[ANALYSIS] CIBC Dividend Unlimited World Elite MasterCard vs. American Express Gold Cash Back Credit Card
American Express recently came out with a new cash back credit card. Below is a comparison with the CIBC cash credit card. The highlights of each respect credit card are as follows:
American Express Gold Cash Back Credit Card
- $99 annual fee
- No fee for additional cardholders
- Earn 0.5% cash back on your first $2,500 in purchases ($12.50 cash back)
- Earn 1.0% cash back on purchases between $2,500 and $5,000 ($25 cash back)
- Earn 2.0% cash back on purchases between $5,000 and $100,000 ($1,900 cash back)
- Earn 1.0% cash back on purchases exceeding $100,000
CIBC Dividend Unlimited World Elite MasterCard
- $79 annual fee
- $30 for additional cardholders (up to 3)
- Earn 0.5% cash back on your first $3,000 in purchases ($15 cash back)
- Earn 1.0% cash back on purchases between $3,000 and $15,000 ($120 cash back)
- Earn 1.5% cash back on purchases between $15,000 and $35,000 ($300 cash back)
- Earn 2.0% cash back on purchases between $35,000 and $50,000 ($300 cash back)
- Earn 1.0% cash back on purchases exceeding $50,000
If you spend $50,000 a year:
American Express = $12.50 (0.5% x $2,500) + $25 (1% x $2,500) + $900 (2% x 45,000) = $937.50
$937.50 – $99 (annual fee) = $838.50
CIBC = $15 + $120 + $300 + $300 = $735
$735 – $79 (annual fee) = $656
If you compare the spending with the Capital One Aspire Cash Platinum. You earn 1% cash back flat with no annual fee. So that means $50,000 in spending equals $500 in cash back ($50,000 x 1%).
Based on the calculations above, the more you spend, the better the AMEX card looks. I’m not a fan of either of the cards above because the annual fee is a killer and we would be receiving too little cash back before reaching the 2% cash back threshold.
You’re better off with a credit card like the Capital One Aspire World Travel or the Scotiabank Infinite Momentum Visa.