If you do your grocery shopping where President’s Choice products are sold and frequent Shoppers Drug Mart or PharmaprixMD, you’ll want to pay close attention to the President's Choice Financial® World Elite Mastercard®. The card allows you to earn PC Optimum points which can then be put towards any purchases made at participating stores such as Loblaws, Real Canadian Superstore, Joe Fresh, Shoppers Drug Mart and more. When you factor in the targeted offers and bonus points available in store, this card is a winner! Earning rewards towards food, cosmetics, cellphones, and merchandise has never been so easy.
A minimum annual personal income of $80,000 or household income of $150,000 is required for the PC Financial® World Elite Mastercard®. If you don’t meet the minimum income requirement, you’ll still be considered for the PC Financial® World Mastercard® or the PC Financial® Mastercard®.
Like the other two Mastercards under the PCF roster, the PC Financial® World Elite Mastercard® has no annual fee and carries the standard interest rate of 19.97%.
Sign Up Bonus: Good
For a limited time, new cardholders can also take advantage of a 0.97% balance transfer interest rate for the first six months. In order to get this rate, applicants must be new PC Financial customers and are required to make the transfers within 90 days of opening the account. After six months, the balance transfer rate goes up to 22.97%, and each transfer will be subject to a fee equal to 1% of the amount transferred.
Earning Rate: Great
For a no-fee card, the earning rate can’t be beat. You’re basically getting 3% in cash equivalent points at grocery stores where President’s Choice products are sold and 4.5% at Shoppers Drug Mart and PharmaprixMD.
And with the President’s Choice Financial® World Elite Mastercard®, you can earn additional points on special offers listed within your PC Optimum account and in-store.
- Drugstore: 45 points per $1 spent at Shoppers Drug Mart and PharmaprixMD.
- Grocery: 30 PC points per $1 spent on groceries purchased at participating stores where President’s Choice products are sold.
- Gas: 30 points per litre at Esso locations.
- Travel: 30 points per $1 on travel booked through pctravel.ca.
- Other: 10 points per $1 spent on all other purchases.
Value of one PC Point: $0.001
Earning Potential: Great
So, how does this card stack up to other grocery rewards options? We crunched the numbers using our Best of Finance methodology to see how much you could earn over a 24-month period.
Assuming $1,119 is spent on the card monthly, in the following categories:
- Pharmacy: $54.16
- Food: $665
- Gas**: $152.42
- Travel: $148
- Other: $100
Rewards earned over a 24-month period: 777,595.20 PC Optimum points
Total: $736.50 in free groceries and merchandise
*Source: Statistics Canada
**Based on $1.00/litre gas prices
That’s a heck of a lot of free groceries (or duds from Joe Fresh, which is our personal guilty pleasure when popping into Loblaws for milk).
Are you carrying the best credit card for your spending habits? Check out the Credit Card Rewards Calculator and find out!
Balance Transfer Feature: Average
The PC Financial® World Elite MasterCard® comes with a respectable 0.97% interest rate for balance transfers done within 90 days of opening an account. To qualify for the optional balance transfer, you must be a PC Financial customer. There is 1% fee to complete the balance transfer, but the lower interest rate will likely make it worth your while. Once the promotional period ends, your interest rate for the amount transferred goes up to 22.97%, so make sure you pay off any balance as soon as you can.
Point Redemption: Good
Since you’ll be earning PC Optimum points, you can only redeem them at participating stores where President’s Choice products are sold as well as Shoppers Drug Mart and PharmaprixMD. This may seem limited, but if you’ve applied for the card, that likely means you already shop at these stores on a regular basis, so earning points shouldn’t be a problem. especially when you consider all the in-store and targeted promos for cardholders that allow you to earn even more PC Optimum points. You should note, though, that minimum redemption is 10,000 PC Optimum points (worth $10 in free rewards) and in increments of 10,000 points thereafter at participating stores.
Benefits: Average
The additional benefits of the PC Financial® World Elite MasterCard® are average for a no-fee card. Benefits include:
- Purchase assurance (90 days)
- Extended warranty (one year)
- 24/7 concierge service
Insurance: Good
Unlike the other two PC Financial Mastercards, the PC Financial® World Elite MasterCard® comes with a few insurance features, including:
- 10 days of travel emergency medical insurance (under age of 65)
- Car rental collision/loss damage waiver insurance
For a no-fee card, you get some decent additional insurance. The 10 days of travel emergency medical insurance will cover you up to $1,000,000 as long as you’re under the age of 65. Also, the included car rental collision/loss damage waiver insurance is good for 31 days which is a bit shorter than other travel rewards credit cards, but you are insured up to $65,000.
This post has been updated.
