Milesopedia’s 2024 Credit Card Awards | Canada

Updated Aug 27, 2024
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To the point Here are our picks for the best credit cards in Canada in 2024 to earn travel rewards or cash back.

We present Milesopedia’s 2024 Credit Card Awards in Canada.

You can find our methodology here.

2024 Awards Summary

Best Credit Cards For Everyday Life

In 2023-2024, the economic context has profoundly changed consumer habits. In an inflationary environment, Canadians are looking for products that can help them save money on expenses such as groceries, gas, recurring bills or drugstore purchases.

The credit cards below have all distinguished themselves in 2023 in their respective categories by offering their cardholders more than their competitors. That’s why we’ve selected them as the Best Credit Cards in Canada in 2024 for Everyday Life.

Best Cash Back Credit Card

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The CIBC Dividend® Visa Infinite* Card is the Best Cash Back Credit Card in 2024 in Canada for these reasons:

  • High cash back earning rate on everyday purchases: 4% on gas and groceries, 2% on transportation, dining and recurring payments and 1% on everything else
  • The minimum cash back redemption amount is $25
  • Accepted at almost every retailer

Best No-Fee Cash Back Credit Card

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The Tangerine World Mastercard is the Best No-Fee Cash Back Credit Card in 2024 in Canada for these reasons:

  • Choice of two to three 2% earning categories from a list of 10 categories
  • The minimum cash back redemption amount is $1
  • Accepted at almost every retailer
  • No annual fee

Best Credit Card For Everyday Spending

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The MBNA Rewards World EliteMD Mastercard® is the Best Credit Card For Everyday Spending in 2024 in Canada for these reasons:

  • 5 points per dollar for restaurants, groceries, digital media, subscriptions and household utilities
  • Easy redemption of points for a statement credit
  • Insurance
  • Accepted in all stores

Best No-Fee Credit Card For Everyday Spending

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The RBC ION Visa card is the Best No-Fee Credit Card For Everyday Spending in 2024 in Canada for these reasons:

  • 1.5x Avion points on groceries, travel, gas, electric vehicle charging, streaming services, digital games and subscriptions
  • 1 Avion point per dollar on all other eligible purchases
  • Save 3¢ per litre on gas and earn 20% more points at Petro-Canada
  • No annual fee

Best Credit Card For Groceries

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Scotiabank Gold American Express® Card is the Best Credit Card For Groceries in 2024 in Canada for these reasons:

  • 6 points per dollar at IGA or Sobeys and 5 points per dollar at other grocery stores
  • Flexible rewards
  • No Foreign Transaction Fee
  • Full travel insurance

Best Credit Card For Gas And Transit

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The BMO eclipse Visa Infinite* Card is the Best Credit Card For Gas And Transit in 2024 in Canada for these reasons:

  • 5x BMO Rewards points for every dollar spent on groceries, restaurants, gas and transportation
  • $50 annual lifestyle credit to use as you wish
  • Travel and purchase insurance
  • Accepted at almost every retailer worldwide

Best Credit Card For Drugstores

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The American Express® Gold Rewards Card is the Best Credit Card For Drugstores in 2024 in Canada for these reasons:

  • 2 points per dollar on drugstore purchases
  • Flexible Rewards
  • Travel Partners (American Express Membership Rewards program)
  • No minimum income required

Best Credit Card For Recurring Payments

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The Scotia Momentum® Visa Infinite* Card is the Best Credit Card For Recurring Payments in 2024 in Canada for these reasons:

  • 4% cash back at grocery stores, for bill payments and subscriptions (including rent payments via Chexy)
  • 2% on gas and daily transit
  • Travel and purchase insurance
  • Accepted at almost every retailer worldwide

Best Credit Card For Dining

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The American Express Cobalt® Card is the Best Credit Card For Dining in 2024 in Canada for these reasons:

  • 5% cash back on dining and food delivery
  • The minimum cash back redemption amount is $10 (1,000 points)
  • No minimum income required

Best Balance Transfer Credit Card

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The CIBC Select Visa* Card is the Best Balance Transfer Credit Card in Canada in 2024:

  • Recurring offer for 0% interest on balance transfers for up to 10 months, subject to a 1% transfer fee.

Best Low-Interest Credit Card

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The Scotiabank Value® Visa* Card is the Best Low-Interest Credit Card in Canada in 2024 for these reasons:

  • Low annual interest rate of 12.99% on purchases, cash advances and balance transfers
  • Welcome interest rate of 0% for the first 10 months on cash advances
  • Accepted at almost every retailer worldwide

Best Prepaid Credit Card

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The KOHO Extra Mastercard Prepaid Card is the Best Prepaid Credit Card in 2024 in Canada for these reasons:

  • Cash back for everyday purchases: 1.5% on transport, groceries and restaurants
  • No Foreign Transaction Fee
  • No credit check
  • No minimum income required

Best Travel Credit Cards

Since 2022, after two years of the pandemic, Canadians have been looking forward to getting away from it all: travel has resumed in earnest. But here, too, the context has changed: we have noticed that travellers are looking for more comfort, insurance and savings.

Thus, credit cards offering access to airport lounges, travel credits to improve comfort, insurance to cover all contingencies, or the absence of conversion fees for foreign currency transactions stood out in this ranking.

Since 2022, we have witnessed welcome offers never seen before to equip travellers with payment solutions! Here are the Best Travel Rewards Credit Cards in Canada in 2024.

Best Travel Credit Card

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The National Bank World Elite Mastercard® is the Best Travel Credit Card in 2024 in Canada for these reasons:

  • Generous insurance coverage for travel and everyday purchases
  • Award-winning customer service
  • Up to $150 in annual travel credits
  • Accepted at almost every retailer worldwide

Best Flexible Travel Rewards Credit Card

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The RBC Avion Visa Infinite Card is the Best Flexible Travel Rewards Credit Card in 2024 in Canada for these reasons:

  • Flexible Rewards
  • Travel partners through the RBC Avion Rewards program: American Airlines, British Airways/Qatar Airways, WestJet, Cathay Pacific
  • Travel insurance
  • Accepted at almost every retailer worldwide

Best Travel Rewards Credit Card

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The TD First Class Travel® Visa Infinite* Card is the Best Travel Rewards Credit Card in 2024 in Canada for these reasons:

  • 8 points per dollar for travel purchases via Expedia for TD
  • $100 TD Annual Travel Credit
  • Travel and purchase insurance
  • Accepted at almost every retailer worldwide

Best No-FX Fee Credit Card

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Scotiabank Passport™ Visa Infinite* Card is the Best No Foreign Transaction Fee Credit Card in 2024 in Canada for these reasons:

  • No Foreign Transaction Fee
  • 6 annual airport lounge visits
  • Travel and purchase insurance
  • Accepted at almost every retailer worldwide

Best Credit Card For Travel Insurance

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The National Bank World Elite Mastercard® is theBest Credit Card For Travel Insurance in 2024 in Canada for these reasons:

  • Generous insurance coverage for travel and everyday purchases
  • Award-winning customer service
  • Up to $150 in annual travel credits
  • Accepted at almost every retailer worldwide

Best No-Fee Travel Credit Card

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The American Express Green Card is the Best No-Fee Travel Credit Card in 2024 in Canada for these reasons:

  • Ease of points redemption
  • Travel Partners (American Express Membership Rewards program)
  • Flexible Rewards
  • No minimum income required

Best Hotel Credit Card

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The Marriott Bonvoy® American Express®* Card is the Best Hotel Credit Card in 2024 in Canada for these reasons:

  • Points can be used at over 8,000 hotels worldwide
  • Annual Free Night Award at Card renewal
  • Marriott Bonvoy Benefits (Elite status and Earning Rate)
  • No minimum income required

Best Premium Credit Card

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The Platinum Card® is the Best Premium Credit Card in 2024 in Canada for these reasons:

  • Complimentary access to over 1,300 airport lounges worldwide
  • Elite Status with several hotel loyalty programs
  • Cardmembers benefits at renowned hotels and restaurants
  • Flexible Rewards
  • Travel Partners (American Express Membership Rewards program)
  • Full travel insurance
  • No minimum income required

Best Credit Card For Frequent Flyers

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The American Express® Aeroplan®* Reserve Card is the Best Credit Card For Frequent Flyers in 2024 in Canada for these reasons:

  • Air Canada benefits such as Maple Leaf Lounge access
  • Benefits for Aeroplan Elite Status
  • Highest earning rate for Air Canada and Air Canada Vacations purchases
  • Travel insurance

Best Credit Cards By Customer Profile

Every consumer profile is different, and this profile evolves from year to year according to new needs.

This year, thanks to the numerous feedback from Milesopedia community members, we have decided to refine our ranking to better fit each type of profile.

For example:

  • Students will need a card to save money on their day-to-day expenses and offer benefits designed for them;
  • Young professionals who do not yet have a high enough income to qualify for certain credit cards but are still looking to benefit more will be offered certain types of attractive products;
  • Families will have special needs for groceries, entertainment and travel (such as cards offering points applicable to Airbnb spending, for example);
  • Snowbirds will require credit cards with no currency conversion fees;
  • etc.

This is also where the best cards for entrepreneurs are listed.

Here are the Best Credit Cards in Canada in 2024 by Customer Profile.

Best Credit Card For Students

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The CIBC Dividend® Visa* Card for Students is the Best Credit Card For Students in 2024 in Canada for these reasons:

  • Cash back earning categories for everyday purchases
  • Free registration to the SPC program offering discounts to students
  • Insurance coverage
  • Accepted at almost every retailer
  • No minimum income required
  • No annual fee

Best Credit Card For Young Professionals

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The National Bank Platinum Mastercard® is the best credit card for young professionals in 2024 in Canada for these reasons:

  • Up to 2 points per dollar for groceries and restaurants
  • Good insurance for travel and shopping
  • Accepted in all stores
  • No minimum income required

Best Card For Newcomers

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The KOHO Mastercard Prepaid Card is the Best Card For Newcomers in 2024 in Canada for these reasons:

  • 1% cash back on transport and groceries
  • No credit check
  • No minimum income required
  • Accepted in all stores

Best Credit Card For Startups

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The American Express Business Edge™ Card is the Best Credit Card For Startups in 2024 in Canada for these reasons:

  • High cash back earning rate on everyday business purchases: 3% on office supplies, electronics purchases, transit, gas, restaurants and bars, and 1% on everything else
  • The minimum cash back redemption amount is $10 (1,000 points)
  • Low Annual Fee for a Business Card

Best Business Credit Card

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The Business Platinum Card® from American Express is the Best Business Credit Card in 2024 in Canada for these reasons:

  • Complimentary access to over 1,300 airport lounges worldwide
  • Travel Partners (American Express Membership Rewards program)
  • Cardmember benefits at select hotels and restaurants
  • Full travel insurance

Best Credit Cards according to Milesopedia Network

Milesopedia has significant monthly traffic on its website (Milesopedia.com), and its sub-domains used by our affiliate partners operating our white-label credit card comparison service. Thanks to this highly qualified traffic – since consumers are looking for a financial product – we can determine which credit cards are the most consulted and, in fine, the most applied for on our “Milesopedia network.”

We decided to break this part of the ranking down into the top three rewards programs in Canada and the top three credit card networks.

Here are the rankings of the Best Credit Cards in Canada in 2024, according to the Milesopedia network (Milesopedia.com and affiliated partners).

Best Aeroplan Credit Card

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The TD® Aeroplan® Visa Infinite* Card is the Best Aeroplan Credit Card in 2024 in Canada for these reasons:

  • Air Canada Benefits for Cardmembers
  • Rewards earned with everyday purchases
  • Travel Insurance when redeeming Aeroplan Points
  • Accepted at almost every retailer

Best Scene+ Credit Card

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The Scotiabank Gold American Express® Card is the Best Scene+ Credit Card in 2024 in Canada for these reasons:

  • 6 points per dollar at IGA or Sobeys
  • Flexible rewards
  • No Foreign Transaction Fee
  • Full travel insurance

Best AIR MILES Credit Card

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The BMO® AIR MILES® World Elite Mastercard is the Best AIR MILES Credit Card in 2024 in Canada for these reasons:

  • AIR MILES benefits for Cardmembers when booking flight rewards
  • Rewards earned with everyday purchases (AIR MILES partners)
  • Full travel insurance
  • Accepted at almost every retailer

Best American Express Credit Card

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The American Express Cobalt® Card is the Best American Express Credit Card in 2024 in Canada for these reasons:

  • Earning categories
  • 5 points per dollar on dining and food delivery (= 5% in travel rewards)
  • Flexible Rewards
  • Travel Partners (American Express Membership Rewards program)
  • No minimum income required

Best Mastercard Credit Card

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The National Bank World Elite Mastercard® is the Best Mastercard Credit Card in 2024 in Canada for these reasons:

  • Generous insurance coverage for travel and everyday purchases
  • Up to 5 points per dollar for your purchases
  • Up to $150 in annual travel credits
  • Accepted at almost every retailer worldwide

Best Visa Credit Card

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The CIBC Aventura® Visa Infinite* Card is the Best Visa Credit Card in 2024 in Canada for these reasons:

  • 4 Complimentary airport lounge access
  • NEXUS Membership credit
  • Up to 2 Aventura points per dollar
  • Generous insurance coverage
  • Accepted at almost every retailer worldwide

Methodology

Since 2015, on Milesopedia, we have analyzed nearly 200 credit cards offered to Canadians. You can find them in our credit card comparison tool. This comparison tool has been taken over by Protégez-Vous, confirming the credibility of our data.

In addition to our studies, we are also credit card users: we have – or have had – most of these credit cards in our wallets. This allows us to confirm or deny theoretical information through practice. Finally, we analyze the various feedbacks of tens of thousands of credit cardholders who share their experiences within the Milesopedia community about each of these products.

Each month, we update our rankings of the best credit card offers so that Canadians can find the best credit card offer today that fits their needs.

A credit card offer may be excellent at certain times of the year but not at others. That’s why it’s essential to keep up to date on current offers – primarily via our weekly newsletter.

On this page, we will not talk about offers but rather an evaluation based on the overall characteristics of each credit card. Several factors are considered when choosing the Best Credit Card in 2024 in Canada by category, such as:

  • Rewards earned on purchases (points, miles or cash back)
  • Benefits offered (VIP lounge access, concierge, annual credit, etc.)
  • Insurance coverage (travel, purchases, etc.)
  • Fees (annual fee, currency conversion fee, balance transfer fee, additional card fee, etc.)
  • Travel Partners
  • Card acceptance in Canada and worldwide
  • Income requirements
  • Usage statistics of our sub-affiliated partners’ credit card comparison tools (over 1 million cumulative monthly visits)
  • the feedbacks of thousands of readers and cardholders who share their experiences with us in the milesopedia community
Come to discuss that topic in our Facebook Group!
Jean-Maximilien Voisine

Jean-Maximilien Voisine

Jean-Maximilien Voisine
Jean-Maximilien, President and Founder of Milesopedia, is a recognized expert in rewards programs, credit cards, and travel in Canada and France. Approaching forty and a father of two, he has travelled to over 100 countries, half of them with his children and his wife, Audrey. Specializing in top loyalty programs like Aeroplan, American Express Membership Rewards, and Marriott Bonvoy, he guides travellers to maximize their benefits across North America and Europe.
All posts by Jean-Maximilien Voisine

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