The limited time 1% cash back earning on CIBC’s AC Conversion Visa has been extended to the end of April 2022. This card is a prepaid Visa credit card
option offered by CIBC and Air Canada that has been around now for quite
a few years and is somewhat unique in that you can load multiple
currencies onto to card at once to use when traveling to various parts
of the world.
1% cash back on all spending until April 30
Seeing
that there still isn’t as much travel happening just yet and not much of need
for using foreign currencies coupled with an influx of reward earning
prepaid cards hitting the market it most likely seemed prudent for CIBC
to add the limited time cash back option to encourage holders of this
card to load Canadian funds to it and utilize it here at home. Hence
right now when you get the card (or already have the card) and use it
you’ll earn 1% cash back on all spending until the end of April 30. Do
note the 1% cash back is not just for Canadian purchases, it is awarded
on all spending for any of the 10 currencies you can load on the card so
if you are traveling abroad or shopping online with one of the
supported currencies you’ll also earn cash back on those purchases. Cash
back earning is awarded monthly within 10 days of each month’s end and
is posted as a credit to your account. The prepaid card must be open at
the time to get the cash back credit.
No fees
The
AC Conversion Visa charges no fees to order the card, no fees to load
and no conversion fees when you make a purchase. It’s the last one of
the no fees that makes this prepaid card differ from other prepaid cards
in that you won’t pay that pesky 2.5% foreign currency transaction fee
unless it is a currency outside of the 10 supported currencies that you
can load on the card (see the next section). There is also no fee to
withdraw cash from Canadian ATM’s and they also charge no fee on your
first foreign ATM withdrawal each month.
Load up to 10 currencies
The
AC Conversion card allows you to load up to 10 currencies all with no
foreign transactions fees and those 10 will cover most of the popular
foreign destinations that Canadians travel to. To me the only major
currencies for Canadian’s travelling abroad that are missing are India’s
Rupee and China’s Yuan. Actually I’m kind of surprised to see Turkey on
the list instead of places like India or China!
You
can load any of those currencies by logging to your account online or
via the app. The app does make the whole process of loading your card,
transferring amounts between currencies and checking your balances
extremely easy.
Refer a friend bonus
The
card also features a refer a friend bonus. For each friend that you
refer, you and that friend will each earn $10 that will be loaded into
your card account.
Wrapping it up
The
AC Conversion card fits into a nice little spot in the credit card
market for those who travel abroad but may not qualify for a standard
credit card that offers no foreign transaction fees or for someone who
doesn’t want to add such a card to their existing credit card
portfolio. Having the ability to earn 1% cash back for the next couple
of months on the card is a nice little bonus to get you introduced to
the card to see how it works.