Best Credit Card (2016-2021)

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Okanagan
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Re: Best Credit Card 2016

Post by Okanagan »

Re the use of the CTMC, my understanding is the payment for say your property taxes, shows up as a bill payment to the payee not as a CC payment ...the City does not know it is being made by a CC - it would just show from Canadian Tire Bank...there has been a lot of discussion on this on RFD over time...I live in the Okanagan and my city does not allow payment by CC but I have paid my property taxes using my CTMC for the past 4-5 years...no fees or charges by the City..works good for a couple of my rental properties as well. :rofl:
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Re: Best Credit Card 2016

Post by DannyS »

I think it depends on whether you are looking for rewards, such as cash back or points, or the best credit card to improve your credit score. From my personal experience Affirm Financial MasterCard is the best for the latter. There are no hidden fees and they make sure to report every payment you make to the credit bureau, which not make companies do.
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Re: Best Credit Card

Post by Hammerer »

Just a note to all that Ebay/Paypal are making it difficult to avoid their crummy forex rates, even with a 0% forex Chase/Amazon Visa.

There's a workaround, but it involves installing a user-agent spoofing extension to your browser, and 'pretending' you're browsing from a Windows Phone or Android Phone.

Recently, I signed up for 3 credit cards for points/promos:

1. Scotiabank Amex Gold. First Year's Annual fee is waived ($99/$120? I won't be paying it). I signed up through Ratesupermarket.ca so as soon as I was approved, they gave me a CAD$75 Amazon gift card. After spending $750, I'm supposed to get 20 000 Scotia points, which I can use for $200 against any travel related expenses on my statement. Also, 4% cash back (as points) on gas/groceries/dining, and 1% on everything else. I've even bought Amazon gift cards from the grocery store and loaded them on amazon.ca to get 4% Cashback. I'll cancel in 10-11 months.

2. TD Aeroplan Visa Infinite. Signing up through Greatcanadianrebates.com, I should get a $60 reimbursement in some form once approved. 15 000 Aeroplan points with my first purchase. First Year's Annual fee is waived when signing up through their link. I plan on cancelling in 10-11 months. I'm not very familiar with Aeroplan, but I end up on AC a lot, so that 15000 plus my 10000 should hopefully pay for 1 north america ticket at some point for me. Otherwise, a $100 gift cards are 12k-13k miles.

3. RBC Westjet World Elite Mastercard. I'll be stuck paying the $99 annual fee (for one year...), but I'll get $250 WestJet Dollars, and upon initiation, a 'companion pass' where I can bring a guest on a Westjet round-trip, and just pay the taxes + $99. Looks like I'll be going YYZ-->YVR this summer with the SO.

#2 and #3 also have some points/dollars per dollar spent as well, but I'll maximize the 4% through #1 as much as possible.

I have a lot of travel health insurance right now...
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Re: Best Credit Card

Post by pmj »

Hmm.
I made a PayPal purchase just two days ago:
When offered the chance to login to PayPal, refuse, and proceed as a non-member.
PayPal then transitions to a "pay-by-CC" mode.
Enter your CC details (I do so like LastPass :D).
The next screen presented two equally-prominent options:
1. Pay in the currency of the CC. The vig was stated as 2.75%, and the final C$ cost was shown.
2. Pay in the merchant's currency. Warning that the final cost would be unknown.
Done.
And then refuse the offer to open a PayPal account :shock:.
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Re: Best Credit Card

Post by Hammerer »

pmj wrote:Hmm.
I made a PayPal purchase just two days ago:
When offered the chance to login to PayPal, refuse, and proceed as a non-member.
PayPal then transitions to a "pay-by-CC" mode.
Enter your CC details (I do so like LastPass :D).
The next screen presented two equally-prominent options:
1. Pay in the currency of the CC. The vig was stated as 2.75%, and the final C$ cost was shown.
2. Pay in the merchant's currency. Warning that the final cost would be unknown.
Done.
And then refuse the offer to open a PayPal account :shock:.

Check the rate charged to your Chase Visa. Even though all of your paperwork from EBay says USD, the conversion may have been done at 4.5% vig.

I tried to do the same thing several days ago, checking out as a guest and entering in my card details and it looks like you're bypassing PayPal's crummy exchange, but it does not.

Just did another test on the mobile app, directly entering my credit card details, everything says USD, including my email from eBay, without any prompts about currency, and I paid 1.401...
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Re: Best Credit Card

Post by kcowan »

pmj wrote:Hmm.
I made a PayPal purchase just two days ago:
When offered the chance to login to PayPal, refuse, and proceed as a non-member.
PayPal then transitions to a "pay-by-CC" mode.
Enter your CC details (I do so like LastPass :D).
The next screen presented two equally-prominent options:
1. Pay in the currency of the CC. The vig was stated as 2.75%, and the final C$ cost was shown.
2. Pay in the merchant's currency. Warning that the final cost would be unknown.
Done.
And then refuse the offer to open a PayPal account :shock:.
Yes I discovered this method when I was making a $1500 peso charitable purchase. Has to log in again.

There are also two places in your account settings for the card that must be completed for this to work.

Also many restaurant POS devices will give you the option of currency. Make sure to pick local.
For the fun of it...Keith
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adrian2
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Re: Best Credit Card

Post by adrian2 »

Hammerer wrote:Check the rate charged to your Chase Visa. Even though all of your paperwork from EBay says USD, the conversion may have been done at 4.5% vig.
Chase Visa should have been charged in USD by the merchant (Paypal). There should be no conversion done by Paypal.

The whole idea is to let Chase Amazon handle the currency conversion, at a negligible vig (hard to determine precisely, due to hourly fluctuations; in my estimate 0.1% to 0.2%).

Side note: on Chase Amazon's web interface, Review Authorizations shows the foreign currency transaction converted to CAD for the first day or so. Give it a day or two and it will show both the original currency amount and the CAD amount.
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Re: Best Credit Card

Post by Hammerer »

adrian2 wrote:
Hammerer wrote:Check the rate charged to your Chase Visa. Even though all of your paperwork from EBay says USD, the conversion may have been done at 4.5% vig.
Chase Visa should have been charged in USD by the merchant (Paypal). There should be no conversion done by Paypal.
I agree, this is the problem. There are various sets of cases where EBay/PayPal has deliberately/negligently/accidentally broken the interface to disable opting out of dynamic currency conversion by PayPal.

Sometimes to the point of providing every suggestion that you will be billed in USD, which happened to me when I keyed in my credit card number for the transaction.

Thanks for the heads up about pending transactions always showing as CAD, even when it was billed in a diff currency.
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Re: Best Credit Card

Post by pmj »

Hammerer wrote:
pmj wrote:Hmm.
I made a PayPal purchase just two days ago:
When offered the chance to login to PayPal, refuse, and proceed as a non-member.
PayPal then transitions to a "pay-by-CC" mode.
Enter your CC details (I do so like LastPass :D).
The next screen presented two equally-prominent options:
1. Pay in the currency of the CC. The vig was stated as 2.75%, and the final C$ cost was shown.
2. Pay in the merchant's currency. Warning that the final cost would be unknown.
Check the rate charged to your Chase Visa. Even though all of your paperwork from EBay says USD, the conversion may have been done at 4.5% vig.
Maybe it's eBay specific? My purchase was not at eBay, but it was billed through PayPal. I've checked my CC (actually Rogers MC, which charges 2.5% vig, then gives 4% cashback) - it properly charged the US$ value of the purchase, and the US$ : C$ rate exactly matches the Yahoo rate +2.5% at the time of the transaction. I can't comment re eBay CC transactions - it's more than a year since I last made a non-C$ purchase from eBay.
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Re: Best Credit Card

Post by cedeebee »

pmj wrote:
Hammerer wrote:
pmj wrote:Hmm.
I made a PayPal purchase just two days ago:
When offered the chance to login to PayPal, refuse, and proceed as a non-member.
PayPal then transitions to a "pay-by-CC" mode.
Enter your CC details (I do so like LastPass :D).
The next screen presented two equally-prominent options:
1. Pay in the currency of the CC. The vig was stated as 2.75%, and the final C$ cost was shown.
2. Pay in the merchant's currency. Warning that the final cost would be unknown.
Check the rate charged to your Chase Visa. Even though all of your paperwork from EBay says USD, the conversion may have been done at 4.5% vig.
Maybe it's eBay specific? My purchase was not at eBay, but it was billed through PayPal. I've checked my CC (actually Rogers MC, which charges 2.5% vig, then gives 4% cashback) - it properly charged the US$ value of the purchase, and the US$ : C$ rate exactly matches the Yahoo rate +2.5% at the time of the transaction. I can't comment re eBay CC transactions - it's more than a year since I last made a non-C$ purchase from eBay.
I'd say it's Ebay specific. Just saw this thread now and went to look at the details of my Chase account. All of the Ebay purchases are listed as CAD only, despite entering my credit card # directly into Ebay when paying. I didn't bother checking the exchange rate for each transaction on the day posted, but my calculations clearly imply Ebay/Paypal was tacking on their %age. Weasels. I note that 2 other online sites I shop at, Etsy and Poshmark, also use Paypal, but the transaction details indicate the US cost, exchange rate for Chase only, then the final amount in CAD.
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Re: Best Credit Card (2016-2017)

Post by melo »

Hello,

A friend applied for the Rogers' MasterCard which charges 2.5 % on foreign currency transaction fee, but has a 4% cash back. He said this gives a positive net return of 1.5%. He said it is better than Amazon Rewards Visa (0% foreign currency transaction fee and 2% cash back on Amazon purchases/1% cash back on everything else).

Is his logic correct?

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

Post by pmj »

melo wrote:Hello,

A friend applied for the Rogers' MasterCard which charges 2.5 % on foreign currency transaction fee, but has a 4% cash back. He said this gives a positive net return of 1.5%. He said it is better than Amazon Rewards Visa (0% foreign currency transaction fee and 2% cash back on Amazon purchases/1% cash back on everything else).

Is his logic correct?
It's actually better than suggested.

The effective cashback on Rogers foreign purchases is more than 1.5%, cos the 4% is paid on 102.5, not on 100. Example:
You buy something in another currency at a price that would be C$100 at the neutral exchange rate.
You will be billed C$102.50.
Your cashback will be 4% x $102.50 = $4.10.
Your net payment will be S102.50 - $4.10 = $98.40, ie a $1.60 reduction on the original cost of C$100.

Rogers also gives 1.75% on all domestic purchases, which is better than just about any no/low fee card.
The $29 fee is waived if you autopay Rogers (and maybe Fido) bills.

Note that 2% at Amazon is only paid on Amazon.ca purchases.
Peter

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Re: Best Credit Card (2016-2017)

Post by melo »

Thank you, Peter!
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Re: Best Credit Card (2016-2017)

Post by ig17 »

4% rebate doesn't apply to foreign cash advances. So you end up paying 2.5% fee on every cash withdrawal, on top of foreign ATM fees.

In contrast, Amazon Visa exchange rate policy applies equally to cash advances and purchases.
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Re: Best Credit Card (2016-2017)

Post by kcowan »

ig17 wrote:In contrast, Amazon Visa exchange rate policy applies equally to cash advances and purchases.
If you have a positive balance on your amazon Visa, they charge 1% for a cash withdrawal, minimum $5.
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Re: Best Credit Card (2016-2017)

Post by pmj »

ig17 wrote:4% rebate doesn't apply to foreign cash advances. So you end up paying 2.5% fee on every cash withdrawal, on top of foreign ATM fees.
Good point - I hadn't yet considered using my Rogers card for cash. This change was a clever move by Rogers! Stick with Amazon for cash advances.
In contrast, Amazon Visa exchange rate policy applies equally to cash advances and purchases.
But to be fair, Rogers' _exchange rate policy_ is also the same for cash and purchases - it's just different to Amazon's.
kcowan wrote:If you have a positive balance on your amazon Visa, they charge 1% for a cash withdrawal, minimum $5.
The 1% fee is on all cash advances, whatever your balance. Pretty sure it'd be the same at Rogers, like most credit cards, cos that 1% fee is the only income for the CC co on that transaction (no merchant fees on cash advances).
Last edited by pmj on 30 Jan 2017 12:06, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Best Credit Card (2016-2017)

Post by 2 yen »

pmj wrote:
ig17 wrote:4% rebate doesn't apply to foreign cash advances. So you end up paying 2.5% fee on every cash withdrawal, on top of foreign ATM fees.
Good point - I hadn't yet considered using my Rogers card for cash. This change was a clever move by Rogers! Stick with Amazon.
In contrast, Amazon Visa exchange rate policy applies equally to cash advances and purchases.
But to be fair, Rogers' _exchange rate policy_ is also the same for cash and purchases - it's just different to Amazon's.
kcowan wrote:If you have a positive balance on your amazon Visa, they charge 1% for a cash withdrawal, minimum $5.
The 1% fee is on all cash advances, whatever your balance. Pretty sure it'd be the same at Rogers, like most credit cards, cos that 1% fee is the only income for the CC co on that transaction (no merchant fees on cash advances).
Do interest charges kick in immediately with cash withdrawals when the balance is even or negative? I know they don't with positive balances....

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Re: Best Credit Card (2016-2017)

Post by ig17 »

kcowan wrote:
ig17 wrote:In contrast, Amazon Visa exchange rate policy applies equally to cash advances and purchases.
If you have a positive balance on your amazon Visa, they charge 1% for a cash withdrawal, minimum $5.
You are right. I forgot about that.
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Re: Best Credit Card (2016-2017)

Post by ig17 »

2 yen wrote:Do interest charges kick in immediately with cash withdrawals when the balance is even or negative?
Yes.
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Re: Best Credit Card (2016-2017)

Post by pmj »

ig17 wrote:
2 yen wrote:Do interest charges kick in immediately with cash withdrawals when the balance is even or negative?
Yes.
We have two Amazon cards - one for purchases, the other for cash advances. I pay the cash one immediately - although even a full month at 24% is less than 2.5% vig. Now we'll use Rogers for purchases, Amazon for cash.
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Re: Best Credit Card (2016-2017)

Post by IdOp »

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:
Last edited by IdOp on 11 Apr 2017 22:53, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Best Credit Card (2016-2017)

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Peter

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Re: Best Credit Card (2016-2017)

Post by IdOp »

Thanks pmj, I've fixed it in my post as well.
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Re: Best Credit Card (2016-2017)

Post by kcowan »

pmj wrote: 30 Jan 2017 09:13
kcowan wrote:If you have a positive balance on your amazon Visa, they charge 1% for a cash withdrawal, minimum $5.
The 1% fee is on all cash advances, whatever your balance. Pretty sure it'd be the same at Rogers, like most credit cards, cos that 1% fee is the only income for the CC co on that transaction (no merchant fees on cash advances).
Yes but if you are not in Canada, you get the foreign funds for no FX! We will never pay 2.5% to get our money!
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Re: Best Credit Card (2016-2017)

Post by adrian2 »

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:
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