# PC Financial Mastercard vs. other no fee store cards - how does it rank?



## gladstonecrew (Jan 29, 2015)

I'm looking at no fee credit cards. PC Mastercard you earn points that can be used for free groceries at Loblaws, No frills. Interested. How does this stack up vs other store cards in terms of real value?


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## gibor365 (Apr 1, 2011)

My wife recently got it and like it.... I recently got Amazon.ca Visa and ...also like it


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## Just a Guy (Mar 27, 2012)

There is a credit card comparison on moneysense's website...don't know if it had the PC MasterCard.

I do see a lot of people carrying the new Costco MasterCard and using it as their main card...


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## Butters (Apr 20, 2012)

PC Financial card is GREAT.... 1% back everywhere, no gimmicks 
it is also very low to qualify for it ... no annual fee
I'd recommend this card to anyone.... very simple, use the points for groceries redeemable by $20



Costco Card is less than 1% on daily goods, and you must question how do they classify a restaurant or gas bar... I had the old school AMEX Costco card (which was a flat 1%), I upgraded a couple years ago to the NEW school one, in hunt of this extra gas rebate, and CO-OP gas in Winnipeg was not considered a gas purchase.. so my rebate cheque was less
0.5% on the first $3,000 you spend annually on all other purchases, then 1% after...




I personally use MBNA Smart Cash card, which requires an income of $60,000 annually
1% cash back everywhere, a few groceries for 2% (no frills and superstore count)
no annual fee, when you reach $50.00 they mail you the cheque

I charge maybe $300 a month on groceries, $70 on gas, and maybe $300 on other per month


If you spent thousands of dollars a month, you might look into some cards that have annual fees

If you don't carry a balance these cards are great to earn some extra dollars


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## Mookie (Feb 29, 2012)

I use MBNA Smart Cash. They often have promotions where you get 5% cash back for gas and groceries for the first 6 months. After that it's 2% for gas and groceries and 1% for everything else. No annual fee. Also, why not set up your bills to be charged to this card, and get 1% back on your phone / heat / electricity etc...

If you shop at superstore, get a pcplus card as well. If you look out for what earns points, it's amazing how much you can save on points.


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## gibor365 (Apr 1, 2011)

> > PC Financial card is GREAT.... 1% back everywhere, no gimmicks


Visa Amazon, 1% on all perchases and 2% if you buy on amazon.ca , I like that they just deposit $20 to your account when you have enough points (not YE as many others). Also amazon Visa is the best for shoping abroad


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## scorpion_ca (Nov 3, 2014)

MBNA Smart Cash - there is a $400 monthly cap to receive 2% cash back for gas and groceries. After that, it's 1%. I think PCF and MBNA are one of the best cash back rewards cards.


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## james4beach (Nov 15, 2012)

I think PC Mastercard and MBNA are two excellent general purpose cards, and I use both.

The "world" version of the PC card (which is black) is superior if you shop a lot at Loblaws/Superstore/No Frills. It provides a 2% reward, seemingly like the MBNA.

But there's a difference: MBNA has a monthly cap on the 2% reward and another cap on the 1% level. PC World mastercard has no limit as far as I know. So let's say you spend $2,000 a month in eligible high tier of purchases.

With MBNA: you'll get 2% on the first $400 = $8. Then you get 1% on the next $1250 = $12.50. That's it, a total of $20.50 for the month.
With PC World: you get 2% on entire $2,000 = $40.

So in this example the reward with the PC World card is nearly double that of MBNA. I can't figure out why the PC World card is hardly ever mentioned on these forums, it's still no-fee


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## Guban (Jul 5, 2011)

The black PC MasterCard seems to be by invitation only from my experience. You couldnt just apply for it when I looked a few years ago. The PC Card is simple,a though the new PC Points plan, that is not necessarily linked to the credit card is complicated. I have to load my individualized extra point items weekly and tap twice at the cashier to earn them and pay for them.


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## carverman (Nov 8, 2010)

Guban said:


> although the new PC Points plan, that is not necessarily linked to the credit card is complicated. I have to load my individualized extra point items weekly and tap twice at the cashier to earn them and pay for them.


+1 
I find it a pain when you don't have a smart phone to download these extra points specials, although if you do buy them in the process of
shopping at Loblaws, the cashiers will credit those extra points to your points account.


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## cainvest (May 1, 2013)

james4beach said:


> I think PC Mastercard and MBNA are two excellent general purpose cards, and I use both.
> 
> The "world" version of the PC card (which is black) is superior if you shop a lot at Loblaws/Superstore/No Frills. It provides a 2% reward, seemingly like the MBNA.
> 
> ...


The PC World gives you 2% at loblaws stores and 1% everywhere else right? Also, can you redeem those points for cash?


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## Guban (Jul 5, 2011)

cainvest said:


> The PC World gives you 2% at loblaws stores and 1% everywhere else right? Also, can you redeem those points for cash?


Not cash, but "free" groceries. Never liked the use of the word "free" here, as I still have to give up something (the points). Therefore, not "free" in my books, but that's how they advertise it.


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## leeder (Jan 28, 2012)

I agree with everyone for the most part, in that PC MasterCard (world or normal) is a great card, especially if the cardholder is a regular shopper at Loblaw stores. However, that's the issue with this card. The rewards can only be used in Loblaws stores. Whereas cash back cards might provide better value to consumers because you either get a cheque or it reduces your overall owing on your credit card statement.




gibor said:


> Visa Amazon, 1% on all perchases and 2% if you buy on amazon.ca , I like that they just deposit $20 to your account when you have enough points (not YE as many others). Also amazon Visa is the best for shoping abroad


I recently got this card and look forward to using this. The lack of the 2.5% conversion fee is attractive to me.


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## Userkare (Nov 17, 2014)

Now that Costco accepts MC, we always use our PC MC there. We get the PC points to spend at Loblaws, and also get the points towards our Costco Executive membership - which every year sends a cheque that more than covers the membership fee.

Sure, you can only spend the PC points at Loblaws/Independent; but we spend money there anyway, so it works out for us. For years we have been using the points to do an annual $100 top-up on my wife's PAYG cell phone, and usually buy our Thanksgiving turkey with points.


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## andrewf (Mar 1, 2010)

leeder said:


> I agree with everyone for the most part, in that PC MasterCard (world or normal) is a great card, especially if the cardholder is a regular shopper at Loblaw stores. However, that's the issue with this card. The rewards can only be used in Loblaws stores. Whereas cash back cards might provide better value to consumers because you either get a cheque or it reduces your overall owing on your credit card statement.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


You can use PC points to buy gift cards, I think. But I find using the points for grocery spend is as good as getting cash back.


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## Plugging Along (Jan 3, 2011)

I use my PC Card only at lob laws and Costco. Those are the two main places I go for groceries and gas. I had a TD visa for everything else, where I get 1.5%.

I just used $800 in points on groceries over the last couple emanates, which is nice after Christmas.


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## scorpion_ca (Nov 3, 2014)

PC changed the rules couple of years ago and now you can apply for it or convert normal PC card to black/world card if your household income is $100K or more. 



Guban said:


> The black PC MasterCard seems to be by invitation only from my experience. You couldnt just apply for it when I looked a few years ago. The PC Card is simple,a though the new PC Points plan, that is not necessarily linked to the credit card is complicated. I have to load my individualized extra point items weekly and tap twice at the cashier to earn them and pay for them.


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## leeder (Jan 28, 2012)

scorpion_ca said:


> PC changed the rules couple of years ago and now you can apply for it or convert normal PC card to black/world card if your household income is $100K or more.


Or 60k personal income.


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## indexxx (Oct 31, 2011)

I use my MBNA master card for everything, except gas at Superstore. My PC Financial card gets 7 cents off per litre on groceries which is higher than the 2% MBNA reward.


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## kork (Jun 9, 2012)

PC World card is great. I've got around 900,000 points on mine right now. It really is as good as cash and here's why.

My wife and I use it for Christmas for the kids and other large purchases. So around September or so when we start Christmas shopping, we'll buy something for the girls at Toys R' Us... Let's say... $60. 

And from there, the next time we buy groceries, we use the points... $60 worth.

Works great!!!


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## Karlhungus (Oct 4, 2013)

Lots of people are forgetting about the superbucks, moneysense did as well which to me pushes them to the top. 7 cents per liter bonus (10.5 cents at certain superstores) really starts to add up over time. The new pc plus system is amazing as well. The system automatically starts to give you bonus points on items you buy regularly.


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## james4beach (Nov 15, 2012)

Karlhungus said:


> Lots of people are forgetting about the superbucks, moneysense did as well which to me pushes them to the top. 7 cents per liter bonus (10.5 cents at certain superstores) really starts to add up over time.


Yeah superbucks are tremendous. I've seen the discount vary across the country. Use this in Winnipeg and suddenly you've got the cheapest gas in the whole country 



kork said:


> PC World card is great. I've got around 900,000 points on mine right now. It really is as good as cash


So you've got $900 worth of points? You might want to spend some of that. Think of this as an amount that the company (Loblaws) *owes you*. They have a debt to you. The thing is, they can change the program terms at any time and reduce the value of your points (like Airmiles, Aeroplan). I let mine accumulate to around $100 worth but then spend it so I don't go above that.

But I love these points. Like you said they're essentially as good as cash because of what you can get at Superstore -- anything.


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## FrugalTrader (Oct 13, 2008)

I've read a rumour that PC Financial is going to soon offer a credit card that offers 3% cash back towards groceries. This is supposed to happen in the fall, stay tuned!


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## kork (Jun 9, 2012)

james4beach said:


> So you've got $900 worth of points? You might want to spend some of that. Think of this as an amount that the company (Loblaws) *owes you*. They have a debt to you. The thing is, they can change the program terms at any time and reduce the value of your points (like Airmiles, Aeroplan).


Yes, I've been tempted to do just that. Spend the points in groceries and set the $ aside. But for some reason, I find that I can purchase things I want, but wouldn't normally do with my own cash like a Bose Wave Radio. I know that "technically" there are better ways than keeping all the points there, but Christmas shopping is coming up soon! Only 6-8 weeks away ... There... I said it.


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## gibor365 (Apr 1, 2011)

FrugalTrader said:


> I've read a rumour that PC Financial is going to soon offer a credit card that offers 3% cash back towards groceries. This is supposed to happen in the fall, stay tuned!


Current PC MC is my wife's favoured one as she does 90% of food purchases in RCSS....Yhey give some points, I don't know what % cash back is equal, so I prefer Amazon.ca Visa


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## carverman (Nov 8, 2010)

gibor said:


> Current PC MC is my wife's favoured one as she does 90% of food purchases in RCSS....Yhey give some points, I don't know what % cash back is equal, so I prefer Amazon.ca Visa


I has PCFMC for about 3 or 4 years..the points certainly helped with the food purchases at Loblaws, but *they are also a much more expensive store to buy groceries.*

The way it works is that for dollar you spend with PCMC, you get 10 points...ok..so that means if you buy $1000 worth stuff on the card, you get 10,000 points...whoopee, you say..

but not so fast..when you go to trade in those points on groceries, it's 10 to 1 redeem rate, so you only get $10 worth..and they won't let you use them them until you get at least
20,000 points which is then redeemed for $20, which they take off the top of your grocery order..

....so at that point you have $2,000 of credit charges that they will charge you `19.99 percent annual interest...if you don't pay it off in full during their grace period.

If you carry a balance, and even if you don't charge anymore on the card, they tell you when you get your monthly statement, it will take you 18+ years to pay it off.

So what is free with this game? They are the winners..for two grocery items you buy there on points, you could be on the hook for 16 years and that $2000 balance with the minimum monthly
payment ($20) will cost you in the end..

Here is an example with $3000 balance and paying only 2% per month at 15% APR...PCFMC is more than that.



> If you only pay your minimum balance due each month (2% or $25 minimum), *it will take approximately 16 years to pay off your $3,000 debt*. During those 16 years of making the minimum payments,* you will have paid $3,641 in interest, turning your $3,000 purchase into a $6,641 one,* according to results from a minimum payment calculator on CreditCards.com. Whatever you purchased for $3,000 will likely be broken and forgotten long before you've paid for it in full!


*So who is the REAL winner here? *..you for your $30 worth of groceries (30,000 points)?.... or them...where you pay them $3,641 in carrying your balance for 16 years? 

http://www.wisebread.com/how-much-does-your-credit-card-debt-cost-you

I cancelled the PCFMC after 3 card compromises in the same 12 month period..got fed up with going to use my card and having it declined. 
Now with Capital One, I don't have any of those problems. Card is 10% interest, but I always pay off my credit card balance when it's due.

This free groceries scheme is a fools paradise.


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## kork (Jun 9, 2012)

carverman said:


> I has PCFMC for about 3 or 4 years..the points certainly helped with the food purchases at Loblaws, but they are also a much more expensive store to buy groceries.


No Frills is where we do 90% of our shopping and they do the whole PC Points thing... Not sure where you can get cheaper groceries?

And in 10 years, we've never paid a cent of interest... Balance paid in full monthly. We've also used the extended warranty feature twice with no issues (just paperwork)... I'd say it's been worthwhile.


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## carverman (Nov 8, 2010)

kork said:


> No Frills is where we do 90% of our shopping and they do the whole PC Points thing... Not sure where you can get cheaper groceries?


No Frills isn't always available in every locale. In my area it's Loblaws and their Superstore mostly, although there is one location in the east end and that is the other side of town.
I never paid a cent of interest either, but as I mentioned, the rewards of free groceries you get is about 1% and if you shop at Loblaws, that gets 'eaten up" very quickly from the higher
prices they charge on just about everything except their specials. Fresh fruit and veggies are more expensive than at Freshco, where I do 95% of my grocery shopping, and I don't bother
with clipping coupons, as Freshco will match any regular grocery store flier prices.


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## kork (Jun 9, 2012)

carverman said:


> No Frills isn't always available in every locale. In my area it's Loblaws and their Superstore mostly, although there is one location in the east end and that is the other side of town.


Gotcha - Ours is a 1 minute drive away from us so convenience is taken for granted.

I will say that one thing I DON'T LIKE is thinking about how much $ has been spent to accumulate those points... Same thing with garage sales... To make $300 at a garage sale means you likely sold $3k worth of stuff!


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## gibor365 (Apr 1, 2011)

Before my wife mostly used CIBC Unlimited World MC who give cashback up to 2% (depends on amount spend)
https://www.cibc.com/ca/credit-cards/cash-back-world-mastercard.html . Even though the best cashback = 1.8% you gonna get if you spend exactly 50K/year.
But last year she got really attracted to PC MC and she likes RCSS, from what I understand , in points, you get 2% "points-cashback" if you shop in RCSS and 1% if you shop in others.....Right?
I use Visa Amazon and get 2% if buy on Amazon.ca and 1% if buy elsewhere. I also like that as far as you accumulated enough, Amazon Visa automatically credits your account.
So, my conclusion, if you buy in RCSS - use PC MC, in Amazon - Amazon Visa , elsewhere - CIBC Dividend Visa , As far as you reach 50K - switch to Amazon Visa. However, if you not planning to spend on CIBC MC more than $9,600/year., use Amazon Visa right away.

btw, do you get 2% "points-cashback" if you shop in No-Frills too?


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## andrewf (Mar 1, 2010)

Yes, you do.


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## kork (Jun 9, 2012)

Just received an invitation for the PC Mastercard World Elite card. 30 points for every dollar spent in PC stores, $.03 extra at some gas stations, no annual fee. It's basically 33% better than the PC World MC.

I was told it'll be released next month.


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## scorpion_ca (Nov 3, 2014)

How did you receive the invitation? What are the requirements to get this card?


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## gibor365 (Apr 1, 2011)

we also got it ... 


> $.03 extra at some gas stations


 at Esso, but read fine print, it's not for regular gas


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## kork (Jun 9, 2012)

gibor said:


> we also got it ...
> at Esso, but read fine print, it's not for regular gas


Booooo, we never go to Essa, and we always get regular. Ultra at is 99% of our gas purchases...


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## jaybee (Nov 28, 2014)

Quick question for those who use the PC Financial MasterCard. Are the PC plus points credited to your account right away like they are if you scan your PC Plus card? Or are they bulk loaded, say once a month?


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## carverman (Nov 8, 2010)

jaybee said:


> Quick question for those who use the PC Financial MasterCard. Are the PC plus points credited to your account right away like they are if you scan your PC Plus card? Or are they bulk loaded, say once a month?


I used to have the PCF MC . The points are bulk loaded when the monthly statement is available. The reason may be that if you purchase something where points are accumulated on
your points balance and then return the item back to the merchant and get a credit refund, the refund substracts from your monthly balance and the points total.


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## gibor365 (Apr 1, 2011)

kork said:


> Booooo, we never go to Essa, and we always get regular. Ultra at is 99% of our gas purchases...


In any case, my wife ordered new MC.... 30 points is better than 20


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## Bobbyjohn (Jul 28, 2015)

Nice.


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## james4beach (Nov 15, 2012)

An update about PC Financial World Elite Mastercard, and I think it applies to all _World Elite_ cards, no matter the bank, because it's a rule from Mastercard.

There is now a $15,000 minimum annual spend requirement.

If you don't spend at least this much in a 12 month period, the card might be downgraded. I saw a note on my monthly statement, and there are comments on RFD about people seeing this being enforced.


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## MrBlackhill (Jun 10, 2020)

Still haven't found a credit card better than my Scotia Momentum Visa Infinite Card, even though it has $120 annual fees.


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## zinfit (Mar 21, 2021)

carverman said:


> I has PCFMC for about 3 or 4 years..the points certainly helped with the food purchases at Loblaws, but *they are also a much more expensive store to buy groceries.*
> 
> The way it works is that for dollar you spend with PCMC, you get 10 points...ok..so that means if you buy $1000 worth stuff on the card, you get 10,000 points...whoopee, you say..
> 
> ...


We are in the Calgary area and the Superstores are clearly the cheapest place to buy groceries. My spouse knows this stuff inside out and she totally disagrees with you on the cost of groceries at Loblaws owned stores. Another benefit is the ability to use the points at Shoppers Drug . She waits for their special optimum points promotions were she can buy anything in the store at a major discount.. We stocked up on $300 of stuff by using 200 dollars of PC points. I believe you need at least 200 dollars of PC points to avail yourself of this program. We have the PC card and the RBC/Westjet card. Once we use up our Westjet dollars I will be cancelling that card. I can find better deals with other carriers .


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## scorpion_ca (Nov 3, 2014)

zinfit said:


> We are in the Calgary area and the Superstores are clearly the cheapest place to buy groceries. My spouse knows this stuff inside out and she totally disagrees with you on the cost of groceries at Loblaws owned stores.


Loblaws is expensive than Superstore whereas Superstore is expensive than No Frills. There is no Loblaws in Calgary but I noticed prices are expensive in Loblaws in ON.


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## zinfit (Mar 21, 2021)

scorpion_ca said:


> Loblaws is expensive than Superstore whereas Superstore is expensive than No Frills. There is no Loblaws in Calgary but I noticed prices are expensive in Loblaws in ON.


In Ontario the name of the store is Loblaws out west it is called Superstores . Safeways , the Co-op and Sobey's are far more expensive in the Calgary market. Perhaps you can give an example in your market? We lived in Ottawa for 8 years and we found Loblaws was the cheapest. I recall one of the stores had two shopping carts full of Loblaws groceries and one from a competitor and the total price was lower at Loblaws by a significant amount.


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## andrewf (Mar 1, 2010)

scorpion_ca said:


> Loblaws is expensive than Superstore whereas Superstore is expensive than No Frills. There is no Loblaws in Calgary but I noticed prices are expensive in Loblaws in ON.


The equivalent of Loblaws in Calgary is 'City Market'. Essentially the same store as a Loblaws in Toronto.


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## Spudd (Oct 11, 2011)

zinfit said:


> In Ontario the name of the store is Loblaws out west it is called Superstores . Safeways , the Co-op and Sobey's are far more expensive in the Calgary market. Perhaps you can give an example in your market? We lived in Ottawa for 8 years and we found Loblaws was the cheapest. I recall one of the stores had two shopping carts full of Loblaws groceries and one from a competitor and the total price was lower at Loblaws by a significant amount.


We have Superstores in Ontario too. They carry more household items and clothing than regular Loblaws.


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