Quote:
Originally Posted by DownhillGoat
That one doesn't look too bad.
I'm tired of dealing with my CIBC card and having it get swiped at least once a year. Looking for some other options. Nice that one doesn't have a fee.
Any other suggestions? I was also looking at TD as they have a year fee rebate, and 6% cashback for the first 3 months, but after that most purchases are only 1% back.
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It really depends on things such as: how much you spend in various categories, how many cards you are willing to carry, what your income/credit score is, how often you are willing to switch cards, how much you spend outside of Canada, how you like your rewards, etc.
I've just finished overhauling the card set that my wife and I have, so I know the current card landscape reasonably well. Maybe one/some of these would work for you.
Here is what we have:
- Amex Cobalt - probably my favourite card. You get 5% back on restaurants, bars, & groceries. If you spend at least $500/month on these categories, it nets you 3% back after the $10 monthly fee. If you spend at least $1000, you are clearing 4%. In addition to these categories, I also pick up Amazon & Netflix gift cards from Coop/Safeway to extend the 5% to other categories. There are plenty of other gift cards you can pick up to extend the categories. There is also a promo for the first year, where you get $25 worth of points every month for the first year. To get this full value, you apply the points to travel (hotels & flights) that are charged to your card. You might be able to squeeze more value out of these points, but that takes more effort than I am willing to spend right now. Applying to travel costs is easy. I think you get a slightly bigger welcome bonus if you have a referral link.
- CIBC Dividend Visa Infinite - I have this because I got a promo of 5% back of the first $8k we spend and the first year free. It also has 4% off gas & groceries. So, after the promo, we'll use it for gas & non-Amex groceries. But I'll give it up before the next annual fee is due. If you want a similar card with 4% off gas & grocery, you can get the Scotia Momentum Visa Infinite for $55 cash back promo + first year free + 10% back on the 1st $2000 spend.
- Rogers World Elite Mastercard. The 1.75% back is nice, but with the CIBC promo, I don't use it much. I do use it for foreign currency transactions, since you get 4% back. That nets out to 1.5% after the 2.5% foreign exchange fee. I also use it at Costco, since they only take Mastercard.
- Triangle World Elite Mastercard. 4% back from Canadian Tire, Mark's & Sport Chek. $0.04 cents off a litre from CT/Husky. It also comes with free Roadside Assistance. You can also pay some bills that don't normally take credit cards. So, I use it to get 1% back in CT money for my Enmax bill. It also has 3% back at groceries.
- Costco Capital One Mastercard. You need a Costco membership to have it. I use it solely for the 3% cash back on restaurants for places that don't take Amex.
- Stack prepaid Mastercard. I have this primarily for foreign currency ATM withdrawals. There are no ATM fees nor currency exchange fees. So, it is actually cheaper to use this in a foreign land than it is to exchange the currency at your local bank before you travel. When I signed up, they had a promo for Amazon Prime free for a year. That promo is over, and the only one now is the $20 bonus from getting a referral.
- Koho prepaid Visa. This is really just a backup to the Stack for foreign currency ATM. It only has a 1.5% forex fee. Again, a $20 bonus if you get a referral.
I personally like getting cash back cards or credits that are easy to spend (like the Canadian Tire money). I know you can get great value out of various points cards, but I think that takes lots of work to get substantially more than the cashback value I am getting. If you are willing to try to get the most out of various points, there are plenty of programs out there and they usually have fantastic welcome bonuses. I may pick one of those up once I am through the promo of the CIBC Visa and start churning through cards to build up points.
If you want a referral for any of the ones I have that have a referral bonus, just let me know.