SimplyCash Preferred Cash Back Credit Card Annual Fee Goes Up

American Express Cash Back Credit Card

Amex’s annual fee cash back credit card is going through a bit of a facelift, including receiving a higher annual fee. However, existing users will be able to continue paying $79 per year.

With a new $99 annual fee, there is a promotional bonus of 5 percent cash back for the first three months, capped at $300. What this means is that you can spend a total of $6,000 in three months or $2,000 each month to catch this promotion.

Also, there is no more spending limit on 2 percent cash back. This card comes with some insurances, such as emergency travel medical, travel accident insurance, and car rental theft & damage insurance.

The 2 percent return on all spending is a good cash back rate, but there are other Canadian cash back cards that offer the same return. MBNA Rewards World Elite (2% flat), Scotia Momentum Visa Infinite (4% on selected categories), Scotia Gold American Express (4% on selected categories), BMO Cashback World Elite MasterCard (1.75% flat, but has various added perks) are just a few.

On the no-annual fee side, Amex has its own SimplyCash card that earns 1.25 percent flat on everything. Some other no-fee credit cards to consider include Rogers Platinum MasterCard (free for Rogers customers, 1.75% cash back), Tangerine Money-Back Credit Card (2% flat on selected categories), and the RBC Cash Back MasterCard.

Here are some links to my YouTube video on cash back credit cards I have released in the past:

Which Credit Cards Give the Most Rewards Points of Cash Back?

What Are Some of the Best Cash Back Credit Cards?

Let Your Credit Card Company Pay Your Interest

Credit Card Pays Interest

By paying your balance every month in full, you are actually using your card company’s money for free for your full billing period. Your card company always wants you to carry a balance so they can charge you interest and that’s how card companies make money.

If you are paying your balance in full, you are actually using your card company’s money at their high interest rate for free. Let me give you an example. In Sep 2006, I bought five British Airways return tickets for my trip at approximately $2000 each. My total cost was $2000 * 5 = $10,000. Most of the card companies charge 20% annual interest rate. If I do an approximate calculation for $10,000 at 20%, my one month interest charge would be $165. Yes, that’s right.

My one month interest charge would have been $165. But I avoided this charge by paying my balance in full and definitely my card company did not like it because they lost $165. If you look at this little differently, you can say that I borrowed money for one month at 20% interest rate but I have not paid any interest because my credit card company paid it for me.

What do all these translate into? Know how you are being charged and what your interest rate is. Pay your balance in full. It’s like using your card company’s money at their expense.

Credit Cards Can Save You Foreign Transaction Fees

No Foreign Currency Fee Credit Card

Most Canadian credit cards charge nasty foreign transaction fees when you shop in a non-Canadian currency. However, with these 4 cards you can save 2.5 percent, as that’s the standard fee other cards charge.

Amazon Canada Rewards Visa Card – A no-annual fee credit card that offers no foreign currency fee as well. Does not have many perks and features, but a good one to keep for foreign travel and online shopping in foreign currency. Issued by Chase Canada. This card will not work in Burma (Myanmar), Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Sudan, Syria and Libya.

Marriott Rewards Premier Visa Card - Also issued by Chase Canada and will not work in Burma (Myanmar), Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Sudan, Syria and Libya. This one has a $120 annual fee. A Marriott hotel chain co-branded credit card earns Marriott reward points and comes with other benefits.

Rogers Platinum MasterCard – This one works a little differently. You pay the 2.5 percent foreign transaction fee, but Rogers offers 4 percent cash back on foreign transactions, making it 1.5 percent return in foreign purchases. The annual fee is $29, but waived for the first year. If you pay your Rogers bills by pre-authorized payment, the annual fee is waived each year.

CIBC Air Canada AC Conversion Visa PrePaid Card – Although it’s a prepaid card, it’s marketed as a no-foreign currency transaction fee cards as long as you are transacting in one of the 10 supported currencies it offers. However, when you load foreign currency, it seems to factor this in and charge a foreign currency fee. Still, I like this card because it lets you withdraw from one ATM per month for free in foreign locations in supported currency and it’s safer when you travel, as you are the one to decide how much you want to load.

Tangerine MoneyBack MasterCard – This one charges 1.5 percent foreign transaction fees, instead of 2.5 percent.

Don't Throw Out Your Credit Cards Yet, First Pick Up Your Phone

Cutting Credit Cards

Yesterday I decided to get rid of two credit cards. These two cards were in my wallet for long and I never used it. As I was calling customer service to close my account, my friend (who was next to me) suggested just to throw out my cards. He said he never bothers to call because it is a waste of time.

Many of us do the same thing. A lot of us don't realize that if you do not call your card company and close your account - your account will remain active and it will appear on your credit reports as a credit. So if you opened accounts here and there years ago just to get10% discount and forgot about it, chances are high that's what making your credit reports lengthy. We don't know how many credit cards we have and all these accounts appear on our credit reports and creditors might not like having too many accounts. So before you throw out your credit card next time, make sure you pick up the phone and call your credit card company to close your account first.
First Published: Mar 29, 2007 ADawnJournal.com

The Best No Foreign Currency Fee Credit Cards in Canada

No Foreign Currency Fee Credit Cards

Best No Foreign Transaction Fee Cards

Canadians pay a 2.5 percent foreign transaction fee on most credit cards when they travel, even on high -end annual fee credit cards. Three cards are the exception to this rule. However, there is another option that became available to Canadians recently to avoid the foreign fee.

Here the three cards that let you avoid the foreign currency fee:

Chase Marriott Rewards Visa Card
Amazon Visa card
Rogers Platinum MasterCard

CIBC Air Canada AC Conversion Visa Prepaid Card

A new card called the CIBC Air Canada AC Conversion Visa Prepaid Card offers some unique features that come in handy when you travel. Don’t let this prepaid card steer you away from the various benefits it offers.

You can load a maximum of 10 currencies on this card and as long as you purchase within those currencies in foreign lands, you will not pay any foreign currency fee when you buy. However, when you load foreign currency, it seems to factor this in and charge a foreign currency fee. You can also withdraw cash from ATMs and get no fee for the first withdrawal.

My main reason to like this card is flexibility. I am always uncomfortable browsing the streets in foreign lands with a card that has $20,000 to $30,000 credit limit in my pocket. The AC Conversion Card lets me load any amount I want (minimum $100, max $3,000) and I would have peace of mind knowing that losing my card would be no big deal, as I would only load what I need daily in small amounts when I travel.

I will do an unboxing video of this card on my YouTube channel and possibly write more in the future. And rest assured, just like my all other credit card articles and videos, I do not accept money from credit card companies or provide any affiliated links to make money signing you up like other websites or blogs.

CIBC Air Canada AC Conversion Visa Prepaid Credit Card Unboxing and Brief Review