Roam Like Home

Rogers has a new credit card offering cash back rewards and bonus earnings when redeeming cash back for select Rogers purchases, like paying a phone bill.

Rogers Bank’s new ‘Rogers Connections Mastercard’ offers cash back on “everyday purchases,” with two percent unlimited cash back on “eligible U.S. dollar purchases” and one percent unlimited cash back on other eligible purchases. Plus, customers who apply now for a Connections Mastercard will get a welcome bonus of 10 percent cash back for the first three months (up to a value of $100, according to a Rogers press release about the card).

Moreover, the Rogers Connections Mastercard offers a 30 percent bonus when customers redeem earned cashback for Rogers phone upgrades, and accessories, or when paying a monthly Rogers bill.

Along with the cashback bonus, the Rogers Connections Mastercard offers five free ‘Roam Like Home‘ days at no cost each year. Currently, Rogers charges $12/day for Roam Like Home when travelling to the U.S., and $15/day for international locations, up to a maximum of 20 days per billing cycle (Rogers actually increased the Roam Like Home price in March — remember the wild days of 2014 when Roam Like Home cost $5/day for up to 10 days per billing cycle?).

The Rogers Connections Mastercard has no annual fee for the first year but does cost $29 annually after the first year. Rogers does offer an “ongoing annual fee rebate” for customers who pay their monthly Rogers bill online with the Rogers Connections Mastercard.

Rogers’ new credit card comes ahead of the October 6th change to credit card fees, which will see Canadian businesses able to apply surcharges when customers pay with credit cards to cover the cost of credit card processing.

MobileSyrup asked Rogers if the company planned to add credit card surcharges to customer bills as Telus did, and whether it would exempt the Connections Mastercard from those fees. A Rogers spokesperson said that “with regards to a credit card processing fee, we have no plans to move ahead with a fee like this at this time.”

You can learn more about the Rogers Connections Mastercard on the Rogers Bank website. It joins the Rogers World Elite Mastercard and the Fido Mastercard.

Header image credit: Rogers Bank

Rogers plans to increase the cost of its ‘Roam Like Home‘ travel package again in March 2022.

According to a notice on Rogers’ website spotted by a MobileSyrup reader, the Toronto-based national carrier will increase the cost of both its U.S. Roam Like Home and International Roam Like Home packages by $2 and $1, respectively.

Currently, U.S. roaming costs $10 per day for a maximum of 15 days per billing cycle, or $150 maximum per bill. That means if you were to travel to the U.S. for, say, 17 days, you’d pay roaming for the first 15 days and not be charged for roaming on the 16th and 17th days. Alternatively, you can choose to use your phone only on certain days and only be charged for those days of use.

With the upcoming price change effective March 1st, U.S. Roam Like Home will cost $12/day for a maximum of 20 days (or $240 total). While the price increase itself isn’t huge, coupled with the extra days’ customers can be charged, it makes Roam Like Home a far more expensive option.

Similarly, Rogers’ International Roam Like Home costs $14/day for up to 15 days per billing cycle ($210 total). Starting March 1st, it’ll cost $15/day for up to 20 days per billing cycle. ($300 total).

As before, Roam Like Home lets customers use the data, minutes, and texts included in their Rogers plan while travelling in other countries. If you’re someone who travels to the U.S. often (although with the pandemic, this likely doesn’t apply to most), Rogers also offers a Canada+U.S. option for $20/mo on top of any of its ‘Infinite’ plans — the lowest being $80/mo, so with the add-on, $100/mo total. This feature can be applied when selecting a plan and, according to a Rogers FAQ page, grants customers access to calls, texts, and data while in the U.S. without additional roaming fees.

At the time of writing, Telus charged $11/day for U.S. roaming with a cap of $120 per billing cycle and $14/day for international roaming with a cap of $180 per billing cycle. Telus also currently offers a special roaming deal that only charges customers $60 for 30 consecutive days of U.S. roaming (the offer ends March 31st).

Bell charges $10/day for U.S. roaming and $14/day for international roaming, both up to a maximum of 20 days ($200 total and $280 total respectively).

You can learn more about Rogers’ Roam Like Home package here.