Cards you apply for as yourself, on your own credit, ranked on what each one returns against what it costs to hold. Personal and business cards never appear in the same list here: a card that needs a business number should not turn up when you are shopping for groceries.
The default order is our own rating. Tell the tool roughly what you spend each month and it reorders on what each card would actually return you once the annual fee is taken off, which is the only comparison that answers the question people are really asking.
Every figure comes from the issuer’s own page and carries the date it was checked. Where an issuer publishes nothing, the field is shown as not published rather than as a zero, because a card that has not stated its foreign transaction fee is not a card without one.
All 98 Credit Cards, Ranked by Our Rating
Scotiabank Gold American Express Card
Scotiabank · American Express · $120 a year · 5x on groceries
Five points a dollar on groceries, dining and entertainment with no foreign transaction fee, for $120. Nothing else here does all three. The catch is that it is an Amex, so it will be refused where a Visa would not.
American Express Cobalt Card
American Express · American Express · $191.88 a year · 5x on groceries
Five points a dollar on restaurants, bars, coffee and groceries is the highest food earn rate in Canada, and Membership Rewards transfer to Aeroplan. Worth it if you eat out; not if you do not.
RBC ION Plus Visa Card
RBC · Visa · $48 a year · 3x on groceries
Three points a dollar across five everyday categories for $48 a year. At RBC's own one cent redemption rate that is 3% back, which almost nothing else at this price matches.
BMO eclipse Visa Infinite Card
BMO · Visa · $120 a year · 5x on groceries
5 points a dollar on groceries, gas, dining and transit, which is about 3.3% back once you use BMO's own redemption rate. Four categories at that rate is the broadest coverage on this page.
Tangerine Money-Back Credit Card
Tangerine · Mastercard · No annual fee · 2% on groceries
You pick two categories to earn 2% on, there is no fee and no cap. The simplest card here to recommend, and the easiest to hold alongside something else.
PC Financial World Elite Mastercard
PC Financial · Mastercard · No annual fee · 45x on drugstore
4.5% at Shoppers Drug Mart and 3% at Loblaws banners, with no annual fee. If you shop there anyway this is one of the best free cards in Canada. If you do not, it is a 1% card.
TD Cash Back Visa Infinite Card
TD · Visa · $139 a year · 3% on groceries
3% across five categories with a separate $15,000 cap on each, rather than one shared pot. Nobody realistically exhausts $75,000 of bonus spending, so this is effectively uncapped for a normal household.
Wealthsimple Visa Infinite + Credit Card
Wealthsimple · Visa · $240 a year · 2% on everything
A flat 2% on everything with no foreign transaction fee, which is the best combination on this list. The catch is that the $240 fee is billed monthly and only disappears while you keep $100,000 with Wealthsimple.
Read our full Wealthsimple Visa Infinite + Credit Card review
Scotiabank Momentum Visa Infinite Card
Scotiabank · Visa · $120 a year · 4% on groceries
4% on groceries and on recurring bills, which few cards pay well on. The first year is free, and it is a Visa, so it works everywhere.
SimplyCash Preferred Card from American Express
American Express · American Express · $119.88 a year · 4% on groceries
4% on gas and groceries up to $30,000 a year and 2% on everything else, which is the highest base cash back rate in this comparison. Billed at $9.99 a month.
Read our full SimplyCash Preferred Card from American Express review
CIBC Aeroplan Visa Infinite Card
CIBC · Visa · $139 a year · 1.5x on groceries
The free first checked bag covers up to nine people on one booking, which is the reason to hold this card. The earn rates are ordinary and the spending cap is tighter than it looks.
CIBC Dividend Visa Card for Students
CIBC · Visa · No annual fee · 2% on groceries
2% on groceries with no cap, 1% on gas, transit, dining and bills, and CIBC states a $0 income requirement in writing. The best combination in the student segment.
MBNA True Line Mastercard
MBNA · Mastercard · No annual fee · 0% on everything
0% on balance transfers for twelve statement periods and a 12.99% purchase rate the rest of the time. No rewards, no insurance, and not available in Quebec.
National Bank World Elite Mastercard
National Bank · Mastercard · $150 a year · 5x on groceries
The only card here that covers travellers over 65 properly, with 15 days of medical cover up to age 75. The earning is crippled by a monthly cap most people will not notice until it bites.
Scotiabank Platinum American Express Card
Scotiabank · American Express · $399 a year · 2x on everything
$399 for a flat 2 points a dollar, no foreign transaction fee, ten lounge visits and a 9.99% interest rate. An unusual combination that suits a specific reader very well.
Read our full Scotiabank Platinum American Express Card review
TD Aeroplan Visa Infinite Card
TD · Visa · $139 a year · 1.5x on groceries
The free first checked bag for you and up to eight companions is worth more than the fee if you fly Air Canada even twice a year. The earn rates are ordinary.
Wealthsimple Visa Infinite Privilege Credit Card
Wealthsimple · Visa · $240 a year · 2% on everything
The same 2% and the same $240 fee as the Infinite +, with better insurance and six lounge visits. You are paying the same money for benefits, not for a higher earn rate.
Read our full Wealthsimple Visa Infinite Privilege Credit Card review
BMO Ascend World Elite Mastercard
BMO · Mastercard · $150 a year · 5x on travel
5 points a dollar on travel and 3 on dining, entertainment and bills, with the fee waived in year one. Every bonus category is capped and BMO puts the caps in a popup.
CIBC Dividend Platinum Visa Card
CIBC · Visa · $99 a year · 3% on groceries
3% on gas and groceries with no published cap, 2% on transport, dining and bills, and the $99 fee waived in the first year.
Home Trust Secured Visa Card
Home Trust · Visa · No annual fee · 0% on everything
Almost anyone who puts down a deposit is approved, and it reports to the credit bureau monthly. No rewards, no insurance, and not available in Quebec.
CIBC Aeroplan Visa Infinite Privilege Card
CIBC · Visa · $599 a year · 1.5x on groceries
$599 for unlimited Maple Leaf Lounge access in North America, plus 1.5 Aeroplan points a dollar on most everyday categories. The lounge benefit is the reason to hold it.
Read our full CIBC Aeroplan Visa Infinite Privilege Card review
Scotiabank American Express Card
Scotiabank · American Express · No annual fee · 3x on groceries
3 Scene+ points a dollar at Sobeys family grocers, 2 on dining, gas, transit and streaming, and no annual fee. The catch is where American Express is accepted.
WestJet RBC World Elite Mastercard
RBC · Mastercard · $139 a year · 2x on groceries
An annual companion voucher that flies someone with you from $119, plus a free checked bag. Worth it if WestJet is your airline and worth very little if it is not.
American Express Aeroplan Reserve Card
American Express · American Express · $599 a year · 2x on dining
$599 for 3 Aeroplan points a dollar with Air Canada, 2 on Canadian restaurants and Maple Leaf Lounge access. The trip insurance is the same as on the $120 card.
CIBC Dividend Visa Infinite Card
CIBC · Visa · $120 a year · 4% on groceries
4% on both groceries and gas is a combination almost nothing else offers. Two spending caps run at once, though, and the tighter one arrives sooner than most people expect.
MBNA Rewards World Elite Mastercard
MBNA · Mastercard · $120 a year · 5x on groceries
$120 for 5 points a dollar on restaurants, groceries, digital media, memberships and utilities. A wide accelerated set at a mid tier price.
Triangle World Elite Mastercard
Canadian Tire · Mastercard · No annual fee · 3% on groceries
4% back at Canadian Tire and Sport Chek with no annual fee, and Canadian Tire Money is worth a full dollar on the dollar. Useless if you do not shop there.
American Express Aeroplan Card
American Express · American Express · $120 a year · 1.5x on dining
$120 for 2 Aeroplan points a dollar with Air Canada and 1.5 on Canadian restaurants. The best mid tier Aeroplan earn rate, from the issuer people forget offers one.
CIBC Adapta Mastercard for Students
CIBC · Mastercard · No annual fee · 2x on travel
1.5 points a dollar in whichever three categories you spent most in that month, chosen automatically. Interesting for somebody who does not know where their money goes.
National Bank Syncro Mastercard
National Bank · Mastercard · $35 a year
A variable rate card priced at prime plus 4%, with a floor of 8.90%. The lowest purchase rate in this comparison, and it moves.
Rogers Red World Elite Mastercard
Rogers Bank · Mastercard · No annual fee · 1.5% on everything
2% on everything if you are a Rogers customer, and 3% in value if you spend the rewards on your Rogers bill. Despite its reputation this is not a no foreign exchange fee card.
TD First Class Travel Visa Infinite Card
TD · Visa · $139 a year · 6x on groceries
Six and eight points a dollar sounds enormous until you learn a TD Rewards point is worth half a cent. It is a 3% card with an Expedia lock in.
Read our full TD First Class Travel Visa Infinite Card review
BMO CashBack Mastercard for Students
BMO · Mastercard · No annual fee · 3% on groceries
3% on groceries, free, and aimed squarely at people who do not have an income yet. The 3% stops after $500 of groceries in a month, and you have to be under 25.
CIBC Aventura Visa Infinite Card
CIBC · Visa · $139 a year · 1.5x on groceries
Four bonus categories at 1.5 points a dollar, a $200 NEXUS credit and four free lounge visits. The spending cap counts all your purchases, not just the bonus ones, which makes it tighter than it reads.
CIBC Select Visa Card
CIBC · Visa · $29 a year
13.99% on purchases for $29, waived in the first year. CIBC's actual low rate card, as opposed to the one called Classic.
Simplii Financial Cash Back Visa Card
Simplii Financial · Visa · No annual fee · 4% on dining
4% on restaurants with no annual fee is a good headline, but the cap arrives at $5,000 of dining and the other categories share one pot. Not available in Quebec.
TD Aeroplan Visa Infinite Privilege Card
TD · Visa · $599 a year · 2x on travel
$599 for the top TD Aeroplan card, with 2 points a dollar on Air Canada and 1.5 on most everyday categories. The medical cover collapses to four days at 65.
Read our full TD Aeroplan Visa Infinite Privilege Card review
CIBC Aventura Visa Infinite Privilege Card
CIBC · Visa · $499 a year · 3x on travel
$499 for 2 points a dollar across most everyday categories, six lounge passes, a $200 travel credit and a genuinely high $200,000 cap.
Read our full CIBC Aventura Visa Infinite Privilege Card review
CIBC Dividend Visa Card
CIBC · Visa · No annual fee · 2% on groceries
Free, with 2% on groceries and 1% on gas, transit, dining and bills. Two caps run in parallel and CIBC's product page says there is no limit.
MBNA True Line Gold Mastercard
MBNA · Mastercard · $39 a year
10.99% on purchases for $39 a year, the lowest fixed purchase rate in this comparison. It earns nothing, which is the trade.
National Bank ECHO Cashback Mastercard
National Bank · Mastercard · $30 a year · 1.5% on groceries
National Bank states plainly that there is no minimum income, which is rare. The cash back is modest and the bonus rate is capped against your total spending rather than your grocery spending.
Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite Card
Scotiabank · Visa · $150 a year · 2x on groceries
No foreign transaction fee and six free lounge visits a year on a Visa. The earn rates are ordinary, so this is a card you buy for the travel perks, not the points.
Scotiabank Scene Plus Visa Card
Scotiabank · Visa · No annual fee · 1x on everything
A free flat 1% card, doubling to 2% at Sobeys banners, Cineplex and Home Hardware. No insurance of any kind and no cap on the earn rates.
Scotiabank Value Visa Card
Scotiabank · Visa · $29 a year
13.99% on purchases and cash advances, which is about eight points below the rest of this segment. It earns nothing, so it only makes sense if you carry a balance.
SimplyCash Card from American Express
American Express · American Express · No annual fee · 2% on groceries
Free, with 2% on gas and groceries and an unusually good 1.25% on everything else. The grocery bonus stops after $300 of cash back a year.
TD Platinum Travel Visa Card
TD · Visa · $89 a year · 6x on travel
$89 waived in the first year, with 4.5 points a dollar on groceries, dining and transit, each capped at $15,000. No travel medical despite the name.
American Express Platinum Card
American Express · American Express · $799 a year · 2x on dining
$799 a year buys $400 of credits, a NEXUS rebate and the best lounge access in Canada, though the lounge benefit is being cut in January 2027. The earn rate is ordinary and there is no travel medical cover at 65.
BMO Preferred Rate Mastercard
BMO · Mastercard · $29 a year
13.99% on purchases for $29 a year, waived in the first year. No rewards, which is the point.
Cathay World Elite Mastercard powered by Neo
Neo Financial · Mastercard · $180 a year · 4x on travel
$180 for an Asia Miles card with 15,000 miles on activation and no spend required. The 4x rate applies only to bookings made on Cathay's own Canadian site.
Read our full Cathay World Elite Mastercard powered by Neo review
CIBC Adapta Mastercard
CIBC · Mastercard · No annual fee · 2x on travel
Free, and the bonus follows your top three spending categories each month automatically. CIBC does not publish what an Adapta point is worth.
MBNA Rewards Platinum Plus Mastercard
MBNA · Mastercard · No annual fee · 2x on groceries
Free, with 2 points a dollar on restaurants, groceries, digital media, memberships and utilities. MBNA's English and Quebec pages disagree about the cap.
RBC Cash Back Preferred World Elite Mastercard
RBC · Mastercard · $99 a year · 1.5% on everything
$99 for 1.5% on everything, dropping to 1% after $25,000 of annual spending. No categories to track and no insurance to speak of.
Read our full RBC Cash Back Preferred World Elite Mastercard review
Scotia Momentum No-Fee Visa Card
Scotiabank · Visa · No annual fee · 1% on groceries
Free, with 1% on groceries, gas, transit, bills and subscriptions, capped at $15,000 of spending a year. Scotiabank markets it to students and publishes no income floor.
TD Cash Back Visa Card
TD · Visa · No annual fee · 1% on groceries
The no-fee version of TD's cash back card, and it is a third of the card. 1% on five categories capped at $5,000 each, and 0.5% on everything else.
BMO CashBack Mastercard
BMO · Mastercard · No annual fee · 3% on groceries
3% on groceries sounds good until you find the cap is $500 per statement period rather than per year. Maximum bonus earning is about $240 a year and the base rate is 0.5%.
BMO CashBack World Elite Mastercard
BMO · Mastercard · $139 a year · 5% on groceries
5% on groceries is the highest rate here, but every cap is monthly rather than annual, which limits the card to roughly $672 of bonus cash back a year no matter how much you spend.
BMO eclipse Visa Infinite Privilege Card
BMO · Visa · $599 a year · 5x on groceries
$599 for 5 points a dollar on groceries, dining, drugstores, gas and travel, a $200 annual credit and six lounge passes. The welcome offer is quoted at spending levels most people will not reach.
Read our full BMO eclipse Visa Infinite Privilege Card review
CIBC Aeroplan Visa Card
CIBC · Visa · No annual fee · 1x on groceries
Free, earning 1 Aeroplan point a dollar on gas, groceries and Air Canada. The only no fee route into Aeroplan from a big bank.
Marriott Bonvoy American Express Card
American Express · American Express · $120 a year · 2x on everything
$120 for 5 Bonvoy points a dollar at Marriott hotels and 2 everywhere else, with an annual free night. Sold as a travel card with no travel medical insurance.
RBC ION Visa
RBC · Visa · No annual fee · 1.5x on groceries
Free, with 1.5 Avion points a dollar on groceries, gas, transit, rideshare, streaming and gaming. The stripped down version of the $48 ION+.
CIBC Aeroplan Visa Card for Students
CIBC · Visa · No annual fee · 1x on groceries
A free student card that earns Aeroplan points and includes rental car cover. Half the advertised welcome bonus needs $10,000 of spending on a card with a $5,000 limit.
CIBC Aventura Gold Visa Card
CIBC · Visa · $139 a year · 2x on travel
$139 waived in the first year, with 1.5 Aventura points a dollar on gas, groceries and drugstores. Four lounge visits and a NEXUS rebate that arrives once every four years.
RBC Avion Visa Infinite Card
RBC · Visa · $120 a year · 1.25x on travel
$120 a year for 1 point a dollar and 1.25 on travel, with no grocery, gas or dining bonus at all. The insurance is good. The earning is not.
Rogers Red World Mastercard
Rogers Bank · Mastercard · No annual fee · 1% on everything
Free, paying 2% if you hold a Rogers, Fido, Shaw or Comwave service and 1% if you do not. Rogers introduced caps in August 2026 and has not published the numbers.
Amazon.ca Rewards Mastercard
MBNA · Mastercard · No annual fee · 1% on everything
Free, with 2.5% back at Amazon.ca if you pay for Prime and 1.5% if you do not. The rewards can only ever become Amazon gift cards.
American Express Essential Credit Card
American Express · American Express · $25 a year
$25 for 12.99% on purchases and, unusually, the same 12.99% on cash advances. Two missed payments and the rate jumps to 25.99%.
American Express Gold Rewards Card
American Express · American Express · $250 a year · 2x on groceries
A $250 fee for 2 points a dollar, when the Cobalt charges $192 for 5 on food. Hard to recommend unless you specifically want the travel credit and NEXUS rebate.
National Bank Platinum Mastercard
National Bank · Mastercard · $70 a year · 2x on groceries
$70 waived in the first year, with 2 points a dollar on groceries and restaurants up to $1,000 a month. A third of the welcome offer requires buying insurance.
Neo World Mastercard
Neo Financial · Mastercard · No annual fee · 1% on everything
1% on everything with no fee, and a partner cash back programme Neo describes as both "up to 15%" and "an average" in the same footnote. The guaranteed rate is the only rate worth planning around.
RBC Cash Back Mastercard
RBC · Mastercard · No annual fee · 2% on groceries
A free card with an earn structure that runs backwards. Non-grocery spending starts at 0.5% and rises to 1% after $6,000, while groceries start at 2% and fall to 1%.
TD Aeroplan Visa Platinum Card
TD · Visa · $89 a year · 1x on groceries
$89 for an entry level Aeroplan card, waived in the first year. The base rate is a point per $1.50, which is below the one to one most people assume.
United MileagePlus Neo World Elite Mastercard
Neo Financial · Mastercard · $89 a year · 1.25x on travel
$89 for a United card with a free checked bag and priority boarding. The base earn is 0.75 miles a dollar, which is below the one to one most people assume.
Read our full United MileagePlus Neo World Elite Mastercard review
CIBC Aventura Visa Card for Students
CIBC · Visa · No annual fee · 1x on groceries
A travel branded student card with almost no travel insurance. The advertised "$200 in value" is mostly a food delivery membership rather than points.
PC Insiders World Elite Mastercard
PC Financial · Mastercard · $120 a year · 50x on drugstore
$120 for 50 PC Optimum points a dollar at Shoppers and 40 at Loblaw stores. Away from those two chains it earns exactly what the free version earns.
WestJet RBC Mastercard
RBC · Mastercard · $39 a year · 1.5x on dining
$39 for 1.5 WestJet points a dollar on WestJet flights and dining, and a companion voucher that starts at $199 plus taxes.
Brim World Elite Mastercard
Brim Financial · Mastercard · $89 a year · 1x on everything
$89 for a flat 1% and a lounge membership that includes no free visits. The 1.5% foreign currency rate and the $5,000,000 travel medical are the real arguments.
Neo Mastercard
Neo Financial · Mastercard · No annual fee · 1% on groceries
A free starter card with no income requirement, 1% on gas and groceries, and no published rate on anything else. Useful for a thin credit file, weak as a rewards card.
RBC Avion Visa Infinite Privilege
RBC · Visa · $399 a year · 1.25x on everything
$399 for a flat 1.25 Avion points a dollar and no bonus categories at all. The 35,000 points on approval need no spending.
TD Rewards Visa Card
TD · Visa · No annual fee · 4x on travel
Free, with 3 points a dollar on groceries, dining and transit. TD Rewards points are worth about a third of a cent, so the multipliers are less impressive than they look.
Walmart Rewards Mastercard
Walmart · Mastercard · No annual fee · 3% on groceries
Free, with 3% at Walmart and 1% elsewhere. The 3% is calculated before tax and the 1% after it, which is a detail the terms spell out.
Neo World Elite Mastercard
Neo Financial · Mastercard · $149 a year · 2% on everything
$149 for 2% on the first $4,000 you spend each month and 1% after that. The monthly cap does not appear on the product page.
PC World Mastercard
PC Financial · Mastercard · No annual fee · 35x on drugstore
Free, with 35 points a dollar at Shoppers and 20 at Loblaw stores. Called a World Mastercard, with no travel insurance attached.
Scotia Momentum Visa Card
Scotiabank · Visa · $49 a year · 2% on groceries
$49 a year for 2% on a wide list of everyday categories, with no welcome bonus at all. Scotiabank markets it to students, which makes the fee a strange choice.
Brim Mastercard
Brim Financial · Mastercard · No annual fee · 0.5x on everything
A free card that pays half a percent, which is below what most free cards manage. Brim used to be the no foreign fee card in Canada and is not any more.
CIBC Costco Mastercard
CIBC · Mastercard · No annual fee · 3% on dining
Free, and it pays its worst rate, 1%, on purchases inside Costco. The rewards arrive once a year as a Costco gift certificate.
moi RBC Visa
RBC · Visa · No annual fee · 2x on groceries
Free, with 2 moi points a dollar at Metro, Super C, Jean Coutu and a handful of other banners. Outside Quebec, most of that list does not exist.
Walmart Rewards World Mastercard
Walmart · Mastercard · No annual fee · 3% on groceries
The same 3% and 1% as the standard Walmart card since September 2025. The World tier now adds benefits rather than a better rate.
CIBC Aventura Visa Card
CIBC · Visa · No annual fee · 1x on groceries
Free, and it earns a point per $2 on most spending. The bonus categories share a $6,000 annual pool, which is small.
MBNA Smart Cash Platinum Plus Mastercard
MBNA · Mastercard · No annual fee · 2% on groceries
Free, with 2% on gas and groceries limited to $500 of spending a month. The base rate is 0.5%, so the card is worth about $120 a year at best.
Read our full MBNA Smart Cash Platinum Plus Mastercard review
Secured Neo Mastercard
Neo Financial · Mastercard · No annual fee · 1% on groceries
Advertised as a $0 fee secured card. The secured limit is part of a membership that costs $7.99 a month, which is $95.88 a year, more than most secured cards charge outright.
American Express Green Card
American Express · American Express · No annual fee · 1x on everything
Free, earning a flat 1 Membership Rewards point a dollar. Amex does not publish the interest rate or the foreign transaction fee for it anywhere we could reach.
BMO CashBack World Mastercard
BMO · Mastercard · $79 a year · 3% on groceries
$79 for 3% on the first $500 of groceries each month and 0.5% on almost everything else. The bonus is worth about $180 a year against a $79 fee.
Triangle Mastercard
Canadian Tire · Mastercard · No annual fee · 1.5% on groceries
Free, with 4% back at Canadian Tire and half a percent everywhere else. The rewards are CT Money, spendable only in the Canadian Tire family.
PC Mastercard
PC Financial · Mastercard · No annual fee · 25x on drugstore
Free, and it does not pay extra for groceries at its own supermarkets. 25 points a dollar at Shoppers is the only elevated rate.
CIBC Classic Visa Card for Students
CIBC · Visa · No annual fee
No rewards at all, and the same 21.99% rate as CIBC's student cards that do pay rewards. There is no reason to choose it over them.
MBNA Smart Cash World Mastercard
MBNA · Mastercard · $39 a year · 2% on groceries
$39 for the same $500 monthly gas and grocery cap as the free version, with a 1% base instead of 0.5%. The upgrade is worth about $60 a year.
CIBC Classic Visa Card
CIBC · Visa · No annual fee
No rewards, no fee, and the same 21.99% rate as CIBC's cards that do pay rewards. The name suggests a low rate card and it is not one.
National Bank Allure Mastercard
National Bank · Mastercard · No annual fee · 0.5x on everything
A free card that pays about 0.5% and donates to the Quebec Breast Cancer Foundation. The donation comes from the bank, not from your rewards.
How This Comparison Works
We track 98 Canadian credit cards from 18 issuers, 44 of them with no annual fee. Every figure below comes from the issuer’s own published pages and terms, and where an issuer does not publish something we leave it blank rather than guess. Last verified 20 August 2026.
The list opens ranked by our own rating. Enter what you spend in a month and it ranks again by what each card is actually worth to you, which is usually a different answer. We do not fill that form in for you with an invented household, because a ranking built from numbers you did not give us is not a ranking about you.
Points are valued at our own published rates rather than the issuer’s marketing. Membership Rewards and Aeroplan are valued at two cents on the assumption you transfer them to an airline; fixed value programmes like Scene+ and Avion are valued at one cent because that is what they are worth. Four programmes are left unvalued entirely because nobody publishes a redemption rate for them. How we value points explains the assumption and three ways it can be wrong.
Common Questions
- How many credit cards are there in Canada?
- We track 98 Canadian credit cards open to new applications, personal and business, 44 of them with no annual fee and 5 with no foreign transaction fee. We add a card only after checking the issuer still accepts applications, and remove it when that stops being true, so the count moves.
- What is the best credit card in Canada?
- There is no single answer, which is why this page asks what you spend. A card paying five percent on groceries beats a flat two percent card for a family and loses to it for somebody who eats out. The ranking here opens on our own rating and ranks again on your spending the moment you enter any of it.
- Are points worth more than cash back?
- Only if you use them the way the valuation assumes. We value Membership Rewards and Aeroplan at two cents a point because they transfer to airline programmes, which is where that value exists. Redeem the same points for a statement credit and they are worth about one cent, and several points cards stop making sense at that rate. There is a switch on this page that ranks everything again at the cash out rate.
- Does a credit card comparison site get paid by the banks?
- This one intends to earn referral fees on some cards and says so on every page where that applies. It does not change the ratings or the order: value is calculated the same way for every card, and cards we earn nothing from are included on the same terms. Where we think a card is bad we say so, including cards that pay well.
- How often are the figures checked?
- Every card carries the date its rates and features were last verified against the issuer's own pages, shown on the card. Offers with an end date are flagged automatically once that date passes rather than being left to look current.