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Credit card reward programs are an incredible tool to help you save money on your day-to-day purchases, but for many of us, the idea of navigating a complicated points program can often feel like another chore added to an already much-too-long list.
For those of us who are looking to get rewarded when we spend, but without having to learn about saving and redeeming points, cash back credit cards are a great solution.
Cash back credit cards offer a simple, straightforward earning structure and guaranteed value, making it easy to track and enjoy your savings.
In this article, we’ll introduce 5 of our favourite cash back credit cards in Canada, and give you some side-by-side comparisons and spending examples to help you choose the best possible card.
With so many credit card options available, it can sometimes feel overwhelming trying to figure out exactly which card is best for you.
To choose the right cash back card for your financial situation and spending habits, there are a few key things to consider:
Now, with the above characteristics in mind, let’s take a look at our picks for the best cash back credit cards in Canada and their key details:
In addition to all the cash back earning opportunities and benefits that we’ll mention below, each of these cards also typically offers a valuable welcome offer to amp up your savings as soon as you start spending.
The Tangerine Money-Back Credit Card comes with no annual fee and a low minimum income requirement of $12,000 personal income.
This card is unique among its peers because you get to customize your earning categories to best suit your spending habits.
With the Tangerine Money-Back Credit Card, you earn cash back on your purchases as follows:
You can also change your 2% earning categories every 90 days to adapt to any changes in your spending habits. The spending categories that you can choose from are:
The cash back you earn with the Tangerine Money-Back Credit Card is then deposited automatically every month either as a credit card statement or to your Tangerine Savings Account.
The Tangerine Money-Back Credit Card doesn’t offer much in the way of added benefits, though it is in line with many no-annual-fee cards.
As a cardholder, you get a 15% discount at H&R Block, plus extended warranty and purchase protection coverage.
The Tangerine Money-Back Credit Card is good for someone who’s after a no-annual-fee card, or those with a lower income, like a student or someone who’s only working part-time.
It’s also a helpful card if you know that you mostly spend your money in 2 or 3 specific categories, or if you can take advantage of the ability to switch up the categories to match upcoming expenses. For example, if you know you have a big trip abroad and switch to the Foreign Currency Spend category, or you have a large home project and switch to the Home Improvement category.
The SimplyCash® Preferred Card from American Express has a monthly fee of $9.99, except in Quebec, where the fee is $119 charged annually. The card also has no minimum income requirement, making it fairly accessible.
With the SimplyCash® Preferred Card from American Express, you can enjoy elevated cash back earning in two categories and a strong base rate on all other purchases:
Take note that for the grocery earning category, the 4% cash back rate is available on the first $30,000 you spend each year, which is equivalent to $1,200 in cash back. After you hit this limit, the earning rate in this category becomes 2% for the rest of your account year.
In terms of receiving your cash back: it’s automatically distributed once a year and will show up on the credit card statement you receive in September. Your balance will then reset.
The SimplyCash® Preferred Card from American Express comes with a number of valuable benefits, including:
The SimplyCash® Preferred Card from American Express is ideal for someone whose biggest spending categories are gas and groceries, and who shops at a grocery store that accepts American Express.
The card’s lack of a minimum income requirement also makes it quite accessible—as long as you’re okay with paying an annual fee.
It can also be a very useful addition to your wallet if you can make use of the Amex Offers and Amex’s array of event/experience benefits.
The Scotiabank Momentum® Visa Infinite +* Card is a good cash back Visa option for people whose biggest spending categories include gas and groceries.
This card comes in with an annual fee of $120 (which is often waived), and a minimum income requirement of $60,000–80,000 individual or $100,000–150,000 household, making it accessible to many.
With the Scotiabank Momentum® Visa Infinite +* Card, you can enjoy the following elevated earning rates across key spending categories:
Your earned cash back can be redeemed at any time as long as you have the minimum redemption amount of $25 (though smaller amounts are allowed at the bank’s discretion).
Redemption requests are easily made through the Scotiabank app or website, and you can have your cash back deposited as a statement credit on your Momentum card or into your eligible Scotiabank chequing or savings account.
The Scotiabank Momentum® Visa Infinite +* Card also gives cardholders a number of notable perks, including:
The Scotiabank Momentum® Visa Infinite +* Card is a great card choice for someone who spends frequently on groceries and gas and would like the convenience of a Visa card.
Offering similar earning rates (though ever-so-slightly lower) to the SimplyCash® Preferred Card from American Express above, but with the wider acceptance of Visa, the Scotiabank Momentum® Visa Infinite +* Card is another great way to save on key expenses each month.
This card is also a solid choice for a traveller who’s looking to save on gas for their road trip, and on travel insurance, car rental insurance, and data for a trip abroad.
The next cash back credit card on our list is the Rogers Red World Elite® Mastercard, another strong no-annual-fee contender.
This card is particularly valuable for customers of Rogers, Fido, Shaw, and Comwave, for travellers, and for those who spend in US dollars, thanks to the earning rates and benefits on offer.
As a World Elite Mastercard, the card does require a minimum income of $80,000 individual or $150,000 household, so this may be a limiting factor for some.
The Rogers Red World Elite® Mastercard has a unique rewards structure that gives extra earning and redeeming power to eligible Rogers, Fido, Shaw, and Comwave customers.
With the Rogers Red World Elite® Mastercard, you earn as follows:
Plus, you get 1.5x your cash back when you redeem your cash back for eligible Rogers, Fido, Shaw, or Comwave purchases. This means that eligible customers get up to 3% in value (2% cash back + 1.5x redemption value).
Additionally, redeeming your cash back is easily done, whenever you want, via the Rogers Bank app and website.
The minimum redemption amount is $10, and eligible customers can apply their cash back to their Rogers, Fido, Shaw, or Comwave bill for 1.5x the value. Otherwise, you can redeem your cash back at face value for purchases made on the card in the last 90 days.
The perks that come with the Rogers Red World Elite® Mastercard are fairly travel-focused, nicely complementing the 3% earning rate on US dollar spend.
With this card, you can enjoy the following:
The Rogers Red World Elite® Mastercard is a strong choice for eligible Rogers, Fido, Shaw, and Comwave customers who can take advantage of both the 2% cash back rate AND the 1.5x redemption rate.
It’s also great for travellers who spend a lot of time in the US or those who spend frequently in US dollars, thanks to the strong 3% earning rate on USD.
The BMO CashBack® World Elite®* Mastercard®* is an excellent premium card, offering the highest cash back rates of this comparison.
The card has an annual fee of $120 and a minimum income requirement of $80,000 individual and $150,000, which is standard for World Elite Mastercards.
The BMO CashBack® World Elite®* Mastercard®* earns cash back in a tiered structure, with spending caps on the elevated categories:
Once you’re ready to cash in your rewards, you can request one-time cash back deposits of as little as $1, via the BMO app or website. You can also set up a recurring redemption of $25 or more that will be deposited monthly (if there’s sufficient cash back available) 2–5 business days after your statement cycle ends.
Cash back will be deposited into your eligible BMO chequing, savings, or InvestorLine account, or as a statement credit on your card.
With the BMO CashBack® World Elite®* Mastercard®*, you can take advantage of the following perks:
The BMO CashBack® World Elite®* Mastercard®* is a solid choice if you want to enjoy high cash back earning rates and your monthly spending fits within the card’s capped amounts in each spending category.
The card also offers helpful travel perks like travel insurance coverage, discounts on car rentals, and airport benefits, which make it attractive to any traveller looking to save money and enjoy some extra comfort.
With so many categories and variants around earning rates, it can be difficult to sort out which card is REALLY best for you.
To help get a realistic sense of the cash back you could earn, let’s look at a couple of monthly spending examples to see what you might expect.
For this first example, let’s see how much cash back a family of four might earn each month, with groceries as their largest expense and lots of money being spent in the “all other purchases” category:
For this second example, let’s look at the potential cash back for a couple in the city with no car, who go out to restaurants/bars a few times a week:
Now, to bring together much of what we’ve covered above, let’s compare key aspects of our 5 cash back card choices in one spot:
*These annual fees are often waived as part of the welcome offers.
**Starting August 4, 2026, an annual spending cap of $61,000 will apply to the accelerated 2% cash back rate for Rogers, Fido, Shaw, and Comwave customers. Beyond this limit, the rate drops to the base rate of 1.5%. The 1.5x redemption bonus on eligible Rogers purchases remains unchanged.
Cash back credit cards are a great way to enjoy simple and straightforward rewards on all your day-to-day expenses.
By adding a cash back credit card to your wallet, you can enjoy guaranteed savings every time you make a purchase, keeping more of your hard-earned money in your pocket.
To learn more ways to save money on groceries, at the gas station, and on other regular expenses, check out our other guides and articles below.
Savings this way:
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