Canadian Tire Financial – A Review

Canadian Tire is not just a retail store with the regular Canadian Tire Money loyalty system. Their range of products includes credit cards, banking, insurance coverage, roadside assistance. Read on below for our review on the Canadian Tire financial products.

It is always our intention to grow our money and to ensure we use it to pay for the best available service that adds value while not burning a hole in our pockets. Canadian Tire is making an effort to serve Canadians better with their financial service arm – Canadian Tire Bank. In an attempt to optimize both serving the best for Canadians and growing their retail business, it seems obvious that Canadian Tire financial products might be worth looking into.

Or are they?

Read on to find out.

What is Canadian Tire Financial?

At Canadian Tire Corporation, they have branched out to have a financial services arm known as Canadian Tire Bank (CTB). Products and services offered by Canadian Tire financial and the main businesses involved in CTB are:

• Credit cards
• Banking – high-interest savings account, GICs and tax-free savings account
• Roadside assistance
• Insurance coverage via credit card usage

Canadian Tire Bank is a logical venture by Canadian Tire, considering they are one of the longest operating retail brands in Canada with a trustworthy reputation for locals. Even though out of the box, this may sound like a sure bet, it’s still key to understand if these products are valuable compared to the competition. In the following sections, we provide the summary and detailed info of CTB’s main businesses.

Canadian Tire Credit Cards

Canadian Tire offers 5 credit cards, four of which are available for application, and the fifth one is an exclusive invite-only card. These five cards are divided into two separate groups, namely the triangle Mastercards and the two Advantage cards.

The Triangle series has 3 cards, namely:

• The Triangle Mastercard^®
• The Triangle World Elite Mastercard^®
• The Triangle World Mastercard^® (upon invitation only)

The other two cards are: 

• The Gas Advantage® Mastercard®
• The Cash Advantage® Mastercard®

Canadian Tire Triangle Mastercards

The Triangle Mastercard

The Canadian Tire Triangle Mastercard is a strong no-fee credit card available to just about every Canadian, no matter what their financial situation may be. With perks that include 4% cashback at Canadian Tire and other stores, plus 5¢ per litre savings on gas, this is a great card for anyone with a daily commute or regular shoppers at Canadian Tire.

The Triangle World Mastercard

This invite-only card is an excellent upgrade from the Triangle Mastercard. If you’re an ardent shopper at Canadian Tire stores or you frequently find yourself paying for premium gas, this is one invitation you won’t want to miss. You can enjoy 7c/litre for premium fuels, purchase security, extended warranty, car rental loss/damage insurance coverage and enhanced customer service at $0 annual fee.

The Triangle World Elite Mastercard

A no annual fee credit card with tangible benefits is what you can expect with the Canadian Tire Triangle World Elite Mastercard. Accelerated earn rates in Canadian Tire, sports supplies stores, groceries and gas, plus free roadside assistance, free insurance coverage and even concierge service!

The only downside is that it doesn’t bring a welcome bonus, but keep in mind that it is free. If you can make the cut regarding income requirements, don’t miss out on this card.

Canadian Tire Advantage Mastercards

As their names suggest, these two cards are specific for gas rewards and cashback rewards respectively. 

The Cash Advantage Mastercard

This is a regular cashback rewards card from Canadian Tire Financial. The key difference with other cashback cards is that you get more cashback as you increase your spending. The real kicker is the fact that it offers a flat rate for all purchase categories, reaching a maximum and very respectable 1.5% cashback rate.

In the following table, you’ll find the different cashback rates you get for each purchasing level.

Cash Advantage® Mastercard®

Earn up to 1.5% cashback on all your eligible purchases: • 0.25% for first $1,500 purchases • 0.5% for $1,500 – $3,000 • 1% for $3,001 – $24,000 • 1.5% for $24,001 and above

The Gas Advantage Mastercard

The gas-saving rewards card from Candian Tire Financial is one of the best ways to get the most return for your gas purchases in Canada. As with the Cash Advantage, you’ll get an increasing return depending on how much you spend on gas. With a maximum return of 10¢/litre for fuel of any grade you purchase, this card has the potential to save you more than any other in this category.

The Gas Advantage® Mastercard® return rates are shown below: 

Gas Advantage® Mastercard®

Save up to 10¢/litre on gas at Canadian Tire gas bars, instantly • 2¢/litre for purchases from $0 – $499.99 • 5¢/litre for purchases from $500 – $999.99 • 8¢/litre for purchases $1000 – $1999.99 • 10¢/litre for purchases $2000 or greater

How Good Are Canadian Tire Credit Cards

A major plus about the Canadian Tire credit cards is that they come with $0 annual fee. It’s always great to not have to pay to enjoy great benefits like the ones these cards bring. So, if you’re eligible, just go for it! What do you have to lose? The main criterion is to be a Canadian resident and maintain a decent credit score. 

The Triangle World Elite Mastercard, in particular, has an additional requirement of a minimum personal annual income of $80,000 or a combined annual income of $150,000 to apply. This is because Triangle World Elite Mastercards come with additional perks, namely free roadside assistance and free insurance coverage with no annual fees, so Canadian Tire is keeping them for their top clients. Great deal, don’t you think?

Canadian Tire Banking 

Canadian Tire Banking (CTB) covers the following areas:

• Online Banking
• High-Interest Savings
• Tax-Free Savings
• Guaranteed Investment Certificates or GICs

Online Banking 

Canadian Tire Financial offers an online banking platform, which you can access through the CTFS website. Once logged in, you can access your credit card account. What can you do in this platform? You can check your balance, credit card statement and more. You can also pay for standard bills – cellphone bills, property tax, utilities, etc. At the same time, you can earn points on your credit card that can be redeemed for Canadian Tire Money.

To better understand how Canadian Tire Money works, you can view the subsection in our Triangle Mastercard post. 

High-Interest Savings Account (HISA)

The Canadian Tire Savings Account offered by CTB is known as Canadian Tire High-Interest Savings^® (HISA)

With this account, you can expect to enjoy the following benefits:

• Earn a high annual interest rate of 1.5%
• No monthly fees
• No minimum balance required
• No lock-in period
• Easy to transfer funds online or by phone
• 24/7 Online banking
• Telephone customer service between the hours of
  8 AM and 9 PM ET Monday to Friday, 8 AM and 6 PM ET Saturday
• Deposits are insured up to $100,000 with CDIC insurance coverage

Click on the following button to open your brand new Canadian Tire Savings Account today.

Tax Free Savings Account (TFSA)

There are two kinds of investment available in Canadian Tire Financial with Tax-Free Savings, namely:

• Canadian Tire Tax-Free ® High-Interest Savings account 
• Canadian Tire Tax-Free ^® GIC

To have a Tax-Free High-Interest Savings account (HISA), you will need to be a minimum of 18 years of age and above with a valid Social Insurance Number (SIN) and be a Canadian citizen. You can contribute any amount up to a maximum of $5,500 annually to the Tax-Free HISA. These accounts earn higher interest rates than ordinary HISAs reaching 1.8%

You are only allowed to open individual accounts – you can have more than one account if you wish to. However, it is not allowed to have a joint account even if it’s with your spouse as per government regulations.

• Earn a high annual rate of interest of 1.8%
• Grow your money tax-free
• No monthly fees
• No minimums
• No lock-in period
• Easily transfer funds online or by phone
• Interest rates are annualized and are subject to change without notice. Interest is calculated daily, based on the closing balance of the account, and paid monthly
• 24/7 Online banking

Click on the following button to open your Canadian Tire Tax-Free Savings account today!

Guaranteed Investment Certificates 

GICs are a type of investment that will give you a fixed return rate over a predefined period of time. For conservative investors, this would be the most popular form of investment out there.

Here are the annual rates for Canadian Tire GICs:

GIC  (Rates effective 2020-01-02)	Annual Interest Rates
1 Year	2.10%
2 Year	2.15%
3 Year	2.20%
4 Year	2.25%
5 Year	2.65%

The benefits of Canadian Tire Guaranteed Investment Certificates (GICs) are:

• Earn a high annual interest rate
• No haggling about rates
• Your rate is guaranteed for your entire term
• Terms from 1 to 5 years
• Minimum investment of $1,000
• 24/7 Online banking

Invest in Canadian Tire GICs today!

Canadian Tire Roadside Assistance® 

Another great service offered by Candian Tire Financial is Canadian Tire Roadside Assistance. In the table below, you can find the range of benefits this service includes:

24/7 service across Canada and the USA	✔
Towing Service	✔
Battery Boost	✔
Flat Tire Change	✔
Fuel Delivery	✔
Extrication & Winching	✔
Lockout Service	✔
Trip Accident Assistance	✔
Trip Planning & Guides	✔

For the above benefits, there are different membership packages that have different limits:

	Silver Member Plan	Gold Member Plan	Silver Family Plan	Gold Family Plan
Demography Compatibility	Perfect for city commuters	Suitable for those with longer commutes	Perfect for city families with shorter commutes	Great for families that travel long distances
Annual Subscription	$69.95* /Year	$99.95* /Year	$169.95* /Year	$289.95* /Year
Secondary Member	$37.95*/ Year	$69.95*/ Year	Covers up to 5 members in the household	Covers up to 5 members in the household

Every Canadian Tire Roadside Assistance® plan tier has most if not all the benefits mentioned in the benefits table. However, each one differs in terms of the benefit limit. For more details on each plan, click on the name and you’ll be redirected to the official Canadian Tire website.

If you don’t want to specify the driving individual for your vehicle, you can always opt for a vehicle plan as shown below;

	Silver Vehicle Plan	Gold Vehicle Plan
Demography Compatibility	Great for city commuters	Perfect for long-distance commuters
Annual Subscription	$69.95* /Year	$99.95* /Year
Secondary Vehicle	$37.95*/ Year	$69.95*/ Year

Is the Canadian Tire Roadside Assistance plan worth it?

If you own a personal vehicle, it’s definitely a good idea to get a roadside assistance plan, unless you already have the coverage as part of your package deal when you acquired your vehicle. Canadian Tire offers multiple plans to flexibly accommodate your specifications and driving style. As opposed to an annual commitment for roadside assistance, you have two other alternatives:

• You can apply for a Triangle World Elite Mastercard where you receive a complimentary Triangle™ World Elite Mastercard® Roadside Assistance Gold Plan with no annual fee. Thereby, applying for this card will cost you nothing yet it will gain you so much!
• You can use the On-Demand Roadside Services where you pay as you need the service. The service is available 24/7 within Canada.    

Canadian Tire Insurance – Credit Protector ® 

Canadian Tire in partnership with American Bankers Life Assurance Company of Florida and American Bankers Insurance Company of Florida provides an insurance program called ‘Credit Protector®’.

This insurance program provides protection in the following situations:

• Total Disability 
• Involuntary Unemployment
• Life & Dismemberment 
• Terminal Illness

Each of the above protection provides coverage up to $20,000 subject to your outstanding credit balance. For more details on Canadian Tire’s Credit Protector® coverage, you can view the Credit Protector® Certificate of Insurance.

The premium of the insurance is paid on a monthly basis on 3 different payment styles by the cardholder :

1. I pay my entire balance every month 
2. I make the minimum payment each month and carry a balance
3. I make more than one payment in a month 

For cardholders at the age of below 80,

Premium rate = $1.10 / $100 x (average spent in statement balance days) 

For cardholders at the aged 80 and above,

Premium rate = $0.59 / $100 x (average spent in statement balance days)

The premium is paid as per the credit card statement balance days. This may sound confusing and difficult to understand, but it’s not. Here are a couple of case studies where we show you how to calculate the premium under different scenarios. In all examples, a billing cycle that goes from April 3 to May 2 (31 days) is considered.

CASE STUDY #1: ‘I pay my entire balance every month‘

Date Period	Expenses	Sum of Daily Balance
March 3 (Opening Balance)	$0
March 3 – 7	$0 balance x 5 days = $0	$0
March 8	$500 purchase
March 8 – 14	$500 balance x 7 days = $3,500	$ 3,500
March 15	$300 purchase
March 15 – 26	$800 balance x 12 days = $9,600	$9,600
March 27	Payment made for $800 (total of purchases made on March 8 and March 15)
March 27 – April 2 (end of billing cycle)	$0 x 7 days = $0	$0
		$13,100

Below are the illustrative calculations for the premium rates for the statement balance example above: 

Total sum of daily balance from March 3 – April 2	$13,100
Average balance in 31 days (March 3 – April 2)	$13,100 / 31 = $422.58
Premium rate  For aged below 80	$1.10 / $100 x $422.58 = $4.65 (plus applicable taxes)
Premium rate  For aged 80 and above	$0.59 / $100 x $422.58 = $2.49 (plus applicable taxes)

CASE STUDY #2: ‘I make the minimum payment each month and carry a balance‘

Date Period	Expenses	Sum of Daily Balance
March 3 (Opening Balance)	$320
March 3 – 7	$320 balance x 5 days = $1600	$1600
March 8	$100 purchase
March 8 – 14	$420 balance x 7 days = $2,940	$ 2,940
March 15	$400 purchase
March 15 – 26	$820 balance x 12 days = $9,840	$9,840
March 27	Payment made for $12.30
March 27 – April 2 (end of billing cycle)	($820 – $12.39) x 7 days = $5,653.90	$5,653.90
		$20,033.90

Below are the illustrative calculations for the premium rates for the statement balance in example (b) where only the minimum payment is made to the credit card statement balance: 

Total sum of daily balance from March 3 – April 2	$20,033.90
Average balance in 31 days (March 3 – April 2)	$20,033.90 / 31 = $646.25
Premium rate  For aged below 80	$1.10 / $100 x $646.25 = $7.11 (plus applicable taxes)
Premium rate  For aged 80 and above	$0.59 / $100 x $646.25 = $3.81 (plus applicable taxes)

CASE STUDY #3: ‘I make more than one payment in a month‘, 

Date Period	Expenses	Sum of Daily Balance
March 3 (Opening Balance)	$320
March 3 – 7	$320 balance x 5 days = $1600	$1600
March 8	$100 purchase
March 8 – 14	$420 balance x 7 days = $2,940	$ 2,940
March 15	Payment made for $100
March 15 – 26	$(420-100) balance x 12 days = $3,840	$3,840
March 27	Payment made for $100
March 27 – April 2 (end of billing cycle)	$(320 – 100) x 7 days = $1,540	$1,540
		$7,940

Below are the illustrative calculations for the premium rates for the statement balance in example (c) where only the minimum payment is made to the credit card statement balance: 

Total sum of daily balance from March 3 – April 2	$7,940
Average Balance in 31 days (March 3 – April 2)	$7,940 / 31 = $255.48
Premium rate  For aged below 80	$1.10 / $100 x $255.48 = $2.81 (plus applicable taxes)
Premium rate  For aged 80 and above	$0.59 / $100 x $255.48 = $1.51 (plus applicable taxes)

Is the Insurance Premium Worth It?

On the whole, Absolutely! Considering the premium is dependant largely on your monthly credit balance, that would mean that the premium paid is under your control. Even so, in the worst-case scenario where you only pay the minimum payment per month, you would be paying a premium of less than 10% of your total outstanding balance. As such, the fact that the premium is not fixed itself, is a great perk being a Canadian Tire credit cardholder.

Conclusion

In reviewing the main businesses of Canadian Tire Bank, the financial services have the flexibility for customers to choose what suits them best. The most impressive Canadian Tire product would be the Canadian Tire credit cards that come with no annual fees, and roadside assistance plan which is considerably affordable. What is even better is that the Canadian Tire World Elite Mastercard comes with a complimentary roadside assistance membership with $0 annual fee. All you need is to qualify for the card and apply now! Don’t miss out on this opportunity.