Cash-back & rewards points: Are Canada’s loyalty programs really paying off?

Are rewards points and cash-back cards really worth it? Canadians are spending more strategically than ever, using loyalty points on everyday purchases.

“It doesn’t hurt to join all of them, but you might get information overload, your email inbox will be, you know, flooded with everything,” said Patrick Sojka, founder of Rewards Canada.

Sylvie De Bellefeuille, the director of legal services at Option Consomateurs, added, “No matter how we present it, it’s never completely free. What they basically do is they allow companies to gather information on our buying habits so that they can make a profile. And those profiles are worth a lot of money.”

On average, Canadians are signed up for about a dozen loyalty programs, from groceries to travel, using points to stretch their everyday spending.

“Yes, we use them, because we’re making money from them,” said Farouk, a Montreal shopper.

Evelyn Pytka, another Montrealer, said, “Things like groceries I do because I’m, you know, one has to get groceries right, so that helps a bit, especially at this time of the year.”

Experts say the value of a program depends on your habits; some offer more flexibility or rewards than others.

“All the credit card programs or proprietary programs provide a lot of flexibility in the way you’re rewarded. So you really can’t go wrong with any of them,” said Sojka. “Air Canada AeroPlan, definitely, if you’re more into looking into flights and travel, Scene Plus is another one.”

Some people, however, are cautious, avoiding programs that feel slow to reward or that lead to unwanted emails and calls.

”I don’t like rewards like air miles and stuff like that, where it takes years to get some feedback,” said Eric Leterte.

De Bellefeuille says while it’s important to read the fine print, privacy policies are often long and difficult to understand.

In Quebec, she notes, consumer protection laws prevent merchants from devaluing points after they’re earned and limit when points can expire.

“The condition of expiring is that if the person, there was no activity on the card for a certain period of time, that cannot be less than a year. And then again, once the points are close to expire, a notice should be sent to the consumers that 30 to 60 days before the points expire,” De Bellefeuille explained.