Best First Year Free Credit Cards in Canada - September 2026

With the TD First Class Travel^® Visa Infinite* Card, you can earn up to 160,000 TD Rewards Points^† as well as an Annual Fee rebate for the first year^†:

• 20,000 TD Rewards Points for the first purchase made with your card^†
• 140,000 TD Rewards Points when you spend $7,500 within 180 days of account opening^†
• A Birthday Bonus of up to 10,000 TD Rewards Points^†

Get an annual TD Travel Credit^† of $100 when you book at Expedia^® For TD, and enjoy your time at the airport with global airport lounge access and 4 complimentary lounge visits with Visa Airport Companion Program (a value of up to $277)^†.

With the TD First Class Travel^® Visa Infinite* Card, you earn:

• 8 TD Rewards Points^† for every $1 you spend when you book travel through Expedia^® For TD^†
• 6 TD Rewards Points^† per dollar on your grocery, dining and public transit purchases
• 4 TD Rewards Points^† per dollar on your recurring bill payments and purchases of streaming services as well as digital games and media
• 2 TD Rewards Points^† per dollar on all other purchases made with your card

This card also allows you to enjoy a range of travel benefits, including an annual travel credit, complimentary airport lounge visits, and a birthday bonus that boosts your points each year^†.

With Milesopedia, take advantage of an exclusive offer: your first-year annual fees are refunded with the National Bank World Elite Mastercard. This offer is exclusively available on the Milesopedia network, from June 30 to November 4, 2026.

• Refund of the first-year annual fee (a $150 value) for the primary cardholder. This fee is charged to your new card account, then refunded as a credit on your statement within five months of opening your account, provided it remains open and in good standing.

The National Bank World Elite Mastercard is the best Mastercard credit card offered by NBC.

With this card, you earn up to 5 points per dollar on your purchases:

• 5 points per dollar for groceries and restaurants
• 2 points per dollar on gas and electric recharge purchases
• 2 points per dollar on recurring bills
• 2 points per dollar on À la carte Travel
• 1 point per dollar for all other purchases

And since it’s an NBC mycredit Mastercard, you can use it at Costco.

With this card, you have access to a $150 annual travel credit that you can use in any of these categories:

• Airport parking
• Baggage fees
• Seat selection
• Access to airport lounges
• Airline ticket upgrades

What’s more, you can enjoy access to DragonPass airport lounges and unlimited access to the National Bank Lounge at Montreal-Trudeau.

Finally, Milesopedia has named the National Bank World Elite Mastercard as the Best Travel Credit Card in 2023, 2024, 2025, and 2026.

Exclusive offer (until October 12, 2026): $149 annual fee waived for the first year, plus $100 cash back after $1,500 in eligible purchases within the first 3 months.

Maximize your rewards with the Neo World Elite® Mastercard – Gas & Grocery. Earn up to 5% cash back on groceries, 4% on recurring payments, 3% on gas and electric vehicle charging, and 1% on everything else.

Benefit from comprehensive insurance coverage, including extended warranty, purchase protection, and travel insurance. In addition, receive a DragonPass membership for access to airport lounges worldwide.

With an instant credit limit of up to $30,000 and additional cash back at over 10,000 Neo partners, your essential spending becomes more rewarding.

Travel insurance is not available to Quebec residents. DragonPass membership is included; fees apply for each lounge visit.

Exclusive offer (until October 12, 2026): $149 annual fee waived for the first year, plus $100 cash back after $1,500 in eligible purchases within the first 3 months.

The Neo World Elite® Mastercard – Everywhere combines the simplicity of a single rate with the benefits of a premium card. Earn 2% cash back on all your purchases (up to $4,000 per month, then 1% thereafter), with no categories to track.

You keep all the World Elite® benefits: comprehensive travel insurance, collision coverage for car rentals, and a DragonPass membership for airport lounges. Add to that additional discounts at over 10,000 Neo partners.

With an instant credit limit of up to $30,000, it’s the premium option for those who want high cash back on every purchase, effortlessly.

Travel insurance is not available to Quebec residents. DragonPass membership is included; fees apply for each lounge visit.

Exclusive offer (until October 12, 2026): $149 annual fee waived for the first year, plus $100 cash back after $1,500 in eligible purchases within the first 3 months.

The Neo World Elite® Mastercard – Shop & Dine offers some of the highest cash back rates in the country for dining and shopping. Earn 5% cash back every time you dine out or order takeout, and 3% on in-store purchases, with 1% everywhere else.

Benefit from comprehensive insurance including extended warranty, purchase protection and travel insurance, as well as a DragonPass membership for airport lounges around the world.

Combined with additional cash back at over 10,000 Neo partners and an instant credit limit of up to $30,000, this is a card designed for those who spend at restaurants and in stores.

Purchases on Amazon and at warehouse stores are not eligible for the shopping rate. Travel insurance is not available to Quebec residents. DragonPass membership is included; fees apply for each lounge visit.

With this offer for the TD^® Aeroplan^® Visa Infinite* Card, you can get up to 50,000 Aeroplan points^† as well as an Annual Fee rebate for the first year^†.

• Earn a welcome bonus of 10,000 Aeroplan points when you make your first Purchase with your new Card^†
• Earn 15,000 Aeroplan points when you spend $3,000 within 90 days of Account opening^†.
• Plus, earn a one-time anniversary bonus of 25,000 Aeroplan points when you spend $12,000 within 12 months of Account opening^†

This card also allows you to enjoy travel benefits, such as a free first checked bag for you and up to 8 travel companions on the same reservation^†, as well as a rebate on the NEXUS program application fee (up to $100 CAD per eligible cardholder) every 48 months^†.

With the TD^® Aeroplan^® Visa Infinite* Card, you earn 1.5 points^† per $1 spent on:

• Grocery purchases
• Gas and electric vehicle charging purchases
• Purchases made directly with Air Canada^® (including Air Canada Vacations^®)

You also earn 1 point^† per dollar on all other eligible purchases made with your card.

The Scotia Momentum® VISA Infinite*+ card is recognized, year after year, as one of the best cash back credit cards in Canada. Milesopedia has even named it best cash back credit card in 2026.

Currently, thanks to this promotional offer, the Scotia Momentum Visa Infinite+ Card has no annual fee for the first year, including on additional cards. And you can get 15% cash back on all your purchases for the first three months (up to $2,000 in total purchases).

It also includes a new convenient benefit for travellers: enjoy 10 GB of free GigSky global mobile data for 15 days, as well as access to Travel Essentials to use essential apps like messaging, maps, and email while on the go. Cardholders also continue to receive 1 GB of free GigSky mobile data per year, plus a 20% discount on future GigSky purchases.

With the Scotia Momentum® VISA Infinite+ card, you get:

• 4% cash back on grocery purchases and recurring payments
• 2% cash back on gas purchases, public transit, carpooling, and food delivery
• 1% cash back on all other purchases

For example, if you spend $1,000 per month on grocery purchases and/or recurring payments, you will get $40 cash back per month, or $480 per year, with this card, for this purchase category. And that’s not counting the other purchases you make with this card and the benefits it offers (including its excellent insurance coverage).

Also note that you can use your cash back at any time (the cash back balance must be at least $25).

The BMO Ascend World Elite Mastercard is one of the best World Elite Mastercard travel rewards credit cards in Canada. With our welcome offer, you can get up to 100,000 BMO Rewards points, for a total value of up to $1,600.

Plus, there’s no annual fee in the first year for the primary cardholder and additional cardholders, and you benefit from a 0% introductory interest rate on balance transfers for 12 months (with a 2% balance transfer fee).

With the BMO Ascend World Elite Mastercard, you get:

• 5 points per dollar on eligible travel*
• 3 points per dollar on eligible dining, entertainment, and recurring bill payments*
• 1 point per dollar on all other purchases*

The card also offers:

• 4 complimentary airport lounge accesses per year via Mastercard Travel Pass provided by DragonPass*
• comprehensive travel insurance, including emergency medical coverage up to $5 million for 21 days*
• A NEXUS statement credit in the first year*
• Six months of Instacart+ membership plus a monthly $10 Instacart credit with an eligible card*

The National Bank Platinum Mastercard® lets you earn up to 40,000 reward points, plus a refund of the $70 annual fee for the first year for the primary cardholder:

• 10,000 points when you sign up for credit card payment insurance and keep it for at least the first 3 months
• 15,000 points after $2,500 in purchases within the first 3 months
• 15,000 points after $10,000 in purchases within the first 12 months

You have until November 4, 2026 to apply.

After that, you earn:

• 2 points per dollar on grocery and restaurant purchases
• 1.5 points per dollar on gas, EV charging, recurring bills and travel booked through the À la carte agency

Since it is a Mastercard, you can use it at Costco. Unlike the other two National Bank travel rewards cards, it does not require a minimum income.

The card includes mobile device insurance, an extended warranty on your purchases, and comprehensive travel insurance for trips of 10 days or less, with emergency medical coverage plus trip cancellation and interruption.

The annual fee is $70, plus $35 per additional card. The annual interest rate is 20.99% on purchases and 22.49% on cash advances.

The BMO eclipse Visa Infinite* Card is one of the best Visa Infinite rewards credit cards in Canada. Its welcome offer lets you earn up to 70,000 BMO Rewards points, for a total value of up to $1,150*.

It also includes a monthly statement credit for streaming services, an annual $50 lifestyle credit, and no annual fee for the first year (a $120 value)*.

With the BMO eclipse Visa Infinite* Card, you also get:

• 5x BMO Rewards points for every dollar spent on groceries, meal delivery or takeout, rideshare, public transit, and gas*
• 1 BMO Rewards point for every dollar spent on all other purchases*
• 10% more points when you add an authorized user to your account*
• Mobile device insurance offering coverage up to $1,000*
• The Pay with Points feature, which allows you to redeem your points on recent purchases starting at $1*
• Six months of Instacart+ membership plus a monthly $10 Instacart credit with an eligible card*