*Worth adding Neo Financial Mastercard to my wallet? Talk me into it (or out of it)*

So right now I use SimplyCash Preferred Card from AMEX. It does the job and I am happy with it, but I was looking at Neo’s basic no-fee Mastercard. Wanted to think this out loud, and see if anyone here has personal experience with it. Based on what I see on their website

They offer:

• 1% back on gas and groceries

• “Up to 15%" at their partner stores (apparently 10,000+ across Canada)

• No annual fee

• Instant approval and a digital card you can use right away

The pros I see:

• No fee, so there's basically no cost to just having it in the rotation

• The partner cashback is genuinely high if you already shop at any of these stores

• Easy approval, and they have a secured version, so it's a decent option if you're building or rebuilding credit

• Cashback lands instantly instead of once a year

Some cons I keep coming back to:

• 1% base on gas and groceries is honestly low. My current card already beats that

• The good rates (the 4% type numbers) seem to depend on parking money in a Neo Everyday account, which changes the math

• The 15% is a partner thing, not an everywhere thing, so I'd only win if my regular spend happens to line up with their partners

• Interest rate is steep but I never carry a balance so not a con for me personally.

Bottom line is it doesn't look like it’s going to replace my main card. More like a secondary card for the partner deals, since I already shop at some of the stores they partner with. Curious if anyone's actually cashed in the partner rewards or if that's more marketing than reality.