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Email this10:42 am
January 3, 2013
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I have 3 No annual fee Credit Cards. For some reasons, they are all now Master Cards! Here is how I use them:
Grocery (Except Wal-Mart): Triangle World Elite 3%
Grocery Wal-Mart: MBNA MC 2%
Gas Canadian Tire GAS+: Triangle MC - 5 Cents per litre
Gas all except Canadian Tire GAS+: MBNA 2%
Everything else (Electronics, Travel, Car, Bills, etc): Rogers World Elite MC 1.75%
Every Foreign Transaction: Rogers 4% - 2.5% = 1.5%
Using "Rogers World Elite MasterCard" in every online site purchase (Amazon, EBay, AliExpress, BestBuy, etc).
How about your cards and returns? Any card you might suggest for a better return (Free cards preferred)?
Note: Grocery is 60% No-Frills, 30% Walmart, 10% others.
Gas: 70% GAS+, 20% Petro (Using Petro Points mostly off surveys), 10% Others.
11:43 am
December 17, 2016
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3 cards, all Visa
- 1 plain no frills card for monthly pre-authorized payments
- 1 plain no frills card for everyday purchases
- 1 prepaid no frills card for online purchases and travel back-up
12:06 pm
February 24, 2015
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If you are going to shop at amazon.ca, you should have bought $50 gift cards at Shell before Jan 6 to get 25 Air Miles with whichever credit card gives you the best return.
12:38 pm
December 4, 2016
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2of3aintbad said
If you are going to shop at amazon.ca, you should have bought $50 gift cards at Shell before Jan 6 to get 25 Air Miles with whichever credit card gives you the best return.
1. I am scared of gift cards. My wallet is already to full and I would lose them to quick.
2. Companies bank on people losing them.
3. When presenting them at the cashier it's often a tricky process.
4. I always forget how much balance I have on them.
12:39 pm
December 4, 2016
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Top It Up said
3 cards, all Visa- 1 plain no frills card for monthly pre-authorized payments
- 1 plain no frills card for everyday purchases
- 1 prepaid no frills card for online purchases and travel back-up
Do you not want a higher credit score? I know some people could care less about this i.e. they have a paid off house and financially sound enough to not care about credit cards at all. The rewards are not worth the headaches.
12:50 pm
December 4, 2016
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Save2Retire@55 said
I have 3 No annual fee Credit Cards. For some reasons, they are all now Master Cards! Here is how I use them:Grocery (Except Wal-Mart): Triangle World Elite 3%
Grocery Wal-Mart: MBNA MC 2%
Gas Canadian Tire GAS+: Triangle MC - 5 Cents per litre
Gas all except Canadian Tire GAS+: MBNA 2%
Everything else (Electronics, Travel, Car, Bills, etc): Rogers World Elite MC 1.75%
Every Foreign Transaction: Rogers 4% - 2.5% = 1.5%Using "Rogers World Elite MasterCard" in every online site purchase (Amazon, EBay, AliExpress, BestBuy, etc).
How about your cards and returns? Any card you might suggest for a better return (Free cards preferred)?
Note: Grocery is 60% No-Frills, 30% Walmart, 10% others.
Gas: 70% GAS+, 20% Petro (Using Petro Points mostly off surveys), 10% Others.
I envy those with the no card or one card solutions.
Right now, I just go with one of each approach.
Simply cash 1.25%, Rogers 1.75% and Home Trust preferred 1%.
I use Tangerine for a bit more over the Rogers on select categories. I have it attached to my keychain. For easy access. Made a hole near the middlish part of the card.
I've been gravitating to stop chasing the higher percent back. Relying on card issuers I can trust and that make it easier on the consumer.
Major bank cards I avoid like the plague. Mostly because when I have a problem usually others do to and the phone lines are clogged for days on end due to their high customer amounts. I especially dislike MBNA, Scotia, TD and RBC for varying reasons.
If I were to follow the one card solution I'd probably pick Rogers. I'd probably never get there. I'd probably settle for the two-card solution of Home Trust and Rogers.
I've stopped using AMEX for online as they don't do refunds nicely. It doesn't work good with their PAD payment system.
Disliking AMEX more and more. Keeping it around in case I move to another country. Really the only reason I still have it.
12:51 pm
December 17, 2016
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My "reward" comes from the convenience of being able to go almost 100% cashless - and that's all I need/expect from my CCs.
1:21 pm
February 24, 2015
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User230 said
1. I am scared of gift cards. My wallet is already to full and I would lose them to quick.
2. Companies bank on people losing them.
3. When presenting them at the cashier it's often a tricky process.
4. I always forget how much balance I have on them.
Don't carry gift cards in your wallet. For amazon, just load them into your account.
2:14 pm
November 8, 2018
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I use three credit cards.
TD Cashback Visa Infinite card - 3% on groceries, gas, recurring charges such as Rogers bill, car insurance, etc.
This is my only card with annual fee, but it offers roadside assistance, so I save on CAA.
It has convenient cashback redemption policy, and I am getting 3% in cash, not in points to redeem somewhere somehow.
Tangerine Mastercard - 2% on drug store (Shoppers Drug Mart) and home improvement (i.e., Home Depot, Canadian Tire)
Monthly cashback redemption, by auto-deposit to Tangerine savings account.
American Express SimplyCash - 1.25%. I use it to buy electronics, appliances, etc. It offers 1 year extended warranty.
My smartphone died one month after end of its warranty and manufacturer refused to repair or replace it. AmEx refunded me full price under their extended warranty, $500+.
2:40 pm
October 21, 2013
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Alexandre said
American Express SimplyCash - 1.25%. I use it to buy electronics, appliances, etc. It offers 1 year extended warranty.
My smartphone died one month after end of its warranty and manufacturer refused to repair or replace it. AmEx refunded me full price under their extended warranty, $500+.
wow! That's the first time I've ever heard of anyone getting satisfaction from an extended warranty on a credit card. Congratulations!
Was it difficult?
3:00 pm
December 2, 2018
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No doubt everyone has developed their own “best for them” program. Here is ours.
Wife has Visa that used to pay Treo. Is now her backup. Rarely used but is in her name.
All other cards are no fee and cash back. I will never get a card from Home Depot, Costco or the like.
Home Trust Visa cash back. American purchases only. Is good for Costco USA too. Can’t change pin # and is not in memory.
BMO Mastercard cash back. All day to day purchases.
BNS Mastercard Cash back. Online purchases and payments and is my backup card.
Would like to cancel BNS Mastercard and apply for Amex Simply Cash. Don’t like BNS Mastercard. And don’t like the Amex application process so I guess I will be stuck with BNS Mastercard.
Never use a debit card ever.....only at the ATM. And never use cash.
Rarely use cheques. NO Airmiles either!!!
No mortgage and no debt.
It is a worth while effort to turn on ALERTS on your Credit Cards and Bank/Credit Union Accounts.
3:09 pm
October 21, 2013
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Re: gift cards. They are not all problematic. You do have to read the fine print on them though, to make sure they are not the kind that have diminishing returns, known as monthly fees and expiry dates.
We buy them when there is a discount for buying them, either cash or points/AirMiles, and only when it is a merchant we regularly use. We've done very well with the Sobey's ones, for instance. It amounts to about 12-15% off, depending on the deal.
I wrap the most recent receipt around the card so that I can see how much money is still available. If that becomes unwieldy, I may attach a sticky note - always a ready supply in the car. If I have two cards for the same store, I make sure the cashier uses up the lower value one first and throws it out, so I don't get mixed up and keep a dead one.
I don't buy more than I expect to use in a year. Otherwise, the cost of lost interest would pile up. I also avoid stores that I think may have a questionable economic future as GCs are no use if you can't cash them.
Your gift card is, in effect, an investment in that company.
3:18 pm
December 2, 2018
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Gift cards. We receive only as gifts. I don’t care for them if they are to shop at a store that I don’t care for, like Canadian Tire, Marks or Sportchek. Odd eh...all owned by the same group!! That’s only a coincidence though.
Since I used to work for a huge major retailer I must warn that they are a huge money maker for the retailer. It is complete add on sales.
I do buy, though, iTunes cards at Costco $100 for $89.99 minus $10.00 on sale for $79.99. 20% off and bought with MasterCard!! I use the cards to load into iTunes to pay for my monthly Netflix bill.
It is a worth while effort to turn on ALERTS on your Credit Cards and Bank/Credit Union Accounts.
3:46 pm
December 2, 2018
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User230 said
1. I am scared of gift cards. My wallet is already to full and I would lose them to quick.
2. Companies bank on people losing them.
3. When presenting them at the cashier it's often a tricky process.
4. I always forget how much balance I have on them.
When presenting them at the cashier it's often a tricky process.
I assume you are talking gift card and not a prepaid card like Visa. The gift card is all sale for the company and usually much more is spent than the value of the card. If it is tricky then the cashier has been ill trained on a few counts. Ask for a manager or supervisor....it’s your money!!
I always forget how much balance I have on them.
Some can give you a balance online. Often the receipt will tell you what is left. I always write the balance with a fine tip felt pen.....and most retailers will do that for you.
It is a worth while effort to turn on ALERTS on your Credit Cards and Bank/Credit Union Accounts.
4:16 pm
December 17, 2016
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Retep said
Never use a debit card ever...
With the advent of Apple Pay, I no longer have any qualms about using my debit card.
4:38 pm
January 3, 2013
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Alexandre said
I use three credit cards.TD Cashback Visa Infinite card - 3% on groceries, gas, recurring charges such as Rogers bill, car insurance, etc.
This is my only card with annual fee, but it offers roadside assistance, so I save on CAA.
It has convenient cashback policy, and I am getting 3% in cash, not in points to redeem somewhere somehow.Tangerine Mastercard - 2% on drug store (Shoppers Drug Mart) and home improvement (i.e., Home Depot, Canadian Tire)
Monthly automatic cashback deposit to Tangerine savings account.American Express SimplyCash - 1.25%. I use it to buy electronics, appliances, etc. It offers 1 year extended warranty.
My smartphone died one month after end of its warranty and manufacturer refused to repair or replace it. AmEx refunded me full price under their extended warranty, $500+.
Nice. For the Road Side, Canadian Tire Worle Elite MC which I have is free and offer Gold Membership which is amazing. Just that perk is worth getting the card for.
And I had the Amex Gold card but cancelled it before yearly renewal and starting charging annual fee. And all my 3 Credit Cards have the Extended Warranty coverage. I have used the MBNA once for a coffee maker on the 2nd year (The coffee maker had only 1 year warranty).
4:42 pm
January 3, 2013
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Regarding the Gift Card, I used to do this. Sobeys used to have this offer of spending $$ and get gas discounts or whatever. Haven't done that in a while though. I don't mind it whenever I see it but never chased or looked for such deals. Maybe people can share here in a new forum topic (Attention: Peter) as it is another form of saving.
4:47 pm
December 2, 2018
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Coop in Calgary had a deal too for gas purchases. Buy cheaper gas and get shopping coupons. Even though they had an expiry they never enforced them. That was how it was in 2005. Is this similar to Super Store? We have one but refuse to shop there.
It is a worth while effort to turn on ALERTS on your Credit Cards and Bank/Credit Union Accounts.
4:50 pm
December 17, 2016
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Sobeys / Safeway / Shell
https://www.shell.ca/en_ca/motorists/loyalty-and-payment/west-food-for-fuel.html
I notice we have several unredeemed, out of date "coupons" at the kitchen desk.
5:21 pm
October 17, 2018
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I use a CIBC visa for anything I buy online. I've never had an account with CIBC as far as I can remember but I make payments at any CIBC ATM .
I carry a BMO casback Mastercard and use it mainly to buy gas at Costco(yea I wait in line) and as a backup.I have an old BMO chequing account that doesn't charge me any fees as long as I maintain a $1500 balance and I pay at the ATM , along with my bills. And I still use those ancient cheques from time to time and have never had an issue but have gotten an odd comment once .
I have a TD Visa that collects dust now that they removed the auto club coverage and a Royal Gold Visa I stopped using also.
I mainly use cash and find that I get through the cashier much faster than everyone in front on me as I am the only dinsaur usually.
Does anyone have any opinions about the Collabria branded credit cards offered by the credit unions ?
Please write your comments in the forum.