Best Credit Card for Canadians?

[JAYSLOL]

So how about it, eh?  What do Canadian Mustachians carry?  I've been using a no-fee RBC Visa Rewards card which only gets me about .5% back in the form of points, so that card is going to get the axe quick as i try to up my game :)

I've looked at the no annual fee Capital One Mastercard for Costco members it gets 1% cash back on everything everywhere, 2% on fuel, 3% on restaurants (fuel discount may help a bit, as i use my own card sometimes to fill up the company vehicle and get it reimbursed, but the restaurant deal won't save me much, lol)  Also, it would be nice to put costco purchases on a credit card rather than using my debit card as they don't take visa

Anything out there better than that?  I usually charge between $1000 and $2500 a month currently averaging around $1500 (always paid off in full, and some of it is being reimbursed).  HHI is usually around or just under 50k/year so I'm not likely to qualify for cards that require higher income (example: Scotia Momentum Visa Infinite)

Thanks in advance!

[daverobev]

Where do you spend the money?

Scotia's Gold Amex is good if you shop mostly at Amex-accepting supermarkets and gas stations. It has a $15k income req. I think. MBNA SmartCash is an ok alternative.

Chase Amazon for overseas shopping.

Amex SimplyCash for misc (1.25% flat).

*Edit* see aig link for GCR - they have some cash sweeteners for some cards.

[powersuitrecall]

We've been happy with Scotia Momentum so far.  4% cashback on groceries, 2% for restaurants & reoccurring utility payments and 1% for everything else.  It was free for the first year, $90 or fee afterwards.

[Sarnia Saver]

I second the Scotiabank Momentum Infinite Visa. 

The 4% cash back on groceries/gas, 2% on bills is great.  There is no catch to getting your money, it is just credited to your account at the end of November, great for Christmas purchases. 

The 4% doesn't work at Walmart as it is based on the merchant code.  So if you buy your groceries at Walmart, you will only get 1% back.  This is a positive for my family as we dislike Walmart and the 3% bonus coupled with price matching and PC Plus points make Loblaws our grocery/gas preferred choice.

The min. annual income is usually a suggestion in my experience.

[JAYSLOL]

Where do you spend the money?

Scotia's Gold Amex is good if you shop mostly at Amex-accepting supermarkets and gas stations. It has a $15k income req. I think. MBNA SmartCash is an ok alternative.

Chase Amazon for overseas shopping.

Amex SimplyCash for misc (1.25% flat).

*Edit* see aig link for GCR - they have some cash sweeteners for some cards.

Thanks, I'll check out the AIG and Amex cards, although i don't think Amex is accepted as widely as Visa or Mastercard, correct?  I order hardly anything off Amazon, maybe $150 total, ever.   

Here is a breakdown of what i normally use my visa for monthly on average for 2 adults and 1 child

$200 BC Medical + anything else medical/dental/optical
$600 groceries and household
$50 eating and coffee out
$300 car insurance, fuel, repairs and maintenance
$120 2 phones (one gets company subsidy, one does not)
$100 Misc company expenses (refunded)
$150 other/everything else

I second the Scotiabank Momentum Infinite Visa. 

The 4% cash back on groceries/gas, 2% on bills is great.  There is no catch to getting your money, it is just credited to your account at the end of November, great for Christmas purchases. 

The 4% doesn't work at Walmart as it is based on the merchant code.  So if you buy your groceries at Walmart, you will only get 1% back.  This is a positive for my family as we dislike Walmart and the 3% bonus coupled with price matching and PC Plus points make Loblaws our grocery/gas preferred choice.

The min. annual income is usually a suggestion in my experience.

Wow, that's insane value from the Scotia Momentum Infinite card, if i'm calculating it right, it looks like i could get at least $300 a year back even after paying a $90-$100 annual fee.  And i also do most of my shopping and refuelling at Superstore and hardly ever go in Walmart as well.  I will look into getting past the requirements for that one, thanks!

[YK-Phil]

My go-to site to find out the best credit cards and other financial products is http://www.ratesupermarket.ca

As the deals change regularly, check the site at least once a week to take full advantage of the various offerings.

I only sign up for cards that give me an instant reward (i.e. Amazon gift card) when I sign up, and those premium cards that give me sign up bonuses (Aeroplan or other travel programs) and have the annual fee waived for the first year. In the past two years, I got CIBC Aeroplan Visa, TD Aeroplan Infinite Visa (that was the best bang in Aeroplan points, combined with a new TD bank account: total 50,000 Aeroplan points), CIBC Aventura Visa, RBC Avion Visa, AMEX Aeroplan, BMO Elite Mastercard, and ScotiaBank AMEX Gold, all with no-fee for the first year and significant travel bonuses. I cancel my credit card before the renewal to avoid paying the annual fee. Wash, rinse, repeat.

In the no-fee category, I applied for ScotiaBank Scene, ScotiaBank Momentum, Capital One Aspire Travel, and MBNA Mastercard, which all came with Amazon gift cards (I think you can also chose Starbucks and Best Buy) ranging from $50 to $100 each. Deals change all the time and may not always be available so check regularly. As there are no annual fee, I might just keep these cards, or cancel them eventually.

In the bank account category, my wife and I applied for an ATB account and received $350 each, and I got an extra $150 for referring her. Not a bad deal.

[daverobev]

Scotia is VERY firm with the Momentum Infinite, in that you have to declare you have the min income. I think they wanted something separate signed stating we earned over xyz when we were in talking about other stuff.

PCF are coming out with a free, 3% at Loblaw owned stores card (as PC Points) in Sept, again with higher income requirements.

Note you can buy gift cards in store and get the max (4% Scotia) for stuff that would only be 1% if paid directly.

Also note that Canadian Tire gift cards used to buy gas are able to earn CT money, which is another 2-3% off.

If Scotia's too much hassle, try the MBNA Rewards Travel - flat 2% everywhere. But yeah, Scotia Momentum Infinite sounds best for you.

[Goldielocks]

We've been happy with Scotia Momentum so far.  4% cashback on groceries, 2% for restaurants & reoccurring utility payments and 1% for everything else.  It was free for the first year, $90 or fee afterwards.

It is Scotia for us too.   Our annual renewal is $99 plus $30 for the second card, but the 4%  plus 2% plus 1% is way better than other card offers.  Better than the pc points even, and we shop those stores often enough to use the pc points.

  We don't use travel points much, there are some other good options out there if you would redeem for travel.  I like cash instead.

The cineplex card offer can be good if movies are a frequent entertainment for you.

I have been reviewing bank fees and the pc bank no fee chequing is good, or the option of free chequing with minimum 3k or 10k balance at TD.  If you have an emergency cash account at the bank earning little interest anyway...

CIBC is not good for low cost chequing and manulife account was very bad too.

 Stay away from MBNA cards, fees are higher, payment cycle is shorter, service lower, minimal perks like insurance for free.   These are only good if you get an awesome balance transfer offer, like 0% for 18 months and 1% transfer fee.  I have not seen those in a couple of years, though.

Amex now is accepted neatly everywhere Visa and MasterCard are.  Transit passes are the major exception I have found.

[andreamac]

I like aspire from capital one.

2 reward miles for every $1 on all purchases
10,000 miles on your first purchase

I was able to get it when annual fee was free and I've been able to claim lots of travel purchases by using this card. I find this better than aeroplan points since you aren't limited to flying Air Canada for example.  Also you can pay for your hotel instead.

[beee]

+1 for scotia momentum visa infinite card

Shop around, and you'll find a $75-$100 gift card offer for applying to it (ratesupermarket.ca, greatcanadianrebates.ca, amazon, etc.)