What Credit Card(s) do you use? | Credit card reward programs | Discussion forum

2of3aintbad said

The new PC world elite MC, if you want a no fee card and do a lot of shopping at SDM and No Frills/Loblaws/Valumart family. 3% at those stores, in PC points added within a few days. There are also car rental, extended warranty, and some travel insurance benefits.

I have looked at this card, but I rarely shop at Loblaws stores. I shop mostly at Costco, Super C, Food Basics, and Metro. All of these except Costco take American Express which gives me 4%. I use the MBNA RWE Mastercard for Costco purchases that gives me 2% back.

But I see that card being of good value to those who do shop regularly at Loblaws stores.

djino

Yatti420 said

I've only ever had 3 credit cards in my lifetime..

The most recent addition being an Amex SimplyCash (fee-free) Card.

I also have this card as I auto converted from having the Costco American Express Card and used it since Costco didn't accept Mastercard before a year ago.

But receiving 1.25% back simply doesn't work for me since I have the MBNA RWE Mastercard that provides 2% on all spending and Mastercard is accepted at more places.

djino

Loonie said

I run the numbers annually to see if we would benefit from a different combination of cards. I break down all the credit card expenditures in the previous year according to the categories which various card issuers use to offer various rewards. I am only interested in acquiring cashback, not travel rewards cards, at this point. With cashback, I am not so locked in to that card to get my rewards, and in retirement you never know whether you will may have a health problem and not be able to use travel rewards. (Note: Aeroplan is currently devaluing its points.)

I can appreciate that fact. But even in your case, I'm sure you have kids/other family that you could simply pay a hotel for or rent a car for, etc. And then you have up to a year (with the Scotia Amex) to redeem your purchase towards.

I'd actually think people in retirement would benefit more from such a card since they'd likely have the free time to travel more than the working class.

The biggest surprise, when I first did this, was that a very significant portion of credit card spending (I think the majority) was not in any of these specialized categories, so in most cases only warrants 1% cashback.

I can agree with this. But when deciding if such a card with an annual fee would be better for you IS NOT to compare the categories of high rewards against the categories of lower rewards. You'd simply calculate the expected return minus the annual fee on Card A and compare it to the expected return on Card B (if Card B does not have an annual fee).

Id say its a given that everyone would have a higher spending on non Gas/Groceries/Restaurants compared to spending ON Gas/Groceries/Restaurants.

Also note that you can further maximize your Gas/Groceries spending by buying Gift Cards at these locations for the places you'd normally get a lower reward if purchased directly with the credit card. I often do this for Best Buy/Subway/Canadian Tire/etc.

That brings the average rate of return down quite quickly. No doubt the issuers all know this! The most important rate may be the one that applies to all purchases, and that is why we have kept our old grandfathered card - for now. I think that ultimately it will go, as it's a travel cost refund, much like the Amex above. We haven't been travelling much, so between it and old Aeroplan points, our travel has been almost free for a while now.

It's surprising, when I do this, how rarely there is a benefit to be had from making a change - almost never! The most recent exception are the Amazon card (although we spend very little in foreign currency, so not a big deal) and the new Costco MC (for its 3% on restaurants), as both of these are free so I don't have to worry about whether the card is justified by the expenditures or about when I will get my rewards.

Agreed.

With cashback, it's also important to look at how and when you will get your money back. Some do it regularly and unprompted; with some you must make a request; most have minimum threshholds before you can get anything; and with others (Scotia Momentum Visa series in particular) it's annual at a date of their choosing, which means you could get stuck with another year of annual fee in order to get your cashback.

I can agree with that. But its of no issue for the credit cards I've chosen. Both the Scotia Amex and MBNA cards I use allow redemption once you have accumulated $50 worth in rewards.

I do think it's wise not to have too many of these cards in use at one time, as it's easy to get caught on some snag or other. Amazon-Chase, for instance, is often late in sending the bill, so you must go online and make sure you pay it on time even if the bill has not yet arrived - I feel this tardiness is deliberate and designed to make them more money, as there is no good reason for such delays in this electronic world. Some CCs charge a fee if you go over your credit limit. Some even charge if you don't use the card for a while. I wouldn't want to have more than 4 of them at one time, as it can be too difficult to manage.

I don't really agree with this point. I mean, I lump all that in the same category as being financially responsible with credit. If you are of the type that would find it difficult to be financially responsible, then you should stay away from credit cards period.

djino

I completely agree and understand that not everyone in retirement has the ability (health-wise or financially) to travel. Just as not everyone pre-retirement has the ability to travel under the same circumstances. I don't speak for all and certainly not for yourself, but I would assume percentage wise, those in retirement are likely to travel much more than those NOT in retirement.

As for Gift cards, of course you'd only get gift cards when there is a plan to make a purchase at such store. It would not make sense to just buy a bunch of gift cards for random places if one does not plan to shop there within the recent future.

For myself, if its something I plan to buy within a weeks time and I plan to be at a Grocery/Gas station prior, then I'll pick up a gift card to cover the cost. One I do every month is pick up Wind Mobile Top Up cards for my cellular service since that is something I pay for monthy and now I can earn 4% back in Travel from it (instead of 2% with the MBNA RWE).

All other points you made, I'm in agreement with.

djino

JustMe said

All card below are: no fee, not promotional offer, not 'earn up to' and similar bs. I do not care of cc interest as I Always pay full amount.

Agreed. Credit Cards are products that you should ALWAYS pay in full every month. If one cannot, they should use a Line of Credit to pay off the credit card so that a lower interest is used to pay off that debt.

Absolutely not interest in 'points' cc as that is the biggest scam ever invented.

I disagree with this. There are plenty of credit cards (I mentioned 2 of them in my original post) that provide points that translate into Statement Credits once you have accumulated $50 worth.

You have to spend zillion $ to get a chocolate bar. Do not use store cc either.

MBNA RWE is a 2% cashback card (that I mention in my post above). Although they position it as 2 points per $1, that actually translates to 2% since it only requires you to obtain 5000 points to get a $50 credit. In other words, after you have spent $2500, you can get a $50 Statement Credit = 2%.

Same goes for the Scotiabank American Express card except in that case, you can only redeem for statement credit towards a past Travel Purchase (Airline, Hotel, Car Rental, or travel booking agency like Expedia/Hotels.com/etc.).

- Walmart MC - 1.25% cash back for purchases at Walmart, 1% elsewhere (accumulated 'cash' can be spend at Walmart Only in $5 increments). Works for me as from time to time we do shop at Walmart.

I'd say the Wal-Mart card is one of the worst cards out there for a number of reasons.
- No purchase protection insurance that most credit cards have
- you only get 1.25% BEFORE TAX at WalMart and 1% back everywhere else

You'd simply be better off getting the American Express Simply Cash card. This provides 1.25% back EVERYWHERE (not just Walmart) and 1.25% back on the total (not the before tax crap). The card also offers 5% cashback on Gas/Groceries during the first 6 months. (No Annual fee).

- RBC Cash Back MC - 2% cash back on purchases at grocery stores and some other percentage cash back for spending elsewhere which I do not care as I never use it 'elsewhere'. Store has to have MCC 5411 to be considered 'grocery store' for RBC. Accumulated cash is available at the end of every year OR you can requested it in increments of $25. Do not know Where it will be deposited (your chequing acct. where you pay your MC or as a credit to MC. Will find in a few days when new statement becomes available as then I will have >$50 and will request $$$ back).

At the very least I don't understand why you are not using the RBC Cash Back MC at Wal-Mart as Wal-Mart does qualify as a grocery store merchant as per Mastercard.

But I'd go better and get the MBNA Smart Cash Card that provides 2% back from both Gas/Groceries (which includes Wal-Mart since its a Mastercard). It is likely better to use both this card and the RBC Card since each card comes with a cap on the 2%.

- CIBC Petro-Canada MC - used to buy gas Only as it provides 2c/L discount at the pump. No matter how much I calculate, no cash back card currently I have can beat 2c/L discount.

You do know that saving 2c / litre is only decent when Gas prices are under $1 / L. Anything over $1 means you are saving less than 2%. There are plenty of cards out there that give much more than 2% back from Gas and are NOT restricted to Petro Canada as the CIBC card is. Example: MBNA Smart Cash (when Gas prices are above $1 / L in comparison to the CIBC Petro Points). CapitalOne Costco Mastercard gives 2% back on Gas (4% during the first 3 months). Scotiabank Momentum Infinite Visa/American Express Gold cards provide 4% back on Gas/Groceries. I believe in President's Choice's new World elite Mastercard gives 3% Back at Esso. There are likely a bunch of others, but those are the ones I know about.

I do not do promotional, limited time, new customer, etc. offers. I do not do cc jump. It is not that it is a hassle but your credit score might not look good (if you care for that).

As you can see, my wallet is pretty thin, having only 2 cc, one Petro-Canada card for additional 5c/L discount, driving licence, health card, public library card and one bank card. No cash, ever. Haven't use cash in ages unless it is a quarter for grocery cart. Haven't used interac in last 10+ years. I might pay cash if it is 'no HST' and similar 'offers'. Oh, yes. And IKEA paper measuring tape is in there, too.

I can see that you are likely happy with your credit card choices and will likely not change them, but do note that you could be obtaining better rewards/cashback by using other cards. Even the cards you do have, you are not using affectively to provide better cashback. Perhaps the above is something you can think about. Good luck!

djino