Best Cash Back Credit Card in T&T?

Who doesn't love being rewarded?

To encourage us to spend more with credit cards, banks introduced various types of reward programmes: points, travel and cash back. Credit cards that give cash back rewards are attractive because they are the easiest to understand and manage. The premise is a very simple one; for every dollar you spend now, you'll get a small portion of it back in the future. It's like earning interest on the money you save, except you're earning "interest" on the money you spend.

It's called cash back, because you actually have to spend cash first in order to get anything back unlike a discount card which gives you cash off the full price of an item right away. For that reason, cash back rewards can be seen as a deferred discount. Who doesn't like to save money?

Some shoppers prefer cash back over earning points and miles because of the simplicity of redeeming; no complicated rules and restrictions. The cash back is automatically calculated and applied directly to your credit card account. It reduces any balance owed to the bank (if any) and you'd have the flexibility to use the value of the cash back to shop anywhere and anytime you want, instead of being limited to specific businesses (e.g. partner store, airline).

Although the options available in Trinidad and Tobago are not as glamourous as those offered by US banks, we still have a few cash back credit cards that would be worth it, for low and high spenders alike.

Let's review those designed by the 4 major banks for retail consumers:

RBC Caribbean Credit Cards

Compared to the other banks, RBC doesn't have any unique options that stand out. With only 2 cards available and a very standard cash back rate, it feels like they are just dipping their toes in the cash back pool. While there is no limit on how much cash back you can earn, there is a TT$500/month minimum spend requirement that you'll have to meet before you are eligible for any rewards.

Credit Card	Cash Back Rate	Frequency	Annual Fee	Required Annual Spend to Break Even
VISA International Classic	0.8%	Quarterly	TT$165	TT$20,625
VISA Gold	0.8%	Quarterly	TT$265	TT$33,125

First Citizens Bank Credit Cards

FCB offers a diverse lineup of cash back credit cards with different rates and reasonable annual fees. Their biggest advantage is that cash back is rewarded on a monthly basis so you get to see the results quickly and often. However, you can only earn up to TT$8,000 cash back per quarter (or TT$32,000 per year). While the fact that there is even a cap is disappointing, it is pretty hard to reach since it would only affect you if you typically spend more than TT$1 million in 3 months.

Credit Card	Cash Back Rate	Frequency	Annual Fee	Required Annual Spend to Break Even
VISA Purple	0.75%	Monthly	TT$100	TT$13,333.33
VISA 2-in-1	0.75%	Monthly	TT$250	TT$33,333.33
VISA Tertiary	0.80%	Monthly	TT$75	TT$9,375
VISA Classic	0.80%	Monthly	TT$145	TT$18,125
VISA Gold	0.80%	Monthly	TT$200	TT$25,000
VISA Platinum*	0.80%	Monthly	TT$450	TT$56,250
VISA Signature*	0.80%	Monthly	TT$600	TT$75,000

*These credit cards give holders the option to choose between earning cash back or First Citizens rewards.

Republic Bank Credit Cards

Most of Republic Bank's available credit cards, both VISA and MasterCard, give cash back, so there is an abundance of choice at different price points (i.e. annual fee). While shoppers earn TT$0.40 cash back for every TT$50 that they spend, they'll earn the same amount of cash back when they spend US$15. Therefore, the bank pays 0.8% cash back on local purchases but only about 0.4% cash back on international purchases.

Credit Card	Cash Back Rate	Frequency	Annual Fee	Required Annual Spend to Break Even
International VISA Classic	0.8%/0.4%	Quarterly	US$25.75	TT$22,531.25
International VISA Gold	0.8%/0.4%	Quarterly	US$34.50	TT$30,187.50
International VISA Platinum	0.8%/0.4%	Quarterly	US$75.00	TT$65,625.00
International VISA Signature	0.8%/0.4%	Quarterly	US$100.00	TT$87,500.00
International Standard MasterCard	0.8%/0.4%	Quarterly	US$25.75	TT$22,531.25
International Platinum MasterCard	0.8%/0.4%	Quarterly	US$75.00	TT$65,625.00

But there is one Republic Bank credit card that is a cut above the rest...

Republic Bank/PriceSmart VISA Platinum Credit Card

Earn 4% cash back on purchases made exclusively at PriceSmart and 1% cash back when shopping anywhere else. There is no minimum spend requirement and no limits on how much you can earn. Cash back is credited to your credit card account, in TT$, every 3 months.

The low annual fee of US$25 (~TT$175) means that the card essentially pays for itself when you spend at least TT$4,375/year (TT$365/month) at PriceSmart. Even if you stop shopping at PriceSmart altogether, you only need to spend TT$17,500/year to break even.

Scotiabank Gold MasterCard Credit Card

Unlike the other banks, Scotiabank only has one cash back credit card to offer local shoppers...and they have made the most of it! It is undeniably the best cash back credit card available in Trinidad and Tobago. It rewards shopping based on spending in certain categories, similar to US credit cards (e.g. the Chase Freedom Flex.) Shoppers earn 4% cash back at grocery stores & gas stations, 2% at drugstores and 1% when shopping everywhere else.

PROS

1. The high rewards are not limited to a specific retailer so there is a lot of flexibility in where you can shop, unlike the Republic Bank/PriceSmart VISA Platinum credit card.

   
   

2. Although the annual fee is a bit steep at TT$375, this card could easily pay for itself if you spend at least TT$9,375/year at the grocery store, which is very likely in this economy.

   
   

3. There is no minimum spend requirement or limit to the total cash back rewards you can earn per year, but...

CONS

1. You can only earn up to US$600 (~TT$4,080) cash back at the 4% rate when you shop at grocery stores and gas stations. Similarly, you can only earn up to US$400 (~TT$2,720) cash back at the 2% rate when you shop at drugstores. To hit those caps, you'd have to spend TT$102,000/year (or TT$8,500/month) on groceries & gas and TT$68,000/year (or TT$5,666/month) at drugstores, which would be unlikely for most shoppers. Once you hit the caps, you'll earn 1% cash back on purchases at those merchants thereafter.

   
   

2. As of mid-2024, shoppers can no longer earn 4% cash back on purchases at PriceSmart. Since PriceSmart sells a wide variety of goods, well beyond just groceries (e.g. exercise equipment), it now falls into the 1% cash back category. If you do most of your grocery shopping at PriceSmart or spend at least TT$5,833/year there, then you may want to consider getting the Republic Bank credit card in addition to this one.

   
   

3. Cash back accumulates and is only applied to your account once a year, in November. To some, it can feel more like an annual bonus than a cash back reward since the reward is so infrequent and far-removed from the point at which it is earned.

   
   

4. Your credit card account must remain open and in good standing in order to be eligible to receive the cash back rewards in November each year. If you close your account or miss 2 or 3 payments before then, you forfeit it all. Imagine working hard (shopping is hard work) for 10 months for your rewards only to have it withheld from you in the end! Monthly or even quarterly rewards are much less risky.

   
   

Despite the few drawbacks, the Scotiabank Gold MasterCard Credit Card is still a very attractive offer to local shoppers. Without a doubt, it is the best cash back credit card on the local market at the moment since it offers the highest reward-earning potential.