Rogers Platinum MasterCard Credit Card Review
Rogers customers should be ecstatic – and so should everyone else. The Rogers Platinum Mastercard is one of Canada’s richest cashback cards with a surprising one-of-a-kind feature that makes it stand out from the pack – even if you’re not a Rogers customer, it’s worth a look.
To start, the Rogers Mastercard has one of the richest flat cashback rewards rates in all of Canada for a no-fee card: 1.25% on ALL spend, with no limits – rich, simple & transparent. Compare that to most other no-fee flat cash back rates and the value is compelling. Moreover, although not in effect yet, Rogers Platinum cardholders earn 2% cashback rewards on RogersTM products and services charged to their card including Rogers, FidoTM or chatrTM monthly bill.
But perhaps most valuable of all, the Rogers Mastercard is one of a few credit cards in Canada to subsidize foreign transaction fees – a huge benefit – offering 3% cashback rewards when travelling outside Canada or shopping in a non-Canadian currency.
Right now the Rogers Platinum Mastercard offers a $25 welcome bonus in cashback rewards when you make your first purchase within 3 months of receiving your card, and you will never have to pay an annual fee.
With no annual fee, a 1.25% flat cashback rewards rate on all Canadian spend and 3% cashback rewards on foreign purchases, there’s every reason to give this card a try, and few reasons not to have this card in your wallet – Rogers customer or not.
Rogers Platinum Mastercard Review:
1) 1.25% Cash Back Rewards
The 1.25% flat cash back rewards rate on all purchases is one of the highest earn rates of any no-fee cash back card in Canada. You’ll earn 1.25% on all purchases, whether it’s at Rogers or elsewhere, with no earning limits or categories.
Compare the Rogers Mastercard no-fee flat earn rate of 1.25% to Amex Simply Cash (also at 1.25%) and BMO CashBack at 1%.
2) 3% Cashback Rewards on Purchases in a Foreign Currency
The Rogers Mastercard is one of the few Canadian credit cards to subsidize foreign transactions. Rogers now offers 3% in cashback rewards on foreign purchases, making it the “cheapest” method to shop or travel abroad!
By subsidizing foreign transaction fees, the Rogers Mastercard becomes one of the cheapest ways to exchange your money. Most credit cards offer 2% or less rewards per dollar spent and charge 2.5% in foreign transaction fees, for a net loss of .5%. Rogers offers 3% cashback rewards on foreign purchases, with a 2.5% foreign transaction fee, for a net cashback rewards gain of 0.5%.
3) No Annual Fee
Cardholders don’t have to pay to get their cashback rewards, because the card comes with no annual fee.
4) Accelerated Cash Back on Rogers Products
Get 2% cashback rewards on Rogers products and services, including Rogers, Fido and Chatr monthly bills.
5) Welcome Bonus
Rogers is currently offering a welcome bonus of $25 in cashback rewards when you make your first purchase within 3 months of receiving your card.
Redemption Policy
There seems to be some confusion around what you can redeem for on this card. Let’s be clear: you’ll be able to redeem your cashback rewards as a statement credit OR towards any Rogers product or service including any Rogers, FIDO or Chatr bill, any purchase in a Rogers or Fido store, and tickets bought in person at the Rogers Centre ticket office (Blue Jays, Argos, concerts).
Rogers disclosure statements make it clear that “you can contact Rogers Bank once per year to receive an annual statement credit for the value of the rewards you have earned during that period.” Or you can apply your cashback rewards against any Rogers/FIDO bill or Rogers/FIDO store purchase, any time.
The statement credit can be applied directly to the card balance during the month of January (whenever the statement arrives depending on the dates set by the cardholder for billing). To receive the statement credit, a cardholder has two paths they can pursue:
- Call Rogers before December 1st to notify them that you want your cash back in January.
- Send secured correspondence through the Rogers customer support system (also before December 1st). In-person or email activation of this option are unavailable.
Cashback rewards can be applied to other Rogers services by activating the option through the web portal. The rewards can be used to pay Rogers wireless communications bills and any other Rogers product or service. Automatic payments for Rogers services can be eligible, but the account holder must have a minimum of $20 in rewards in order to apply them to the statements of the other Rogers services.
Though the cashback rewards redemption process for this card is less than ideal, it’s worth the hassle for those who travel quite a bit and rack up substantial foreign trans fees. Those who are put off by the redemption process are recommended to check out the Home Trust Preferred Visa card, which waives foreign transaction fees entirely.
Is the Rogers Platinum Mastercard Worth It?
For Rogers customers: if you’re a Rogers, FIDO, or Chatr customer there are five compelling reasons to get this card and keep it in your wallet.
- One of the highest no-fee, flat cash back rewards rates in the country of 1.25%
- 3% cashback rewards on all purchases made in a foreign currency. If you travel, or buy non-Canadian products online, this card is for you.
- No annual fee makes it free to try
- The $25 sign-up bonus in cash back rewards (when you make your first purchase within 3 months of receiving your card) can be applied against any Rogers bill or store purchase – they’re paying you to try it out.
- 2% cashback rewards on Rogers products and services.
For non-Rogers customers it may still be an amazing value.
- You can redeem your 1.25% cashback rewards as a statement credit – not just against Rogers’ bills & services.
- There is no annual fee.
- Take advantage of the 3% cashback rewards on purchases in a foreign currency.
Article comments
I think this card is great for my needs, since all I’m looking for is the highest cash back % based on anything I purchase. However, one of the strongest reasons why I likely won’t get it is because it doesn’t allow you to download your transactions into .QIF format to be imported into Quicken. It would be too onerous to enter the transactions into Quicken manually each month.
Hey WC,
Thanks for the interesting comment. Unfortunately, we’re not aware of any cards that offer easy statement exporting into Quicken, but there’s likely a way to convert any card’s statements and reports into the filetype you need. The .qif file type you describe is only for Quicken, and we’d be surprised if there was even a single card that specifically emphasized .qif exporting given this fact. Also remember that in this day and age, if you can’t find a way to convert a standard filetype on the internet, you probably haven’t looked in the right place. Let us know what the Rogers representatives say on the matter, and thanks again.
GreedyRates Staff
Howdy! The current card I use is from PC Financial (Superstore) and it allows you to download your purchase info into Quicken. I did contact the Rogers representative and they only provide a pdf summary of your purchases. And thanks for your suggestions because I will still consider getting the Rogers card.
Hey Warren,
Thanks so much for getting back to us. We appreciate that you can confirm the PC Financial card allows exporting into Quicken-compatible format and will keep this in mind for other readers who have the same preferences. It’s nice that you took our words to heart about Rogers’ card as well—enjoy it! Furthermore, never hesitate to return with any other inquiries or comments. Our other readers will definitely be able to glean valuable information from your insights.
Best,
GreedyRates
If for example I make monthly online transaction of 1,000 Euro, that means I will be charged around $1,560, that’s including the 2.5% fee (rate as of today from MasterCard currency converter). I will be getting $46.80 from the 3% offer, so I will accumulate $561.60 in cashback rewards for that year, and as long as I call and notify them before December 1st, I can credit that amount to my balance. Is that correct or am I missing something ? If that’s the case then I think this is a great card.
Hey MJ!
If you have a monthly transaction of 1,000 Euros, then at the current exchange rate, that’s about $1,504 per month, not including the foreign transaction fee of 2.50%. With the fee, that’s $1,541. If you’re earning 3.00% cash back on this amount, then that’s a bit more than $46.20 per month, or $554 per year in cash back.
To redeem this cash back, you can either send in a request to have it applied to your balance—exactly as you described—or you can try out Pay with Rewards. Pay with Rewards is an application offered by Mastercard, and it works well with Rogers’ Platinum Mastercard (and their World Elite Mastercard as well). Essentially, the application shows how much cash back you’ve acquired, and also the purchases on your latest monthly statements that can be paid for dynamically using that cash back. It’s a super easy way to pay, and much more flexible than waiting until January to use your cash, when you requested it over a month ago (prior to December).
Give it a try and let us know how you like it, or which solution you end up pursuing. Thanks again for reading.
GreedyRates Staff
this is great info, thank you!
Hi Chiccaboom!
Thanks for the shout out! We’re glad to help. You can always comment or email us if you need anything in the future.
GreedyRates
My son made a foreign purchase and was dinged 4 % in the conversion. After getting 3 % back, the net ding is 1%. My old card (no longer available in Canada) used to charge the Bank of Canada rate (no ding). I have had other credit cards charge 2.5% so it is better than that but still misleading to offer 3% back when they charge 4% initially.
Hi Anthony,
Rogers’ foreign transaction fee is only 2.50%, so if your son was charged 4.00% then it was likely due to some extraneous factors that affect everyone’s purchases in foreign currency (and in foreign places). The international network of banks is powerful, but it isn’t very fast. It might take multiple days or even a week or more to send a transaction across multiple banks, especially across geographic boundaries. Once the payment finally settles in your own bank account, it’s likely that the exchange rate is different than it was when your son made his purchase.
If you check the statement with all your son’s purchases while he’s been abroad, you’ll notice what looks like a variance in exchange rates but is really this common phenomenon. We always recommend calling the bank and asking for some sort of reimbursement in these cases, because it can’t hurt. Let us know how it goes!
GreedyRates
What is the difference between the Fido card and the Rogers card?
Hello JP,
Welcome to GreedyRates. If you’re curious about the Rogers Platinum Mastercard and the Fido Mastercard, and want to know the differences between them, look no further. The Rogers and Fido cards are very similar, because both are issued by Rogers Bank and are simply branded in a different way. For example, both cards have no annual fee, and earn 3.00% cash back on every purchase made in a foreign currency. Each will also reward your domestic purchases with 1.25% cash back, and grant 2.00% back on Rogers or Fido (or Chatr) bills. Literally everything about the cards is identical except for what you can redeem cash back on (see below) and the brand name of the card itself.
In terms of cash back, Rogers cardholders can spend it on their monthly bills, purchases at relevant branded stores (Rogers, Fido, Chatr) or online, purchases at Today’s Shopping Choice, Toronto Blue Jays merchandise and tickets along with concessions at Rogers Centre. Fido redemption is a bit different and focuses more on cellphone bills and accessories, and you can even buy a new phone through Fido with your cash back.
Thanks,
GreedyRates Staff
Is the cash back only for Rogers services or products?
Hi Dorothy, thanks for your question! We know that it might be confusing for Rogers to only include information about redeeming points against Rogers bills on their page. Fortunately, Rogers’ cash back is more flexible. The card allows you to save up your cash back and redeem it once per year on your statement. You just call a Rogers representative or go into your Rogers online account and request your yearly cash back, and then it will hit your statement in January. Obviously, you can purchase things other than Rogers services and products with your card, so this is essentially like cash back on any purchase.
Additionally, because the Rogers Platinum is a Mastercard, you can download the Mastercard Pay with Rewards application to your smartphone and instantly apply your cash back rewards toward any eligible purchase made in the last 30 days. This is a much easier way of doing things and significantly improves the versatility of the Platinum Mastercard, in our opinion. Let us know if you have any other questions!
GreedyRates Staff
Dorothy – Rogers cash back can also be applied towards your balance – in other words, they deposit cash on your account. BUT, this can only be done in January and you have to do this manually by calling them.
Mind your, not every domestic purchase gets you 1.25%. If you’re not Rogers customer (TV, phone etc) and are not doing a lot of cross-border shopping, Rogers card seems to be a bit of a hassle. Most banks now offer some card with 1% cashback and it is automatically credited to your account monthly or semi-annually.
If you are doing a lot of cross-border shopping, Rogers card is not the best choice. Home Trust Visa Preferred offer 0% foreign conversion fee and 1% cash back on any purchases, so your foreign purchases (including online shopping) will give you 1% cash back. In comparison, Rogers foreign purchases give you 3% minus 2.5% conversion = 0.5% cash back.
Is this card recognized in most countries
Hi Dorothy, thanks for coming to GreedyRates with your question. The Rogers Platinum Mastercard is recognized everywhere that Mastercard is accepted, so you shouldn’t worry about whether or not they know what Rogers is or not. The Mastercard part is what counts, and Mastercard’s international network is quite large. Also, the cash back rate of 3.00% is not just for Rogers services or products, it’s applied for every purchase where you use a foreign currency and not Canadian dollars. For instance, you’ll see the 3.00% cash back earnings come in when purchasing on Amazon in USD, or when buying groceries in Britain. Hope that helps!
GreedyRates Staff
My son could not buy a phone plan in France with it. He could buy the phone. Recurring charges were denied
Greetings Anthony,
The Rogers Platinum Mastercard is great for making purchases abroad, and we’re sure that your son was happy to receive his 3.00% cash back on that phone he got in France. However, we’re unable to determine which charges will be accepted by Rogers and which will be denied, as is the case with every issuer we write about. In the article published above, we discuss the usefulness of setting up recurring bills with Chatr, Fido, and Rogers bills, but these will always work well with a card that shares the same brand name.
Other services might not share the same acceptance rate at Rogers, nor with other Canadian credit cards. This is why it’s still recommended to carry cash while abroad, so that these obstacles can be overcome with little trouble. In the future, your son might be better served with a travel card that holds multiple currencies on it in cash, which not only avoids foreign transaction fees but also relieves him of the risk inherent in carrying big bills. Our pick in this category is easily the CIBC AC Conversion card. The best suggestion we have about Rogers is to call them and inquire what happened and how to avoid it, and if they can’t provide a satisfying solution, explore other options.
Good luck!
GreedyRates
I have a Rogers Platinum Master Card; have been unable to find a site where I can see the rewards I have. Anybody can help?
Hi Kenneth, thanks for coming to GreedyRates. If you’re having trouble logging into your Rogers account, we recommend calling the bank’s customer service line and asking a representative. They’re super friendly. If you know your username and password, you can try getting into your account with this link below:
https://www.rogers.com/consumer/easyloginriverpage
GreedyRates Staff
What is the credit limit this card offers..
Hi Steve, we appreciate you coming to GreedyRates with your question. When it comes to the MBNA Platinum Plus card, your credit limit is entirely dependent on what the bank approves you for. They receive your application and immediately do an inquiry into your credit history with major credit bureaus like TransUnion and Equifax. Based on the data here, which includes your responsibility when repaying loans, paying bills, and your credit utilization ratio, they’ll assign you a credit limit. This number represents the maximum balance you’ll be able to transfer to the card.
In other words, it’s entirely on you. You can improve your chances of getting a larger credit limit by ensuring that your credit score is good, and your credit history is clean prior to the application. Best of luck!
GreedyRates Staff
You might want to mention the lack of benefits, since IMO Rogers named this card misleadingly. Normally, words like “platinum”, “infinite” etc mean the card has the usual set of benefits – extended warranty, flight insurance, rental insurance, whatever. The Rogers card has *none* of that, it’s just a bare-bones card with “Platinum” branding.
My other “Infinite” card has 1% cash back on regular purchases, but it has the usual benefits you expect from a card with branding like that – in particular, an extra year of extended warranty. So at the new rates, the Rogers card gives me 2% more cash back on foreign purchases. Getting an extra year of warranty for 2% is most of the time a really good deal.
So the Rogers card isn’t worth it for me for most big purchases. I think it will still be the best travel card, though.
And…..Rogers does the old BAIT AND SWITCH,,,,lowering foreign currency cash back from 4% to 3%,
cash back, 2% to 1.75% rogers products and 1.75% to 1,25% all other cash back.
I literally just signed up for this card a few months back and it was 1.75% on all purchases and 4% on foreign transactions, so comparatively, this is a crappy deal. I feel like this was a bait and switch. I wouldn’t have signed up for this card if I was only going to get .25% more than I get with my existing card. I have no Rogers products so I was using the cash back as a yearly credit on the account itself (which I thankfully did at New Years). I plan on putting this card in a drawer and never looking at it again after these changes. It’s barely even competing anymore, unless you count minimal efforts as “competition”.
Now roger is gonna reduce cash back to 1.25% on all eligible products? What are those exactly eligible products? Does it covers products from costco and wholesale club ? Thanks
Hey DVR, good of you to join us in the GreedyRates comment section! You’re correct–in May, Rogers will reduce the domestic cash back rate on their Platinum Mastercard from 1.75% to 1.25%. Regarding what an ‘eligible purchase’ is, it’s simply anything you purchase with the card in Canadian dollars. Activities that are not eligible for cash back are cash advances, fees, item returns, and things of that nature. To address your question about Costco and Wholesale Club, you will get 1.25% cash back on these purchases. It’s only the cards that offer an accelerated rate for grocery purchases that must take caution at Costco, because ‘big box’ stores are usually not considered a part of the grocery category, even if they sell food there. So for these cards, Costco purchases earn cash back at the default rate (usually 1.00%) instead of the accelerated rate, making the Rogers card 0.25% better. Let us know if you have any more questions and we’d be happy to help.
GreedyRates Staff
What is the annual fee after two years?
Hey Ken! Thanks for asking about the Rogers Platinum Mastercard. Rogers has recently announced that they will be removing the card’s annual fee entirely, so you can access it for free.
If you’d like any other advice or tips about the card, let us know! Thanks.
GreedyRates Staff
My husband just got the Rogers Platinum MC and a spousal card for me. Our Rogers phone account is under my name.
If I use my “spousal” Rogers MC to pay the Rogers account, will that eliminate the annual service fee on the MasterCard?
Hi Jwat, thanks for your awesome question. If you both have the Rogers Platinum Mastercard, and your card is the supplementary card, you’ll probably want to set up your phone bill as a recurring payment on your husband’s card. This bonus is only available to the primary cardholder, but since you share a household and a joint account, he can easily pay your phone bill. Just remember to set up the bill as a recurring payment before the end of the year. Good luck!
GreedyRates Staff
Hi there!
I purchased this credit card and have been using it for a while, without knowing that the cash back was only for Rogers (or affiliated) clients. It’s dumb, but I didn’t realized before and now I’m pretty confused about what can I claim or not.
I saw that there was a way to actually get money on the end of the year statement, can you help me with this? Thank you!
You can redeem your points towards your rogers bill/phone purchase or call them at the end of the year to transfer the cashback towards your credit card balance. This was hands down the best credit card until they reduced the cashback rates. before it was 1.5% cashback on foreign purchases. That was like covering your conversion fee.
Hi Deep, thanks for the great comment. It’s true–the 4.00% cash back given by Rogers’ Platinum Mastercard was unbeatable when it came to reducing foreign transaction fees. However, even with the recent reduction to cash back, you’re still earning 0.50% on purchases made in a foreign currency, and 1.25% inside Canada. You now get 3.00% for these transactions, which more than covers the 2.50% fee. This is still one of the go-to cards for Canadians that like shopping abroad (or online), and is still one of our most highly-recommended travel cards.
GreedyRates Staff
I did it. You have to sign in online and send them a message asking them to do it and they schedule it in and then take forever come new years to actually do it.
hi
If you do set-up your Rogers bill as a pre-authorized payment on your 1st year, and don’t change it, is your 3rd and there after years, will you be charged the annual fee of $29?
Hi Steve. While the fee of $29 annually isn’t that steep compared to other cash back competitors, it’s still nice to never see it on your yearly statement. One can accomplish this by pre-authorizing their Rogers or Fido bills as automatic payments. On the anniversary every year of your account’s opening, Rogers removes the annual fee if it can see that these payments have been established in their system. If you did this in the first year, as you mention, you should have been exempt from the second year’s fee as well. Hope we’ve helped!
GreedyRates Staff
Regarding the small change that arose from the changes they made around the foreign currency transaction fee (I agree, it is still good, they just played with the math in a way that gets them 0.5% more than before, albeit kind of in a sneaky way), another factor that can be important is that when you have to reverse a foreign currency transaction, you actually lose 2.5%, since they keep the fee but don’t let you keep the points (4%). In this era consumers are very used to liberal return policies etc so you have to be careful with this.
Case and point, we were in Vegas recently, the hotel accidentally charged us for an expensive plane tour to the Grand Canyon for our group on my Rogers MasterCard. Once we realized the mistake they of course reversed the charge, but when I got my statement I noticed I was out of pocket about $50. Now who do I chase for that? The hotel should cover it since I didn’t even authorize the purchase to start with, but you know that’s not going to happen. Rogers Bank will just quote policy scripture and say you are responsible for reading the fine print. In any event, it’s a tough pill to swallow. And likely one that many people don’t even know they are eating – never good business practice to slip roofies in your customers’ drinks!
Other than that, this card is great, many people swear by the PC Mastercard, but once you explain to them that you can still collect PC points while using this card, there is no contest, this card is tops.
I had a similar experience once, an overseas hotel person was practising,it seems, and she charged/credited our stay a few times with the end result of about $35 having to be paid by us. I called my card issuer, I explained to her what happened, and they credited me that extra charge.
I also had a similar experience, the rogers agent who called me said no way they can credit because it is in the fine print that they retain the transaction fee. My problem was that a US retailer hit the card twice then refunded one transaction but Rogers Bank kept the transaction fee on the refund at about $30, even though everything was done at the same time and it is clear there was a mistake.
Does Fido’s bill still count?
Hello Tram, thanks for your great question. We went ahead and checked for you, and it seems as though Rogers still advertises that Fido (and some other carriers) bills are able to be set as recurring and automatically paid. You’ll have to do some setup to ensure this happens however, as it doesn’t automatically see a Fido entry on your bill and credit you the appropriate cash back. You need to call in and have them set it up as a recurring payment or do it yourself online. Good luck!
GreedyRates Staff
I had leveled my expectations on this card with my gut telling me that the 4% is less. It’s hard to pass up the 1.75% cashback on all CDN purchases though, giving more flexibility than the Tangerine. Hope Rogers doesn’t decrease the rates.
Rogers Bank is terrible to deal with. They still don’t have automatic payment, they do not mail paper statements so even if you don’t use the card then you don’t know if other charges have been added.
STAY AWAY – they are incompetent.
As a Rogers Mastercard client since its inception, I respectfully disagree with your assessment: Not only I have not exeprienced any of the two issues you bring up (I have been receiving a paper statement every months for a long time now, which reminds me that I should be opting in to the online-only statements, why waste paper?), but on top of that, the Rogers card has the best notification and alert system I have ever experienced with a credit card provider. So in particular, you can set it up to alert you in real time (text to your phone, or email, or both) of any transaction that occurs on your account.
That is far better than waiting for your paper statement, won’t you agree? Just log in to your online account and start using the notification system: it is very powerfull and granular (you can set alerts for many different type of events on your card).
I think the customer service is on par with other cards. Sometimes good, sometimes bad. The best strategy is just to hang up and get back in the queue if you get someone incompetent (same strategy dealing with Rogers Wireless etc!). They get worked up when you acknowledge they are in Sudbury, not sure why they are told to guard this secret so closely. Easy to determine when you look at their mailing address lol.
One thing I would love to see improved is a companion app – the cash back app is OK, but in this day and age they should have an app like AMEX that updates purchases and returns in real time. It’s very handy.
Since they added Forex fees on this card if I use this card to make a cash advance at a foreign ATM for foreign currency do I hit with the 2.5% exchange fee and receive 0 cashback? Furthermore, what are the fees for using this card for a cash advance oversees?
Hey Stephen, thanks for the excellent questions.
First off, you mentioned that Rogers added foreign transaction fees to their Mastercard. This is true – the foreign transaction fee structure was changed in October of 2016 slightly, but this is reflected in our article. The 4% cashback benefit for all purchases made in a foreign currency is meant to cover the cost of the relevant fee (which is 2.5%) plus a little more on top. All told, you will earn 1.5% cash back on each transaction made in a foreign currency, which is more favourable than cards that simply remove these fees.
Secondly, for transactions like balance transfers, cash advances, fees, intersest and returns, even if they are made in a foreign currency the cardholder will not receive cash back. This is a standard practice common throughout all issuing banks, and means that your cash advances from foreign currency ATMs will be charged a foreign transaction fee. We hope that answered your questions. Thanks for reading!
GreedyRates Staff
I just got this credit card a month ago and I’m a bit disappointed that there’s no way to automate paying the credit card. I called and the guy said they hope to have a pre-authorized payment system in place by the end of the summer. I have many credit cards and I don’t have to babysit any of them. I track everything through Mint and the cards get paid off automatically. I would love it if credit card reviews included information about maintaining the credit card, such as their website or customer service, as well as the traditional perks.
Thanks for the advice, Steve! We will definitely add these points to our next reviews.
GreedyRates Staff
Hi GreedyRates (or anyone else who can help),
If I’m using this card to pay for business related transactions (in USD), like paying freelancers through sites like Upwork, or paying for monthly subscriptions for tools/software, would I still be awarded the 4% cashback?
Would this, or the Marriott Rewards card be the best choice for someone paying 99% of their business purchases online in USD?
Thanks!
Hey Mik!
We appreciate your questions and are confident we can help you. The only restriction on the 4% cash back rewarded to cardholders with the Rogers Platinum MasterCard is that the purchases need to be made in a foreign currency. If you are paying in a foreign currency on Upwork, there is no reason why the cash back bonus wouldn’t apply.
For recurring purchases like your subscriptions to various software and tools, if these purchases are in another currency then you will receive the appropriate amount of cash back as well.
To address your question about the choice between this and the Marriott Rewards card, we think the answer is relatively subjective.
If you enjoy getting cash back on a variety of purchases, then go with the Rogers card, but if you travel frequently and enjoy staying at Marriott hotels, then there is no question that this is the card for you. Both offer cardholders exemption from foreign transaction fees, and should work well in your business ventures.
If you’d like to explore other options however, check out our list of Canada’s best business cards.
We hope that helps,
GreedyRates Staff
Hi,
Perhaps the terms changed since you wrote this article, but your annual redemption against your statement balance can only be applied in January of the next year. I just signed up for this card, went on vacation, and planned to use the $100 I accumulated to pay off my bill, but I won’t be able to do that since it is only May. Now I’m stuck with $100 in useless rewards, as I have no Rogers services and no use to spend it at a Rogers store, and am out $100 more than I thought!
You should update your article with this, as you don’t mention the January stipulation!
Either way, thanks for the great info, it still did save me 2.5 %!
Just called and tried to use my rewards for outstanding balance and they stated what Dave said. Cannot be used until January of the following year. Update article for future reference
I have a grandfathered Amazon Visa card, and never until today realized it doesn’t provide extended warranty coverage. I applied for it because of the Cashback and no FX fees.
I’m about to purchase a camera, and my Amex platinum Air Miles card seems to make the most sense for this purchase as it does have extended warranty coverage.
For Cashback, however, I’m thinking that, as a long-time Rogers customer, it may make more sense for me to apply for their Mastercard. If I do so, can I arrange at the outset to have the Cashback applied to my Rogers bill each month, or must I make that yearly call to Rogers bank in order to do so? If I apply for the Rogers card, I would likely cancel the Amazon Visa, which would leave me with no Visa card at all. In the past I have always made certain to have one each of Amex, Mastercard, and Visa.
Would appreciate your comments.
Thanks.
Hey Lily, thanks for your great comments.
You’re correct in assuming that for valuables that come with a warranty, the American Express Platinum Air Miles card is the best solution. It will double your warranty on the camera you want to purchase.
Now, as for your query about cash back rewards, if you choose the Rogers Platinum MasterCard, you can’t go wrong. The card’s unlimited 1.75% cash back on all purchases is compelling, but we understand that you want this cash back automatically applied to your monthly balances. Unfortunately, the Rogers card doesn’t have this kind of functionality, and requires its cardholders to call at the end of the year for a statement credit. One card that DOES allow for an automatic cash back is the Tangerine Money Back Credit Card.
Regarding your concerns about not having one card each from MasterCard, Visa, and American Express, we don’t think this will inhibit your life very much. The vast majority of places that accept Visa also take MasterCard, though Amex is a bit different. If you’re worried about going somewhere where your payment methods aren’t accepted, you don’t have much to fear. Do keep in mind however, that having multiple cards and paying them all off is better for your credit than if you just had one.
Hope that helps,
GreedyRates Staff
As a Rogers Mastercard customer, I can confirm to you that you CAN automatically have your rewards apply towards the monthly payment of your Rogers Services bill. Cheers!
After Scotiabank announced the introduction of the FX fee to their Visa Momentum (which I hold), I am looking for another credit card without the FX fee. I also have an Amazon Visa – no FX fee but it seems to be useless for purchases abroad: there are tons of online reviews where people are complaining about this Visa being denied outside of Canada and good only for online Amazon purchases.
My question is: how usable Rogers Platinum MasterCard is for purchases abroad? What is the acceptance/rejection rate?
Thanks
Diana
Hi Diana!
Thanks for your comments and questions.
We’re sorry that your experience with the Amazon Visa did not match your expectations, and we can help find a card with no foreign transaction fee to supplement your current Scotia Visa Momentum.
Actually, the card you’ve inquired about (the Rogers Platinum MasterCard) is one of those with no foreign transaction fees and has a stellar record of use abroad. While we can’t quote an exact acceptance or rejection rate, we are confident that few establishments will reject a MasterCard, no matter where you are in the world. Visa is accepted at about the same rate worldwide.
There is another great card available to you that also has no foreign transaction fees – the Marriott Rewards Premier credit card. Which one to pick relies on your rewards preference, the former granting cash back and the latter some pretty impressive travel and accommodation bonuses. Check it out!
GreedyRates Staff
Why do you say the Rogers Platinum Card has no foreign transaction fees? The following is copied from Rogers Bank web site:
Important Notice About Changes to the Rogers Platinum MasterCard
Starting October 19, 2016, the Rogers Platinum MasterCard® will charge a 2.5% foreign currency transaction fee consistent with most other credit cards.
Hi Lily,
We actually mention the real value of the cashback offered by Rogers in our post above:
“Most credit cards offer 2% or less rewards per dollar spent and charge 2.5% in foreign transaction fees, for a net loss of .5%. Others offer 1% cashback and no foreign transaction fees, for a net gain of 1%. Rogers offers 4% cashback on foreign purchases, with a 2.5% foreign transaction fee, for a net cashback gain of 1.5% – the highest of all.”
Hope that helps,
GreedyRates Staff
My biggest concern specially with Rogers card would be when they might change their policy and now we have no benefit of the FX subsidy. Scotia bank just recently changed their policy and now that card has become useless for us. How long has Amazon card kept the no FX policy. I would like to know these questions before I would make my decision
Hi Tanuj,
It’s actually Chase that implemented the no fx fee feature of the Amazon, Marriott and Sears (previously) cards. Chase has scaled back its operations in Canada, having sold them to Scotia as part of its divestiture of the Sears credit card portfolio. How long Chase stays in Canada is anyone’s guess. That said, if they do decide to leave Canada (a possibility) and end their partnership with Marriott and Amazon Canada, we wouldn’t bet on a Canadian issuer maintaining the no foreign transaction fee policy.
Of further note, Tangerine is apparently increasing it’s FX fee from 1.5% to 2.5% as well.
As such, we’re betting on Rogers being the last card standing, and benefiting greatly from its policy of 4% cashback on foreign purchases.
Hope that helps,
GreedyRates Staff
I’m looking for a good no forex fee travel card to supplement my MBNA World Elite; 2% return on all purchases with no annual fee. I currently have Rogers internet service but do not have any loyalty with Rogers; i.e. I will change internet provider to the provider with the best value. Would the Rogers, Fido or Amazon.ca card be best in my scenario? Thanks!
Hi Edmond,
If you’re strictly going to use the card for foreign purchases and no domestic purchases, then we’d be indifferent as to whether you use the Rogers masterCard or the FIDO MasterCard since both offer 4% cash back on foreign purchases, and both allow you to redeem your cashback as a statement credit. If you put your Rogers bill on your Rogers card you won’t have to worry about the annual fee. However, there’s no annual fee ever with the FIDO card (it comes with a lower cash back rate on domestic purchases of 1.5% versus 1.75% for the Rogers card).
We wouldn’t go with Amazon, because it’s net cashback rate is 1% versus 1.5% (4% cash back – 2.5% foreign transaction fee) for the Rogers or Fido card.
Hope that helps,
GreedyRates Staff
1. Can I have the cash back sent to me as a cheque?
2. Can I get it as a credit on the card if I do not use any services affiliated with Rogers?
3. Can this be done automatically, or do I need to make a request every year?
Hi John,
1. You can’t get your cash back sent to you as a check.
2. Yes you can get it as a statement credit even if you do not use any services affiliated with Rogers.
3. You have to call in at the end of each year for a statement credit. To redeem your cash back against Rogers services, you can do that at any time.
Hope that helps!
GreedyRates Staff
To clarify, you have to call before December 1st to get the year-end credit that’s payable in January.
Can you compare this card to the Chase/Amazon.ca no foreign transaction card?
Amazon.ca/Chase : No forex, 1% cash back on all purchases, 2% on amazon.ca purchases
Rogers: 2.5% forex, 1.75% cash back on all purchases, 4% on foreign currency purchases
I’m a fido member, so we waive the annual fee for rogers card.
That means that for foreign purchases, it seems rogers still offers more 4%-2.5%=1.5% (compared to only 1% with chase).
I hear equally bad stories about the quality of both chase and rogers website for banking.
So all things being equal, what other factors are there to consider?
Mastercard international vs Visa international – do they both set the exchange rates pretty equally?
Acceptance of visa vs mastercard internationally? Both pretty well received?
Thanks for any other input
Hi Mike,
Your analysis is exactly right. The Rogers MasterCard provides an effective net rewards rate on foreign transactions of 1.5% (4% cash back – 2.5% FX fee), while Amazon only offers a net rewards rate on foreign transactions of 1% (1% cash back – 0% FX fee) – remember, Amazon.com shopping only gets 1% cash back as well.
The other difference you raise is the exchange rate charged by MasterCard and Visa. We actually did a study which sampled 52 foreign transaction over the course of 1 year. It demonstrated that MasterCard offered a lower exchange rate than Visa 70% of the time, by an average margin of 38 basis points or .38%.
All in all, we believe Rogers offers close to a 1% better rewards rate than Amazon on foreign transaction (.5% rewards + .38% MC exchange rate = .88%). Moreover, Rogers offers an unbelievable 1.75% cash back rate on all other purchases, which is just unheard of for a no-fee card.
Hope that helps,
GreedyRates Staff
Thanks for your fast response!
perhaps the only drawback in having a 2.5% Fx fee is that if items are refunded to your account (ie. you return an item), then you end up losing the 2.5% that was charged initially).
Whereas, the amazon.ca shouldn’t charge that to you.
Hi Mike,
True enough. That said, with a full .5% benefit per dollar spent for Rogers, you’d have to refund items 1 out of every 5 purchases for the Amazon card to do better. And remember, if you return a pair of shoes online and get a store credit or exchange, that wouldn’t count. Not to mention, many purchases such as restaurants, taxis and hotels are non-returnable purchases anyways. Rogers still wins in our books.
GreedyRates Staff
Does the Rogers Bank card offer things like rental car insurance and travel insurance?
Hi Chris,
Because of the significant cash back earn rate of 1.75% on all purchases and the 4% cash back rate on all foreign purchases, this card does not offer insurance coverages. It does offer zero liability, like all MasterCards, but not auto rental. Travel insurance will mostly be found with travel cards and now some cash back cards, with an annual fee.
Unfortunately, insurance coverages cost the credit card issuer a pretty penny. The pie is only so large. To give a cash back rate as high as Rogers does, with no annual fee, something else had to give, and insurance was it. You can always apply for another no fee card that offers car rental insurance, use it when you rent a car, and use this card for all other purchases.
Hope that helps,
GreedyRates Staff
Can you clarify what zero liability is but not auto rental? So would you advise NOT using this card to pay for a car rental overseas?
Do most credit cards that DO cover rental car insurance (so I can decline all those cash-grab car rental daily fees) require you to PAY for the full amount of the car rental with that card or just to OWN the card itself?
Hi Ian,
Zero liability refers to the fact that you will not be responsible for any unauthorized charges on your credit card. It does not refer to car rental insurance.
If you need to pay for car rental overseas, you should use a different credit card that comes with comprehensive car rental insurance coverage. You will still need to make sure you’re covered for 3rd party liability, which no credit card car rental insurance offers coverage for. Credit cards cover damage to the car, not to the person, other persons, or other properties. That said, if you have auto or home insurance, you are likely already covered for 3rd party liability, even for a car rental – check before you leave.
There are some cards that only require full OR partial payment to receive coverage – such as the BMO Rewards World Elite MasterCard which states “the full or partial cost, including applicable taxes and/or fees of the Rental Car must be either charged to the Account or paid through the redemption of loyalty points earned under the MasterCard reward program.”
Great thought! Pay $10 with the card that offers car rental insurance, get covered, and pay the rest with the Rogers card and get the 4% – love it.
Hope that helps,
GreedyRates Staff
Maybe someone can enlighten me on something I might be not considering or someone can chime in if they have had similar experiences but this seems like false advertising / scam to me.
I’ve got this card for a couple of months now and have made a few purchases. Every time I went to check, the rate used for the USD to CAD conversion seemed very high compared to the current rate or even my other bank rates (always between 1.37 and 1.39).
So a few days ago, I made a purchase in USD and tracked the current exchange rate at the Bank of Canada,
My item got posted on December 2nd and Rogers charged me a conversion of 1.3722.
Bank of Canada had a rate of 1.3298 at noon and 1.3283 at close.
So that’s between 4.2 to 4.3% FX fee.
So long to their claim of charging 2.5% FX fee and giving 4% cash back.
The way I look at it, I paid 4.3% FX fee and got 4% towards spending on other Rogers stuff. Not too happy 🙁
Am I missing something?
Bruno
Hi Bruno,
Let’s get to the bottom of this! MasterCard and Visa (not the credit card issuer) sets the exchange rate. The credit card issuer then charges 2.5% over and above the exchanged funds.
We actually did a study, over 52 days, to determine how much MC and Visa charged over and above the Bank of Canada spot rate. We found that on average MC charged 49 basis points over the BoC rate and V was 87 basis points over the BoC spot rate. However, those are averages, sometimes they were above, other times below.
If the BoC exchange rate (MasterCard may have been using another spot rate like Bloomberg’s), was 1.3298 on the day the transaction was posted, let’s say they added 49 basis points, making the exchange 1.3346. Rogers then charges 2.5% on top of the 1.3346 which is .0333. The sum of the exchanged funds plus the 2.5% fx fee is 1.367 – 5 basis points shy of your 1.3722, or a .3% difference. In all likely hood, MC either used a spot rate slightly higher than yours, or charged more than its average on that day.
Hope that helps,
GreedyRates Staff
Could some compare the interest rates of these cards I think Rogers is 25.99% . One month of not keeping a 0 balance negates any savings these cards may offer .
Hi Dennis,
The purchases interest rate on the Rogers MasterCard is 19.99%. If you want to quickly compare the interest rates on all cash back cards, simply go to our page https://www.greedyrates.ca/cards/cash-back-credit-cards.
If you plan on carrying a balance, you should always use a low interest rate credit card. There are some great options for as low as 9.99% fixed, with no annual fee just go to our low interest credit card comparison page here https://www.greedyrates.ca/cards/Low-Interest-Rate-Credit-Cards
Hope that helps!
GreedyRates Staff
Does it make sense to have the Rogers MC for all foreign purchases and the MBNA World Elite for all other purchases? 20% foreign 6k+ spend per month. The net annual rewards calculator is off? No matter what I enter the MBNA is ahead in the first year only by a few dollars. After the first year the Rogers is always ahead unless I enter some ridiculous number.
Hi Neil,
It absolutely makes sense to put all of your foreign purchases on your Rogers MC and your domestic purchases on your MBNA World Elite card. Your Rogers MasterCard will earn you net 1.5% cashback on foreign purchases (4% cashback – 2.5% FX fee = 1.5% cashback), while with MBNA you will lose -.5% cashback on foreign purchases (2% cashback – 2.5% FX fee = -.5% cashback). You’r making 2% more cashback on foreign purchases with the Rogers MasterCard than with the MBNA World Elite. For domestic purchases, you will earn 1.75% with Rogers and 2% with MBNA.
The reason the Rogers card ends up ahead in the calculator results is because the formula assumes that 10% of your credit card spend on the Rogers card will be in a foreign currency (the average for Canadian no-fee card, the average is higher for travel cards). At 4% cashback on foreign purchases, it makes a big difference in Rogers favour.
Hope that helps,
GreedyRates Staff
Does the Rogers Mastercard offer any Balance Transfer Incentive? i.e. do they offer 0% interest on balance transfers for 6 months or a year? Also what is their interest rate? I can’t find that anywhere??
Thanks Ryan
Hi Ryan,
Rogers does not offer any balance transfer promotions to new cardholders. Their purchases interest rate is 19.99%.
Just to be clear, it is our opinion that you shouldn’t do balance transfers on the same credit card you intend to use for new purchases. If you do, you will be unable to pay down the higher interest on your new purchases balances, without first paying down your entire balance transfer amount.
If you want to do a balance transfer, try something like the MBNA Platinum Plus card, which comes with a 0% rate for 12 months, and use your Rogers card to get 1.75% cashback on all new purchases.
Hope that helps,
GreedyRates Staff
Hello…Would you know if the 1.75% cashback on “purchases” applies equally to your Rogers pre-authorized monthly amounts? Example, my monthly Rogers bill is about $400….would I get a $7. cashback for each monthly payment?…IN ADDITION to the annual fee waiver?
Thanks
Hi Ron,
Yes you would. You get 1.75% cash back on ALL purchases. The first year annual fee gets waived for ALL cardholders. The annual fee in subsequent years gets waived if you pre-authorize payments of any of your Rogers/Fido/Chatr bills on your Rogers MasterCard.
As you outlined, if you paid $400 of Rogers bills from your Rogers MasterCard, (pre-authorized payment or not), you would earn 1.75% in cash back rewards worth $7.
Hope that helps,
GreedyRates Staff
Thank you….and thanks for the speedy reply.
Ron
I just received my first Rogers cc bill under what seems a change in policy that I don’t think I was notified of. Both your summary above and the Rogers Mastercard website do not do a good job of accurately detailing the situation.
Old way > all purchases earn what amounts to a 1.75% “credit” on their Rogers bill & Rogers proudly advertised no bank related foreign exchange fees
New way > purchases based in Canadian currency still earn 1.75% “credit” while purchases made in a foreign currency earn a 4% “credit” as Rogers currently advertises but it seems they are now also charging a 2.5% bank foreign exchange fee which is not even disclosed on their website from what I have found so far. In fact, the Rogers website as of Nov. 12, 2016 specifically says in the small print “Foreign currency transactions are converted to Canadian dollars at the MasterCard International rate on the date the transaction is posted.”
Therefore, Rogers has effectively reduced their offering whereby all purchase earned 1.75% in rewards and now purchases in a foreign currency effectively earn only 1.5%. Not a huge difference but the shell game is now even more complicated and to make it worse, poorly (to no at all) disclosed on their website and little to no communication that this change was occurring.
Hi Murray,
Rogers did change their value proposition, however it still remains the most valuable option for foreign purchases compared to any other credit card in Canada. While you net 1.5% cash back with Rogers on foreign purchases (4% cash back – 2.5% foreign transaction fee = 1.5%), you only net 1% cash back with Amazon (1% cash back – 0% foreign transaction fee), and the same or less with the Marriott card.
Hope that helps,
GreedyRates Staff
Hello GreedyRates,
First of all – love your insights on the credit card market!
Just to clarify one of your above responses… Is the $29 annual fee waived if you add pre-authorized Fido account payments? I am completely dissatisfied with the big providers and have been looking to move towards Fido, Koodo, etc., so this MasterCard would look very attractive and complimentary alongside a Scotiabank Gold American Express.
Thanks
Hi Leon,
The answer is yes. You can add any Rogers, Fido or Chatr bill as a pre-authorized payment to waive the annual fee in the second year and beyond.
Hope that helps!
GreedyRates Staff
Answers my question fully!
Thanks!
It’s been one full year with the MBNA World Elite Card as I just got the $89 annual fee charged to my statement. I would definitely say that this has worked out well for me as I received a total of $350 in statement credits for the year. This includes the $100 gift so I actually got $250 in rewards on my actual spending.
If my next year’s spending is consistent, then I should get back more than if I was using a no-fee 1% card – even taking into account the annual fee.
Thank you, Greedyrates, for providing valuable information on these cards. Perhaps you could transfer this thread to the MBNA blog as I originally bailed on the Rogers card after getting some bad information and went with the MBNA. Glad it all worked out.
Cheers,
Mike
Thanks for the kind words and glad you found our reviews helpful!
Hi,
MBNA just converted my MC to a VISA which I am not interested in, typical TD to not tell anyone. So I am looking for a new MC Card. I was looking at Tangerine since I am a Tangerine customer but stumbled on the no foreign fee exchange card since I do still do a lot of US purchases, eBay, amazon etc. I am not a Rogers customer, but I think I am ok with the fee as it will probably offset.
Which should I go for, a Tangerine MC or a Rogers MC. Most of my purchases are in Canada, some in the US. I shop a lot of costco and I read that Costco is not considered a grocery store with Tangerine, so you lose 1%.
I also ready I shouldn’t apply for 2 cards at the same time as it might lower my credit score as they will think I am cash strapped.
Thanks
Hi Westbcoast,
Yes MBNA has only converted the Smart Cash World Elite MC to a new Visa Signature card. all other MBNA cards are staying with MasterCard.
If you make some purchases in the US AND you do a lot of shopping at Costco, Rogers should be your card of choice. Here’s why.
1. The first year annual fee is waived, regardless of whether you’re a Rogers customer or not
2. The annual fee of $29 is waived for customers if you add your Rogers bill as a pre-authorized payment
3. You will get 1.75% cash back at Costco, versus 1% with the Tangerine card
4. You will net gain 1.5% cash back on foreign purchases with Rogers (4% cashback – 2.5% FX fee) versus losing .5% on foreign purchases with the Tangerine card (1% cashback – 1.5% FX fee).
You should probably wait a couple o fmonths between credit card applications. The impact of a new card application is not significant, and your score does recover anyways. The impact on your score is in large part dependent on how strong your score is to begin with.
Hope that helps. Let us know if oyu have any other questions!
GreedyRates Staff
Hi I applied to this credit card last Friday and still heard nothing. How long does it take to receive the card?
Hi Dave,
If you didn’t get approved instantly, your application could be getting manually reviewed by the Rogers credit department. You can call Rogers, speak to the credit department, and ask them for the status of your application. Otherwise, you are likely to get something in the mail within 10-12 business days.
Hope that helps,
GreedyRates Staff
Note, if you were a First Rewards Customers with Rogers before switching to this (as I was), the annual fee is forever waived (otherwise I would cancel).
Hi Ray,
That said, the first year is free, and of course if you’re a Rogers/FIDO/Chatr customer and put your bill on the card, it’s free as well. Alternatively, you can get the FIDO card, which comes with no annual fee EVER and 4% cash back on ALL foreign purchases and 1.5% cash back everywhere else.
Hope that helps,
GreedyRates Staff
Nah, that $2k is much better to run through your primary cards (Amex SPG or TD Visa Infinite) to meet their yearly minimums and keep the perks coming. The fact that these rewards incur the hassle of only being able to pay your Rogers bill when you want to collect, is a huge downside. I’d rather just pump USD through Amazon and take the statement credit, without having to juggle your bill payments or lose the $2k/year in pre-auths. They are under estimating consumers if they think this convolution is something we “want”.
Ray,
Maybe we weren’t clear. You can absolutely redeem your Rogers cash back rewards as a statement credit, the exact same way you can with the Amazon card. Just call in and request your cash back be applied as a statement credit.
Moreover, there is no yearly minimum for the TD Visa Infinite card either, so there’s no need to make a choice between the two. You can have both. Lastly, if you really don’t want to put your Rogers bill as a pre-auth payment on your credit card, go for the FIDO card, which also comes with 4% on foreign purchases, and never comes with an annual fee.
GreedyRates Staff
I would like to know about Car Rental and Travel insurance for Rogers MC.
H Eugene,
There is no car rental or travel insurance offered with the card. With the high earn rates – especially for a no-fee card, Rogers pulled some value away from the add-ons. But remember, if you have another credit card with travel medical insurance, you will still be covered by that card, regardless of whether you use it or your Rogers card for the trip.
GreedyRates Staff
All transactions made in a foreign currency are converted to Canadian dollars at the rate established by MasterCard International in effect on the date that we post the transaction to your Account (which may not be the same date as the date of the transaction plus an amount equal to 2.5% of the transaction amount after it has been converted to Canadian dollars.
Did I miss something here? I thought the Rogers card didn’t charge the 2.5% or more on top of the exchange rate.
Hi Matt,
Rogers has changed their formula. They are now offering 4% cash back on purchases made in a foreign currency, but charging the 2.5% foreign transaction fee, leaving you with a net benefit of 1.5% cash back. That’s still far better than a credit card that offer 2% cash back on purchases, and charges a 2.5% foreign transaction fee, leaving you with a net loss of negative -.5%.
Hope that helps,
GreedyRates Staff
Hello, I just got a question about this statement. “contact Rogers Bank once per year to receive statement credit for value of rewards earned.” In this sentence, does “per year” mean exactly 365 days since i got this credit card? Or Can I ask for statement credit end of the year even if it has not been 365 days as of the date I got this credit card?
Hi Takamine,
Great question. You actually have to have your account open for at least a year, and then you can redeem at the end of each calendar year. So if you received your Rogers card now, you would be able to redeem for a statement credit end of December 2017. otherwise, you can redeem for any Rogers product at any time (Rogers, FIDO, Blue Jays, Rogers Center, Home Shopping, etc…).
Hope that helps,
GreedyRates Staff
Hi Greedyrates! It seems like the Rogers Masteracard has a new sister, the Fido Mastercard. I don’t quite understand the new welcome bonuses, but no annual fee seems nice for 1.5% cash back. What do you think, is it worth it, or the Rogers is still better?
Hi Jay,
It depends. If you’re a Rogers or Fido customer, all you have to do is pre-authorize payments from your credit card to pay for your Rogers or Fido bill to waive the annual fee. If you do that, then both cards come with no annual fee forever, but the Rogers card gets you 1.75% cashback, instead of 1.5% with the Fido card.
Both offer great value.
This is simply a complaint about the new 4% cash back reward change that is scheduled to occur on August 17, 2016. I would just like to express my disappointment with this change as I do not believe it benefits Rogers customers at all.
As things currently stand, no foreign conversion fees are charged. On top of that customers received 1.75% cash back rewards. Rogers claims the changes were as a result of customers not understanding how to figure out how much they were saving by waiving the foreign currency transaction fee. I don’t see how customers could not have figured out how much they were saving with the “no foreign transaction fee” benefit considering that most credit cards charged 2.5% as the standard foreign currency transaction fee.
Therefore if you spent $1000 US you would have saved $25, plus you would have accumulated $17.50 in cashback rewards (with the 1.75% reward) for a net benefit of $42.50
With the new changes, Rogers customers are worse off due to the fact that the 4% cashback is being offset by the fact that Rogers Bank is now charging a 2.5% standard foreign currency conversion fee, which when subtracted from the 4% cashback, works out to a cashback reward of only 1.5%.
Plus there is no additional cash back reward.
Therefore, after the changes a $1000 expenditure would only result in a new benefit of (4% cash back -2.5% fee = 1.5% cash back) $15 as opposed to the previous net benefit of $42.50
Yes my math might be a little off but not by much.
This is a significant decline in the benefit of this card for foreign currency transactions. I think it’s disingenuous to state that the changes are a result of customers not understanding how much they were saving, when that could easily have been explained. I think these changes were done to the detriment of Rogers customers and solely for the company’s gain.
When trying to explain to friends why I have the Chase Amazon Visa Card (because of its no FX fee) I totally accept that the majority of joe public, don’t realize they are paying 2.5% on all other cards. This is one of the rare occasions when I agree with Rogers, that the “no FX fee” is not fully understood by many consumers. That said, they should have made the net return the same, and had foreign transactions come in at 4.25% leaving a reward of 1.75%; the same as before the change.
As for your calculations, I’m afraid your math is indeed off by quite a bit.
Using your $1,000 example, under the old system, you were in-pocket $17.50. That’s it. You weren’t in pocket something that you were never charged.
Under the new reward scheme, you earn $40 and are charged $25; you’re in-pocket $15. You lose $2.50 per $1,000 spent. If your math was correct, the application of just a 2.5% charge, was resulting in 283% less in rewards. Obviously, that makes no sense.
One major bonus for anyone travelling or spending in a foreign currency between August 17 (when the new 4% kicks in) and October (when the 2.5% FX fee kicks in) is that you’ll be earning a whopping 4% clear on everything you charge in a foreign currency.
Hi,
Does this card offers extended warranty or price protection benefits of Master card?
Thank you
Yu
Hi Yu,
Unfortunately, with no annual fee and a cashback rate of 1.75% and 4% on FX, something had to give. Looks like extended warranty and price protection were just too much given the high rate of the rewards return.
GreedyRates Staff
Well i guess it was too good to be true:
Starting October 19, 2016, the Rogers Platinum MasterCard will charge a 2.5% foreign currency transaction fee consistent with most other credit cards.
I was just about to sign up for this, but now i am not too sure. Do you think this is still a good deal?
Hi Kevin,
It still seems to be the best deal on foreign transactions in Canada. You will now receive 4% cashback on foreign transaction. So while you’re paying the 2.5% foreign transaction fee, you’re netting out 1.5% in cash back (4%-2.5%). Not quite as good as before, where you would earn 1.75% cash back on foreign transactions, but still better than Amazon which only nets you 1% rewards on foreign transactions (including purchases at Amazon.ca).
We also understand this feature will start August 17th, but we’re getting confirmation on dates and who it will impact and when.
Hope that helps,
GreedyRates Staff
I applied this credit card last week over the phone. Right after the application, the agent told me it was under review but couldn’t tell me the reviewing period. 10 minutes later, I called a different number and another agent said I was denied for this credit and refused to tell me why but only asked me to contact transunion. During the application, the agent didn’t ask any ID from me but only some personal questions (like do you have a auto loan with which of the following financial institution?) in a hope to pull my profile from credit bureau. I tried to get my credit report from transunion online but the system doesn’t recognize my information so I have to file a paper request. I am wondering how accurate is Rogers “credit check”. If that’s possible it confuse me with someone else. I always make my bill payment and credit card payment on time and such result cannot be accepted.
Hi Dexter,
The best thing for you to do right now is to review your credit history and score with TransUnion. There are many reasons, other than a recent delinquency, an issuer may decline an application, including a low credit score, thin credit history (not long enough), high debt to income ratio, too many outstanding lines of credit, etc…
It’s very possible you have something on your file you’re not aware of that is causing the application decline. Review your file and score.
Hope that helps,
GreedyRates Staff
How long does it take to hear back if applying online? And will you hear back either way?
Also.. Will Rogers bank know if you are a Rogers customer through the application? It wasn’t a questioned asked.
Thank me you
Hi Jodi,
Rogers does approve online applications instantly. However, sometimes they have to manually pull a bureau due to missing information, in which case it may take a few days. You can usually call the Rogers credit department within 24 hours to see the status of your application. If you’re declined, you’ll get a letter in your mail box within 7-10 business days.
There is no need for Rogers MasterCard to know you are a Rogers customer. If you’re looking to have your annual fee waived in the second year (waived for everyone in the first year), when you put any Rogers, FIDO or Chatr bill on automatic payment, Rogers will automatically waive you fee.
Hope that helps,
GreedyRates Staff
What about cash advances and balance transfers? I haven’t found any info on either subject regarding the RFRMC. Any thoughts?
Hi Mona,
You can do cash advances with the Rogers MasterCard, both in and out of Canada. If you do it outside of Canada, you will NOT be charged the foeign transacion fee. Balance transfers cost $2.50 in Canada, $5 outside of Canada, and start accruing interest at 21.5% from the time of the cash advance. Comparable to most other Canadian cash back credit cards, if not a little better.
Hope that gives you the information you were looking for on the Rogers MasterCard balance transfers and cash advances. If not, let us know, and we’ll get the answer for you.
GreedyRates Staff
You cannot do balance transfers with the Rogers MasterCard at this time.
I agree that the Rogers Bank card is excellent value, and I now have one. However their customer service is very poor. Their reps are confused, and don’t seem to know much about the card. I was trying to get my Roger’s account pre-authorized for payment, and it was a very trying experience. In fact the 1st payment did not go through and they billed me as overdue. Trying to fix it was exasperating.
Hi Bonnie,
Sorry to hear of the experience. We agree the Rogers MasterCard is one of the best cash back credit cards in the country, offering excellent value. Customer service can be an issue with many call centres. Hopefully your issue has been taken care of to your satisfaction. If not, let us know and we’ll see if we can get you the requisite attention to rectify the situation.
GreedyRates Staff
In contrast to the above, I’ve had two calls with the call centre, both times waited just a couple of minutes, and the agents were helpful and knowledgeable. Also learned it is an entirely Canadian operation.
Regarding the statement credit. It states you can call once a year to have it applied. What if you don’t, does it continue to accumulate, or is there any risk of having the credit lapse?
Hi Francois,
You cashback accumulates (rolls over year to year) even if you don’t redeem them in any given year. They do not lapse if you don’t redeem in any given year.
Enjoy!
GreedyRates Staff
Hello GreedyRates,
for this Rogers Platinum MasterCard, do you charge for issuing a second card to my daughter?
peper
Hi Peter,
There is no additional annual fee for the authorized user for the Rogers MasterCard – and as stated above there is no annual fee in the first year for any cardholder and the annual fee will be waived for anyone who pre-authorizes payment of a Rogers bill with their Rogers MasterCard.
GreedyRates Staff
Hi, how long does payments reflect on my credit account. I paid on wednesday and still not reflecting today Ssturday.
Thanks
Hi Millicent,
If you make a payment online, it can take from 2-5 business days for the payment to appear on your Rogers account. If you made your payment on Wednesday, it should appear by Tuesday.
GreedyRates Staff
Question: Is the automatic bank payment applied to my Rogers Mastercard account allow me to waive the $28 annual fee?
Hi Donald,
Yes, you will never have to pay the $29 annual fee as long as your Rogers bill is set up as a pre-authorized payment.
Rogers terms and conditions state that the “annual Fee will be waived for the first year, and thereafter if you use your Rogers Bank Platinum MasterCard® to preauthorize payments for any Rogers monthly bill. Preauthorized payments must be set up on or before the last day of each year and such preauthorized payments continue until the last day of the next year.
Hope that helps,
GreedyRates Staff
Hi, Does anyone know which credit bureau they pull for rogers master card? Equifax or Transunion?
Hi Sean,
We confirmed with Rogers. They pull from both Equifax and Trans Union. Not uncommon for many issuers, in case one bureau shows something another does not.
Hope that helps,
GreedyRates Staff
Thank you for your help. So do you know of any major credit card issuer who would pull only Equifax and Not Transunion?!
Unfortunately not. That doesn’t mean there isn’t though.
Will the yearly fee be waived if I set up automatic fido payments with the card?
Hi Matt,
Yes, the yearly fee will be waived if you set-up your FIDO account for automatics payments with the Rogers card.
Enjoy!
GreedyRates Staff
Hi GreedyRates, I just want to make sure about that, because I called them and asked them the same thing, but they told me the yearly fee would NOT be waived for Fido or Chatr preauthorize payments, only Rogers. Maybe the person at the end of the line was mistaken? So if you could confirm this in any way I would really appreciate it. Also my mobile phone is with Cityfone, a company owned by Rogers, so if by any chance Fido and Chatr really does cancel the yearly 29$ fee, do you think preauthorize payments for Cityfone monthly bill will work too? Thank you very much for your help.
Hi Jay,
You absolutely can set-up pre-authorized payments with Fido and Chatr. Unfortunately, Cityfone is not owned by Rogers, and is not a Rogers company, therefore it understandably does not qualify. We called to reconfirm. Where do you see that Cityfone is a Rogers company?
Hope that helps,
GreedyRates Staff
Thank you for the clarifiation. As for Cityfone, the Wikipedia page says they were bought by Rogers in 2010. Rogers Wikipedia page also have Cityfone in their subsidiaries.
Hi can you pay your rogers mastercard at the roger’s store using a debit card?
Hi Woes,
Unfortunately you can’t pay your Rogers bill in a Rogers store. However, since you have a debit card, you can add Rogers as a Payee through your bank and pay off your credit card online – you can do it from the comfort of your couch.
GreedyRates Staff
Hello GreedyRates,
I found that when it comes to foreign transaction, MasterCard (includes this card, footnote #3) does double conversion that first converts to USD then to CAD. Visa card also does the same but it converts directly to CAD if you made a foreign transaction in specified currencies such as GBP, EUR, USD etc.
I am not sure how that 1.75% cash-back would benefit the double conversion rate, and I would appreciate if you could compare it with Amazon Visa card that has NO FOREIGN TRANSACTION FEE but gives only 1% of cashback.
Thanks,
Daniel
Hi Daniel,
There should be absolutely no impact on the cost of your foreign exchange, this is a big misconception. Whether Rogers converts directly from Euros to CDN, or from Euros to USD, and then USD to CDN, makes no mathematical difference. We’ll show you the math using the the real exchange rates MasterCard used for Feb 11, 2016.
1. Euro to USD =.886289. US to CDN =.713725. Now multiply .886289 X .713725 =.632566
2. Euro to CDN = .632567
You can see there is absolutely no difference, except for what amounts to a rounding error.
MasterCard isn’t charging a tansaction fee everytime it performs a currency conversion. It’s using wholesale rates. As a result there’s no impact on your exchange rate by using the USD as the base currency. The only difference that will impact the cardholder will be the exchange rates used by Visa and MasterCard. To that effect, we have seen some discrepencies, where sometimes Visa is more expensive, and other times MasterCard. However, we have noticed that when Visa is more expensive it deviates from the mean to a greater extent then MasterCard.
Hope that helps clarify our understanding.
GreedyRates Staff
Thank you so much clarifying this with mathematical formula. Now i see there is no difference, I will definitely go and apply for the card. You guys are absolutely the best when it comes to credit card comparison. 🙂
I applied for this card last year but when it arrived I was still a bit confused by the “statement credit”. When I phoned for clarification I was told that the “statement credit” was for Rogers services. This would be fine if I was a Rogers customer but I am not. Your article states that the credit could go against the actual credit card statement upon request. It’s too bad the agent didn’t mention this as I cancelled the card before using it and went for the MBNA World Elite. I might switch back over to the Rogers card at the end of the MBNA card year.
Hi Mike,
We are positive you’re allowed to redeem once per year as a statement credit. We called in ourselves. Not only that, we verified their terms. Right in footnote 2 you have the following:
“You can redeem points towards an eligible purchase made with your Rogers Platinum MasterCard® equal to or greater than $20.00 and up to the full transaction amount, or the cash value of your rewards balance, whichever is less. Or, you can contact Rogers Bank once per year to receive an annual statement credit for the value of the rewards you have earned during that period.”
It’s a shame you were provided with incorrect information, unless the term is new, since Rogers did revamp the card in 2015. No matter the company, relying on call center staff is dicey. In the future, if your gut tells you the rep is wrong, ask to escalate, or call back and deal with another customer service rep.
Hope that helps,
GreedyRates Staff
Actually, the MBNA World Elite Card – thanks to this site – has been working out even better with the 2%, $100 gift, and first year waived fee. I am planning to cancel this card before the $89 fee kicks in and try the Rogers card again. Hopefully the first year waived fee deal and $35.00 gift will still apply as, technically, I won’t be a “new” user.
I am curious if the annual MC statement credit is a relatively new term as a response to non-Rogers customer inquiries or the call center person didn’t know or didn’t bother to check.
No harm done as the MBNA card is still the better deal for now.
Cheers,
Mike
I was originally using the MBNA SmartCash card and decided to switch over to the MBNA World Elite. I had accumulated $35 on the SmartCash Card which is under the $50 minimum redemption. I was hanging on to this card but decided to cancel it last evening. When I phoned the card centre I asked about transferring the points before cancelling and the agent placed 3500 points – the equivalent of $35 – to my World Elite account. I am very impressed with the MBNA card and the service.
Cheers,
Mike
Great feedback. Thanks Mike. Are you paying the $89 annual fee on the MBNA World Elite account now, or did they waive the fee first yeat?
I started using the card in November and there was no fee. The $100 sign up gift was applied in two $50 statement credits on the first two statements.
I’ll have to see how my spending is until October as I’ll need to compare a 2% reward total after the $4450 spend to cover the MBNA fee versus a 1.75% reward total after the $1657 spend to cover the Rogers fee.
Cheers,
Mike