Are you in the market for a new credit card to add to your arsenal of plastic but feel overwhelmed with the abundance of possible picks? Well, you’re not alone. Whereas it once seemed like Canadians had only a handful of options to choose from (and pretty much stuck with whatever credit card their bank offered them anyway), over the last few years the choices have multiplied exponentially.
Thanks to a plethora of rewards programs, ever-expanding perks and generous bonus point offers, choosing a rewards credit card has become a headache-inducing Herculean task. Luckily, the rise in credit card offerings has been met with a rise in finance-savvy technology, and there are now specialized credit card calculators that make quick work of finding you a winner for your wallet.
How It Works
One such credit card assessment tool is the GreedyRates rewards calculator. Don’t let the word ‘calculator’ scare you—there’s no need to be a math whiz to take advantage of this service. All you do is input some information about your monthly spending and the calculator does the rest of the number-crunching for you.
You begin your search for your perfect plastic partnership by filling in an overview of how much you spend monthly on a variety of categories like gas, groceries and hotels. The calculator then takes your information and measures it against a database of each card’s most relevant features. It then shows you—in clear, concise, easily navigable columns—a personalized estimated annual rewards value for each card.
For example, if you’re a frequent flyer who spends a lot on hotels and flights, the calculator will highlight cards that maximize your point-earning potential for things like airfare and hotel stays. It even factors in how many years you think you’ll have the card, which is an important additional feature because many credit cards offer bonuses that are only valid in the first year, while just a few offer yearly perks.
What the Tool Tells You
Essentially, the GreedyRates tool sorts through all the fine print and highlights the relevant card facts so you don’t have to. In making its recommendations, the calculator considers your actual personal spending habits, while factoring in reward limitations, such as spending caps, promotion qualifications and yearly fees. It’s worth noting that not all rewards points are created equal—some have more real-world value than others.
Aside from calculating the amount of rewards points the cards will generate, the calculator displays other essential data like the cards’ purchase interest rates, the minimum personal income required to apply and more. Furthermore, the user-friendly technology lets you filter the results by a variety of other features, including the issuing bank, travel insurance perks and whether there are foreign transaction or annual fees. What makes the rewards calculator so functional is that it cuts through the noise and gets straight to the heart of each specific card’s most pertinent details based on your most pertinent spending.
Designed with Canadians in Mind
Unlike many other credit card calculators online, the GreedyRates tech is designed specifically for Canadian consumers. It automatically converts each card’s rewards points into their Canadian dollar value. It also only displays credit cards that are issued by/in partnership with Canadian financial institutions, so you know that the cards displayed are available to you.
GreedyRates was launched in 2013 with a goal of providing Canadians with relevant, thoroughly researched, accurate information for all aspects of their individual economies, including credit cards, budgeting, financial apps, investments and more. The GreedyRates rewards calculator can take the guesswork out of finding which credit card is the best match for your money. Even if you’re not specifically in the market for a new credit card, the site is a valuable money-management resource worth getting to know.