Side by Side Credit Cards Comparison

PC World Elite MastercardVSCIBC Costco Mastercard

Which one is better?


PC World Elite Mastercard

PC World Elite Mastercard


RECOMMENDED CREDIT SCORE*

300
Poor
560
Fair
660
Good
725⁎
Very Good
760⁎
Excellent
⁎Estimates based on Equifax scoring

CIBC Costco Mastercard

CIBC Costco Mastercard


RECOMMENDED CREDIT SCORE*

300
Poor
560
Fair
660⁎
Good
725⁎
Very Good
760⁎
Excellent
⁎Estimates based on Equifax scoring

Welcome Bonus

20,000 PC points ($20 value)

Welcome Bonus

N/A

Rewards Breakdown

Rewards breakdown is not available for this card.

Rewards Breakdown

Rewards breakdown is not available for this card.

How to Earn Rewards

  • 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

How to Earn Rewards

  • 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

Insurance Included

  • extended warranty

    Extended Warranty

    Doubled up to a year
  • purchase protection

    Purchase Protection

    90 days

  • car insurance

    Car Rental Damage & Theft

    Up to 31 days
  • travel accident medical

    Travel Medical Insurance (64 & under)

    $1M, Up to 10 days

Insurance Included

  • extended warranty

    Extended Warranty

    Up to a year
  • purchase protection

    Purchase Protection

    Up to 90 days

  • mobile device insurance

    Mobile Device Insurance

    $1,000

Extra Benefits

  • concierge

    Concierge Services

  • shield user

    Identity Theft Assistance

Extra Benefits

N/A

Interest Rates

Purchase:

21.99%

Cash Advance:

22.97%

Interest Rates

Purchase:

20.75%

Cash Advance:

22.49%

Balance Transfer:

22.49%

Annual Fee

$0

Annual Fee

$0

Income Required

Min Personal Income:

$80,000

Min Household Income:

$150,000

Income Required

Min Personal Income:

$15,000

Min Household Income:

N/A

Loyalty Program

Loyalty Program

N/A

Point Redemption Options

  • groceries

    Groceries

    0.1¢ / point
  • gas station

    Gas (Esso)

    0.1¢ / point
  • cash coins

    Statement Credits (Cash)

    0.07¢ / point

Point Redemption Options

Not Applicable

Is this card worth 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.

Is this card worth it?

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

  • No annual fee
  • Decent insurance
  • Decent rewards

Pros

  • Decent overall reward rates
  • High dining optimization
  • Mobile device insurance

Cons

  • Limited rewards
  • Income requirements

Cons

  • Limited benefits
  • No Costco warehouse optimization