Compare Canadian credit cards
Every card below is a real product you can apply for today. Fees and earn rates were checked in October 2026 against issuer pages and Canadian comparison sites (Ratehub, NerdWallet Canada) — no invented cards, no "typical" ranges. For each card we also say who should skip it, because the wrong card costs more than the right one earns. Use this page to compare Canadian credit cards on annual fee, headline earn rate and best use — then check the borrowing side too: the personal loan comparison shows fixed-rate alternatives, and the Ontario salary calculator shows what your income actually keeps after tax, which is what any card budget has to fit.
13 real cards, side by side
| Card | Annual fee | Headline earn rate | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rogers Red World Elite Mastercard | $0 | 2% on everything with a Rogers-family service; 3% on USD | Rogers, Fido or Shaw customers |
| Tangerine Money-Back World Mastercard | $0 | 2% in 2–3 categories you choose; 0.5% elsewhere | Spending that fits nobody else's categories |
| Simplii Financial Cash Back Visa | $0 | 4% on dining; 1.5% on gas, groceries, drugstores, bills | Eating out on a budget |
| Scotiabank Momentum Visa Infinite | $120 | 4% on groceries and recurring bills | Grocery- and bill-heavy households |
| BMO CashBack World Elite Mastercard | $139 | 5% groceries, 4% transit, 3% gas (monthly caps) | High earners with moderate category spend |
| CIBC Dividend Visa Infinite | $120 | 4% on groceries and gas/EV charging | Drivers who shop at many grocery chains |
| Neo World Elite Mastercard | $149 | 5% groceries, 4% bills, 3% gas, plus partner boosts | App-first earners |
| American Express Cobalt Card | $15.99/mo | 5 points per $1 on eats and drinks | Heavy food spenders who travel |
| TD Aeroplan Visa Infinite | $139 | 1.5 points per $1 on gas, groceries, Air Canada | Air Canada loyalists |
| PC Financial World Elite Mastercard | $0 | 3% in points at Loblaw banners; 4.5% at Shoppers | Loblaws and Shoppers households |
| Triangle World Elite Mastercard | $0 | 4% in CT Money at Canadian Tire banners; 3% groceries | Canadian Tire shoppers and drivers |
| MBNA True Line Mastercard | $0 | No rewards — 12.99% purchase interest rate | Anyone carrying a balance |
| KOHO (prepaid Mastercard) | $0–$22/mo | 1–2% on groceries, dining and transport, by plan | Budgeting with no credit check |
Fees, earn rates and welcome offers checked October 2026. Welcome offers change often and caps apply to most bonus categories — confirm the current terms on the issuer's site before applying. Purchase interest on most rewards cards here is 20.99%–21.99%.
Rogers Red World Elite Mastercard
Fee: $0. Earns: 2% cash back on everything if you have an eligible Rogers, Fido, Shaw or Comwave service (on the first $61,000 per year); 1.5% if you don't; 3% on U.S.-dollar purchases. Best for: Rogers-family customers who want one simple card that also works at Costco. Skip if: you have no Rogers service and your spending is heavy in one bonus category — a category card will beat 1.5%.
Tangerine Money-Back World Mastercard
Fee: $0. Earns: 2% in two spending categories you choose from 13 (three if rewards are deposited to a Tangerine Savings Account), 0.5% on everything else; categories can be changed every 90 days. Current welcome offer: $120 cash back after $1,500 spent in 3 months (to Nov 30, 2026). Best for: spending in categories other cards ignore, like furniture, home improvement or drugstores. Skip if: most of your spending is uncategorized — 0.5% is the weakest base rate on this page.
Simplii Financial Cash Back Visa
Fee: $0. Earns: 4% on restaurants, bars and coffee shops (first $5,000/year), 1.5% on gas, groceries, drugstores and pre-authorized payments (first $15,000/year), 0.5% elsewhere. Best for: people who eat out often and want a free card. Skip if: waiting a year for your money bothers you — Simplii pays cash back once a year, as a credit on the December statement.
Scotiabank Momentum Visa Infinite
Fee: $120 (often waived in year one). Earns: 4% on groceries and recurring bill payments (first $25,000/year), 2% on gas, transit and food delivery, 1% elsewhere. Current welcome offer: 15% cash back on the first $2,000 of purchases in the first 3 months (offer ends Nov 1, 2026). Best for: households with $6,000+ a year of groceries and bills, where the 4% rate clears the fee by a wide margin. Skip if: your grocery and bill spending is under about $500 a month — a free 2% card pays you more.
BMO CashBack World Elite Mastercard
Fee: $139 (waived in year one). Earns: 5% on groceries (first $500/month), 4% on transit (first $300/month), 3% on gas and EV charging (first $300/month), 2% on recurring bills (first $500/month), 1% elsewhere. Includes free roadside assistance. Best for: higher-income households whose category spending fits inside the monthly caps. Skip if: you spend $1,000+ a month on groceries — the cap drops you to 1% quickly, and Scotiabank Momentum's annual cap is roomier.
CIBC Dividend Visa Infinite
Fee: $120 (rebated in year one on the current offer). Earns: 4% on groceries and gas/EV charging, 2% on transportation, dining and recurring payments, 1% elsewhere; bonus categories are capped at $20,000 of spending per year. Welcome offers worth up to about $350 in value have been running through 2026. Best for: drivers who buy groceries at several different chains — the 4% is not tied to one store. Skip if: you do most of your shopping at Costco (Visa is not accepted there) or at Loblaw banners, where the PC Financial card earns more.
Neo World Elite Mastercard
Fee: $149 (waived in year one). Earns: on the Gas & Grocery plan, 5% on groceries (first $1,000/month), 4% on recurring bills (first $500/month), 3% on gas (first $1,000/month), 1% elsewhere — plus boosted cash back at 10,000+ partner merchants. You can switch reward plans every 90 days. Best for: app-first users who will actually work the partner offers. Skip if: you will never open the app — without partner boosts, the $149 fee is hard to justify next to BMO or Scotiabank.
American Express Cobalt Card
Fee: $15.99/month ($191.88/year). Earns: 5 Membership Rewards points per $1 on eats and drinks in Canada — groceries, restaurants, food delivery — up to $2,500/month; 3 points on streaming; 2 points on gas, transit and rideshares; 1 point elsewhere. Points transfer 1:1 to Aeroplan and other airline and hotel programs. Welcome offer: up to 15,000 points (1,250 per month when you spend $750). Best for: heavy food spenders who travel. Skip if: your main grocery store or Costco does not take Amex — a great rate you cannot use earns nothing.
TD Aeroplan Visa Infinite
Fee: $139 (waived in year one on the current offer). Earns: 1.5 Aeroplan points per $1 on gas, groceries and Air Canada purchases, 1 point elsewhere. The first checked bag is free for the cardholder and up to 8 companions on the same Air Canada reservation. Welcome offer: up to 50,000 Aeroplan points. Best for: Air Canada loyalists — one family trip's bag fees can cover the annual fee. Skip if: you rarely fly Air Canada; a cash back card pays you in money, not points.
PC Financial World Elite Mastercard
Fee: $0. Earns: 30 PC Optimum points per $1 (3%) at Loblaw grocery banners, 45 points per $1 (4.5%) at Shoppers Drug Mart, at least 3¢ per litre in points at Esso and Mobil, 10 points per $1 (1%) everywhere else. Best for: Loblaws, No Frills, Real Canadian Superstore and Shoppers households. Skip if: you shop at Metro, Sobeys or Costco — the rate drops to 1% and the points only spend inside the Loblaw ecosystem.
Triangle World Elite Mastercard
Fee: $0. Earns: 4% in Canadian Tire Money at Canadian Tire, Sport Chek, Mark's and Atmosphere; 3% on grocery purchases (first $12,000/year, excluding Costco and Walmart); 5¢ per litre on regular fuel (7¢ on premium) at Gas+ stations. Includes the Roadside Assistance Gold Plan at no charge. Best for: Canadian Tire shoppers and drivers who would otherwise pay for a roadside plan. Skip if: you rarely set foot in a Canadian Tire — CT Money cannot be spent anywhere else.
MBNA True Line Mastercard
Fee: $0. Earns: nothing — this card is about the rate, not rewards: 12.99% on purchases, 17.99% on balance transfers, 24.99% on cash advances. Current offer: 0% interest on balance transfers for 12 months (3% transfer fee; transfers must be made within 90 days; not available in Quebec). Best for: anyone carrying a balance or consolidating credit-card debt. Skip if: you pay in full every month — you would be giving up 1–4% in rewards for a low rate you never use.
KOHO (prepaid Mastercard)
Fee: Essential is $0 with a monthly direct deposit ($4/month otherwise); Extra is $12/month; Everything is $14.75/month billed annually. Earns: 1% (Essential), 1.5% (Extra) or 2% (Everything) on groceries, eating and drinking, and transportation, plus up to 0.5% on everything else on the top plan; balances earn 2%–3.5% interest. No credit check; the optional Credit Building add-on (about $10/month) reports to Equifax. Best for: budgeting with no risk of debt, and newcomers building a credit file. Skip if: you want full credit-card rewards or included insurance — as a prepaid card, everyday spending does not build credit unless you pay for the add-on.
Before applying
- Check the annual fee against your real spending: a $120–$149 annual fee needs roughly $6,000–$7,500 a year of spending in a 4% category just to beat a free 2% card.
- Read the caps. Most headline rates above stop at $300–$1,000 a month or $5,000–$25,000 a year, then drop to 0.5–1%.
- Check the income requirement: World Elite cards need $80,000 personal or $150,000 household income.
- Confirm the network: Mastercard works at Costco in Canada; Visa and American Express do not.
- Never carry a balance just to earn rewards — at 20.99%–21.99%, one month of interest can erase a year of cash back.
This page carries no affiliate links. If a credit-card partner link is ever added, it will be labeled as an affiliate or sponsored link.
How credit card interest actually works
Most Canadian credit cards give you a grace period — usually at least 21 days — on new purchases: pay the statement balance in full by the due date and you pay no interest on those purchases. Pay less than the full balance and interest starts accruing, typically from each transaction date, on the remaining amount. Cash advances are different: they usually accrue interest immediately, with no grace period, plus an upfront fee — they are one of the most expensive ways to borrow.
The purchase interest rate matters only if you carry a balance. On the rewards cards above it runs 20.99%–21.99%; on the MBNA True Line it is 12.99%. If you pay in full every month, the rate is nearly irrelevant and the annual fee, rewards structure and side benefits deserve most of your attention.
Making rewards pay off
A rewards card is only a good deal if the value you actually redeem exceeds the annual fee. Estimate it from your spending, not the marketing headline: the Amex Cobalt's 5 points per dollar on food means little if your grocery store does not take Amex, while the Rogers Red World Elite's flat 2% pays the same on every purchase. Watch for caps ("up to $X per year at the top rate"), category exclusions like the Triangle card's Costco and Walmart grocery exclusion, and points expiry rules — these are where the real value is won or lost.
Rule of thumb: never carry a balance to earn rewards. Interest at typical credit card rates wipes out rewards many times over, so rewards strategies only work on spending you would do anyway and pay off in full.
Credit cards and your credit history
How you use a card shapes your credit file at Canada's credit bureaus. Two habits matter most: paying on time, every time — a single missed payment can linger on your report for years — and keeping utilization (the balance relative to your limit) modest rather than maxing the card out. Length of history also counts, so think twice before closing your oldest card. If you are new to credit, a secured card — where you post a deposit as collateral — is a common starting point; Neo sells secured versions of its cards with the same earn rates, and KOHO's Credit Building add-on reports payments without a credit check.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best no-annual-fee cash back card in Canada in 2026?
For flat-rate earning, the Rogers Red World Elite Mastercard pays 2% cash back on everything if you hold an eligible Rogers, Fido, Shaw or Comwave service (1.5% without one), with no annual fee. If your spending concentrates in a few categories, the Tangerine Money-Back World Mastercard pays 2% in two categories you choose — three if your rewards are deposited into a Tangerine Savings Account — and 0.5% on everything else.
Is the American Express Cobalt Card worth its fee?
The Cobalt Card charges $15.99 a month, or $191.88 a year. Earning 5 points per dollar on eats and drinks, you need roughly $533 a month of grocery, restaurant and food-delivery spending before the extra points beat what a free 2% cash back card would pay. Below that level a no-fee card wins; well above it, the Cobalt is hard to beat — as long as the places you shop accept American Express, which Costco warehouses do not.
Which of these cards can I use at Costco in Canada?
Costco warehouses in Canada accept Mastercard only. From this page, the Rogers Red World Elite, Neo World Elite, PC Financial World Elite, Triangle World Elite and Tangerine Money-Back cards are Mastercards. The Visa and American Express cards listed here will not work at a Costco warehouse.
I carry a balance. Which card should I get?
Skip rewards entirely and look at the MBNA True Line Mastercard: no annual fee and a 12.99% purchase rate, versus 20.99% to 21.99% on most rewards cards. On a $3,000 balance carried for a year, that gap saves roughly $240 to $270 in interest — more than the cash back most people earn in a year.
What income do I need for a World Elite Mastercard?
World Elite cards in Canada generally require $80,000 in personal income or $150,000 in household income. That applies to the Rogers Red World Elite, BMO CashBack World Elite, Neo World Elite, PC Financial World Elite and Triangle World Elite cards on this page. If you do not qualify, the same issuers offer lower-tier cards with lower earn rates.