Major cash-back cards cut customer benefits

Loyalty programs have become increasingly complex in recent years, pushing many people toward cash‑back cards. It’s a move that made good sense since cash back is simple, predictable and less likely to see devaluations – or so we thought.

Over the past few weeks, several major cash-back cards have unveiled significant changes. And most of them aren’t exactly consumer-friendly.

Scotiabank cuts 4% cash-back on rent payments

As of Oct. 22, rent and tax payments will no longer count as recurring bills when charged to the Scotiabank Momentum Visa Infinite Card. Recurring bills pay a higher cash-back rate, and the change means the cash back cardholders earn will drop to 1 per cent from 4 per cent.

This shouldn’t be a huge surprise since many cardholders use Chexy, a Canadian payments company, to cover those bills. Despite a 1.75-per-cent fee, Chexy users still receive a 2.25-per-cent return in cash back.

For instance, if your monthly rent is $2,500, that’s $30,000 a year, paying with the Scotiabank Momentum Visa Infinite Card via Chexy puts $675 in your pocket. With the change, using Chexy puts you in the red, as you’d be paying a 1.75-per-cent fee to get 1-per-cent cash back.

The card remains a strong everyday earner, but for anyone who held it primarily for extra cash back via Chexy, the benefit drops considerably.

RBC updates its cash-back cards at a cost

The RBC Cash Back Preferred World Elite MasterCard gives cardholders a straight 1.5 per cent cash back on all purchases.

That simplicity will disappear on Oct. 1, when the card introduces a new 3-per-cent earn rate on grocery, dining, gas, EV charging, transit, streaming, and digital game purchases. Everything else will earn 1 per cent.

The changes are undeniably appealing – especially since there’s no cap on how much cash-back you can earn – but the tradeoff is a 33-per-cent drop in the base earn rate.

The annual fee is also increasing to $120 from $99, though RBC is adding extra travel and mobile device insurance to help justify the bump.

Whether these changes increase your bottom line depends entirely on your spending habits. But with a broad mix of categories earning 3 per cent cash back, many Canadians will likely come out ahead.

Cardholders with the no-fee RBC Cash Back Mastercard will also see changes, and for many, the impact will be negative.

Right now, the card earns 2 per cent cash back on groceries and 0.5 per cent on all other purchases, up to $6,000 in annual spending. After hitting that cap, the earn rate on base purchases jumps to 1 per cent.

Come October, the card will offer 1 per cent cash back on gas, EV charging, and transit, while all other purchases earn 0.5 per cent. However, the post-$6,000 bump to 1 per cent is disappearing entirely.

If most of your spending is concentrated in groceries and gas, you may still come out ahead. Low spenders might not feel much difference. But for many cardholders, losing the 1-per-cent boost on everyday purchases means the overall value of the card will drop.

King of cash-back potentially dethroned

The Rogers World Elite Mastercard is one of the best cash-back credit cards in Canada since you can earn up to 3 per cent cash back. The base cash-back rate is 2 per cent, but if you redeemed it towards a Rogers, Fido, Shaw or Comwave service, that increased to 3 per cent.

Cardholders also received five Roam Like Home days each year, effectively letting them use their regular mobile plan abroad. With daily roaming typically costing $16-$18, that perk was worth roughly $90 annually.

That structure will change on Nov. 18. The bonus redemption rate is getting replaced with 5 per cent cash back on Rogers purchases.

The roaming perk is also being revamped. Instead of five Roam Like Home days, users will now get a $75 roaming credit, which offers more flexibility.

Travel insurance is seeing mixed adjustments too. While those under the age of 65 will see their policies extended from 10 to 15 days and the stability clause is greatly reduced from six months to 90 days, trip cancellation, trip interruption and trip delay are being removed.

Rogers now offers four consumer Mastercard tiers plus a business card, and the company has been gradually reshaping benefits ever since launching the Rogers Red World Legend Mastercard. As with any tiered credit card lineup, higher‑tier cards come with richer perks.

Overall, these changes amount to a net loss for most users, but the 2 per cent cash back remains one of the strongest earn rates available for a no-fee card.

Barry Choi is a personal finance and travel expert at moneywehave.com. He was previously affiliated with Scotiabank, RBC, Rogers and Mastercard, but currently has no relationship with any of the brands mentioned.