuer pages; each card's review carries its last-reviewed date.

The move

If you put $800/month through Costco ($9,600/year), your card choice at the till is worth about $96 a year — and most people are on the wrong side of it. Costco takes Mastercard only, so Amex's 5x grocery cards can't even play, and issuers code Costco as a wholesale club, so "5% groceries" Mastercards pay their base rate there:

At the Costco till ($9,600/yr)	Rate	Earned
BMO CashBack World Elite (5% groceries elsewhere)	1% base	$96
CIBC Costco Mastercard	1% in-warehouse	$96
Rogers Red World Elite	2% everywhere	$192

The fix costs $0 — the Rogers card has no annual fee. Keep the CIBC Costco card for its actual jobs (3% at Costco gas, 2% on Costco.ca) and the grocery multiplier for stores coded as grocery stores. Full ranking and the two-card warehouse stack: the best card for Costco in Canada →

What we'd skip

The loudest deadline in that table is the one we'd pass on. The Avion Privilege's 100K offer parks 45,000 of its points at your second anniversary — year one is 55,000 points ≈ $880 against a $399 fee, or about $480 net. The standard Avion Visa Infinite (70K offer, $120 fee) nets ≈ $1,000 in year one — double the Privilege, at 30% of the fee, in the same points currency. Unless you'll hold the Privilege past year two for the lounge access, the cheaper card is the better offer. More on this before the 15th.

New on the Standard

Five rankings joined the site this week: Rewards, Mastercard, Visa, Amex, and No Annual Fee — same Standard Score, new lenses.