Canadian Tire Roadside Assistance Reviews

In this article, I cover the best Canadian tire roadside assistance Canada and why every car owner in Canada should have it. These will be divided into three categories. The first category covers only completely free plans. The second category includes plans that are offered with deductible fee-based credit cards. The third and final category is for services provided independently.

The History Behind Canadian Tire Roadside Assistance

Roadside assistance is like any insurance. This protects you from sudden failures and is greatly appreciated when needed but otherwise feels like a waste of money.

Wouldn’t you be happy to have your insurance covered for free? Like the many travel insurance, car rental insurance, and many other benefits that come with many credit cards these days?

As always, I like to personalize my posts here so the experience is personal. I didn’t get roadside assistance until 2018. We had a flat tire on the way back to our Airbnb from Oslo, Norway, which was 40 minutes away. It was after midnight and in the middle of the highway. There was no spare tire on the car, so I had to call for help. Fortunately, since there was no spare tire, all costs ($565 including taxi fees to our Airbnb and then Europcar’s airport office, towing company, and replacement car) were covered by the rental company.

This experience made me realize that anything can happen to a car, even a brand-new one. Furthermore, it has been proven that a simple emergency can cost hundreds of dollars. So, I applied for a credit card to get free roadside assistance in Canada covering both Canada and the US.

Features To Consider Before Choosing A Roadside Assistance Plan

The most important question to answer is what kind of coverage do you need? In Canada, we barely run out of fuel because gas stations are almost everywhere. However, your car tire may get punctured. Also, with the cold winter months in mind, the possibility of waking up to a dead battery is not uncommon.

Also, the car may suddenly break down during a road trip away from home. How far back do you want to draw your roadside plan? Some plans only cover 5km, which means it’s only good if you’re driving around major cities. If you drive outside the city and use rural or highway roads, even 5 or 20 km will not be good coverage and you will have to pay a lot for the extra km.

Another consideration is deciding whether you want a driver or car plan. In a driver plan, any vehicle the covered driver drives gets coverage. This is a good option if the person drives more than one car.

The Only Free Roadside Assistance Plan in Canada

Well, this may sound strange but unfortunately, the only way to get free roadside assistance in Canada is through Canadian Tire. The Home Trust Preferred visa used to include roadside assistance which no longer exists.

The Canadian Tire Triangle World Elite MasterCard really makes life a lot easier without spending a ton of extra money. Treating it like a free credit card, its roadside assistance service is the only free roadside assistance plan in Canada. I hope that doesn’t change anytime soon. Honestly, this free plan is much better than many paid roadside assistance plans in Canada.

Features of Canadian Tire Gold Roadside Assistance Plans

Vehicle Plan: A registered car service regardless of the driver (my option as we have 1 car)

Driver Plan: Serve driver regardless of the car (can be any car including a rental car)

Roadside Assistance covers both Canada and the United States

Coverage includes standard fuel delivery ($5 free), flat tire replacement, battery boost, lock-out service, extrication, and winch

Service calls every 200 km up to 5 pm at any selected service center and unlimited tow at any Canadian Tire Auto service center.

Canadian Tire Roadside Assistance Disadvantages

No drive or passenger transport. It means in case of breakdown; Car passengers have to figure out how to find their ride.

Canadian Tire has reduced its towing coverage to 200 km from its previous 250 km.

Fee-based credit card roadside assistance plan in Canada

Since the credit card is not free, it cannot be classified as free roadside assistance. However, there are ways to do it for free, such as taking advantage of a promotional offer that waives the first-year fee or opening an expensive checking account package by maintaining a minimum balance to waive the checking account fee. These packages usually cover one credit card fee per year.

BMO CashBack World Elite Mastercard (DAA Basic Coverage) – Free Options

BMO Cashback World Elite MasterCard comes with some decent returns including 5% cashback Covers groceries, 4% transit, 3% gas, 2% recurring bills, and 1% on all other purchases. However, it costs $120 per year.

Each category has conditions like maximum spend etc. so please review the details. For example, groceries are only for supermarkets and not slaughterhouses or bakeries and it only pays 5% up to $500 spent per month.

How to get BMO Cashback World Elite Mastercard for free? Having BMO’s Premium Checking Account offers a full discount on this credit card. However, the premium checking fee is $30 per month, which can be waived by maintaining a minimum monthly balance of $6,000.

TD Cash Back Visa Infinite Card (Deluxe TD Auto Club)

The TD Cash Back Visa Infinite Card comes with 3% cash back dollars on grocery, gas, and recurring bills and 1% on all other purchases. It has a $120 annual fee, so it’s not classified as free roadside assistance.

How to Get a Free TD Cash Back Visa Infinite Card? Getting the TD All-Inclusive Banking Plan offers a full discount for this credit card. However, the cost of all-inclusive checking is $29.95 per month which can be waived by maintaining a minimum monthly balance of $5,000.

Final Thoughts and Conclusion

My policy as always is “Why pay more if you can legally get it cheap or free”? I’ve already talked about the winning Canadian tires that I like and what I use.

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