The different credit cards used by Canadian

The different cards

Universal cards. Visa, American Express or MasterCard cards are the best-known. They are accepted almost everywhere. Sometimes, they are affiliated to a trade, such as Esso or Canadian Tire, where they are eligible for rebates or extra rewards. "This may be interesting for someone who is magazine, provided that the other conditions of the map, as the interest rates, also agree it," said Johanne Arnould.

The gold cards and Platinum. These range high credit cards provide more services than the standard so-called maps. Among other things, Concierge service by which "agents reserve seats at the restaurant of your choice or you indicate in which store find the gift you're looking for", said Danielle Coutlée, Director sales strategies and support to the RBC Royal Bank. Cards gold and Platinum include, more often than standard cards, travel insurance covering accidents and loss of luggage, for example. Handy if you travel. These prestige cards require a minimum annual income - sometimes as low as $15,000 per household. In addition, they often have a limit of minimum credit of $5,000 contrary to a limit of $ 500 to $ 1,000 for the standard maps. In short, these cards are an invitation to spend, or, for less conservative, to incur debt consumers.

The different credit cards used by Canadian

Affinity cards. With some universal credit cards, an amount is in addition to our purchases which is given to a charity, such as the Red Cross Canadian, Lions Club International, or Skate Canada. The Bank of Montreal is champion in this regard: its credit cards support about 150 associations! The intention is good, but is it really worth? "It is a fast and simple way to help a cause that hold you dear," said Jocelyne Daw, Vice President, marketing and community engagement at Imagine Canada, an organization that protects the interests of the charities. That said, the payments rarely exceed 0.5% of the amount of our purchases... or 50 cents for every $ 100! However, this chump change accumulates: thanks to the Allure of the National Bank of Canada map, for example, the Quebec breast cancer Foundation has received $415,000 in 2008. Only drawback for the consumer: "it is the Bank that receives the tax credit for these gifts. On the other hand, by donating in this way, it does not receive prospectus or information on the part of the organization is argues", said Jocelyne Daw.

Maps of the traders. Some stores, including the Bay or Home Depot, offer home credit cards. They are sometimes better than the universal credit card. First, they offer certain privileges, such as reward points additional and exclusive offers. "If these are the only places where you buy on credit, that keeps us from making impulsive purchases elsewhere", said Edith St-Hilaire, budget Advisor at the CASL Rive-Sud de Quebec. Attention, on the other hand, to the late payments: these cards interest rates reach 28.8% - or up to 67% higher than the universal credit card.