PC Financial World Mastercard benefits

• No annual fee
• Earn 35 PC Optimum Points per $1 dollar spent at Shoppers Drug Mart
• Earn 20 PC Optimum Points per $1 spent at Loblaws stores and PC Travel
• Earn 10 PC Optimum Points per $1 spent on all other purchases
• Earn 30 PC Optimum Points per litre at Esso/Mobil locations
• Purchase assurance
• Extended warranty
• Concierge service

Right away you’ll notice that this card has a strong earnings rate. You get 35 PC Optimum Points per $1 dollar spent at Shoppers Drug Mart, 20 points per $1 spent at Loblaws stores and PC Travel, and 10 points per $1 spent on all other purchases.

The high earning rate only applies to specific merchants, but Loblaws owned stores include No Frills, Loblaws, Real Canadian Superstore, Zehrs, Independent, Valu-mart, Fortinos, Loblaws City Market, Provigo, Joe Fresh, Beauty Boutique, and Dominion so you get a lot of choices.

If you don’t shop at any of those stores on a regular basis, then you’re probably better off applying for a different cash back card or even a travel rewards card.

What’s nice is that you can also earn PC Optimum points at Esso/Mobil station where your earn rate is 30 PC Optimum Points per litre. Given how valuable PC Optimum points are, it’s worth filling up at Esso gas stations, but I wouldn’t recommend going out your way to do it.

The additional benefits of purchase assurance, extended warranty, and concierge service are nice perks for a no-fee card.

Despite the minimum income requirement of $60,000 or a household income of $100,000 to qualify for this card, PC Financial would upgrade you to the World Mastercard from the regular PC Financial Mastercard if you charge a minimum of $15,000 to the card. I should mention that if you have an income of $80,000 or a household income of $120,000, you would qualify for the PC Financial World Elite Mastercard.

How PC Optimum works

PC Optimum is one of the easiest programs to understand. You earn points at participating merchants and then when you have accumulated enough points, you can make redeem them for groceries or merchandise.

It takes 10,000 PC Optimum points to make a $10 redemption. That means the PC Financial World Mastercard gives you a return of up to 3.5% which is pretty impressive.

PC Optimum also has targeted and in-store promotions so there are ways to earn even more points. They even have PC Points days every so often where there are even more points available to PC Optimum members so make sure you’re signed up to their mailing list.

How the PC Financial World Mastercard compares to others

The closest comparable cash back card to the PC Financial World Mastercard is the Meridian Visa Infinite Cash Back card. The Meridian card also has a minimum income requirement of $60,000, but you’ll earn 4% in cash back at all grocery stores. This is rather appealing since that’s a high rate of return, but note that at drug stores, you only earn 2% cash back. I should also mention that many Loblaws owned stores only accept Mastercard, so you wouldn’t even be able to use the Meridian card if you had it. You should also keep in mind that the Meridian card has an annual fee of $99, but the fee is waived for the first year.

The Scotia Momentum Visa Infinite card also gives you 4% in cash back at all grocery stores but this is also a Visa card so you won’t be able to use it at stores that only accept Mastercard. This will likely annoy you, but Loblaws does this on purpose as a way to try to get you to sign up for one of their credit cards. That being said, Shopper’s Drug Mart does accept all types of credit cards, but you get the most value when using a PC Mastercard there.

One no-fee Mastercard that might appeal to you is the Tangerine Money-Back card since you can earn up to 2% in money-back rewards in three chosen categories. All other purchases earn you 0.5% so that’s something to keep in mind. You can read my full review of the Tangerine Money-Back card here

Final thoughts

My PC Financial World Mastercard review is positive. Despite the fact that there are some better cash back credit cards out there, this card is clearly aimed at people who shop at Shoppers Drug Mart and Loblaws owned stores on a regular basis. If you’re one of those people, then this card will help you earn more points.

Article Reference: www.moneywehave.com