Best Rewards Credit Card (Canada)

[eednapes]

I currently have The Visa Classic II Student with Royal Bank, and for hte past year I've been using my credit card for everything, even my tuition, to accumulate rewards as fast as possible. But now that I have enough rewards, I'm disappointed to see the RBC Rewards Program (Here's the catalogue: http://rbcrewards.ernexinsight.com/). Selection is not that limited (well, it kinda is), but what's lacking is new stuff and special deals. I think every other rewards program has the new ipod nanos... but nope, not RBC.

So what cards would you suggest? No, i don't want to pay $99 in annual fees. And I don't care if it's cash-back.

Thanks

[Octavius]

http://www10.americanexpress.com/sif/cda/page/0,1641,19915,00.asp

$499 annual fee

The only thing more ridiculous than my suggestion of credit card would be someone not using the search option to look through the threads.

This matter has been discussed so many times it's not even funny.

[nobody1234]

Out of curiosity where do you go to school that lets you pay your tuition by credit card??!!

[eednapes]

Out of curiosity where do you go to school that lets you pay your tuition by credit card??!!

You can pay your tuition by whatever means you want. Or maybe I'm wrong and that's only for graduate students. It actually works out well though. I make 2 separate payments for each session (cuz I can't pay it all with one transaction because my limit is not that high, not like my MBNA Mastercard which just keeps going up). I make 1 payment, pay it off immediately, make another payment, pay it off immediately. And just like that, I have a couple of thousand points.

[ryunix]

I pay my schooling by CC as well. www.ualberta.ca

As for the card, the best cashback card is citi banks drivers’ edge plat. It gives 2% but only towards a car you buy. If you want actual cash i would personally get citi enrich plat. It gives you 1% and has nice perks.

That aside there is a nice review to the left http://www.redflagdeals.com/deals/main.php/articles/credit1/ on creditcards (that could be updated) that gives you a good rundown. The best card depends on your spending habits and the enrich plat seems to be a nice all around card.

[nuberific]

You can pay your tuition by whatever means you want. Or maybe I'm wrong and that's only for graduate students. It actually works out well though. I make 2 separate payments for each session (cuz I can't pay it all with one transaction because my limit is not that high, not like my MBNA Mastercard which just keeps going up). I make 1 payment, pay it off immediately, make another payment, pay it off immediately. And just like that, I have a couple of thousand points.

It depends on your school which methods of payment they will expect. Contact your school's financial aid office to confirm. I know U of T (St. George) will not accept credit cards, but Laurier will. I have no clue as to all others in Ontario.

[eednapes]

Well I did my research and I'm now even more confused. Thanks to the replies, with the exception of Octavius's.
But now I realize that there are a lot of factors in determining the 'ideal' card. So I'm gonna write down all the factors/inputs:

* Annual spending (2007 data!): $25000 (let's just say $20000)
* Travel: I travel domestically perhaps three times a year + once to the US + one or two overseas/Latin America.
* Favorite stores: none really. I hate Dominion, barely go there. Same with Sobeys. The only places I can think of that I go to consistently are No Frills, LCBO (but not more than $100 a month), valu-mart, whole foods, and that's about it.
* Big name Hotels: nope.
* Gas: I try to use public transportation as much as I can, so I spend MAX. MAX MAX $150 on gas monthly (probably closer to half of that).
* No other reoccurring themes in my expenses.

And that's all I can think of.
Cash-back or rewards program, that's what I'm looking for. But if it's a rewards program, then i want something that's better than RBC's catalogue when it comes to redemption.

Now, my research pointed to the National Bank Ultramar Cash Back MasterCard. You think it's a wise choice, given my spending pattern?

[Octavius]

Well I did my research and I'm now even more confused. Thanks to the replies, with the exception of Octavius's.
But now I realize that there are a lot of factors in determining the 'ideal' card. So I'm gonna write down all the factors/inputs:

* Annual spending (2007 data!): $25000 (let's just say $20000)
* Travel: I travel domestically perhaps three times a year + once to the US + one or two overseas/Latin America.
* Favorite stores: none really. I hate Dominion, barely go there. Same with Sobeys. The only places I can think of that I go to consistently are No Frills, LCBO (but not more than $100 a month), valu-mart, whole foods, and that's about it.
* Big name Hotels: nope.
* Gas: I try to use public transportation as much as I can, so I spend MAX. MAX MAX $150 on gas monthly (probably closer to half of that).
* No other reoccurring themes in my expenses.

And that's all I can think of.
Cash-back or rewards program, that's what I'm looking for. But if it's a rewards program, then i want something that's better than RBC's catalogue when it comes to redemption.

Now, my research pointed to the National Bank Ultramar Cash Back MasterCard. You think it's a wise choice, given my spending pattern?

I was just annoyed at how many "which is the best CC threads" I've been seeing lately. It seems like there's a new one popping up every three days and people clearly aren't searching or reading the sticky chart.

ANYWAY, for my real response:

If you're spending 20k+ / year then there's a few cards you can go for. I can't really recommend any flight cards...but I've heard that the RBC Avion is a far better deal then the CIBC Aerogold, especially with the BA 50% bonus swap where you can rack up a huge amount of bonus points to fly anywhere in the world. You aren't restricted in terms of seating either. Although I personally haven't used the card, I've heard it's excellent.

Downside is both of these cards come with a hefty $120.00/year annual fee, and you aren't interested in paying a fee.

So that being said, your choice of the ultramar card would be the best choice for your spending habits. If you're no longer a student and if most of the places you shop at accept AMEX (and you make 30k/year) then I'd apply for the AMEX 2% Cash Back Gold Card. It's got its own thread in the hot deals section.

Keep in mind that the ultramar caps out at 250.00/year in cash back - so once you've spent 20k on the card there's no reason to use it again until January of the following year. If this were to happen, get yourself a Citibank Enrich Card and use that for the remainder of the year. Although you'll only get 1% back...it'll be better than 0%.

[gman]

You can just check out RFD's article about no fee credit card.

Click the 'Features' link above and you will be able to find that article.

[nobody1234]

If you think you might be interested in buying a vehicle (car, truck, motorcycle, ?scooter?, RV or ATV but not riding lawnmover lol) new or used in the next five years the Driver's Edge platinum is pretty sweet at 2% cashback, car rental insurance and purchase+price protection.

[brunes]

Can we cap this thread now? There are 100 other threads on this topic....

[najibs]

Do a search for my thread on the MBNA Starwood Preferred Guest Mastercard. IMO, that's the best rewards card for hotels and airline tickets. For the hotels, there's no black out dates, and for the airlines, every 20,000 points you transfer, SPG gives you an extra 5,000 points, so 25k total.