The best Visa credit cards in Canada for 2024 - MoneySense (2024)

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As the largest credit card company in the world, Visa is a solid choice for any Canadian wanting the assurance of wide card acceptance both at home and abroad—Visa cards are accepted in more than 200 countries and territories. But which Visa should you choose? This guide to the best Visa cards in Canada will help you decide.

Best cash back Visa

At a glance: Take the sting out of rising prices with the CIBC Dividend Visa Infinite’s return of 4% cash back on gas, EV charging and groceries, and 2% back on daily transit (including rideshares and public transit), dining and recurring payments. You’ll also get perks like travel medical and rental car collision insurance.

Pros

• Offers impressive bonus rates of between 2% and 4% cash back across five major spending categories.
• Get your cash back when you want it, using the CIBC app. With many other cards, rewards are deposited into your account once per year.
• Link your card to Journie Rewards to get deeper discounts on gas at participating Pioneer, Fas Gas, Ultramar and Chevron stations.
• Comes with travel, car rental and new mobile device insurance.

Cons

• The card’s emergency travel medical insurance covers the first 10 days of your trip, so you’ll have to buy additional insurance for longer journeys. Plus, there’s no lost and delayed baggage insurance.
• The caps on bonus earn rates are a bit stricter than those of some other cards. After reaching $20,000 in purchases within the bonus categories or $80,000 in total spending, any additional purchases will only earn 1% cash back. This resets the day after your December statement is issued.

Honourable mention

At a glance: The Scotiabank Momentum Visa Infinite is our runner-up for the best cash back Visa for its robust purchase and travel protection, as well as its high earn rates—4% on groceries and recurring bills, 2% on gas and daily transit (including public transit, taxis and rideshares), and 1% on all other purchases.

Pros

• For cash back on recurring bill payments, this card is unmatched. The 4% earn rate on recurring bills and subscription payments—everything from phone bills to subscription services like Netflix and Spotify, and insurance premiums to gym memberships—is the highest in the country. And the same 4% bonus rate on grocery purchases ensures you’ll bank rewards quickly.
• Comes with new mobile device, travel and car rental insurance.
• Pay off larger purchases in installments through Scotia SelectPay.

Cons

• You can only access your cash back once per year, and only as a statement credit.
• You’ll only earn 4% back on the first $25,000 spent annually on groceries and recurring payments, and 2% back on the first $25,000 spent on gas, EV charging and daily transit—at which point you’ll earn at the base rate of 1%. But these limits are generous enough not to impact most cardholders.

Best no-fee cash back Visa

At a glance: The no-fee Simplii Financial Cash Back Visa offers 4% cash back on purchases at restaurants, bars and coffee shops, making it a top pick for those who like to dine out. The 1.5% return on gas, groceries and drugstore purchases is also respectable.

Pros

• Most no-fee cash back cards offer no more than 2% back on restaurant, bar and coffee shop purchases—meaning your return on spending in this category is nearly double what you get with comparable cards.
• The low minimum annual income requirement makes it a super-accessible card.

Cons

• Though impressive for a no-fee card, the 4% earn rate on dining is capped at your first $5,000 in purchases (a cap that resets annually). For purchases beyond that threshold, the rate drops to 0.5%. So, if you spend $10,000 annually on dining out, you would earn $225 in cash back, the bulk of which ($200) would be on the first $5,000.
• You have to have a Simplii Financial bank account to get the card.
• Like most no-fee cards, this one doesn’t offer many extras or perks.

Best travel rewards Visa

At a glance: When used in concert with the Expedia for TD site, the TD First Class Travel Visa Infinite card can help you rack up major travel points that can be redeemed easily for a wide range of travel rewards. This program keeps it simple with no blackout dates, no seat restrictions and no expiry for your points. As another solid perk, get a $100 annual travel credit when you spend more than $500 on Expedia for TD.

Pros

• Your return on spending can be as high as 4%, when booking through Expedia for TD, which generally offers the same deals as the main Expedia site. Get 8 points per dollar spent on Expedia for TD, then redeem 200 points for $1 off your booking—no blackout dates or restrictions.
• Get a $100 annual travel credit when you spend more than $500 on Expedia for TD.
• Unlike some other travel programs, redemptions are straightforward—there are no complicated chart systems or blackout dates to be aware of.
• As a birthday bonus, receive 10% of the points you earned in the previous year (up to a maximum of 10,000 points.
• This card has a strong insurance package with up to $2 million in coverage for trips of up to 21 days.

Cons

• You’ll get less value for your points if you book outside of Expedia for TD. Whereas points are worth $0.005 when redeemed through the site, you’ll have to redeem 250 points to save $1 on other travel sites, reducing the value of each point to $0.004.
• The annual fee is slightly higher than those of comparable travel cards.

Best airline travel credit card

For Aeroplan

At a glance: If Air Canada is your airline of choice, take a look at the TD Aeroplan Visa Infinite Card. It gives you access to numerous airline perks, and with Aeroplan’s travel rewards chart and preferred pricing policy, you can get great value for your points—if you know how to play the points game.

Pros

• Use your Aeroplan points for every Air Canada seat without restrictions or blackout periods. Plus, unlike most airline loyalty programs, you can use points on multiple airlines in the Star Alliance program, including United Airlines and Lufthansa.
• Earn Aeroplan Status Qualifying Miles with your everyday purchases, allowing you to progress in Aeroplan status and get access to perks like priority seat selection, complimentary checked bags and airport lounge access.
• Get a rebate on your Nexus customs travel application once every 48 months (worth $100).
• Includes a comprehensive suite of travel insurance, including hotel and motel burglary insurance.

Cons

• Since the TD Aeroplan Visa Infinite Card is an airline loyalty card, you can’t redeem points for flights on just any airline.
• You get a lot of value with Aeroplan, but points are redeemed according to a flight reward chart, including specific travel zones. Though this can help maximize the value of your rewards, it’s not the most intuitive program for beginner collectors.

Having an Aeroplan credit card like this one gets you preferred pricing on flight redemptions. But you can technically earn points faster with the Amex Cobalt by transferring Amex Membership Rewards to Aeroplan. Learn more about why the Amex Cobalt is a strong option for Aeroplan members.

Best low-interest Visa

At a glance: For those who are carrying debt, a lower-interest credit card is an excellent tool. The RBC Visa Classic Low Rate Option is a fairly no-frills card with a low 12.99% interest rate. It comes with some partner perks, such as discounts at Petro-Canada gas.

Pros

• The low annual fee and no minimum income requirement mean this card is accessible to most Canadians.
• The card’s low interest rate applies to purchases and cash advances.
• Gain access to RBC Offers through RBC online banking or your mobile banking app, and receive savings offers or bonus Avion points on shopping, travel and more.
• Earn Petro Points and save on fuel at Petro-Canada.

Cons

• Primarily designed to help you save on interest, this card doesn’t come with travel insurance benefits.
• There’s no balance transfer promotion to move debt from a higher-interest card.

More of Canada’s bestcredit cards:

• Canada’s best credit cards
• Canada’s best instant approval credit cards
• Canada’s best no fee credit cards
• Canada’s best no foreign transaction fee credit cards
• Canada’s best credit cards for people with bad credit
• Canada’s best travel credit cards
• Canada’s best Mastercard credit cards