If you’re like me, then you might remember eating ultra-high-fructose corn syrup-laden breakfast cereal as a child. Many of these cereals came with contests such as “collect five tops to enter a contest to see your favourite pop star”.

It looks like Simplii Financial has onboarded this old but venerable tactic. Their newest welcome offer encourages customers to sign up for the Simplii Financial Cash Back Visa for a prospect even more exciting than pop stars: a chance to attend the 2022 FIFA World Cup in sunny Qatar, plus $150 in cash back. 

$150 and 4% Cash Back, Chequing Account Needed

Let’s take a look at Simplii’s latest promotion for their Cash Back Visa Card.

As you can see, the bank is offering $150 in cash, plus an entry into a draw for free tickets to the World Cup in Qatar this fall. 

This is an all-time-high bonus, as the normal public offer on this product was 10% cash back on restaurants and food delivery up to $500 in purchases, for a net of $50 in your pocket. This money was provided as a statement credit on your credit card at the end of the year, instead of cash.

Apply by October 20, 2022 and you’ll be eligible for the the $150, which is being issued as a direct deposit into your Simplii No-Fee Chequing Account by November, 2022.

It might be a good idea to take advantage of Simplii’s $350 bank account sign up bonus, because you’ll need this chequing account (if you don’t already have one) in order to apply for the Simplii Cash Back Visa Card. Make sure to follow our handy bank account bonus guide so you don’t miss out on any promotional dollars.

Not only is the welcome bonus of $150 quite enticing, it also might be worth adding this Visa card to your wallet’s permanent rotation. At 4% cash back on eats and drinks, it’s the highest-earning restaurant category card this side of American Express.

As acceptance isn’t the best for payment solutions such as the American Express Cobalt Card or the Scotiabank Gold Amex Card, Simplii’s humble offering is perfect for those moments when the payment machine says “No Amex”.

To sweeten the deal, it comes at the low price of $0 per annum and a minimum household income of $15,000, making it easy to access for those outside the Visa Infinite or World Elite Mastercard club.

A Chance to Win a Trip to the FIFA World Cup

Most interesting is the opportunity to win a free trip to Qatar 2022. As anyone who’s booked a trip to the World Cup can attest, it’s quite a difficult experience to book match tickets, hotels, and flights without parting with a significant amount of cash.

It would therefore be a huge relief to win the grand prize just from signing up for a credit card. Visa has graciously donated the following award package to one lucky applicant:

The thought of an economy flight that long doesn’t seem entertaining, but hey, at least it’s free. Plus, the four paid nights at a hotel, and a chance to see both Canada and football powerhouse Brazil play, seem well worth the temporary soreness!

The cardholders fortunate enough to be selected will be contacted by October 25, 2022, giving them at least one month to arrange time off before the trip. 

Will We See More Lottery Welcome Bonuses?

As far as credit card welcome bonuses go, a chance to win a free trip seems like an odd, albeit interesting, tactic for Simplii to gain more customers for its Visa product. In fact, I can’t recall having seen such an offer in the past.

Combining this prize draw with a guaranteed cash payment of $150, instead of receiving this as a statement credit, is another conscious choice to provide value to customers who’ve had to apply for the chequing account in order to qualify for this prize. 

Overall, this strategy seems sound, because it’s encouraging prospective customers to stay within the Simplii ecosystem, while also adding excitement in addition to the free cash. Will we see this promotional method spread in an ever more competitive market for customer loyalty?

I reckon there’s a good chance we’ll see more welcome bonuses that resemble this campaign, especially among Canada’s smaller credit card issuers.

Customers have shown that they want unique experiences as well as superior products, and Simplii is offering just that: a welcome bonus that gives a guaranteed payout, plus a bit of the excitement.

Conclusion

The Simplii Financial Cash Back Visa Card is a great value product, even if it has been under-promoted in previous years. It looks like Simplii and Visa are partnering to make this card even more exciting to consumers, by offering a decent welcome bonus and a unique opportunity to win tickets to the World Cup festivities in Qatar.

If you’re in need of a no-fee credit card with 4% cash back on eats and drinks, and you’re also in the market for the chequing account to go with it, don’t hesitate to sign up before October 20, 2022 to take advantage of this offer. Here’s hoping a Prince of Travel reader wins the grand prize.

Until next time, keep on planning those World Cup getaways!