AM or other credit card recommendations?

[kuhltiffany]

OK, talk to me about AM credit cards, I don't have one. I currently use a PC World Elite for all gas and most groceries. Usually I have a travel CC that gives me a 2% return, but it's been devalued so I want to replace it.

Info: spend about $3000 per month on the CC, willing to pay a decent fee if the return is worth it, need cards for 2 users, no issues with high income thresholds.

Any recommendations?

 

[MoreTravels]

It's impossible to find a 2% flat reward card these days. One of the most well known one, Capital One Aspire WE was one of them, until they changed the program a few months ago. I believe BMO also devalued their World Elite reward card.

Right now, they have these 3-4% teaser reward in a couple of categories, but 1% in other spending. Technically speaking, if you carry 3 or 4 cards and remember which one to use, you can still get 2-3% back but it would be a lot of work

Then there is American Express, which nobody accepts anyway... so it's moot point. I used to have a Diners Club charge card, not the cobranded MC card, but a direct Diners Club card... it had great rewards including airport lounges, but less and less people accepted it to the point it was a useless card.

By the way, Air Miles used to be worth 20 cents per mile, especially if you redeem it for air tickets. As you know, they devalue it to 95AM for $10 when they introduced the cash system. This also means that they can easily change it to 120AM for $10 one day if they want to. So I don't spend so much effort on collecting miles anymore. I prefer cashback cards.

 

[bankr63]

As someone who worked in CC industry for several years, I can tell you that rewards cards are rarely worth the plastic they are pressed from.

Your best strategy is probably to maximize your spend on your PC Mastercard. Although it is a points card, it is as good as cash, and is can be redeemed for goods that are in the "needs" category (not the "wants" category), with no requirement of additional spend. Travel rewards generally always require additional spend. If you are looking to put money away for travel then you only need to remember that when you use your PC Points you move an equal amount of $$ to your travel savings, it takes a bit of discipline. The payoff is that with all the special offers and double dipping you can often make well over 2% on the PC cards with very little effort. We easily make enough for a family vacation every year, but the key is, we don't have to take a vacation to use it. By comparison, our AirMiles (points, not credit card) gains us a paltry under $100/year (we shop Metro and LCBO primarily with these points).

Supplement this with a premium card that offers travel protections. I have a TD Visa Infinite card that comes free with my bank account and provides my needed protections, although mostly I only put my actual travel bookings on the card (generally the travel must be charged to the card to qualify for coverage).

I also still have the Rogers Mastercard for US travel and expenses (such as our timeshare maintenance fees) as the larger cash back on US spend counteracts the FX fees plus a bit more.

 

[efrant]

OK, talk to me about AM credit cards, I don't have one. I currently use a PC World Elite for all gas and most groceries. Usually I have a travel CC that gives me a 2% return, but it's been devalued so I want to replace it.

Info: spend about $3000 per month on the CC, willing to pay a decent fee if the return is worth it, need cards for 2 users, no issues with high income thresholds.

Any recommendations?

If you are specifically looking for an AM credit card, then you basically have five choices: two BMO MasterCards (Air Miles MasterCard for $0 annual fee, and World Elite Air Miles Mastercard for $120 annual fee, waived the first year) and three Amex cards (Air Miles $0 annual fee, Platinum $120 annual fee, and Reserve $299 annual fee). Not sure I would recommend any of them as a card for everyday spend, but if you are invested in Air Miles, then one three of the annual fee cards may be useful to you. You would need to list out your spending in each category and at Air Miles partners, and see what kind of a return you would get, net of the annual fee.

As for non-Air Miles travel cards, I personally like two cards (listed below). They fit my spending patterns, and I get way more value out of them (along with other no annual fee cards that I hold) than I pay in annual fees (even this year, as I managed to travel to WDW in February before the pandemic hit).

The Scotia Passport Visa Infinite card. It earns 2 points/dollar (i.e., 2%) on grocery (excl Walmart), dining, entertainment (e.g., Disney park tickets), and transit (e.g., buses, subways, taxis, etc.) in Canada and abroad, and 1 point/dollar (i.e., 1%) everywhere else. The points can be redeemed on any travel charged to your card (no need to book through Scotia) at 1 cent/point. You also get six lounge passes (which can also be used at select airport restaurants for a $42 credit each pass), a comprehensive suite of travel insurance, and the card doesn't charge forex fees, so it's a good card to use in the U.S. and elsewhere outside Canada. The second (i.e., supplementary card) is free. And it comes with a 20k point (worth $200) sign-up bonus if you spend $1,000 on the card in the first three months. Now, is all that worth (to you) the $139 annual fee? You would have to calculate the return based on your spending. (You can also get the annual fee waived if you keep a minimum balance in one of their chequing accounts.)

The HSBC World Elite MasterCard. It earns 6 points/dollar (i.e., 3%) on travel charges (e.g., airlines, hotels, car rentals, etc.) in Canada and abroad, and 3 point/dollar (1.5%) everywhere else. The points can be redeemed on any travel charged to your card (no need to book through HSBC) at 0.5 cent/point (though you need to redeem a minimum of 25k points, i.e., $125, and then in increments of 10k, i.e., $50). You can also transfer the points to certain airline miles (British Airways, Singapore Airlines, Cathay Pacific) if you so desire. You also get a $100 travel enhancement credit (which can easily be converted to cash), a comprehensive suite of travel insurance, and the card doesn't charge forex fees, so it's a good card to use in the U.S. and elsewhere outside Canada. The second (i.e., supplementary card) is $49 (I think). And it comes with a 100k point (worth $500) sign-up bonus if you spend $5,000 on the card in the first six months. Annual fee is $149 annual fee, waived for the first year. (I'm not sure if you can get it waived with a a minimum balance in one of their chequing accounts, but I think they will waive the supplementary card fee.)

As I mentioned, those cards fit my spending patterns, but may not fit yours. But one (or both) of those cards, coupled with your PC WE MasterCard may provide you more value that just a PC WE MasterCard.

By the way, PC Financial is starting to downgrade people from the World Elite version of the card if they are not spending $15k annually on the card (similar to what Rogers announced for their World Elite MasterCard), so keep that in mind.

 

[bankr63]

Looking at our last month on PC, our points amounted to 2.73% of total spend. And we aren't all that great at playing the game. Not too worried about losing status with PC - we put all household expenses on the card, so easily double that threshold in annual spend and then some.

 

[efrant]

[snip]

Looking at our last month on PC, our points amounted to 2.73% of total spend.

If you are getting 2.73% from the PC Financial World Elite MasterCard, that's really good! I guess the vast majority of your spend is at Loblaw-affiliated stores, because getting 2.73% is pretty high on a card that gets 3% at Loblaw-affiliated stores, ~2% on gas at Esso/Mobil and 1% everywhere else.

 

[FinnFogg]

I love my American Express Cobalt card. I note the comment above that no one takes Amex, but they hasn’t been my experience (at least in Vancouver). 9 out of 10 restaurants and all the major grocery stores take it, and you get 5x the points. And the fixed point flight redemption chart works well for us.

 

[bardays]

I love my American Express Cobalt card. I note the comment above that no one takes Amex, but they hasn’t been my experience (at least in Vancouver). 9 out of 10 restaurants and all the major grocery stores take it, and you get 5x the points. And the fixed point flight redemption chart works well for us.

I have a Marriott Bonvoy Amex(love it) and I agree. I find 90% of places accept it. I am in Vancouver too though.

 

[Debbie]

I had American Express for a long time and the AE Reserve for a year or two, but I decided that I wanted to reduce my cards (and save my money). So kept the BMO World Elite and PCMC World Elite for MC and kept my Home Trust Visa for Visa and no forex fees. I still have the Westjet MC, but that is because I had a lot of travel refunds this year, so I'm working off the credit. I'm thinking that once everything is resolved, I'll get rid of that one and just pay for what I want. I like the idea of using the PCMC and just transferring over money saved to my vacation account. I'm getting tired of chasing AM.

 

[bankr63]

Looking at our last month on PC, our points amounted to 2.73% of total spend. And we aren't all that great at playing the game. Not too worried about losing status with PC - we put all household expenses on the card, so easily double that threshold in annual spend and then some.

The trick isn't necessarily to shop at Loblaws affiliates all the time, but to take advantage of the offers when you do.
I would say that we do about 60% of our grocery shopping at Loblaws, we also rarely pick up essentials at Shoppers Drug Mart. Our other grocery percentage is at Metro, the local Farm in season, the local butcher, and Costco about once a month. I tend to purchase my gas at Esso (I love the app, don't have to touch anything but the nozzle - with glove of course), but DW buys her gas at Costco as their Premium grade is a much better deal even when taking points into account (her turbocharged engine requires premium).
When you do shop at Loblaws affiliates it makes sense to take advantage of all opportunities to double dip. We do check the app every week for special offers and use them judiciously. We do get points both from the card and from the program, they are different things. On the PC Points site of PC Financial you will see the points from your card as transaction from PC Financial (percentage of spend), and the points from your purchase as coming from Loblaws, or Esso or Shoppers Drug mart matching the points on your receipt. You get points both ways if everything is linked together and this can add up to a lot.

 

[kuhltiffany]

It's the HSBC World Elite I'm trying to replace. Now that they have lessened the points and are not giving the points equivalent rebate for the annual fee, plus the fact that we aren't travelling anywhere for a while, I keep thinking there has to be something else better. Loved the convenience of using it though!

I've switched us over to putting everything on the PC Card starting this week, so hopefully we don't get booted out of that! Will be interesting to see how the rate of return turns out...

If you are specifically looking for an AM credit card, then you basically have five choices: two BMO MasterCards (Air Miles MasterCard for $0 annual fee, and World Elite Air Miles Mastercard for $120 annual fee, waived the first year) and three Amex cards (Air Miles $0 annual fee, Platinum $120 annual fee, and Reserve $299 annual fee). Not sure I would recommend any of them as a card for everyday spend, but if you are invested in Air Miles, then one three of the annual fee cards may be useful to you. You would need to list out your spending in each category and at Air Miles partners, and see what kind of a return you would get, net of the annual fee.

As for non-Air Miles travel cards, I personally like two cards (listed below). They fit my spending patterns, and I get way more value out of them (along with other no annual fee cards that I hold) than I pay in annual fees (even this year, as I managed to travel to WDW in February before the pandemic hit).

The Scotia Passport Visa Infinite card. It earns 2 points/dollar (i.e., 2%) on grocery (excl Walmart), dining, entertainment (e.g., Disney park tickets), and transit (e.g., buses, subways, taxis, etc.) in Canada and abroad, and 1 point/dollar (i.e., 1%) everywhere else. The points can be redeemed on any travel charged to your card (no need to book through Scotia) at 1 cent/point. You also get six lounge passes (which can also be used at select airport restaurants for a $42 credit each pass), a comprehensive suite of travel insurance, and the card doesn't charge forex fees, so it's a good card to use in the U.S. and elsewhere outside Canada. The second (i.e., supplementary card) is free. And it comes with a 20k point (worth $200) sign-up bonus if you spend $1,000 on the card in the first three months. Now, is all that worth (to you) the $139 annual fee? You would have to calculate the return based on your spending. (You can also get the annual fee waived if you keep a minimum balance in one of their chequing accounts.)

The HSBC World Elite MasterCard. It earns 6 points/dollar (i.e., 3%) on travel charges (e.g., airlines, hotels, car rentals, etc.) in Canada and abroad, and 3 point/dollar (1.5%) everywhere else. The points can be redeemed on any travel charged to your card (no need to book through HSBC) at 0.5 cent/point (though you need to redeem a minimum of 25k points, i.e., $125, and then in increments of 10k, i.e., $50). You can also transfer the points to certain airline miles (British Airways, Singapore Airlines, Cathay Pacific) if you so desire. You also get a $100 travel enhancement credit (which can easily be converted to cash), a comprehensive suite of travel insurance, and the card doesn't charge forex fees, so it's a good card to use in the U.S. and elsewhere outside Canada. The second (i.e., supplementary card) is $49 (I think). And it comes with a 100k point (worth $500) sign-up bonus if you spend $5,000 on the card in the first six months. Annual fee is $149 annual fee, waived for the first year. (I'm not sure if you can get it waived with a a minimum balance in one of their chequing accounts, but I think they will waive the supplementary card fee.)

As I mentioned, those cards fit my spending patterns, but may not fit yours. But one (or both) of those cards, coupled with your PC WE MasterCard may provide you more value that just a PC WE MasterCard.

By the way, PC Financial is starting to downgrade people from the World Elite version of the card if they are not spending $15k annually on the card (similar to what Rogers announced for their World Elite MasterCard), so keep that in mind.

 

[kuhltiffany]

I just applied for this one, $99 fee but 2% cash back, we'll see what it's like...

https://www.americanexpress.com/ca/...rdshop-details-browse-simplyCashPreferredCard

 

[efrant]

The trick isn't necessarily to shop at Loblaws affiliates all the time, but to take advantage of the offers when you do.
I would say that we do about 60% of our grocery shopping at Loblaws, we also rarely pick up essentials at Shoppers Drug Mart. Our other grocery percentage is at Metro, the local Farm in season, the local butcher, and Costco about once a month. I tend to purchase my gas at Esso (I love the app, don't have to touch anything but the nozzle - with glove of course), but DW buys her gas at Costco as their Premium grade is a much better deal even when taking points into account (her turbocharged engine requires premium).
When you do shop at Loblaws affiliates it makes sense to take advantage of all opportunities to double dip. We do check the app every week for special offers and use them judiciously. We do get points both from the card and from the program, they are different things. On the PC Points site of PC Financial you will see the points from your card as transaction from PC Financial (percentage of spend), and the points from your purchase as coming from Loblaws, or Esso or Shoppers Drug mart matching the points on your receipt. You get points both ways if everything is linked together and this can add up to a lot.

Ah, ok. So the 2.73% you mentioned also includes points from being a PC Optimum member, not from just using the PCF WE MasterCard? One would still get the PC Optimum points (from offers, as well as 1.5% for any spend at Shoppers) even if they weren't a PCF WE MasterCard cardholder. So, if I'm understanding you correctly, the points you get from the card alone, would be less than the 2.73 average you mentioned.

 

[efrant]

It's the HSBC World Elite I'm trying to replace. Now that they have lessened the points and are not giving the points equivalent rebate for the annual fee, plus the fact that we aren't travelling anywhere for a while, I keep thinking there has to be something else better. Loved the convenience of using it though!

I've switched us over to putting everything on the PC Card starting this week, so hopefully we don't get booted out of that! Will be interesting to see how the rate of return turns out...

What do you mean they have lessened the points? I haven't received any notification from HSBC that I will be getting less than 3%/1.5% on travel/all-other spend. Is this something that has been just announced?

 

[kuhltiffany]

In June it went from 2 to 1.5 points per dollar, and they discontinued the 10,000 anniversary bonus. Our renewal is March, so we’re trying to replace it before then.

What do you mean they have lessened the points? I haven't received any notification from HSBC that I will be getting less than 3%/1.5% on travel/all-other spend. Is this something that has been just announced?

 

[efrant]

In June it went from 2 to 1.5 points per dollar, and they discontinued the 10,000 anniversary bonus. Our renewal is March, so we’re trying to replace it before then.

We must be talking about different HSBC cards then. My HSBC World Elite MasterCard has always been 6 HSBC Rewards points for travel charges and 3 for non travel charges. It was never 6 and 4.

As for the anniversary bonus, that was not something that the HSBC World Elite MasterCard offered -- it was something that came with the HSBC Premier World Elite MasterCard (i.e., for those that have a Premier bank account with HSBC, not just a credit card).

The regular HSBC World Elite MasterCard comes with a $100 travel credit than can easily be converted to cash, so the net annual fee for the card is $49, which is pretty impressive for a card with no forex fees, a strong insurance package and 3% on travel charges.

 

[newdeal]

I don’t know about maximum cash back but the meridian credit union infinite card has reasonable cash back and really good insurance packages

 

[MoreTravels]

There is a Canadian sub-forum dedicated on the current CC in Canada.
https://forums.redflagdeals.com/credit-cards-f189/
I am terminating my Capital One Aspire WE as it is similar to BMO, HSBC, and Rogers, with recent reductions of rewards down to 1.5% After reading the above posts and RFD, I have decided to sign up American Express Simply Cash Preferred. I will use it as much as I can, with a Visa or MC as backup. I am getting most of daily supplies from online retailers such as Amazon and Walmart.ca anyway so they both accept AE.

Also, I think it's a good idea to get TD CB Visa Infinite so grocery, gas, and recurrent bills get 3% and everything else goes to AE SCP.

 

[newdeal]

There is a Canadian sub-forum dedicated on the current CC in Canada.
https://forums.redflagdeals.com/credit-cards-f189/
I am terminating my Capital One Aspire WE as it is similar to BMO, HSBC, and Rogers, with recent reductions of rewards down to 1.5% After reading the above posts and RFD, I have decided to sign up American Express Simply Cash Preferred. I will use it as much as I can, with a Visa or MC as backup. I am getting most of daily supplies from online retailers such as Amazon and Walmart.ca anyway so they both accept AE.

Also, I think it's a good idea to get TD CB Visa Infinite so grocery, gas, and recurrent bills get 3% and everything else goes to AE SCP.

The meridian card is better than the TD cash back (4% gas groceries, 2% pharmacy and bill payments, way better insurance)