PC Financial tops J.D. Power survey of Canadian credit card customers
Posted September 10, 2018 11:44 am.
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VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – A credit card tied to supermarkets and drugstores gets the highest customer satisfaction rating in a J.D. Power survey.
President’s Choice Financial is rated at 788 out of 1,000 in the poll of opinions about benefits, communication, terms, customer interaction, key moments and rewards. PC Financial is offered by Loblaw Cos., Canada’s biggest grocer, with chains including Real Canadian Superstore. Loblaw also runs the nation’s largest drugstore chain, Shoppers Drug Mart.
The PC Financial card combines loyalty programs from both chains, and its rewards can be redeemed frequently for everyday items. That and the fact that the card has no annual fee contribute to its rating, according to J.D. Power vice president Jim Miller.
“Understanding how to redeem rewards — and having redeemed rewards recently — has a significant effect on satisfaction and loyalty levels,” Miller says.
Behind PC Financial in the survey are American Express with 780 out of 1,000, Canadian Tire at 774 and Capital One at 764, all of them above average. The middle of the pack is occupied by the Bank of Montreal, the Royal Bank, Scotiabank and National Bank. Below-average ratings went to CIBC, MBNA and the TD Bank. The TD, Canada’s largest bank by assets, is rated at 739 or 49 points behind PC Financial.
J.D. Power says it surveyed more than 6,000 cardholders. The median monthly spend on their primary card was $600, and they stay with the same issuer for an average of 10 years. It says cardholders’ top two rewards are cash back and airline tickets.
Commenting on the purschase of Aeroplan by Air Canada, the TD Bank, CIBC and Visa, Miller says “It will be critical for the airline and credit card partners to build a new rewards program that is transparent and easy to understand.”
