The new Hudson’s Bay Mastercard is co-branded with Neo Financial after Capital One announced it was ending its relationship with Hudson’s Bay Company (HBC) and Costco.
Similar to the card it is replacing, the new Hudson’s Bay Mastercard by Neo Financial will offer shoppers double the points at HBC, free shipping on orders, and cash back at Neo partners.
You also earn points on purchases made elsewhere and can redeem your points when you shop at Hudson’s Bay stores and thebay.com.
This Hudson’s Bay Mastercard review covers its benefits, downsides, and alternative credit cards.
Hudson’s Bay Mastercard – At a Glance
Rewards: Earn up to 4 points per $1 at Hudson’s Bay stores and 2 points per $1 elsewhere.
Welcome offer: 15% cashback on first-day purchases.
Interest rates: 19.99%-24.99% for purchases and 21.99%-26.99% for cash advances.
Annual fee: $0
Related: 2% Cash Back Tangerine World Mastercard
Hudson’s Bay Mastercard Benefits
The Hudson’s Bay Mastercard does not have an annual fee.
The main benefit of this card is that you double up your earning rate when you shop in the store. Depending on your Hudson’s Bay Rewards tier, you can earn up to 4 points per $1.
Cardholders earn 2 points per $1 spent elsewhere.
1,000 Hudson’s Bay Rewards points are equivalent to $5. You can also redeem your points for Air Miles reward miles or donate them to charity.
Hudson’s Bay Mastercard cardholders enjoy shopping privileges at affiliated stores, including 90-day returns and free shipping on purchases when they meet the minimum purchase amount.
New cardholders get a 15% cash back offer on eligible first-day purchases at Hudson’s Bay stores and online.
When you shop at thebay.com, you get advance notice of savings available at various exclusive events throughout the year.
In addition to the standard rewards, you earn up to 2% cash back at thousands of Neo Financial partners and retailers.
Cash back earned can be redeemed towards your credit balance.
You can apply for the Hudson’s Bay Mastercard online, at any Hudson’s Bay store, or through the Neo Financial app.
Hudson’s Bay Rewards
The Hudson’s Bay Rewards program is free to join and has three tiers, including the following:
- Hudson’s Bay Rewards
- Hudson’s Bay Rewards Plus,
- Hudson’s Bay Rewards VIP
To qualify for the upper tiers, you need to meet a minimum annual spend as per below and make at least two separate visits to Hudson’s Bay or thebay.com in a calendar year.
| Hudson’s Bay Rewards | Hudson’s Bay Rewards Plus | Hudson’s Bay Rewards VIP | |
| Annual net purchases | $0 – $399.99 | Between $400 and $1,199.99 | $1,200 and more |
| Points per $1 using Hudson’s Bay Rewards Card | 1 | 1.5 | 2 |
| Points per $1 using Hudson’s Bay Mastercard | 2 | 3 | 4 |
| Points earned per $1 spent elsewhere | 2 | 2 | 2 |
The tiers are reset every January 1st to the base level reward, and you can redeem your points online when shopping at thebay.com or in-store at a rate of 1,000 points per $5.
Hudson’s Bay Rewards points can also be converted to Air Miles or RBC Rewards points.
Downsides of the Hudson’s Bay Mastercard
This card does not offer insurance benefits, including basic coverage such as purchase protection or an extended warranty. Here are some no-fee cash back credit cards that offer these privileges.
The HBC Credit Card’s rewards points can only be used to pay for purchases at one of their stores or redeemed for Air Miles.
Hudson’s Bay Mastercard vs. Hudson’s Bay Credit Card
The Hudson’s Bay Credit Card is no longer offered.
The two ways to earn when shopping at Hudson’s Bay involve using its regular Rewards membership Card or the Hudson’s Bay Mastercard – powered by Neo card.
Neo Credit card
Rewards: Average of 5% cash back at 12,000+ partners and a guaranteed minimum of 0.50% cash back across all purchases
Welcome offer: Get up to 15% cash back on your first-time purchases, plus a $25 welcome cash bonus.
Interest rates: 19.99% – 29.99% on purchases; 22.99% – 31.99% for cash advances.
Annual fee: $0
Hudson’s Bay Mastercard Alternatives
Alternatives you can consider include:
1. Tangerine Money-Back Credit Card: This card offers up to 2% unlimited cash back in up to three spending categories.
It has no annual fee, and you get free purchase protection and extended warranty coverage. Also, you can transfer your balance to this card at a rate of 1.95% for 6 months.
Tangerine Money-Back Credit Card
Rewards: Earn up to 2% unlimited cash back in up to 3 spending categories and 0.50% on all other purchases.
Welcome offer: Get an extra 10% cash back on up to $1,000 in spending in the first 2 months ($100 value); 1.95% balance transfer rate for 6 months.
Interest rates: 19.95% for purchases, balance transfers, and cash advances.
Annual fee: $0
2. SimplyCash Card from American Express: This card offers 1.25% cash back on most purchases and has no annual fees.
If you are looking for a card that pays a solid flat-rate cash back rate regardless of what you buy, the Simply Cash Card from AMEX is a top choice.
SimplyCash Card from American Express
Rewards and benefits: Earn up to 2% cash back on gas and groceries; 1.25% cash back on all other purchases; travel accident insurance.
Welcome offer: NA
Interest rates: 20.99% on purchases and 21.99% on cash advances.
Annual fee: $0
If you are interested in a credit card issued by Capital One, here is a review of Capital One Credit Cards.
Conclusion
If you are a frequent shopper at the Hudson’s Bay Company, you could maximize your points using the Hudson’s Bay Mastercard from Neo Financial.
It’s not very competitive if you are looking for a credit card that earns cash back rewards you can apply to any purchase or a no-fee card with some insurance benefits.
Hudson’s Bay Mastercard FAQs
The Neo Hudson’s Bay Mastercard is replacing the former HBC Mastercard, and you will need to re-apply if you want the new Hudson’s Bay credit card.
Neo Financial is a new online bank (neobank) in Canada. It offers a credit card and high-interest savings account.
You can use the card anywhere that Mastercard is accepted.
Hudson's Bay Mastercard Review
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Annual fee
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Insurance
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Rewards
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Eligibility
Overall
Summary
The new Hudson’s Bay Mastercard is issued by Neo Financial and doubles your Hudson’s Bay Rewards points. This Hudson’s Bay Mastercard review covers what you need to know.
Pros
- Get up to 4 points per $1
- Earn cash back at Neo partners
- No annual fee
Cons
- Limited options for redeeming your points
- Has no insurance coverage
This company, while it has offices in Canada, Capital One is a US Banking outfit and is run out of the United States and has no connection with Canadian Banks. After being with the company for many years and always paying my bills in full every month, when I needed to increase my limit by a measly $500 they couldn’t do it, because the US offices don’t give a damn about their Canadian clients. The Canadian management cannot do a thing in terms of credit limits without the US bank’s permission. And this is only one of the many problems I experienced with this company over the years. And mistakes were always in their favour. Be warned – stay away from Capital One and stick with a credit card company that is tied to a Canadian Bank. Too bad Hudson’s Bay didn’t pick a credit card company that is associated with a Canadian Bank.his company, while it has offices in Canada, Capital One is a US Banking outfit and is run out of the United States and has no connection with Canadian Banks. After being with the company for many years and always paying my bills in full every month, when I needed to increase my limit by a measly $500 they couldn’t do it, because the US offices don’t give a damn about their Canadian clients. The Canadian management cannot do a thing in terms of credit limits without the US bank’s permission. And this is only one of the many problems I experienced with this company over the years. And mistakes were always in their favour. Be warned – stay away from Capital One and stick with a credit card company that is tied to a Canadian Bank. Too bad Hudson’s Bay didn’t pick a credit card company that is associated with a Canadian Bank.
Neo Financial doesn’t offer any customer Sevice. This is so sad and unfortunate that on order to stay loyal to Hudson’s Bay and enjoy the special discounts I need to become a client of Neo Financial.
It’s seems it’s still a new card and lots of quirks that haven’t been worked out. I would stay away to aovid the hassle. The 15% promo was not applied for me and the support line is almost non-existent compared to the bigger players, the phone line just hangs you up automatically. Some misleading wording on the bonus offers as well.
How does this 15% back/off work?
I applied to the card and was approved a few days ago but am waiting for it in the mail before making purchases.
1.Will it apply to the first day I use it at HBC?
Or
2.Was it for the “first day” I was approved?…because if that’s the case this is BS….
Anyone have experience with this? I want my old HBC MasterCard back…
@CD: The bonus offer applies to your first purchase with the card.
Some aspects of this article are out of date.
Home Outfitters has not been around for several years now.
The regular HBC private label Credit card does not exist as of May 2021. It was discontinued alongside the old Bay MasterCard as they were both issued by Capital One.
You can NOT redeem your points for Hudson’s Bay gift cards. They are still of the same dollar value, but you just credit them directly towards your purchase online and in-store. You can redeem them from a new minimum of 1000 points aka $5.
I want to point out that you earn points and cashback on the same card so although the points can only be redeemed for purchases at The Bay, your cashback can be redeemed toward your credit card balance.
You do not need to present your rewards account when purchasing with your Hudson’s Bay Mastercard at The Bay. Everything is linked and you will see so accordingly on your receipt.
The welcome offer is different now. You get 20% off all your first-day purchases rather than 15% and a $25 points bonus. If you are instantly approved you need to make your purchases on the first day for the discount. If they approve your application later, your first day will be the day you finish your application and are issued a virtual card.
I recommend signing up in-store the associates explain everything very well and will make sure you get your discount. That’s how I decided to do it, but my daughter did it online and since she is good with phones and she found it easy.
I am so glad Capital One left the Bay and Costco as other people commenting have said they treated their Canadian clientele horribly I am so much happier with a Bay Card from Neo Financial.
I recommend this card to anyone, especially Bay shoppers!!! The 90 days to return is so convenient and the threshold for free shipping is lowered to just $45 online. This card makes my shopping experience at The Bay just so much better and I use it as my main credit card at most other stores because of the cashback.
@Karen: Thanks for the updates.
Maybe Capital One wasn’t perfect, but at least it was a reputable, well established bank. I am all for keeping the business home and there are some very good Canadian banks that HBC could have chosen from. However, they picked Neo Financial which, sorry to say, is a joke. Why they did it? While I do not have the insights, these collaborations are often done as results of bids, so it was probably the cheapest option available. Considering the financial turmoil HBC was swimming in for the last few years, it comes as no surprise they made that choice.
So why is Neo Financial that bad? Many never even heard of this institution and that is understandable – was only launched in September 2020 by two of the co-founders of Skip The Dishes (Andrew Chau and Jeff Adamson) and Kris Read. While there is nothing wrong with being new (it is actually healthy to challenge the old ways), they are doing too many things wrong to be taken seriously. But let’s concentrate on some of the frustrations the “happy” owners of the HBC Neo MC have to put up with.
– Until just few months ago, getting a live CSR over the phone was virtually impossible. For many months the website had no phone number listed anywhere, so one had to be quite ingenious to obtain a phone number to call (all they had listed was an email which I personally tried – no answer to this date…). Not that calling was of any help, all one would get was a voice greeting stating they cannot answer the phone. Just that, regardless of the time you placed the call. Now they do have live CSR’s, but they are trained to be useless.
– They still haven’t figured out a way to enable authorized prepayment (like HBC had before with Capital One). It is the only financial institution that does not provide this basic service. Just today I was on the phone with them and the person I was talking to confirmed there is no plan (that he knew of) to enable authorized prepayments. Why you wonder, well… there are many reasons, like being able to create a relationship with the various customers banks, but most likely, but also because they do not want you to pay your bill in time, every single time. You know what I mean.
– Every other store issues credit cards per household accounts (one account with 2 or more card owners) and that is the same way it was done before with the HBC MC as well. Now he and her will have 2 separate accounts with 2 separate rewards programs which makes it very difficult to cumulate rewards or to manage the bill payments. It is basic, everyone decent does it… except Neo.
Are there any positives you wonder? Yes, there is one: the card is black and so it happens I like black. That’s about it.
I only have problem this Neo card.
Last week I had to return a purchase made with Neo card and the refund was decline ?? So I ended with a gift card that I did not want.
The associate could not understand why a refund was declined, so she suggest that I call Neo which I have no time to be on hold for hours
I don’t recommend this card at all !
My rating is F-
Gaetane
Please add to the cons: 1) this card will not link to your Quickbooks software, 2) they won’t let you set up auto-pay unless you create a neo bank account and pay from that account (defeating the whole purpose of auto-pay), 3) lack of customer service
How can I make a payment on my NEO Hudsons Bay account? I live in Canada.
@Betty: You can pay your Hudson’s Bay Mastercard powered by Neo Financial through online banking by adding Neo Financial as a payee or call your financial institution to help you set this up.
I signed up for a Hudson Bay MasterCard in February and I still haven’t received it . How long does it take
@Debra: A few weeks from my experience.
When I added Neo as a payee online RBC, it came up as “Owners of Strata Plan eps2532”. I’m very confused. Off to the bank I go!
@Holly: Yes, that’s weird.