Canada’s best no fee credit cards 2021
These cards provide perks without an annual fee.
These cards provide perks without an annual fee.
Photo by Sid Leigh on Unsplash
If you’re looking for a card that delivers top rewards without an annual fee, look no further. In exchange for slightly lower earn rates, these no-annual-fee cards still get you perks on what you spend. So whether it’s cash back that you want, no foreign transaction fees or generous travel points, these no-fee credit cards offer gold-plated options.
Card | Best for | Rewards / Feature |
---|---|---|
AMEX SimplyCash (get more details)* |
Flat-rate |
|
Tangerine Money-Back (get more details)* |
Cash back |
|
MBNA Rewards Platinum Plus Mastercard (get more details)* |
Travel |
|
Home Trust Preferred Visa (get more details)* |
No FX fees |
|
MBNA True Line (get more details)* |
Low APR |
|
BMO CashBack Mastercard (get more details)* |
Groceries |
|
PC Financial World Elite (get more details)* |
Retail rewards |
|
Triangle Mastercard (get more details)* |
Retail rewards |
|
Home Trust Secured Visa (get more details)* |
Rebuilding credit |
|
Rogers World Elite (get more details) |
Honourable mention |
|
These days, many cash back cards offer attractive welcome bonuses, but once the promotion is over, the core card fails to impress. Not so with the SimplyCash Card from American Express. This card gives new cardholders 2.5% back for the first three months (up to $150 in cash back), and afterwards reverts to a regular rate of 1.25%. While some cards complicate things by breaking down their rewards into spend categories, the SimplyCash lets you earn equally across categories—and, there is no limit to the cash you can earn back at the regular rate. Earn more by referring a friend—you can receive $100 in thanks each time, up to 15 friends.
The SimplyCash American Express includes shopping and travel protections, including $100,000 in travel accident protection, buyer’s assurance and purchase protection. And cardholders are automatically enrolled in American Express Invites, giving them access to premium entertainment options.
Get more details about the SimplyCash Card*
With its competitive cash back and flexible spending categories, the Tangerine Money-Back Mastercard serves up a sweet deal. Cardholders automatically get 2% back on purchases in two spending categories, with a third category made available when they set up an automatic rewards deposit into a Tangerine Saving Account, which also doesn’t have any fees. All other spending earns 0.5%.
This means 2% cash back is available on purchases in up to three of the following categories: Groceries, restaurants, gas, drug stores, recurring bill payments, entertainment, public transit and parking, furniture, home improvement, and hotel and motel stays.
And while this card offers only minimal perks like purchase assurance and extended warranty, it does allow you unlimited cash back, unlike many other cards that cap your rebates.
If you meet the $60,000 annual income requirement you’ll automatically be considered for the Tangerine World Mastercard, which comes with additional perks such as mobile device and rental car insurance.
Get more details about the Tangerine Money-Back Credit Card*
This card allows account holders to collect MBNA points, redeemable for a variety of rewards including travel, cash back, hotels and merchandise. Trip-happy cardholders will enjoy the ability to redeem 100 points for $1 worth of travel—an impressive redemption rate of 1% that will help you get to your dream vacation faster. If you choose to redeem your points for cash back, the rate is 200 points per $1. For groceries, gas and restaurant purchases, the rate is 2 points per $1 on your initial $5,000 in purchases, and everything else comes in at 1 point per $1. And—great news for those saving against a large travel purchase—the Points never expire as long as your account with MBNA is open.
Additionally, this card offers seven types of insurance, including unexpected return home, rental car collision, and accidental death and dismemberment, balance protection and extended warranty. While you’d likely need additional travel emergency insurance to fill in the gaps, this card gets you started—a rarity on a no fee card.
Get more details about the MBNA Rewards Platinum Plus Mastercard*
There’s more than one way to improve cross-currency shopping, and ditching the foreign exchange fees altogether is a popular—but rare—option. The no-fee HomeTrust Preferred Visa is one of the few cards available to Canadians that have no foreign transaction fees, and along with a respectable 1% cash back on all purchases without limit, it’s a card worth considering. Like many no fee cards, the HomeTrust Preferred doesn’t offer much in the way of insurance beyond purchase security. But when you use this card to pay for an automobile rental, collision and loss coverage are included. The HomeTrust Preferred Visa has a very accessible minimum annual income requirement of $15,000.
Get more details about the Home Trust Preferred Visa*
If you’re carrying a balance, you’ll want to get that debt onto a lower-interest card as quickly as possible. With a rate of 12.99% on balance transfers and new purchases, the MBNA True Line is worthy of consideration. Add the fact that this card commands no annual fee, and this is a powerful card for someone trying to pay off their debt.
NOTE: this offer is not available for residents of Quebec
Canadian students have their own needs, including a way to cover the financial burden of tuition and school expenses, the need to establish a healthy credit history and an unending quest for cash on hand. With no annual fee, a welcome bonus of 5% cash back for three months (up to $100) and a low $15,000 annual income requirement, the BMO CashBack card is designed with students in mind.
The 5% cash back welcome offer is top-notch (and applicants who plan ahead might do well by timing their first three months with the beginning of a semester—those books add up!), and the cash back post-welcome is nothing to sneeze at: 3% on groceries and 1% on recurring bill payments (up to $500 spent per month in each category), and an unlimited 0.5% on everything else. As a student card, there’s no specific income requirements and you can get approved even if you’ve never had a credit card before. It also comes with standard insurance coverage, like extended warranty and purchase protection. Overall, this is an attractive entry-level card.
Get more details about the BMO CashBack Mastercard*
For those who shop regularly at Loblaws banner stores and Shoppers Drug Mart (Pharmaprix in Quebec), the PC World Elite Mastercard offers a great way to take advantage of one of the most popular and useful loyalty programs in the country: PC Optimum. Here’s how it works: When you use your PC World Elite Mastercard, you earn a minimum of 10 points per $1 spent, with multipliers for purchases at Shoppers (45 points per $1), and Esso, PC Travel or any Loblaws-owned stores, like No-Frills, Fortinos or Real Canadian Superstore (30 points per $1). Points are redeemed anywhere PC products are sold, in 10,000-Point increments, which works out to $10. PC Optimum is a valuable, easy-to-use program—and the PC World Elite can help you make the most of it.
Get more details about the PC Financial World Elite*
The Triangle Mastercard from Canadian Tire lets you earn your rewards in Canadian Tire Money (CTM). Get a generous 4% in CTM when you shop at Canadian Tire, Sport Chek and Mark’s and other affiliate stores, and 1.5% on up to $12,000 of purchases at grocery stores (excluding Walmart and Costco). You also get $0.05 back per litre of gas from Gas+ and participating Husky stations.
You may fondly remember the brightly-coloured bills of Canadian Tire Money stashed in parents’ glove boxes when you were younger. While the program has evolved (it’s gone digital, for instance), it still has a strong Canadian flavour. Redeem your CTM at sporting goods stores (Sport Chek, Sports Rousseau, Sports Experts and Hockey Experts), clothing retailers (Mark’s/L’Equipeur and Atmosphere), and, of course, Canadian Tire. This card is a clear choice for those who regularly shop at Canadian Tire. And it might even win over some who don’t, with its no-fee financing option, which lets you make interest-free installments on qualifying purchases of at least $150 at Canadian Tire or affiliate stores.
Get more details about the Triangle Mastercard from Canadian Tire*
One of the best ways to repair a not-so-favourable credit history is to use a credit card responsibly. But most typical credit cards are out of reach for those with a low credit score. That’s where secured credit cards come in handy. With a secured card, you put a deposit down (at least $500 for this card) so the bank doesn’t have to assume the risk of lending to someone with poor credit. Then, by using your card and paying it off—ideally in full and always on time—you can begin to rebuild your credit score. It’s unusual to find a secured card with no fee, making the Home Trust Secured Visa outstanding in this category and our top pick.
Get more details about the Home Trust Secured Visa*
With its regular 1.5% cash back and no annual fee, this card should make Canadian no-fee card users sit up and take notice—but for online shoppers and U.S.travellers, it could be a boon. That’s because purchases in U.S. currency earn 3% cash back, which covers the foreign transaction fee credit cards typically charge—between 2.5% and 3%. Cash rewards can then be redeemed towards any eligible purchases made on your card, for the ultimate in flexibility.
There is one drawback, which is that applicants must have an annual income of $80,000; that’ll exclude many Canadians. Under the card’s terms, you’ll also need to spend at least $15,000 on the card over an annual review period (August 1 to July 31) otherwise you could be downgraded to the entry-level Rogers Platinum Mastercard that earns a lower 1% cash back. For those who can meet its income and spending requirements though, the Rogers World Elite is a great option.
The main advantage of a no-fee credit card is exactly what the name suggests: There’s no fee. This means that unless you’re carrying outstanding debt, using the card costs you nothing. The appeal of a free card is obvious, but there are some things to consider, not the least of which is that no-fee credit cards typically offer far fewer benefits and perks than cards that carry an annual fee. More on that below, but first let’s look at some of the top reasons why a no fee option might be best for you:
One major drawback to no-fee cards is that, with few exceptions, they lack the perks and benefits—particularly insurance—that’s offered by many cards with an annual fee. Typically, no-fee cards do include very basic protections such as zero liability, purchase protection and extended warranty, but you’ll likely miss out on travel medical emergency insurance and rental car collision coverage and on perks such as airport lounge access. Ultimately, you’ll have to weigh these benefits against the fees and decide whether a no-fee credit card works best for you.
For the best cash back credit cards 2021 ranking, MoneySense tapped into Ratehub.ca’s‡ credit card tool and calculated the numbers for both fee and no fee cash back rewards cards based on $2,000 in monthly spending. We used the following scenario: $500 on groceries, $200 on gas, $200 on restaurants, $125 on bill payments, $175 on travel, $225 on entertainment, $75 on pharmacy purchases and $500 on everything else.
The end game was a magic number—that is, the annual net reward in dollar terms to identify the top cash back cards for each type of spender. Our methodology also took into consideration other factors, including limited-time accelerated earn rates, the range of spending bonus categories, annual fee waivers, purchase protections and travel insurance perks.
‡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.
If a link has an asterisk (*) at the end of it, that means it's an affiliate link and can sometimes result in a payment to MoneySense (owned by Ratehub Inc.) which helps our website stay free to our users. It's important to note that our editorial content will never be impacted by these links. We are committed to looking at all available products in the market, and where a product ranks in our article or whether or not it's included in the first place is never driven by compensation. For more details read our MoneySense Monetization policy.
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Rogers has changed their terms for their World Elite Mastercard:
WE’RE MAKING SOME CHANGES TO YOUR ROGERS WORLD ELITE MASTERCARD ACCOUNT
Effective June 2, 2020, we will be making some changes to your Rogers World Elite Mastercard Account. Please find a summary of what will be included with your card, along with the detailed changes to the following: (1) Rogers Bank Cardholder Agreement, and (2) Rogers World Elite Mastercard Rewards Program Terms and Conditions. Your use of the Account or your Card after the changes noted above go into effect will mean that you have accepted all of those changes. For residents of Quebec, if you do not agree with this change, you may terminate your Account with us by July 1, 2020 without cost or penalty after any remaining balance is paid off.
What is included with your Rogers World Elite Mastercard starting June 2, 2020
You will earn:
3% in cash back rewards on all your eligible purchases made in U.S. dollars (previously 4% on all eligible purchases made in any foreign currency)
1.5% in cash back rewards on all other eligible purchases (previously 2% on Rogers products and services and 1.75% on all other eligible purchases)
—-
There’s also a minimum $15k spend per year starting August 1, 2020
Thought you should know, it might affect where it’s shows in your rankings.
Thanks for letting us know. We will update this as soon as we can. Our goal is to have the most up-to-date information. We do our best to fact check all our content before it gets published and make updates regularly, but some things may get missed. We would like to remind our readers to do their own fact checking before making any personal finance decisions.
No mention of Costco Master Card, No Fees (except for $60 yearly Costco membership fee) 2% cassh back at end of year.
Scotia bank has just changed it’s NO FEE Visa card to charge $29.00 a year. As of April 1st/ 2021. They will be dropping the interest rate on the card. This is a rip off to people who never carry a balance but pay off immediately . In effect, we are now sharing in paying the debts of all the other cardholders. Savers, and people careful with their money, are shafted again. It feels like a ‘bait and switch’.