PC World Elite Mastercard vs CIBC Costco Mastercard
Which one is better? Both cards worked out on the same spending: rewards, welcome bonus, fees and perks, line by line.
Welcome bonus
Each offer as the issuer words it. The numbers below show whether your spending reaches it.
The offer
The offer
20,000 PC points ($20 value)
No welcome bonus right now.
What each card is worth
Rewards, the welcome bonus and any Finly rebate in, the annual fee and FX fees out, all on your spending.
Worked out on a typical $2,000 a month of spending. Enter yours to see your own numbers.
$284
First-year value
$350
$264
Every year after
$350
CIBC Costco Mastercard is worth $66 more to you in year one.
It stays ahead after that, by $86 a year.
How the first year adds up
Annual rewards
$263.51
263,508 points a year
Welcome bonus
+ $20
first year only
Annual fee
− $0
no annual fee
First-year value
$283.51
Annual rewards
$349.91
cash back a year
Welcome bonus
+ $0
no welcome offer
Annual fee
− $0
no annual fee
First-year value
$349.91
Where each card earns
A year of your spending at each card's own reward rates, most first.
30xParticipating grocery stores at President's Choice rewards
27,084 pts
$27.08
19xESSO, MobilGas
4,920 pts
$4.92
45xShoppersDrugMart
4,044 pts
$4.04
10xAll other purchases
227,460 pts
$227.46
3%Food and drinks
$126
2%Gas
$39.74
3%CostcoGas
$5.18
2%COSTCOonline
$5.16
1%All other purchases
$173.82
Fees, rates and eligibility
What each card costs to hold and to use abroad, and who it's for.
Annual fee
Additional cards
Interest rates
Interest rates
Purchase:
21.99%
Cash Advance:
22.97%
Purchase:
20.75%
Cash Advance:
22.49%
Balance Transfer:
22.49%
Recommended credit score
Recommended credit score
Income required
Income required
Min Personal Income:
$80,000
Min Household Income:
$150,000
Min Personal Income:
$15,000
Min Household Income:
N/A
How each card earns
The earn rates and caps, as each issuer sets them.
- 45 points per $1 dollar spent at Shoppers Drug Mart® stores
- 30 points per $1 dollar spent at Atlantic Superstore, Extra Foods, Fortinos, Loblaws, Maxi, Maxi & cie, no frills, Provigo, Real Canadian Superstore, SaveEasy, SuperValu, valu-mart, Your Independent Grocer, Zehrs
- 20 points per $1 spent in PC travel
- 19 points per $1 dollar spent at ESSO and Mobil (it's 30 points per liter and the assumption of average gas price of $1.6 was made)
- 10 points per $1 dollar spent for everything else
- 3% cash back on Restaurants
- 3% cash back on Costco Gas stations and 2% cash back on non-Costco Gas up to a combined maximum of $5,000 in spending (max $150 cashback per year)
- 2% cash back on Costco.ca purchases up to $8,000 in spending (max $160 cashback per year)
- 1% on everything else
Points and how we value them
Points become dollars at each card's best redemption. Here's the value we used, and every other way to spend them.
Loyalty program
Loyalty program
We count each point at 0.1¢ a point, what it's worth redeemed for Groceries, its best value. Every dollar figure above uses that value.
Cash back: every dollar it earns counts as a dollar, so there's nothing to convert.
Point redemption options
Point redemption options
Most Optimal
Groceries
0.1¢ / point.svg)
Gas (Esso)
0.1¢ / point
Statement Credits (Cash)
0.07¢ / point
Nothing to redeem: it pays cash back.
Insurance and perks
What both cards include comes first in each list.
Insurance
Insurance
Extended Warranty
Doubled up to a year
Purchase Protection
90 days.svg)
Car Rental Damage & Theft
Up to 31 days
Travel Medical Insurance (64 & under)
$1M, Up to 10 days
Extended Warranty
Up to a yearPurchase Protection
Up to 90 days
Mobile Device Insurance
$1,000
Perks
Perks
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Concierge Services
Identity Theft Assistance
No extra perks.
Our take
Why we like it
Why we like it
This is a great card to have in your arsenal if you frequently shop at Shoppers Drug Mart®, Loblaw's owned chains, and ESSO and Mobil gas stations, as you will earn significant rewards in these categories. The additional benefits, such as out-of-province medical insurance, car rental damage insurance, and concierge service, are impressive and typically only come with cards that have annual fees; however, you can access these benefits for free with this card. We do not recommend using this as your primary credit card but as a supplement to another primary card, especially because there are no fees. This is because the rewards on purchases outside the mentioned shops are very average, and many other cards offer much more substantial rewards for general use.
The CIBC Costco Mastercard offers one of the highest cashback rates on restaurant purchases in Canada, making it an excellent choice for optimizing rewards in this specific category, especially since it has no annual fees. If you use Costco Gas or shop on Costco Online, there is a decent cashback rate as well. However, for other categories, the cashback rate is average. Notably, you will be better off using other credit cards for warehouse Costco purchases, as you will only earn 1% cashback. If you are looking for no annual fee credit cards only, this is a good card to go for.
Pros
Pros
- No annual fee
- Decent insurance
- Decent rewards
- Decent overall reward rates
- High dining optimization
- Mobile device insurance
Cons
Cons
- Limited rewards
- Income requirements
- Limited benefits
- No Costco warehouse optimization
More comparisons
Other cards we've put each of these up against.
vs Amazon Rewards Mastercard
vs Amex Cobalt
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vs Amex SimplyCash
vs Amex SimplyCash™ Preferred
vs BMO CashBack World Elite
vs CIBC Aeroplan Visa Infinite
vs RBC ION+ Visa
vs Rogers Red
vs Rogers Red World Elite
vs Scotia Amex Gold
vs Scotia Momentum Visa
vs Scotia Momentum Visa Infinite +
vs Simplii Financial Visa Card
vs Tangerine Money-Back
