TD Product Switching: Definitive Guide

TD Canada Trust is famous in the Canadian miles and points community for being incredibly difficult to get new cards with once you get deep in the hobby. I’ve been lucky enough to be approved for a couple of personal and business credit cards with them, but past that I find myself being declined more often than not.

Most people would move on and focus on other financial institutions. However, TD’s credit card lineup is quite strong as it includes cards that offer welcome bonuses in loyalty programs such as Aeroplan, TD Rewards (their easy-to-redeem in-house points currency), and a decent cash back card.

With how difficult it can be to get new TD credit cards, let’s look at the TD product switch and learn how you can still access their excellent welcome bonuses without needing to be approved for additional credit beyond what you already have with TD.

What is Product Switching?

Product switching is the act of turning an existing credit card into a different credit card with the same financial institution. 

For the normal consumer, they may switch credit products to find a card that better aligns with their personal needs, such as a different rewards program or one with a lower annual fee. For the more savvy consumer or Frugal Flyer aficionado, product switching is a great way to potentially earn additional welcome bonuses to further supplement your miles and points balances.

Provided you meet the minimum credit limit for the card that you are looking to switch to, product switches are guaranteed to be processed. There is no additional hard pull on your credit history that occurs since you have already been approved previously for the existing credit amount on your current card.

How Can I Switch My TD Credit Card?

Unlike other financial institutions, TD credit cards can only be switched via phone call to their contact center. Both personal and business credit cards are able to be switched using the same method. The number to call to switch your TD card is 1-800-983-8472 (the number that is on the back of your existing TD credit card).

Once you connect with a TD customer service representative, simply tell them that you want to switch your existing TD credit card to a different credit product and they will initiate the process. They will read you a few disclosures, including the terms of the new credit card, before finalizing the switch.

Typically, the total time on the call with the representative should be less than ten minutes to have the switch processed.

Additional Details About TD Product Switching

Once the switch has been processed, you can expect to see the new card reflected in your online banking within the next 24-48 hours. You will also receive a new card in the mail in the next 7-10 business days. That being said, once the transition has happened in TD online banking, you can then use the physical credit card that you just switched from to work towards any minimum spending requirements before you receive the new card.

When you get the new card, don’t ever call the number on the sticker on the new card as you will have to talk to a representative. Instead, call the usual number on the back of your card to go through an automated system where you can activate your card without needing to go through a rep who will try to sell you unnecessary additional products. Not to mention, it is much quicker.

Minimum Credit Limit Amount

Similar to when you are applying for a new credit card, certain levels of credit cards require a minimum credit limit amount on that tradeline to be eligible to switch to them.

These minimum credit limit amounts are consistent across all financial issuers in Canada:

Keep these limits in mind when you are planning out your switching strategy and before you call in to perform the actual product switch. For example, if you currently hold a TD Aeroplan Visa Platinum card with a credit limit of $2,000, you will not be able to switch to the TD First Class Travel Visa Infinite card since that credit card has a minimum credit limit of $5,000. Instead, you would be able to switch to the TD Platinum Travel Visa card since it has no minimum credit limit.

Will I Receive a Welcome Bonus Upon Switching?

Similar to RBC product switching and CIBC product switching, product switching with TD also does not guarantee that you will receive a welcome bonus.

In my experience, I have found that full welcome bonuses on TD product switches are a “your mileage may vary” type of situation. There have been times when I have received both the first purchase bonus and the minimum spend requirement bonus. Other times, the first purchase bonus was not awarded, but I did receive the minimum spend requirement bonus. It really seems to depend on a variety of factors, including as to if you have held that credit product on the tradeline previously.

If you do receive a welcome bonus, it should be the one listed on the website for the card you are switching to (considered the public offer). You could consider asking the rep to confirm the offer you will receive before you begin the product switching process, but reps may provide incorrect information or simply not have a clue. That being said, always treat product switching bonuses as something that isn’t guaranteed (as opposed to how you would treat the signup bonus on a new credit application).

Similar to RBC, I recommend switching between families of credit products (such as from a card that offers Aeroplan points to one that offers TD Rewards points) for the best chance of successfully receiving a signup bonus.

How Often Can I Switch My TD Credit Card?

The general consensus on how often to switch TD credit cards is every six months, per tradeline. This is because the terms and conditions state that you can earn the welcome bonus on a TD credit card every 12 months. Thus, if you are switching between two or three credit cards, you would earn the bonus on a specific card once every 12 or 18 months respectively (if you followed the 6-month timeline).

I recommend having a plan in place as to what order you plan to switch cards and when. From there, it is simply about waiting to execute the switches as planned. What may be worth considering is that TD switches up their welcome bonus offers every few months, so keep an eye on when the current offer is ending to determine if you should switch or wait to see if the new offer is better.

Recently, rumors have been floating around that a few individuals have had their Aeroplan accounts frozen due to aggressive and frequent TD product switches. While there is no way to tell for sure if this is the case, I would still be careful with the frequency of product switching to maintain a positive relationship with TD and Aeroplan.

Will I Be Charged An Annual Fee?

Similar to how you are eligible to receive the welcome bonus that is posted on the TD website, you are also eligible to receive a first-year annual fee waiver if it is part of the posted offer. If for whatever reason an annual fee did post, you may have luck calling in and asking for it to be waived if you believe it was charged incorrectly.

Personally, whenever I have switched to a card that has a first-year free component to the public offer, I have received the waiver as well on my product switch.

Conclusion

Product switching credit cards with TD should be considered another useful tool in your miles and points toolkit. While it may not result in an immediate large influx of points, it is a nice trick that you can take advantage of a few times a year to further bolster your miles and points balances.