Hyder Owainati, Product Manager
From points bonuses and cash back offers to annual fee waivers, there’s no shortage of credit card promotions out there on the market.
Designed to spur interest and entice applications, promotional offers can also help those on the hunt for a new credit card quickly amass hundreds of dollars in bonus rewards. So, while an offer alone shouldn’t be a deciding factor and is just one piece of the puzzle that goes into choosing a credit card, there’s no denying it can make an already great credit card even better.
It’s with that in mind that Ratehub.ca listed the top promotions available from some of the best credit cards in Canada. Remember, when reading through these offers, make sure to also look into which card would make a good long-term fit for your personal spending habits.
The best credit card promotions in Canada for 2023
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The BMO Cash Back World Elite Mastercard offers a flat cash back rate of 1% on all credit card purchases and you can earn even more on bonus categories such as 5% cash back on groceries (up to $500 per billing cycle), 4% cash back on transit (taxis, ride share and public transit), 3% cash back on gas and 2% on recurring bills.
Welcome offer -earn up to 10% cash back in your first three months and have the $120 annual fee waived in the first year.
Pros:
- Top of the line card flexibility as there's no limit on how much cash back you can earn and you're free to redeem your rewards in increments as little as one dollar
- Complimentary roadside assistance with free basic members of the Dominion Automobile Association
- Complimentary membership in Mastercard Airport Experiences provided by LoungeKey
- Strong travel insurance coverage including trip interruption, cancellation or delay, and emergency travel medical
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The biggest selling point of the CIBC Dividend® Visa Infinite* is its impressive rewards on everyday essentials. On top of the 1% earn rate for all purchases, this card earns an industry-leading 4% cash back on both groceries and gas purchases – two of the most common spending categories for Canadian households. Thanks to CIBC’s new Cash Back on demand feature, cardholders can choose to redeem rewards at any time as a statement credit starting in increments of $25.
Welcome offer - earn 15% cash back welcome bonus of up to $300 (first 4 statements).
Pros:
- Significantly higher earn rates on groceries and gas than most other cards (4% cash back)
- Flexible cash back redemption option allowing users to redeem their cash back at any time in increments of $25
- Access to CIBC’s Pace It program, allowing you to pay off large purchases in monthly increments
- Access to the Visa Infinite Program, entitling you to attend special dining events and hotel perks at participating hotels and restaurants
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Similar to the CIBC Dividend Visa Infinite credit card, the Scotiabank Momentum Visa Infinite card offers impressive rewards on everyday purchases. This card earns 4% back on groceries, recurring bill payments, and subscriptions like Netflix, 2% on gas, local transit and transportation costs and 1% on everything else. This card can help offset rising household expenses and is considered to be one of the best cash back credit cards.
Welcome offer - Earn 10% cash back on all purchases for the first 3 months (up to $2,000 in total purchases).
Pros:
- Significantly higher earn rates on groceries and gas than most other cards (4% cash back)
- Strong insurance coverage which typically is reserved for travel credit cards
- Annual fee is waived for the first year
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The Tangerine Money-Back Credit Card is the perfect choice for those who value true flexibility and customization in their rewards program. With no annual fee, you get to choose the bonus categories that align with your spending habits and earn 2% cash back per dollar spent. This is a rare feature in the credit card market, allowing you to avoid being stuck with bonus spending categories that don’t work for you and your spending habits. Some of the standout features of this amazing credit card include:
Pros:
- Customizable bonus categories: choose up to three from a list of 10 options to earn 2% cash back on; you can change your categories at any time to make the most of your rewards
- Cash back is refunded monthly (instead of the standard annual reimbursement), allowing you to enjoy the benefits of your cash back faster
- Enjoy the convenience of using your card almost anywhere, including popular retailers like No Frills and Costco
- Extended warranty and purchase protection
- Free supplementary cards for authorized users
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The TD First Class Travel Visa Infinite is aimed at people whose airline of choice is Air Canada as well as savvy points collectors who know their way around a rewards chart. The card’s earn rate is eight TD Rewards points for every dollar spent on travel via the Expedia for TD website, 6 points per dollar on groceries and restaurants, and two TD Rewards points all other purchases. Since one TD Rewards point equals $0.005, that translates to an impressive 4.5% return per dollar on travel spending and 1.5% on everything else.
As far as sign-up bonuses go, the TD First Class Travel Visa Infinite’s offer is hard to beat. Better yet, these points can be redeemed for flights on almost any airline of your choice as well as any of the hotel providers or vacation packages available on Expedia for TD, which offers the same inventory of travel options as Expedia.ca.
Welcome offer - Not available to display at the moment.
Pros:
- Earn 8 TD Rewards per $1 on travel through Expedia for TD, 6 TD Rewards per $1 on groceries and restaurants, 4 TD Rewards per $1 on recurring bill payments, and 2 TD Rewards per $1 on everything else
- Flexible redemption program - points can be redeemed on virtually any airline or hotel of your choice through Expedia for TD
- Redeem points in increments as low as 200 (one dollar)
- Extensive travel package including emergency medical, trip cancellation/interruption, plus more
- Enjoy Priority Pass membership discounts to access 1,200 VIP airport lounges worldwide
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If you’re an American Express fan looking for a flexible travel card with a great welcome bonus, the American Express Gold Rewards Card should be on your radar. The card offers a respectable two points per dollar spent at eligible gas stations, drug and grocery stores in Canada. You'll also earn two points per dollar on eligible travel purchases (flights, hotels, car rentals, cruises, and more). Outside of that, you'll earn one point per dollar spent in all other categories.
Welcome bonus - earn up to 50,000 Membership Rewards points.
Pros:
- 2x points per dollar spent at eligible gas stations, drug and grocery stores in Canada, and eligible travel purchases (flights, hotels, car rentals, cruises, and more
- One free additional Gold Rewards card (a $50 value) - allowing you to earn more even faster
- $100 CAD annual travel credit, which can help to offset the card’s annual fee
- Transfer points 1:1 to a number of different loyalty programs (Aeroplan, Avios, etc.)
- Complimentary Priority Pass™ membership granting you access to a wide network of airport lounges worldwide, including 4 complimentary visits per calendar year to Plaza Premium Lounges across Canada
- Extensive travel insurance package including travel emergency medical, trip cancellation / interruption, flight delay and more
- $50 CAD NEXUS statement credit
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The BMO Ascend World Elite Mastercard is BMO's newest travel card giving cardholders the ability to earn five points per dollar on travel, three points per dollar on dining, entertainment and recurring bills, and one point per dollar on all other purchases. This card is great for those looking for flexible rewards and a one of the best insurance package.
Welcome offer - earn up to 70,000 points and the annual fee waived in the first year for both the primary cardholder and authorized users.
Pros:
- Flexible rewards program where points can be redeemed for travel, statement credits, merchandise, etc.
- Membership to Mastercard Travel Pass including 4 free pases
- Extensive travel insurance considered to be one of the best in Canada (see The best credit cards for travel insurance)
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When it comes to balance transfers, the MBNA True Line Mastercard is pretty much unmatched, and its excellent welcome bonus should get the attention of anyone in the market for a card of this type. The card has no annual fee and a below-average purchase interest rate of 12.99% on purchases and balance transfers. If you’re looking to climb out of debt as quickly and easily as possible, the MBNA True Line Mastercard (and its welcome bonus) could be your perfect match.
Welcome bonus - Get a 0% promotional annual interest rate for 12 months on balance transfers completed within 90 days of opening the account.
Pros:
- The low interest rate of 12.99% is fixed and won’t change regardless of your credit rating, income, or the bank’s prime lending rate
- No annual fee and no income requirements to qualify making it very accessible
- Promotional balance transfer of 0% is available for a full year helping pay down or eliminate credit card debt
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The CIBC Select Visa shoots right to the top of our list for best balance transfer credit card in Canada for its undeniably great balance transfer promotion. With interest completely out of the equation for a limited time, you can move the balance owed on your current credit card over to the CIBC Select Visa and chip away at your debt faster and more efficiently. The good news is the CIBC Select Visa also offers a below-average interest rate of 13.99% as standard. So, even if you can’t completely tackle the debt you transferred before the allotted ten-month promotional period ends, you can continue to leverage a low interest rate that’s between eight and six percentage points below what most other credit cards charge. Depending on the size of your credit card debt, the CIBC Select Visa’s balance transfer offer can help you save several hundreds of dollars in interest.
Welcome bonus - Transfer your credit card balance. Get 0% interest for up to 10 months with a 1% transfer fee and a first year annual fee rebate.
Pros:
- Offers an unbeatable 0% interest rate on balance for a limited-time of ten months and carries a below-average interest rate of 13.99% as standard
- Ability to add up to three authorized users at no additional cost
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The BMO Cash Back World Elite Mastercard offers a flat cash back rate of 1% on all credit card purchases and you can earn even more on bonus categories such as 5% cash back on groceries (up to $500 per billing cycle), 4% cash back on transit (taxis, ride share and public transit), 3% cash back on gas and 2% on recurring bills.
Welcome bonus - earn up to 10% cash back in your first three months and have the $120 annual fee waived in the first year.
Pros:
- Top of the line card flexibility as there's no limit on how much cash back you can earn and you're free to redeem your rewards in increments as little as one dollar
- Complimentary roadside assistance with free basic members of the Dominion Automobile Association
- Complimentary membership in Mastercard Airport Experiences provided by LoungeKey
- Strong travel insurance coverage including trip interruption, cancellation or delay, and emergency travel medical
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When it comes to extra perks, the American Express Platinum Card is in a class all its own and is very easily classified as the best premium credit card in Canada. While its annual fee isn't cheap, the American Express Platinum Card offers all the bells and whistles and benefits that makes it worthwhile, including a $200 annual travel credit and lucrative sign-up bonus.
Aside from its point value (three points per dollar on eligible dining/food delivery in Canada, two points per dollar on travel, one point per dollar on everything else), this card comes packed with tons of extra benefits, including complimentary airport lounge access with unlimited passes to Priority Pass and Centurion lounges, a dedicated concierge line, an annual $200 travel credit, hotel upgrades and Platinum Concierge services, and one of the best travel insurance packages on the market.hat, your cash back is refunded on a monthly basis (instead of the standard annual reimbursement).
Welcome bonus - earn up to 80,000 rewards points ($800 value).
Pros:
- 3x points on eligible dining and food delivery in Canada (which will come in handy when traveling domestically) and 2x points on travel purchases
- No minimum income requirement - a rarity for a card of this calibre
- Lounge access - unlimited free access for you and one guest to over 1,200 airport lounges as part of the American Express Global lounge collection
- VIP benefits at Toronto Pearson Airport including access to Pearson Priority Security Lande, free valet parking (usually a $25 fee), and 15% discount on parking as a statement credit
- Upgraded gold hotel status with Marriott Bonvoy, Radisson Rewards and Hilton Honors and car rental privileges with Hertz and Avis
- Transfer point 1:1 to several frequent flyer programs
- One of the best travel insurance packages on the market, including everything from out-of-province emergency medical to $500,000 travel accident insurance and beyond
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Aeroplan clients and frequent Air Canada fliers searching for a card to help them earn more on travel should look no further than the TD Aeroplan Visa Infinite Privilege. Users can earn 2 points per dollar spent through Air Canada purchases (including Air Canada Vacations), 1.5 points per dollar spent on eligible gas, grocery and dining and 1.25 points per dollar on everything else.
Welcome bonus - Not available to display at the moment.
Pros:
- Aeroplan points can be redeemed for flights on Air Canada or over 27 Star Alliance member airlines (including United Airlines and Lufthansa, to name a few)
- Access to Air Canada perks: first bag checked free on Air Canada flights for the primary cardholder and up to eight travel companions (up to $30 in savings per traveler on flights across Canada and the US) plus the ability to earn credits towards achieving elite airline status
- Access to Priority Airport Services such as priority boarding, baggage handling, etc.
- Up to $100 in Nexus Membership reimbursements available every 48 months; allowing for smoother cross-border travel within Canada or between the US
- Annual round-trip companion pass from $99
- Extensive travel insurance benefits with up to 21 days of out-of-province/country medical emergency coverage, flight delay insurance, lost/delayed baggage insurance, and even hotel/motel burglary insurance for stays within the US and Canada
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The Scotiabank Platinum American Express is Scotiabanks premium travel credit card. Unlike most other cards, the Scotiabank Platinum American Express offers 2 Scene+ points per dollar spent on all purchases. While this is a fairly strong earning rate across all categories, the Scotiabank Gold American Express offers a 5x earning rate on grocery, dining and entertainment.
Welcome bonus - earn up to $2,100 in value in your first 14 months, including up to 60,000 bonus Scene+ points. Offer ends Apr 30, 2023.
Pros:
- Priority Pass and Plaza Premium lounges membership, including 10 free passes
- Extensive travel insurance including
- No foreign exchange fees - saving anywhere from 2 - 2.5% on all purchases made in other currencies
- Low interest rate of 9.99% compared to the typical 19.99% or more interest rate