For anyone who shops at Canadian Tire and flies WestJet, the new partnership is a boon.Fred Lum/The Globe and Mail
Triangle Rewards and WestJet Rewards recently launched a partnership that lets members who link their accounts earn rewards in both programs.
For anyone who shops at Canadian Tire and flies WestJet, this is a major upgrade. But even if those brands don’t appeal to you, it’s hard to ignore the fact that Triangle Rewards has quietly become one of the best loyalty programs in Canada.
Under the new partnership, linked members get one WestJet point for every two dollars spent at Canadian Tire-owned stores, including SportChek, Mark’s, Party City Canada and Atmosphere. This is in addition to any Canadian Tire Money – the “currency” of Triangle Rewards – earned. When making travel purchases through WestJet, they’ll earn 0.4 per cent in CT Money on the eligible value.
Privacy Commissioner finds Loblaw took too long to delete PC Optimum accounts
Triangle also has a partnership with Royal Bank of Canada RY-T, where members earn three times the CT Money when paying with a linked RBC debit or credit card – meaning they’re earning two types of rewards on a single purchase.
WestJet and Avion allow point transfers, but the math isn’t in your favour since both conversions reduce the value of your rewards. (The rate is 120 WestJet points or 140 Avion points for $1 in CT Money.)
Petro‑Canada is another key partner of Triangle Rewards. Members who link their two accounts earn CT Money plus 20 per cent more Petro‑Points when fuelling up at Petro‑Canada and Gas+ stations. Petro‑Points can be converted to CT Money at an equal value.
While these partnerships strengthen Triangle Rewards, the program still has a comparatively limited footprint. Its stores don’t match the reach of PC Optimum’s network, which includes Loblaws, Shoppers Drug Mart and Esso.
But what sets Triangle apart is its weekly “swap offers” feature, which lets members trade irrelevant promos for ones that actually match their purchases.
For instance, I was planning to buy a $400 bicycle at SportChek, but my account didn’t have any good offers. I checked the swap section and quickly found one for 10 times the rewards on bikes. I traded it for my existing “spend $40, get $4 in CT Money” offer from Canadian Tire.
Plus, that weekend’s promotions happened to include a 20 times bonus for paying with a Triangle credit card. Since the base earn rate is 0.4 per cent, stacking the promo and the swapped offer meant I earned 12 per cent back ($48 in CT Money).
One downside is that Canadian Tire isn’t always the cheapest compared with U.S. retailers such as Walmart and Amazon. But because its stores are Canadian‑owned, your spending supports local businesses, and with smart use of weekly offers you can often still come out ahead.
Also, Triangle credit cards can be used to pay utility and tax bills without any fees, earning cardholders 1 per cent back in CT Money on payments that normally don’t qualify for rewards. Canadian Tire can offer this because those transactions are processed through its own bank by direct transfers rather than standard credit card payments.
It’s a nice benefit – and one competitors are looking to replicate. Rogers, for instance, just announced point‑of‑sale integrations with partners that lower merchant fees and give its cardholders an extra 1 per cent cash back when paying at those locations.
And EQ Bank recently received approval to acquire PC Financial. It’s easy to imagine a future where having a PC Financial credit card and an EQB mortgage could unlock opportunities to earn PC Optimum points.
How EQ Bank plans to compete with the Big Six
Triangle Rewards may not offer the same brag‑worthy perks as programs that hand out free travel or groceries, but its earn rates, partnerships and credit card benefits create strong value with little effort.
Barry Choi is a personal finance and travel expert at moneywehave.com. He was previously affiliated with Canadian Tire, WestJet, PC Optimum, Walmart, Rogers, EQ Bank and PC Financial but currently has no relationship with any of the brands.
