Tools to Find the Most Rewards on Credit Cards in Canada
/Compare Travel Rewards Credit Cards
First Published Date: July 12, 2015
There are many tools and calculators out there to make the most out of reward credit cards. Today, I will mention two extraordinary tools you can use to visualize what you are getting from all reward cards side-by-side. It’s easier to comprehend and make an educated decision when you compare side-by-side, instead of reading reviews of each card separately.
1. Canadian Travel Credit Card Comparison by Rewards Canada
This tool can generate several comparison charts from different categories, such as most popular travel rewards credit cards, all travel rewards credit cards, hybrid credit cards, airline credit cards, etc. In each chart, you will be able to see all the credit cards within that category and their info such as annual fee, bonus, earning ratio, redemption value, exchange options, insurance, and much more.
What I like most in the chart is that you can easily view which credit cards are offering certain insurances and which are not. For example, many travel reward cards do not offer trip cancellation insurance. Also, you will find that very few credit cards offer price protection insurance.
2. Compare Travel Rewards Credit Cards by Rate Hub
This is a very different, yet powerful credit card tool you can use to visualize your rewards in dollar amounts. You can plug in your own monthly spending numbers for different categories, such as groceries, travel, and restaurants and it generates dollar amount figures showing how much money you will be making the first year and subsequent years.
This tool gives you a detailed breakdown of how the points are being calculated to get the dollar value and also provide tips of how to redeem your points to get the most dollar value, how not to redeem, insurance benefits, and much more. The insight and knowledge you will have to make the most out of your rewards credit cards using this tool is simply incredible and knowledge means more money when it comes to redeeming your points.
No calculator or tool is 100 percent complete and provide you all the information you need. For example, the Rate Hub calculator provides much information, yet it still fails to consider the recurring annual anniversary bonuses you might get from some credit cards. For example, when you generate numbers for the BMO World Elite MasterCard and the WestJet RBC World Elite MasterCard, it fails to show anniversary bonuses. For example, the BMO World Elite MasterCard provides lounge membership and 4 passes each year that would translate into $200 annually and the WestJet RBC World Elite MasterCard provides an annual round-trip companion fare for $99, and the Rate Hub tool fails to add the dollar value for subsequent years.
Always do through research before deciding on any credit cards and don’t forget to visit the A Dawn Journal Credit Card Section often for more articles like this and keep an eye for my upcoming book Credit Card Hacks: What Credit Card Companies Don’t Want You to Know to obtain invaluable insight on credit cards rewards.
