• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

Canadian Gaming Deals and Discussion Thread 2

Status
Not open for further replies.
E

Emperor Bohe

Member
Onion_Relish said:
Definitely not gaming, but because people in here seem fairly knowledgeable, figured i would ask really quickly...

What kind of visa card should I get? All I want is a card that gives me cash back, no fuss no muss no funny money. RBC seems to have a decent card and so does TD, I would prefer to have a visa but there is basically no difference between the two so its not a big deal.

Ultimately, I've been with coast capital savings and just been sitting on my money for my entire life. I want to open up a TFSA as well, so I just want to get peoples feelings on what financial institutions are going to help me grow my money with the most confidence.
Click to expand...

ditto, i've been wondering the same thing
 
O

Onion_Relish

Member
is there a similar thread for banks re: TFSA?

the girl at the coast capital savings even told me about mbna but i didnt really pay it any mind, but yeah, that looks like the card to go to. If i choose to stick with CCS I will just keep that card kicking around in my drawer and use the mbna. the card works at most retailers right?
 
I

isny

napkin dispenser
Onion_Relish said:
is there a similar thread for banks re: TFSA?

the girl at the coast capital savings even told me about mbna but i didnt really pay it any mind, but yeah, that looks like the card to go to. If i choose to stick with CCS I will just keep that card kicking around in my drawer and use the mbna. the card works at most retailers right?
Click to expand...

It's a Mastercard. 99.99% of merchants who accept credit cards accept Mastercard. Costco is really the only exception.

TFSA all pay out at the same interest rate. It's government legislated afaik?
 
Z

Zing

Banned
Onion_Relish said:
Ultimately, I've been with coast capital savings and just been sitting on my money for my entire life. I want to open up a TFSA as well, so I just want to get peoples feelings on what financial institutions are going to help me grow my money with the most confidence.
Click to expand...
How much money are we talking? Interest rates are so low that the best thing to do with your money is spend it on a house.
 
C

Cheerilee

Member
Onion_Relish said:
Definitely not gaming, but because people in here seem fairly knowledgeable, figured i would ask really quickly...

What kind of visa card should I get? All I want is a card that gives me cash back, no fuss no muss no funny money. RBC seems to have a decent card and so does TD, I would prefer to have a visa but there is basically no difference between the two so its not a big deal.

Ultimately, I've been with coast capital savings and just been sitting on my money for my entire life. I want to open up a TFSA as well, so I just want to get peoples feelings on what financial institutions are going to help me grow my money with the most confidence.
Click to expand...

Just to mention my experience, I went for a long time without credit cards as well, and then I tried signing up for a Canadian Tire Mastercard because I heard those were easy. I got denied. Talking with some people, they said that my lack of recognized credit put me into a suspicious "ghost" status which made me a negative. Also, being denied a credit card apparently damaged my credit even more.

After some advice I got a "secured" Visa (I let them hold $500 of my money and I get a $500 credit limit), and after one year of being reliable, my credit was fixed and pushed into the positives. Visa gave me back my money and increased my credit limit.

After that I got a BMO Airmiles Mastercard. Airmiles can be cashed in for gift cards at various places, you don't need to save up all the way for free flights, and the minor inconvenience of Airmiles generally translates into more lucrative rewards than pure cashback cards. Although that MBNA Mastercard looks tempting. But I already have a Mastercard, and my plan is to get an Airmiles American Express next, so it's not for me. And the minimum personal income requirement on the MBNA is higher than the other starter cards.

The most important thing for your first card is to make sure that it's no-fee, because you're going to want to keep it active forever. It's not good to sign up for and cancel a bunch of cards, but your first card is the worst one to cancel, because it sets a starting point on your record. You have to keep that card around and make an occasional purchase to keep it active.

For your other cards, try to just get one each of the big three (Visa Mastercard Amex), no quicker than one every year or so (otherwise you look desperate).
 
I

isny

napkin dispenser
ruby_onix said:
And the minimum personal income requirement on the MBNA is higher than the other starter cards.
Click to expand...

This is false. MBNA uses very lax lending standards and will pretty much approve anyone, even if not for a lot. For the Smart Cash, they will of course look at your income, but there's no income requirement. It's the credit analyst's decision as to if they feel you're stable/willing to pay whatever credit they offer to you back.

Also, being declined on an application for a credit card DOES NOT report negatively to the credit bureau.

Multiple inquiries on your bureau within a short period of time do not look good (when someone checks and sees you've applied for five cards at once), but does not change your score or chance to get approved for credit in the future in any way.
 
I

iphys

Member
Divvy said:
Have this card. One of the best. They do tend to annoy me with offers though once in a while, but that's nothing that can't be ignored.
Click to expand...

I would get people with accents I couldn't understand that were calling me for some reason. After the second time, I just told them to put me on their do-not-call list, and they haven't bothered me since.
 
K

Kazerei

Banned
I have the MBNA Smart Cash Platinum Plus MasterCard as well, and I'm happy with it. There's no annual fee, and you get a bit of money back. I have no idea what the interest rate is like, I always pay in full and on time. And yeah, I got telemarketing calls from MBNA two or three times a week, which was annoying. After a few months I asked them to take me off the list, and they did.
 
F

Fuzzy

I would bang a hot farmer!
Kazerei said:
I have the MBNA Smart Cash Platinum Plus MasterCard as well, and I'm happy with it. There's no annual fee, and you get a bit of money back. I have no idea what the interest rate is like, I always pay in full and on time. And yeah, I got telemarketing calls from MBNA two or three times a week, which was annoying. After a few months I asked them to take me off the list, and they did.
Click to expand...
I got my bill today and I checked and it's 19.99%. I don't care though because I've never paid interest on a credit card since I got my first one 15 years ago.
 
L

Liquidus

Aggressively Stupid
Lone_Prodigy said:
Can we start a credit card discussion thread? =P

Anyway, flyers for next week (quote this post to view).

Click to expand...
Personally my Walmart CC has been awesome. I've earned over $1000 in Walmart "money". Shell has a decent CC as well, got $50 credit in less than a year, airmiles add up fast as well. The BB CC has the highest rate but if used effectively had yield big rewards.

All of these range from 19% to 29% I'm interest but mine are always paid on time. I never use my debit card and get a ton of reward points.
 
I

isny

napkin dispenser
Liquidus said:
Personally my Walmart CC has been awesome. I've earned over $1000 in Walmart "money". Shell has a decent CC as well, got $50 credit in less than a year, airmiles add up fast as well. The BB CC has the highest rate but if used effectively had yield big rewards.
Click to expand...

Sorry, but I wouldn't listen to any of this. You may feel that the Walmart card is of good value, but it's not.(People don't know what they're missing until someone tells them)

RFD has a really good post on credit cards and their returns, and the Smart Cash is really the best for most people. The only one that can come anywhere near the return is a Desjardins card most people don't qualify for, and a new Amex travel card that gives a very high return in travel rewards which have no restrictions. (The Amex one does however have a fee, unless you can get it waived)

Using what you've said you earned in Walmart credit as an example, you would have potentially earned 2-3x that back IN CASH by using the Smart Cash card. (Which gives you 5% back on Gas and Grocery purchases for the first six months on your first $500 monthly, 3% back on those purchases after the six month period, again on your first $500 monthly, and 1% back on everything else spent on the card with no cap)

Again though, best to use the RFD thread to discuss things like this.
 
E

elty

Member
2 cards I am using:

MBNA SmartCash - 3% cash back for grocery and gas station, 1% everything else. $60 sign up bonus.

Capital One Aspire World - 2% travel reward, or you can also cash it out at 1.5%. $120 annual fee but 10000 bonus points at anniversary (so effectively $20 annual fee). Price protection for 60 days, lots of travel insurance. 35000 points sign up bonus.
 
K

Kazerei

Banned
BadWolf said:
So that's a yes then? Sweet, I'll apply then.
Click to expand...

To be fair, the Smart Cash is my second credit card, and I had used my first credit card responsibly (always paid in full and on time). I assume that helped me get accepted for the Smart Cash. But yeah, you should be fine.
 
O

Onion_Relish

Member
ruby_onix said:
Just to mention my experience, I went for a long time without credit cards as well, and then I tried signing up for a Canadian Tire Mastercard because I heard those were easy. I got denied. Talking with some people, they said that my lack of recognized credit put me into a suspicious "ghost" status which made me a negative. Also, being denied a credit card apparently damaged my credit even more.

After some advice I got a "secured" Visa (I let them hold $500 of my money and I get a $500 credit limit), and after one year of being reliable, my credit was fixed and pushed into the positives. Visa gave me back my money and increased my credit limit.

After that I got a BMO Airmiles Mastercard. Airmiles can be cashed in for gift cards at various places, you don't need to save up all the way for free flights, and the minor inconvenience of Airmiles generally translates into more lucrative rewards than pure cashback cards. Although that MBNA Mastercard looks tempting. But I already have a Mastercard, and my plan is to get an Airmiles American Express next, so it's not for me. And the minimum personal income requirement on the MBNA is higher than the other starter cards.

The most important thing for your first card is to make sure that it's no-fee, because you're going to want to keep it active forever. It's not good to sign up for and cancel a bunch of cards, but your first card is the worst one to cancel, because it sets a starting point on your record. You have to keep that card around and make an occasional purchase to keep it active.

For your other cards, try to just get one each of the big three (Visa Mastercard Amex), no quicker than one every year or so (otherwise you look desperate).
Click to expand...

Lol thanks for the big ass post. I've actually had a credit card for about 8 years, just want to get some cash back. Probably gonna get the mbna smash when i get a chance to apply
 
T

theRizzle

Member
Thanks for the heads up about the MBNA card. I applied and got accepted for one today. I have had bad credit previously but have been starting to build it back up and I wanted to get a second card to help that out a bit.

I have no idea if this is true or not but I've heard that two is the magic number as far as credit cards go. Any more than that, and supposedly it can actually harm your credit more than it helps. I really have no idea. I already have a Visa with my bank but I try and give RBC the least amount of money and business that I possibly can, so this card will be great for me.
 
C

Cheerilee

Member
theRizzle said:
Thanks for the heads up about the MBNA card. I applied and got accepted for one today. I have had bad credit previously but have been starting to build it back up and I wanted to get a second card to help that out a bit.

I have no idea if this is true or not but I've heard that two is the magic number as far as credit cards go. Any more than that, and supposedly it can actually harm your credit more than it helps. I really have no idea. I already have a Visa with my bank but I try and give RBC the least amount of money and business that I possibly can, so this card will be great for me.
Click to expand...

AFAIK, if you were to combine the credit limits of all your cards (in your head or on paper), you'd get your total available credit. And the ideal is to try and spend as close to 1/3 of that amount every month using your cards, without going over. The more, the better, but if you accidentally spend over 1/3 it starts dropping.

If you have only one card with a puny $300 limit, it's pretty easy to spend $100 a month and get the maximum score-boosting potential. But if you have three cards with $10,000 limit on each card ($30,000 total available credit), you'd have to spend $10,000 a month to see the same kind of gains that the other guy gets. But it doesn't really matter. So long as you buy anything with your card and pay it off once a month, you'll see gains.
 
N

No_Style

Member
Luigi87 said:
Only deal I see is BestBuy.ca for Vita games, pre-order online, and get $5 off.
http://www.bestbuy.ca/en-CA/product...spx?path=2ef1aac3a2e443f2a0c8be15c1b18eb7en02
Click to expand...

Leshita said:
Children of Eden for the PS3 is on sale for $19.99 right now at Future Shop.

I already picked it up last fall for $29.99 at Best Buy, should have waited (haven't even opened mine :/), though I did have a coupon for $10 off before).
Click to expand...

Nice. I didn't know about these.

Here are a few more deals that I received via e-mail:

Until Jan 30: Get Final Fantasy XIII for $5 ($15 off) @ BestBuy w/ this RZ coupon - http://ow.ly/8IlB5 - In store only

Until Jan 30: Pre-order Final Fantasy XIII-2 for $59.99 & get $10 RZ gift certificate @ BestBuy - http://ow.ly/8IlLr
 
S

Shao Kahn Brewing a Stew

Banned
Best buy:

PkwS4.png


Also, get 800 Reward Zone Bonus Points ($10 value) when preordering XIII-2.
 
K

Kreven

Member
I also have two(2) 10% off pre-order and used game codes from tsilon.ca to give away (for Futureshop.ca, to be used by Jan.30th).

First two people to quote gets them (1 each).

All Gone!
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

Do game developers still want to publish on Xbox? A survey of independents and small studios
39
3K
SNG32 replied
Reynatis (PS4, PS5, Switch, and PC) | Review Thread + Discussion thread
News Review 2
81
8K
drganon replied
PlayStation Days of play 2024 Announced
News Hype 2 3
103
10K
TidusYuna replied
[GI.biz] Cheap money and bad bets: How the games industry turned pandemic success into disaster
2
74
3K
BlackTron replied
Dragon's Dogma 2 only had 1/4 of the people credited for working on the game compared to the last few titles by Capcom
2
56
5K
KyoZz replied
Top Bottom