No annual fee credit cards in Canada

The table below ranks no annual fee credit cards from this site’s card data by what each would return in a year for a household that spends $600 a month on groceries, $200 on gas, $200 on dining, $150 on recurring bills, $100 on transit, $50 at drugstores, $100 on travel and $600 on everything else , an assumed pattern rather than an average. At that spending, among the cards with a yearly value, the first is Capital One Quicksilver World Elite Mastercard and Capital One Quicksilver World Mastercard, tied. Welcome offers are not included in the values; how they work is on welcome offers.

No annual fee credit cards in Canada, ranked

These are the personal credit cards chosen for this page from this site’s card data whose annual fee is listed as nothing and whose provider states how it earns rewards; the earn column shows that where it is confirmed here. A linked name leads to the card’s page at its provider, or to the provider’s list of cards where that is the page the provider gives for it.

A dash means this table shows no figure for that card. Yearly values use the spending assumed above and each card's published rates and caps. Welcome offers, first-year fee waivers and fee rebates tied to a bank account, banking package, profession or another card are not included.

Cards without a yearly value follow the ones that have one, listed by provider.

No-fee cash back cards

Among the no-fee cash back cards, at the same spending, the first is Capital One Quicksilver World Elite Mastercard and Capital One Quicksilver World Mastercard, tied. The cash back ranking sets these cards beside the cash back cards that charge a fee, and adds entries on caps and how cash back is paid.

No-fee points and travel cards

In the table, the TD Rewards Visa and the Scotiabank American Express Card carry a yearly value, each at a redemption rate its program publishes. On the TD Rewards Visa, points are valued at what TD says they are worth on travel bought directly through Expedia For TD. On the Scotiabank American Express Card, they are valued at the Scene+ rate for money off at select grocery stores and pharmacies. The table shows no yearly value for the other points cards. How the programs work is in the TD Rewards guide and the Scene+ guide, and what a point is worth across programs is on credit card rewards. Travel cards, with and without a fee, are compared on the travel credit card ranking.

No-fee cards with a low interest rate

This table gives the purchase, cash advance and balance transfer rates that the providers of these no-fee low-rate cards state, one rate type per column.

A dash means this table shows no figure for that card. Welcome offers, first-year fee waivers and fee rebates tied to a bank account, banking package, profession or another card are not included.

On cards that charge a fee for a lower rate, the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada (FCAC) says: “Some low-rate cards charge an annual fee. Even if there is a fee, a low-rate card may be a better option.” Low-rate cards with and without a fee are ranked on low interest credit cards.

No-fee cards for spending outside Canada

The ranking’s foreign transaction fee column gives the cards’ fees for purchases in a foreign currency, as their providers state them. Capital One states 0% on purchases made outside Canada on both of its Quicksilver cards in the table. Cards compared by that fee, with and without an annual fee, are on the no foreign transaction fee card ranking.

Students, first cards and building credit

Pages by need:

• Student credit cards, for cards made for students.
• Your first credit card, for a person with no credit history.
• Secured credit cards, cards backed by a deposit set aside with the provider.
• Credit cards for newcomers, for newcomers to Canada.
• Store credit cards, for cards tied to one retailer.

What is a credit card annual fee?

FCAC describes the annual fee this way: “Financial institutions may charge an annual fee for some of their credit cards. Usually, the charge will appear on your credit card statement once a year.” A card for a second person on the account can cost extra: “You may have to pay an additional annual fee if you request a card for an additional cardholder. The fee for the second card is typically lower than it is for the first card.”

In the ranking, the network column sits beside each card’s other details, and Mastercards and Visa cards with and without a fee are ranked on their own pages: best Mastercards and best Visa cards. Other charges a card can carry are on credit card fees.

Is an annual fee worth paying?

FCAC’s way to judge a fee is simple arithmetic: “You may estimate the potential value of the rewards you may earn in a year and then subtract the annual fee.” It also says why people pay one: “Cards with an annual fee usually offer extra rewards and benefits or a lower interest rate.”

This table sets fee cards beside no-fee cards from the same providers, valued at the assumed spending after the fee.

Yearly values use the spending assumed above and each card's published rates and caps. Welcome offers, first-year fee waivers and fee rebates tied to a bank account, banking package, profession or another card are not included.

At the assumed spending, the CIBC Dividend Visa Infinite comes out $195 a year ahead of CIBC’s no-fee Dividend Visa after its fee is paid. The BMO CashBack World Elite Mastercard comes out $164 a year ahead of the no-fee BMO CashBack Mastercard.

Dividing a fee by the extra rate a fee card earns over a no-fee card gives the yearly spending at which the extra rewards equal the fee.

The values leave out insurance and other perks; among the things FCAC suggests weighing is the frequency at which you expect to use the card’s benefits.

Paying less for a card with a fee: waivers, rebates and refunds

Some providers rebate or waive the first year’s fee on some cards as an offer: CIBC’s Dividend Visa Infinite page shows the first year rebated, and BMO’s eclipse Visa Infinite page shows the fee waived in the first year. The card’s page at its provider shows the current offer.

Fee rebates with a bank account package

RBC, Scotiabank and CIBC state annual fee rebates or waivers on some of their cards for holders of certain chequing accounts:

• RBC Signature No Limit Banking: Up to $48 credit card annual fee rebate. RBC says the annual fee of an eligible card is fully or partially rebated, every year, to a sole or joint owner of an RBC Signature No Limit Banking account who is the primary cardholder, for as long as the card stays in good standing and the account stays open; additional cardholders do not qualify. Only one credit card annual fee rebate per account is allowed.
• RBC VIP Banking: Up to $120 credit card annual fee rebate. RBC says the annual fee of an eligible card is fully or partially rebated, every year, to a sole or joint owner of an RBC VIP Banking account who is the primary cardholder, for as long as the card stays in good standing and the account stays open; additional cardholders' fees are rebated on the same terms.
• Scotiabank Ultimate Package: Scotiabank says the Ultimate package gets up to $150 annual fee waiver each year on select credit cards.
• CIBC Smart Account: CIBC lists opportunities for annual fee rebates on an active eligible credit card with the Smart Account. The same page says this rebate ends on January 1, 2027.

Which cards are eligible, and how much of the fee is rebated, is on the banks’ own pages. The packages themselves, with their monthly fees, are compared on best chequing accounts.

Getting the fee back when you cancel

Two of the agreements read for this page speak to whether a fee comes back: CIBC’s agreement on fees in general, and American Express’s Cobalt Card agreement on cancelling a new card:

• CIBC's cardholder agreement says fees are not refundable unless CIBC tells you otherwise.
• Amex's Cobalt Card cardmember agreement lets you cancel for any reason within 14 business days after you receive the card for a new account, with the annual fee for the new account refunded or credited, less the value of any benefit you used.

The American Express line comes from the Cobalt Card’s cardmember agreement; more on that card is in the Amex Cobalt review. What closing a card does to a credit score is on does closing a credit card hurt your credit score.

What some no-fee cards include

FCAC says: “Some no-fee credit cards offer similar rewards and benefits to cards that do have an annual fee.” For each card below, this table gives the insurance its page at its provider lists, of nine kinds (travel medical, trip cancellation, trip interruption, flight delay, baggage, rental car, purchase protection, extended warranty and mobile device), and the airport lounge access that page lists. Covers of other kinds, such as common carrier accident insurance, are left out of the table.

A dash means this table shows no figure for that card. Welcome offers, first-year fee waivers and fee rebates tied to a bank account, banking package, profession or another card are not included.

What each kind of card cover does is explained on credit card insurance.

How this ranking works

The ranking holds personal credit cards whose listed annual fee is nothing and whose provider states how it earns rewards, shown where it is confirmed here; student, prepaid, secured and business cards are left to their own pages. Cards are ordered by yearly value: each card’s published rates and caps worked out on the assumed spending, with each statement period taken as one month. Grocery, gas and other category spending is taken as made at merchants that qualify for the card’s category rate. Tangerine’s two chosen categories are taken to be groceries and gas. Rogers Bank’s cards are valued at the rate for a cardholder without a Rogers, Fido, Shaw or Comwave service. A higher rate tied to a booking site or named stores, such as the TD Rewards Visa’s Expedia For TD rate or the Scotiabank American Express Card’s listed grocers, is not used. Where a fee differs for Quebec residents, the value uses the fee outside Quebec. The values assume the balance is paid in full each month. Card issuers give an interest-free grace period to pay for the previous month's purchases, beginning on the last day of the billing period, and federally regulated financial institutions must provide at least 21 days. It doesn't apply to cash advances, cash-like transactions and balance transfers, and interest applies if the balance isn't paid in full by the due date. How interest is charged is on how credit card interest works. The full method is on best credit cards.

In this section

• Low interest credit cards, for a balance carried from month to month.
• Balance transfer credit cards, for moving a balance to another card, with a payoff calculator.
• How to choose a credit card, for the steps and the kinds of cards.
• Credit card fees, for the charges besides the annual fee.
• Cancelling a credit card, for closing an account.