Mastercard Triangle Review: Pros and Cons [Reviewed in 2022]

Overview

The Canadian Tire Corporation is one of the biggest retail companies in Canada. It started out in 1922 in Toronto, when John William Billes and Alfred Jackson Billes decided to invest their savings which amounted to a total of $1,800.

The company was initially named Hamilton Tire and Garage Ltd before switching to Canadian Tire, however, the headquarters have remained to be in Toronto to this day.

Apart from Canadian Tire, the corporation operates with a few other businesses as well, including Mark’s, FGL Sports, PartSource and the Canadian operations of Party City.

There are currently around 60,000 Canadian citizens working for Canadian Tire.

Main Features

The Mastercard Triangle comes with a variety of rewarding features, aside from the actual rewards and perks. Let’s check them out.

Selected Retailers Rewards

It goes without saying that the main benefit of this card is the Canadian Tire loyalty program, allowing you to collect points with every purchase, which can be spent as so-called Canadian Tire money.

Moreover, you get 4% in CT money at selected stores from this company. This reward relates to shopping at Canadian Tire, Sport Check, Mark’s, Atmosphere, Party City, Sports Rousseau, Hockey Experts, L’Entrepôt du Hockey, and Sports Experts.

Grocery Rewards

Aside from retail rewards, you can also get rewarded by buying your everyday groceries with the earn rate being set at 1.5%.

Note that this feature is limited to Canadian Tire markets, meaning that you will not earn any rewards by shopping in Walmart, for instance. However, you can collect a bonus reward of 1.5% of CT money when you stock up on grocery payments from anywhere else.

Gas Rewards

Participants of Triangle Mastercard rewards earn 5¢ per litre in CT Money at Gas+ and Husky stations every time they fill up. Considering that you probably won’t be shopping for groceries every day, nor buy CT retail, this is the easiest way to earn some points.

Triangle Mobile App

To keep track of your balance, rewards, offers, events and all other information, the Triangle Mastercard comes with a mobile app. This helps you manage account servicing but it also makes online shopping quicker and more accessible.

Additional Perks and Benefits

We covered the main features, but there’s more. Let’s get into it!

No Fee, No Interest Financing

Unlike competitors, the Canadian Tire Triangle credit card also provides you with 0% interest financing. This means that you can finance your purchases through CT Bank with no interest rate. Hence, you can shop at any of their participating retailers and receive 24 equal monthly payments, provided that you spend $150 or more.

The best thing about this feature is that it extends to online shopping as well, something that makes this card stand out.

Personalized Offers

Personalized offers are the perk that makes this credit card unique compared to competitors. As a Triangle rewards member, you can get weekly personalized offers from Canadian Tire, Mark’s and Sport Chek.

You can also stack offers and maximize your rewards from the Triangle Mastercard. Accordingly, you could also combine your offers with flyer deals, which can come in very handy. For example, you can use a 25x bonus offer and get a 25% discount or even $20 in CT money for each $80 you spend.

No Receipts

This is one of the best features of this card.

Namely, if you’ve lost the receipt, you’re usually not allowed to return a product. However, the Triangle Mastercard lets you easily return products without the receipt, provided that they had been purchased using the credit card.

Pretty useful, right?

Member-Only Events

Aside from exclusive access to members, you also get regular promos and updates on your Triangle Mastercard account. This way, you’re frequently updated on all the new ways to get rewards, including Bonus Days, Spend-and-Get events as well as weekly flyer offers.

24/7 Customer Service

The card comes with 24/7 support. Should you find yourself in a difficult situation involving your credit card, whether it’s ATM or balance issues or even more complex problems such as a lost or stolen credit card, you can always get help from the support team.

No Annual Fee and Income Requirements

Another reason you might find the Mastercard by Triangle very convenient compared to others is that it comes with no annual fee. Add that to the lack of income requirements and you got yourself a pretty convenient and easy-to-get card.

Rates and Fees

The Canadian Tire Triangle credit card definitely sounds good so far. However, rates and fees are a significant part of the experience, so let’s go over them.

Annual Fee	$0
Cash Advance APR	22.99% (21.99% for Quebec residents)
Balance Transfer APR	22.99% (21.99% for Quebec residents)
Purchase APR	19.99%
Monthly Maintenance Fee	N/A
Hidden fees
Foreign Transaction Fee	2.5%
Paper Statement Fee (instead of electronic copy)	$2
Monthly Inactivity Fee (applicable after 2 inactive billing periods)	$2
Dishonoured Payment Fee	$2.5

According to the table above, it’s safe to say that the Canadian Tire Mastercard comes with a purchase interest rate that is significantly lower compared to competitors. What is more, given the fact that it has no annual fee, it’s more affordable compared to credit cards such as the BMO Eclipse Infinite Visa.

Eligibility and Application

The application is quick and straightforward. You can apply for the Canadian Tire credit card online, with the process usually taking less than 5 minutes. Below are the application requirements:

• You have to be a Canadian resident.
• You have to be at least 18 years of age if you live in AB, MB, ON, PE, QA, SK, or 19 for all other provinces.
• You need to provide personal information, including your:
  • Name
  • Address
  • Age
  • Income
  • Date of birth
  • Gender
  • Financial information, as well as
  • Credit records

If everything is fine, you can expect to receive your card by mail in 7 to 10 business days.

User Reviews

For a better insight into this product, we searched the internet for some genuine user reviews. Here’s what we found.

Most of the feedback was positive, but we did find some negative comments as well, mainly related to the support team, which is apparently a bit slow when it comes to problem-solving. Moreover, a few users mentioned that the  Triangle Mastercard approval process is a bit strict, which may be due to insufficient information provided.

Yet, the vast majority of the comments are positive and individuals find the card useful, rewarding and generally better, compared to other options on the market.

Want to Consider Other Options?

Still not sure if this card is a good fit for you? Don’t worry,

Mastercard Triangle vs the Tangerine World Mastercard

Generally speaking, the Tangerine World Mastercard is a bit more difficult to be approved. The required score is at least 670 and your personal income would have to be a minimum of $60,000. However, it definitely has a more approachable rewards system compared to the Canadian Tire Triangle credit card.

Tangerine doesn’t have any preselected categories for cashback and rewards. Instead, cardholders are given 10 categories to choose from, thus allowing them to customize their card usage. When it comes to the earning rate, it ranges from 0.5% to 2%

If you’re looking for a highly customizable card, go for the Tangerine World Mastercard, but check if you’re qualified first.

Mastercard Triangle vs the BMO Cashback Mastercard

Unlike the Mastercard Triangle by Canadian Tire, BMO’s Cashback Mastercard has a welcome bonus. Plus, as a new credit card user, they provide you with an introductory balance transfer rate of only 1.99% and up to 5% of the maximum earning rate in your first 3 months of use.

On top of the 0.5% cashback for non-grocery and non-recurring bills, the BMO Cashback Mastercard also offers 1% cashback on monthly utilities, subscriptions, or streaming services, in an effort to help you earn more.

When it comes to perks, it differs from the Triangle Mastercard benefits, given the car rental discounts, extended warranty and purchase protection that come with the BMO Cashback Mastercard, so if you’re more into insurance and gas, this might be a better option for you.

Conclusion

To sum things up, the Mastercard Triangle provides a wide range of perks and benefits, a decent amount of rewards, doesn’t have many expenses in terms of fees and is easy to get approved for.

However, if you don’t consider yourself a frequent CT shopper, we recommend that you look elsewhere. That’s it for this Triangle Mastercard Review.