Rogers World Elite Mastercard getting worse starting June 2, 2020 | Page 4 | Credit card reward programs | Discussion forum

One card works ALL the time.

cruzinalong said
One card works ALL the time.  

''Not necessarily. If there is a snafu with your card for whatever reason, you are SOL.
For several years running, I had trouble with one of my regularly-used cards. If I went to more than once grocery store in a day, the card would be declined on second trip. I like to shop at different specialty stores, so this was a pain. Every Christmas season I ran into this. Even though I explained to them that this was my habit, they kept doing the same thing.

We also had problems with MC system going down some years ago, and it can certainly happen again.

I recommend having at least two cards - one MC and one Visa. Probably an Amex wouldn't hurt either.

cruzinalong said

Once on a trip outside Ontario, my Visa was declined. I used a MC. 5 minutes later I used the VISA. I have a friend that used to say one card was declined. He needed two different. I spoke with him in the last couple months. He is back to using one. It works everywhere. Outside the country, carry cash, CC and DC. Once I was pick pocketed. I had additional CC, DC and cash in my hotel room. Life is a learning experience. Every day.

A customer should have all three types of payment options:

Cash - Not directly paying with debt
Debit Card - Not directly paying with debt
Credit Card - Paying directly with debt

at all times. This will make it less likely they will not have funds available.

The different options:

When paying with a credit card, you need to monitor both your bank account and credit card account to make sure there are funds available. Otherwise fees may occur. In addition, you need to monitor for fraudulent transactions each month.

When paying with a debit card you just need to make sure one place has funds available. It is simpler to monitor and there are less fees involved, when compared to a credit card. For example, there is no direct interest payment required like a credit card.

When paying with cash you do not need to worry about monitoring or checking balances. By extension you might need to, depending where you got the cash from. There are usually no fees when using cash. One draw back is, some store fronts no longer accept cash. There are usually no rewards for using cash.

If you like keeping track of finances than credit cards are the best option. If you do not like checking statements than cash is the best option. If you are a normal person and check occasionally, then use debit.

There are other options to pay like Paypal or Cryptocurrencies. I do not know much about these options.

I like to think of it like this:

When I use a credit card (a normal credit card), I am at a higher risk of making a mistake. I am rewarded by taking this risk and other risks by some sort of cash back and/or insurances. I have to be more vigilant of my accounts. Not just the accounts related to the card and my bank I use to pay off the credit card, as fraud can occur in many ways. Some credit cards have annual fees. By taking on this burden/risk you are rewarded with some sort of higher cash back and insurances.

Using a debit card is less risk and I am not directly rewarded for purchases. I am taking some risk and the bank rewards me for taking this risk with a savings account or chequing account savings percentage.

Cash is even less risk and I am not usually rewarded at all for using it. There is a low chance of my identity or personal information being taken. There is no direct monitoring of any accounts. I do not need to stress or worry. The care free option.

Personally:

I have many credit cards as I enjoy monitoring my accounts.

I carry at least 2 credit cards, 1 debit card, and cash.

I have many more credit cards and debit cards for different reasons. I check them for fraud charges every month.

Types of customers:

A normal person might have 1 debit card and cash. This reduces their risks, well still giving them the ability to access available funds.

If a normal person is worried about transactions being declined. They should carry multiple debit cards and not credit cards.

A person that is trying to build credit for a larger debt purchase like a car or house or want a large line of credit should use multiple credit cards. This will show you appear to be responsible with credit. You appear to be able to handle the risks involved in handling available money.

A person that needs more insurances, like travelers and purchasers that need extended warranties on high ticket purchases, will find the risks involved with credit cards a compromise they are willing to make.

A frugal person might have just cash. The ultimate care free option. Low to no risks. Less account monitoring at banks. Less or no chance of fraud. No directly dealing with debt from a purchase. No making sure accounts have funds to pay off a transaction. You see and count the money, which makes most people spend more wisely, as it is a pain to use (so you use it less). People generally think more about what they purchase when using cash. Less buyer remorse.

A big spender (or those that think they are big spenders) might just use credit cards. They are willing to take on the responsibility of monitoring. Often, they don’t monitor but that is there risk. Some of us like gambling and some of us do not.

People that are normal but spend a fair amount. Might carry one credit card, cash, and a debit card.

People that are in debt. These people should try to use lines of credit and not credit cards. Often, they may not find a line of credit is available and they are forced to use the more available but higher risk option of credit cards. Credit cards often carry a higher interest rate than a line of credit as they are higher risk products for the entity that is extending the credit.

People that have a lot of time on their hands might dabble with credit card churning. They monitor and keep track of when they apply and cancel cards. They might also have multiple cards for multiple reasons to try and maximize the small rewards differences to achieve the ultimate cash back possible. This is extreme. The amount gained is often trivial and is a high-risk behavior in terms of finances. They often try to trick themselves into believing it is not risky.

Getting back on topic:

I am going to keep the Rogers card but I am going to put it on the back burner more. Likely, it will be down graded to the normal card and I will have to think if I will keep it.

Rogers generally has a bad reputation and they have shown it with the number of downgrades over the years. They are not generally a reliable company.

Rogers - general purchases
Tangerine - For use with the three categories Tangerine also has a generally bad reputation. There is a reason Rogers and Tangerine offer great rewards.
PC MasterCard - Grocery, Gas, and low value "general purchases" or if I am to lazy to pull out my Rogers card. I am starting to use this card more often.

American Express Simply Cash - I use once every 3 or so months just to keep it alive in case MasterCard or Visa starts to devalue there cards rapidly.

Source:

https://www.investopedia.com/articles/personal-finance/050214/credit-vs-debit-cards-which-better.asp

Just cancelled my Rogers regular credit card. No point keeping another 1% cash back card when there are other cards that offer the same reward % but with lot better redemption options and no limit and lot more secure. Recently my authorized user's Rogers card got used for a store credit card application that we have never submitted and Rogers fraud department didn't even have any idea how it happened.

Just be aware that before you cancel the card, try to use up ALL of the cash reward balance towards EXISTING purchases. I made the mistake of not doing that and I didn't want to make any new purchases so the only option for me was to redeem the cash reward to my credit card as a credit balance and then transfer it out otherwise they charge you $20 to send you a cheque! $20 just for a cheque when Capital One sends cheques out for free!!! Not only that, they only transfer the dollar amount of the cash reward balance so any decimal part of the cash reward are all lost. It's a small amount but it's still money that I spent and cash reward earned and now it's completely lost.

So glad I am cancelling this card. The card was nothing but headache right from the application process. Had to spent TWO hours in a Rogers store just to get authenticated. And the card was so cheap in only giving me a $1200 credit limit when I have 20+ yrs of solid credit history. My authorized users couldn't even use the card at the beginning because they didn't set up her pin and I had to call them three times to straighten it out, something that I NEVER dealt with with any other institutions. Anyway glad they are all past tense now. Good riddance!!
Should've known it wouldn't be a good idea. Always had problems with Roger's cable internet service too.

Can any tell me about the Rogers World Elite Mastercard.

Do you see your cash back as a credit to your account?
Does it happen annually only?

Thanks.

Peter said
You accumulate points that can be redeemed at any time using their app. Redemptions can be applied as a credit against past purchases or automatically against your next purchase. Minimum redemption is $20.

I think you can also redeem by signing in online in a browser, but only for the "next purchase", which is a bit silly.  

Thanks Peter

I must me missing something. It says you can put it against an eligible purchase up to 90 days old....I don't get it....I would have paid the bill by then.

And then you can use it to make a purchase with using the APP....like at the store?

Is there a way of putting $20 or more to credit your account and then that credit goes against your next purchases?

I now have -$52 in cash back! This was caused by flight cancellation and returns. So I have to spend couple thousand dollars to balance the cash back to 0.

GICinvestor said

Are you kidding? You cannot apply all of it to a purchase????  

It's a negative amount, due to the refunds. He owes THEM. Presumably the cashback received originally for buying the tickets was already "spent".

If you don't have that much further use for the card, can you not just pay it off, like paying a bill, and be done with it?

crediphile said

The only problem that I have with Amex is that it's accepted in so few places. With my Rogers card now cancelled, I am going to use Amex card as much as possible given it's the only card now that gives 1.25% for the "other" category purchases but really wish it offers better services to consumers.

American Express favors people that spend more money than others. They also favor the places that these people spend their money.

They will not expand outside this niche. Anyone shop can have American Express but they will have to pay for it, to gain access to their higher end clients.

One reason I stopped using the card years ago. Keeping it alive in-case we see more 0.5% cash back cards soon.

Peter said
Yes, when you put it against previous purchases, then you might have already paid for it. For the most recent purchases, depending on the timing, they might show up on the app already but have not have showed up on the next statement yet. In either case it is treated just like a normal payment in that it's a general credit against your account.

For the "next purchase" feature, you still make a purchase using your credit card, but you specify in the app that you want to redeem against your next purchase.  

I have $27 to play with. I looked on line and looked at the app but did not follow through with putting in my account number to it when I only need a username and password for online. Both are so different to sign on. And am not sure how much info is in the app that is on my phone. I looked for instructions but it’s all muddy waters for me.

So what is the easiest way to get my $27 to offset my next purchase?
Online?
App?
Do I have to pin it to something?