TD Cash Back Visa* Card

The TD Cash Back Visa Card is about as accessible as it gets: no annual fee, no minimum income requirement, and a 1% cash back rate on three common spending categories: gas, groceries and recurring bills.

Issued by one of Canada’s Big Five banks, it’s a reliable introductory card for first-time credit card users and students that offers a modest return on everyday purchases without charging a fee for it – though there are a few comparable cards to also consider, depending on your spending habits. 

To learn more about the TD Cash Back Visa, read the full breakdown below.

TD Cash Back Visa Card – Quick Review

The Pros

• There’s no annual fee, so it costs nothing to keep this card in your wallet.
• Cash back rewards can be redeemed at any time (at a minimum of $25). This card has more flexibility compared to many others, which only allow cash back rewards to be redeemed on a set schedule (usually once a year).
• With no minimum income requirement, it’s super accessible and makes a good student credit card.
• Since it’s a card from one of the Big Five banks, it’s a good choice if you’re looking to keep your chequing accounts, savings accounts and credit cards with one provider.
• The card includes basic purchase security and extended warranty protection coverage.
• You’ll get 5-10% off Avis and Budget car rentals in Canada and the U.S.

The Cons

• Other than purchase security and extended warranty protection, it offers few extras (i.e. no rental car insurance or travel insurance coverage).
• With a cash back rate of 1% for groceries, gas and recurring bills and 0.5% for everything else, it’s not the most competitive card on the market. There are several other no fee credit cards that offer higher cash back rates on your everyday purchases, such as the Tangerine Money-Back Credit Card and the SimplyCash Card from American Express.

TD Cash Back Visa Card – Detailed breakdown

Earning cash back rewards

This card offers a modest return rate: cardholders earn 1% cash back on eligible grocery and gas purchases and recurring bill payments set up on the card. All other purchases earn 0.5% cash back. Cash back rewards never expire, as long as the account is open and in good standing.

One thing to note: The 1% cash back rate on gas, groceries and recurring bills is capped at $5,000 in annual spending for each individual category. Once you hit the limit on that individual category, the cash back rate will be reduced to 0.5% for the rest of the year. However, reaching the spending limit in one category doesn’t affect the others. For example, if you spend more than $5,000 on groceries using the card, the cash back rate on groceries will be reduced to 0.5%. However, gas and recurring bills will continue to earn 1% cash back (until their respective $5,000 thresholds are reached). 

If you tend to spend heavily in any of those three categories, you might want to compare cards with higher cash back rates. Here’s a look at what some competitors offer for no fee cash back cards: 

Tangerine Money-Back Credit Card

• No annual fee
• Earn 2% cash back on purchases in up to three categories of your choice, and 0.5% cash back on everything else

SimplyCash Card from American Express

• No annual fee
• Earn 1.25% cash back on all purchases

Redeeming your rewards

The biggest advantage of this card is the ability to redeem cash back rewards whenever you want, as long as you’ve accrued a minimum of $25 in cash back. While other cash back cards generally stick to a set redemption schedule, such as once a month or once a year, this TD credit card lets you do whatever you want: you can redeem every time you hit $25 (or another milestone), every six months, once a year, or just let it build up for a while. Cash back dollars won’t expire, as long as your account is open and in good standing. Cash back can only be redeemed as a credit on the card account.

Insurance benefits

The only type of coverage this card offers is extended warranty and purchase protection. Currently, this card doesn’t offer any travel or car rental insurance coverage. If that’s important to you, look at other cash back cards as well as travel credit cards, which offer comprehensive coverage for travel emergency medical and accident, trip cancellation or interruption, flight delays, baggage loss or delay and car rental collision/loss damage waiver.

Fees, interest rates, and income requirements

This card is one of the most accessible on the market, with no annual fee and no minimum income requirement. Like comparable cash back cards, the recommended credit score to qualify for this card is least 660 (fair-good). This makes it an ideal option for students, new credit card users, and those who are rebuilding bad credit and ready to graduate from a secured credit card.

The interest rate is 21.99% for purchases, 22.99% for cash advances, and 22.99% for balance transfers.

The bottom line

The TD Cash Back Visa Card is pretty no frills, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t valuable. Not everyone wants to tango with complicated rewards programs, and cash back that can be used to pay down your account balance whenever you want (again, when you’ve accrued a minimum of $25) is a real plus. This card is good for people who already have a TD chequing account or savings account, new credit card users looking to build credit and get basic rewards without paying a fee (including students), and those easing back into the credit card world after rebuilding bad credit.