Best Credit Card (2016-2021)

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Thegipper
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Re: Best Credit Card (2016-2017)

Post by Thegipper »

adrian2 wrote: 12 Apr 2017 09:39
IdOp wrote: 11 Apr 2017 19:46
Amazon.CA wrote:As of April 3, 2017, we are no longer accepting applications for the Amazon.ca Rewards Visa Card and there is no other way to get the card at this time.
(My bold.) Source

Procrastination has its drawbacks. :cry:
Unfortunately, even for us who currently hold the card, the future is really cloudy. It's never a good sign when the credit card issuer stops accepting new applications. :roll:
Same though crossed my mind. I did phone them today and got my credit limit increased from 3500 to 8000. They have a whole department who deals with these requests and they seem to know as much about me as I do.
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Re: Best Credit Card (2016-2017)

Post by cedeebee »

Thegipper wrote: 12 Apr 2017 12:39
adrian2 wrote: 12 Apr 2017 09:39
IdOp wrote: 11 Apr 2017 19:46

(My bold.) Source

Procrastination has its drawbacks. :cry:
Unfortunately, even for us who currently hold the card, the future is really cloudy. It's never a good sign when the credit card issuer stops accepting new applications. :roll:
Same though crossed my mind. I did phone them today and got my credit limit increased from 3500 to 8000. They have a whole department who deals with these requests and they seem to know as much about me as I do.
Isn't there a Capital One card that has amazing perks, but long since stopped accepting new application? Or, pared down the perks considerably for new applicants? I'm thinking this is a similar situation.
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Re: Best Credit Card (2016-2017)

Post by gsp_ »

cedeebee wrote: 12 Apr 2017 14:00Isn't there a Capital One card that has amazing perks, but long since stopped accepting new application? Or, pared down the perks considerably for new applicants? I'm thinking this is a similar situation.
It's not. CO reduced some perks. Chase has sold off or closed just about all their credit cards in Canada and aren't even providing the customer support for the few that are still around. See RFD CC section for more info.
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Re: Best Credit Card (2016-2017)

Post by Thegipper »

Yes a lot of the good cards are disappearing. I use the WJ/RBC card as my basic card and use Amazon for out of the country spending. We also have the Costco MC membership card. They offer good value and meet our needs.
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Re: Best Credit Card (2016-2017)

Post by optionable68 »

cedeebee wrote: 12 Apr 2017 14:00 Isn't there a Capital One card that has amazing perks, but long since stopped accepting new application? Or, pared down the perks considerably for new applicants?
Yes, for those who got lucky (including yours truly), the Capital One Aspire Travel MC, pays you 2% on all purchases, and clients pay just $20/yr for the card and all its privileges.

Best. Card. Ever.
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Re: Best Credit Card (2016-2017)

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gsp_ wrote: 12 Apr 2017 16:19
cedeebee wrote: 12 Apr 2017 14:00Isn't there a Capital One card that has amazing perks, but long since stopped accepting new application? Or, pared down the perks considerably for new applicants? I'm thinking this is a similar situation.
It's not. CO reduced some perks. Chase has sold off or closed just about all their credit cards in Canada and aren't even providing the customer support for the few that are still around. See RFD CC section for more info.
Thanks for the clarification and redirection. It does indeed look bleak for the Amazon card, so I'm now thinking about the Home Trust Visa for the purposes of saving on forex fees as I shop online a lot. Does anyone actually have this card? No one on RFD seems to yet.
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Re: Best Credit Card (2016-2017)

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cedeebee wrote: 13 Apr 2017 02:40Thanks for the clarification and redirection. It does indeed look bleak for the Amazon card, so I'm now thinking about the Home Trust Visa for the purposes of saving on forex fees as I shop online a lot. Does anyone actually have this card? No one on RFD seems to yet.
This link shows a 2% foreign exchange charge:
http://www.hometrust.ca/SecVisaApplication.aspx
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Re: Best Credit Card (2016-2017)

Post by Spudd »

cedeebee wrote: 13 Apr 2017 02:40 Thanks for the clarification and redirection. It does indeed look bleak for the Amazon card, so I'm now thinking about the Home Trust Visa for the purposes of saving on forex fees as I shop online a lot. Does anyone actually have this card? No one on RFD seems to yet.
The Rogers MC offers decent forex.
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Re: Best Credit Card (2016-2017)

Post by cedeebee »

leoc2 wrote: 13 Apr 2017 12:14
cedeebee wrote: 13 Apr 2017 02:40Thanks for the clarification and redirection. It does indeed look bleak for the Amazon card, so I'm now thinking about the Home Trust Visa for the purposes of saving on forex fees as I shop online a lot. Does anyone actually have this card? No one on RFD seems to yet.
This link shows a 2% foreign exchange charge:
http://www.hometrust.ca/SecVisaApplication.aspx
Sorry, should've been more clear... it's the Home Trust Preferred Visa: https://visa.hometrust.ca/apply/preferr ... 43&elqat=2

I don't have any products w/ Rogers so I'd have to pay their annual fee ($29?). This one has no annual fee.
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Re: Best Credit Card (2016-2017)

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cedeebee wrote: 13 Apr 2017 13:31I don't have any products w/ Rogers so I'd have to pay their annual fee ($29?). This one has no annual fee.
Yes. Or get the Fido card, no fee, same FX deal as Rogers, 1.5% cashback vs 1.75% at Rogers. No auto rental coverage or other "premium" perks.
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Re: Best Credit Card (2016-2017)

Post by westcoastfella »

pmj wrote: 13 Apr 2017 16:52
cedeebee wrote: 13 Apr 2017 13:31I don't have any products w/ Rogers so I'd have to pay their annual fee ($29?). This one has no annual fee.
Yes. Or get the Fido card, no fee, same FX deal as Rogers, 1.5% cashback vs 1.75% at Rogers. No auto rental coverage or other "premium" perks.
I just got the Fido MC. We were forced to get a new one when our existing MC (CIBC PetroPoints) got discontinued and we were shuffled off to a visa alternative. We try to keep one of every major CC, so needed a new MC. There was some discussion about this one further up thread, and it appealed primarily because of the FX deal - this will now become our new travel card. As well as our Costco card.
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Re: Best Credit Card (2016-2017)

Post by cashinstinct »

optionable68 wrote: 12 Apr 2017 18:55 Yes, for those who got lucky (including yours truly), the Capital One Aspire Travel MC, pays you 2% on all purchases, and clients pay just $20/yr for the card and all its privileges.

Best. Card. Ever.
Yeah that card is great, I am happy to have it. Pay $120/yr and then get $100 in rewards, so net $20/yr.

The 2% has to be applied to Travel purchases... no problem, my monthly bus/metro pass counts :mrgreen:

Great insurances, and it's a Mastercard, so accepted almost everywhere, including Costco now.

I should have asked gf to apply for a card too, so we could have that card for joint expenses too... easy to say in insight.
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Re: Best Credit Card (2016-2017)

Post by Okanagan »

TOP "Re: Best Credit Card (2016-2017)

Post by westcoastfella » Sun Apr 16, 2017 3:48 pm

pmj wrote: ↑
Thu Apr 13, 2017 1:52 pm

cedeebee wrote: ↑
Thu Apr 13, 2017 10:31 am
I don't have any products w/ Rogers so I'd have to pay their annual fee ($29?). This one has no annual fee.

Yes. Or get the Fido card, no fee, same FX deal as Rogers, 1.5% cashback vs 1.75% at Rogers. No auto rental coverage or other "premium" perks.

I just got the Fido MC. We were forced to get a new one when our existing MC (CIBC PetroPoints) got discontinued and we were shuffled off to a visa alternative. We try to keep one of every major CC, so needed a new MC. There was some discussion about this one further up thread, and it appealed primarily because of the FX deal - this will now become our new travel card. As well as our Costco card."

According to the Fido/Rogers website: Redeem your cash back rewards towards Fido goodies like1:

A new phone
Your monthly bill
Accessories
Online purchases on fido.ca

So, while you save the fx fee and get 4% back over the 2.5 %, you don't get to make a credit on your account...you really need a Fido account to get you cash back????
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Re: Best Credit Card (2016-2017)

Post by pmj »

Okanagan wrote: 16 Apr 2017 21:58 TOP "Re: Best Credit Card (2016-2017)

Post by westcoastfella » Sun Apr 16, 2017 3:48 pm

pmj wrote: ↑
Thu Apr 13, 2017 1:52 pm

cedeebee wrote: ↑
Thu Apr 13, 2017 10:31 am
I don't have any products w/ Rogers so I'd have to pay their annual fee ($29?). This one has no annual fee.

Yes. Or get the Fido card, no fee, same FX deal as Rogers, 1.5% cashback vs 1.75% at Rogers. No auto rental coverage or other "premium" perks.

I just got the Fido MC. We were forced to get a new one when our existing MC (CIBC PetroPoints) got discontinued and we were shuffled off to a visa alternative. We try to keep one of every major CC, so needed a new MC. There was some discussion about this one further up thread, and it appealed primarily because of the FX deal - this will now become our new travel card. As well as our Costco card."

According to the Fido/Rogers website: Redeem your cash back rewards towards Fido goodies like1:

A new phone
Your monthly bill
Accessories
Online purchases on fido.ca

So, while you save the fx fee and get 4% back over the 2.5 %, you don't get to make a credit on your account...you really need a Fido account to get you cash back????
If you don't have a Rogers or Fido account, you can request an account credit, once a year, before Dec 1st, for payment in Jan.
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Re: Best Credit Card (2016-2017)

Post by westcoastfella »

pmj wrote: 17 Apr 2017 00:19 If you don't have a Rogers or Fido account, you can request an account credit, once a year, before Dec 1st, for payment in Jan.
I believe you can apply for a credit any time against your current bill, so long as you have at least $20 in credits available to apply. Otherwise, you can wait for December.
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Re: Best Credit Card (2016-2017)

Post by pmj »

Https://rogersbank.com/legaldocs/en/Pla ... itions.pdf
You may also redeem your Rewards in the form of an annual statement credit to your Account by calling Rogers Bank at 1 855 775-2265. You must request an annual statement credit for each year that you wish to receive it by December 1st of that year. Annual statement credits will be awarded in January of the following year and the amount credited will be the total dollar value of the balance of your Platinum Rewards Account as of the date the credit is issued to your Account.
Similar language at Fido:
http://www.fido.ca/consumer/terms/fido- ... conditions
Or, contact Rogers Bank once per year by December to receive statement credit in January for value of rewards earned.
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Re: Best Credit Card (2016-2017)

Post by milton »

Another vote for the Rogers Platinum MasterCard. I'm a chatr subscriber, so $29 annual fee waived (also works if you're with Fido). I use this card in conjunction with the ScotiaBank Gold AMEX ($99 fee). The ScotiaBank Gold AMEX gives 4% on groceries, gas, dining, and entertainment. Insurance package is first class (medical, interruption, extended warranty, auto rental, etc.,). So, for $99, this combo gets 4% on groceries, gas, dining, and entertainment, 1.75% on everything else in Canada, and 1.5% on international purchases (the Rogers card gives 4% bonus less 2.5% forex fee on international purchases). The only leakage is with travel. To get the travel benefits, I have to book on the AMEX which rewards at 1%. Some of the better cards give 2% or even, as is the case with the TD Infinite Visa, 4.5%. But let's say at $4000 a year in travel, that's a loss of $40 bucks compared with a 2% card. The low annual fee ($99) on the ScotiaBank Gold AMEX more than makes up for it. Plus it's fantastic being able to book anywhere, instead of being locked to Aeroplan or Air Miles.
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Re: Best Credit Card (2016-2017)

Post by pmj »

milton wrote: 15 Jul 2017 19:37 ... and 1.5% on international purchases (the Rogers card gives 4% bonus less 2.5% forex fee on international purchases).
Actually 1.6% because of the way that Rogers applies the credit: http://www.financialwisdomforum.org/for ... 00#p590550
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Re: Best Credit Card (2016-2017)

Post by Taggart »

milton wrote: 15 Jul 2017 19:37 Another vote for the Rogers Platinum MasterCard. I'm a chatr subscriber, so $29 annual fee waived (also works if you're with Fido). I use this card in conjunction with the ScotiaBank Gold AMEX ($99 fee). The ScotiaBank Gold AMEX gives 4% on groceries, gas, dining, and entertainment. Insurance package is first class (medical, interruption, extended warranty, auto rental, etc.,). So, for $99, this combo gets 4% on groceries, gas, dining, and entertainment, 1.75% on everything else in Canada, and 1.5% on international purchases (the Rogers card gives 4% bonus less 2.5% forex fee on international purchases). The only leakage is with travel. To get the travel benefits, I have to book on the AMEX which rewards at 1%. Some of the better cards give 2% or even, as is the case with the TD Infinite Visa, 4.5%. But let's say at $4000 a year in travel, that's a loss of $40 bucks compared with a 2% card. The low annual fee ($99) on the ScotiaBank Gold AMEX more than makes up for it. Plus it's fantastic being able to book anywhere, instead of being locked to Aeroplan or Air Miles.
+1

I finally decided to apply for the ScotiaBank Gold AMEX recently. I hear a lot of complaints elsewhere about how few businesses accept AMEX, but already having the card for only a week I've already had a few surprises about the number of places that I normally go to that accept it. Using old MBNA Visa cashback and BMO Mastercard air miles cards as backups. Since we're not very flexible when it comes to travel, we end up using the Aeroplan points for gas gift cards and the Air Miles for $10 off the grocery bill once 95 points are achieved. The Amex points collected I'll use to lower the cost of any incurred travel on the Amex credit card.
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Re: Best Credit Card (2016-2017)

Post by milton »

AMEX seem to be on fire with good deals. In September they launched the Cobalt card: 5% on groceries and restaurants, 2% on travel, transit, and gas, and 1% on everything else. $120 per year (charged $10 per month) is more compared with the Scotiabank AMEX gold, which gives you 4% groceries, gas, dining, and entertainment and 1% on everything else for $99 a year. Both have good insurance perks, but the Scotiabank AMEX Gold also throws in trip cancellation/interruption, which the Cobalt lacks. Trip cancellation can be quite expensive to purchase as an add-on, as we found out a couple of years ago when we had to plan vacation around dad's surgery. Will be keeping the Scotiabank AMEX Gold for now, but the Cobalt is a strong contender. If we spent more on travel, would probably switch. Anyone taking a look at it?--till January, Cobalt has an up to $400 application bonus, that would help out with Christmas shopping :D
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Re: Best Credit Card (2016-2017)

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Trip cancellation
Check out the limits on this Capital one only covered $2000 each IIRC.
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Re: Best Credit Card (2016-2017)

Post by AltaRed »

Ditto. Credit card trip cancellation/interruption coverage is severely limited. Okay for local travel and cheap vacations, but little else.
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Re: Best Credit Card (2016-2017)

Post by Taggart »

milton wrote: 17 Nov 2017 20:12 AMEX seem to be on fire with good deals. In September they launched the Cobalt card: 5% on groceries and restaurants, 2% on travel, transit, and gas, and 1% on everything else. $120 per year (charged $10 per month) is more compared with the Scotiabank AMEX gold, which gives you 4% groceries, gas, dining, and entertainment and 1% on everything else for $99 a year. Both have good insurance perks, but the Scotiabank AMEX Gold also throws in trip cancellation/interruption, which the Cobalt lacks. Trip cancellation can be quite expensive to purchase as an add-on, as we found out a couple of years ago when we had to plan vacation around dad's surgery. Will be keeping the Scotiabank AMEX Gold for now, but the Cobalt is a strong contender. If we spent more on travel, would probably switch. Anyone taking a look at it?--till January, Cobalt has an up to $400 application bonus, that would help out with Christmas shopping :D
Yes, I took a look at the Cobalt when it first came out and the lack of trip cancellation insurance persuaded me to go with Scotiabank Amex Gold instead. Using some of the credit card calculators based on one's spending habits helped in the decision making as well.
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Re: Best Credit Card (2016-2017)

Post by 2 yen »

Does anyone feel that when Aeroplan is separate from Air Canada that some even better credit cards for cash back will appear?

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Re: Best Credit Card (2016-2017)

Post by AltaRed »

I doubt it. Merchants are pushing back as it is on the fees they pay and there are plenty of cash back cards now. They are not likely to tolerate even higher fees for even higher cashback cards for us consumers and I don't blame them. After all, the CC companies don't give you cash back rewards from their own pockets.

Anecdotally, as countries become more and more cashless, I understand most transactions become debit based.
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