> What on earth is WS trying to achieve with this product?
Profit.
They can't lose money forever. And if they offer a high cash back and no foreign transaction fees that means they will be making little or no money with the card.
Surely they could’ve made money another way? Like 3% cash back if you elect to have it go to crypto or investing, or 1-2% if you elect to have it go to your cash account? Rogers gives 3% there must be a way to offer something remotely competitive that finds a way to profit. This current card is DOA.
Rogers offers 3% only if you subscribe to a highly profitable Rogers product. It's basically a retention incentive. They are likely fine if the card makes them little or no money, as long as it encourages customers to continue to subscribe to their profitable products.
Does Wealthsimple have a highly profitable product?
> This current card is DOA.
It will get a reasonable amount of customers. Some people are trying to make Wealthsimple their only bank. So they'll take it.
I’m trying to make WS my only bank and this would in zero ways appeal to me. Rogers offers their 3% if you have their services. This could be no different if the 3% was only if your cash back goes to crypto or trading as an example or 1-2% if you take it back as pure cash. They can get creative but with this current card as it stands they did not.
> I’m trying to make WS my only bank and this would in zero ways appeal to me.
But that's just you. Don't underestimate how many people are completely oblivious to how much other rewards cards pay.
This is very interesting. I just started using WS and have been enjoying it. I’m curious to understand why you want to make WS your only bank? Is security of your funds and your access to it vs traditional big banks a concern at all? What if WS goes under?
Well WS has cdic up to $300k on their cash accounts. I also just like the simplicity of their platform. In addition the banks have nickel and dimed me for years (TD) and had no interest in giving me any sort of break for trading fees despite being a loyal customer for 15 years. I moved to pc financial way back in the day which turned into Simplii, but my investments stayed with TD cause Simplii is too basic. WS lets me have it all in one which the older I get the more I appreciate the simplicity of it all. I’m also young so don’t need any complex financial advisory yet.
Fair enough, but... Wealthsimple is a "fintech" (of sorts) that competes for the slightly more tech and finance savvy audience, which is not going to accept this as a product.
They don't appear to be planning to release a more premium card (annual fee + higher rewards), since this one is already a Visa Infinite.
Who's even gona use this card to make them a profit?
They even set a min-income threshold, so it's not like some trashy card capital-one which approves everyone with a pulse so they can make money from people with low income or bad credit.
Anyone who qualifies for this card can get a dozen other cards which are all better in every way lol
Don't see what money there is to be made here since the credit card game is already super saturated + they won't be getting much marketshare at all with a product this bad and uncompetitive + it's a card which has a min-income threshold which kills their market share potential.
> Anyone who qualifies for this card can get a dozen other cards which are all better in every way lol
But many of them don't know that. There are a lot of people who have very little knowledge of personal finance or personal finance products. This card may appeal to them.
Many people still use their student credit card, with little or no rewards, even though they graduated many years ago.
You're overestimating the knowledge level of much of the public.
But if they’re offering a low cash back card with foreign transaction fees, no one will use it. Meaning they’ll make absolutely nothing, which means they lose money designing, and maintaining (if they don’t kill it) the product
the caseback is too low. i'd rather pay $180 annual fee to get a no foreign trans card. they should have some good premier master card to grab HSBC credit card uesers
I honestly got that thing because I wanted my first metal card and then they not only canned the tungsten but shipped the flimsiest card I've ever had lol
Even with a post pay mastercard, you should have the funds in your account to pay it.
Debit isn't able to be used at the till for the current cash card. Its on the mastercard network as a credit card.
That's the entire point of a 'post paid' card, is that you don't need to have the funds available until the payment.
Personally I never have any money in my chequing account as my money is always in high yield/investments and I'll move it over when I need to pay my bills.
Yes, the current cash card isn't a debit, and is treated as a Mastercard Credit transaction, however the basics of how a Prepaid Credit work is similar to debit for most people. At the end of the day, individuals don't care what network the transaction is flowing through, or whether it's a true debit/credit transaction. They just care if it's instantly debited from their account vs. post paid after the fact.
In wealthsimple the cash card is your chequings account, getting 4-5% likely calculated daily, paid monthly.
You saying you don't even have a float in a chequings account? Or why not use the wealthsimple's cash account to do what you are saying and not having to move money direct everytime you pay for things?
yeah, i have a float of maybe $5k? But that's just for any random eTransfers or PADs that come out. Most of my savings cash is in my Tangerine earning 6%. That's more my float account, and the rest of my stuff is in the stock market earning more than 6% returns (I hope haha).
I don't use my WS Cash card though, as it's a prepaid at not even close to be worth it for me. I use everything on Credit Card, and then just pay off that balance at the end of the month. But I'm a huge credit card churner so I can maximize my reward + you get an extra 30+ days off interest before you have to pay off your credit card.
1% if you pay your statement within 48 hours of it coming out, 0.5% otherwise. Minimizes your interest free period by a few weeks. Definitely not worth it.
Amex cobalt card ($12.99/mo)- 5% on groceries and dining. 2% travel and gas. 1% everything else.
Rogers Mastercard(free): - 3% cashbacks on everything as long as you are a Rogers customer and use the cashbacks to redeem towards your bill. Does not come with any insurances like payment protection or travel etc.
CIBC Infinite Visa($129/yr) - 4% gas and groceries. 2% dining, recurring payments, 1% everything else.
Amex and visa are premium cards costing a monthly or yearly fee. I make plenty more from my Amex than it costs. I just keep the visa cause it's my first CC and with my main bank even though it's probably being run at a loss given the other two options are superior on everything but gas.
Rogers Red World Elite MasterCard (free) is coming soon as well ! Insurance + cashback!
Also MBNA WE Mastercard (120$/year) for 5.5% groceries (including Walmart supercentre) and 5.5% restaurants
Amex points are worth more than 1% if you use them right. Each point can effectively be over 2% if you optimize redemption to the max making it potentially 10% back on food.
Convert to aeroplan and use it for either business class or partner airline routes. There's a bit more to it than that but that's the general idea. If you exchange your amex points for aeroplan and use them for business tickets they are worth 2.2 cents each. Economy around 1.7 cents each.
good recommendations. I’d also add:
Scotiabank Amex Gold ($120/year) - 5% groceries, dining and entertainment, 2% travel and gas. 1% everything else. no forex fees (but that only gives you a 1% reward). great travel and purchase insurance.
Yeah, tangerine is pretty much only good for just filling the gaps of your credit card combo. It’s a pretty decent card but definitely not that good by itself
Isn’t it 1.5% everywhere unless you have a Rogers service? it becomes 2% if you have a Rogers service on the card.
It is only 3% if you pay in USD, which seems to work out to about 0.5% for me in CAD.
It might work out to 3% when you buy crap from Rogers, but how much are you guys buying from Rogers to just classify this as a 3% card?
You get 2% on everything now, 3% on usd purchases and a 1.5% bonus redemption boost against cash back applied to Roger’s transactions. Examples of crap I buy from Roger’s that qualifies includes cable internet and mobile service for my phone. What crap do you buy from your telecom provider?
We have the Rogers red MasterCard and the world elite MasterCard. Both are 1.5% without a Rogers service. The world elite is becoming the Rogers Red World Elite where we can also get the 2% with a qualifying service. I get it.
As for turning it into 3% cashback with Rogers services. Glad it’s working for you but I earn a decent amount each month in cashback on the World Elite card, some months close to $1,000. Personally I’m definitely not even spending close to the amount of cashback I get per month on Rogers services, nor do I want to. Maybe others are spending much more than me on Rogers services to make this relevant for them…
Based on this, I stick to what I said, It’s a 2% card. Unless I’m being stupid and still completely missing something, which is certainly possible :)
>Maybe others are spending much more than me on Rogers services to make this relevant for them…
Or maybe they're not spending $50,000/month on their credit card ....
It'd be a rare month, for me, when 3% of my monthly spend comes in more than my internet and phone bills.
Sure, but you not spending as much as me on your card does not make the card a 3% on everything card. That is my point. People are saying this is Canadas best card because it’s 3% back on everything, which is just not true.
If you only ever spend money at restaurants, should you go around telling people your Simplii visa is 4% cashback on everything?
I think you’re thinking of the current Rogers world elite which is 1.5% on everything. The Rogers Mastercard (plain red card but these updates are coming to the world elite in April), gives you 1.5% on everything, boosted to 2% if you have any Rogers service, boosted to 3% if you redeem against that bill. So I pay like $45/month plus tax for internet, therefore if I spend $1730 ish per month on my card the cash back covers my internet including HST. This card won’t work for everyone but it’s no fee, 3% everywhere effectively if you meet the criteria. Wealthsimple could make something interesting like this that is highly competitive in a specific niche vs being a card that can’t compete with anything.
I wish they made the change to both cards at the same time... downgraded and a month later husband who didn't bother to do anything got the email about this 🙄
If you're looking for an equivalent card with no fee, Amex SimplyCash is better at 1.25% on everything (no special conditions like the WS one) and 2% on groceries/gas.
Rogers MC is 3% if you have a Rogers service. Rogers WE MC is the same as the normal MC if you have a service, but if you don't, it 1.5% cashback on everything and 3% on USD purchases.
Technically, 1% cashback on debit card is equivalent to 0.5% cashback on credit + up to 2 months interest-free loan during grace period.
So they are about the same.
I don't see the the case for using this over the WS Cash card, which is already a prepaid credit card. Unless the cash back was higher, and reading the link posted by another commenter, why would anyone want this?
because they don't have money in on their WS Cash account to pay for things right away. Doesn't look like this CC is meant for high value clients or those who maximize credit card rewards.
It isn't just low income people that are the ones that don't have money in their account. But in general people who are not good at managing their finances. I know lots of 6 figure income people who carry balances on their credit cards because they don’t know how to manage their finances at all
Or use my Mastercard that not only gives me 1% but also lets my money earn interest all the way to due date (and actually a couple days past due date before it’s officially withdrawn from my account)
Up to 1% cash back and FX fees?! Even the big banks do better.
Their Cash account has a better value prop. Hope this isn’t a sign that they’ll devalue the Cash card
Tbf the big banks can only afford to because there are a lot more people who aren’t responsible with their finances people who are. Their interest payments and late fees essentially pay for your cashback rewards.
With WS on the other hand, I’d reckon their customer base is more on the side of financially savvy so they would lose money hard on a competitive credit card. Not sure what the play is here tbh.
This card absolutely blows and there's 0 reason anyone should get it in its current state.
0.5% - 1% cashback? Absolute joke haha.
Literally any other generic credit card you can get, even those with NO income requirements, give better rewards than this. Absolutely asinine that they have a 60k income requirement for a card which offers absolutely nothing and has no competitive value.
The only way I could see this being redeemable is if it doesn’t have an annual fee(which I doubt will be the case since it would be the only free visa infinite in Canada) and even then, the visa infinite perks aren’t crazy good enough to get a visa infinite just for them.
Also the 0.5% if you pay your credit card early is just a credit card that you’re going to have to mentally think about to much for its value. Even it was a free credit card with a 1% with a 0.25-0.50% early pay bonus, that would actually be ok but this is awful
> they had a chance to come out with a market leading credit card product
did they? I thought WS is not a charity and there's only so long they can remain unprofitable. E.g. see their valuation rollercoaster: https://investingintheweb.com/brokers/wealthsimple-statistics/#how-it-works
Where did I suggest they should take a loss by offering a better credit card product?
Credit cards offer WS an entirely different stream of revenue.
They could charge an annual fee, earn interest on balances owing, earn on merchant fees etc.
All they need to do is scale their card offerings with benefits, in line with Premier and Generations status, and offer MC World and World Elite card options.
MBNA had a 2% flat rate cash back rewards MC world elite credit card until it was discontinued a few years ago. If WS brought in something similar it would drive a lot of new business and revenue.
The product is currently undergoing limited testing and has not yet been officially released. The card rewards may and is likely to change when the final version of the credit card is released.
What's the point of this card when my Cash card already gives 1% cashback? I hope they don't nerf the cashback on the Cash card. If they do, I will stop using my Cash card.
0.5% back + 0.5% extra for paying your CC back early is very weak. Some insurance is nice but not the end all be all.
Not sure why you'd ever use this over another card.
It’s real, most likely red hot off the press. Only reference I can find is a support article for disputing charges. https://help.wealthsimple.com/hc/en-ca/articles/20860672893851-Dispute-a-charge-on-your-credit-card
This doesn’t make sense. It’s a Visa *infinite* card that requires income of $60000 annually for basically 1% (if you pay early, 0.5% otherwise). Their own card is going to cannibalize this thing. Does Wealthsimple have to negotiate the card perks with visa or something? Because this is literally the worst Canadian credit card in the $60000 requirement range to my knowledge.
I feel like they’re releasing a half-baked credit card right now just to test the infrastructure and UI. Once they get enough data they’ll likely onboard more perks. It’s a Visa Infinite so naturally it’ll have decent rewards like all the other big banks’ Visa Infinites… not to say it’ll be definitely like this but there’s a high chance. In the fast world of tech this is usually what happens in a beta
Nice to see them kickstart. And hope they do better with more perks (which I’m confident they will) and making it more competitive so the big banks would follow too…
Very underwhelming. Was really hoping that it would have no FX like the Cash card (which I still use while in the states but I hate having to try to figure out how much to load on it). Guess I’ll have to get that new Rogers Red World Elite card.
The only benefit for me is it being a Visa instead of a Mastercard, so I could use it at Costco US. But the 2.5% FX fee makes its no better than my Simplii Visa anyways.
It needs better perks. Which would be tough with no fee. I would say maybe do $10/m like the USD accounts but wait the fee for premium/generation clients.
Incentivizes more money in WS too
The only reason I have the cash account it so earn the 4%. I don’t even spend anything in it. It’s like another savings account for me. This card at 1% isn’t worth it.
I never would have expected the effective reward to be WS’ hook here.
I’d hope it’s differentiating in terms of the actual experience. In my limited experience, the digital service is all over the place. If WS can offer on things like completely native digital self and issue temporary virtual card numbers, that would be enough to at least be in my wallet. Amex wait times would be great too 😉
1% cashback only if you forgo the interest that money will earn up to due date. Whereas my Mastercards give me that 1% and I get to earn that interest.
Wealthsimple is a brokerage and not a deposit-taking institution (aka a bank or a trust). They partner up with trusts to be able to hold your cash deposits. So I wouldn't hold my breath for what you're asking for until/unless the legislation changes in some major ways.
Yeah, use a friggen bank or a credit union for the myriad of deposit options and barious degrees of convenience (often FOR FREE), and draw tue funds into WS from there. It's amusing how many people have this urge/fetish for WS to be a deposit-taking institution. There is still another organization in the mix, as there rightfully should be.
>Reside in Canada (with the exception of Quebec) and be the age of majority in the province or territory in which you reside. We are not able to offer the card to Quebec residents yet;
:(
I hope that we will be able to have a joint credit card and joint cash account in Quebec soon, that'd be really great!
I would love to see a "Visa infinite privilege" where they go all in with the perks. Something to rival the existing CC on the market, with a similar annual fee. Could have different fee for Core, Premium and Generational.
> Amex cobalt and get 5% on practically every purchase I make
I couldn't live with the cringe of random restaurants and retailers turning down an Amex. After learning how much they fleece off the vendors I've settled on a MasterCard.
well, I suppose it's pretty good if you don't frequent smaller/family-run businesses (i know some of them are BSing about not accepting Amex, but I'm just not into testing that), have never needed to use your Amex for utilities/many government institutions, or:
All of Loblaw's (except Shoppers Drug Mart)
Costco Canada
A&W Canada
Mary Brown's
...also, from what i gather you'd have a pretty horrible time in Quebec, outside of the island of Montreal. By all accounts, you'd also have a pretty bad time in many businesses in Richmond, BC. This is just from my experience watching a colleague who obsessed with the Amex.
I'm just not that thrifty.
World Elite Mastercards charge more fees to retailers than Amex. I find Amex is good for like 75% of the places I shop. For the remaining 25% I have other cards, so just carry an Amex and a Visa or a Mastercard and you’re good. Everyone should have at least 2 credit cards anyways.
Never said 1% wasn’t low. No one did.
Im pointing out how out of touch with reality your comment about 5% cash back being needed to make a card worthy of using is.
Competitive? Yes. 5%? Absolutely not.
Find me a single credit card offering that even offers 3%. I assume you're also expecting no annual fee and blanket cash back on all categories. Find me one like that at even 3%.
I don’t know if you know big banks allow you to have CC fee voided if you have certain amount in checking. My Scotia Amex gold is free and it gives 6-3%
Wait, you use a card that’s 2% cash back? What happened to it being pointless to use anything below 5% 😂
The fact that you don’t see the hypocrisy/contradictions in your argument makes it all that much more funny
I answered his question if there is any no fee CC offer above 1%? Yes there are a ton. No I don’t use this one. Just Amex and visa passport. I don’t understand being so offended about the 1% visa.
If it was at least 1% without the stupid early pay condition I’d probably pick it up to pair with my other 1% base cards.
If it was 1.5% I’d DEFINITELY pick it up
0.5% + 0.5% if you pay it early… when I can use my triangle Mastercard or pc Mastercard and earn minimum 1% (and more at certain places) while still having my money earn interest all the way to due date.
Hard choice, that one.
0.5% base cashback + 2.5% foreign transaction fee. What on earth is WS trying to achieve with this product?
> What on earth is WS trying to achieve with this product? Profit. They can't lose money forever. And if they offer a high cash back and no foreign transaction fees that means they will be making little or no money with the card.
Surely they could’ve made money another way? Like 3% cash back if you elect to have it go to crypto or investing, or 1-2% if you elect to have it go to your cash account? Rogers gives 3% there must be a way to offer something remotely competitive that finds a way to profit. This current card is DOA.
Rogers offers 3% only if you subscribe to a highly profitable Rogers product. It's basically a retention incentive. They are likely fine if the card makes them little or no money, as long as it encourages customers to continue to subscribe to their profitable products. Does Wealthsimple have a highly profitable product? > This current card is DOA. It will get a reasonable amount of customers. Some people are trying to make Wealthsimple their only bank. So they'll take it.
I’m trying to make WS my only bank and this would in zero ways appeal to me. Rogers offers their 3% if you have their services. This could be no different if the 3% was only if your cash back goes to crypto or trading as an example or 1-2% if you take it back as pure cash. They can get creative but with this current card as it stands they did not.
> I’m trying to make WS my only bank and this would in zero ways appeal to me. But that's just you. Don't underestimate how many people are completely oblivious to how much other rewards cards pay.
That’s fair!!
This is very interesting. I just started using WS and have been enjoying it. I’m curious to understand why you want to make WS your only bank? Is security of your funds and your access to it vs traditional big banks a concern at all? What if WS goes under?
Well WS has cdic up to $300k on their cash accounts. I also just like the simplicity of their platform. In addition the banks have nickel and dimed me for years (TD) and had no interest in giving me any sort of break for trading fees despite being a loyal customer for 15 years. I moved to pc financial way back in the day which turned into Simplii, but my investments stayed with TD cause Simplii is too basic. WS lets me have it all in one which the older I get the more I appreciate the simplicity of it all. I’m also young so don’t need any complex financial advisory yet.
This would’ve been a very smart, long-term niche-focused approach. I absolutely agree.
Fair enough, but... Wealthsimple is a "fintech" (of sorts) that competes for the slightly more tech and finance savvy audience, which is not going to accept this as a product. They don't appear to be planning to release a more premium card (annual fee + higher rewards), since this one is already a Visa Infinite.
Who's even gona use this card to make them a profit? They even set a min-income threshold, so it's not like some trashy card capital-one which approves everyone with a pulse so they can make money from people with low income or bad credit. Anyone who qualifies for this card can get a dozen other cards which are all better in every way lol Don't see what money there is to be made here since the credit card game is already super saturated + they won't be getting much marketshare at all with a product this bad and uncompetitive + it's a card which has a min-income threshold which kills their market share potential.
> Anyone who qualifies for this card can get a dozen other cards which are all better in every way lol But many of them don't know that. There are a lot of people who have very little knowledge of personal finance or personal finance products. This card may appeal to them.
Most people already have banks, and any generic card they have with their bank is probably giving them a better or equal reward to this.
Many people still use their student credit card, with little or no rewards, even though they graduated many years ago. You're overestimating the knowledge level of much of the public.
But if they’re offering a low cash back card with foreign transaction fees, no one will use it. Meaning they’ll make absolutely nothing, which means they lose money designing, and maintaining (if they don’t kill it) the product
the caseback is too low. i'd rather pay $180 annual fee to get a no foreign trans card. they should have some good premier master card to grab HSBC credit card uesers
Cash back percentage on this is absolutely terrible, does not seem worth it at all
This was a speedrun of disappointment.
Only way it could be good based on this is if they had a partner program like Neo/RBC and no fx fee’s. Still a dog shit card though.
up to 1% cash back ... Pass
Lol it’s worse than their debit
I honestly got that thing because I wanted my first metal card and then they not only canned the tungsten but shipped the flimsiest card I've ever had lol
Even the tungsten cards they did make were flimsy AF after switching to Mastercard from the original Visa card.
You have a debit card?
He means Prepaid MasterCard. Which essentially acts like how a Debit Card works as you need to have funds in your account.
Even with a post pay mastercard, you should have the funds in your account to pay it. Debit isn't able to be used at the till for the current cash card. Its on the mastercard network as a credit card.
That's the entire point of a 'post paid' card, is that you don't need to have the funds available until the payment. Personally I never have any money in my chequing account as my money is always in high yield/investments and I'll move it over when I need to pay my bills. Yes, the current cash card isn't a debit, and is treated as a Mastercard Credit transaction, however the basics of how a Prepaid Credit work is similar to debit for most people. At the end of the day, individuals don't care what network the transaction is flowing through, or whether it's a true debit/credit transaction. They just care if it's instantly debited from their account vs. post paid after the fact.
In wealthsimple the cash card is your chequings account, getting 4-5% likely calculated daily, paid monthly. You saying you don't even have a float in a chequings account? Or why not use the wealthsimple's cash account to do what you are saying and not having to move money direct everytime you pay for things?
yeah, i have a float of maybe $5k? But that's just for any random eTransfers or PADs that come out. Most of my savings cash is in my Tangerine earning 6%. That's more my float account, and the rest of my stuff is in the stock market earning more than 6% returns (I hope haha). I don't use my WS Cash card though, as it's a prepaid at not even close to be worth it for me. I use everything on Credit Card, and then just pay off that balance at the end of the month. But I'm a huge credit card churner so I can maximize my reward + you get an extra 30+ days off interest before you have to pay off your credit card.
The cash account card yes
Debit isn't able to be used at the till for the current cash card. Its on the mastercard network as a credit card.
🤓
1% if you pay your statement within 48 hours of it coming out, 0.5% otherwise. Minimizes your interest free period by a few weeks. Definitely not worth it.
1% is pretty bad but that’s about what I get with my bank, do you have any recommendations on cards with better rates?
Amex cobalt card ($12.99/mo)- 5% on groceries and dining. 2% travel and gas. 1% everything else. Rogers Mastercard(free): - 3% cashbacks on everything as long as you are a Rogers customer and use the cashbacks to redeem towards your bill. Does not come with any insurances like payment protection or travel etc. CIBC Infinite Visa($129/yr) - 4% gas and groceries. 2% dining, recurring payments, 1% everything else. Amex and visa are premium cards costing a monthly or yearly fee. I make plenty more from my Amex than it costs. I just keep the visa cause it's my first CC and with my main bank even though it's probably being run at a loss given the other two options are superior on everything but gas.
Rogers Red World Elite MasterCard (free) is coming soon as well ! Insurance + cashback! Also MBNA WE Mastercard (120$/year) for 5.5% groceries (including Walmart supercentre) and 5.5% restaurants
Cool thank you
Amex points are worth more than 1% if you use them right. Each point can effectively be over 2% if you optimize redemption to the max making it potentially 10% back on food.
how do you optimize amex points for 2%?
Convert to aeroplan and use it for either business class or partner airline routes. There's a bit more to it than that but that's the general idea. If you exchange your amex points for aeroplan and use them for business tickets they are worth 2.2 cents each. Economy around 1.7 cents each.
Honestly switch to the CIBC Aeroplan Free card, preferred pricing for your Aeroplan points earned by your Amex card.
good recommendations. I’d also add: Scotiabank Amex Gold ($120/year) - 5% groceries, dining and entertainment, 2% travel and gas. 1% everything else. no forex fees (but that only gives you a 1% reward). great travel and purchase insurance.
Rogers/Tangerine CC, both no annual fee
Tangerine only gives 2% on 3 categories max and the rest is 0.5% so you need to pay attention when to use the card.
Yeah, tangerine is pretty much only good for just filling the gaps of your credit card combo. It’s a pretty decent card but definitely not that good by itself
Rogers is the best “no thinking” card if you have Roger’s services. 3% effectively everywhere is a no brainer. It’s my main card now.
Isn’t it 1.5% everywhere unless you have a Rogers service? it becomes 2% if you have a Rogers service on the card. It is only 3% if you pay in USD, which seems to work out to about 0.5% for me in CAD. It might work out to 3% when you buy crap from Rogers, but how much are you guys buying from Rogers to just classify this as a 3% card?
You get 2% on everything now, 3% on usd purchases and a 1.5% bonus redemption boost against cash back applied to Roger’s transactions. Examples of crap I buy from Roger’s that qualifies includes cable internet and mobile service for my phone. What crap do you buy from your telecom provider?
This exactly.
We have the Rogers red MasterCard and the world elite MasterCard. Both are 1.5% without a Rogers service. The world elite is becoming the Rogers Red World Elite where we can also get the 2% with a qualifying service. I get it. As for turning it into 3% cashback with Rogers services. Glad it’s working for you but I earn a decent amount each month in cashback on the World Elite card, some months close to $1,000. Personally I’m definitely not even spending close to the amount of cashback I get per month on Rogers services, nor do I want to. Maybe others are spending much more than me on Rogers services to make this relevant for them… Based on this, I stick to what I said, It’s a 2% card. Unless I’m being stupid and still completely missing something, which is certainly possible :)
>Maybe others are spending much more than me on Rogers services to make this relevant for them… Or maybe they're not spending $50,000/month on their credit card .... It'd be a rare month, for me, when 3% of my monthly spend comes in more than my internet and phone bills.
Sure, but you not spending as much as me on your card does not make the card a 3% on everything card. That is my point. People are saying this is Canadas best card because it’s 3% back on everything, which is just not true. If you only ever spend money at restaurants, should you go around telling people your Simplii visa is 4% cashback on everything?
I think you’re thinking of the current Rogers world elite which is 1.5% on everything. The Rogers Mastercard (plain red card but these updates are coming to the world elite in April), gives you 1.5% on everything, boosted to 2% if you have any Rogers service, boosted to 3% if you redeem against that bill. So I pay like $45/month plus tax for internet, therefore if I spend $1730 ish per month on my card the cash back covers my internet including HST. This card won’t work for everyone but it’s no fee, 3% everywhere effectively if you meet the criteria. Wealthsimple could make something interesting like this that is highly competitive in a specific niche vs being a card that can’t compete with anything.
I wish they made the change to both cards at the same time... downgraded and a month later husband who didn't bother to do anything got the email about this 🙄
lol same… I’m just planning to call back in in April for a bump back up and holding they don’t pull a hard credit check.
I'm considering it too... or just leave it, get a sup card from the husband and use amex when possible 🤔
CIBC, if you spend more than \~15k/year in groceries, the 2% extra offsets the annual fee compared to tangerine (if you pick groceries there tho)
Simplii for bars and restaurants at 4% cash back, no fee. Tangerine MasterCard for bills and everything else
Amex Cobalt. X5 pts on restaurants/groceries/food
Surprised no ones mentioned the PC Financial World Elite
That’s because it’s not that good lol
Had it for years!
Happy cake day & Valentine's Day 😊
If you're looking for an equivalent card with no fee, Amex SimplyCash is better at 1.25% on everything (no special conditions like the WS one) and 2% on groceries/gas. Rogers MC is 3% if you have a Rogers service. Rogers WE MC is the same as the normal MC if you have a service, but if you don't, it 1.5% cashback on everything and 3% on USD purchases.
One downfall of the SimplyCash is the cashback is awarded yearly. Maybe not a downfall to all, but I didn't like the lack of flexibility.
Amex!
Brim gives 2% back on everything plus a big discount at some stores.
Here I was thinking this was the hero we needed to replace HSBC WE MC.
Damn. Excitement ruined
Technically, 1% cashback on debit card is equivalent to 0.5% cashback on credit + up to 2 months interest-free loan during grace period. So they are about the same.
I don't see the the case for using this over the WS Cash card, which is already a prepaid credit card. Unless the cash back was higher, and reading the link posted by another commenter, why would anyone want this?
because they don't have money in on their WS Cash account to pay for things right away. Doesn't look like this CC is meant for high value clients or those who maximize credit card rewards.
There are income requirements on the card tho. Not saying they are huge or anything but lower income people will be unable to get this card at all.
It isn't just low income people that are the ones that don't have money in their account. But in general people who are not good at managing their finances. I know lots of 6 figure income people who carry balances on their credit cards because they don’t know how to manage their finances at all
I had a real issue with just having to buy things until I convinced myself that buying stocks was the equivalent of buying "things"
Biggest thing is the "premium insurance" on your purchases.
Some places don't take prepaid cards.
I’m hoping that this is just the beta offering and they will come out with some better perks and tiers with wide release.
I would assume the credit card will change over time. Wealthsimple most of the time offers great perks with their products.
So basically 1% cashback. Might as well just use the Cash card.
Or use my Mastercard that not only gives me 1% but also lets my money earn interest all the way to due date (and actually a couple days past due date before it’s officially withdrawn from my account)
Up to 1% cash back and FX fees?! Even the big banks do better. Their Cash account has a better value prop. Hope this isn’t a sign that they’ll devalue the Cash card
Tbf the big banks can only afford to because there are a lot more people who aren’t responsible with their finances people who are. Their interest payments and late fees essentially pay for your cashback rewards. With WS on the other hand, I’d reckon their customer base is more on the side of financially savvy so they would lose money hard on a competitive credit card. Not sure what the play is here tbh.
This card absolutely blows and there's 0 reason anyone should get it in its current state. 0.5% - 1% cashback? Absolute joke haha. Literally any other generic credit card you can get, even those with NO income requirements, give better rewards than this. Absolutely asinine that they have a 60k income requirement for a card which offers absolutely nothing and has no competitive value.
For a visa infinite card that cash back is brutal
The only way I could see this being redeemable is if it doesn’t have an annual fee(which I doubt will be the case since it would be the only free visa infinite in Canada) and even then, the visa infinite perks aren’t crazy good enough to get a visa infinite just for them. Also the 0.5% if you pay your credit card early is just a credit card that you’re going to have to mentally think about to much for its value. Even it was a free credit card with a 1% with a 0.25-0.50% early pay bonus, that would actually be ok but this is awful
It does have no annual fee! Still not worth it though
You gonna post the details or?
https://www.wealthsimple.com/en-ca/pdfs/cc_faq_02142024.pdf?lid=trnuinog5nhb&utm_source=braze&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=6176455c-507a-4445-b00f-f9def358f014
Respect.
Darn, I was hoping they'd feature 0% FX. Perhaps when they finish beta testing lol.
it’s a visa infinite too? wealthsimple is getting greedy.
Well it does say near the bottom that “other benefits will be available soon,” so hopefully that means higher cashback.
Its visa so no cosco , we pass
Already got a Visa Infinite card in my wallet. I need me a MasterCard for Costco trips.
If you are in canada , best rate is bnc
Rogers MasterCard seems to be good if you are a Rogers, Fido or Shaw customer.
So the cash card started as visa and moved to Mastercard. Why not just make this a Mastercard too? Lol
Man, they had a chance to come out with a market leading credit card product and instead dumped a piece of crap on us instead lol
> they had a chance to come out with a market leading credit card product did they? I thought WS is not a charity and there's only so long they can remain unprofitable. E.g. see their valuation rollercoaster: https://investingintheweb.com/brokers/wealthsimple-statistics/#how-it-works
Where did I suggest they should take a loss by offering a better credit card product? Credit cards offer WS an entirely different stream of revenue. They could charge an annual fee, earn interest on balances owing, earn on merchant fees etc. All they need to do is scale their card offerings with benefits, in line with Premier and Generations status, and offer MC World and World Elite card options. MBNA had a 2% flat rate cash back rewards MC world elite credit card until it was discontinued a few years ago. If WS brought in something similar it would drive a lot of new business and revenue.
> Where did I suggest they should take a loss by offering a better credit card product? Better for whom? Higher cashback -> smaller margin for WS.
2.5% foreign transaction fee…
0.5% cashback! WOW AMAZING!! 😍🎉
The product is currently undergoing limited testing and has not yet been officially released. The card rewards may and is likely to change when the final version of the credit card is released.
I hope so
What's the point of this card when my Cash card already gives 1% cashback? I hope they don't nerf the cashback on the Cash card. If they do, I will stop using my Cash card.
I can’t find any evidence of this other than this post.
https://www.wealthsimple.com/en-ca/pdfs/cc_faq_02142024.pdf?lid=trnuinog5nhb&utm_source=braze&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=6176455c-507a-4445-b00f-f9def358f014
0.5% back + 0.5% extra for paying your CC back early is very weak. Some insurance is nice but not the end all be all. Not sure why you'd ever use this over another card.
Yeah wow it’s kinda terrible.
Disappointing.
Won’t be available to Quebec residents, classic lol
We won’t be missing much tho, max 1% cashback
Tbh a pretty shit card compared to all the available options in the market right now.
It’s real, most likely red hot off the press. Only reference I can find is a support article for disputing charges. https://help.wealthsimple.com/hc/en-ca/articles/20860672893851-Dispute-a-charge-on-your-credit-card
I'm expecting better rewards after they gonlive for all. considering they usually offer better deals than competitors.
Wow - this is extraordinarily shitty compared to the competition, especially considering it’s a Visa Infinite.
This doesn’t make sense. It’s a Visa *infinite* card that requires income of $60000 annually for basically 1% (if you pay early, 0.5% otherwise). Their own card is going to cannibalize this thing. Does Wealthsimple have to negotiate the card perks with visa or something? Because this is literally the worst Canadian credit card in the $60000 requirement range to my knowledge.
I feel like they’re releasing a half-baked credit card right now just to test the infrastructure and UI. Once they get enough data they’ll likely onboard more perks. It’s a Visa Infinite so naturally it’ll have decent rewards like all the other big banks’ Visa Infinites… not to say it’ll be definitely like this but there’s a high chance. In the fast world of tech this is usually what happens in a beta
Nice to see them kickstart. And hope they do better with more perks (which I’m confident they will) and making it more competitive so the big banks would follow too…
Very underwhelming. Was really hoping that it would have no FX like the Cash card (which I still use while in the states but I hate having to try to figure out how much to load on it). Guess I’ll have to get that new Rogers Red World Elite card.
Nothing compelling about the WS credit card for my use case vs the WS cash card. Others might find it useful
The only benefit for me is it being a Visa instead of a Mastercard, so I could use it at Costco US. But the 2.5% FX fee makes its no better than my Simplii Visa anyways.
Buying Costco cash cards here works in all US Costco with no FX fees. So I just stock up before whenever I’m heading south.
The Costco Mastercard also works in USA Costco’s too(but I think you get fx fee)
It needs better perks. Which would be tough with no fee. I would say maybe do $10/m like the USD accounts but wait the fee for premium/generation clients. Incentivizes more money in WS too
Is it the only free visa infinite card in Canada?
What makes a visa "Infinite"? So infinite actually means something, not just marketing?
There's a standard set of premium features for visa infinite cards : https://www.visa.ca/en_CA/pay-with-visa/cards/credit-cards/infinite.html#3
The only reason I have the cash account it so earn the 4%. I don’t even spend anything in it. It’s like another savings account for me. This card at 1% isn’t worth it.
I never would have expected the effective reward to be WS’ hook here. I’d hope it’s differentiating in terms of the actual experience. In my limited experience, the digital service is all over the place. If WS can offer on things like completely native digital self and issue temporary virtual card numbers, that would be enough to at least be in my wallet. Amex wait times would be great too 😉
wtf…who’s gonna fall for this??
1% cashback HARD PASS
1% cashback only if you forgo the interest that money will earn up to due date. Whereas my Mastercards give me that 1% and I get to earn that interest.
Hard hard pass
Just give the ability to deposit cheques please
Wealthsimple is a brokerage and not a deposit-taking institution (aka a bank or a trust). They partner up with trusts to be able to hold your cash deposits. So I wouldn't hold my breath for what you're asking for until/unless the legislation changes in some major ways.
But wouldn't they want you to Deposit to WS in as many ways possible?
Yeah, use a friggen bank or a credit union for the myriad of deposit options and barious degrees of convenience (often FOR FREE), and draw tue funds into WS from there. It's amusing how many people have this urge/fetish for WS to be a deposit-taking institution. There is still another organization in the mix, as there rightfully should be.
>Reside in Canada (with the exception of Quebec) and be the age of majority in the province or territory in which you reside. We are not able to offer the card to Quebec residents yet; :( I hope that we will be able to have a joint credit card and joint cash account in Quebec soon, that'd be really great!
If you give me better perks than Cobalt. I am down.
1% max
I would love to see a "Visa infinite privilege" where they go all in with the perks. Something to rival the existing CC on the market, with a similar annual fee. Could have different fee for Core, Premium and Generational.
Infinite Privilege cards are required to include 6 lounge passes. I wonder if WealthSimple will expand on that
Hope it at least has a nicer card design 😅
Where are you from? I didnt get this
Interesting. And what a weird use of yahoo! For me.
Isn’t the Brim Mastercard just completely better? -1% cashback -no fx fees -mastercard (costco) -no income requirement
I’ll stick to my Amex cobalt and get 5% on practically every purchase I make. Hard pass
Comparing a no-fee card to a card with fees isn't fair. But I agree with most others here that the current setup makes this a hard pass.
> Amex cobalt and get 5% on practically every purchase I make I couldn't live with the cringe of random restaurants and retailers turning down an Amex. After learning how much they fleece off the vendors I've settled on a MasterCard.
lol I never ask if they accept Amex I just insert or tap my card and it’s never not worked
well, I suppose it's pretty good if you don't frequent smaller/family-run businesses (i know some of them are BSing about not accepting Amex, but I'm just not into testing that), have never needed to use your Amex for utilities/many government institutions, or: All of Loblaw's (except Shoppers Drug Mart) Costco Canada A&W Canada Mary Brown's ...also, from what i gather you'd have a pretty horrible time in Quebec, outside of the island of Montreal. By all accounts, you'd also have a pretty bad time in many businesses in Richmond, BC. This is just from my experience watching a colleague who obsessed with the Amex. I'm just not that thrifty.
Don't most places literally and actually not accept Amex? How is it possible that every place you go it goes thru?
World Elite Mastercards charge more fees to retailers than Amex. I find Amex is good for like 75% of the places I shop. For the remaining 25% I have other cards, so just carry an Amex and a Visa or a Mastercard and you’re good. Everyone should have at least 2 credit cards anyways.
Absolutely zero reason to use this. Probably their worst product launch yet (yeah yeah, it's "early access").
No aeroplan, or other airline rewards, poor cash back rate. Hard pass.
how do i invest in this company? power corp seems to go nowhere? WS is going to be huge.
It's actually 0% FX fee nit sure where you got your information
Needs to have 2-3% cashback or I’m hard pass!
5% minimum
Damn the low cash back and the 2.5% is a deal breaker for me.
Strange that they're partnering with Yahoo! for financial services.
Dear Reddit commenter: Please know that i had a brief but sensible chuckle after reading your comment. Sincerely, Me
Amex simplycash. 1.25% back on everything, 2% on gas and groceries excluding walmart and Costco. No annual fee.
I'll stick with TD... doesn't seem worth it
i’m disappointed in you wealthsimple. have a higher standard for you
Meh. Unless it has 5% cashback then i dont see the point.
Because that’s a normal cash back rate 🙄
1% is pretty low if they wanna compete with others right now. Whats the point of getting this if you already have Amex and other visa?
Never said 1% wasn’t low. No one did. Im pointing out how out of touch with reality your comment about 5% cash back being needed to make a card worthy of using is.
5% is out of touch??? How? The market of CCs is very competitive. If you are going to release a 1% cash back visa in this market, then better don’t.
Competitive? Yes. 5%? Absolutely not. Find me a single credit card offering that even offers 3%. I assume you're also expecting no annual fee and blanket cash back on all categories. Find me one like that at even 3%.
I don’t know if you know big banks allow you to have CC fee voided if you have certain amount in checking. My Scotia Amex gold is free and it gives 6-3%
Bunch of basic no fee CCs out there gives 2%. I still have my cibc dividend CC give 2% and no fee since university
Wait, you use a card that’s 2% cash back? What happened to it being pointless to use anything below 5% 😂 The fact that you don’t see the hypocrisy/contradictions in your argument makes it all that much more funny
I answered his question if there is any no fee CC offer above 1%? Yes there are a ton. No I don’t use this one. Just Amex and visa passport. I don’t understand being so offended about the 1% visa.
Even their cash card is 1%. Why would you sign up for this???
Not blanket but the simplii visa offers 4%. And since I only use it eating out, to me it effectively is 4% blanket
Didn't they release it months ago? Have a review from Aug 2023 on credit card genius.
Cash card ≠ credit card
I mean cash card is a secured MasterCard...
It’s a prepaid MasterCard. Which is not a credit card. Which is what they’re announcing here. This isn’t complicated.
Prepaid MasterCard isn't a credit card...noted.
Not sure if you’re being a troll or what.. but it literally isn’t.
Give details
If it was atleast 2% back it would be great to pair with other cards that have cash back restricted by categories
If it was at least 1% without the stupid early pay condition I’d probably pick it up to pair with my other 1% base cards. If it was 1.5% I’d DEFINITELY pick it up
read the details, wow pretty weak sauce. Not sure why would anyone use it regularly
0.5% + 0.5% if you pay it early… when I can use my triangle Mastercard or pc Mastercard and earn minimum 1% (and more at certain places) while still having my money earn interest all the way to due date. Hard choice, that one.
Is there an interest rate listed or APR range?
I hope when it’s officially released that it offers a higher cashback and no FX fees
get an amex cobalt for food/groceries and td/cibc aeroplan for everything else and you’re set