Credit Card Optimization (2026)

Olivier Chabot|August 25, 2026|Money, Travel
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I optimized my credit card system at the start of 2025. Many things have changed in the year and a half since I wrote this article.

First, we bought a house! That means we won’t pay our rent using Chexy. Second, the Scotia Momentum Visa Infinite Card no longer offers 4% on rent through Chexy. Third, the Rogers Red World Elite Mastercard no longer offers 3% cashback to Rogers, Fido, or Shaw customers. Instead, it’ll only offer 2% when you redeem your cashback to pay for these services.

Credit Cards to Consider

Wealthsimple Visa Credit Card

We’ve been happy Wealthsimple customers for over five years. Their credit card is free for users with a personal income of at least $80,000 or a household income of at least $150,000. It might be possible to get the card for free if you direct deposit a certain amount per month.

This card is awesome because it offers 2% back on everything, has no FX fees when you travel, is a sleek metal card, lets you customize the tap limit, and lets you access your cashback instantly so that you can earn interest on it. There also a ton of automations and useful features within the app. If I could only have one credit card, it would be the Wealthsimple credit card.

CIBC Costco Mastercard

Unfortunately, Costco strictly accepts Mastercards. Since my phone and wifi are with Rogers, I’ll keep using the Rogers Red World Elite Mastercard. However, if I wasn’t a Rogers customer, I’d probably go for the CIBC Costco Mastercard. It’s not great but it’s free and items are usually cheaper at Costco which further boosts the returns.

Simplii Financial™ Cash Back Visa Card

This free Simplii credit card offers 4% cash back on restaurants, coffee shops and bars. If you’re optimizing, this card is a no brainer because very few cards offer 4% on any category. We do enjoy going to restaurants and coffee shops so this card is a good fit for us.

Honourable Mentions: PC Mastercards

I’ve never used them myself, but if you’re someone who shops at the businesses below, the PC MasterCards could be a good fit. For us, the benefits are not worth changing our shopping behaviour, but they’re great cards if you already shop there anyway.

My New Credit Card System

My new system consists of three free cards.

  1. The Simplii Visa credit card to get 4% cash back on restaurants, coffee shops and bars.
  2. The Rogers Red World Elite Mastercard to get 2% on Costco purchases.
  3. The Wealthsimple credit card to get 2% on every thing and save on foreign exchange fees.

This system is simpler and completely free. The two-card system of Rogers/CIBC and Wealthsimple could also work, but I already had the Simplii card. If you don’t shop at Costco, then the one-card Wealthsimple system is solid.

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