Have you ever wondered what the best credit card available in Canada is? Should you choose one with an annual fee or not? Are travel rewards credit cards worth the hassle, or should you just stick to a simple cash back credit card? Is signing up for a credit card even a good idea at all? These are all very good questions and, with the number of credit cards available in the Canadian marketplace today, making the right choice can seem nearly impossible.
With people like you in mind who are overwhelmed with the choices and not sure if it is even possible to determine “the best” credit card, we have put together a complete credit card guide that seeks to answer almost any question you might have in regards to credit cards. Not only that, but we have done a thorough analysis of the best credit cards on the market and come up with our own custom scoring system for comparing them in an objective manner. It takes many important factors into consideration such as the return a typical person can get on their credit card spending, the maximum return you can possibly achieve if you do everything just right, how flexible the credit card rewards are, and the quality of the insurance package that comes with the card.
It is actually our belief that every person who can qualify for a rewards credit card should be using one for every possible purchase that they make, so long as you are able to pay the balance in full every month! Unfortunately, not all people can handle the responsibility of having a credit card and when using one they find themselves overspending and getting deep in debt by spending money they don’t have. But, if you are a responsible spender or saver and you aren’t using a credit card, then you are leaving a lot of money on the table that would otherwise be in your pocket!
How Much Can You Really Earn With Credit Cards?
So all of this sounds nice, but when it comes right down to it, how much can you really earn with credit card rewards?
Well, if you are talking about an actual dollar value, then it depends. The main thing it depends on are your annual spending, the credit card you are using, the reward you choose, and how many sign up bonuses you take advantage of. You still want actual numbers, eh? Well the only reliable information I can give you is my own, so here it is:
Between my wife and I, we are currently able to spend about $25,000 a year on our credit cards. Some years it might be more and other years less, but that would be a typical amount for us. I have been seriously using credit cards to collect rewards since 2006, when I signed up for the MBNA Starwood Preferred Guest MasterCard. Since then here is the rough amount of cash and rewards I have received:
- 2 free flights to Toronto, with a 5 day stopover, and then on to Chicago.
- 3 free flights to Vancouver.
- 2 free flights to Paris, France.
- 5 free hotel nights at a 4 star property in Paris.
- About $500 in cash.
- At least $100 in free groceries.
- At least $100 in free merchandise at Shoppers Drug Mart.
- Enough banked reward miles for at least 3 more flights anywhere in North America.
All of the above flights were departing from Atlantic Canada.
So, as you can see, the rewards can really add up quickly! Doing a very rough calculation, I estimate that those rewards combined are worth about $9600. And that would be in tax free dollars because you don’t have to pay taxes on reward points since they are basically a refund returned to you on money you have already earned and spent! So, depending on your tax rate, you could gross that number up by 20 to 40% and get an even higher value.
Sound worth it to you? If so, take some time to completely read through our extensive credit cards section that is chalk full of information about the best credit cards in Canada and how you can get the best possible return on the money you spend.
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