[ANALYSIS] Desjardins Visa Prestige Platinum

Desjardins is primarily a Quebec based credit card company, though they appear to be looking to expand across the country. One of their top credit cards is the Visa Prestige Platinum. Below are the highlights of its credit card:

• $130 annual fee
• $40 annual fee for supplementary cardholders (fee waived for Desjardins members)
• Earn 1.5% in BONUSDOLLARS
• Earn 20% more BONUSDOLLARS (for Desjardins members)

What they mean by a Desjardins member is a member of the “Fédération des caisses Desjardins du Québec” or “Fédération des caisses populaires de l’Ontario inc.” (hereafter “Federation”).

The bonus 20% is accumulated annually and rewarded to cardholders who are in good standing. This would bring your cash back to essentially 1.8%, which is decent, but not amazing mostly due to the stiff annual fee. I would recommend other top cash back credit cards instead.

This credit card does have the best travel insurance out of all the Desjardins cards:

• Travel Insurance – also covers your spouse and dependent children up to 23 consecutive days.
• Emergency Health Care Coverage – up to $5,000,000 per person and up to 23 days per trip
• Baggage Insurance – up to $1,000 per person against theft or damaged baggage and up to $500 against late baggage
• Trip Cancellation Insurance – up to $2,000 per person if trip is cancelled prior to departure and unlimited coverage in the event of trip interruption after departure
• Auto Rental Collision/Loss Damage Insurance – for a period of up to 48 consecutive days
• Common Carrier Accident Coverage – up to $1,000,000 in the event of accidental death or dismemberment
• Purchase Protection and Extended Warranty – additional coverage free of charge for 6 months

So if you absolutely have to have a Desjardins card, and you can take advantage of these insurance coverages (along with being a member of the Federation), the annual fee may be worthwhile.