Many Canadians are doing what they can to take their minds off of the COVID-19 pandemic. Some are catching up on old TV shows, doing jigsaw puzzles, or baking banana bread. But others are fixing up parts of their home, especially those who have to work from home and are tired of trying to do so on their couch.
It’s not surprising that Canadians are renovating or making small tweaks to suit their new lifestyle. According to a TD survey, 37% of respondents have or plan to make some renovations or repairs to adjust to their new lifestyle.
While many businesses have suffered as a result of the pandemic, others have profited from people sprucing up their homes. For example, Home Depot reported its sales jumped 24% in the third quarter of last year as consumers focused on home makeovers.Canadian Tire also reported a nearly 26% surge in sales, noting that home improvement was one reason why shoppers visited its stores.
As many consumers know, Canadian Tire has countless different products that you can use to fix up your home: paint, furniture, area rugs, closet organizers, window treatments, and much more. The retailer carries a lot of products to help give your home the makeover it deserves.
The Triangle Mastercard series, including the Triangle Mastercard, Triangle World Mastercard and Triangle World Elite Mastercard, can reward you for your Canadian Tire purchases. These cards have no fees and are great if you want to earn Canadian Tire Money for purchases at the store. Instead of paper bills, the new Canadian Tire Money is all digital, so you don’t have to carry it around anymore and is easily accessible when you choose to spend it.
About the card
While there are threegreat Canadian Tire credit cards, we’ll focus on the Triangle Mastercard. The higher-tier cards have higher annual income requirements. You must earn at least $80,000 annually to apply for the Triangle World Elite Mastercard.Most Canadians would find it hard to qualify for the World Elite card since the average salary in the country is less than $50,000.
To apply for the Triangle Mastercard, you must be a Canadian resident, the age of majority in your province or territory, and currently working or retired. Of course, having a good credit score will help you get approved.
Applicants can get approved instantly for the Triangle Mastercard when they apply online.
About the rewardsprogram
The rewards you earn are in Canadian Tire Money,and the program is similar to other cash back credit cards in Canada. However, cardholders can only redeem the rewards at participating Canadian Tire, Sport Chek, Atmosphere, Sports Rousseau, Hockey Experts, L’Etrepôt du Hockey,Mark’s/L’Équipeur and Sports Experts stores.
Often credit card reward programs allow users to spend their points or cash back in various ways.So, being limited to select stores can be a deterrent to some. However, it is important to note that specialty rewards programs that focus on individual retailers generally offer more value as you can earn faster on select purchases.
Like the Triangle Mastercard, these cardsmay offer more gas rewards at affiliated stations as a trade-off for that lack of flexibility. That means a reward program like Canadian Tire’s can be great if you plan on making a lot of purchases at its store and other retailers it owns.
For instance, you can earn $0.05/litre when you purchase gasoline at all Canadian Tire Gas+ locations and participating Husky stations.
Earn 4% in Canadian Tire Money for qualifying purchases at Canadian Tire, Sport Chek, Mark’s/L’Équipeur, Atmosphere, Party City, Sports Rousseau, Hockey Experts, L’Entrepôt du Hockey, and participating Sports Experts stores.
Triangle Mastercard users can also earn 1.5% in Canadian Tire Money on up to $12,000in grocery purchases annually. This excludes purchases made at any Walmart, Walmart Superstore,or Costco locations. After the $12,000 annual spending cap, the earn rate falls to 0.5%.
On all other purchases, you’ll earn 0.5% in Canadian Tire Money. That cashback rate on everyday purchases is similar to what some other no-fee credit cards offer, such as the BMO CashBack Mastercard and the MBNA Smart Cash Platinum Plus Mastercard. If you want to add recurring bill payments to your credit card, you can also earn Canadian Tire Money for paying your cell phone bill or subscriptions, for example.
What’s different about the Triangle Mastercard compared to other cashback cards is the money earned is on the pre-tax amount and not the total. So, if your total bill at a Canadian Tire store in Ontario is $226 (or $200 before HST), you’ll earn $8 instead of $9.04. As for the point value, $1 in Canadian Tire Money equals $1 in real money.
Additional benefits
There are other great benefits of having the Triangle Mastercard, especially if you have to make a large purchase. The card allows you to finance a purchase of $150 or more with no interest or fees over a 24-month period.
That means if you end up spending $2,100 at Canadian Tire on items to fix up your home, you can make 24 equal payments of $87.50 without having to borrow from your line of credit or withdraw from your savings.
Keep in mind that if you don’t make the full minimum payment each month, you’ll have to start paying interest. If you don’t think you’ll be able to make those minimum payments, you really shouldn’t make a large purchase.
Besides the financing option, the card offers several other benefits. One of the best ones is when you have to return an item in the store. If you buy something with the card and can’t find your receipt, it’s not a problem. Using the Triangle Mastercard allows you to return items without a receipt.
Having this card also gives you access to members-only events and extra savings. You’ll also get exclusive offers that are personalized just for you.
If you’re considering getting the Triangle Mastercard, there may be one offer that will convince you to apply. New cardmembers can get 15% in Canadian Tire Money on their first qualifying purchase within 30 days of activating the card. However, don’t rush out and spend thousands of dollars because there’s a maximum like most other credit card offers. In this case, the maximum is $50.
The last word
The Triangle Mastercard is a great credit card if you plan to buynumerous items at Canadian Tire stores to renovate and spruce up your home or just because it’s one of your favourite retailers for everyday items. You can learn more about the Triangle Mastercard at RATESDOTCA.
