The best Mastercard credit cards in Canada for 2024

Mastercard is one of the most widely accepted credit card companies in the world—you can use it in more than 200 countries, making it a good choice for travellers. Plus, Mastercard’s status as the only credit card you can use at Costco stores make it a strong choice for everyday spending. Whatever you need in a credit card—whether it’s opportunities to earn cash or rewards, to travel, to take advantage of low interest rates, or to gain access to premium perks—there’s a Mastercard for you on this list.

Best Mastercard by category	Why we love it
Best cash back Mastercard BMO CashBack World Elite Mastercard Annual fee: $120	5% cash back on groceries and 4% back on transit
Best no-fee cash back Mastercard Tangerine Money-Back Credit Card Annual fee: $0	2% cash back in up to 3 categories of your choice (including groceries, gas and dining)
Best travel rewards Mastercard MBNA Rewards Platinum Plus Mastercard Annual fee: $0	Earn travel rewards for no annual fee and receive a nice birthday bonus perk annually
Best low-interest credit card MBNA True Line Gold Mastercard Annual fee: $39	8.99% purchase interest rate—the lowest fixed rate of any card currently issued in Canada
Best balance transfer credit card MBNA True Line Mastercard Annual fee: $0	You can earn a 0% promotional annual interest rate for 12 months on balance transfers completed within 90 days of opening the account, with a 3% transfer fee.
Best store credit card PC Financial World Elite Mastercard Annual fee: $0	Highest rate of return on spending at one of the largest retail networks in the country
Best credit card for Costco Rogers Red World Elite Mastercard Annual fee: $0	Your highest earn rate at the warehouse giant

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Best cash back Mastercard

At a glance: The BMO CashBack World Elite Mastercard reserves its best bonus rates for popular categories like groceries, transit and gas. That said, this isn’t a card for big spenders. Due to the modest monthly spending caps, this card will work best for those who need a solid earner on moderate spends. Among the perks is free roadside assistance—an unusual benefit.

Pros 

• This card offers accelerated earnings in many cash back categories including two of the biggest: gas and groceries. The 5% cash back rate for groceries is the highest in the nation. 
• Comes with free roadside assistance, which will come in handy should you need a tow, a battery boost or help changing a flat. 
• You can redeem your cash back whenever you want, with a minimum of $1 earned. 

Cons

• The boosted earn rates are capped at the first $300 or $500 spent annually, depending on the category. This is quite restrictive for a premium card. With a card like the Scotia Momentum Visa Infinite Card, for example, your spending cap can be as high as the first $25,000 annually (more than $2,000 per month).
• The travel insurance only offers coverage for up to eight days.
• The annual income requirement of $80,000 per year for individuals and $150,000 for households may put it out of reach for many Canadians.

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Best no-fee cash back Mastercard

At a glance: Flexibility is the name of the game with the no-fee Tangerine Money-Back Mastercard. You can earn 2% cash back in up to three spending categories, chosen by you based on your spending habits. And you can change your categories online.

Pros

• The 2% bonus rate is competitive for a no-fee card. Plus, there are no spending caps on bonus categories meaning that you’ll always earn 2% no matter how much you spend.
• This is the only card in Canada that lets you choose your own bonus categories. You can choose up to three categories out of 10 options and customize the card to your spending habits. Even better, you’re not locked in. You can change your selections online with 90 days’ notice.
• With a $12,000 annual income requirement, this card is very accessible.
• If you have an annual income of $60,000, you may be considered for the Tangerine World Mastercard which comes with additional benefits like mobile device insurance, free Boingo Wi-Fi, and Mastercard Travel Pass Provided By DragonPass, all for no charge. 
• Your earnings are automatically paid monthly. 

Cons 

• Does not include travel insurance.
• The base earn rate of 0.5% is on the low end for cash back cards.
• While a minor inconvenience, to access the third bonus category you have to open a Tangerine savings account.

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Best travel rewards Mastercard

At a glance: The MBNA Rewards Platinum Plus Mastercard will appeal to those looking for a way to earn points that can be used for travel, without having to pay an annual fee. Plus, the unique birthday bonus perk returns 10% of your annual earnings in points.

Pros 

• Redemptions are easy to understand—1 MBNA point is worth $0.01 when redeemed for travel—and you don’t have to worry about complex rewards charts.
• This card has strong earn rates, particularly for a no-fee card, and lets you earn double in the bonus categories—that’s 4 points per $1—for the first 90 days of every year.
• You’ll get an annual birthday bonus of 10% of the points you earned in the previous year. 

Cons 

• There is an annual cap of $10,000 per category on the boosted rewards. Anything you spend over that threshold will earn at the base rate of 1 point per $1 spent.

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Best low-interest credit card

At a glance: If you need to pay down debt, the MBNA True Line Gold Mastercard has a lot to offer, like a modest $39 annual fee and one of the lowest interest rates on the market. There is no annual income requirement, making it extremely accessible.

Pros 

• If you regularly carry a balance on your card, the low 8.99% interest rate may help you save on interest costs and pay off your debt faster.
• Trip assistance and legal assistance are included with the card.

Cons 

• Unlike many low-interest credit cards, the MBNA True Line Gold Mastercard doesn’t have a promotional balance transfer offer. If you need to move your debt to a low-interest card, you can consider the MBNA True Line Mastercard.

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Best balance transfer credit card

At a glance: If you’re looking for a way to reduce the interest on existing debt, the MBNA True Line Mastercard offers a 0% balance transfer rate for a full year. Even at the regular interest rate of 12.99%, this card is saving you on interest charges. There’s no annual fee for you and up to nine additional users.

Pros 

• The balance transfer promotional offer lasts an entire year, which is a few months longer than even other top balance transfer credit cards.
• You have up to 90 days to complete your balance transfer after opening the account, whereas most comparable cards make you transfer right away.
• With the MBNA monthly payment plan, you can split the bill on big spends over $100 into monthly installments.

Cons 

• Even though the balance transfer interest rate is 0% for 12 months, there is a balance transfer fee of 3%, meaning that you pay $30 for every $1,000 transferred. 

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Best store credit card

At a glance: The no-fee PC Financial World Elite Mastercard allows you to rack up substantial points in the ever-popular PC Optimum program. You’ll earn huge points multipliers at Canada’s largest pharmacy, Shoppers Drug Mart, and at PC-affiliated stores, of which there are thousands of locations across Canada.

Pros 

• If you regularly shop at Shoppers Drug Mart or Loblaw-affiliated grocery stores, the potential earnings are high. You’ll earn 45 points per $1 at Shoppers Drug Mart, which is a 4.5% return on your spending. Groceries bought at Real Canadian Superstore, Fortinos and No Frills and other PC stores net you 30 points per $1 (equal to 3% back).  
• This card includes travel and car rental insurance that’s suitable for short trips.

Cons 

• The minimum annual income requirement will keep this card out of reach for many. And you’ll need to spend $15,000 annually with the card to maintain eligibility, or you’ll be downgraded to a lower-tier PC credit card. Most credit cards don’t have a minimum spending requirement.

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Best credit card for Costco

At a glance: Although CIBC offers a Costco-branded Mastercard, it’s actually the Rogers Red World Elite Mastercard with 1.5% flat cash back that gets you the best earn rate at the warehouse giant, both online and in-store. Rogers, Fido and Shaw customers earn an extra 0.5% back on all purchases. The potential for unlimited cash back and greater redemption flexibility is what gives this card an edge over the CIBC Costco Mastercard.

Pros 

• When you use this card you get 1.5% cash back on everything you buy—or 2%, if you’re a Rogers, Fido or Shaw customer—netting you at least 0.5% more than you would with the CIBC Costco Mastercard when you shop in person.

• You can redeem your rewards when you want, as long as you have $10 in earnings.
• The 3% earn rate on purchases in U.S. dollars is enough to cover the foreign transaction fee, which is typically around 2.5%.
• Strong travel insurance benefits are included, which is unusual for a no-fee card. 

Cons

• To qualify, you’ll need a personal income of $80,000 or a household income of $150,000. 
• You’ll need to spend at least $15,000 on the card annually. If you don’t, you may be downgraded to another card.

Frequently asked questions

More of Canada’s best credit cards:

• Canada’s best credit cards
• Canada’s best Visa credit cards

• Canada’s best instant approval credit cards
• Canada’s best no fee credit cards
• Canada’s best no foreign transaction fee credit cards
• Canada’s best travel credit cards