Meridian Visa Infinite Cash Back Review
When you think of the best cash back credit cards in Canada, rarely does anyone bring up Meridian. This shouldn’t be a surprise since Meridian is a credit union in Ontario so they don’t get the national exposure that the big banks have, but Meridian has arguably the best cash back credit card in Canada. Read my Meridian Visa Infinite Cash Back review now for the full details of the card.
Meridian Visa Infinite Cash Back card benefits
- $99 annual fee – first year free
- Earn 4% cash back on gas and grocery purchases
- Earn 2% cash back on pharmacy and utility bill payments
- Earn 1% cash back on all other purchases
- Mobile device insurance up to $1,000
- Comprehensive travel insurance included
- Purchase protection and extended warranty
- Price protection
With a 4% cash back on gas and grocery purchases, 2% back on pharmacy and utility bill payments and 1% back on all other purchases, it’s not had to see why my Meridian Visa Infinite Cash Back review is positive. You really won’t find any other cash back card that offers that much back.
One complaint people have about the Meridian Visa Infinite Cash Back card is the lack of a sign up bonus, but there aren’t many cash back cards that give you a welcome bonus so this doesn’t bother me whatsoever.
What really makes this card appealing is all the insurance that’s included. Not many credit cards offer mobile device insurance, but with this card, you get up to $1,000. Yes there is depreciation and the deductible to consider, but this is still an incredible benefit.
The comprehensive travel insurance package included really is impressive. You get $5,000,000 in emergency medical coverage up to 48 days if you’re under the age of 65. Many travel credit cards only offer 21 or 25 days of coverage with a maximum payout of $1,000,000 so you’re almost getting double that with the Meridian Visa Infinite Cash Back card.
Another often overlooked piece of insurance is the included price protection. If you’ve made a purchase and then you find a lower advertised price within 60 days, you’ll be reimbursed up to $100 per purchase with an annual limit of $500.
With all of these benefits, it’s no surprise that the Meridian Visa Infinite Cash Back card is one of the best Meridian credit cards.
How the Meridian Visa Infinite Cash Back card compares to others
There are a few cards that compare to the Meridian Visa Infinite Cash Back card but the Scotiabank Momentum VISA Infinite Card is arguably the closest. The main difference between the two cards is the earn rate and annual fee. The Scotiabank card earns you 4% cash back on groceries and recurring bill payments; 2% on gas and transit purchases and 1% cash back on all other purchases. In other words, if you do most of your spending at grocery stores and gas stations, you’re better off with the Meridian card. I should also mention that the Scotiabank Momentum VISA Infinite Card has an annual fee of $120 but Meridian only charges $99.
There’s also the American Express Cobalt card that earns you 5 Membership Rewards Select points per $1 spent on anything related to food including groceries, and food delivery, but those are points and not cash back which is why I don’t like to compare the two. That being said, the Amex Cobalt card does technically earn you the most rewards for food-related purchases so it’s something to keep in mind when deciding between credit cards.
Final thoughts
My Meridian Visa Infinite Cash Back review is positive since it’s clearly the best cash back card on the market. The insurance benefits are quite comprehensive so if that’s important to you, you should apply for this card. If you’re looking for travel rewards, then take a look at my list of the best travel credit cards in Canada.
Hi Barry. Is this review up-to-date/accurate in terms of earning value? What you have quoted above seems to be the earning structure for the Scotiabank Momentum VISA Infinite card. Meridian’s website describes the earning structure for this card as “Earn 1.5 points for every $1 of net purchases and 3 points for every $1 of net purchases in foreign currencies.”
Moreover, their points seem to be worth only 0.7 to 0.75 cents per point after trying a couple of mock redemptions on their rewards site – unlike other rewards cards, you don’t have to be a cardholder to peek into their rewards site.
Wish I had read this note before Barry. I feel cheated as I signed up for the Cash Back after cancelling my scotia momentum only to now realize that is merely points reward card
Honest Ed,
Mike is incorrect. He’s referring to the Meridian Visa Infinite Travel Rewards Card – https://www.meridiancu.ca/Personal/Credit-Cards/Personal-Cards/Meridian-Visa-Infinite-Travel-Rewards-Card.aspx
The Meridian Visa Infinite Cash Back card is a true cash back card – https://www.meridiancu.ca/Personal/Credit-Cards/Personal-Cards/Meridian-Visa-Infinite-Cash-Back-Card.aspx
i just called meridian who transferred be to collabaria (see the back of the visa card) who confirmed that it is a rewards card which u collect points and you redeem those points for cash. I would still argue it as a rewards card and misleading
Hi again Barry. Never mind – just realized that Meridian has both a “Cash Back” and a “Travel Rewards” version of their VISA Infinite card and the reward structure you’ve described above exactly matches what they show for their Cash Back card. Silly me……….apologies.
question about a nuance of the Meridian vs the Scotia VISA Infinite cards: Scotia’s version gives 2% for recurring bill payments (bumping up to 4% on Aug 1, 2019). Meridian’s indicates 2% for utility bill payments. Now I know for a fact the Scotia card is treating all recurring payments (donations to Humane Society, car insurance, utilities, internet, phone) at the current 2%, but I’m not sure if Meridian’s will apply to all, or ONLY utilities. It’s a huge differentiator if so, when it changes from 2% to 4% for Scotia. I tried calling Meridian CS, and heard its for utility bill payments, but am still not convinced I was getting accurate info. Any clarity would be much appreciated.
Mike,
In theory, the merchant codes should be the same for both credit card companies but I’m also not sure if say Scotia or Meridian can override those codes so certain merchants or charities are treated differently.
Scotiabank momentum has just changed their rewards. I have a card. Cost of annual fee has gone up to 120$ for primary card and 4 50 FOR SECONDARY! huge increase! GAS HAS GONE FROM 4% to 2% and added transit (bus etc but not gas) at 4%. Recurring bills has been dropped to 1% I believe. Started Aug 1, 2019. So NO LONGER best card. I am going with Meridian or TD now and GETTING RID OF THIS CARD!.
The cash back is just points from Meridian and it is deceptive
Is it just me or it’s common now that I applied the cards in March and am still waiting for the card? I am very confident that I (and my husband) is qualified for their requirement and received the email from the company saying that my card had been approved and is awaiting for the Meridian Membership. I then sent the required documents and waited for many weeks. When I called asking them what was happening, they said I should receive the card soon but instead I just got the same email asking for documents. I sent again, and waited, and called. The same thing happened. This process repeated 3 times so far and I still haven’t got any cards from the company yet.
Hi Amy,
Regardless of the current world pandemic, it’s insane that a company is asking you for the same documents three times. I would advise calling them one more time for an update. If the card doesn’t arrive in two weeks, have them cancel the application and apply for a different card such as the Scotiabank Momentum Visa Infinite.
Thanks for the suggestion. I will do and hope better luck this time. 🙂