Online shopping has no bonus category of its own on most Canadian cards, so the card that earns the most on it depends on where you buy. Amazon.ca has a co-branded card built for it; food delivery and online groceries fall into the food categories some cards reward heavily; everything else earns a card’s base or flat rate. This page compares the cards for Amazon.ca first, then for online shopping in general, and covers the protections a credit card gives you when an order goes wrong. It sits with the other credit card reviews and roundups.
Best credit cards for Amazon.ca
| Card | Annual fee | Earn rate | How it earns on Amazon.ca |
|---|---|---|---|
| Amazon.ca Rewards Mastercard | $0 | 2.5% Amazon.ca/Whole Foods/foreign currency (Prime members), 1.5%/1% without Prime, 1% everything else | Its top rate applies at Amazon.ca and Whole Foods for Prime members |
| Rogers Red World Elite Mastercard | $0 | 3% on U.S. dollar purchases; 2% on other purchases with a qualifying Rogers/Fido/Shaw/Comwave service (1.5% without); first $61,000/yr, then 1.5% | Its everyday rate, with no category to choose |
| Scotia Momentum Visa Infinite+ | $120/year | 4% groceries/recurring bills/subscriptions (first $25,000/yr), 2% gas/EV/transit/rideshare/food delivery (first $25,000/yr), 1% everything else | Recurring charges such as Subscribe & Save can code as recurring bills |
| TD Cash Back Visa Infinite | $139/year | 3% groceries, gas & EV charging, public transit, and recurring bills/streaming/digital media (first $15,000/yr in each category), 1% everything else | Recurring Amazon subscriptions can code as recurring bills |
| Tangerine Money-Back Credit Card | $0 | 2% cash back in 2 categories you choose (3 with rewards paid into a Tangerine Savings Account), 0.5% on everything else | Base rate only: none of its categories is online shopping |
The Amazon.ca Rewards Mastercard, issued by MBNA, is the only card in Canada built around Amazon. With Prime, its top rate applies at Amazon.ca and Whole Foods and on foreign-currency purchases; without Prime the Amazon rate is lower. Its rewards are redeemed on Amazon, which suits regular Amazon shoppers and not people who want cash in a bank account. For a card that earns the same rate wherever you shop, a flat-rate card is simpler; the no annual fee roundup compares them.
Which card for how much you spend on Amazon
| Your Amazon spending | Card that tends to fit | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Regular, with Prime | Amazon.ca Rewards Mastercard | Its highest rate applies to Amazon.ca itself |
| Occasional, no Prime | A flat-rate no-fee card | The Amazon card’s non-Prime rate is close to a flat-rate card’s, and a flat-rate card earns the same rate everywhere else |
| Mostly Subscribe & Save | A card with a recurring-bills category | Scheduled orders can earn the recurring rate where the issuer codes them that way |
Amazon gift cards bought at a grocery store
Grocery stores sell Amazon gift cards at face value, so a card with a high grocery rate earns that rate on the gift card, and the balance then pays for Amazon orders. The grocery category rules on cards such as the Amex Cobalt decide whether a gift card purchase earns the grocery rate, and some cards cap the category, so check the card’s terms before relying on it. Amazon.ca accepts American Express as well as Visa and Mastercard; the guide to where Amex is accepted covers the places it isn’t.
Best cards for online shopping in general
Beyond Amazon, online purchases earn whatever category the merchant codes into:
| Where you shop online | Card type that earns most | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Food delivery and online grocery (Uber Eats, DoorDash, Instacart) | A card with a food or grocery category | Amex Cobalt |
| Canadian Tire, Sport Chek and Mark’s online | The Canadian Tire co-brand | Triangle World Elite Mastercard |
| Costco.ca | A Mastercard, since Costco takes only Mastercard | CIBC Costco Mastercard |
| U.S. dollar stores | A card with a U.S.-dollar or no-FX benefit | The Rogers Red World Elite, or a card from the no foreign transaction fee roundup |
| Everything else | A flat-rate card | Rogers Red World Elite |
| Card | Annual fee | Earn rate |
|---|---|---|
| Amex Cobalt | $191.88/year ($15.99/mo) | 5x food & drink (groceries, dining, food delivery, capped $2,500/mo combined), 3x streaming, 2x gas/transit/rideshare, 1x everything else |
| SimplyCash Preferred Card from American Express | $119.88/year ($9.99/mo) | 4% gas and groceries (on up to $30,000/yr, up to $1,200 cash back), 2% everything else |
| CIBC Dividend Visa Infinite | $120/year | 4% gas/EV charging/groceries, 2% transportation/dining/recurring payments/CIBC by Expedia travel, 1% everything else (bonus rates on the first $20,000 of bonus-category or $50,000 of total spending a year) |
| BMO CashBack World Elite Mastercard | $139/year | 5% groceries (capped $500/mo), 4% daily transit (capped $300/mo), 3% gas (capped $300/mo), 2% recurring payments (capped $500/mo), 1% everything else |
| Triangle World Elite Mastercard | $0 | 4% Canadian Tire Money at Canadian Tire/Sport Chek/Mark's, 3% grocery (excludes Costco/Walmart), 1% everything else |
For cash back cards ranked across all categories rather than online spending, see the best cash back credit cards.
Why a credit card is the safer way to pay online
A credit card gives you three protections a debit card doesn’t. The card networks’ zero-liability policies cover fraudulent charges you report. A chargeback lets you dispute a charge with your issuer when an item never arrives or isn’t as described; the guide to disputing a credit card charge explains the steps. And many cards include purchase protection against theft or damage for a set period after purchase, plus extended warranty, on the terms in the card’s insurance certificate. The Amex Platinum, for example, covers purchases for 120 days from the date of purchase, up to $1,000 per occurrence, and the Tangerine Money-Back card includes Purchase Assurance and Extended Warranty, with a lifetime maximum of up to $60,000. How these coverages work in general is in the credit card insurance guide.
Habits that keep online card use safe
| Habit | Why |
|---|---|
| Turning on real-time transaction alerts | You see an unauthorized charge within minutes |
| Using a virtual card number where your issuer offers one | Your real card number isn’t stored by the merchant |
| Buying only on secure (HTTPS) checkout pages | The connection is encrypted |
| Keeping order confirmations | They’re your evidence in a dispute |
| Reading your statement every month | Small fraudulent charges are easy to miss |
Related Articles
Sources
The figures and rules on this page come from these sources, last checked against them between October 3, 2026 and October 6, 2026. How we check facts.
- americanexpress.com: The Platinum Card® | Amex CA
- americanexpress.com: Gold Rewards Card | Upgrade | American Express
- americanexpress.com: Cobalt Card Benefits | American Express CA
- americanexpress.com: Cash Back Credit Cards | Amex Canada
- BMO: BMO Credit Cards Cost of Borrowing
- BMO: Terms & Conditions
- CIBC: Credit Card Rewards Calculator | CIBC
- rogersbank.com: Rogers red worldelite mastercard
- Scotiabank: Scotia Momentum® Visa Infinite +* Card | Scotiabank Canada
- Tangerine: Cash Back Credit Card: Bonus 10% Cash Back for 2 months* | Tangerine
- TD: TD Cash Back Visa Infinite* Card | TD Canada Trust