There are lots of credit cards that offer points to be redeemed for rewards. I haven't heard of redeeming for GICs, but I doubt those would give you a great reward. Usually the best ones are for travelling, like the MBNA SPG mastercard that you can redeem for stays in Starwood hotels, getting 3% or more back (card is now discontinued). For less specific travel, Capital One offers a pair of "miles" cards that you can redeem on ANY travel expenses after you've charged them to your card, so there's no blackouts or restrictions like you'd get with Aeroplan or Air Miles point systems. The
no-fee card gives you 1% back (no tiers, just solid 1%) and the
$99/yr card gives you 2% back (also no tiers). The extra percentage pays for the annual fee if you spend over $10,000/yr on it.
In terms of cash-back vs rewards, I find that the best reward cards are better than the best cash-back cards. Taking the annual fee into account, the Capital One Miles Plus card earns me $901 worth of travel if I spend $50,000 on it. The MBNA Smart Cash card would only earn a max of $644! I challenge anyone to find a cash-back card that can even earn $800 on the same amount (adjusted for fees).