Get 100k PC Optimum Points when you sign up for a PC Financial MasterCard

Has anyone ever had PCF call their place of employment to verify employment?

Cause I may or may not work for a competitor

Gtaphotog wrote: ↑ Credit limit

Mzng. M gng t skp my vwls frm nw n. Ymmv.

bubbleT wrote: ↑ but got declined by Tangerine CC(gasp). I was still at 800 and got approved after paying off the BT.

Tangerine is weird like that, they were the first and only card to decline me a CC. My utilization is always under 10%, always current, and pretty much always (at the very minimum above 750). l think they look at a few things other than just your score in order to approve you. Because after a few months of having a bank account with them I applied again and got the card.

RaeRaeS wrote: ↑ I had the basic card as a single user. I called to upgrade it about 4 or 5 months later and the rep asked if I meet the minimum requirements. (I did not). I said yes and they sent me the black card about a week later.

I use the free equifax to check my credit report. No hard credit checks on my report when I applied or when I upgraded. I do have a great credit score though (not a brag). I applied in store the first time. There was a rep going around giving away points or something?

If you didn't see it on Equifax it means they use Transunion instead. I find it more common for places to use Transunion for the credit check. Might be why there's almost 100 point difference in my score between the two.

FallenAngel1978 wrote: ↑ If you didn't see it on Equifax it means they use Transunion instead. I find it more common for places to use Transunion for the credit check. Might be why there's almost 100 point difference in my score between the two.

Thanks for the tip!

Thanks for this OP. Got it last year and still have my card so can’t reap this reward.

Surprised by how many posts in this thread are asking basic questions that can be Googled or searched through the RFD (Red Flag Deals. Preempting the question).

100k points is $100 of groceries. Is it really a deal to get a hard credit check for $100 worth? I usually go for hard hits for at least $200 worth.

I'm aware it's worth more if you wait for the SDM bonus redemption days. Anything else?

FallenAngel1978 wrote: ↑ If you didn't see it on Equifax it means they use Transunion instead. I find it more common for places to use Transunion for the credit check. Might be why there's almost 100 point difference in my score between the two.

Most all lenders report accounts to both credit bureaus.
Where the biggest difference comes from between the scores of the two, is TransUnion keeps accounts for 20 years after you close them, while Equifax drops them after 6 years of being closed.
So your credit history length could be quite longer on TransUnion, than Equifax.
Also the two algorithms that produce the score, weigh differently because the scoring algorithms were created by different entities.
Very seldom will two scores from 2 different credit bureaus will be close together, and stay that way.

lil_dreams wrote: ↑ 100k points is $100 of groceries. Is it really a deal to get a hard credit check for $100 worth? I usually go for hard hits for at least $200 worth.

I'm aware it's worth more if you wait for the SDM bonus redemption days. Anything else?

Bonus redemption for game consoles or video games that never/rarely go on sale anywhere else.

lil_dreams wrote: ↑ 100k points is $100 of groceries. Is it really a deal to get a hard credit check for $100 worth? I usually go for hard hits for at least $200 worth.

I'm aware it's worth more if you wait for the SDM bonus redemption days. Anything else?

Wouldn't your credit score recover rather quickly? If you don't foresee needing a credit check for something important, why not?

Can you double up on points with the optimum card and the credit card on purchases?

Crunchytut wrote: ↑ Wouldn't your credit score recover rather quickly? If you don't foresee needing a credit check for something important, why not?

How long do you think it takes to go back up if everything is managed well?

Gtaphotog wrote: ↑ The BT offer is a solid reason to get the card —aside for using the pts during double redemption days—, do they ask you during the application if you'd like to use BT offer?

They didn’t ask me today AFAIR. They offered some additional cc insurance but I just said No to everything on that page.

SamG852 wrote: ↑ How long do you think it takes to go back up if everything is managed well?

I have no idea how that works. People I know with 0 credit history have a higher score then some I know who have been in good standing for a decade.

if you canceled this card previously how long do you have to wait till you get the sign up bonus again? :/

The PC WE gives 30 pts per $1 for groceries (non shoppers) ,... that means it's 3.3% cashback value (assuming they don't devalue PC points) right? That sounds to me the highest you can get with any credit card?

misterlamed wrote: ↑ if you canceled this card previously how long do you have to wait till you get the sign up bonus again? :/

6 months when I asked the rep before closing my account

Crunchytut wrote: ↑ Wouldn't your credit score recover rather quickly? If you don't foresee needing a credit check for something important, why not?

Because like I said, I save my hard hits for sign up bonuses of $200 or more. This $100 is half the min value of other cards so just asking if there are other perks worth another $100.

fightbriz wrote: ↑
Transfer what funds to what bank, if your other CC has no balance?

Depending on the other CC you use. If you have PCF bill pay a big bank card, you can easily have those funds transferred to a bank account with the same bank. If it's MBNA, you can have them direct deposit the funds to any FI in Canada. If it's CTFS, then CTFS can snail-mail you a cheque for the amount.

bubbleT wrote: ↑
PC doesn't care if you really owe money or not. They can transfer the money to a bank account generally.The real downside is this really hurts your credit score esp. the utilization ratio part so may negatively affect CC approval and mortgage etc. I took out a BT to pay off student loan with a credit score of 800, but got declined by Tangerine CC(gasp). I was still at 800 and got approved after paying off the BT.

Not quite. MBNA will let you borrow money at the balance transfer promotional offer rate even if you direct deposit the funds to bank. With PCF, you must bill pay another CC in order to get the promo rate. They do offer convenience cheques, but those are useless as they are ineligible for the BT promo rate.

Balance transfers were not designed by the issuers for us to stuff savings accounts...that's just us using some creativity and doing it anyway. The issuers cannot stop us from doing it, even if we have to add extra steps to camouflage it.

SamG852 wrote: ↑
How long do you think it takes to go back up if everything is managed well?

I'll share my DP. After paying off my most recent MBNA BT, was the following calendar month that my credit score bounced back.

But seriously, most of us have close to our annual income in total credit limits across multiple credit products (my combined credit limits far exceed my annual income), and PCF is generally stingy on CL.

Your credit score drops a little when you exceed 35% credit utilization. Some issuers will not approve you for new credit if you exceed this. If your credit utilization exceeds 70%, then much fewer issuers will approve you for new credit. During my 2018 MBNA BT, I exceeded 35% and was approved by AmEx and CTFS. During my 2019 BT's (both MBNA and PCF), RBC pre-approved me for uLOC and CC ($10+5k CL's). PCF gave me $5k CL in 2019...really wasn't much. I'm hoping for a higher CL this time. @Poutinesauce also took a PCF BT (and did the same thing...put an MBNA card into overpayment). Sadly if churning, there's no keeping CL at PCF, meaning each time it's a dice roll on what CL we'll get.

Not that great a deal IMO
The deal 2 years ago when they had 13.5% back in ots at shoppers for approx 6 months cant be beat. I really hope they do that one again sometime.