Every year, Ratehub.ca rounds up the best credit cards in the country to help Canadians wade through the financial weeds to find the card most suited to their spending habits and lifestyle.
Like clothing, credit cards aren’t one-size-fits-all. We’ve said this before — the best one for you depends on your financial situation and may be one earns you rewards for travel or merchandise, saves you money via a low interest rate or puts cash right back into your wallet.
Ratehub.ca’s take
If you’re looking for a well-rounded, lucrative rewards card that’s just as great for everyday spending as it is for travel, the American Express Cobalt has got you covered. Cardholders can take advantage of the strong travel insurance, impressive welcome bonus and flexible point redemption options.
Offering an industry-leading five times the points (valued at $0.01 per dollar) on eligible restaurants and food delivery purchases, three times the points on eligible streaming services, and twice the points on travel and daily transit, the American Express Cobalt easily takes our prize for best overall travel credit card in Canada. Aside from that, the card’s welcome bonus gives new users the ability to earn 2,500 points for each month you spend $500, up to a maximum of 30,000 points—that’s $300 towards a weekend getaway or concert tickets.
Pros
- Great welcome bonus – earn 2,500 points for each month you spend $500, up to a maximum of 30,000 points—that’s $300 towards a weekend getaway or concert tickets.
- Flexible and easy point redemption, allowing cardholders to redeem their Membership Rewards for travel, gift cards, merchandise, or purchases. Frequent flyers can also transfer their points 1:1 to several loyalty programs.
- Earning potential for restaurants and takeout is significantly higher than most other cards
- Access to Front of the Line Presale and Reserved tickets to concerts, theater performances, movie screenings, and culinary events, along with other special offers
- Strong travel insurance package including up to $5,000,000 in travel emergency medical
- No fee for additional authorized users (an average fee of $30 – 50 on other comparable cards)
Cons
- Monthly fee of $12.99 (coming to an annual fee of $156, which is higher than most other rewards cards)
- American Express isn’t as widely accepted in Canada compared to Visa and Mastercard
- Travel insurance package does not cover trip cancellation or medical coverage for cardholders over the age of 65
- Airport lounge access isn’t provided, which may be disappointing to frequent travels
Honourable mention for best overall travel credit card
Scotiabank®* Gold American Express® Card
featured
Earn $580/yrbased on spending $2,200/moafter $120 annual fee
Features that match your choices
- Baggage delay insurance
- Baggage loss insurance
- Car rental insurance
- Extended warranty
- Flight delay insurance
- No foreign exchange fee
- Price protection
- Purchase assurance
- Travel accident insurance
- Travel emergency medical
- Trip cancellation
- Trip interruption
Redemption flexibility
HIGH
Redeem your points against any travel purchase on your statementgo to site
check eligibilityread more
Welcome bonus
45,000 pts
$450 value
Annual fee$120 $0
1st year waived
Purchase interest: 20.99%
Cash advance: 22.99%
Balance transfer: 22.99%
Credit recommended: 660+
Min. income: $12,000/yr
Ratehub.ca’s take
The Scotiabank Gold American Express Card has a best in class return on spending due to the 5 times multiplier for every $1 spent on groceries, restaurants, food delivery and entertainment and 3 times multiplier on gas and transit. This adds up to a ton of points on your everyday purchases. On top of that, cardholders will not have to pay a foreign transaction fee on foreign currency purchases and have access to a cohesive travel insurance package. The Scotiabank Gold American Express card is a great travel companion offering significant savings.
Pros
- No foreign exchange fee on any foreign currency purchases while traveling abroad or shopping online (typically a 2.5% fee)
- Extensive insurance coverage – The $1 million travel medical insurance lasts for 25 days, which is one of the longer coverage periods you’ll get.
- High average % return on spending (5 points per $1 on purchases) – best in class multipliers across groceries, restaurants, entertainment, gas and transit
- Great welcome bonus with the opportunity to earn up to $850 in value in the first 12 months, including up to 45,000 bonus Scene+ points. Must apply by April 30, 2023.
- Access to VIP airport lounges and around the clock concierge services
Cons
- Points will expire if they are not used with 12 months of the purchase date
- American Express isn’t as widely accepted in Canada compared to Visa and Mastercard
- Annual Fee $120
Best overall cash back credit card
CIBC Dividend® Visa Infinite* Card
No reviews yet
featured
Earn $435/yrbased on spending $2,200/moafter $120 annual fee
Features that match your choices
- Car rental insurance
- Extended warranty
- Mobile insurance
- Price protection
- Purchase assurance
- Travel emergency medical
Redemption flexibility
HIGHgo to site
check eligibilityread more
Annual fee
$120
Purchase interest: 20.99%
Cash advance: 22.99%
Balance transfer: 22.99%
Credit recommended: 725+
Min. income: $60,000/yr
Ratehub.ca’s take
The biggest selling point of the CIBC Dividend® Visa Infinite* is its impressive rewards on everyday essentials. On top of the 1% earn rate for all purchases, this card earns an industry-leading 4% cash back on both groceries and gas purchases – two of the most common spending categories for Canadian households. Thanks to CIBC’s new Cash Back on demand feature, cardholders can choose to redeem rewards at any time as a statement credit starting in increments of $25.
Pros
- Significantly higher earn rates on groceries and gas than most other cards (4% cash back)
- Flexible cash back redemption option allowing users to redeem their cash back at any time in increments of $25
- Access to CIBC’s Pace It program, allowing you to pay off large purchases in monthly increments
- Features an excellent digital-only welcome bonus, where new users who apply online can Get a first-year annual-fee rebate for you and up to three authorized users, and 10% cash back for the first four statements on net purchases of up to $2,500.
- Access to the Visa Infinite Program, entitling you to attend special dining events and hotel perks at participating hotels and restaurants
Cons
- Annual fee ($120) and personal income requirements ($60,0000) may be prohibitive
- Insurance coverage isn’t as comprehensive as other similar rewards cards (if insurance is a priority for you, consider the cards featured on our list of Best credit cards for travel insurance)
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Honourable mention for best overall cash back credit card
Scotia Momentum® Visa Infinite* Card
featured
Earn $399/yrbased on spending $2,200/moafter $120 annual fee
Features that match your choices
- Baggage delay insurance
- Baggage loss insurance
- Car rental insurance
- Extended warranty
- Purchase assurance
- Travel accident insurance
- Travel emergency medical
- Trip interruption
Redemption flexibility
HIGHgo to site
check eligibilityread more
Annual fee$120 $0
1st year waived
Purchase interest: 20.99%
Cash advance: 22.99%
Balance transfer: 22.99%
Credit recommended: 660+
Min. income: $60,000/yr
Ratehub.ca’s take
Similar to the CIBC Dividend Visa Infinite credit card, the Scotiabank Momentum Visa Infinite card offers impressive rewards on everyday purchases. This card earns 4% back on groceries, recurring bill payments, and subscriptions like Netflix, 2% on gas, local transit and transportation costs and 1% on everything else. This card can help offset rising household expenses and is considered to be one of the best cash back credit cards.
Pros
- Significantly higher earn rates on groceries and gas than most other cards (4% cash back)
- Strong insurance coverage which typically is reserved for travel credit cards
- Annual fee is waived for the first year
Cons
- Limit of an annual total spend of $25,000 on the 4% and 2% spending categories; where after the earn rate drops to 1%
- Cash back reward is only offered as a statement credit once per year in November and cannot be redeemed in smaller amounts or any other time of year
Best low interest credit card
MBNA True Line® Mastercard® credit card
No reviews yet
featured
Pay $5.41/mobased on credit balance $500/moAnnual fee$0Purchase interest rate12.99%go to site
check eligibilityread more
Balance transfer offer
0.00%
for 12 months
Purchase interest: 12.99%
Cash advance: 24.99%
Balance transfer: 12.99%
Credit recommended: 660+
Min. income: $0
Ratehub.ca’s take
In the Venn diagram of features most sought after by those looking to minimize their credit card debt, the MBNA True Line Mastercard has some considerable overlap. The card has no annual fee and a below-average purchase interest rate of 12.99% on purchases and balance transfers.
Pros
- The low interest rate of 12.99% is fixed and won’t change regardless of your credit rating, income, or the bank’s prime lending rate
- No annual fee and no income requirements to qualify making it very accessible
- Promotional balance transfer of 0% is available for a full year helping pay down or eliminate credit card debt
Cons
- Does not include insurance or other benefits
- Offer not available to residents of Quebec
Best balance transfer credit card
No reviews yet
featured
Pay $50/mofor the first 10 months
to pay off your debt interest freeBalance transfer offer
First 10 months0.00%When promo ends13.99%Balance transfer fee
1% of transferred balance$5go to site
check eligibilityread more
Annual fee
$29
Purchase interest: 13.99%
Cash advance: 13.99%
Balance transfer: 13.99%
Credit recommended: 660+
Min. income: $15,000/yr
Ratehub.ca’s take
The CIBC Select Visa shoots right to the top of our list for best balance transfer credit card in Canada for its undeniably great balance transfer promotion: Transfer your credit card balance. Get 0% interest for up to 10 months with a 1% transfer fee and a first year annual fee rebate.. With interest completely out of the equation for a limited time, you can move the balance owed on your current credit card over to the CIBC Select Visa and chip away at your debt faster and more efficiently. The good news is the CIBC Select Visa also offers a below-average interest rate of 13.99% as standard. So, even if you can’t completely tackle the debt you transferred before the allotted ten-month promotional period ends, you can continue to leverage a low interest rate that’s between eight and six percentage points below what most other credit cards charge.
Pros
- Offers an unbeatable 0% interest rate on balance for a limited-time of ten months and carries a below-average interest rate of 13.99% as standard
- Ability to add up to three authorized users at no additional cost
Cons
- As a low interest credit card, the CIBC Select Visa doesn’t offer much in the form of perks
- Balance transfer offer is available exclusively to new cardholders when applying online, and you can only transfer up to 50% of your assigned credit limit
Best credit card for bad / rebuilding credit
Plastk Secured Visa Rewards Credit Card
No reviews yet
featured
Earn -$15/yrbased on spending $2,200/moafter $120 annual fee
Redemption flexibility
HIGH
Redeem points against any purchase charged to your cardgo to site
check eligibilityread more
Welcome bonus
5,000 pts
$20 value
Annual fee
$120
Purchase interest: 17.99%
Cash advance: 21.99%
Balance transfer: 17.99%
Credit recommended: 300+
Min. income: $0
Ratehub.ca’s take
For those looking to rebuild their credit, the Plastk Secured Visa Rewards Card offers cardholders a great welcome offer, the ability to earn rewards, a below-average interest rate and monthly credit score tracking updates through Equifax. While the annual fee of $120 is not prohibitive, cardholders will also have to pay a $6 monthly maintenance fee raising the total annual fee cost to $120.
Pros
- Sign up bonus – Zero interest rate for the first 3 months. Upon sign up, new Customers get 5000 Rewards Points ≈ $20.00 redeemable after 3 months*.
- Ability to earn rewards on purchases
- The purchase interest rate of 17.99% is one of the lowest available compared to most cards
- 25 day interest-free grace period
- Monthly credit score updates through Equifax helping cardholders monitor their credit score and any changes
Cons
- If cardholders fail to make the minimum payment for two consecutive month the purchase interest rate increases from 17.99% to 29.99%
- The $6 monthly maintenance fee in addition to the $120 annual fee could be intimidating to users who don’t want to spend too much on a card (total annual cost of $120)
- There are a few hidden charges to watch out, such as $35 charge for dishonoured payments and a 4.5% foreign conversion fee (compared to 2.5 – 3% for most other cards)
