I’m on holidays for the subsequent two weeks. Globe and Mail private finance reporters Erica Alini and Salmaan Farooqui will probably be writing this text in my absence. Speak to you in February!
A reader acquired in contact not too long ago about what he thinks is a candidate for finest reward bank card.
“Check out the Scotiabank Gold American Specific card,” he wrote by e-mail. “I can’t discover some other card the place you get these type of earn charges.”
There are literally a few issues to love about this card, one in every of them being that it doesn’t cost the standard 2.5 per cent payment on transaction in foreign currency. The opposite is, sure, the earn fee. You get six factors for each $1 you spend at grocery shops within the Sobey’s, Safeway, FreshCo and Foodland chains, 5 factors per $1 on restaurant meals, takeout and leisure, three factors per $1 for fuel and transportation bills in addition to some streaming providers, and one level per $1 for different purchases. The very best I’ve seen from different playing cards is a most of 5 factors per greenback spent in sure classes.
How does Scotiabank Gold American Specific examine total, although? For some ideas, I reached out to my go-to card professional, Patrick Sojka of Rewards Canada. “Sure, the Scotia Gold American Specific Card is a points-earning machine,” Mr. Sojka mentioned by e-mail. The truth is, he slotted it in at No. 1 amongst journey factors playing cards with an annual payment in a current rating. In accordance with Mr. Sojka, the Scotia card’s six factors per greenback earn fee is the best of any card in Canada.
The cardboard didn’t rank as the highest journey reward card total, although. The explanation why highlights the necessity to examine the reward scheme for any bank card earlier than signing up. Mr. Sojka explains that whenever you redeem factors for journey, eating, motion pictures and groceries with Scotiabank American Specific Gold, you get a greater reward fee than for those who redeem for cashback or assertion credit.
The journey rewards card Mr. Sojka considers the very best in Canada, Amex Cobalt, affords a most 5 factors per greenback spent. However the worth you get from these factors is similar, whether or not you employ them for journey or cashback. Mr. Sojka mentioned Cobalt may also provide robust worth for those who convert factors to airline reward applications akin to Aeroplan, or guide journey via Amex utilizing the Fastened Factors Journey Program. This program affords flights for a pre-set variety of factors.
Mr. Sojka mentioned it’s a toss-up between Cobalt and Scotiabank Gold American Specific for somebody who received’t use the Amex mounted factors program or convert to Aeroplan. In the event you store at Sobey’s repeatedly, then the Scotia card is the way in which to go.
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Ask Rob
Q: Our son is planning a go to to Australia and New Zealand in March. We wish to give him some additional spending cash for the journey. What can be probably the most cost-efficient approach to do that? Are traveller cheques nonetheless an possibility or ought to we simply pay into his bank card account?
A: I’m going to recommend pay as you go playing cards. Pay as you go journey playing cards provided by Visa and Mastercard are one possibility, whereas one other is a journey card from an organization known as Sensible that makes a speciality of worldwide cash transfers. The Sensible card can maintain a number of currencies, together with Australian and New Zealand {dollars}.
Do you’ve a query for me? Ship it my approach. Sorry I am unable to reply each one personally. Questions and solutions are edited for size and readability.
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