Is this the best credit card in Canada?
There are lots of great sign-up bonuses for cards in Canada, but what is the best credit card to use on a daily basis?
The Scotiabank Momentum Visa Infinite might meet the mark. The card doesn’t have a sign-up bonus, and does have a $99 annual fee, but this fee is waived for the first year (this ends May 31), and it has a 4% return on gas station and grocery store purchases!
There is no point/mile out there, or any other credit card, that gives you that substantial a return. But the trick is the 4% is only available at gas stations and grocery stores. However, both of these stores sell gift cards to hundreds of merchants, from Amazon, Paypal, LCBO, and even credit card gift cards. So long as you purchase these gift cards at a gas station/grocery store, you just got a 4% return. Note that this benefit maxes out at $25,000 of spend, so in every year at the 4% category, you can get a cash-back return of $1000!
Here’s some basic math: say you spend $1500/month on items that can be purchased using a gift card that you can buy at the grocery store. In a year, that is $18,000 in purchases. With 4% cash-back, you would get $720 in cash-back.
My recommendation? Get this card. Large grocery stores like Loblaws sell gift cards for almost all the retailers that I look at, and it’s an easy $1000 back every year. After you max out the category, use a different card.
This post contains affiliate links – I am extremely grateful for those who apply using my links.
Or if you’re a big restaurant spender, the Scotia Amex Gold gives 4% back on restaurants too, though it doesn’t give 2% on recurring payments/drug stores. Also has a signup bonus. Not pure cash back, but statement credits against travel which is just as good – you can purchase a prepaid hotel room, apply your points towards it for a credit, then cancel the hotel room.
Good card. However, one can earn $55 cash back and $100 statement credit from Greatcanadianrebates.
This is great. But I don’t see many gift cards for places I shop.
If I purchase a Visa at a Grocery Store or Gas Station, they often have hefty 10%-30% fee to purchase. I think I saw a $50 Visa card with a $9.95 purchase fee, and a $25 card with a $6.95 fee. Is there a Visa card I can purchase at a Grocery store that you can recommend that I can purchase with a Scotiabank momentum card?
$100 statement credit with $500 in purchases in first three months. For accounts opened by February 28, 2016.