Canadian Tire Credit Card: We break down the Triangle Rewards Program and Triangle Mastercard - MoneySense

Just like with any credit card, there are some best practices to observe. First and foremost, it's a smart idea to pay off your balance in full every month to ensure you don't owe interest on your purchases. With that in mind, it's always important to build a budget and stick to it. Don't overspend in pursuit of CTM rewards.

That said, at some point everyone faces making a purchase sometimes that's too large for the regular budget. With the zero-fee, zero-interest financing option included with the Triangle Mastercard, qualifying purchases can be paid off in installments—without penalty. Qualifying purchases are a minimum of $200 spent at Canadian Tire-affiliated stores (or online), and the balance is split into equal payments. As long as you pay the minimum by the due date, you'll incur no interest. Not only that, you'll also collect Canadian Tire Money on the payments.

If your goal is to collect as much CTM as possible, here's a pro-tip: Canadian Tire has its own bank, so cardholders who register and use their card to make recurring payments will earn even more CTM (1.0% or 0.8%, depending on the Triangle card they have). Simply sign up to pay your major bills like your property tax, utilities, insurance premiums or even tuition on your Triangle Mastercard, then sit back and reap the rewards—on the regular. Those considering this strategy should be aware that unless they pay off their bills in full they will incur interest, but for those with sufficient funds and organizational savvy, the rewards potential is well worth a look. 

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Extra benefits

Cardholders and Triangle Rewards members receive special offers each week, based on the kinds of purchases they typically make at Canadian Tire and its partner stores. So, if you regularly load up on pet supplies, you might receive an offer to earn 50 times the usual amount of CTM on your purchase of pet items that week. If automotive is your thing, you might want to activate an offer to earn 25 times the CTM when you buy tires. (Hockey parents might find sporting goods offers especially handy, as their kids continually outgrow gear that needs replacing!)

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Are there any drawbacks to the Triangle Mastercard?

Those who shop regularly at Canadian Tire, SportChek, Mark's and other partners can build points balances pretty rapidly, especially when they combine their credit card earn rates with bonus point offers through the Triangle Rewards program. However, the earn rate at non-partner businesses is quite low: just  0.8% for Triangle Mastercard holders. Keep in mind, too, that you can only redeem CTM at Canadian Tire, SportCheck, and participating Mark's, L'Équipeur and Atmosphere locations. So if you don't frequent Canadian Tire and its partners, the rewards of either card may not be exciting enough to warrant signing up.

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