Brim Mastercard

[Rileygirl]

Good Morning

I am considering getting a brim MasterCard, and wondered if any fellow Canadians had this card, and what they thought of it. I have been doing some research, and have read some older threads from a year ago on this, I just wondered how y’all felt about this card, if anybody had it. The no foreign exchange fees seem like a good idea, and there is a cash back rewards feature, (unlike my us TD visa whichI have been using in the past)

Any opinions out there?

 

[mort1331]

sorry never heard of it,,,but im googling now

https://creditcardgenius.ca/credit-cards/brim-financial-world-elite-mastercard#user-reviews
did minor digging,,,,look at some of the mid reviews,,,not great,,,not sure if I would chance it.
Look into the no FX fees, seems they might not, but charge more then posted exchange,,so little deceptive.
That was enough looking for me.
Let us all know if anyone else has it, or more info.
on the surface it looks good, but not sure

 

[pigletto]

After doing all our research we went with the MBNA Amazon MasterCard. You pay the forex with this one , but it’s credited back in Amazon points. We regularly use Amazon for Christmas presents, household items etc , so it’s useful for us to have the credit. It’s also a no fee card which I prefer. Overall we’ve been pleased with it.

 

[efrant]

Good Morning

I am considering getting a brim MasterCard, and wondered if any fellow Canadians had this card, and what they thought of it. I have been doing some research, and have read some older threads from a year ago on this, I just wondered how y’all felt about this card, if anybody had it. The no foreign exchange fees seem like a good idea, and there is a cash back rewards feature, (unlike my us TD visa whichI have been using in the past)

Any opinions out there?

I don't have it myself, but I know others who have it. I think it's a decent card for non-CAD purchases. If you are a high spender, the HSBC World Elite MC is a better choice. Brim gives you 1% back on spending, while HSBC gives you 3% on travel expenses and 1.5% on everything else. The net annual fee of the HSBC card is $49 ($149 less a $100 travel credit), so it's very easy to make up with the difference in earn rates. The other card that may be beneficial is the Scotia Passport Visa Infinite, which offers a 2% return on a number of categories, 1% on everything else, as well as 6 lounge passes, for an annual fee of $139.

All three cards don't charge any extra foreign transaction fees (unlike most Canadian cards), so all are good choices for non-CAD spend. Of the three, I'd say the Brim card is the best for low spenders, and either the HSBC or Scotia cards for high spenders (which one, depending on which categories one spends in).

 

[Rileygirl]

I don't have it myself, but I know others who have it. I think it's a decent card for non-CAD purchases. If you are a high spender, the HSBC World Elite MC is a better choice. Brim gives you 1% back on spending, while HSBC gives you 3% on travel expenses and 1.5% on everything else. The net annual fee of the HSBC card is $49 ($149 less a $100 travel credit), so it's very easy to make up with the difference in earn rates. The other card that may be beneficial is the Scotia Passport Visa Infinite, which offers a 2% return on a number of categories, 1% on everything else, as well as 6 lounge passes, for an annual fee of $150.

All three cards don't charge any extra foreign transaction fees (unlike most Canadian cards), so all are good choices for non-CAD spend. Of the three, I'd say the Brim card is the best for low spenders, and either the HSBC or Scotia cards for high spenders (which one, depending on which categories one spends in).

Thank you so much for your detailed reply! I am going to investigate all three cards. We are planning to do a bit of traveling in the states once covid is conquered (we hope!) and while not a huge spender, I was looking at putting our direct DVC buy onto a card for points, and then pay off immediately.

thanks
~A

 

[Griffin11]

Funny, I just applied for it this morning! I have a Rogers Bank MasterCard that I had been using for USD transactions, but I'm not happy with that one.

 

[DavidL]

Funny, I just applied for it this morning! I have a Rogers Bank MasterCard that I had been using for USD transactions, but I'm not happy with that one.

I'm actually very happy with our Rogers Bank Mastercard. No annual fees, and the cash-back covers the ForEx fees when in the USA. We use our Rogers Mastercard pretty much as our "debit" card and use it for everything, and pay it off weekly so the balance never creeps up. We get about $1k / year cash back by running everything through it. We normally (pre-covid times) make annual trips to Florida and have had zero issues while away.

 

[Griffin11]

I'm actually very happy with our Rogers Bank Mastercard. No annual fees, and the cash-back covers the ForEx fees when in the USA. We use our Rogers Mastercard pretty much as our "debit" card and use it for everything, and pay it off weekly so the balance never creeps up. We get about $1k / year cash back by running everything through it. We normally (pre-covid times) make annual trips to Florida and have had zero issues while away.

Glad it works for you - it's not my main credit card, I got it primary for USD transactions. I dislike that if a USD transaction gets refunded you get hit with the 2.5% both ways and lose the cashback. I also find it's slow to post transactions and the cash back redemption is a bit frustrating. Hoping Brim works out better for me.

 

[von Monster]

I'm a big fan of the Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite, it does have a $139/year fee (but that does include a supplemental card) but with the 0% FTF, 6 Priority Pass lounge passes, decent insurance, and reward multipliers that count even in foreign transactions I find it's worth the fee.

I honestly wish Scotia would release a Visa Infinite Privilege version of this card with more perks as I suspect for me personally it would be worth the upgrade.

 

[deedubb]

I have the Scotiabank Passport Infinite card as well. I like the lounge passes which we use at MCO since the Magical Express picks you up 4 hours before your flight. It's great to fill up on some snacks and we grab some drinks for the flight. I use the points to get Disney cards ($100 USD) to use at the parks. It has trip cancellation insurance as well which is nice. I don't see that very often.

I also have the Home Trust Visa. No fee. No forex. 1% cash back.