Brim Credit Card Offers 5X Points on Travel Spending

Brim Credit Card Updates

Just received a few updates from Brim in my mailbox and today I will touch base on them. The most striking announcement Brim made is that it will offer 5 times on travel transactions, but there is a catch.

Brim will offer 5X points on travel purchases such as accommodation, rentals, flights, and more, but the catch is you have to purchase these through Brim’s travel search engine or Rewards Portal. Think of it like Scotia Rewards or BMO Rewards portal.

5 times rewards on travel spending is a pretty good return, although you are forced to use Brim’s own site. If you book your travel through 3rd party sites, you will still get 2X points per dollar for the World Elite Card.

Brim Offers 5X Points on Travel Spending

Another feature Brim will be offering is the Custom Security feature. Customers will have the ability to lock Brim credit cards from their app to block any transactions or charges. This is an added layer security you can take if you believe your card has been compromised. So you lock your card first and then go through the regular process of notifying customer service like other credit cards.

I haven’t seen this type of self-service protection with any other cards before. In theory, this should give you peace of mind because sometimes it may not be possible to call or reach customer service right away once you realise you don’t know where your card is.

I have several Brim update videos which you can watch here: Brim Credit Cards Playlist

Stack Prepaid MasterCard Offers No Foreign ATM & Transaction Fees

Stack Prepaid Card Review

A new FinTech company in Toronto is offering a new prepaid MasterCard that is not your average prepaid card. What sets this card apart from any other card is that it charges no foreign ATM withdrawal fees and zero foreign transaction fees.

Stack Prepaid MasterCard can be used both as a mobile app or a physical card. There are no fees attached to anything whatsoever according to its website getstack.ca. However, there is no mention of any foreign ATM or transaction fees. So I reached out to them via email and I had a reply within 3 to 4 hours. That’s very impressive. I will summarize based on their responses.

1. Does it charge a foreign transaction fee if I use it outside Canada or in other currency?

Stack will not charge any foreign transaction fees. The cardholder will only be subjected to the foreign exchange rate at the time of the purchase.

2. Is there a foreign ATM withdrawal fee? Is there any limit on how many foreign withdrawals can be made daily or monthly? 

STACK will not be charging any ATM fees; however, cardholders are subjected to the fees levied by the ATM company they use. There is a daily maximum of $1000 CAD for ATM withdraws and a monthly ATM withdraw amount of $2000 CAD. 

3. Is there a limit on how much I can load or withdraw in Canada daily/monthly? 

This is same as foreign ATM withdrawals. A daily maximum of $1000 CAD and a monthly ATM withdraw amount of $2000 CAD. 

4. What options do I have to load this card? Such as Interac etransfer, from other credit cards, etc. 

STACK accounts can be loaded via Visa Debit, Interac transaction and direct deposit (i.e. Payroll). 

There is another Mogo Platinum Prepaid Visa Card that also offers no fee on foreign transactions, but charges $3 on foreign ATM withdrawals. I have videos on both Stack PrePaid MasterCard and Mogo Prepaid Visa Card.

Triangle World Elite MasterCard Provides Free Roadside Assistance

Triangle World Elite MasterCard Review

Canadian Tire is launching its new rewards program called Triangle Rewards. Its iconic Canadian Tire paper money will still be available to earn & redeem at Canadian Tire stores.

The Triangle Reward program will be offering 2 new credit cards, including a World Elite series MasterCard. This is the 3rd free World Elite MasterCard after PC World Elite and Roger’s World MasterCard.

Earn rates are:

4% back on qualifying purchases at Canadian Tire, Mark's, Sport Chek, and Atmosphere.

3% back on grocery store purchases up to $12,000K annually. However, Costco and Walmart are not considered groceries.

7 cents per litre on premium fuel and 5 cents back per litre on regular fuel and at any Canadian Tire gas bar.

1% back everywhere else.

Another interesting features this card offers is a free Roadside Assistance Gold Plan provided by Canadian Tire. If you purchase Roadside Assistance Gold it costs about $100. So by just having this card for free, you will be saving $100 on Auto Club or Roadside Assistance programs.

The Triangle World Elite MasterCard has another stripped-down version just called Triangle MasterCard. The return rates on this card are the same: 4% back on at Canadian Tire, Mark's, Sport Chek, and Atmosphere. You also get 5 cents back per litre on regular fuel, but no 7 cents per litre on premium fuel. It has 0.80 percent back on everything else. There is no 3 percent back on groceries.

If you qualify for the Triangle World Elite MasterCard, which has an $80K personal or $150K household income requirement, you should definitely get it because it provides value—especially the free Roadside Assistance Gold membership.

Brim Credit Card Updates

What’s Happening with Brim

Brim Financial announced created heavy buzz on the Canadian market when they announced new credit cards for Canadians with features such as no foreign transaction fee, Lounge Key membership, Boingo global Wi-Fi access, plus much more. It’s been more than two months since I applied for the Brim World Elite MasterCard and I haven’t heard from them since, so I decided to give them a call to find out what’s going on.

I spoke with two individuals at Brim and here is the summary of what they told me.

No Cards Have Been Issued Yet – Brim is still working on approving credit cards based on FIFO basis and they have not started issuing any credit cards yet. This is as of when I spoke with them about a week ago.

Lounge Key – I asked about lounge access and whether it’s just the annual membership they are offering or if it comes with membership + lounge entrances as well (like Scotia Passport Visa Infinite, which comes with Priority Pass membership + 6 entrances). I was told that they are offering only the Lounge Key (a lounge access program like Priority Pass) membership program, but no free entrances. You will have to pay each time you access a lounge, but you will be saving on the annual membership fee. The RBC WestJet World Elite MasterCard offers the same type of Lounge Key program.

Some Brim Cards Are Out There – There are some Brim credit cards in circulation, but they are given to the testers who are using these cards to test and make sure everything is working fine.

A few days later after talking to Brim, I received an alert from TransUnion on April 26, 2018 that Brim has made a credit inquiry. So it looks like they reached my application, but I have not heard anything from them yet about the status of my application.

What Will Happen to Canadian Tire Money?

Canadian Tire Triangle Rewards Program

Canadian Tire is digitalizing its rewards program to launch their new “Triangle Rewards Program”. With this facelift, Canadian Tire’s 60-year-old rewards program with 11 million members will be able to blend into the everchanging loyalty program environment on the Canadian market.

Today, I will answer some common questions you might have about Canadian Tire paper money and its new Triangle Rewards Program.

 What Will Happen to My Canadian Tire Paper Money?

Canadian Tire paper money isn’t going anywhere and will still exist. You will be able to earn and redeem Canadian Tire paper money at Canadian Tire stores. When you pay with a non-Canadian Tire credit card or pay in cash, you will be receiving paper money just like the traditional way.

Where Will I Be Able to Earn Triangle Rewards Points?

You will be able to earn Triangle points at Canadian Tire, Sport Chek, Gas+, and participating Mark’s and Atmosphere locations.

Do I Need to Sign Up for the New Triangle Program?

If you have a Canadian Tire account or Canadian Tire Option Credit Cards, you don’t need to sign up and you will be a member of the Triangle Rewards Program automatically. If you don’t have either of those, you can sign up in-store or online when the Triangle Program launches.

I have a video on the Triangle Rewards Program coming soon. Also, there will be two new Triangle credit cards: the Triangle MasterCard and the Triangle World Elite Mastercard. I will do a video and write about these cards as well.