Only two Canadian banks issue a card whose terms are genuinely different for students. Everyone else markets an ordinary card on a page with the word student on it. Both kinds are here, under their real names, because what matters is the terms rather than the marketing.
We track 10 student credit cards in Canada, 8 of them with no annual fee. Every figure here comes from the issuer’s own published pages and terms, last checked 18 August 2026. Where an issuer does not publish something we leave it blank rather than guess, which is explained on how we research.
How we picked
- No annual fee. A student card with a fee has to be extraordinary to be worth it and none of these are.
- A stated income requirement of zero, or none stated at all. This is the barrier that actually decides whether a first application is approved.
- The interest rate, because a first card is the one most likely to carry a balance and a rewards rate of 2% is irrelevant next to an interest rate of 20%.
- Whether the card grows up with you, or has to be replaced the moment you graduate.
The 10 best student credit cards
CIBC Dividend Visa Card for Students
CIBCNo annual fee2% on groceries
Best student card
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.
Scotiabank American Express Card
ScotiabankNo annual fee3x on groceries
Best no fee American Express
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.
CIBC Adapta Mastercard for Students
CIBCNo annual fee2x 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.
BMO CashBack Mastercard for Students
BMONo annual fee3% 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.
Scotiabank Value Visa Card
Scotiabank$29 a year
Best low interest card for a first credit card
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.
The annual fee is waived for the first year only.
Scotia Momentum No-Fee Visa Card
ScotiabankNo annual fee1% 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.
CIBC Aeroplan Visa Card for Students
CIBCNo annual fee1x 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 Visa Card for Students
CIBCNo annual fee1x 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.
Scotia Momentum Visa Card
Scotiabank$49 a year2% 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.
CIBC Classic Visa Card for Students
CIBCNo 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.
Questions people ask
- Which is the best of the student credit cards in Canada?
- On our ranking it is the CIBC Dividend Visa Card for Students. That is our opinion rather than a fact, built from the criteria at the top of this page, and the runners up are close enough that your own spending can reorder them.
- Are there any with no annual fee?
- 8 of the 10 on this page have no annual fee, and the best rated of those is the CIBC Dividend Visa Card for Students.
- How often is this page updated?
- It is generated from our card database every time it loads, so it reflects whatever we last verified rather than whenever somebody last edited an article. Each card carries its own verification date.
- Do you earn money from these links?
- On some cards, yes, and it is disclosed on the card page next to the button. It does not change the ranking, which is why the ranking rules are published rather than described as a proprietary score.
Other lists
- Best cash back credit cards in Canada
- Best travel credit cards in Canada
- Best no annual fee credit cards in Canada
- Canadian credit cards with no foreign transaction fee
- Best credit cards for groceries in Canada
Comparing something other than student credit cards? Compare every personal card on your own spending, look at business cards, or browse the full directory.