Is your credit card no longer serving you? It may be time to switch.
What's in your wallet? A new survey finds that it may be a good time to take a close look at your credit cards. The pandemic has caused some changes and you may find your card no longer serves your best interests.
"I cancelled my American Express because it was really expensive to have," said one consumer CTV News talked to in downtown Vancouver.
That may be the case for many cardholders paying high fees. The rewards they offer may not be worth it anymore. Ratehub, a website that allows consumers to compare credit cards, says consumers are steering away from rewards cards.
"The fact is a lot of Canadians just don't want travel points if they are not going to use them any time soon and would rather have cold hard cash in their bank account or credit card," said Mikael Castaldo, general manager of everyday banking at Ratehub.ca.
A J.D. Power credit card customer satisfaction survey for 2021 found that 22 per cent of those surveyed had postponed reward redemption for more than a year and 22 per cent ditched cards with annual fees.
"There could be new products out there that you're not aware of or not familiar with that might fit you better," said John Cabell, director of banking and payments intelligence at J.D. Power.
The survey also found that customers are more satisfied with their primary credit card issuer than they were a year ago.
The card issuers that rate highest on the satisfaction survey for benefits, services and rewards are:
1. Tangerine Bank
2. Canadian Tire
3. PC Financial
4. American Express
5. Desjardins
6. RBC Royal Bank
7. Capital One
8. Scotiabank
9. CIBC
10. National Bank
11. BMO Bank of Montreal
12. MBNA
13. TD Canada Trust
However, that does not mean you should cut and go. You have to consider what you are leaving on the table. How many rewards have you accumulated? If they are travel rewards, you may want to consider hanging on for a while longer until you can use them, unless the value is less than the upcoming annual fee.
Cancelling a credit card can also lower your credit score by increasing your credit utilization rate. That is the amount of credit available compared to your debt load. A lower credit score could mean higher interest rates on loans.
Rewards can still be enticing as long as you are not carrying a balance and paying interest or missing payments, which can quickly cancel out the rewards benefits.
In addition, beware of chasing rewards by transferring balances to get bonus points, etc. It's called card churning and it could damage your credit score.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Maple Leafs fall to Bruins in Game 3, trail series 2-1
Brad Marchand scored twice, including the winner in the third period, and added an assist as the Boston Bruins downed the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2 to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round playoff series Wednesday
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
New Indigenous loan guarantee program a 'really big deal,' Freeland says at Toronto conference
Canada's Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland was among the 1,700 delegates attending the two-day First Nations Major Projects Coalition (FNMPC) conference that concluded Tuesday in Toronto.
'Life was not fair to him': Daughter of N.B. man exonerated of murder remembers him as a kind soul
The daughter of a New Brunswick man recently exonerated from murder, is remembering her father as somebody who, despite a wrongful conviction, never became bitter or angry.