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First Posted: December 15, 2004 Credit Card Evaluations Part 1NO FEE American Express® AIR MILES® Credit Card Air Miles are great in Canada because they are so ubiquitous. You can earn them for doing practically anything. Remember the rule about points? Consolidate? Well, chances are you've already been collecting Air Miles for a while. With this credit card, you can earn on all of your everyday purchases as well. And when you shop at places like A&P or Shell, you can double up on your points. All in all, this card offers few extras, but if you're into Air Miles, this is probably the card for you. If any of the places you shop on a regular basis don't accept American Express, it might be worth your while to check out the BMO Air Miles Mastercard, farther down this page. Air Miles Redemption Examples
American Express Blue Sky Credit Card Pretty great little travel card. You earn 1.25%, which is slightly above average, and you can spend them on any travel that you can charge to a credit card. If you're re-evaluating your options now that SPG is gone, this might be worth checking out. If more than 19% of your credit card bill is groceries and gas, check out the Smart Cash MC. American Express Costco Platinum Cash Rebate Card This card offers a pretty basic cash rebate that grows according to how much you spend. Otherwise, the card doesn't really offer anything special. The return comes in the form of a straight cash rebate. This card beats Ultramar & the 1% return cards on annual spending of more than $20,000. Take a look at the graph at the bottom of Page 6 for more detailed info. American Express Holt Renfrew Card Keeping in mind I've never set foot in a Holt Renfrew (Value Village is more in my price range), I can see the value in this card. The 1% return is middling, and the extended warranty is a nice bonus. What makes this card unique are the free hem and cuff alterations and the 0.4% bonus on in-store purchases. BMO Air Miles MasterCard For point comparison chart, see "American Express® AIR MILES® Credit Card" above This card is pretty similar to the well-established American Express Air Miles card. The main difference between the two is the little brand name in the bottom right hand corner of the card. There are some stores out there that may not accept American Express. If you don't think that will make a difference, then Amex might have the advantage, just because they offer 100 Air Miles on your first purchase. The only extra in BMO's favour is the extended warranty and purchase protection. Canadian Tire Options MasterCard This card offers a straight up 1% return in virtual Canadian Tire money. When you shop at Canadian Tire stores, the return bumps up to 1.37%. Keep in mind that the Canadian Tire Money can only be used at Canadian Tire Stores and not at the gas bar. Thus it's good for people who shop at CT. Otherwise, you can get 1% or more with Enrich or MBNA Smart Cash. Citibank Enrich Mastercard You don't have to spend it in a certain place, you don't have to spend a minimum amount. No strings attatched. This card might be worth it if you get accepted for platinum with features like car rental insurance and a high yearly rebate maximum. As far as rewards go, though, MBNA Smart Cash is better because the rewards aren't capped. Citibank Petro-Points Mastercard Right off the bat, this card offers two cents off every litre of gasoline at Petro Canada stations . And then there are the Petro Points, which you can redeem for a surprisingly diverse array of rewards. Petro-Points Redemption Examples
Citibank Staples Easyrewards Mastercard A surprising new entry with a fantastic reward rate of 2% but only for big spenders, and includes all the benefits of a Platinum Citibank card. Also, the rewards only stop accruing after $50,000 of spending per year ($875 in rewards), which is unusually high. Citizens Bank Amnesty VISA, Oxfam VISA, Shared Interest VISA Feeling generous? Why not sign up for a credit card that earns money for charity. On further inspection, the rate of return doesn't work out to be that great unless you make a lot of small purchases. A better option might be to get one of the cash back cards and donate the proceeds from that to the charity of your choice. Whereas the donations from the Citizens card aren't tax deductible, your donations from any cash back card would be. One note about the Shared Interest VISA: This particular card offers one My Visa Rewards Plus point per two dollars you spend. It doesn't really work out to be much - about 0.5%. So you'd be doing it for the charity, really. |
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