Rewards cards: How well do you know yours?

As a mother of three living in Vancouver, Sue Dennis uses her rewards credit card for everything, and we mean everything.

“I use it to buy groceries, diapers, prescriptions, gas, coffee, stamps; pretty much anything I can,” Dennis says. “It’s so satisfying when I go to redeem points.”

Her card of choice is a Presidents Choice Financial MasterCard, because she can exchange points for groceries at the Loblaw stores. That makes feeding a family a little easier to swallow. However, she’s contemplating switching to a card that offers airline rewards now that her kids are old enough to go on a big trip.

“It would be nice to start earning points for flights if I ever want to get to Europe,” Dennis says. “But I have no idea what kind of card I should be using, and I don’t want one with an annual fee.”

She’s not alone in feeling overwhelmed: nearly 60 per cent of Canadians who use loyalty cards say that the programs can be confusing, according to a new Environics Research Group poll.

The survey also found that 39 per cent don’t know how to redeem points or miles for a reward, while 37 per cent say they don’t know which program is best for them personally. Another 24 per cent say they don’t know how or where to earn reward points or miles.

That’s a lot of points that are potentially going to waste.

What is clear is that Canadians want their rewards balance to grow quickly. The Environics poll found that 42 per cent of Canadians said earning rewards faster was a top priority, while 40 per cent wanted more opportunities to earn miles and points.

Many Canadians redeem at least annually. Forty-five per cent of Canadians acquired their most recent reward with points or miles they had accumulated in less than one year. Of those who last redeemed one or more years ago or who have never redeemed, 40 per cent wanted to save their miles or points for a bigger reward. However, 56 per cent say they do not earn enough reward miles or points to redeem sooner.

According to a recent RBC/WestJet poll, 54 per cent of Canadians said they had a travel rewards credit card in their wallet.

Half of Canadians who use rewards cards carried four or more at a time, according to a separate RBC Rewards Card survey released earlier this year. Half of those use their rewards cards twice or more.

Forty per cent are most likely to shop more often at locations where they can earn points, the RBC poll found, with top expenditures being groceries, bill payments, dining, and leisure.

What rewards card to choose?

Deciding on a rewards card isn’t easy, given that there are so many out there: more than 80 travel reward credit cards alone, according to Rewards Canada, an online resource for frequent travellers. Comparing them is like comparing apples and oranges.

Taking into account cost of joining, rate of return, ease of redemption, card acceptance, loyalty partnerships, and other factors, Rewards Canada recently issued its Top Travel Rewards Credit Cards for 2014.

Here’s a look at some of those that came out on top:

Top Travel Points Credit Card (with annual fee):

Capital One Aspire Travel World MasterCard

BMO Rewards World Elite MasterCard

Scotiabank Gold American Express Card

Top Travel Points Credit Card (with no annual fee)

American Express Blue Sky Credit Card

Capital One Aspire Travel Platinum MasterCard

American Express Air Miles Credit Card

Top Airline Credit/Charge Card

TD Aeroplan Visa Infinite Card

WestJet RBC World Elite MasterCard

CIBC Aerogold Visa Infinite Card

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