Best Credit Cards in Canada

Visa credit cards overview

Visa is the largest of the three major credit card companies in Canada. Unlike American Express, Visa doesn’t issue credit cards on its site, nor does it offer any credit cards that are solely under the Visa name. Instead, your Visa will be issued by a bank, credit union or retailer, meaning you’ll see the issuer’s logo + the Visa logo on your card.

With that being said, Visa does divide its credit card products under four categories: Classic, Gold, Platinum and Infinite.

• Visa Classic is an ideal first credit card for you to get, either as a student, young professional or someone trying to establish credit. They don’t typically come with many perks or rewards, but their benefits include zero liability and lost/stolen card reporting.
• Visa Gold is the next step up in Visa card offerings. They typically have an annual income requirement and come with a $5,000 minimum credit limit. Visa Gold benefits include: zero liability, lost/stolen card reporting, car rental insurance, travel and emergency insurance policies, and emergency cash and card replacement.
• Visa Platinum comes with the same income requirements and minimum credit limits as Visa Gold, as well as the same list of benefits. However, they often charge higher annual fees for greater rewards – and offer some extra prestige, if that’s what you’re looking for.
• Finally, Visa Infinite offers all the same great benefits as both Visa Gold and Visa Platinum, but also includes exclusive offers and opportunities for its cardholders. Read more about the Visa Infinite program below.

Visa Infinite program

There are 11 Visa cards attached to its unique brand recognition program: Visa Infinite. Visa Infinite cardholders have access to special offers and unique opportunities, such as a long list of hotel upgrades, invitations to dinners hosted by renowned chefs, advance tickets and VIP lounge access at TIFF, discounts on tickets to sporting events and complimentary concierge services. They also come with travel insurance policies, travel medical insurance, zero liability, emergency card replacement and cash service, and more. Before you make a purchase with your Visa Infinite card, check out the Visa Infinite website to see if there are any offers you can take advantage of first!

Visa credit card partnerships

Aside from the Visa Infinite program, some of Visa’s current credit card partnerships include:

• Aeroplan: CIBC and TD both offer 3 Aeroplan Visa travel rewards credit cards each (so 6 total). Each offers the Aeroplan Visa Platinum (smallest bonus and rewards offers), Aeroplan Visa Infinite (mid-level) and Aeroplan Visa Infinite Privileges (largest bonus and rewards offers) card.
• Amazon: The Amazon.ca Rewards Visa card comes with a $20 Amazon.ca gift card, and lets you earn 2 points per $1 spent on Amazon.ca and 1 point per $1 spent everywhere else. Every time you reach 2,000 points, you’ll get $20 cash back on your statement.
• Best Buy and Future Shop: Visa offers two store credit cards in Canada: the Best Buy Card and the Future Shop Card. Both give you the option to finance a purchase made in store and pay it off over several months.
• British Airways: The RBC British Airways Visa Infinite card comes with a welcome bonus of 15,000 Avios, lets you earn double Avios for every $1 spent on British Airways purchases and 1 Avios for every $1 spent anywhere else. Avios can be redeemed for travel anywhere British Airways flies
• Cathway Pacific: The RBC Cathway Pacific Visa Platinum card comes with a welcome bonus of 15,000 Asia Miles, complimentary Green Tier membership into the Marco Polo Club, and lets you earn double Asia Miles for every $1 spent on Cathway Pacific purchases and 1 Asia Mile for every $1 spent anywhere else. Asia Miles can be redeemed for flights, upgrades and more.
• Esso: The RBC Esso Visa Card is a gas rewards credit card that comes with a sign-up bonus of 4,500 Esso Extra Points (worth $25 of free gas), and lets you earn 2 or more points for every $1 spent at Esso and 1 point per $1 spent everywhere else.
• Marriott: The Marriott Rewards Premier Visa Credit Card from Chase comes with a first-purchase bonus of 30,000 points + 1 free night stay, and lets you earn 5 points per $1 spent at Marriott Hotels, 2 points per $1 spent on airline tickets purchased with the card and 1 point per $1 spent on everything else.
• SCENE: The Scotiabank SCENE Visa Card comes with 4,000 SCENE points (worth 4 free movies), and lets you earn 5 SCENE points per $1 spent at Cineplex and 1 SCENE point per $1 spent everywhere else.
• Tim Hortons: The CIBC Tim Hortons Double Double Visa card is two cards in one: a CIBC Visa card and a Tim Card. You get $20 in Tim Cash as a welcome bonus, after you spend $200, and earn 1% back in Tim Cash for every $1 spent on the card.

Remember that all of these credit cards will be issued by a bank, credit union or retailer – not by Visa itself. As well, some Visa credit cards may also help you earn points specific to a bank’s own branded rewards program (like CIBC Aventura or RBC Avion), of which there are too many to list here.

More on Visa

Headquartered in Foster City, California, Visa is the largest credit card company in the world. In fact, The Nilson Report showed that Visa held 60.5% of the market share of purchase transactions made worldwide in 2013. Today, Visa operates in more than 200 countries, and is well known for both its Visa credit card and Visa debit card products.

Other Credit Card Networks