Rankings
Best Credit Cards for Online Shopping in Canada
Online shopping is the largest discretionary line in our example profile at $300 a month. The CIBC Costco Mastercard and the Tangerine Money-Back World Mastercard both pay 2.00% back — the highest online rate we track — and neither charges an annual fee.
Which credit card is best for online shopping in Canada?
The CIBC Costco Mastercard, the Tangerine Money-Back Mastercard and the Tangerine Money-Back World Mastercard share the top online rate we track at 2.00%, all with no annual fee. The moi RBC Visa follows at 1.60%.
| Card | Rate in this category | Annual fee | Net annual rewards |
|---|---|---|---|
| TopCIBC Costco Mastercard | 2.00% | $0 | $306 |
| Tangerine Money-Back Mastercard | 2.00% | $0 | $246 |
| Tangerine Money-Back World Mastercard | 2.00% | $0 | $246 |
| moi RBC Visa | 1.60% | $0 | $226 |
| WestJet RBC Mastercard | 1.50% | $39 | $213 |
WalletReturn example spending of $2,000/month: groceries $500, dining $200, gas $150, transit $80, travel $100, recurring bills $200, entertainment $100, drugstore $40, online $300, other $330.
In our example profile the Tangerine Money-Back Mastercard ends the year with $246 in net annual rewards and the CIBC Costco Mastercard with $306, so two cards paying the same 2.00% online do not deliver the same dollar value.
Put it into practiceBrowse every card by categoryWhat counts as an online shopping purchase?
The bonus rate applies when a purchase records in the card’s online shopping category. That is set by the merchant’s category code, not by whether you used a browser.
A retailer that also has stores sometimes records as a general purchase when you buy from its website, and a subscription renewed online can record as a recurring bill instead. Digital goods, app stores and delivery apps usually sit in categories of their own.
Treat an online shopping rate as a rate on purchases that record that way. It is not a rate on everything you order from a laptop.
Do online shopping rewards have a spending cap?
On some cards, yes. Where the online rate sits inside an annual limit, spending past the limit earns the card’s base rate instead of the bonus rate.
| Card | Online rate | Cap |
|---|---|---|
| TopCIBC Costco Mastercard | 2.00% | Recorded annual cap |
| Tangerine Money-Back Mastercard | 2.00% | None recorded |
| Tangerine Money-Back World Mastercard | 2.00% | None recorded |
| moi RBC Visa | 1.60% | None recorded |
WalletReturn records a cap only where the card’s own terms document one. Where we could not record a cap, that is what the table shows — an unrecorded cap is an unknown, not a favourable fact.
If the online rate is one of several categories you choose, confirm that online shopping is on the card’s eligible list before moving all of your orders to it.
Do I need a different card for US and overseas shopping?
Only if the site bills you in another currency. A foreign transaction fee applies to the converted amount, and it can cancel out a bonus online rate.
| Card | Annual fee | First-year value | Net annual rewards |
|---|---|---|---|
| TopScotiabank Gold American Express | $120 | $1,011 | $361 |
| Capital One Quicksilver World Elite Mastercard | $0 | $792 | $396 |
| Capital One Quicksilver World Mastercard | $0 | $792 | $396 |
| Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite + | $150 | $546 | $196 |
The cards below record no foreign transaction fee in our catalogue, which matters if you shop sites that bill in US dollars. Check the fee before you use a card abroad, and check whether the merchant offers to bill you in Canadian dollars — that conversion has its own rate.
How do I check these rates against my own spending?
Enter your own monthly online spending in Find My Card and the ranking re-runs on your numbers instead of our example profile.
The values above use WalletReturn example spending of $2,000/month: groceries $500, dining $200, gas $150, transit $80, travel $100, recurring bills $200, entertainment $100, drugstore $40, online $300, other $330. Rewards are estimated from each card’s recorded earn rules, caps and any welcome offer it supports.
WalletReturn is paid by affiliate links on some cards. That never changes an estimate, a cap or the order of a ranking — the method is the same for every card, and unrecorded facts stay unrecorded rather than being assumed in a card’s favour.
Keep reading
RankingsBest Credit Cards for Pharmacies in CanadaThe Scotia Momentum Visa and the Tangerine Money-Back Mastercard pay 2.00% at pharmacies — the highest rate we track — but only one of them has no annual fee.
RankingsBest Credit Cards for Recurring Bills and Streaming in CanadaThe MBNA Rewards World Elite Mastercard pays 5.00% on recurring bills — the highest recurring rate we track — and the Scotia Momentum Visa Infinite + follows at 4.00%. Both charge $120 a year.
RankingsBest No Foreign Transaction Fee Credit Cards in CanadaEvery Canadian credit card with no foreign transaction fee, ranked by first-year value. 11 cards skip the usual 2.5% charge.
RankingsBest Credit Cards for Families in CanadaThe MBNA Rewards World Elite Mastercard and the National Bank World Elite Mastercard pay 5% on groceries — the highest grocery rate we track — and the Scotia Momentum Visa pays 2% at pharmacies for $49 a year.
Official sources and further reading
Terms vary by product. Confirm the provider’s current terms before acting. This guide does not predict approval, realized value or credit-score changes. How WalletReturn calculates value