CIBC Dividend® Visa Infinite* Card Review

Thanks to a revamp several years ago the CIBC Dividend® Visa Infinite* Card came back to the forefront of the cash back market and in fact here at Rewards Canada we ranked it as the number one cash back card for a short while after those changes. At this time we still rank it as the best non American Express cash back credit card in the market as this card takes third place only to the Simply Cash Preferred Card from American Express and the American Express Cobalt Card - the latter of which is actually a travel rewards card that provides excellent cash back redemption value. Overall we feel the CIBC Dividend Visa Infinite Card is undervalued by other rewards sites and our calculations place it right near the top in our Top Cash Back Credit Card rankings.

The review of the CIBC Dividend Visa Infinite Card is broken down into the following sections:

Overview

The CIBC Dividend Visa Infinite Card is one of Canada's best overall cash back credit cards and in our opinion is the second best true cash back card! By true cash back card we mean that it is its sole reward type. It is not a hybrid travel rewards/cash back card that we have seen proliferate in the market. It is one of the best thanks to a strong welcome bonus, accelerated earn rates and low anytime cash out balance requirement.

Costs & Sign up Features

The CIBC Dividend Visa Infinite Card has an annual fee of $120 for the primary card. This is the going rate for most premium cash back cards in Canada that carry the Visa Infinite branding. Additional cards are $30 each annually which is actually $20 lower than some of this card's direct competitors.

Right now the card has a limited time welcome bonus of 10% cash back for the first 4 statements on net purchases of up to $2,000. That equates to up to $200 cash back! Plus you'll receive a first-year annual fee rebate for you and up to three Authorized Users†

The purchase interest rate on the card is 20.99% while cash advances are charged 22.99%. Annual income requirements are $60,000 Personal or $100,000 Household.

Earning

The card earns cash back rewards as follows:

• 4% cash back on eligible gas and grocery purchases.†
• 2% cash back on eligible transportation, dining purchases and recurring payments†
• 1% cash back on all other purchases†
  

Redeeming

As with most cash back cards there is only one redemption option with CIBC Dividend Visa Infinite Card and that is to redeem for cash back! The Dividend Visa Infinite card has a very simple and easy cash back redemption process. Once your cash back rewards balance reaches $25 you can redeem towards purchases you made that have a value of $25 or more. For example if your cash back balance is $25 and you had a purchase post to your account of $30 you could apply your cash back rewards balance towards that purchase.

Features and Benefits

Cash back cards aren't known for extra features and benefits like their travel counterparts however the CIBC Dividend Visa Infinite card does come with savings on gas via Journie Rewards. The card also provide the standard benefits that come on all Canadian Visa Infinite cards.

Save on gas with CIBC and Journie Rewards

Link and use your CIBC Dividend® Visa Infinite* Card with Journie Rewards to save up to 10 cents per litre† at participating Pioneer, Fas Gas, Ultramar and Chevron gas stations.†

Visa Infinite benefits

• Visa Infinite Luxury Hotel Collection provides benefits like room upgrades, complimentary Wi-Fi and breakfast, late checkout, and so much more at over 900 Visa Infinite Luxury Hotel Collection properties around the world.
• Visa Infinite Dining Series - Each event includes multi-course meals, drink pairings and an interactive experience. You'll get to taste dishes from some of the country's top chefs and restaurants as they guide you through each course.
  
• Wine country benefit from wineries across Ontario and British Columbia including complimentary tastings and tours. You can also get access to online offers like complimentary shipping and savings on wine purchases.
• Get golf perks with Troon Rewards® through your Visa Infinite card and automatically receive Silver Status. You’ll save 10% on golf fees, merchandise, and lessons at over 150 courses around the world.
• Access to private movie events and at-home offers as part of the Visa Infinite Screening Series. In the fall, get special perks at the Toronto International Film Festival®.
  
• Visa Infinite card includes a Complimentary Concierge service that can offer help with anything like the perfect travel itinerary, restaurant recommendations, finding the perfect birthday gift, and more
  
  

Insurance

The CIBC Dividend Visa Infinite Card comes with a pretty good insurance package for a cash back card and that package includes the following:

• $500,000 Common Carrier Accident Insurance
• Out of Province/Country Emergency Medical Insurance (10 days under age 65)
• Auto Rental Collision/Loss Damage Insurance
• Mobile Device Insurance
• Purchase Security Insurance
• Extended Warranty Insurance

What is good about this card

The welcome bonus - 10% back on the first $2,000 spent in the first four statement periods it is one of the better ones for 'true' cash back cards in the market.

The next good thing are the accelerated earn rates - 4% cash back for gas and groceries is a great return for those two highly utilized categories. 2% back on transportation, dining purchases and recurring payments is also a very respectable earn rate.

Being able to redeem anytime your cash back balance reaches $25 is great. This is a low limit and makes it very easy to realize the savings the card can provide. It's nice to not have to wait for your monthly statement to get the rewards or in the case of some cash back cards annually!

The additional card fee being lower than competing cards is another good aspect of this card to take into consideration if you do require supplementary cards.

What is not so good about this card

The annual cap on the accelerated earn rates is on the low side at $20,000. For most Canadians this shouldn't be too big of an issue but if you know you spend more than that across those categories you may lose out on some cash back as some competing cards have higher caps. Also with the cap being combined across all the accelerated spend categories means each time you make a 2% purchase you are taking away potential 4% cash back from future purchases.

The lack of benefits could be seen as a drawback as the Journie Rewards and More Rewards benefits are specific to certain cardholders. If you don't shop at those grocery stores or gas stations the benefits are meaningless to you.

Who should get this card

• Consumers who want an easy to use and rewarding cash back card
• Consumers who bank with CIBC and want to keep all their financial products with the bank
• Consumers who want a good cash back card to supplement their Visa and American Express cards in their wallet
  
  

Conclusion

The CIBC Dividend Visa Infinite Card is a formidable cash back credit card that should be given consideration. The valuable welcome bonus offer coupled with strong accelerated earn rates make it an excellent choice for a cash back card in your wallet.. It doesn't hurt that it even has some travel insurance coverage and Visa Infinite as additional benefits. If you can take advantage of the Journie Rewards benefits the card gets even better. If you want simplicity and ease of use in a cash back card that provides big returns on gas and groceries you should consider the CIBC Dividend Visa Infinite Card

Latest card details:

Other cards to consider if you are looking at this card:

American Express Cobalt® Card
SimplyCash™ Preferred Card from American Express
CIBC Dividend Platinum® Visa* Card
Neo Financial Mastercard
RBC Cash Back Preferred World Elite MasterCard
Rogers World Elite MasterCard
Scotia Momentum® VISA* Infinite card
Tangerine World Mastercard®
TD Cash Back Visa Infinite* Card

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