PC Financial Mastercard Review: All PC Financial Credit Cards Compared

If you’re a President’s Choice Optimum member, having a PC Financial Mastercard is a great way to earn rewards points. But with three cards to choose from, you may be wondering which one best helps you maximize rewards? In this full review of the PC Financial Mastercard lineup, I’ll explain the features and benefits of all three cards, and I’ll let you know about the PC Money Account, a new way to earn PC Optimum points when you shop.

Introducing the PC Financial Mastercard Family

As mentioned, there are no fewer than 3 PC Financial Mastercards to choose from: the base PC Financial Mastercard, PC Financial World Mastercard, and the premium PC Financial World Elite Mastercard. The three cards share common features: no-annual fees, the same interest rates, and each will earn you PC Optimum points when you spend, albeit at different earn rates. Let’s take a closer look at the features of each card, starting with the PC Financial Mastercard.

PC Financial Mastercard

The ‘bare-bones’ PC Financial Mastercard, if you can call it that, gives cardholders the ability to earn points without an annual fee. Unlike the other two cards, there is no annual minimum income requirement, making this card ideal for borrowers who are newer to credit or don’t have a high enough income to qualify for the other cards.

Key Features:

• No Annual Fee
• Purchase interest 20.97%/ Cash Advances 22.97%
• 0.97% interest on balance transfers for the first six months
• Add up to four additional users for free

PC Optimum Points Earn Rate:

• 25 PC Optimum points per dollar at Shoppers Drug Mart
• 30 points per litre of gas at Esso Mobil
• 20 points per dollar at PC Travel
• 10 points per dollar at all PC member grocery stores, i.e., Real Candian Superstore
• 10 points per dollar everywhere else

Best Suited for:

PC Optimum members who either don’t meet the approval criteria of the premium cards or don’t need the added benefits of the other cards. If you spend money at Shoppers Drug Mart and Esso, you can accumulate points more quickly.

PC Financial World Mastercard

The mid-tier offering from PC Financial ups the ante when it comes to point-earning capability and added features that will appeal to frequent shoppers. Points on spending at Shoppers Drug Mart gets a boost from 25 to 35 PC Optimum points per dollar (ppd), while points on purchases made at President’s Choice grocery stores doubles to 20 ppd.

When it comes to added perks, Mastercard World Benefits are added, including 24/7 concierge service, Mastercard Global Service, which replaces your card or issues a cash advance in an emergency, free purchase assurance, and free extended warranty.

I should point out that the added perks do come with a minimum annual income requirement of $60,000/personal or $100,000/household.

Key Features:

• No Annual Fee
• Purchase interest 20.97%/ Cash Advances 22.97%
• 0.97% interest on balance transfers for the first six months
• Add up to four additional users for free
• 24/7 concierge service
• Mastercard Global Service protection
• Purchase Assurance and Extended Warranty

PC Optimum Earn Rate (point increases highlighted in bold):

• 35 PC Optimum points per dollar at Shoppers Drug Mart
• 30 points per litre of gas at Esso Mobil
• 20 points per dollar at PC Travel
• 20 points per dollar at all PC member grocery stores, i.e., Real Candian Superstore
• 10 points per dollar everywhere else

Best Suited for:

PC Optimum members who meet the income criteria and want the peace of mind offered by the purchase assurance and extended warranty. If you buy groceries at a President’s Choice partner, this card will let you multiply your earn rate with the PC Financial World Mastercard

PC Financial World Elite Mastercard

The top-tier PC Financial World Elite Mastercard boosts the PC Optimum earn rate even further while adding the travel-related perks that come with being a Mastercard World Elite member, like Travel Emergency Medical Insurance and Car Rental/Collision Loss Damage Waiver Insurance. While some other premium credit cards have a longer list of benefits, the fact that PC Financial World Elite manages to pull it off with no annual fee is pretty impressive. The minimum annual income for this card is $80,000/personal, or $150,000/household.

Key Features:

• No Annual Fee
• Purchase interest 20.97%/ Cash Advances 22.97%
• 0.97% interest on balance transfers for the first six months
• Add up to four additional users for free
• 24/7 concierge service
• Mastercard Global Service protection
• Purchase Assurance and Extended Warranty
• Travel Emergency Medical Insurance
• Car Rental/Collision Loss Damage Waiver Insurance

PC Optimum Earn Rate (point increases highlighted in bold):

• 45 PC Optimum Points points per dollar at Shoppers Drug Mart
• 30 points per litre of gas at Esso Mobil
• 30 points per dollar at PC Travel
• 30 points per dollar at all PC grocery stores, i.e., Real Candian Superstore, No Frills
• 10 points per dollar everywhere else

Best Suited for:

The PC Financial World Elite card is perfect for PC Optimum members who spend a lot of money at Shoppers Drug Mart and President’s Choice grocery stores and want the added benefits offered by this card.

How Much are PC Optimum Points Worth?

If you’re not yet a PC Optimum member, you may be wondering how much the points are worth. Here’s how you figure it out, using the PC Financial World Elite Mastercard earn rate.

For starters, 10,000 PC Optimum points have a redemption value of $10.

When you buy groceries at PC retailers, you earn 30 points per dollar. Therefore, you’ll need to spend $333 to get $10 worth of points, a 3% earn rate.

At a whopping 45 points per dollar, Shoppers Drug Mart purchases have an earn rate of 4.5%.

All non-PC-related purchases are 10 points per dollar or 1%.

All in all, a 1% earn rate is nothing special, especially for the premium World Elite Mastercard. Still, the 3% at PC grocery stores and 4.5% Shoppers Drug Mart is certainly competitive with other cards, like the Scotiabank Momentum Visa Infinite, or the TD Cash Back Visa Infinite.

However, if there’s one advantage those cards have, it’s flexibility. Points on groceries are not limited to PC-branded stores, nor are redemptions.

Where Can I Earn PC Optimum Points?

While you will earn PC Optimum points on all spending that you do with a PC Financial Mastercard, the best way to maximize your rewards is by shopping at PC Optimum member stores, where you get the highest earn rate. Here is a list of participating PC Optimum retail partners:

• Loblaws
• Zehrs
• Shoppers Drug Mart
• Esso Mobil
• PC Travel
• Real Canadian Superstore
• No Frills
• Wholesale Club
• Your Independent Grocer
• The Mobile Shop

How to Redeem Your PC Optimum Points

I like how easy PC Financial makes it to calculate your PC Optimum point redemption value. You have to redeem in blocks of 10,000 points, and 10,000 points are worth $10. It’s that simple. You can easily redeem your points in-store and save on groceries, or online at the following websites:

• Shoppersdrugmart.ca
• Pharmaprix.ca
• Joefresh.com
• Pcexpress.ca

PC Financial Mastercard Pros and Cons

To me, the PC Financial Mastercard offers a clear list of pros and cons, and it’s easy to see who the cards are best suited for. I’ll get into that in more detail in my summary, but for now, here is a list of pros and cons:

Pros:

• No annual fee
• High earn rate of up to 4.5% at PC partner stores (World Elite)
• Available gas rewards

Cons:

• High minimum annual income requirement ($80,000 for World Elite)
• Can’t redeem points at non-PC Optimum retailers
• Fewer travel benefits than with other cards
• Low earn rate of 1% on everyday purchases

Are PC Financial Mastercards Secure?

These days, it’s crucial that you exercise due diligence when using any credit card, especially online purchases. After all, there are more cases of financial fraud happening today than ever before. Because the PC Financial Mastercard is tied to the Mastercard network, you get the highest possible levels of security. This includes fraud monitoring and detection, 128-bit data encryption (the same level your bank is using), and proactive monitoring of your credit and personal information.

Don’t Qualify? Another Way to Earn PC Optimum Points

Perhaps you don’t qualify for a PC Financial Mastercard, or you just don’t want a credit card. If so, you’re still in luck. Last year, PC returned to the online banking scene with their first bank account since severing their relationship with CIBC in 2017.

The PC Money Account isn’t technically a bank account; PC refers to it as a “self-serve online money management system” because there are no cheque writing or deposit privileges. However, you can transfer money in and out with free, unlimited e-Transfers, and spend with a prepaid Mastercard. It isn’t a credit card; it’s a debit Mastercard.

The cool part is that you earn 10 PC Optimum points on every dollar you spend with the PC Money Mastercard. While you won’t earn points as quickly as you will with the PC Financial Mastercards, it’s still a way for you to save on groceries without using credit. For more information, check out my brand new PC Money Account Review.

Are the PC Financial Mastercards Worth It?

PC Financial offers an intriguing value proposition amongst credit cards in Canada. There aren’t many other no-fee credit cards that offer as much as the PC Financial World Elite Mastercard. But are they worth it? Well, if you do most of your grocery shopping at President’s Choice partner stores, the answer is a resounding, “YES!” The 3% earn rate is almost unheard of on a no-fee card, not to mention the 4.5% Shoppers Drug Mart rate.

The downside comes when you don’t shop at President’s Choice stores. In that case, you would be limited to a 1% earn rate on most of your purchases, which is very pedestrian. Not only that, but the PC Optimum points won’t be worth much to you if you can’t redeem them. In that case, a regular cashback credit card is a more flexible option, as you can spend your rewards any way you’d like.