SimplyCash™ Preferred Card from American Express

• 

  Emergency Out of province Medical

  $5M/insured Person
• 

  Flight Delay

  $500
• 

  Baggage Delay

  $500
• 

  Hotel Burglary Insurance

  $500
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  Lost or Stolen Baggage

  $500
• 

  Travel Accident

  $100,000
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  Car Rental Damage & Theft

  $85K up to 48 days
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  Mobile Device Insurance

  $1,000
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  Purchase Protection

  90 days
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  Extended Warranty

  1 year

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  Amex Experiences™

  Access events and special offers curated for Cardmembers with Amex Experiences™

As the top contender for the highest cashback rates in popular categories in Canada, the SimplyCash Preferred Card from American Express is a cashback card you don’t want to miss.

For a better understanding of why this cashback credit card is the preferred option of most Canadians, we put together this comprehensive review that will tell you exactly what this card offers, how to apply, and how it competes against other cashback credit cards on the market.

How You Earn Rewards with the SimplyCash Preferred Card from American Express

Here’s a quick breakdown of the cashback rewards you can expect with the SimplyCash Preferred Card from American Express:

• 4% cash back on eligible gas station purchases in Canada
• 4% cash back on eligible grocery purchases in Canada
• 2% cash back on all other eligible purchases

With this card, you can earn one of the highest cashback rate on groceries and gas in Canada – which are popular categories we’re all constantly spending money on. Other than that, there’s an overall exceptional cashback rate on all other eligible purchases – so you’re constantly getting paid to pay.

Redeeming Your Rewards with the SimplyCash Preferred Card from American Express

Cash in your cashback earnings every year with the SimplyCash Preferred Card from American Express. Typically, funds will be applied to your account annually. You should see your cashback rewards in your September statement.

Always check out the specifics regarding redemption timelines by checking your credit card’s terms and conditions.

5 Benefits of the SimplyCash Preferred Card from American Express

Cashback rates included, this card has tons of benefits worth taking advantage of. Here’s an overview of what’s offered: 

The Best in Cashback Rates

These reward rates are so good we just had to repeat them. With the SimplyCash Preferred Card from American Express, you can expect the highest cashback rate on your grocery and gas bills. Plus, enjoy a higher-than-usual base cashback rate on all your remaining eligible purchases.

A Big Welcome Bonus

Just when you thought it couldn’t get any better, allow us to bring up the SimplyCash Preferred Card’s welcome bonus. That’s right, join for a bonus of 10% cashback on all purchases within the first few months of the year (capped at $2,000). To top it all off, you can also earn a $50 statement credit for making a purchase in month 13. 

Add these bonuses to your potential earn rates and you can receive a fantastic first-year value, all you have to do is swipe.

A Manageable Monthly Fee

While annual fees don’t typically get a spot on our benefits lists, consider this fee to be a rare exception. Instead of having to pay the SimplyCash Preferred Card’s annual fee upfront, you can split it up into monthly payments, making the overall cost easily digestible.

Access Exclusive American Express Experiences

As a card covered by the American Express network, your SimplyCash Preferred Card can connect you to exclusive Amex Experiences like Front Of The Line Presales for early access tickets and reservations, advanced screenings with Entertainment with American Express, and food festival and tasting events with the Dining with American Express program.

Crucial Travel Coverage

Another perk about this card is it covers plenty of crucial travel coverage categories, including flight and baggage delay, emergency out-of-province medical, and travel accident insurance. 

2 Downsides of the SimplyCash Preferred Card from American Express

To be fair, we’re following up the good with the not-so-good. Here’s a look at some of the SimplyCash Preferred Card’s shortcomings: 

American Express Acceptance

If you’re not sold on the Amex experiences paired with the SimplyCash Preferred Card, you should know that American Express credit cards typically aren't as widely accepted as other networks like Visa or Mastercard. So, if you travel a lot (specifically within Europe) or you shop for groceries at places like Loblaws or Costco, you might want to consider another network.

Backed-up Cashback

While the cashback rates on this card are extraordinary, the time it takes to actually receive your earnings might not be. Since cashback rewards are paid out once a year, it’s possible that eager earners could get a little antsy waiting for their money.

Comparison to Other Cashback Credit Cards

Here's some insight into how the SimplyCash Preferred Card ranks among other popular cashback cards:

SimplyCash Card from American Express

While both cards offer access to exclusive Amex experiences, the SimplyCash Card from American Express is the simplified and more affordable alternative to the SimplyCash Preferred Card.

For starters, the SimplyCash Card has no annual fee, but still offers a nice first-year value with a cashback welcome bonus that offers half the intro earnings compared to the SimplyCash Preferred Card. For the budget-conscious, substituting an extra 5% cashback bonus for a free card altogether might be worth it. 

Before making any decisions though, let’s go over the reward rates. Right away, you’ll notice that the SimplyCash Card offers half the reward rates in popular categories, plus a slightly lower base rate on all other purchases. That said, you might only benefit from the SimplyCash Preferred Card’s higher earning rates if you spend enough money to offset the cost of the annual fee.

In terms of coverage, you’ll also see that both cards offer travel accident, extended warranty, and purchase protection insurance. However, the SimplyCash Preferred Card includes a bit more protection with coverages like baggage and flight delay, hotel burglary, and car rental damage and theft insurance. So, if you’re a more frequent traveler (along with a bigger spender), you might want to opt into the SimplyCash Preferred Card for its more extensive insurance policies.

Rogers Red World Elite Mastercard

If you want to avoid Amex altogether on account of the network’s lower acceptance rate, it might be worth it to take a look at the Rogers Red World Elite Mastercard – voted both the best cashback card in Canada for Rogers, Fido and Shaw customers, and the best no-annual-fee credit card by FinlyWealth. 

Although it’s another no-fee cashback card (like the SimplyCash Card), this Mastercard matches up with the SimplyCash Preferred Card regarding recommended credit score (very good instead of good like the SimplyCash Card), and coverage policies like car rental damage and theft, extended warranty, purchase protection, and emergency out of province medical (though the SimplyCash Preferred Card adds a bit more value to these categories).

The Rogers Red World Elite Mastercard still benefits travellers by having both trip interruption and cancellation coverage (a rarity for a no-annual fee card), plus emergency medical over 65 insurance. These are three categories the SimplyCash Preferred Card lacks, but makes up for with other travel-related insurance like travel accident, hotel burglary, and lost or stolen baggage coverage. 

While you won’t get any Amex experience perks with the Rogers Red World Elite Mastercard, you will get access to the airport lounge Dragon Pass, and no-cost roaming services.

Keep in mind though that along with a “very good” recommended credit score, the Rogers Red World Elite Mastercard also requires a specific annual income from its cardholders (something we haven’t encountered with the SimplyCash Preferred Card or the SimplyCash Card).

Scotia Momentum Visa Infinite Card

Let’s level things out by comparing the SimplyCash Preferred Card with another popular annual fee cashback credit card. The Scotia Momentum Visa Infinite Card has many similarities to the SimplyCash Preferred Card. Firstly, their first-year values are identical, with the Scotia Momentum Visa Infinite Card having a slightly higher value, especially when you consider the annual fee is waived for the first year of membership. Otherwise, their cashback welcome bonuses are the same.

Like the Rogers Red World Elite Mastercard, the Scotia Momentum Visa Infinite Card has a minimum income requirement, but you might also be able to get away with “good” credit score rather than a “very good” recommended score.

Regarding insurance policies, the Scotia Momentum Visa Infinite Card and the SimplyCash Preferred Card cover the same categories, except the Scotia Momentum Visa Infinite Card does offer trip interruption and trip cancellation insurance – which are always good components for frequent travelers.

Instead of Amex Experiences (which also come with lower acceptance rates), with the Scotia Momentum Visa Infinite Card, you’ll get car rental discounts and access to Visa Infinite Exclusive Benefits.

When comparing cashback rates, you’ll see similar capped rates for grocery purchases (with the SimplyCash Preferred Card allowing for a little more annual cashback in this category), half the cashback rate for gas from the Scotia Momentum Visa Infinite Card, and also lower overall base cashback rate on all other purchases compared to the SimplyCash Preferred Card making the SimplyCash card a better long term choice for people that don't spend a lot on groceries and recurring payments.

How to Apply for the SimplyCash Preferred Card

To apply for the SimplyCash Preferred Card, you’ll want to follow these steps:

1. Browse the American Express Canada homepage for the Simply Cash Preferred Card, once you find the card, select it to be re-navigated to a page devoted to the Simply Cash Preferred Card
2. Scroll through this page to read up on all the card’s details
3. Once you decide your satisfied with the offer, hit the blue “Apply Now” button
4. From here, you’ll want to read through the product information very carefully, once you’ve done so, select “Agree and Continue”
5. This is where you’ll need to fill out some personal information, including your name, address, date of birth, and postal code
6. The next stage asks for employment and income details, make sure to review your information before proceeding
7. After you’ve read through them carefully, agree to the terms and conditions, and submit your application

Final Verdict

The SimplyCash Preferred Card is one of the best cashback credit cards in Canada, especially if you’ll be spending enough in popular categories to collect the high reward rates and welcome bonus to help offset the cost of the annual fee (which remember can be paid for in monthly installments). You'll also have to be okay with collecting your cashback earnings once a year.

While the card could technically offer more coverage (like travel interruption and cancellation insurance), it supplies travellers with some crucial insurance policies, and gives all cardholders access to exclusive American Express Experiences.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does the SimplyCash Preferred Card have a foreign transaction fee?

Yes, like many Canadian cards, the SimplyCash Preferred Card does come with a standard foreign transaction fee of 2.5% when you shop abroad or through foreign retailers online. Keep in mind that this fee is applied to the converted Canadian dollar value of the purchase.