Terms and Definitions

*A - Star Alliance, the airline alliance including members such as Air Canada, United, and Lufthansa

AAoA - Average Age of Accounts, references one of the components used in credit bureaus' evaluation of your credit file and assignment of your credit score

AC - Air Canada, Canada's largest commercial airline

AF - Annual Fee, the charge paid as of applying for or holding a card, is not a points-earning transaction

AM - Air Miles, one of Canada's most well known loyalty programs that offers generally poor value for customers

AM - Also, Asia Miles, Cathay Pacific's loyalty program and a frequent flyer program that can be transferred to from two out of the three major transferrable point currencies in Canada

Amex/AmEx/AE - American Express, a card network and issuer that gives access to superior card bonuses and earning rates, such as the Cobalt and Scotiabank Amex Gold, also one of the three major credit processing networks in Canada

AP - Aeroplan, Air Canada's loyalty program and a frequent flyer program with more than ten cobranded credit cards

AS - Alaska Airline, a Seattle-based carrier, or it's loyalty program, Mileage Plan, a gateway for some spectacular redemptions. Points can no longer be easily earned in Canada.

AU - Authorized user, a second card issued on a primary cardholder's account that simply allows for spending privileges

CIBC AV - CIBC Aventura, a loyalty program provided to CIBC's Aventura brand of cardholders and are a form of cashable points.

RBC AV - RBC Avion Rewards, a loyalty program provided to RBC's ION, Avion, Debit, and Rewards+ Cardholders and are a form of transferrable, but not cashable points

BA - British Airways, a UK-based carrier, or it's loyalty program, Avios, a frequent flyer program that can be transferred to from all three of the major transferrable point currencies in Canada

CCG - CreditCardGenius, a third party affiliate site that gives you cash back for applying for various credit cards through them

CL - Credit Limit, generally the maximum amount of funds that you can spend or withdraw from a credit card at a given time, exceeding this limit may incur a fee.

CLI - Credit Limit Increase, the action of asking the lender whether your credit limit can be increased to allow for lower utilization from regular spend or for more flexibility in usage

CPP - Cents Per Point, a metric commonly used to determine value derived from a redemption, in comparison to the cash price at the time

CSR - Customer Service Representative, someone you do not want to talk to in this hobby, and should only be communicated with in scenarios where the issue cannot be ignored or resolved by yourself (declined cards, as an example)

CX - IATA code for Cathay Pacific

DP - Data Point, a tidbit of information that you share with the community, indicating information that is not commonly known or experience that may not be consistent

EQ - Equifax, a credit bureau in Canada

F - First Class, used by airlines generally for fare class

FNA/FNC - Free Night Award/Certificate, refers to certificates given by select hotel credit cards for maintaining the card or spending on it and grants the holder a free night's stay at an eligible hotel, with certain conditions applied

FFP - Frequent Flyer Program, a loyalty program geared towards travellers that incentive you to fly with a certain airline again and again

FF - Frugal Flyer, a third party affiliate site that gives you cash back for applying for various credit cards through them

FR - Financial Review, a process AmEx Bank undertakes to verify your income and finances due to suspected credit risks, is a lengthy process that will also suspend all spending privileges in the meantime

FTF/FX - Foreign Transaction/Exchange Fee, a fee charged by most Canadian credit and debit card issuers, just because they can, and can be avoided with select cards

FYF - First Year Free, an annual fee waiver provided as an effective trial period for a new credit card, to give you a chance to see whether you will want to stick with the card in the future, useful for gaining the full value of welcome bonuses

GCR - Great Canadian Rebates, a third-party affiliate site that gives you cash back for applying for various credit cards through them

HH - Hilton Honors, the loyalty program of Hilton Worldwide, and their points. Points can be transferred from American Express and can transfer to other airline currencies

HUCA - Hang Up and Call Again, a practice in this hobby that occurs when a customer service representative does not know what they are talking about or does not know how to execute certain instructions

ITIN - Individual Taxpayer Identification Number, a identifier issued by the American Internal Revenue Service to individuals who do not otherwise qualify for a Social Security Number, and is your key to American-issued credit cards

J - Business Class, used by airlines generally for fare class

MB - Marriott Bonvoy, the hotel loyalty program of Marriott International, and their points. Points can be transferred from American Express and Chase and can transfer to other airline currencies

MC - MasterCard, one of the three major credit processing networks in Canada

MPM - Maximum Permitted Mileage, mileage rules governing the maximum distance travelled permitted to be booked on a one-way ticket

MR - Membership Rewards, American Express Bank's loyalty program that many of Canada's top credit cards accrue points to, a very flexible program that gives access to other frequent flyer programs

MS - Manufactured Spend, a technique of turning credit card spending into cash (Discussion not permitted on r/churningcanada)

MSR - Minimum Spending Requirement, the minimum required spending that one must put on a credit card in order to be eligible for a substantial component of a credit card's welcome bonus

OJ - Open Jaw, the practice of flying into one city and out of another on the same airline ticket

OTA - Online travel agency (think Expedia, hotels.com, etc.)

ow/OW - OneWorld, an airline alliance including members such as Cathay Pacific, British Airways, and Qatar Airways

P1/P2... - Player 1, Player 2, etc. Different members of your churning pool when playing multiplayer mode

PoT - Prince of Travel, a site dedicated to the miles and points game, but is not a substantially useful resource beyond the intermediate stages of churning

PP - Priority Pass, a lounge network not included on Canadian credit cards that is useful for accessing lounges generally overseas, less so in Canada due to the transition to Visa Airport Companion

PS - Product Switch, an action where an existing card product is transferred over to another card product at the same bank, and may not be available for certain cobranded cards or card ecosystems (Discussion not permitted on r/churningcanada)

PY - Premium Economy, used by airlines generally for fare class

RHT - Refundable Hotel Trick, a process to extend your MSR window or to cash out credits/points

RT - Round Trip, an airline ticket with two legs, consisting of a flight to your destination and another one back to your origin

SM - Secure Message, a method of communication that is used by certain banks, such as RBC, which allows you to take some actions in your account without going to a branch or calling their customer service hotline

ST - SkyTeam, an air alliance including members such as Air France, Delta, and Virgin Atlantic

SUB - Sign Up Bonus, bonus points awarded for signing up to a new credit card and may require a minimum level of spend

T+C - Terms and Conditions, the terms and policies that you have to accept as part of using a credit card, loyalty program, or other service

TATL - Transatlantic, a flight that crosses the Atlantic ocean, typically between North America and Europe

TPAC - Transpacific, a flight that crosses the Pacific ocean, typically between North American and Asia

TU - TransUnion, a credit bureau in Canada

VAC - Visa Airport Companion, a lounge network included on many Canadian credit cards and is useful for accessing lounges in many airports across Canada

VI - Visa Infinite, mid-tier credit cards issued by financial institutions in Canada, requires a declared personal income of $60,000 or more OR a declared household income of $100,000 or more

VIP - Visa Infinite Privilege, top-tier credit cards issued by financial institutions in Canada, requires a declared personal income of $150,000 or more OR a declared household income of $200,000 or more

VP - Visa Platinum, base-tier credit cards issued by financial institutions in Canada that do not require a declared income

WB - Welcome Bonus, bonus points awarded for signing up to a new credit card and may require a minimum level of spend

WMC - World Mastercard, mid-tier credit cards issued by financial institutions in Canada, requires a declared personal income of $60,000 or more OR a declared household income of $100,000 or more

WEMC - World Elite Mastercard, top-tier credit cards issued by financial institutions in Canada, requires a declared personal income of $80,000 or more OR a declared household income of $150,000 or more

WoH - World of Hyatt, the loyalty program for Hyatt Hotels & Resorts, and their points. Points can be transferred from Chase and can transfer to other airline currencies

WS - WestJet, Canada's second largest commercial airline

WSD/WJD - points earned within WestJet's loyalty program

Y - Economy, used by airlines generally for fare class

YMMV - Your Mileage May Vary, a disclaimer that one's experience with the product/service/process may vary and is not guaranteed to be the same as the poster

*YQ - Fuel Surcharges, charges that may be passed on by certain airlines or to certain loyalty programs that consumers may be responsible for on award redemptions