Advertiser disclosure
Advertisers are not responsible for the content of this site, including any editorial or review that may be published on it. For complete and up-to-date information about any product featured, please visit their website. We maintain business relationships with certain partners mentioned in our communication tools. While we may receive compensation if you sign up for a product or service through our affiliate links, our reviews and content are based on an objective assessment. Value estimates are established by Milesopedia and are not provided, endorsed, or verified by the issuing financial institutions. †*Terms and conditions apply.
Recently, Desjardins announced changes to its products, including a devaluation of some of its credit cards, specifically in BONUSDOLLARS earning and higher annual fees. This is therefore a good time to review your credit card choices to see which options are the most advantageous.
You have probably had your Desjardins credit card for a long time.
15% of your credit score comes from your credit history in Canada across all your credit lines (credit cards, mortgage, line of credit, car loan, student loans, etc.).
To keep your history and avoid lowering your credit score, do not close your Desjardins credit card! Downgrade it to a basic version with no annual fee. Then you can get a more advantageous credit card from another financial institution.
For example, I had a very old Desjardins Modulo Visa credit card and I “downgraded” to the Flexi Visa card. This did not affect my history, and it also allowed me to start earning more points elsewhere, with other cards!
The Visa and Mastercard Boni Visa, Cash Back Visa, and Cash Back Mastercard credit cards are almost identical.
Up to 2% in BONUSDOLLARS at restaurants, on entertainment, alternative transportation, and pre-authorized payments
0.5% in BONUSDOLLARS on all other purchases
Cash Back Visa
and
Cash Back Mastercard
Up to 2% cash back at restaurants, on entertainment, alternative transportation, and pre-authorized payments
0.5% cash back on all other purchases
To earn even more, have more flexibility, and choose your own 2% cash-back category without paying an annual fee, consider the Tangerine Money-Back Credit Card.
The good news is that this card has no maximum cash-back cap or restrictions, unlike Desjardins credit cards!
In addition, the Tangerine Money-Back Credit Card has a welcome offer. This allows you to get a head start and earn much more cash back right from the start.
For example, if you are planning renovations or a major furniture purchase next month, you only need to change the category in your Tangerine profile to get 2% on those purchases.
In other words, for a $1,000 purchase at a renovation and hardware store, the cash back with the Tangerine card would be $20 (2% x $1,000). With the Cash Back Mastercard Card, for example, it would have been only $5 (0.5% x $1,000).
The Desjardins Cash Back World Elite Mastercard card is another cash-back card, and its annual fee is $100. It is not part of the BONUSDOLLARS program.
Here is the cash back it provides to the cardholder on everyday purchases:
The Desjardins Cash Back World Elite Mastercard card is the Desjardins credit card that offers the highest grocery cash back. The biggest drawback is that the rate drops to 1% after $10,000 in annual purchases (or if you have about $833 or more in grocery purchases per month, on average).
For a family with growing older children, or for people with a large grocery budget, there are other credit cards on the market that offer up to 6% per dollar spent:
Like cash back
Transfer them to Aeroplan, Flying Blue, Marriott Bonvoy, etc.
6 Scene+ points at IGA/Les Marchés Tradition, etc.)
5 Scene+ points at all other grocery stores
No foreign exchange fees
Pay for your IGA groceries with your Scene+ points
Pay for your travel with your Scene+ points
4 free lounge accesses at airports worldwide
Annual TD Travel Credit of $100
Use TD Rewards Points to cover your travel
$150 annual credit
Use your NBC points to cover your travel
Unlimited access to the National Bank Lounge
In addition, most of these cards come with a welcome offer. This gives you a significant advantage in terms of rewards.
The Odyssée Gold Visa Card with an annual fee of $110 offers:
The free Tangerine Money-Back Credit Card analyzed above is still an excellent replacement option. It is a good card to use at Costco if you want a Mastercard.
The Rogers Red World Elite® Mastercard® gives you the opportunity to earn 1.5% on everything! And if you have a service with Rogers, Fido, or Shaw, you earn 2% on all purchases charged to this card. In addition, it is free.
Otherwise, here are other options that give you more than the Odyssée Gold Visa card:
For example, with these first-year offers, you will have $0 in annual fees, up to $300 cash back, and more cash back on groceries, gas, and other purchases. It is worth switching!
The Desjardins Odyssée Lounge is only available to travellers in the International Zone of Montréal-Trudeau Airport. Other cards offer completely free entries, with more lounge options at airports worldwide.
The Scotiabank Passport™ Visa Infinite +* Card has an attractive welcome offer and more travel benefits:
2% in BONUSDOLLARS at restaurants, on entertainment, alternative transportation, and pre-authorized payments
0.65% in BONUSDOLLARS on all other purchases
50% off admission to the Desjardins Odyssée Lounge
6 free entries at airports worldwide
No foreign exchange fees abroad
Pay for your groceries and travel with your Scene+ points
For $130 per year, the Odyssée World Elite Mastercard Card earns rewards according to the following structure:
The Odyssée World Elite Mastercard Card has excellent travel insurance, including trip cancellation. However, it requires that the entire trip be paid with the card to benefit from it. Other credit cards are less demanding and offer additional travel perks:
The National Bank World Elite Mastercard is an excellent card that is promoted with a welcome offer a few times a year:
Read our comparison of the Desjardins Odyssée World Elite Mastercard and the National Bank World Elite Mastercard.
The Odyssée Visa Infinite Privilege Card is the best credit card at Desjardins.
It has an interest rate of 11.9% and provides 12 free lounge accesses per year to the Desjardins Odyssée Lounge. This card offers a full suite of travel insurance as well as several privileges.
However, it is one of the cards that is hit hardest by the Desjardins changes, with a decrease from 1.75% to 1.5% in the “Other” category, as well as the introduction of a $95 annual fee for each additional card.
The main earning categories of Desjardins credit cards cover spending on groceries, restaurants, entertainment, and alternative transportation. One of their major strengths is that they also include excellent travel insurance.
Their only drawback is that they do not offer welcome offers. This is truly unfortunate. An equivalent card with a bonus points welcome offer increases in value more quickly than a Desjardins credit card.
But whatever you choose, do not forget to always pay your balance in full! Otherwise, the savings from your cash back, points, or BONUSDOLLARS will disappear.
Savings this way:
You can change your preferences or opt out at any time by clicking on one of the hyperlinks available at the bottom of each newsletter.
If you are already a subscriber and would like to unsubscribe, you can click on the link at the bottom of any of our e-mails.
