Featured credit cards
SimplyCash Preferred Card from American Express
Home Trust Preferred Visa
Rogers Red World Elite Mastercard
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Best credit cards for online purchases
If you collect points or cash back on your in-store purchases, you may be well-versed in your spending categories. But sometimes (not always) an online purchase doesn’t “reward” you as you’d expect—with some cards, you’ll only get the generic, “everything else” earn rate on purchases made online. That’s not the case with our picks for the best credit cards for online purchases in Canada.
| Credit card | Why we love it |
|---|---|
| SimplyCash Preferred Card from American Express Annual fee: $120 | 2% cash back |
| Rogers Red World Elite Mastercard Annual fee: $0 | 1.5% cash back and U.S. forex savings |
| Meridian Visa Infinite Travel Rewards Annual fee: $99 (waived for the first year) | 1.5% in travel rewards and forex savings |
| Home Trust Preferred Visa Annual fee: $0 | 1% cash back and no forex fees |
| Amazon Rewards Mastercard $0 (Prime subscription required for full card benefits) | 2.5% cash back and forex savings |
Best for cash back
Amex SimplyCash Preferred
Annual fee: $120
- 4% cash back on eligible gas and grocery purchases
- 2% cash back on everything else
Welcome offer: Earn a bonus 10% cash back on all purchases for your first three months (up to $2,000 in purchases) and a $50 statement credit when you make a purchase in month 13 (total value of up to $250).
Card details
| Interest rates | 21.99% on purchases, 21.99% on cash advances |
| Income required | None specified |
| Credit score | 725 or higher |
- With a base cash back rate of 2% on everything—including online purchases—plus a stellar 4% cash back on gas and grocery purchases, the SimplyCash Preferred Card from American Express card will accelerate your earnings.
Best for no annual fees
Rogers Red World Elite Mastercard
Annual fee: $0
- 3% cash back on all U.S. dollar purchases
- 1.5% on all other purchases (2% for Rogers, Fido and Shaw customers)
Welcome offer: None at this time.
Card details
| Interest rates | 20.99% on purchases, 22.99% on cash advances, 22.99% on balance transfers |
| Income required | $80,000 per year |
| Credit score | 725 or higher |
- The Rogers Red World Elite Mastercard is a no-fee cash-back card that delivers an impressive 1.5% cash back on every purchase (plus an extra 0.5% for Rogers, Fido and Shaw customers) and 3% on website purchases made in U.S. currency. You’ll need to spend at least $15,000 per year on the card in order to continue qualifying to use it.
Best for points
Meridian Visa Infinite Travel Rewards
Annual fee: $99
- 3 points per $1 spent on foreign currency purchases
- 1 point per $1 on everything else
Welcome offer: Earn 7,000 bonus rewards points and pay no annual fee for the first year, including on additional cards. Must apply by December 31, 2024.
Card details
| Interest rates | 19.5% on purchases, 21.99% on cash advances |
| Income required | $60,000 per year |
| Credit score | 725 or higher |
| Point value | 1 Meridian point = $0.01 when redeemed for travel. |
- Meridian Visa Infinite Travel Rewards cardholders earn 1.5 points per dollar (1.50% in travel rewards) on all purchases, including online, and 3 points per dollar on purchases made in foreign currencies— which covers the foreign transaction fee with a little left over.
Best for no FX fees
Home Trust Preferred Visa
Annual fee: $0
- 1% on all purchases in Canada
- Pay no FX fees on foreign currency purchases
Welcome offer: This card does not have a welcome bonus at this time.
Card details
| Interest rates | 21.99% on purchases, 21.99% on cash advances |
| Income required | None specified |
| Credit score | 660 or higher |
- Home Trust Preferred Visa is a good, basic cash-back card that carries no annual fee. With this card, you’ll receive 1% cash back on all Canadian purchases. Even better, purchases made in another currency on this card aren’t charged a foreign transaction fee—this is an automatic savings of 2.5 to 3% and super-valuable for those who shop at online retailers from the United States.
Best for Amazon.ca shoppers
Amazon.ca Rewards Mastercard
Annual fee: $0 (Prime subscription required for full card benefits)
- Prime members earn 2.5% on Amazon.ca and foreign currency transactions
- Non-Prime members earn 1.5% back on Amazon.ca
- Get 1% everywhere else
Welcome offer: 5% back at Amazon.ca, Whole Foods Market stores for 6 months up to $3,000 in eligible purchases (for a value of $150)
Card details
| Interest rates | 19.50% on purchases, 21.99% on cash advances |
| Income required | $60,000 per year |
| Credit score | 725 or higher |
| Point value | Points can be redeemed for Amazon.ca gift cards (1 point is worth 1% cash back off Amazon purchases). |
- The Amazon Rewards Mastercard is ideal for frequent Amazon Shoppers who have a Prime Membership, as Prime account holders earn boosted rewards when shopping at the online retail giant.
- Prime members benefit from having the card’s foreign transaction fees offset by cash back rewards, which is handy if you’re travelling or shopping online in different currencies. The drawbacks? While the card technically has no annual fee, if you’re not a paying Prime member (the membership costs $99 annually or $9.99 monthly), you’ll get a serious downgrade with just 1.5% on Amazon purchases and will lose the benefit of no foreign transaction fees. Plus your rewards can’t be used for cash back and can only be redeemed for gift cards at Amazon.
More of Canada’s best credit cards:
- Best credit cards in Canada
- Best rewards credit cards
- Best travel credit cards
- Best instant approval credit cards
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