7 best no annual fee cash back credit cards in Canada

7 best no annual fee cash back credit cards in Canada

Want to earn a cashback reward without paying any annual fee?  Here we introduce 7 of the best no-annual fee cashback credit cards in Canada from the major banks. Some cashback policy terms are tricky but many of the perks, and bonuses are amazing even though you don’t need to pay the annual fee.

There are 7 cards we will investigate in this blog. They are:

To save you time, here is the summary chart shows that the cashback rate in each category.

Card Grocery Gas Restaurant Recurring bill payments Other purchase
Scotia Momentum
1%
1%
0.5%
1%
0.5%
TD Cash Back Visa
1%
1%
0.5%
1%
0.5%
RBC Cash Back Mastercard
2%
1%
1%
1%
0.5%
CIBC Dividend Visa
2%
1%
1%
1%
0.5%
BMO Cashback Mastercard
3%
0.5%
0.5%
1%
1%
National bank my credit Mastercard
0.5%
0.5%
1%
1%
0.5%
Desjardin Cash Back Mastercard or Visa card
0.5%
0.5%
2%
2%
0.5%

Then which one is the best one for me? The answer depends on your spending habits. You should check your bank statement and find out where you spend your money the most and what you’re looking to get from the credit card. You can calculate your cashback reward amount with your recent 3-month bank statement then you will have the answer in mind.

1. Scotia Momentum No-Fee Visa Card

One of the no annual fee credit cards that offers 1% on gas.

  • No annual fee
  • Grocery, gas and recurring bill payments: 1%
  • Other purchases: 0.5%
  • Welcome perks: get 5% in your first 3 months on up to $2,000 in spending

2. TD Cash Back Visa Card

One of the no annual fee credit cards that offers 1% on gas.

  • No annual fee
  • Grocery, gas, and recurring bill payments: 1%

Restriction: For gas, Grocery and recurring bill payments, $5,000 maximum net annual spend is applied for each category. Over than $5,000, 0.5% cashback rate will be applied

  • Other purchase: 0.5%

3. RBC Cash Back Mastercard

RBC has the trickiest terms in the cashback policy because there are more restrictions applied to your purchase. And here is the summary of the terms.

  • No annual fee
  • Grocery: 2%

Restriction: Maximum of $6,000 in grocery purchases for 2% reward. For over $6,000, 1% cashback rate will be applied.

  • Recurring bill payments: 1%
  • Other purchases: 0.5%

Restriction: 0.5 % cashback rate is applied to the first $6000 spent on other purchases. For over $6000 on other purchases, 1% cashback rate is applied.

4. CIBC Dividend Visa Card

One of the no annual fee credit cards that offers 1% on gas.

  • No annual fee
  • Grocery: 2%
  • Gas, transportation, restaurant, and recurring payments:1%

Restriction: above cashback reward for maximum $20,000 of grocery stores, gas, transportation, and restaurants, or recurring payments on each category. After applying the regular rate of 0.5%. The limit will reset to zero after the day your December credit card statement is issued.

  • Other purchases: 0.5%

5. BMO Cashback Mastercard

 This is the best no annual fee cashback card for grocery shopping.

  • No annual fee
  • Grocery: 3%

Restriction: Maximum of $500 spent per statement cycle period. 0.5% cashback rate will be applied for over $500 spent

  • Recurring payments:1%

Restriction: maximum of $500 spent per statement cycle period. 0.5% cashback rate will be applied for over $500 spent

  • Other purchases: 0.5%
  • Welcome perks: Get 5% for your first 3 months of spending for up to $2,500.

6. National bank my credit Mastercard

  • No annual fee
  • Restaurant and recurring payments:1%
  • Other purchases: 0.5%

7. Desjardin Cash Back Mastercard or Visa card

A good option for someone who has to eat out a lot.

  • No annual fee
  • Restaurants, Entertainment, Alternative transportation, pre-authorized payments:2%
  • Other purchases:0.5%

Why should you avoid the annual fee?

If you are not a heavy spender, you should avoid credit cards with an annual fee. A credit card with an annual fee is worth the money only if you get enough reward from your spending to offset the fee. But you may have to check if you have spent enough. In the common case, the benefit you get from the card with an annual fee is less than simply using no annual fee credit cards. For example, with a credit card that has $120 annual fee, let’s say you earn $240 cash back for the year, then your net reward is only $120. It is an achievable amount with no annual fee cashback credit card with the same amount of spending. For people who have multiple cards in hand. It is hard for them to keep track of spending on each credit card to balance their gain.  No annual fee credit cards offer hassle-free long-term value than those credit cards that charge a fee. You can benefit from a no-annual-fee credit card regardless of your spending amount. And from the above perks we mentioned, despite the lack of an annual fee, many of them offer significant cashback rewards and perks. So why do you pay for packages for things that you are never going to use? Moreover, no annual fee card will help you spend less on needless stuff to fulfill the threshold of breakeven.  No annual fee credit cards don’t cost anything to keep in your wallet year after year, then why not have one?

Why credit cards from major banks?

If you are a person who prefers to have all your banking services in one place or if you are not a person who’s comfortable doing all your banking completely online, then one of the big 7 major banks’ credit cards is the best option for you. You can easily find a brick-and-mortar branch of the big 7 major banks nearby you and you can go to ask questions face to face. If you want to pay your credit card bill in cash or check, you can also go to a local bank branch near you and pay it. Major banks generally have better customer service than online banks and have more service options for you. Online banks, on the other hand, may be a bit more basic in what they offer. They don’t have physical branches and you can hardly find an in-person service. Having a checking account makes it much easier to pay your credit card bill. Then why not a credit card from the major banks which you may already have a checking account with them? And it is free!

Which credit card is better? A Visa card or a Mastercard?

Most stores or merchants accept both Visa and Mastercard, but Mastercard seems to be the better option in Canada because it seems more widely accepted. For example, Costco Canada does not accept Visa cards or other types of cards but only accepts Mastercard in the store and gas stations. Please note that merchant decides which types of credit cards they accept for payment. So, check with your merchant with who you do transactions the most and then make your decision.  If you are a Costco fan, choose the Mastercard.

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