Tangerine Previews Long-Awaited Money Back Credit Card

Rewards fans have been anticipating this one for a while. Tangerine released a preview its first credit card today – the Tangerine Money Back Credit Card – which is said to launch publicly in early 2016. Here’s what we know so far:

New Tangerine Credit Card

The new Tangerine Credit Card will be a no-fee MasterCard where customers can earn 2 percent back on purchases in two categories of their choice and 1 percent back on all other purchases

Those categories include groceries, gas, entertainment, recurring bill payments, restaurants, home improvement, and more.

Money-Back Rewards are earned automatically and can either be applied towards the credit card balance or redeemed into a Tangerine Savings Account.

If clients choose to have their Money-Back Rewards deposited into their Tangerine Savings Account, they will get to add an additional category in which to earn 2 percent.

There will be no limit on how much you can earn in Money-Back Rewards and no annual fee.

Spending and Saving = Spaving

According to the press release from Tangerine, the unique card is designed to help Canadians be smart with their money – in short, it’s the smart, simple way to save while you spend. Tangerine has even coined a new term for this revolutionary new concept – Spaving.

“Our team has spent the past two years working hard to develop our unique Money-Back credit card that allows clients to spend and save at the same time,” says Peter Aceto, President and CEO of Tangerine. “We’re coining this revolutionary new concept as ’Spaving‘ – and we’re very excited to introduce this concept and our new credit card to the Canadian market today.”

First impressions

My initial reaction is that the card has met my expectations. It had to be a no-fee card, and rumours were that it would somehow tie-in a savings component. I like extra incentive for depositing your cash back rewards into a savings account.

Signing up for this card will be a no-brainer for existing Tangerine clients. Now, instead of using a no-fee debit account for all of your purchases, you can switch to the Tangerine Money-Back Credit Card and help link your spending to your savings.

With 2 percent back on up to three categories, and 1 percent back on everything else, this card will definitely be in the conversation for the top no-fee rewards credit cards on the market.

Update: The new Tangerine credit card is now accepting applications. Check out our review of the Tangerine Moneyback Credit Card.