SimplyCash® Card from American Express Review

If you classify yourself as an everyday spender who’s looking for reliable cashback, no annual fees, and exclusive Amex advantages, then the SimplyCash Card from American Express is the card for you.

Here’s a breakdown of this card’s potential in rewards, benefits and downsides, plus how it compares to other cashback cards on the market.

How You Earn Rewards with the SimplyCash Card from American Express

The SimplyCash Card from American Express has a solid cashback system, with 2% cash back on eligible gas and grocery purchases in Canada, allowing you to accumulate up to $300 in cash back annually. As for the rest of your eligible purchases, like streaming services and travel, you’ll receive a rate of 1.25%.

Add their generous welcome bonus to your annual rewards, and you can expect a first-year value of just over $400.

For a more accurate estimate of your potential earnings, always check your card's terms and conditions on the American Express website.

Redeeming Rewards

With this SimplyCash Card, your rewards turn into bank credits which are typically applied to your September statement each year. You can verify the specifics surrounding redemption timelines through your credit card's terms and conditions.

5 Benefits of The SimplyCash Card from American Express

Before we go any further, let’s review some of the SimplyCash Card benefits:

Free from any Annual Fees

The best part about this cashback card? You don’t have to buy your way in. Simply go about your everyday spending, and get some money back. 

A Boast-Worthy Welcome Bonus

Alongside its everyday optimized cashback rewards, in your first 3 months as a SimplyCash cardholder, you can earn a bonus of 5% cash back on all your purchases, capped off at $2,000 (just be sure to check the latest terms on the Amex website).

Qualify with a Good Credit Score

With the SimplyCash card, a “good” credit score is absolutely good enough. If you have a credit score of about 660, you can enjoy amazing cashback and American Express benefits.

Early Access to Concert Tickets

Calling all concert-goers! It’s exciting enough that the SimplyCash Card is admission-free, but what if we told you that it also offers perks in early admission? Get early access to concert tickets through the American Express Front of The Line program.

Tap Into Travel Insurance

A little bit of travel coverage can go a long way, the SimplyCash Card offers up to $100,000 worth of travel accident coverage. Considering that the SimplyCash Card is a no-annual-fee credit card – cards that typically don’t have travel insurance – this is a great feature! Even if you're not a frequent traveler, having some sort of coverage on your trips is always helpful, especially when you don't have to pay for it.

3 Downsides of the SimplyCash Card from American Express

This wouldn’t be a fair assessment without the inclusion of the SimplyCash Card’s cons. Here’s an overview of the card’s downsides:

Caps Annual Cashback

Unfortunately, with this card, cash flow is limited regarding cashback, with a $300 cap on gas and grocery purchases annually. Keep in mind though that you can get this category's 2% cashback rate on your first $6,000 worth of purchases which is something larger households might reach in a year.

Limited Travel and Shopping Insurance

While the card does offer some benefits, it could provide more comprehensive travel and shopping coverage. There are other no-annual-fee cards, like the Rogers World Elite Mastercard, that offer more benefits. However, these cards typically come with higher credit score and income requirements, making them harder to qualify for.

American Express Network

American Express isn’t always the best in terms of being widely accepted. There are still limitations to where you can use cards under this network, especially when traveling.

Comparing the SimplyCash Card from American Express to other Cashback Credit Cards

Feeling like this isn’t quite the right fit for you? There are a couple of higher-rated cashback cards with similar features, but better perks in certain categories. It all depends on what type of spender you are.

SimplyCash Preferred Card

If you’re an avid American Express credit card user, a bigger spender and it’s the best cashback you’re after, you might want to consider the SimplyCash Preferred Card from American Express.

The best part about this card is that it’s got the highest cashback rate on eligible grocery and gas purchases in all of Canada.

Pair that with its impressive welcome bonus cash back percentage on all purchases within the first few months, and an enticing statement credit when you make a purchase in month 13, and you’ve got yourself a nice first-year bonus to add to your first-year value. Needless to say, the SimplyCash Preferred Card beats the SimplyCash Card in both cashback and welcome bonus value – but it's not as budget friendly for those who are trying to avoid annual fees. If you’re a traveler, you’ll also like the SimplyCash Preferred Card's extra travel coverage features for things like lost or stolen baggage, flight delays, and hotel burglary.

However, for people who spend less, the annual fee on the card may not be justifiable, as the rewards earned might not offset the cost of the fee. On the other hand, for those with higher spending levels, the rewards they earn can easily outweigh the annual fee, making it more worthwhile fee to pay.

Rogers World Elite Mastercard

We can’t talk about cashback credit cards without bringing up the Rogers World Elite Mastercard.

If you want to avoid being turned down for trying to tap an American Express Card in certain establishments, you might be interested in this Mastercard alternative. The Rogers World Elite Mastercard is more widely accepted, earns the highest overall cashback rate on all purchases, and like the SimplyCash Card, has no annual fee – in fact, it’s voted the Best No Annual Fee Credit Card in Canada by FinlyWealth. 

That said, the rewards are best if you have a qualifying Rogers, Shaw or Fido service. Without one of these these services, you'll earn less in cash back on your purchases.

Another thing to consider is that you’ll need a high personal income and a “very good” credit score to qualify, making this card a bit more difficult to qualify for than the SimplyCash Card.

For a no-annual-fee card, the travel benefits and first-year value exceed those of the SimplyCash Card, but keep in mind that it's harder to qualify for this card.

Final Verdict

If you want a cashback credit card with no annual fees, great rewards, and Amex perks, then the SimplyCash Card from American Express matches your criteria. Our advanced algorithm has given this card a rating of 3.5/5 which tells you that it’s a pretty standard card, especially if you’re not looking to overcomplicate things.

If you’re willing to pay a reasonably-priced annual fee for better cashback rates, a higher welcome bonus, and a little extra coverage, then you might want the upgraded SimplyCash Preferred Card.