Earning rewards is one of the best things about having a credit card, but what's the point if you have to throw away half of your earnings because of an annual fee? With the Desjardins Bonus Visa, you'll be able to earn up to 2%. Best of all this is a credit card with no annual fee, so everything you earn is yours to keep (and redeem).

Here's our quick review of this Desjardins offering, as well as a comparison with a similar card.

Pros of the Desjardins Bonus Visa

This isn't as flashy as some of the high-end cards we have on our site, but it definitely serves its purpose when it comes to earning rewards without hassle. Here are some things that you can look forward to if you go with this card.

1. Simple (and high) earn rates for a no fee credit card

For starters, let's look at the earn rates for this card Desjardins Bonus Visa:

• 2% back on restaurants, entertainment, transportation, and bill payments
• 0.5% back on all other purchases

Those don't look bad at all. You'll get boosted earn rates on 4 different categories, all of them definitely useful for the everyday person.

2. Basic insurance is included, as well as mobile device insurance

Insurance is never a bad thing to have in your back pocket. This card does come with some basic insurance. Aside from the standard purchase protection and extended warranty that a lot of other cards are missing, this card also comes with mobile device insurance that covers up to $1,000, as well as 3 days of coverage that's good for a long weekend getaway.

3. Car rental discounts

One small benefit with this card is that Desjardins has a partnership with some of the popular rental car companies. If you have this card, you can take advantage of up to 15% off at select rental car services.

The 3 companies that fall under this umbrella are:

• Hertz,
• Thrifty, and
• Dollar.

4. The Desjardins Bonus Visa has no annual fee

We've already mentioned this as a top reason why this card is so good, but it's worth saying twice – you won't have to pay an annual fee with this credit card.

That said, if you do spend a lot, you're likely to outearn the annual fee for one of the higher-tiered BONUSDOLLARS cards (we'll talk about that a bit later).

If you use the perks and benefits (as well as higher earn rates) of those cards, it may be worth considering paying the annual fee and getting more back. But for everyday spending, or as a supplemental card, this card works perfectly fine.

Cons of the Desjardins Bonus Visa

We can't say there is a perfect credit card out there, and this card is no exception. Here are some things to keep in mind if you're thinking about switching over to this card.

1. Limited in terms of perks

Even though we mentioned some perks, they're mediocre at best. Being a no fee card, one can't complain too much, but if we're struggling and putting in things like rental car discounts (those who don't travel will never get any use out of this) and the most bare-bones insurance (other than the mobile device coverage), then it's just hard to feel excited about this card.

2. No welcome bonus or special promos

If you were on the fence between this card and another no fee rewards card, the lack of a welcome bonus may swing you to the competition. If two very basic cards were equal, but the other offered something like 4% more BONUSDOLLARS in the first few months, you'd be tempted over.

But tough luck here – there are no welcome bonuses at all.

3. No physical branches outside of Quebec and Ontario

A problem with Desjardins in itself, there are no physical branches outside of Quebec and Ontario.

Not everyone needs to speak to someone in person, but if you do, you won't be able to get any face-to-face support.

Comparison to the higher-end BONUSDOLLARS cards

We mentioned earlier that there are some Desjardins BONUSDOLLARS rewards credit cards. Here's how they stack up against the no fee version.

To read this chart, just think of it as getting more "deluxe" as you go from left to right. So from this, we can see that the Desjardins Odyssey World Elite Mastercard is the leader of the bunch. With higher earn rates and a big boost on groceries that just can't be found by the other 2 cards, that alone is good enough to have it standing on the top of the podium.

The Desjardins Visa Odyssey Gold is not that far behind, but with its earn rates being barely any better than the Desjardins Bonus Visa, you have to look mostly at the benefits to see if it's worth it. Before we get to that, just note that if you don't spend in any of the boosted categories, you'll be hobbled by a very low earn rate of 0.5% on the no fee card compared to double that with the Desjardins Visa Odyssey Gold.

Benefits-wise, you'll see much better insurance for much longer, with up to 60 days in coverage available on both of the 2 cards with annual fees.

Essentially, if you're torn between this card and the other ones, think mostly of your spending and whether or not you travel. We often will recommend the World Elite version if you can spend that much, but if you won't be using this card much and aren't really much of a Mr. Worldwide, it may be more cost-efficient to go with the no fee card.

FAQ

Does the Desjardins Bonus Visa have a welcome bonus?

No, there is no welcome bonus for this card at the moment.

What kind of insurance coverage does the Desjardins Bonus Visa have?

Aside from basic price protection and extended warranty offered by most credit cards, this card also has 3 days worth of travel insurance as well as mobile device coverage.

What other perks are included with the Desjardins Bonus Visa?

The Desjardins Bonus Visa comes with rental car discounts of up to 15% at Hertz, Thrifty, and Dollar.