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Canadian Tire Cash Advantage® Mastercard® review

Canadian Tire Cash Advantage® Mastercard® review

2.8

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3% up to 3% cash back at Canadian Tire and Canadian Tire companies such as Mark’s, Atmosphere, Party City, Sport Chek and more.

1.5% cash back on eligible purchases

21.99% Purchase APR for non-Quebec residents

22.99% Cash Advance APR

$0 Annual Fee no annual fee

2.50% Foreign Transaction Fee

Good Recommended Credit Score

2.8

Canadian Tire Cash Advantage® Mastercard® review

Quick overview

Quick overview of the Canadian Tire Cash Advantage® Mastercard®

The Canadian Tire Cash Advantage® Mastercard® offers an attractive mix of unlimited cash back and no annual fee for card membership. The card offers unlimited 1.50% cash back on purchases, with that rate rising to an impressive 3.00% back with Canadian Tire companies such as Mark’s, Atmosphere, Party City, Sport Chek and more. 

Who can benefit?

Who can benefit from the Canadian Tire Cash Advantage® Mastercard®?

If you want a straightforward, cash back card but don’t care about gas discounts, this card may be the Canadian Tire credit card option for you. 

While the unlimited 1.50% back is great, the 3.00% back on purchases with Canadian Tire companies is exceptional thanks to the wide selection of brands from which to choose. From sporting goods to outdoor gear, tools to tires, pets to porches, Canadian Tire has something for everyone.  

Pros and cons

Pros and cons

Pros

Pros

  • No annual fee

  • Up to 3% cash back with no caps

  • Special in-store promotional financing options

Cons

Cons

  • Limited insurance coverage

  • No welcome bonus for new accounts

  • No gas discounts like other Canadian Tire credit cards

Welcome bonus

Canadian Tire Cash Advantage® Mastercard® welcome bonus

This card does not currently offer a welcome bonus for new accounts.

Related article: The best Canadian credit card welcome bonuses

How to earn cash back

How to earn rewards with the Canadian Tire Cash Advantage® Mastercard®

The Cash Advantage® Mastercard® from Canadian Tire Bank offers cash back rewards in two tiers:

Tier 1: 3.00% cash back on Canadian Tire family brands

Earn an unlimited 3.00% cash back on purchases made at any of the brands that are part of the Canadian Tire family of companies. Participating retailers include Canadian Tire, Sport Chek, Mark’s, L’Équipeur, Atmosphere, Party City, Pro Hockey Life, Sports Rousseau, Hockey Experts, L’Entrepôt du Hockey and participating Sports Experts stores.

Not all items sold at these stores will qualify for the 3.00% cash back. However, most of your purchases with Canadian Tire will still earn rewards. Gas, ATM withdrawals and some other services or products may not qualify for the 3.00% cash back.

Tier 2: 1.50% cash back on all other purchases

Earn an unlimited 1.50% cash back on all other purchases made with the card. This category has no restrictions. Simply use the card to make a purchase and receive 1.50% cash back. It's that simple!

How to redeem

How to redeem cash back

Cash back is automatically applied to your account every year, and there is no limit on the amount of cash back you can receive.

Key benefits

Key benefits of the Canadian Tire Cash Advantage® Mastercard®

  • Unlimited cash back: The chief benefit of the Cash Advantage® Mastercard® from Canadian Tire Bank is the ability to earn unlimited cash back on every purchase. That perk is further accelerated by adding bonus cash back for purchases made with the 10+ brands that make up the Canadian Tire family, including Mark’s, Sport Chek, Apostrophe and more. 
  • $0.00 annual fee: The addition of no annual fee is another wonderful benefit. The lack of a fee means there is no cost you’ll need to offset before the credit card starts paying for itself. And with an annual rewards potential of over $200 for average users, that no annual fee is just icing on the cake.
  • Promotional financing: Canadian Tire provides the option of promotional financing on select purchases. This benefit offers 0% interest for 24 months on eligible Canadian Tire purchases of $150 or more.
Insurance coverage

Canadian Tire Cash Advantage® Mastercard® insurance coverage

Canadian Tire Bank credit cards are solid regarding rewards, but weak regarding insurance coverage. The Cash Advantage® Mastercard® is no exception and provides only the essentials, namely:

  • Extended warranty: 1 year
  • Purchase protection: 90 days

There is no rental car collision or damage protection, no travel accident insurance or any mobile phone protection should you drop or lose it. Instead, the card prioritizes rewards, promotional financing and no hidden fees. 

Extra benefits

Extra benefits of the Canadian Tire Cash Advantage® Mastercard®

An additional benefit that Canadian Tire Bank offers to cardholders is the option of 0% promotional financing. Cardholders can choose no-fee, no-interest financing for 24 months on purchases of $150 or more at participating Canadian Tire partner brands.

Here's an example of the potential equal monthly payments for different purchase amounts:

  • $150 purchase: $6.25 monthly payment
  • $250 purchase: $10.42 monthly payment
  • $350 purchase: $14.59 monthly payment
  • $450 purchase: $18.75 monthly payment

Other features of the Canadian Tire Cash Advantage® Mastercard® include:

How it compares

How does the Canadian Tire Cash Advantage® Mastercard® compare?

Tangerine Money-Back Credit Card

Apply now

4.0

10% back

Welcome offer

Good

Suggested credit score

Get 10% cash back on up to $1,000 in everyday purchases made within 2 months. Pay only 1.95% balance transfer interest for the first 6 months.

Expires

Nov 1, 2024

Apply now

Pros

  • No annual fee

  • Choose the spending categories where you want to earn the most cash back

  • Unlimited cash back—no maximum spending limit for any purchase category

  • Cash back is paid out monthly rather than annually

  • Periodically includes a special welcome offer where you can get extra cash back

  • 1.95% interest on balance transfers for the first 6 months (1% transfer fee applies)*

Cons

  • Regular cash back rates are still lower than what you can get from a card with an annual fee

  • Limited extra perks or benefits beyond the cash back and balance transfer promotion

  • Generally not a good fit for shopping at warehouse clubs or wholesale grocers like Costco or Walmart

  • Tangerine does not have any physical bank branches

Eligibility

Recommended Credit Score

Good

Required Annual Personal Income

$12,000

Pros

  • No annual fee

  • Choose the spending categories where you want to earn the most cash back

  • Unlimited cash back—no maximum spending limit for any purchase category

  • Cash back is paid out monthly rather than annually

  • Periodically includes a special welcome offer where you can get extra cash back

  • 1.95% interest on balance transfers for the first 6 months (1% transfer fee applies)*

Cons

  • Regular cash back rates are still lower than what you can get from a card with an annual fee

  • Limited extra perks or benefits beyond the cash back and balance transfer promotion

  • Generally not a good fit for shopping at warehouse clubs or wholesale grocers like Costco or Walmart

  • Tangerine does not have any physical bank branches

Eligibility

Recommended Credit Score

Good

Required Annual Personal Income

$12,000

Earn 2% cash back on 2 categories of your choice (e.g. groceries, recurring bills, gas, drug stores, etc.)

2%

Get a Tangerine Savings account and add a 3rd 2% cash back category.

3

Earn 0.50% on all your other everyday purchases.

0.5%

Variable APR

19.95% - 24.95%

Balance Transfer Rate

1.95%

Cash Advance APR

19.95%

Annual Fee

$0

Foreign Transaction Fee

2.50%

The Tangerine Money Back Credit Card makes earning cash back a breeze. Cardholders earn unlimited 2.00% back on two categories of their choosing, with the ability to change categories monthly. Here are the eligible categories: gas, groceries, hotels, entertainment, furnishings, hotels, home improvement, restaurants, recurring bill payments or public transit and parking. In terms of insurance, both cards offer similar protections: purchase protection and extended warranty coverage (and nothing else).

RBC Cash Back Mastercard

Apply now

3.2

Good

Suggested credit score

to receive the latest news, tips and offers by email

Apply now

Pros

  • No annual fee, no fee for additional cardholders

  • Up to 2% cash back on groceries², up to 1% cash back on everything else²

  • No limit on cash back earned¹

  • Save money on gas at Petro-Canada⁵

  • Easy approval requirements

Cons

  • Cash back rewards on groceries drop to 1% after you accumulate $6,000 in grocery charges

  • No travel insurance or other perks

  • No welcome bonus

  • 0.5% applies to the cash back on everything else up to $6,000 but what is impressive is that for all non-grocery spend the cash back rate actually goes up from the 0.5% to 1% on spend over $6,000, rewarding as your spend more instead of diminishing

  • No travel insurance or other perks

  • No welcome bonus

Eligibility

Recommended Credit Score

Good

Pros

  • No annual fee, no fee for additional cardholders

  • Up to 2% cash back on groceries², up to 1% cash back on everything else²

  • No limit on cash back earned¹

  • Save money on gas at Petro-Canada⁵

  • Easy approval requirements

Cons

  • Cash back rewards on groceries drop to 1% after you accumulate $6,000 in grocery charges

  • No travel insurance or other perks

  • No welcome bonus

  • 0.5% applies to the cash back on everything else up to $6,000 but what is impressive is that for all non-grocery spend the cash back rate actually goes up from the 0.5% to 1% on spend over $6,000, rewarding as your spend more instead of diminishing

  • No travel insurance or other perks

  • No welcome bonus

Eligibility

Recommended Credit Score

Good

Up to 2% unlimited cash back on groceries

2%

Up to 1% unlimited cash back on everything else

1%

Link your card and instantly save 3¢/L on fuel and 20% more Petro-Points at Petro Canada

$0.03

Get 50 Be Well points for every $1 spent on eligible products at Rexall

50

Purchase APR

20.99%

Balance Transfer Rate

22.99%

Cash Advance APR

22.99%

Annual Fee

$0

Foreign Transaction Fee

2.50%

The RBC Cash Back Mastercard is another unlimited cash back worth considering. Cardholders earn unlimited 2.00% back on groceries through eligible supermarkets (including Atlantic Wholesalers, Foodland, Fortino’s, IGA, Loblaw’s, No Frills, Sobeys, Superstore and more) plus 1.00% back on all other purchases.

The 1.00% base rate is obviously lower than the 1.50% back with the Canadian Tire Cash Advantage Card, but the RBC card’s impressive 2.00% back on groceries is tempting. The RBC Cash Back credit card also provides 3.00 cents per litre savings on fuel at Petro-Canada, additional points through Rexall Be Well (when registering the card) and much more comprehensive insurance protections than found with the Cash Advantage® from Canadian Tire.

Is it worth it?

Is the Canadian Tire Cash Advantage® Mastercard® worth it?

If you're looking for a credit card that offers great rewards and benefits, the Canadian Tire Cash Advantage® Mastercard® is worth considering. You can earn unlimited cash back on all purchases whether you're shopping at Canadian Tire or anywhere else. The card has additional perks, such as no annual fee and exclusive financing at Canadian Tire stores.

Eligibility

Eligibility requirements

Applicants must be Canadian residents of the age of majority in their province. There are no income requirements for applying, although you'll need a good credit score.

FAQs

FAQs

  • What credit score do you need to get the Canadian Tire Cash Advantage® Mastercard®?

    +

    You’ll need good or excellent credit to get a Canadian Tire Bank credit card. This translates to a credit score of between 660 and 760.

  • Can you use my Canadian Tire credit card in the US?

    +

    Yes, you can use your Canadian Tire Mastercard credit card anywhere in the world where Mastercard is accepted. However, please note that if you make purchases in currencies other than Canadian dollars, a foreign transaction fee of 2.5% of the transaction cost will apply.

Cory Santos Finance editor

Cory Santos is a finance writer, editor and credit card expert with over seven years of experience in personal finance. Cory joined Wise Publishing from BestCards, with bylines in numerous print and digital publications across North America, including the Miami Herald, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, AOL, MSN and Medium as well as financial podcasts like KOFE Talk.

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