CIBC Dividend Platinum® Visa* Card Review

When it comes to CIBC credit cards, the CIBC Dividend Platinum Visa Card isn’t exactly the best of the best, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t earn a decent ranking in this institution's cashback category.

Overall, the rewards on popular spend categories are competitive, especially for a low-fee card, and the coverage and benefits, while minimal, are still commendable for the right cardholder.

To discover more about what this card has to offer, plus a detailed comparison to its close competitors, keep scrolling.

How You Earn Rewards with the CIBC Dividend Platinum Visa Card

Let’s dive right into it by breaking down these popular spend categories more thoroughly.

With the CIBC Dividend Platinum Visa Card, you’ll receive:

• 3% cashback on gas and groceries as long as they’re in the first $80k transactions of the year and $20k of categorical spends
• 2% cashback on transportation, dining, and recurring bills if they’re in the first $80k transactions of the year and $20k of categorical spends
• 1% cashback on all other eligible card purchases

So, as long as you mind the spending caps, you can collect solid cashback on tons of day-to-day expenses, making the card ideal for everyday shoppers.

Redeeming your Rewards with the CIBC Dividend Platinum Visa Card

Conveniently, the CIBC Dividend Platinum Visa Card allows you to redeem your cashback at any time, as long as you have at least $25 worth of rewards sitting in your account. You can redeem this cashback through either CIBC online or mobile banking.

5 Benefits of the CIBC Dividend Platinum Visa Card

There are plenty of reasons you might want to apply for the CIBC Dividend Platinum Visa Card, and those reasons are highlighted in this section.

Here are the different types of perks you can expect as a cardholder:

First Year Annual Fee Rebate

Thankfully, the CIBC Dividend Platinum Visa Card’s annual fee is already on the lower end of the spectrum. On top of this, this fee is completely waived during the first year of membership, so you can save as you’re just starting out.

Cashback Welcome Bonus

Another sign-up incentive offered by the CIBC Dividend Platinum Visa Card is the extra cashback welcome bonus that’s active for the first 4 statements on capped net purchases.

To take advantage of these boosted rates, start spending right away!

Low Income Requirements

Another perk associated with the CIBC Dividend Platinum Visa Card is its accessibility. With this card, you’re only expected to have a household annual income requirement of $15,000.

Solid Cashback Rates that Cover all of the Bases

As previously stated, the CIBC Dividend Platinum Visa Card’s reward program is a perk in and of itself, offering solid cashback across plenty of common spend categories like groceries, gas, transportation, dining, and recurring bills.

Optimizing groceries, gas, transportation, and recurring bills is beneficial because they tend to be frequent expenses, and dining is a great category to optimize because it can be expensive.

Road-Trip-Oriented Discounts

There are only a couple official benefits loaded onto the CIBC Dividend Visa Infinite Card – a gas discount and a car rental discount.

Specifically, cardholders receive savings on fuel at participating Pioneer, Fas Gas, Ultramar, and Chevron gas stations. Likewise, the card comes with car rental discounts at participating Avis and Budget locations across the globe.

2 Downsides of the CIBC Dividend Platinum Visa Card

The same way that there are aspects of the CIBC Dividend Platinum Visa Card that will make you want to send in an application, there are also certain downsides that might make you hesitate to hit submit.

Here are some cons to keep in mind:

Limited Insurance Coverage

For a paid card, the insurance coverage isn’t very extensive. With the CIBC Dividend Platinum Visa Card, cardholders receive basic purchase protection and extended warranty insurance, plus car rental damage and theft insurance and travel accident insurance.

We only mention this as a downside because there are cards with similar price points with more coverage, and there also are cards within the CIBC institution with better insurance policies as well.

An Annual Fee for Few Benefits

It’s also a little disappointing that the CIBC Dividend Platinum Visa Card lacks substantial perks beyond the gas and rental car discounts. Again, there are cards of a similar cost and cards issued by CIBC that bulk up this inclusion category.

Comparison to Other CIBC Cashback Visa Cards

The closest competitors to the CIBC Dividend Platinum Visa Card are of course other CIBC Cashback Visa cards.

In this section, we’ll point out where the following cards are similar and how they differ.

CIBC Dividend Platinum Visa Card vs CIBC Dividend Visa Infinite Card

Let’s begin by comparing the CIBC Dividend Platinum Visa Card to the best overall CIBC credit card, the CIBC Dividend Visa Infinite Card.

If you don’t mind spending a little more annually (while also still receiving a first year fee rebate), the CIBC Dividend Visa Infinite Card earns you more cashback on gas and groceries, plus the same cashback rate on transportation, dining, and recurring payments.

A bigger difference presents itself through insurance. On top of extended warranty insurance, purchase protection insurance, travel accident insurance, and car rental damage and theft insurance, the CIBC Dividend Visa Infinite Card adds mobile device insurance and emergency out of province medical insurance.

Surprisingly, the benefits on both the CIBC Dividend Platinum Visa Card and the CIBC Dividend Visa Infinite Card are the same, with car rental discounts at Avis and Budget locations, plus gas discounts at participating Pioneer, Fas Gas, Ultramar and Chevron gas stations.

In all honesty though, the CIBC Dividend Visa Infinite Card comes with some higher income requirements, which might make it even less accessible than the CIBC Dividend Platinum Visa Card.

At the end of the day, you’ll probably only apply for the CIBC Dividend Visa Infinite Card if you’re a higher-earning CIBC credit card enthusiast who wants slightly better cashback on gas and groceries, plus more extensive coverage. Otherwise, the CIBC Dividend Platinum Visa Card has a lower annual cost, lower income requirements, and identical perks for the budget-conscious.

CIBC Dividend Platinum Visa Card vs CIBC Dividend Visa Card

Speaking of being budget-conscious, you might want to take this mindset a step further and apply for a no-fee credit card instead. If that’s the case, there’s always the CIBC Dividend Visa Card.

The catch? You’ll have to compromise with less cashback on groceries, and even less cashback on gas, electric vehicle charging, transportation, dining, and recurring payments. Luckily though, the base rate of cashback on all other purchases remains the same.

You’ll also have to settle for fewer insurance categories, since the CIBC Dividend Visa Card only includes extended warranty insurance, purchase protection insurance, and travel accident insurance, whereas the CIBC Dividend Platinum Visa Card adds car rental damage and theft insurance.

The benefits remain the same as they have for all CIBC Dividend cashback cards, plus the household annual income requirements of the CIBC Dividend Visa Card match those of the CIBC Dividend Platinum Visa Card.

All in all, you’d probably only pick the CIBC Dividend Visa Card over the CIBC Dividend Platinum Visa Card if you want to save on annual fees indefinitely and you don’t mind sacrificing some extra cashback and coverage.

Final Verdict

The CIBC Dividend Platinum Visa Card offers a good middle ground when it comes to CIBC cashback contenders.

For a low annual fee (one that’s waived in the first year), cardholders receive solid cashback on popular earn categories like gas and groceries, plus transportation, dining, and recurring payments.

If you’re looking for a little more cashback on gas and groceries, and some extra insurance, check out the CIBC Dividend Visa Infinite Card – just mind the higher income requirements and annual fee!

On the other hand, if you want something that voids an annual fee altogether, opt for the CIBC Dividend Visa Card, but keep in mind that reward rates and coverage will be less impressive.

All CIBC Dividend cashback cards offer the same benefits. You might want to consider other institutions if you’re in search of the best cashback credit card that effectively balances rewards, coverage, and perks.