A familiar phone company is shaking up the credit card game once again with yet another Rogers Mastercard – the Rogers Connections Mastercard.
It’s still early and we don’t know all the details about this card, but preliminary leaks have already shown some of the earn rates and redemption values that you can expect.
In short, this fits a niche role, especially if you’re a Rogers customer (who would’ve guessed?) and would be a good match for those who enjoy travel, especially to the U.S.
Will this card be something worth calling your friends about? Or will the earn rates be gag-inducing like phone bill prices are nowadays?
Read on, Rogers fans, we’ve got everything you need to know covered.
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What are the Rogers Connections Mastercard earn rates?
Here are the Rogers Connections Mastercard earn rates according to what we found on their site:
| Earn rate | Category |
|---|---|
| 2% cash back | U.S. dollar purchases |
| 1% cash back | Non-U.S. dollar purchases |
This seems pretty niche considering there aren’t really any rewards for more common purchase categories like groceries, gas, or recurring bills.
What’s more disappointing is that you’ll still be on the hook for foreign exchange fees.
It’s all snugly hidden in the fine print that you’d have to purposefully hunt down (of course we did the digging – you’re welcome!).
Foreign currency transactions are converted to Canadian dollars at the rate established by Mastercard International in effect on or after the date of the transaction and no later than the date the transaction is posted to the account plus an amount equal to 2.5% of the transaction amount after it has been converted to Canadian dollars.
So in the end, it just sort of softens the impact of the conversion fee instead of completely wiping it out, so you can’t really consider it to be a foreign exchange credit card.
All in all, this doesn’t really do much to set it apart from other no fee credit cards. Some of them, like the American Express® Green Card have a base return of up to 2% on everything, twice the welcome bonus that this card has (we’ll get to that in a sec), and no annual fee.
Does the Rogers Connections Mastercard have a welcome bonus?
For those of you who are still interested, there is some good news when it comes to getting this Rogers Mastercard.
For the first 3 months, you’ll earn 10% cash back on all your purchases (up to a total $1,000 in total spend). With the boosted cash back rate, it may be useful to hang onto for a little while, but in the end, you’ll only be making $100 with a cap that low.
You can compare this to the American Express Green Card, which will grant you 10,000 points after spending $1,000 in the first 3 months, which is good for $200 if you convert your Amex points for Aeroplan points and redeem for flights.
Rogers Connections Mastercard special redemption rate
Now, when we think of redemption, that’s usually a term reserved for travel credit cards or other cards that deal in points rather than cash.
But with this Rogers Mastercard, you can redeem your cash back on your everyday purchases. But here’s the catch: If you redeem your cash back on Rogers products, you will get a 30% redemption bonus.
Most obviously, you can use this on your phone bill to save a bit on your monthly plan.
And I’ll tell you what, you can also get a boosted redemption bonus on phones and phone accessories (of course, this has to be through Rogers).
Other benefits that come with the Rogers Connections Mastercard
The Rogers Connections Mastercard comes with a few other minor benefits. Your net savings in one year could be over $100.
Rogers Connections Mastercard annual fee waiver
The first one is the easiest one to talk about so we’ll get it out the way. The annual fee of $29 is waived for the first year.
There is another way to zap your fee, though. After the first year, if you pay at least 10 month’s worth of Rogers Communications bills with this credit card, you will continue to be eligible for an annual fee waiver.
This would be a no-brainer since you can also get 30% better redemption rates on your bills as we mentioned earlier.
Roam Like Home for 5 days, free
The second benefit that comes with this Rogers Mastercard is that you’ll get 5 Roam Like Home days per year.
Roam Like Home is a program where you can link your Rogers account to your Rogers Connections Mastercard and you’ll be able to use your phone as if you haven’t left your city, whether you’re in New York or New Delhi.
Normally, Roam Like Home costs $12 per day in the States and $15 in other countries, so you could be getting up to $75 in value.
How does the Rogers Connections Mastercard compare?
Let’s do a quick between this Rogers Mastercard and some other no fee cash back credit cards.
| Rogers Connection Mastercard | Rogers Red World Elite Mastercard | SimplyCash Card from American Express | Tangerine Money-Back Credit Card | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Earn Rates | * 2% cash back on U.S. dollar purchases * 1% cash back on everything else |
* Earn 2% unlimited cash back on all eligible non-U.S. dollar purchases if you have 1 qualifying service with Rogers, Fido, Comwave, or Shaw * Earn 1.5% unlimited cash back on eligible non-U.S. dollar purchases * Earn 3% unlimited cash back on all eligible purchases made in U.S. dollars |
* 2% cash back on gas * 2% cash back on groceries (up to $300 cash back annually) * 1.25% cash back on all other purchases |
* 2% cash back on purchases in up to 3 Money-Back Categories * 0.5% cash back on all other purchases |
| Welcome Bonus | 10% cash back on all your purchases (up to a total $1,000 in total spend) for the first 3 months | $25 after the first purchase | 5% cash back for the first 3 months (terms) |  $125 GeniusCash + 10% extra cash back for the first 2 months (terms) |
| Annual Fee | $29 (first year free) | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Other benefits | 5 days of Roam Like Home | World Elite Mastercard benefits | American Express benefits, 3 types of insurance | Flexible reward categories |
Looking at this chart, it’s more of a niche option.
The world-famous (not really) Rogers Red World Elite Mastercard
The Rogers Red World Elite® Mastercard® is the best Rogers Mastercard of the bunch, and importantly, gets you World Elite Mastercard benefits for no annual fee (this is quite rare). The only thing you have to worry about is meeting the minimum income requirement of $80,000 personal or $150,000 per household. The one downside is the welcome bonus can only net you $25 as opposed to $100.
One of the best cash back credit card options in Canada
The SimplyCash® Card from American Express is the best no fee option available from American Express. You’ll see a flat cash back rate of 1.25% on everything you buy. This complements its Amex benefits like Amex Front of the Line experiences.
Flexible cash back with no annual fee
×1 Award winner 
GC: $125
1x Award winner
The Tangerine Money-Back Credit Card is another no fee cash back credit card that has a unique perk. Here, you’ll get a boosted 2% cash back rate on up to 3 categories of your choice. Its normal earn rate is 0.5% cash back, but if you know what categories you spend money on most often, this is an excellent card to have.
This Tangerine credit card also comes with a special bonus on us – $125 in GeniusCash on approval (even more than the bonus offered by the Rogers Connection Mastercard).
Looking for something a little better? Both of these 2 alternative cards have an upgraded version:
- The SimplyCash® Preferred Card from American Express (has an annual fee of $119.88).
- The Tangerine World Mastercard® (has a minimum income requirement of $60,000 personal or $100,000 household).
Would you apply for this Rogers Mastercard?
Are you excited about getting this Rogers Mastercard? Or would you stick to the popular Rogers Red World Elite Mastercard instead?
Or have you had any experience with any of the other Rogers Mastercards on our list?
Let us know in the comments section what your experiences were like (or what you hope they’re gonna be like).
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