Best credit cards for newcomers to Canada
Credit cards with a program for people new to Canada, ranked by what they earn after fees.
Card details updated November 9, 2026 How we rank
What’s in each?
- Light:
- Groceries $400, restaurants $100, gas $100, recurring bills $100, everything else (base rate) $250, foreign currency $50
- Typical:
- Groceries $800, restaurants $250, gas $250, recurring bills $250, travel $150, everything else (base rate) $650, foreign currency $150
- Big:
- Groceries $1,200, restaurants $500, gas $400, recurring bills $400, travel $500, everything else (base rate) $1,600, foreign currency $400
- Yours:
- Your own amounts, saved on this device only
Not sure which kind of card you need? Help me choose
26 new to Canada credit cards, ranked for you
Ranked by value in year one at $1,000 a month, after fees. How we rank
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Ranked 1. Scotiabank Gold American Express® Card
Scotiabank · American Express Expert Score 8.8 out of 10. Excellent
Worth in year one $1,142Then each year $3726% back on groceries, 1% back on everything else
- Welcome offer
- $650 you’d get The full offer. Up to 65,000 Scene+ points.
- Annual fee
- $0 first year Then $120 a year
Needs $12,000 personal income
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Read the full review: Scotiabank Gold American Express® Card
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Ranked 2. RBC Ion+ Visa
RBC · Visa
Worth in year one $684Then each year $4465.1% back on groceries, gas and restaurants, 1.7% back on everything else
- Welcome offer
- $238 you’d get The full offer. Up to 14,000 Avion points.
- Annual fee
- $48 a year
Income rule not listed
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Ranked 3. TD® Aeroplan® Visa Platinum Card
TD · Visa Expert Score 7.7 out of 10. Good
Worth in year one $645Then each year $1562% back on groceries, gas and flights, 1.3% back on everything else
- Welcome offer
- $400 you’d get The full offer. Up to 20,000 Aeroplan points.
- Annual fee
- $0 first year Then $89 a year
Income rule not listed
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Ranked 4. Scotiabank Platinum American Express® card
Scotiabank · American Express Expert Score 8.0 out of 10. Very good
Worth in year one $601Then each year −$995% back on hotels, 2% back on everything else
- Welcome offer
- $700 you’d get All of year one’s offer. Up to 80,000 Scene+ points.
- Annual fee
- $399 a year
Needs $12,000 personal income
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Read the full review: Scotiabank Platinum American Express® card
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Best welcome offers right now
What you’d actually get at $1,000 a month.
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Scotiabank Platinum American Express® card
$700 you’d get
Up to 80,000 Scene+ points.
All of year one’s offer at your spending
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Scotiabank Gold American Express® Card
$650 you’d get
Up to 65,000 Scene+ points.
The full offer at your spending
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Scotiabank Passport® Visa Infinite Privilege Card
$400 you’d get
Up to 80,000 Scene+ points.
$400 of a $700 offer at your spending
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TD® Aeroplan® Visa Platinum Card
$400 you’d get
Up to 20,000 Aeroplan points.
The full offer at your spending
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CIBC Aventura® Gold Visa Card
$300 you’d get
Up to 30,000 Aventura points.
The full offer at your spending
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RBC Ion+ Visa
$238 you’d get
Up to 14,000 Avion points.
The full offer at your spending
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Ranked 5. BMO® Eclipse Visa Infinite* Card
BMO · Visa Expert Score 8.4 out of 10. Very good
Worth in year one $459Then each year $1383.4% back on restaurants, groceries and gas, 0.7% back on everything else
- Welcome offer
- $201 you’d get The full offer. Up to 30,000 BMO Rewards points.
- Annual fee
- $0 first year Then $120 a year
Needs $60,000 personal or $100,000 household income
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Ranked 6. CIBC Aventura® Gold Visa Card
CIBC · Visa Expert Score 8.1 out of 10. Very good
Worth in year one $435Then each year −$42% back on travel, 1% back on everything else
- Welcome offer
- $300 you’d get The full offer. Up to 30,000 Aventura points.
- Annual fee
- $0 first year Then $139 a year
Needs $15,000 household income
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Ranked 7. Scotiabank Passport™ Visa Infinite+ Card
Scotiabank · Visa Expert Score 8.4 out of 10. Very good
Worth in year one $378Then each year $784% back on hotels, 1% back on everything else
- Welcome offer
- $150 you’d get Part of a $350 offer. Up to 45,000 Scene+ points.
- Annual fee
- $0 first year Then $150 a year
Needs $60,000 personal income
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Read the full review: Scotiabank Passport™ Visa Infinite+ Card
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Ranked 8. Scotia Momentum® Visa Infinite+ Card
Scotiabank · Visa Expert Score 8.5 out of 10. Excellent
Worth in year one $357Then each year $2374% back on groceries and recurring bills, 1% back on everything else
- Welcome offer
- None listed
- Annual fee
- $0 first year Then $120 a year
Needs $60,000 personal or $100,000 household income
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Ranked 9. Scotiabank American Express® Card
Scotiabank · American Express Expert Score 7.9 out of 10. Good
Worth in year one $335Then each year $2854% back on hotels, 1% back on everything else
- Welcome offer
- $50 you’d get The full offer. Up to 5,000 Scene+ points.
- Annual fee
- $0 No annual fee
Needs $12,000 personal income
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Ranked 10. BMO® CashBack® World Elite® Mastercard®
BMO · Mastercard Expert Score 8.0 out of 10. Very good
Worth in year one $333Then each year $2135% back on groceries, 1% back on everything else
- Welcome offer
- None listed
- Annual fee
- $0 first year Then $120 a year
Needs $80,000 personal or $150,000 household income
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Read the full review: BMO® CashBack® World Elite® Mastercard®
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Ranked 11. BMO eclipse rise Visa* Card
BMO · Visa
Worth in year one $316Then each year $1821.7% back on groceries, restaurants and food delivery, 0.3% back on everything else
- Welcome offer
- $134 you’d get The full offer. Up to 20,000 BMO Rewards points.
- Annual fee
- $0 No annual fee
Income rule not listed
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Ranked 12. Scotiabank® Scene+™ Visa Card
Scotiabank · Visa Expert Score 8.1 out of 10. Very good
Worth in year one $253Then each year $1534% back on hotels, 1% back on everything else
- Welcome offer
- $100 you’d get The full offer. Up to 10,000 Scene+ points.
- Annual fee
- $0 No annual fee
Needs $12,000 personal income
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Ranked 13. CIBC Dividend Platinum® Visa Card
CIBC · Visa Expert Score 7.2 out of 10. Good
Worth in year one $249Then each year $1503% back on groceries and gas, 1% back on everything else
- Welcome offer
- None listed
- Annual fee
- $0 first year Then $99 a year
Needs $15,000 household income
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Ranked 14. BMO® CashBack® Mastercard®
BMO · Mastercard Expert Score 8.2 out of 10. Very good
Worth in year one $171Then each year $1713% back on groceries, 0.5% back on everything else
- Welcome offer
- None listed
- Annual fee
- $0 No annual fee
Needs $15,000 personal income
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Ranked 15. Desjardins Bonus Visa
Desjardins · Visa
Worth in year one $141Then each year $1412% back on restaurants, recurring bills and entertainment, 0.5% back on everything else
- Welcome offer
- None listed
- Annual fee
- $0 No annual fee
Income rule not listed
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Ranked 16. Desjardins Cash Back Mastercard
Desjardins · Mastercard
Worth in year one $141Then each year $1412% back on restaurants, recurring bills and entertainment, 0.5% back on everything else
- Welcome offer
- None listed
- Annual fee
- $0 No annual fee
Income rule not listed
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Ranked 17. Desjardins Cash Back Visa
Desjardins · Visa
Worth in year one $141Then each year $1412% back on restaurants, recurring bills and entertainment, 0.5% back on everything else
- Welcome offer
- None listed
- Annual fee
- $0 No annual fee
Income rule not listed
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Ranked 18. CIBC Dividend® Visa Card
CIBC · Visa Expert Score 7.1 out of 10. Good
Worth in year one $135Then each year $1352% back on groceries, 0.5% back on everything else
- Welcome offer
- None listed
- Annual fee
- $0 No annual fee
Needs $15,000 household income
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Ranked 19. Scotia Momentum® Visa Card
Scotiabank · Visa Expert Score 7.7 out of 10. Good
Worth in year one $128Then each year $1282% back on groceries, food delivery and pharmacy, 1% back on everything else
- Welcome offer
- None listed
- Annual fee
- $49 a year
Needs $12,000 personal income
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Ranked 20. RBC Cash Back Mastercard
RBC · Mastercard Expert Score 8.0 out of 10. Very good
Worth in year one $123Then each year $1232% back on groceries, 0.5% back on everything else
- Welcome offer
- None listed
- Annual fee
- $0 No annual fee
Income rule not listed
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Showing 20 of 26 cards
Filters
Your spending a month
Your balance
How we rank cards
The list is math only: one set of rules, worked out for the choices you made.
What Year one and Every year mean
Year one is what a card is worth in its first year at your spending: the rewards it earns, plus any welcome offer your spending would reach, minus the first year’s annual fee.
Every year after leaves out the welcome offer and takes off the full annual fee, so a big offer can’t hide a weak earn rate.
We rank by the one you pick. When two cards come out the same, the one with the higher score goes first. Values are estimates, rounded to the dollar.
What’s in each spending choice
Each choice is an example month of spending, split across the kinds of spending cards reward differently. Pick the one closest to yours.
- Light, $1,000 a month: Groceries $400, restaurants $100, gas $100, recurring bills $100, everything else (base rate) $250, foreign currency $50
- Typical, $2,500 a month: Groceries $800, restaurants $250, gas $250, recurring bills $250, travel $150, everything else (base rate) $650, foreign currency $150
- Big, $5,000 a month: Groceries $1,200, restaurants $500, gas $400, recurring bills $400, travel $500, everything else (base rate) $1,600, foreign currency $400
How we value points
Each points program gets one value per point, taken from the program’s own valuation. Cards in the same program use the same value, so two cards that earn the same points are judged the same way.
- Aeroplan: 2 cents a point
- American Express Membership Rewards: 1.7 cents a point
- BMO Rewards: 0.67 cents a point
- British Airways Club: 2 cents a point
- Cathay Asia Miles: 1.5 cents a point
- CIBC Aventura: 1 cents a point
- Desjardins BONUSDOLLARS: 100 cents a point
- Flying Blue: 1.9 cents a point
- Marriott Bonvoy: 0.8 cents a point
- moi Rewards: 0.8 cents a point
- More Rewards: 0.2 cents a point
- National Bank a la carte Rewards: 0.9 cents a point
- PC Optimum: 0.1 cents a point
- RBC Avion: 1.7 cents a point
- Scene+: 1 cents a point
- TD Rewards: 0.5 cents a point
- Triangle Rewards: 100 cents a point
- United MileagePlus: 1.6 cents a point
- VIPorter: 1.5 cents a point
- WestJet Rewards: 1 cents a point
A card whose points we can’t value yet shows its points and sorts after the cards we can value.
What Low interest adds up
Low interest ranks by what a year of carrying a balance would cost: interest at the card’s purchase rate, plus the annual fee. It assumes the balance stays the same all year and leaves out rewards and welcome offers.
A balance transfer offer shows on the card when it has one, but it doesn’t change the order.
Does pay change the order?
No. The order comes only from the math above. We get paid when you apply through some links, and a bank can pay to show a card in a spot marked Sponsored. Pay never moves a card in the ranked list or changes its score.
Help me choose
Four quick questions, then a list that fits. Your answers only set the list. We don’t keep them.
Show the questions as a form
Help me choose
Mr. Loonie is typing
Which kind of card fits you?
Start with what you want the card to do. Each one has its own ranked list.
- Cash back Good if you want money off your bill with no points to learn. Watch for the top rate usually covering a few kinds of spending, often with a yearly cap.
- Travel points Good if you fly at least once a year and will use points for flights. Watch for higher annual fees. Points are worth less on merchandise.
- No annual fee Good if you spend under about $1,500 a month or want a backup card. Watch for lower earn rates and fewer insurance perks.
- Low interest Good if you sometimes carry a balance from month to month. Watch for little or no rewards. Paying in full each month saves more than any rate.
- Balance transfer Good if you have card debt to pay down over several months. Watch for a transfer fee and the regular rate once the promo ends.
- No foreign fee Good if you shop in US dollars or travel outside Canada. Watch for an annual fee on most of them. The fee you save abroad can cover it.
- Build credit Good if you’re rebuilding your credit after missed payments. Watch for the deposit, which sets your limit. Rewards are small or none.
- Students Good if you’re in school with little or no income. Watch for low limits. Pay on time and the card builds your history.
Cards by bank
Cards by network
Rates, fees and offers come from the card issuers and change often. We work to keep this page accurate and current, but it may contain mistakes, so always check the issuer’s terms before you apply. Values are estimates for the spending you picked, rounded to the nearest dollar.
Spot something wrong? We’ll check it with the bank. Suggest a correction