Almost no one wants to carry large wads of cash around these days. Pick any one at random and take a peek in their wallet or purse and you’ll probably notice more credit cards than cash in there. Canadians everywhere (and the rest of the world) are swiftly becoming comfortable with living “the swipe life.”
Something else you may notice from your “wallet observation” is the mind-boggling credit card options people use. But are all of them worth the trouble?
In this review, we will be comparing our top 5 cash back credit cards in Canada. But we will only be focusing on credit cards with a cashback feature, because who doesn’t want to get money back on their spending? The cards in this review also operate with a no-fee policy, which means that you can use your card all-year-round at no cost.
Sometimes credit card providers can install an annual fee so heavy that it completely depletes your cashback percentage and then some. Premium credit cards can sometimes offer a ton of benefits such as attractive cashback incentives, insurance cover, travel benefits and more.
However, even with the cashback benefit, for the hefty annual fee you have to pay, you will have to spend a ton of money to even make back your annual fee as cashback. This is not ideal for cardholders who are not heavy spenders. So if your focus is to get money back for your spending at no cost, then such cards are not for you.
Here are the top five no-fee cash back credit cards available in Canada that we believe are a good fit for cardholders everywhere regardless of purchasing power.
Beyond the unlimited cashback feature, the credit cards in this review also offer other benefits such as attractive cash advance and low purchase rates, low-interest rates for balance transfers, little to no-fee foreign exchange, protection against fraud, extended warranty and other benefits.
Quick Peek At The Top 5 Cash Back Credit Cards In Canada
1. Tangerine Money-Back Credit Card
2. Blue Sky Credit Card
3. Tangerine World Mastercard
5. Home Trust Preferred Visa Card
1. Tangerine Money-Back Credit Card
Tangerine is undoubtedly the best digital bank currently operating in the country, it makes sense that their money-back credit card would find a spot in this review.
Tangerine’s cashback card is a splendid no-fee card option for the following reasons:
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No annual fees, obviously
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You can choose up to 3 spending categories (from the 10 available on Tangerine’s website) to get cashback on. These include groceries, recurring bill payments, drug store purchases, furniture, home improvement, restaurants, hotels/motels, entertainment, public transportation and parking, and gas.
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You get to choose two spending categories that fit your spending pattern and you get a 2% cashback on all your spending within those categories. If you withdraw your cashback money to your Tangerine Savings Account, you get to add a third spending category to your cashback profile
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As a new Tangerine user, you will get a promotional rate of 4% cashback rate on all your three categories for the first 3 months
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For all other purchases outside these 3 categories, you also get a 0.5% cashback
Cashback is paid at the end of every month. You can choose to receive it via your credit card or into your Tangerine Savings Account
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Within the first 90 days of every purchase you make, you get a free purchase protection
Extended warranty for one year
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You can transfer your balance to your card at the promo interest rate of 1.95% for the first 6 months. That is if you transfer your balance no later than 30 days after activating your card
Tangerine’s Money-Back Credit Card offers some serious flexibility that makes it a real contender for any one’s credit card needs. A few things that stand out are that there are no spending limits placed on your 4% cashback promo rate or the amount of cashback you can earn. Also, you can also change your cashback categories at any time.
2. Blue Sky Credit Card
This card from Blue Sky Bank, on the surface, is not as lucrative as Tangerine’s Money-Back Credit Card, however, it does have a few things going for it, one of them being its promo cashback rate for new customers.
Blue Sky Credit Card utilizes a flat cashback reward rate (denominated in points), which is actually a good thing depending on who you’re talking to.
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No annual fees
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New users receive 10,000 Blue Sky points as a welcome bonus. Since 100 points are equal to $1, then the welcome bonus is worth $100 and is given to you after you reach $500 in spending in your first 3 months. In perspective, that is a whopping cashback rate of 20%
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Beyond the welcome bonus, you get 25 Blue Sky points (1.25%) for every dollar spent
Points can be used to pay for any travel expenses
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As a cardholder, you have an insurance cover of $100,000 in the event of any travel accident
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This card offers you access to so many entertainment options, thanks to its provider, American Express
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There is a referral program that gifts you 5000 Blue Sky points when you refer a friend to use the card
It is a good card overall. Just remember that you cannot redeem your points until you reach a minimum threshold of 10,000 Sky Blue points.
3. Tangerine World Mastercard
At this point, Tangerine is 2 for 3 with its second credit card on this list. This speaks to the efficiency of the digital bank’s credit card offerings. This is the most recent credit card to be offered from the bank, and it also possesses all of the benefits of the Money-Back Credit Card.
However, the Tangerine World Mastercard has a lot more going for it in terms of what users stand to benefit.
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Everything in the Tangerine Money-Back Credit Card
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Insurance cover for the first 31 days in the case of a collision or loss damage with a rental car
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Your mobile device is insured up to $1000
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You get to enjoy exclusive deals with select restaurants, spas, and retail outlets, located in over 1000 lounges in 400 airports across the country
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Extended warranty and insurance for your purchases, subject to Tangerine’s T&C
While the Tangerine World Mastercard is a class above their Money-Back credit card, there are also restrictions for applying for the card.
To be eligible for this card, you’ll have to have a minimum annual personal income of $60,000. This is far heavier than the stated minimum annual personal income of $12,000 for the Money-Back credit card.
4. BMO CashBack Mastercard
The BMO Cashback Mastercard may not offer a cashback rate as lucrative as the other cards on this list. However, it makes up for this by widening the net for purchases that are cashback-eligible.
Plus they are just as good as the other options when it comes to interest rates on balance transfers.
A rundown of what you get with a BMO Cashback Mastercard looks like this:
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No annual fees
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When you get the card, you’ll be gifted with a 5% cash back rate on all your purchases for your first 3 months
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After the bonus, you get a flat cashback rate of 1% on all purchases you make
For your first 9 months, you can transfer your balance at the attractively low rate of 1.99%
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If you use Alamo Rent A Car or National Car, you qualify for a 25% discount off your vehicle rental
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Extended warranty and purchase protection for eligible purchases
5. Home Trust Preferred Visa Card
The Home Trust Preferred Visa card offers it’s users a triple threat of purchase flexibility, Visa card benefits, and of course, cashback rewards. Now, the cashback rate stands at only a decent 1% but there are other benefits that make this credit card worth looking into.
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No annual fees
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Unlimited cashback rate of 1%. No select stores for purchase. Shop anywhere and get cashback
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Free roadside assistance
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Purchase Protection and Auto Rental Collision Insurance, both from Visa
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Verified by Visa security feature to add an extra layer of security to your card use online
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Free currency conversion when using your card for purchases abroad
Home Trust Preferred Visa Card will likely make the most sense for frequent travelers because they likely fly a lot and use car rentals just as much. The free roadside assistance and free currency conversion is a massive plus for this credit card and is the biggest reason why it made our list.
Cash Back Credit Cards: Honorable Mentions
Even though this list is restricted to five-card options, there are a lot more that make sense for people who do not use their card enough to warrant paying the hefty annual fees for premium credit cards.
Some honourable no-fee cash back credit cards mention include:
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SimplyCash Card from American Express
Conclusion
The cards on our list are proof that you can still find credit card options that give cashback, have zero fees, and still offer some premium benefits such as purchase protection, extended warranty, special service discounts, travel insurance, fraud protection and more.
In most cases, you will likely not find all the benefits you are looking for in just one card, so it may make sense for you to combine the right no-fee cards to maximize your cashback.
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