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Best credit cards in Canada

Compare Canadian credit cards, ranked by what each one is worth to you in a year, after fees. Pick your spending and the numbers update.

Card details updated November 10, 2026 How we rank

What matters most?
Your spending a month
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
The balance you carry

Not sure which kind of card you need? Help me choose

176 credit cards, ranked for you

Ranked by value in year one at $2,500 a month, after fees. How we rank

  1. Ranked 81. Scotiabank® Scene+™ Visa Card

    Scotiabank · Visa Expert Score 8.1 out of 10. Very good

    Worth in year one $451
    Then each year $351

    4% 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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    Read the full review: Scotiabank® Scene+™ Visa Card

  2. Ranked 82. SCENE Visa Card for Students

    Scotiabank · Visa

    Worth in year one $451
    Then each year $351

    4% 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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    Read the full review: SCENE Visa Card for Students

  3. Ranked 83. SimplyCash® Card from American Express

    American Express Expert Score 8.2 out of 10. Very good

    Worth in year one $425
    Then each year $425

    2% back on groceries and gas, 1.3% back on everything else

    Welcome offer
    None listed
    Annual fee
    $0 No annual fee

    Needs $15,000 personal income

  4. Ranked 84. moi RBC Visa

    RBC · Visa

    Worth in year one $420
    Then each year $380

    1.6% back on groceries, gas and restaurants, 0.8% back on everything else

    Welcome offer
    $40 you’d get The full offer. Up to 5,000 moi points.
    Annual fee
    $0 No annual fee

    Income rule not listed

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    Read the full review: moi RBC Visa

  5. Ranked 85. More Rewards RBC Visa Infinite

    RBC · Visa

    Worth in year one $420
    Then each year $380

    1.6% back on groceries, gas and restaurants, 0.8% back on everything else

    Welcome offer
    $40 you’d get The full offer. Up to 20,000 More Rewards points.
    Annual fee
    $0 No annual fee

    Needs $60,000 personal or $100,000 household income

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    Read the full review: More Rewards RBC Visa Infinite

  6. Ranked 86. Home Trust Preferred Visa Card

    Home Trust · Visa Expert Score 8.0 out of 10. Very good

    Worth in year one $405
    Then each year $405

    1% back on everything

    Welcome offer
    None listed
    Annual fee
    $0 No annual fee

    Needs $15,000 personal income

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    Read the full review: Home Trust Preferred Visa Card

  7. Ranked 87. CIBC Costco® Mastercard®

    CIBC · Mastercard Expert Score 7.7 out of 10. Good

    Worth in year one $405
    Then each year $405

    3% back on restaurants, 1% back on everything else

    Welcome offer
    None listed
    Annual fee
    $0 No annual fee

    Needs $15,000 personal income

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    Read the full review: CIBC Costco® Mastercard®

  8. Ranked 88. PC Financial® World Mastercard®

    PC Financial · Mastercard Expert Score 8.1 out of 10. Very good

    Worth in year one $401
    Then each year $351

    3.5% back on pharmacy, 1% back on everything else

    Welcome offer
    $50 you’d get The full offer. Up to 50,000 PC Optimum points.
    Annual fee
    $0 No annual fee

    Needs $50,000 personal or $80,000 household income

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    Read the full review: PC Financial® World Mastercard®

  9. Ranked 89. Tangerine World Mastercard®

    Tangerine · Mastercard Expert Score 8.4 out of 10. Very good

    Worth in year one $390
    Then each year $270

    0.5% back on everything

    Welcome offer
    $120 you’d get The full offer. Up to $120 back.
    Annual fee
    $0 No annual fee

    Needs $60,000 personal income

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    Read the full review: Tangerine World Mastercard®

  10. Worth in year one $384
    Then each year $264

    1.5% back on travel, hotels and gas, 1% back on everything else

    Welcome offer
    None listed
    Annual fee
    $0 first year Then $120 a year

    Needs $35,000 personal income

  11. Ranked 91. ManulifeMONEY+ Visa Infinite

    Manulife Bank · Visa

    Worth in year one $384
    Then each year $245

    2% back on pharmacy, 1% back on everything else

    Welcome offer
    None listed
    Annual fee
    $0 first year Then $139 a year

    Needs $60,000 personal or $100,000 household income

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    Read the full review: ManulifeMONEY+ Visa Infinite

  12. Ranked 92. CIBC Aventura® Visa Card

    CIBC · Visa Expert Score 8.0 out of 10. Very good

    Worth in year one $382
    Then each year $282

    1% back on groceries, gas and travel, 0.5% back on everything else

    Welcome offer
    $100 you’d get The full offer. Up to 10,000 Aventura points.
    Annual fee
    $0 No annual fee

    Needs $15,000 household income

    Loading the details…

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    Read the full review: CIBC Aventura® Visa Card

  13. Ranked 93. National Bank Platinum Mastercard Business Card

    National Bank · Mastercard

    Worth in year one $364
    Then each year $364

    2.7% back on travel, 1.4% back on everything else

    Welcome offer
    None listed
    Annual fee
    $125 a year

    Income rule not listed

  14. Ranked 94. TD Rewards Visa Card

    TD · Visa Expert Score 7.1 out of 10. Good

    Worth in year one $363
    Then each year $287

    2% back on travel, 0.5% back on everything else

    Welcome offer
    $76 you’d get The full offer. Up to 15,152 TD Rewards points.
    Annual fee
    $0 No annual fee

    Income rule not listed

    Loading the details…

    The details didn’t load. See the full review

    Read the full review: TD Rewards Visa Card

  15. Ranked 95. Scotia Momentum® Visa Card

    Scotiabank · Visa Expert Score 7.7 out of 10. Good

    Worth in year one $362
    Then each year $362

    2% 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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    Read the full review: Scotia Momentum® Visa Card

  16. Ranked 96. BMO® CashBack® Mastercard®

    BMO · Mastercard Expert Score 8.2 out of 10. Very good

    Worth in year one $360
    Then each year $360

    3% 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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    The details didn’t load. See the full review

    Read the full review: BMO® CashBack® Mastercard®

  17. Ranked 97. BMO® CashBack® Mastercard® for students

    BMO · Mastercard Expert Score 8.1 out of 10. Very good

    Worth in year one $360
    Then each year $360

    3% back on groceries, 0.5% back on everything else

    Welcome offer
    None listed
    Annual fee
    $0 No annual fee

    Needs $15,000 personal income

  18. Ranked 98. Amazon.ca Rewards Mastercard

    MBNA · Mastercard

    Worth in year one $360
    Then each year $360

    1.5% back on brand partner, 1% back on everything else

    Welcome offer
    None listed
    Annual fee
    $0 No annual fee

    Income rule not listed

    Loading the details…

    The details didn’t load. See the full review

    Read the full review: Amazon.ca Rewards Mastercard

  19. Ranked 99. American Express® Aeroplan® Business Reserve Card

    American Express Expert Score 6.6 out of 10. Fair

    Worth in year one $351
    Then each year $351

    6% back on flights, 2.5% back on everything else

    Welcome offer
    $0 at your spending Needs more spending. Up to 90,000 Aeroplan points.
    Annual fee
    $599 a year

    Income rule not listed

  20. Ranked 100. Laurentian Bank Visa Cashback

    Laurentian Bank · Visa

    Worth in year one $346
    Then each year $346

    2% back on groceries, gas and recurring bills, 1% back on everything else

    Welcome offer
    None listed
    Annual fee
    $65 a year

    Income rule not listed

    Loading the details…

    The details didn’t load. See the full review

    Read the full review: Laurentian Bank Visa Cashback

Showing 20 of 176 cards

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
What do you want your card to do?
A bit more about you
How much goes on your card each month?

If you picked Earn on what I spend, Earn points for travel, and Keep it simple, no fee.

How much do you usually carry from month to month?

If you picked Pay down a balance.

Would you move it to a new card?

If you picked Pay down a balance.

Which sounds most like you?

If you picked Build my credit.

What’s your personal income a year?
Anything you must have?

If you picked Earn on what I spend, Earn points for travel, Keep it simple, no fee, and Build my credit.

Which kind of card fits you?

Start with what you want the card to do. Each one has its own ranked list.

Questions people ask

What’s the best credit card in Canada?

It depends on how you spend. At $2,500 a month, the RBC Avion Visa Infinite Business is worth the most in year one on our list, and the American Express Cobalt™ is worth the most after that. Pick your own spending above to see your order.

Which card has the best welcome offer right now?

At $2,500 a month, the RBC Avion Visa Infinite Business offer is worth about $1,275 and the American Express® Aeroplan® Reserve Card offer about $1,200. Offers change often, so check the date on each card.

What income do I need for a credit card?

No-fee cards that list a minimum most often ask for $15,000 or $80,000 a year. Cards with an annual fee most often ask for $60,000 or $80,000 personal income. Use the income filter to hide cards that ask for more than you earn.

Does comparing cards here affect my credit score?

No. Comparing is free and we never check your credit. Your score can change when you apply, because the bank checks your credit then.

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

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