[ANALYSIS] Best Laurentian Bank Credit Cards
Last time, we wrote about the top credit card at one of the more low profile banks, HSBC Canada. This time around, we’re looking at another low profile bank, Laurentian bank, to see if there is a hidden gem. The Laurentian bank website is definitely not user-friendly at all, but I managed to rumble through the site to figure out what types of products they offer.
Here is a list of their top credit cards with their highlights:
- $49 annual fee
- Free supplementary cardholders
- Earn Visa Dollars points
- Earn 3% cash back for every $1 spent on recurring bill payments (ex: telephone, cable TV, internet, newspaper, etc.)
- Earn 2% cash back for every $1 spent on gas and groceries
- Earn 1 point for every $1 spent on all other purchases
- $110 annual fee
- Free supplementary cardholders
- Earn Explorer points
- Earn 15,000 bonus points when you spend $500 within 50 days of having this credit card
- Earn 3 points for every $1 spent on recurring bill payments (ex: telephone, cable TV, internet, newspaper, etc.)
- Earn 2 points for every $1 spent on travel, transportation and foreign currency purchases
- Earn 1 point for every $1 spent on all other purchases
What I like most about these two credit cards are the 3% or 3 points for every $1 spent on recurring bill payments. You can learn more about what item qualifies for which category here.
To maximize your rewards, 10,000 points is worth $100 in gift cards, meaning 1 point = 1 cent. They offer other rewards, but give you a lower value in return. You should also consult the clearance sales and do the calculations to see if you can get more than 1 cent per point to maximize your return.
I’m not a fan of the $49 or $110 annual fees. The fee is essentially covered the first year for the Explorer card because of the sign up bonus, but not for the Visa Dollars card. Thereafter, let’s see if either of these cards are worth keeping beyond the first year. Here are some calculations for you (assuming $15,000 total spent per year):
Laurientian Bank Visa Dollars
- $3,000 (spent on recurring bills per year) x 3% = $90 cash back
- $3,000 (gas and groceries) x 2 points = $60 cash back
- $9,000 (per year on all other expenses) x 1 point = $90 cash back
- $240 ($90 + $60 + $90) – $49 (annual fee) = $191
Laurientian Bank Visa Explorer
- $3,000 (spent on recurring bills per year) x 3 points = 9.000 points
- $2,000 (on travel expenses per year) x 2 points = 4,000 points
- $10,000 (per year on all other expenses) x 1 point = 10,000 points
- $230 (9,000 + 4,000 + 10,000 = 23,000 points) – $110 (annual fee) = $220
Let’s use the Capital One Platinum Cash that gives you a 1% return on all purchases with no annual fee:
- $15,000 (all purpose spending) x 1% return = $150
Depending on how much you spend a year, the Laurentian cards may get you ahead. You just need to replace your spending habits with the calculations that I have provided to see what will be most worth it for you. I would do the calculations first before deciding which credit card to get, but I believe we might have found two possible hidden gems.