It’s being called the “ultimate millennial credit card.” But if you’re Canadian, you can’t have it. At least not yet.
Ride-sharing company Uber recently opened applications for its own rewards credit card. The Uber Visa promises competitive cash back rates and perks targeted towards Uber’s biggest audience – students and young professionals.
In a partnership with British bank Barclays, the Uber Visa features no annual fee and offers a bonus of $100 after making $500 in purchases in the first 90 days. Card users also get access to “exclusive events like secret shows and dining experiences” and receive an annual $50 subscription credit that can be used towards services like Spotify, Netflix, or Amazon Prime if they spend $5,000 on the card within the first year.
And to top it all off, for those who are constantly dropping or losing their phones, the card comes with theft and damage coverage for your cellphone. Card holders can also track their balance and points through the Uber app:
- 4% cash back on restaurants, takeout, and bar purchases, including UberEats
- 3% on airfare and hotels, including Airbnb
- 2% on all online purchases (including Uber itself)
- 1% back on all other purchases
As mentioned before, the Uber Visa is currently only available to citizens of the United States. Uber has yet to announce any plans to bring the card to Canada, though the release appeared on the Canadian site – leading to some confusion (and subsequently disappointment) among its Canadian users.
Other credit cards for millennials
The news of this millennial-centric card comes shortly after the release of another similarly youth-targeted card – the American Express Cobalt Card.
To promote the new card, American Express launched a big marketing campaign in September that involved a pop-up restaurant in Toronto’s Kensington Market, as well as over 70 lifestyle influencers from Blue Jays pitcher Marcus Stroman to chef Gordon Ramsay.
The card itself boasts comparable rewards in all categories (five Membership Rewards points for every $1 spent on food-related purchases, two points for every $1 spent on transit or gas, and one point for every dollar spent on anything else) as well as advance ticket access to concerts, shows, events and movie screenings through Front Of The Line® by American Express Invites.
You can also receive up to 40,000 bonus points for signing up before January 30, 2018, and spending a certain amount per month in the first year. The card has a $120 annual fee, which can be seen as a fairly high-fee credit card for younger consumers. However, the fee is broken down into $10 monthly payments.
If that fee does turn you off, the Scotia Momentum® Visa Infinite* Card offers multiple opportunities for cash back with no annual fee in the first year – 4% cash back on eligible gas and grocery purchases, 2% on drug store purchases and recurring bill payments, and 1% on just about everything else. This card also won Best Rewards Card at our 2017 Best of Finance awards.
As we eagerly await the Uber Visa’s launch in Canada, you can still find credit cards with competitive cash back rates and fun rewards.
