Did you know that, according to information that appears on the Canadian Bankers Association website, the majority of Canadians who use their credit cards do so as a payment method instead of as a way of borrowing?
If you’re a Canadian, you might be thinking of getting the HBC Mastercard. This said, you might not be sure whether this card is right for you.
Fortunately, in this HBC Mastercard review, we’ll review everything you need to know about the HBC Mastercard. We'll go over the card's welcome campaign, features and benefits, pros and cons, and more.
Finally, you can decide if this is the right card for you.
Disclaimer:
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HBC Mastercard
- Annual Fee: $0
- Eligibility: Canadian resident, age of majority, good credit score and no bankruptcy
Special Offer
Once you’ve met the HBC Mastercard eligibility requirements and your application for the card has been approved, you’ll be able to get some of the perks available to new members. The first of these is related to first-day purchases.
How does this perk work? Basically, with the first purchase you make at thebay.com or a Hudson’s Bay location, you’ll get 20% off.
However, note that there are terms and conditions related to this perk. For example, this offer is only valid until the 31st of January, 2022. As of April of 2022, the welcome offer is 15% cashback on your purchases within the first day of activating the card.
The welcome campaign also includes a welcome offer of $25, available in the form of Hudson’s Bay Rewards points.
You’ll receive these points in an email sent to you by Hudson Bay within 14 days of having made your first purchase.
Note that there are also terms and conditions related to this perk. For example, the offer has to be an eligible one and the points only apply toward purchases at thebay.com and Hudson’s Bay stores.
If you don't shop often at Hudson's Bay locations or on their website thebay.com, then this would be a reason for the card not to be the right card for you.
Features and Benefits
The main features and benefits of this card include no annual fee, the ability to earn HBC rewards and cash back, the welcome bonus, and free shipping. We’ll review each of these now in detail so you understand what you’ll be getting when you get this card.
No Annual Fee
One of the biggest benefits of this card is that you don’t have to pay an annual fee. Considering this, if you enjoy shopping, especially at Hudson Bay stores or at their affiliates, it’s worth getting this card since you won’t have to pay for it.
You won't be losing much, as long as you pay your card back on time so you won't have to pay interest.
HBC Rewards and Cash Back
While this feature won’t be very useful to you if you don’t shop at HBC stores or their affiliates, it certainly will be if you spend a lot of time shopping at them. You can get rewards that you redeem for purchases as well as cash back when you make purchases.
The Welcome Bonus
The welcome bonus, which we discussed above, gets you $25 worth of points you can use at HBC stores in person and online. Additionally, you’ll get 15% off on the first purchase you make when using the HBC Mastercard.
Who Is the Card For?
If you love to go shopping, then the HBC Mastercard can be a great choice for you. This is especially the case for people who spend a lot of time shopping at Hudson’s Bay locations or their online store thebay.com.
Rates and Fees
When it comes to the Mastercard rates and fees for the HBC card, there isn’t an annual fee or a user fee for the additional authorized card users. The annual interest rate (on purchases) is 17%, and for cash advances and balance transfers, it’s the same percentage.
Eligibility Requirements
When it comes to the HBC Mastercard eligibility requirements, the person applying must be a Canadian resident, be of the age of majority (within their territory or province of residence). They must also have a report of no bankruptcy and good credit.
Earning and Redeeming Points
To earn points with the HBC Mastercard, you need to use it when you’re spending it. For purchases that aren’t at Hudson Bay stores or thebay.com, you’ll earn two points for every dollar you spend. As for Hudson’s Bay purchases, you’ll earn four points for every dollar you spend.
When it comes to Mastercard redeeming points with this card, you can spend your points at thebay.com or Hudson’s Bay locations.
How to Redeem Cash Back
In addition to Mastercard redeeming points, you can also get cash back (an average of 4%) at many national and local Neo Financial partners because this card is powered by Neo. This is one of the HBC Mastercard benefits.
How Does It Compare to Other Top Competitors?
When it comes to HBC Mastercard competitors, two of these are the Tangerine Money Back Credit Card and the SimplyCash Card from American Express. We’ll review each of these now so you can have more information in this HBC Mastercard review on these HBC Mastercard competitors.
HBC Mastercard
- Annual Fee: $0
- Cashback: 2% (average)
- Free shipping on $45+ orders ($29 for beauty products) at thebay.com
- No overlimit or inactive fees
The card gives you up to 4 points for almost every $1 spent in-store and online with Hudson's Bay and get 2 points for every $1 spent elsewhere. These points are redeemable for future Hudson's Bay store purchases.
The Tangerine Money Back Credit Card
- Annual Fee: $0
- Cashback: 2%
- Extended warranty coverage and free purchase protection
The Tangerine Money Back Credit Card is a card that offers unlimited cash back (up to 2%) on a maximum of three spending categories. It doesn’t have an annual fee and you’ll also get extended warranty coverage and free purchase protection.
It’s worth considering the Mastercard rates and fees for the HBC card with this card and others so you can think about your options.
The Simplycash Card From American Express
- Annual Fee: $0
- Cashback: 1.25% (4% during the first six months)
- Travel accident insurance and shopping coverage
This card doesn’t have any annual fees and gets you cash back on all your purchases (1.25%). During the first six months that you have the card, you get 4% cashback, which is worth a value of $200. There are additional benefits such as travel accident insurance.
Pros and Cons
Pros of this card include fast approval, a decent return, special discounts, a mobile wallet, and an online account. Cons include high-interest rates, the fact that it’s HBC exclusive, there aren’t any benefits or insurance, and there’s a long wait to receive the physical card.
Pros
Are you in a rush to get approved for your next card? In this case, you can apply for this card. Most application processing takes five minutes. However, some will take a maximum of 48 hours and will require you to provide additional information.
The return you get, when you spend money, online or in-person, at a Hudson Bay store, is 1% to 2%. This can make the card worth getting if you often shop at these stores.
You’ll also get special discounts that are exclusively for members. These include specials and events that occur throughout the year.
You can also easily add this card to your mobile wallet, making it easy to use when paying with your Google Pay or Apple Wallet.
Finally, the HBC Mastercard comes with an online account. You can use the Neo app to easily manage your payments and balance.
Cons
The high-interest rates you get with this card mean that your minimum purchase rate is going to be 19.99%, with your maximum rate being 24.99%. Also, because this card is HBC exclusive, you can only make purchases with your points at Hudson’s Bay. This limits what you can use them for.
You also won’t get extended warranty coverage or purchase protection. You also won’t get other types of benefits or insurance you can get from cards.
Finally, there’s a long wait to receive the physical HBC Mastercard card. Your wait could be as long as between 7 and 14 days. If you're in a rush to start shopping with your card, this can feel like a long time to wait.
The Reviews
In this HBC Mastercard review, we’ve gone over the HBC Mastercard’s welcome campaign, the features and benefits of the cards, its pros and cons, who the card is for, rates and fees, eligibility requirements, earning and redeeming points, and how it compares to competitors.
Are you interested in learning more about different cards you might consider getting?
In that case, we can help. At Insurdinary, we’re experts when it comes to helping you with your financial decisions. To learn more about how we can help, contact Insurdinary now.
