Desjardins Modulo® Visa Card review

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3.0

1% Cash back on all purchases in BONUSDOLLARS.

$50 Annual Fee Additional card: $10

11.90% Purchase APR

11.90% Cash Advance APR

11.90% Balance Transfer Rate

Fair Recommended Credit Score

3.0

Desjardins Modulo® Visa Card review

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By Money.ca

🗓️

Updated: December 27, 2023

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The Desjardins’ Modulo^® Visa is no longer available. Consider these other Desjardins credit cards instead.

Desjardins’ Modulo^® Visa is the rare Canadian credit card that not only provides low interest rates in multiple categories, but also generates rewards on purchases and offers other appealing and uncommon perks to boot. Travellers going on short trips will get complete coverage from the card, even for medical emergencies, and members can protect their new purchases and mobile devices as well. Given its relatively low annual fee, the Modulo^® Visa offers an enticing alternative to other low-rate cards with comparatively sparse benefit packages.

Interest rates

The standout feature of the Modulo^® Visa is its trifecta of low interest rates—10.90% on purchases, cash advances, and balance transfers. This makes it competitive with industry-best low rate credit cards such as the MBNA True Line^® Gold Mastercard® credit card from MBNA and the American Express EssentialTM Credit Card.

MBNA True Line^®Gold Mastercard® credit card offer is not available for residents of Quebec.

Sponsored advertising. MBNA is a division of The Toronto-Dominion Bank (TD) and TD is not responsible for the contents of this site including any editorials or reviews that may appear on this site. For complete information on this MBNA credit card, please click on the “Apply Now” button

The Toronto-Dominion Bank is the issuer of this credit card. MBNA is a division of The Toronto-Dominion Bank. ^®MBNA and other-trademarks are the property of The Toronto-Dominion Bank.

This unusual combination of features makes the Desjardins Modulo^® Visa a multipurpose financial tool: cardholders can consolidate debts into one low interest rate; then use the card for daily purchasing power; carry a balance with less severe consequences than most cards; and earn rewards on top of everything else.

Feature breakdown

Low 10.90% interest rate on purchases, balance transfers and cash advances
$50 annual fee
1.00% BONUSDOLLARS® on all purchases
Mobile device insurance
Travel insurance for 3 days
Purchase protection (90 days) and extended warranties (1 year)

Desjardins cards are typically known for their insurance benefits, and though the Desjardins Modulo^® Visa emphasizes its low interest rates above all else, its insurance coverage deserves a shout-out. Cardholders on short trips (three days or less) are covered with emergency medical insurance, trip cancellation insurance, coverage for their baggage and even travel assistance—a concierge-like service available 24/7 for emergencies like an urgent cash advances, lost documents, and more. It’s important to emphasize that if the trip length exceeds three days, none of this coverage applies.

Another highly valuable and unusual perk in our mobile age is Mobile Device Insurance, which effectively covers all damage and theft (up to $1,000) on mobile phones paid for with Desjardins cards (including the Modulo^®). The coverage applies whether cardholders buy the phone on a plan and pay monthly or purchase it outright. Purchase protection and extended warranties work to safeguard other purchases as well, providing coverage for 90 days on new items and manufacturer warranties by up to an additional year (though this is a far more common feature).

Finally, the Modulo^® Visa also earns Desjardins BONUSDOLLARS^® on every purchase, at a rate of 1.00%. BONUSDOLLARS^® are rewards that can be redeemed on various travel experiences, activities, events, merchandise and gift cards. You can learn more about Desjardins BONUSDOLLARS^® via our Loyalty Program Bible.

Who’s the card For?

The Desjardins Modulo^® Visa is a good fit for cardholders who either need to escape high interest rates on existing debts or believe that they may carry a balance on their credit card from time to time (thus necessitating a low interest rate on purchases).

Though its $50 annual fee might be initially off-putting to those in search of a low interest card, the amount that cardholders can save with lower interest payments can easily make up for that fee. For example, if cardholders transfer $5,000 to Desjardins and it takes them a year to pay it off, they’ll accrue about $545 in interest during that year (not considering payments they made during that time). Compare that to how much they’d accrue if they kept the $5,000 balance on a 20.00% rate card ($1,000 in interest payments) and that’s an extra savings of $455 in interest—far more than a $50 annual fee.

*American Express is not responsible for maintaining or monitoring the accuracy of information on this website. For full details and current product information click the Apply link.

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