Royal Bank introduced a new cash back credit card in December called the RBC Cash Back MasterCard. Their research showed a growing consumer demand for cash back rewards, particularly one with no annual fee.
The RBC Cash Back MasterCard gives cardholders 2% cash back on groceries and 1% cash back on all other spending. This card offers the unique flexibility to redeem your cash back rewards for a statement credit every time you reach $25, or you can let your cash back credits accumulate throughout the year and redeem them all on your January credit card statement. This card comes with no annual fee.
Related: Best Cash Back Credit Cards
RBC Cash Back MasterCard
Here are the detailed benefits for using the RBC Cash Back MasterCard:
- 2% cash back credits on grocery store purchases
- Up to 1% cash back on all qualifying purchases and pre-authorized payments
- 1.9% for 10 months Introductory Interest Rate on balance transfers and cash advances (21.99% thereafter)
- Unlimited cash back on your purchases
- No annual fee for the primary cardholder and no extra cost for additional cardholders
- Receive a credit for the full amount every time your Cash Back balance exceeds $25, or let it accumulate all year for a credit in January
It’s important to note that the 2% cash back on groceries is capped at $6,000 annually. Once you reach that ceiling, your cash back credits for grocery purchases drops to 1%.
For non-grocery purchases, you earn 0.5% cash back up to a maximum of $6,000 per year and 1% cash back on all non-grocery spending in excess of $6,000 per year.
How Much Cash Back Will I Earn?
To maximize your cash back rewards you should try to use your credit card for every purchase (as long as you pay it off every month). Using your credit card for groceries is easy, but you can also set-up automatic bill payments with your RBC Cash Back MasterCard so that your cable, cell phone and utility bills are all helping you earn cash back credits.
I spend approximately $2,600 per month on my credit card, including $600 on groceries. Here’s what my annual cash back credits will be from using the RBC Cash Back MasterCard:
- 2% cash back on grocery purchases (up to $6,000 per year) – $120
- 1% cash back on grocery purchases thereafter – $12
- 0.5% cash back on all non-grocery purchases (up to $6,000 per year) – $30
- 1% cash back on all non-grocery purchases thereafter – $180
Total cash back credits per year = $342
Final thoughts
The RBC Cash Back MasterCard is a good no fee cash back credit card for someone who spends at least $500 per month on groceries. With a total cash back rebate of about 1.1%, this card is a better option than other basic no fee rewards cards like the PC MasterCard.
However, this RBC product is not quite in the same league as the top cash back credit cards in Canada, like the MBNA Smart Cash MasterCard and the Capital One Aspire Cash World MasterCard, which return closer to 1.5% cash back.
Mobile banking technology is making it easier for Canadians to do their banking on the go. More than 2.5 million Canadians have downloaded a mobile banking app on their smart phone.
Most mobile banking users can expect to access a full range of services through their mobile device, including the ability to view balances and details for accounts, pay bills for existing online banking payees, transfer funds between accounts, send email money transfers and locate branches and ATMs.
Related: Managing Your Rewards Cards With A Mobile App
For many Canadians, the convenience of mobile banking outweighs concerns over privacy and security. The popularity of mobile banking should continue to grow as more features are added. TD recently launched a mobile stock-trading app, and several banks are expected to follow suit.
The number of mobile transactions should significantly increase with greater smart phone usage by Canadians. Currently one third of Canada’s 25 million cell phone users have a smart phone.
CIBC and Rogers recently announced that clients will soon be able to use their Rogers smart phone to pay at the checkout with their CIBC credit card – this service will be available later in 2012, and there will be no additional fees for clients to use this service.
A recent survey revealed that one in three Canadians would use a mobile device as their wallet rather than carry around change and about the same amount would be willing to make payments with their phone for cheap or expensive goods. About 40% of Canadians would like to use their smart phone to send money to friends and family instead of having to visit a bank machine.
Related: Scotia Moneyback Account Review
Another factor that should increase the number of mobile transactions in Canada will be increased trust in the security of consumers’ financial data when they use a smart phone to pay or get paid.
As mobile technology continues to develop, we may be headed towards a cashless future.