I’ve been meaning to do a RBC Shopper’s Mastercard for awhile. This will help you guys figure out if it is worth getting.
As a prelude, I will be using the term SDM alot. SDM is just an acronym for Shopper’s Drug Mart among internet circles.
What are the rewards?
1. Earn 15 SDM points for every $1 spent in SDM.
2. Earn 5 SDM points for every $1 spent everywhere else.
3. Protects your purchase up to 90 days against theft or damage. Doubles manufacturers warranty up to 1 additional year.
Analysis: Since this card is another one of those department credit cards, it is tough to put a dollar amount to the rewards you are getting.
From the article Shopper’s Drug Mart, the following table contains the number of points it costs to get a dollar worth of stuff:
| Points Required | Amount Off | Points Cost per $ |
|---|---|---|
| 95,000 | $170 | 559 points per $ |
| 95,000 | $200 | 475 points per $ |
| 95,000 | $220 | 431 points per $ |
| 95,000 | $250 | 380 points per $ |
| 50,000-15,000=35,000 | $85 | 411 points per $ |
| 95,000-30,000=65,000 | $170 | 382 points per $ |
Best Value: 382 points for $1 from either 95,000 for $250 or 95,000 for $170 and get 30,000 points back. Since this happens every once awhile, this will be the standard for the best value.
Average Value: 475 points per $1. Since the Super Redemption Days does happen at least once every few months.
Minimum Value: 559 points per $1 for the $170 regular redemption. This is the absolute minimum points to dollar ratio. In reality, you should never ever redeem for regular points because the bonus events happen often enough.
Using the data above, I’ve created a table of returns depending on how well you can utilize those points:
| Ideal (382 pts/$) | Avg (475 pts/$) | Min (559 pts/$) | |
| Buy at SDM (15 pts per $) | 3.93% | 3.16% | 2.68% |
| Buy elsewhere (5 pts per $) | 1.31% | 1.05% | 0.89% |
Conclusion: This credit card is absolutely amazing if you shop regularly at SDM. At a potential near 4% rate of return, this card beats out even the best cards out there. Even if you redeemed your points at the regular redemption rate, you are still getting 2.68%.
This doesn’t even include the fact that you can stack coupons to reach your bonus threshold to better maximize your returns.
Assumption: This is assuming you are a smart shopper and don’t go to SDM to splurge on things simply because you have points to spare. What I personally do is purchase all my toilet rolls, toothpaste, contact lens, protein in 1 go during super redemption days. Also, don’t go and purchase unnecessary things just to meet the bonus requirement threshold. Yes, I’ve done that sometimes too! However, all my calculations are thrown out the door if you do it!