Credit cards with annual fees have by far the highest earning potential. For Canadians who spend enough money, the card’s higher earnings can outweigh the fee, even if that fee is as high as $599.
But that doesn’t make no-fee credit cards any less worthy. Some no-fee credit cards have earn rates that rival those of cards with fees—if you use them for the right purchases, that is.
One of those cards is the Canadian Tire Triangle Mastercard. For a card with no annual fee, you can earn substantial amounts of money. Here’s why.
High earn rate
The Canadian Tire Triangle Mastercards earns a whopping 4% back on all Canadian Tire purchases (pre-tax), 1.5% back on groceries, and five cents per litre on gas.
And that’s without an annual fee.
Your rewards come to you in the form of Canadian Tire money, which you can only use on Canadian Tire purchases (or affiliates). So if you don’t shop frequently at Canadian Tire, the earnings won’t benefit you as much as other cash back or rewards cards. But for those that spend as much time at Canadian Tire as they do at home, this card should have a firm place in your wallet.
Double (or triple) dip potential
The 4% back on Canadian Tire purchases is high. But the earnings don’t stop there. If you’re also a Canadian Tire Triangle rewards member, you’ll get opportunities to earn double or triple the rewards through stacking.
Stacking is the bread and butter of the Triangle rewards program. In fact, if you’re not stacking, you’re definitely leaving rewards on the table.
Stacking works like this. Canadian Tire will send you a personalized offer, typically a chance to earn more CT money on something you buy frequently. On top of that, Canadian Tire might have a storewide discount. And, finally, you might get CT money back for hitting a certain spending threshold. Combine all three of these offers, and you can earn some serious money back.
For instance, Canadian Tire might give all shoppers $30 back when they spend $100 or more before the end of the month. During the time of this promotion, you get an offer for 25 times the CT money on all oil purchases. You decide to buy $100 worth of oil, which earns you $30 instantly. But because you apply your personalized offer, you’ll get 25 times the CT money on your oil as well.
That’s great. But it’s even better when Canadian Tire has a storewide discount, say 25%, on all purchases. If that’s the case, you get $30 back for spending $100, CT money for buying oil, and 25% off your total purchase.
That’s already a fair amount of earnings. But it doesn’t end there—pay with your Canadian Tire Triangle Mastercard, and you’ll earn an additional 4% back. And that, folks, is how you earn some serious CT cash.
Bonus days
Last, but not least, Canadian Tire will often schedule “bonus days” throughout the year. They’ll typically announce these days in advance, and you’ll have an opportunity to earn more CT money.
For instance, this year, Canadian Tire announced bonus days on March 16 and March 17. For certain purchases, you had the opportunity to earn 30 times the Canadian Tire money.
You’ll typically get an email once the bonus day is announced. Leave big purchases for the bonus days, and you’ll rake up a hefty amount of rewards.
