These top-rated credit cards have a fee but give huge pay-offs.
Photo by Austin Distel on Unsplash
When choosing a good overall rewards card, you have to consider the entire package of goodies before making a final decision. Do you prefer a no fee card or are you willing to pay for perks? Are you more interested in spending bonuses, VIP lounge access, cash-back rewards or no blackout periods when booking travel? Whatever your criteria, there’s a card on this list to ensure you reap rewards as you spend.
| Card | Rewards | Annual fee |
|---|---|---|
| American Express Cobalt (get more details)* |
|
$155.88 |
| Scotiabank Gold American Express (get more details)* |
|
$120 |
| Tangerine Money-Back (get more details)* |
|
$0 |
| Scotia Momentum Visa Infinite (get more details)* |
|
$120 |
| AMEX SimplyCash Preferred (get more details)* |
|
$99 |
| TD First Class Visa Infinite (get more details)* |
|
$120 |
| BMO World Elite (get more details)* |
|
$150 |
| PC Financial World Elite (get more details)* |
|
$0 |
| Rogers World Elite (get more details) |
|
$0 |
With a slightly different, but equally impressive earn rate and welcome bonus as the Scotiabank Gold, the American Express Cobalt shares the top spot in our everyday spending rewards card category. Cobalt cardholders earn 5 points per $1 spent on eligible food delivery, groceries and restaurants; 2 points per $1 spent on gas and transit buys (including taxis, public transit and eligible flight tickets); and 1 point per $1 on all other purchases. Did you catch that in the transit category? Flight tickets are included, making this a seriously attractive card for travellers. Additionally, this Amex will get you started with up to 30,000 points—worth $300 in travel—in your first year.
Rewards points are super flexible and can be used towards travel (including on taxes and fees and without blackout periods or airlines restrictions), merchandise and gift cards, or a cash credit on your card. The American Express Cobalt offers tonnes of travel perks like an insurance package that includes emergency medical, lost or stolen baggage, flight or baggage delay and car rental theft and damage coverage. Plus, cardholders can access the Fixed points program, which allows them to get the most value out of their points for round-trip flights.
Get more details about the Amex Cobalt Card*
An exceptional earn rate and welcome bonus paired with useful perks like no foreign transaction fees and included travel insurance make the Scotiabank Gold American Express one of our top two picks for best rewards card for everyday spending. With this card, members get 5 points for every $1 spent in the groceries, entertainment and dining categories, and 3 points per $1 on gas, public transit and eligible streaming services. These categories are attractively broad, but rest assured that any other purchases earn at 1 point per $1.
Scotia Rewards are extremely flexible and can be redeemed for a variety of travel rewards as well as merchandise or a credit against your statement. Book travel through the Scotia Rewards Travel portal at a rate of 100 points for $1 in travel. (If you use a different site, then you’ll have to apply your points to get a statement credit instead of redeeming at the time of purchase). The Scotiabank Gold American Express also has very tempting perks like the foreign transaction fee waiver, which will save you 2.5% on purchases in another currency (in-person or online), and an included package of travel insurance that is worth the $120 annual fee all on its own.
Get more details about the Scotiabank Gold American Express*
Just because you want to earn cash back rewards doesn’t mean you need to pay a hefty annual fee—and that’s where the no fee Tangerine Cash Back Credit Card comes in. With this Mastercard, there’s an automatic 2% back in two spending categories of your choice, and, when you sign up to have your rewards automatically deposited into a Tangerine Savings Account, you get 2% in a third. All other purchases earn at a rate of 0.5%. The 10 spending categories are: grocery; recurring bill payments; furniture; drug store; restaurants; home improvement; hotel/motel; entertainment; gas; and public transportation and parking.
One of the main benefits of the Tangerine Money-Back Credit Card is that you can earn back unlimited cash, and you can change your selected categories once per billing cycle to suit your spending habits.
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 Card*
Those looking for a cash back card with a generous earn rate and welcome offer need look no further than the Scotia Momentum Visa Infinite: Cardholders earn 4% back on groceries, recurring bills and subscription services, 2% back on public transit and gas, and 1% back on all other purchases—with no cash back limit. This represents a significant earnings opportunity, particularly since the $120 annual fee is waived for the first year for new members.
On top of the cash back rewards, the Scotia Momentum Visa Infinite includes an excellent insurance package. Travellers are covered for emergency medical, travel accident, trip cancellation or delay, delayed or lost baggage, and rental car loss or damage. This card also includes up to $1,000 in new mobile device insurance, which protects against lost, stolen or accidentally damaged phones or tablets. Finally, as part of the Visa Infinite program, this card includes Visa Infinite Services such as a concierge service and wine country discounts in Ontario and British Columbia.
Get more details about the Scotia Momentum Visa Infinite*
If you’re looking for a card that offers cash back without the hassle of keeping track of spending categories, the SimplyCash Preferred Card from American Express could be a great option. You’ll earn a flat rate of 2% on everything you buy with no limit to how much cash back you can earn. and additional authorized users get their cards for free so you can pocket even more cash back by pooling your earning power with other members of your family or household. This card comes with a travel insurance package that includes travel accident and emergency medical coverage, along with lost or stolen baggage protection, flight delay and hotel burglary coverage; road trippers will love the car rental theft and damage insurance. All this comes bundled in a card with a lower-than-average annual fee of $99.
Get more details about the SimplyCash Preferred Card*
Visa is one of the largest credit card companies in the world, with numerous options for consumers—and when it comes to travel rewards, the TD First Class Travel Visa Infinite gets our nod. The regular earn rate of 3 TD points per $1 multiplies nicely on travel purchases: You get 9 points per $1 for travel booked online through Expedia For TD and charged to account (which works out to a healthy 4.5% return); 6 points per $1 in purchases of travel made by phone through Expedia For TD and charged to your account; and 3 points per $1 spent on everything else. The best part is you can redeem those points for a variety of rewards, including any travel expense—not just flights—from Expedia’s vast travel catalogue, and your TD Points never expire. For the earn rate, flexibility, and included insurance coverage, this card is a winner.
Get more details about the TD First Class Visa Infinite*
The BMO World Elite Mastercard is a strong contender in the travel rewards category, offering and an earn rate of 3 BMO points per $1 on travel, dining and entertainment, and 2 points per $1 on everything else. These points can be redeemed for a variety of products and services, including travel, merchandise and gift cards. BMO Rewards can be used towards any flight, hotel, rental car or cruise, including taxes and fees. The BMO World Elite also lets you travel in comfort with four annual Mastercard Airport Experiences provided by LoungeKey, and rest assured you’ll be covered while you’re away with a comprehensive insurance package.
Get more details about the BMO World Elite Mastercard*
Rewards cards for stores can be extremely valuable for loyal customers. Our pick for the best card in this category is the PC Financial World Elite, which operates within the PC Optimum environment—and the PC Optimum program is one of the most popular in the nation.
With this card, you can earn PC Optimum Points on every purchase, at a regular rate of 10 points per $1, and an accelerated rate at associated retailers. Earn 45 points per $1 at Shoppers Drug Mart, and 30 points per $1 at Esso, PC Travel or any Loblaws stores like Fortinos, Extra Foods and No Frills—among the best returns for a no fee card on groceries. Redemption is easy and flexible, too. You simply redeem at the cash register anywhere PC products are sold, in units of 10,000 points; each unit is worth $10. While these points are most frequently used towards grocery or drugstore purchases, you can also shop for travel through the PC Travel portal.
Unlike most no fee cards, the PC Financial World Elite carries some insurance like travel emergency medical and car rental loss or collision, and entitles you to concierge services.
Get more details about the PC Financial World Elite*
The Rogers World Elite Mastercard has some great perks—if you qualify. The earn rate is an impressive 1.5% cash back on all purchases, and 3% back on spends made in U.S. dollars (which works out to 0.5% back after foreign exchange fees). The card includes insurance for emergency medical, trip interruption and trip cancellation, along with rental car collision/damage. Not too shabby for a card with no annual fee!
Do note, however, that there are some quirks. For instance, while purchases made in U.S. dollars earn 3% cash back, foreign purchases in other currencies do not. And, in a strange move for a Rogers-branded card, there are no bonus rewards on Rogers products. Finally and most importantly, you’ll be required to make at least $15,000 in purchases on the card every year, or be downgraded to the entry-level Rogers Platinum Card.
| Card | Best | Annual fee | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | American Express Cobalt | Rewards credit for everyday spending | $120 |
| 2 | Scotiabank Gold American Express | Rewards credit for everyday spending | $120 |
| 3 | Tangerine Money-Back | No fee cash back card | $0 |
| 4 | Scotiabank Momentum Visa Infinite | Cash back card with bonus categories | $120 |
| 5 | Amex SimplyCash Preferred | Best flat-rate cash back card | $99 |
| 6 | TD First Class Travel Visa Infinite | Visa travel card | $120 |
| 7 | BMO World Elite Mastercard | Mastercard travel card | $150 |
| 8 | PC Financial World Elite | Store credit card | $0 |
| 9 | Rogers World Elite | Honourable mention | $0 |
Listed in no particular order
For the best rewards credit cards 2020 ranking, MoneySense tapped into Ratehub.ca’s‡ credit card tool and ran the numbers for cash back and travel credit cards, based on $2,000 in monthly spending. We made the following assumptions: grocery spend of $500, gas of $200, restaurants of $200 and bill payments of $125, travel of $175, entertainment of $225, pharmacy purchases of $75 and all other purchases of $500.
The end game was a magic number—that is, the annual net reward in dollar terms to identify the top cards in each category, plus an honorary mention. Our methodology also took into consideration other factors, including welcome bonuses and accelerated earn rates, annual fee waivers, loyalty program flexibility 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.
Share this article Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linkedin Share on Reddit Share on Email
With the Liberals forming another minority government, the Conservatives...
Sponsored By
CIBC
With home ownership becoming increasingly difficult for millennials to...
Roadside assistance is something you never think about—until you...
If you've found the price of insuring your high-rise...
A Certified Financial Planner compares the cost and long-term...
Sponsored by Equitable Bank
Two lenders in Canada offer reverse mortgages—and while their...
Based on your recommendations, I applied for a Scotia Bank Credit Card. They are asking for copy of my notice of tax assessments (provincial and federal) for the last two years as well as my T1.
Is that normal? I should have an excellent credit rating.
Thank you.
where’s the Rogers’s world elite Mastercard?
I signed up for the BMO World Elite Mastercard last year based on the recommendation of this site and have been sorely disappointed. Even with the large welcome bonus, putting an entire 15-day trip to Europe on the card and a bunch of other large expenses, the travel rewards were ridiculous – I had to pay $500-700 in fees PLUS all of my points to get a plane ticket to fly domestic! The redemption value of the points is absolutely atrocious… I will get rid of this card before they ding me for the annual fee and try something else.
How many units in a point?
I’m curious why I never see RBC discussed? I’m using the RBC Visa Avion Infinite – debating a switch to the AMEX Cobalt. Any resources you can recommend to evaluate that switch?
Thanks!
We try to provide a wide variety of products with strong features so readers can make their own decisions.