Top credit cards for roadside assistance & gas in Canada

The Home Trust Preferred Visa stands out in the no fee credit card arena for the sheer number of perks it offers. The card charges 0% in foreign transaction fees on purchases made in non-Canadian currencies (instead of the typical 2.5%), comes with built-in rental car loss and damage coverage, and offers a roadside assistance membership at no extra charge. That’s all in addition to the fact you’ll rack up a flat 1% cash back on all your everyday purchases within Canada.

You can contact Home Trust’s roadside assistance service at 1-877-3232 twenty-four/seven across the country as well as south of the border, and the service is available for free up to four times each year for emergencies like gas deliveries (in case you suddenly find yourself stranded on an empty tank), battery boosts, and lockout assistance.

If your vehicle does break down, you’ll get complimentary car towings up to 5 kilometres, which isn’t necessarily the longest distance when compared to the other credit cards on this list but should be enough to get you to the nearest garage or service centre where your car can receive repairs. If you do need to be towed across a longer distance, you’d owe an additional fee for each kilometre (after contacting Home Trust’s roadside assistance service, I was told it can cost roughly an extra $3 to $3.25 per kilometre).

For all the benefits the Home Trust Preferred offers, it does come with a few slight drawbacks worth mentioning. For one, it’s not available to residents of Quebec. Second, in a weird quirk, you’re only permitted to make a maximum of fifteen transactions on the card per day (previously, this was capped at ten transactions per day). And finally, the card has an inactivity fee of $12 if you don’t charge at least one purchase on the card within a twelve-month period. Luckily, this fee is easy to avoid; just be sure you make at least one purchase on the card each year.

As a TD Cashback Visa Infinite cardholder, you’ll be enrolled in a TD Deluxe Autoclub Membership, which covers you for all the standard types of roadside emergencies including battery boosting, flat tire repair, fuel delivery, lockout assistance, towing and winching.

What sets the TD Cash Back Visa Infinite’s roadside assistance apart is you’ll receive an unlimited number of service calls, which is unlike the other credit cards on this list that impose a cap of either four or five free service calls per year.

Additionally, you can receive reimbursements for a range of expenses in the event of a roadside emergency including:

• Emergency transportation for you and your family back to your home in the event you’re stranded due to a mechanical issue with your vehicle or a car accident, provided your home is within 80 kilometres of the incident. Or you can receive a $25 reimbursement for any taxi or public transportation costs you choose to use to return home
• Up to $200 in reimbursements on meals or accommodation in the event you’re stranded due to a car accident or because your car was stolen and you need some food or a place to stay until your vehicle is repaired, returned, or a replacement is made available
• Up to an additional $50 reimbursement to cover personal necessities you need to pay for while staying at a hotel or motel while your vehicle issues are being resolved; and
• In some instances, you can receive between $150 to $300 in reimbursements for advice or assistance from a lawyer in the event of legal matters associated with a car incident (i.e. if you’re being sued for damages arising out of your operation of a vehicle).

Finally, you can even tap TD AutoClub’s Personalized Auto Trip Planning feature to have a specialist help you plan your next road trip by highlighting top travel routes, develop personalized itineraries, and even providing travel tips and suggestions.

Along with roadside assistance, the TD Cashback Visa Infinite rewards your spending. You’ll earn 3% cash back on eligible grocery, gas and recurring bill payments, and 1% cash back on everything else. The TD Cashback Visa Infinite also affords you access to a 24/7 concierge, the Visa Infinite Luxury Hotel collection, and the Visa Infinite Food and Wine Experience. The annual fee for this credit card is $120, and additional users can be added for $50. You must earn $60,000 individually or $100,000 as a family to qualify for this credit card.

The BMO Cashback World Elite Mastercard is one of the stronger cash back credit cards on the Canadian market. With an annual fee of $120, you’ll earn 1.5% cash back on all credit card purchases without restrictions. Plus, when you sign up, you’ll earn a special bonus rate of 10% cash back during the first four months of spending, up to a maximum of $200.

This credit card comes with a suite of extra perks including travel and medical protection, extended warranty protection, 24/7 concierge service, and car rental collision/loss damage waiver protection. Plus, as a Mastercard that offers a flat 1.5% cash back on everything, the BMO CashBack World Elite is one of the best credit cards to use at Costco. The income requirement is $80,000 per year or $150,000 per year as a family.

The Tangerine Money-Back is one of the top no fee credit cards in Canada, earning a strong 2% cash back in up to three different bonus spending categories. The best part is you get to choose your own 2% bonus categories out of a total of ten options, and one of your choices includes gas. Your other two bonus categories can include anything from groceries and dining, to public transit, pharmacies, home improvement, and more.

There’s no limit to how much cash back you can earn and your rewards will be applied to your credit card statement every month, so you won’t have to wait a year for your gas savings to come into effect.

If you do earn a minimum annual income of at least $60,000, you may even qualify for the higher-tier Tangerine World Mastercard and get access to additional perks like mobile device insurance, a free Boingo Wi-Fi Membership, and rental car insurance.

Offering double the points on gas, the MBNA Rewards Platinum Plus Mastercard is an ideal choice for anyone who’s looking to earn points on one of the country’s best travel credit cards without paying an annual fee. MBNA Rewards points are flexible, and can be redeemed for flights on virtually any airline at a rate of 100 points for $1 (or 1 point equals 1 cent / 1%), or for a range of gift cards at rate of around 1 point equal 0.9 cents / 0.9%.

You’ll also earn 1 point per dollar on groceries and dining purchases in addition to gas. The MBNA Rewards Platinum Plus even has a slight edge over the Tangerine Money-Back Card (covered above) since it earns a minimum of 1 point per dollar on all your other everyday purchases while the Tangerine Money-Back offers 0.5% cash back.

The MBNA Rewards Platinum Card’s welcome bonus is also worth calling out and adds up to a potential value of $100. As a new cardholder, you’ll get 5,000 bonus points for signing up for online e-statements within the first 90-days of receiving your card along with another 5,000 points for making at least $500 in purchases within the same period.

The one thing to note however is you’ll only earn two times the points on gas on the first $5,000 you spend at gas stations annually, after which your earn rate will drop to 1 point per dollar. Note though, this cap does reset every year and $5,000 annually on gas equals to an average of $416 on gas each month, so you’ll likely be racking up double the points on most or all your gas spending.

While the PC Financial Mastercard is most synonymous with groceries, this entry-level card also offers great returns at the pump too. You’ll earn 30 PC Optimum per dollar at Esso stations, and when considering 10,000 PC points is worth $10, that works out to a 3% return. 3% on gas for a no fee, entry-level credit card at one of the largest gas station networks in the country is a solid offering.

You’ll also earn 25 PC points per dollar (2.5%) at Shoppers Drug Mart and 10 PC points per dollar (or 1%) everywhere else.

If you earn a minimum personal annual income of at least $60,000 or $80,000, you could automatically qualify for the higher tier PC Financial World or PC Financial World Elite respectively – both of which offer better returns on grocery purchases from Loblaws banner stores (including No Frills) and Shoppers Drug Mart.

The CIBC Dividend Visa offers 4% on gas – an earn rate no other cash back credit card can beat. To top it off, you’ll earn 4% on groceries and 2% on Telus purchases and at Tim Hortons. Another advantage is the card’s annual fee is set at $99 instead of the average $120 charged by most premium rewards credit cards.

The TD Cash Back Visa Infinite makes a second appearance on this blog. We called it out earlier for its comprehensive road assistance coverage, but it also deserves a mention for its great rewards on everyday purchases including on gas.

With this card, you’ll earn an unlimited 3% on gas purchases, along with groceries and recurring bills.

The Meridian Visa Infinite Cash Back Card is one of the best cash back credit cards in Canada for gas purchases. With this credit card, you’ll earn 4% cash back on eligible gas and grocery purchases, and 2% on recurring bills and at drug stores. All other everyday purchases earn 1% cash back.

The Meridian Visa Infinite Cash Back Card also stands out for its extensive suite of travel insurance benefits with up to $5,000,000 in travel emergency coverage for trips up to 48 days and cardholders up to the age of 75 – impressive coverage for a cash back card that even manages to beat out some top travel credit cards. The Meridian Visa Infinite Cash Back also comes with 24/7 concierge services and access to the Visa Infinite Luxury Hotel Collection and the Visa Infinite Dining Series.

If you prefer to earn travel points instead of cash back, the Scotiabank Gold American Express Card is an excellent choice. With this credit card, users earn 3 points per dollar spent on gas and 5 points per dollar on groceries, entertainment, and restaurants. Most other everyday purchases earn 1 point per dollar spent. When redeeming Scotia points, 5,000 points equals $50 in free travel rewards (1 points equals 1 cent / 1%).

The Scotia Gold American Express has an annual fee of $120 per year and requires an annual income of just $12,000 per year. If you spend $1,000 within the first three months, you’ll receive a bonus of 20,000 points, up to a $200 value. This credit card is equipped with comprehensive travel insurance coverage, concierge services, and access to a reduced rate for airport lounges, select retailers through AMEX Offers, and more.