Rewards Canada is known for starting the top credit card ranking trend in Canada when we launched our first Top Travel Rewards Credit Card rankings in 2009. Since that time we continued with annual travel card rankings and added in cash back rankings. Now we add in one more ranking - the best cards in Canada for different types of categories Unlike our other rankings where we list first to fifth place this feature only displays the top card for each type of credit card category. From best overall to best low interest to best hotel card and many others in between, you'll find the best of each here. With nearly 20 years of research experience in the loyalty and credit card space you can count on Rewards Canada to give you the most un-biased straight forward rankings. Unlike other websites and blogs we don't just cover cards we earn commissions on - we take them all into account as we have done since our inception in 2001. Do some cards earn us a commission? Yes! Do all of them? No. They all get equal consideration.

Note that at time of publishing this we are in the middle of the COVID-19 Pandemic so we list the most relevant categories first. The first four categories of the Best Overall, the Best Low Interest, the Best No FX fee and the Best Quick Access Cash Back cards are really the ones to look at if you want to help out your cash flow and finances through these difficult times.

Quick jump to each of the categories on this page:

The card to get right now

The card to get right now is the Marriott Bonvoy™ American Express® Card . Why get this card now? It has a new limited time welcome bonus of 65,000 Marriott Bonvoy Points when you spend $3,000 on the card in the first six months of having it. Those 60,000 points are worth no less than $600 in our books! But the value doesn't end there you will also earn a total of 5X the points on eligible eats & drinks purchases in Canada for the first 6 months of Cardmembership, up to a maximum of 25,000 points. You can also earn 15,000 points when you make a purchase between 14 to 17 months of Cardmembership for a total of up to 105,000 bonus points! Once you have the card for a year you'll receive an anniversary free night award that you can use at any hotel with a value of up to 35,000 points. You get this benefit each and evey year you have the card so that in itself pays for the annual fee and more each year. There are more than 7,000 hotels around the world that you can redeem your points for and many are where dreams are made of! This is a card that can help you travel more luxuriously! We could go on with more of the benefits but you'll see them listed below. We also recommmend reading the following articles of ours about this card:

• Marriott Bonvoy™ American Express® Card Review
• How to use the Marriott Bonvoy American Express Card to get some awesome free hotel stays in Canada this summer
• Wow - a Marriott Bonvoy Category 5 hotel in the Maldives provides an amazing redemption value for this fall!

Also check out our Clash of the Credit Cards! Marriott Bonvoy American Express Card vs. MBNA Best Western Rewards Mastercard to see how this card is the best hotel card in Canada.

Marriott Bonvoy™ American Express® Card

Why is this the card to get right now? The welcome bonus of up to 105,000 Marriott Bonvoy points is the best ever bonus seen on this card! You earn a free night award each year on your card's anniversary date Automatic Marriott Bonvoy Silver Elite status and 15 night credit towards status You can convert Marriott Bonvoy points to over 40 airline programs including Air Canada Aeroplan The card has one of the best everday best earn rates of 2 points per dollar which we value as a 2% return at a minimum

Marriott Bonvoy™ American Express® Card Marriott Bonvoy™ American Express® Card Card Type: Credit    Annual Fee: $120 Additional Card Fee: $0 Annual interest rate 19.99% on purchases and 21.99% on funds advances; Missed payment applicable rates, 23.99% and/or 26.99% • Earn up to 105,000 Marriott Bonvoy™ points: • New Marriott Bonvoy™ American Express® Cardmembers, earn 65,000 welcome bonus points after you charge $3,000 in net purchases to your Card in your first 6 months of Cardmembership • Plus, earn a total of 5X the points on eligible eats & drinks purchases in Canada for the first 6 months of Cardmembership, up to a maximum of 25,000 points • You can also earn 15,000 points when you make a purchase between 14 to 17 months of Cardmembership • Apply by August 3, 2021 to take advantage of this incredible offer • Earn 5 points for every dollar in eligible Card purchases at participating Marriott Bonvoy™* properties • Earn 2 points for every $1 in all other Card purchases • Receive an Annual Free Night Award for up to 35,000 points at eligible hotels and resorts worldwide every year after your first anniversary • No annual fee on Additional Cards • Redeem points for free nights with no blackout dates at over 7,000 of the world’s most desired hotels • Automatic Marriott Bonvoy Silver Elite status membership • Receive 15 Elite Night Credits each calendar year with your Marriott Bonvoy™ American Express® Card. These can be used towards attaining the next level of Elite status in the Marriott Bonvoy program • Enjoy an automatic upgrade to Marriott Bonvoy Gold Elite status when you reach $30,000 in purchases on the Card each year • American Express is not responsible for maintaining or monitoring the accuracy of information on this website. For full details and current product information click the Apply now link. Conditions apply

Top Travel Credit Card Welcome Offers Learn more ›
Card & Sign Up Offer		Mininum Travel Value
	American Express® Aeroplan®* Reserve Card Earn up to 100,000 points plus earn a total of 10X the points on eligible eats & drinks purchases in Canada for the first 6 months of Cardmembership, up to a maximum of 50,000 points. Apply by August 3, 21	$901
	American Express® Aeroplan®* Card Earn up to 50,000 points plus earn a total of 5X the points on eligible eats & drinks purchases in Canada for the first 6 months of Cardmembership, up to a maximum of 25,000 points. Apply by August 3, 21	$630
	TD® Aeroplan® Visa Infinite* Card Up to 20,000 points plus earn a bonus Buddy Pass to bring anyone along to anywhere Air Canada flies in North America, incl Hawaii and Mexico. First year annual fee rebate. Conditions Apply. Must apply by August 16, 21	$600
	CIBC Aeroplan® Visa Infinite* Card 20,000 points plus earn an Air Canada Buddy Pass to bring anyone along to anywhere Air Canada flies in North America, incl Hawaii and Mexico. ​First year no Annual Fee Conditions Apply.	$600
	WestJet RBC World Elite Mastercard Get 350 welcome WestJet dollars on your first purchase with the card. Plus receive a $0 companion vouchers for travel in Canada, the U.S., Mexico & Caribbean. Must apply by August 16, 21	$531

The Best Overall Credit Card in Canada

The best overall card in Canada is the American Express Cobalt Card and it has been since it was launched late in 2017. Since that time it has been ranked as our number one overall travel rewards card but it is even a great cash back card. That's why we rank it the best overall card in Canada. It broke records when it was launched in 2017 by offering 5x points on eats and drinks - no other card had done that before. And by eats and drinks it means restaurants, fast food, grocery stores, convenience stores, bars and yes food and grocery delivery services. With all this not only is this card the best overall card in Canada but it is the best card to have in our current world with the Covid-19 Pandemic! The reason why is that you earn lots of points on eats and drinks - that is most of what Canadians are only spending money on right now and it gives you easy access to redeem those points. For example, say you apply for the card and receive it on a Monday and activate it. Then on Tuesday you order $50 worth of food via Skip the Dishes and on Wednesday you get $150 of groceries delivered from Loblaws (via Instacart since they take Amex even though Loblaws doesn't) for $200 in spending at 5x points. By the next Monday you'll have had 1,000 points post to your account and you can redeem them right away for $7 off any one of those purchases you had already made. a 3.5% cash back return that you don't have to wait to redeem for at the end of the month or the end of the year. It is the ultimate credit card to help preserve your cash flow by allowing to redeem at that cash back rate when you want or need to.

Also check out our new Rewards Canada Clash - Clash of the Reward Charts! American Express vs. RBC and see how the Cobalt Card destroys the RBC Avion card.

American Express Cobalt™ Card

Why is this card the best? Provides the utmost in rewards flexibility with a trio of travel redemption options and redeem for any purchase made on the card (ie cash back) Earns 5x Points per dollar on Eats & Drinks - including food delivery services like Skip the Dishes and Instacart Hint: Use Instacart to bypass Costco, Loblaws, Real Canadian Superstore, and other Loblaw family of stores non-acceptance of American Express Provides a 1% to 10% or higher rate of return when redeeming for travel Provides a 1% to 5% rate of return when redeeming for any purchase on the card outside of travel (your cash back option) Redeem your points at anytime for virtually any purchase starting at only 1,000 points (or as little as $200 in spending) Convert points to Marriott Bonvoy which can then be converted to Air Canada Aeroplan, United MileagePlus and over 40 other airlines

American Express Cobalt® Card American Express Cobalt® Card 2021 Overall Top Travel Rewards Card | 2021 Top Hybrid Rewards Card | 2021 Top Cash Back Card This is the best overall credit card in Canada! • In your first year as a new Cobalt Cardmember, you can earn 2,500 Membership Rewards® points for each monthly billing period in which you spend $500 in net purchases on your Card. This could add up to 30,000 points in a year     • 30,000 points is enough for:              • $300 in statement credits redeemed towards any eligible purchases charged to your Card or             • $225 in Amex Prepaid Cards • Earn 5x the points on eligible eats and drinks in Canada, including groceries and food delivery • Earn 2 points for every $1 spent on eligible transit & gas purchases in Canada and eligible travel purchases. That's 2X the points on purchases that get you from point A to B • Earn 1 point for every $1 in Card purchases everywhere else. We won't tell you where to spend, we'll just reward you on your Card purchases • Cobalt Cardmembers receive regular Perks such as bonus reward offers and access to great events • Access Front Of The Line® Presale & Reserved Tickets to some of your favourite concerts and theatre performances and special offers and events curated for Cardmembers with American Express® Experiences • American Express is not responsible for maintaining or monitoring the accuracy of information on this website. For full details, current product information and Terms and Conditions, click the Apply now link. Conditions Apply

TIP - Check out our American Express Cobalt Card Resources to learn more about this amazing card

Recommended reading:

The New Air Canada Aeroplan Program All the resources you need

Presented by HigherEdPoints
Redeem Aeroplan points for education. Pay for tuition or repay student loans through www.HigherEdPoints.com

The Best Low Interest Credit Card in Canada

Another major category to pay attention to in our current market situation is if you are needing to run a balance on your credit card(s). If you are and that card is a reward card with high interest rates you may need to look at a lower interest card. This is especially the case if you feel like it will take you more than two or three months to pay off that balance. In these cases the best low interest card in our market is the MBNA True Line Mastercard. It has a great standard low interest rate of 12.99%, which is 6 to 9% lower than most cards.

MBNA True Line® Mastercard® credit card

Why is this card the best? Standard annual interest rate of 12.99% on purchases and balance transfers No annual fee

MBNA True Line® Mastercard® credit card MBNA True Line® Mastercard® credit card You could get a 0% promotional annual interest rate (“AIR”)† for 12 months on balance transfers✪ completed within 90 days of account opening • No annual fee • Standard Annual Interest Rates of 12.99% on eligible purchases, 12.99% on balance transfers✪, and 24.99% on cash advances • You could get a 0% promotional annual interest rate (“AIR”)† for 12 months on balance transfers✪ completed within 90 days of account opening • Around-the-clock fraud protection • Use available credit on your credit card to transfer funds right to your chequing account. Apply for the MBNA True Line® Mastercard® credit card today • This offer is not available for residents of Quebec. Sponsored advertising. MBNA is a division of The Toronto-Dominion Bank (TD) and TD is not responsible for the contents of this site including any editorials or reviews that may appear on this site. For complete information on this MBNA credit card, please click on the Apply Now button. ✪ Balance transfers will be fulfilled in the order listed and are treated as balance transfers in accordance with your Account Agreement. The total value of balance transfers cannot exceed your authorized credit limit. If the value is greater, MBNA may send a partial payment to the named creditor/designated account. THERE WILL BE A TRANSACTION FEE EQUAL TO 3.00% OF THE DOLLAR AMOUNT OF EACH BALANCE TRANSFER INITIATED WITH THIS APPLICATION. A MINIMUM FEE OF $7.50 WILL APPLY TO EACH BALANCE TRANSFER TRANSACTION. A balance transfer may not be used to pay off or down your account balance or any other balances with us (including our affiliates, which would include any member of the TD Bank Group). † Promotional Rates: Balance Transfers: 0.00% This Promotional Rate applies to any balance transfers made within 90 day(s) of your account opening (each, an "eligible transaction") and will remain in effect for 12 Statement Periods from the transaction date of each eligible transaction. The Promotional Rate will increase and the remaining balance of the eligible transaction will become subject to the Standard Rate for balance transfers either: (1) on the first day of the first Statement Period that occurs after the expiry of the Promotional Rate; or (2) on the first day of the second Statement Period following any late Minimum Payment. Other conditions apply. Offer may be changed, extended or withdrawn at any time, without notice. Standard Rates: Purchases: 12.99% Balance transfers and access cheques: 12.99% Cash advances: 24.99% Default Rates: If your Minimum Payment is late twice within any [12] consecutive Statement Periods (the "change event"), the Standard Rate(s) that apply to your account at that time will increase to the following new Standard Rate(s): Purchases: 19.99% Balance transfers and access cheques: 21.99% Cash advances: 24.99% The new Standard Rate(s) will apply on the first day of the second Statement Period following the change event. If you then pay each Minimum Payment on time for [12] consecutive Statement Periods ("cure period"), the new Standard Rate(s) will decrease to the Standard Rate(s) that applied on your account at the time of the change event. Such rates will apply on the first day of the first Statement Period that occurs after the cure period. The Toronto-Dominion Bank is the issuer of this credit card. MBNA is a division of The Toronto-Dominion Bank..

The Best No Foreign Transaction Fee Credit Card in Canada

Again, with our current market situation the world of online shopping has exploded - not that it hadn't before but with so many more people staying at home they are utilizing more online shops. It those online purchases are from non-Canadian retailers charging you in US$, GBP or any other currency you are more than likely incurring a 2 to 3% foreign transaction fee that is charged by your credit card company. There are a few cards in Canada however that do not charge this No Foreign Transaction fee and given the situation of the pandemic we've changed the best card from the Scotia Passport Visa Infinte Card (it's still one of the top cards) to the HSBC World Elite Mastercard because of its really good earn rates and rewards options

HSBC World Elite® Mastercard®

Why is this card the best No Foreign Transaction Fee card? The card has no foreign transaction fees - that means you can save the typical 2.5% on online purchases made outside of Canada or any purchases when you travel outside of Canada You can convert points to British Airways Executive Club, Cathay Pacific AsiaMiles and Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer Free global Boingo WiFi and airport lounge access Strong insurance benefits and annual $100 travel enhancements credit

HSBC World Elite® Mastercard® HSBC World Elite® Mastercard® Earn up to 70,000 Points. PLUS a full annual fee rebate for the Primary Cardholder for the first year Primary Cardholder Annual Fee: $149 (1st year annual fee waiver) Authorized User Annual Fee: $50 Per Card Annual interest rate: 19.9% on purchases and 22.9% on funds advances and balance transfers. $80,000 personal or $150,000 household annual income • Welcome Bonus of 20,000 Points (up to $100 value) PLUS apply by September 27th and get an additional 20,000 Points (up $100 value) when you spend $5,000 within 6 months of account opening*, and get a 1st Year annual fee waiver for Primary Cardholder*($149 value/$99 value), earn 10,000 Points (up to $50 value) for adding your 1st Authorized User*, and receive an additional 20,000 Points (up to $100 value) as an Anniversary Bonus* • Earn 3% in travel rewards on all eligible travel purchases (6 Points per $1) and earn 1.5% in travel rewards on all other eligible purchases (3 Points per $1) • No foreign transaction fees. Only the exchange rate will apply • Enjoy maximum flexibility and redeem your Points on your terms for: • Travel • Gift cards and valuable merchandise • Financial rewards • Rewards for miles *Terms and Conditions apply ®/TM Mastercard and World Elite are registered trademarks, and the circles design is a trademark of Mastercard International Incorporated. Used pursuant to licence This offer is only available to residents of Canada other than the province of Quebec (Quebec residents eligible for separate offer)

Top Cash Back Credit Card Welcome Offers Learn more ›
Card & Sign Up Offer		Min. Cash Back Value
	SimplyCash™ Preferred Card from American Express New SimplyCash™ Preferred Card from American Express Cardmembers can earn 10% cash back on all eligible purchases (up to $400 cash back) for the first 4 months of Cardmembership	$301
	CIBC Dividend® Visa Infinite* Card Welcome Offer: Get a first-year annual fee rebate! Plus, get 10% cash back for the first 4 statements on total purchases of up to $2,000	$200
	Scotia Momentum® VISA* Infinite card 10% cash back on all purchases for the first 3 months (up to $2,000 in total purchases). Plus, no annual fee in the first year, including on supplementary cards.	$200
	BMO CashBack® World Elite®* MasterCard®* Earn 10% Cash Back on all Purchases for the first 3 months up to a total spend of $2,000 and the $120 annual fee waived in the first year*	$200
	SimplyCash™ Card from American Express New SimplyCash™ Card from American Express Cardmembers can earn 4% cash back on purchases (up to $200 cash back) for the first 6 months of Cardmembership. This card has no annual fee! Ever!	$200

The Best Quick Access Cash Back Credit Card in Canada

Technically speaking this could be the American Express Cobalt Card however here we look at overall cash back value and a card that is not an Amex card. By quick access we mean where you can get your cash back quicker than your traditional cash back cards that only provide your cash back reward once per year. Right now the best Quick Access Cash Back Credit Card is the CIBC Dividend® Visa Infinite* Card. It has a strong earn rates but more importantly as of February 1st, 2021 it lets you redeem at anytime when you reach $25 in cash back rewards. For most Canadians that could be once or twice per month if you spend quite a bit on groceries and recurring bills.