Are you longing to be debt-free but struggling with high-interest cards? Then a balance transfer credit card, which allows you to move the balance off of some or all of your credit cards over to this new card at a super low-interest rate if you sign up (sometimes even as low as 0%) can be a good strategy for you. Just keep in mind that these great low rates are limited and when that period ends—often six month only—the rates will go back up.
The best balance transfer credit cards in Canada 2019
- MBNA True Line Mastercard — 0% promo interest rate (additional fees may apply)
- MBNA True Line Gold Mastercard — 0% promo interest rate (additional fees may apply)
- Scotiabank Value Visa — 0.99% promo interest rate
- PC Financial World Elite MasterCard – Honorable mention
- More on the best credits cards – View a complete list of top cards by category
- Our methodology – For greater insight into our rankings
MBNA True Line MasterCard*
Free: No annual fee
Balance transfer offer: No annual interest on balance transfer fees for the first 6 months (1% fee also applies). After 6 months, the rate increases to only 12.99%.
Other benefits: Around-the-clock fraud protection and access to 24/7 customer service.
Click here for more details about the True Line MasterCard*
MBNA True Line Gold MasterCard*
Low fee: $39 a year
Welcome balance transfer offer: No annual interest on balance transfer fees for the first 6 months, and rate increases to only 8.99% after that.
Low rate on purchases: 8.99% interest rate on purchases (and 24.99% on cash advances).
Fraud protection: Around the clock protection against fraudulent charges.
Click here for more details about the True Line Gold MasterCard*
Scotiabank Value Visa*
Super-low rate on balance transfers: 0.99% interest on balance transfers for the first 6 months. After 6 months, the rate increases to a modest 12.99%.
Decent rate on purchases and cash advances: 12.99%
Low annual fee: $29
Save on car rentals: Get a 25% discount on rental cars at participating Avis locations.
Click here for more details about the Scotiabank Value Visa*
Honorable Mention
PC Financial World Elite MasterCard *
Introductory balance transfer rate: 0.97% for the first 6 months (22.97% after that). But after that, the balance transfer rate increases to a much higher rate of 22.97%
Earn points: 40 PC points per dollar at Shoppers Drug Mart, 30 points per dollar at PC Stores that include Loblaws, No Frills, Real Canadian Superstore, PC Travel, Esso and Joe Fresh, and 10 points everywhere else.
Rock bottom cost: Free to use, so no annual fee.
Travel Emergency medical insurance: Covers you if you are under the age of 65 and traveling for 10 days or less.
Click here for more details about the PC Financial World Elite MasterCard*
In-Depth: THE BEST CREDIT CARDS BY CATEGORY
- Overall Best Credit Cards in Canada
- Best Rewards Credit Cards
- Best Travel Credit Cards
- Best Cash Back Credit Cards
- Best No Fee Rewards Credit Cards
- Best Low Interest Credit Cards
- Best Student Credit Cards
Our methodology
For the Best Balance Transfer Credit Cards 2019 ranking, we categorized credit cards based on their limited-time balance transfer rates. Our rankings also took into account fixed annual interest rates on balance transfers and purchases, purchase protections and annual fees.
‡MoneySense.ca and Ratehub.ca are both owned by parent company Ratehub Inc. We may be partnered with some financial institutions, but this does not influence the “Canada’s Best Credit Card” rankings. You can read more about this in our Editorial Code of Conduct.