We all have that favourite superstore – the one that sells everything under the sun, from from car batteries and patio furniture to sports drinks and baby clothing. And while we may spend hundreds or even thousands of dollars at these stores per year, it’s time to consider how you can get a return on loyalty.
Many stores feature loyalty reward cards that give you access to exclusive promos and discounts, but some department stores go as far as to offer reward credit cards, providing you with premium earning rates on loyalty points and cash-back. General rewards credit cards may offer rewards for particular spending categories (gas, grocery, pharmacy purchases, etc.).
But the best store credit cards earn rewards in-store and on other everyday purchases at other stores, giving you the flexibility to shop wherever you so please and redeem whenever you want. Problem is, with so many different cards on the market, how do you know which card will ultimately save you the most? To make the decision-making process easier, you can use our handy-dandy card comparison tool.
We also used our Best of Finance methodology to rank the cards that provided the most value, and listed the top ones below. So if you’ve developed a loyal relationship with a particular store, here are the best store credit cards that can get you the most in loyalty points or cash-back:
2019 Best of Finance Store Credit Card category winner
Why it’s an awesome card
If you’re a Loblaw fan, the President’s Choice Financial® World Elite Mastercard® can lead you to free groceries and merchandise in no time. This card won Best Store Card at our Best of Finance Awards this year, and with good reason. For a no-fee card, you can get a great return on your purchases from President's Choice-affiliated retailers (Loblaw, Fortinos, Joe Fresh, Shoppers Drug Mart, etc.), as well as on your everyday purchases from other stores. You also get exclusive access to in-store promos where you can earn even more points than those with just the PC Optimum points card. PC Optimum Points are automatically applied to your account, and can be redeemed for groceries or merchandise at Loblaws affiliates as well.
Earning rate*
- Pharmacy: 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.
Earning potential
- Rewards earned over a 24-month period: 876,914 PC Optimum points**
- Monetary worth: $876.91 in PC Optimum points
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Notes:
*Earning rate up to card’s annual spending cap, if applicable.
**Assuming $1,600 is spent on the card monthly at eligible retailers, in the following categories:
- Pharmacy: $55.33
- Food: $710.58
- Gas**: $134.31
- Travel: $151.21
- Other: $548.57
2019 Best of Finance Store Credit Card runners up
Why it’s an awesome card
If you like spending your Saturday mornings strolling down the long aisles of your local Costco and gorging yourself on free samples, then this card is for you. And if you don’t already have a membership, you may want to reconsider so you can get access to this card. The Capital One® Mastercard® is exclusively for Costco members, but you can earn cash-back by using it virtually anywhere – not just at Costco. The card also comes with no annual fee, and there’s no limit on how much cash-back you can earn. Cash-back is earned automatically and detailed on your statement each month.
Earning rate*
- Restaurants: 3% cash-back
- Gas: 2% cash-back
- Other: 1% cash-back on all other purchases.
Earning potential
- Rewards earned over a 24-month period: $489.95
Why it’s an awesome card
One of the best things about the Triangle™ World Elite Mastercard® is that it gives you premium earning rates for free! This card has no annual fee and earns more in Canadian Tire Money® than the regular Triangle™ Mastercard® on in-store, grocery, and gas purchases. Canadian Tire Money® earned will be posted to your Triangle Rewards Account (so no pretty paper money here) and can be redeemed for merchandise sold at all Canadian Tire locations across Canada, as well as Sport Chek, and participating Mark’s/L’Equipeur and Atmosphere stores.
And to make a redemption, simply show your Triangle™ World Elite Mastercard® at checkout. Note though, that while you can collect Canadian Tire Money® on all other purchases, the earning rate is a bit unclear. The website simply states that the rate at which Canadian Tire Money® can be collected may vary from time to time and by location and is subject to change by Canadian Tire without notice. Other sources state the current reward rate for purchases at other stores is 0.8%, but you can also call customer service for current rates.
Earning rate*
- Grocery: 3% in Canadian Tire Money®per $1 spent at eligible retailers.
- Gas: 5 cents in Canadian Tire Money®per litre purchased at Gas+ locations (7 cents for premium fuel).
- Other: 4% in Canadian Tire Money®per $1 spent at Canadian Tire, Sport Chek®, and participating Marks®/L’Équipeur and Atmosphere®
Earning potential
- Annual fee: $0
- Rewards earned over a 24-month period: $1,062.48
