CIBC offers budgeting tools, rewards, and advice this holiday season

    TORONTO, Dec. 1 /CNW/ - CIBC is helping Canadians make their money go
further during the holiday shopping season with tools to help clients stick to
their holiday budget, rewards to help realize the dream of travel sooner, and
advice for budgeting their way into a financially prosperous New Year.
    "Canadians are looking for ways to make the most of their holiday
spending this season, and CIBC can help with free tools, rewards, and advice,"
said Cheryl Longo, Senior Vice-President of Card Products, CIBC Retail
Markets. "Services like CIBC CreditSmart, a free and unique suite of credit
management tools, help consumers track their spending, and rewards such as
Aeroplan Miles on everyday banking with CIBC help their dollars go further."
    CIBC offers consumers some helpful holiday tips on how to stay on top of
their finances this holiday season:-   Use free budgeting tools like email spend alerts to manage your
        spending: CIBC CreditSmart credit management tools help CIBC credit
        cardholders understand exactly where they're spending their money
        with Enhanced Monthly Statements that help cardholders track and
        manage spending by organizing purchases into 10 common categories.
        CIBC CreditSmart Spend Reports let cardholders create customized
        monthly budgets online, and Spend Alerts notify them automatically
        when they've exceeded their customized budget or are close to their
        credit limit. Cardholders can also help prevent fraud with
        CreditSmart Fraud Alerts and Credit Report Alerts that notify them
        about unusual activity or unauthorized use of their credit card
        through email alerts or online messages.

    -   Get rewarded for your everyday banking: There's no better time than
        the holidays for clients to reward themselves with Aeroplan Miles on
        everyday banking. CIBC Aerogold Visa cardholders receive Aeroplan
        Miles for every card purchase they make, and CIBC Unlimited Chequing
        Account clients who enrol in the Aeroplan Miles feature are eligible
        to receive Monthly Bonus Aeroplan Miles on qualifying transactions in
        addition to unlimited transactions for a flat monthly fee. New CIBC
        credit cardholders can receive a Welcome Bonus of 15,000 Aeroplan
        Miles on select CIBC credit cards. Clients who open a new CIBC
        Unlimited Chequing Account before December 31, 2008 are eligible for
        a one-time bonus of 10,000 Aeroplan Miles as well as Monthly Bonus
        Aeroplan Miles for enrolling in the Aeroplan Miles reward feature and
        setting up a direct deposit or meeting other qualifying criteria.

    -   Don't leave yourself off your wish list: With tools to help clients
        stick to their budget and get more for their holiday spending,
        they'll be well on their way to saving for the year ahead using the
        new CIBC Tax Free Savings Account. The TFSA is a registered savings
        plan that allows Canadians to earn investment income tax-free inside
        the plan. Contributions to the plan are not tax-deductible and
        withdrawals of contributions and earnings from the plan are not
        taxable. Contributions may be made into a TFSA beginning in January
        2009."Start your New Year's savings plan out on the right foot by planning to
set some money aside for yourself," advises Colette Delaney, Senior
Vice-President of GICs, Deposits, and Payments, CIBC Retail Markets. "With
careful budgeting, you'll be able to jumpstart your savings for 2009 by
investing what you've saved in the new CIBC Tax Free Savings Account on
January 2." (January 5 in Quebec)
    For more information and advice, visit www.cibc.com or your local CIBC
branch, or call 1-800-465-CIBC (1-800-465-2422).

    CIBC is a leading North American financial institution with nearly 11
million personal banking and business clients. CIBC offers a full range of
products and services through its comprehensive electronic banking network,
branches and offices across Canada, in the United States and around the world.
You can find other news releases and information about CIBC in our Press
Centre on our corporate website at www.cibc.com.