Best student credit cards in Canada 2024

The BMO CashBack® Mastercard®* for students lack of annual fee is a great catch for broke students who can’t add another expense into their budget. That, plus its generous welcome bonus points and easy-to-meet eligibility requirements make it a great starter credit card.

It offers some fun and more practical discounts, too, like purchase protection* and entertainment offerings*, so there really is something for every student with this card.

Key features:

◦ Welcome bonus: 5% cash back on all eligible purchases for the first 3 months.*

◦ Rewards structure: 3.00% cash back on grocery purchases*, 1.00% cash back on recurring bill payments and 0.50% unlimited cash back on all other purchases.*

◦ Additional perks: purchase protection*, extended warranties*, discount on National and Alamo car rentals*, and Cirque du Soleil shows in Canada and Las Vegas.*

◦ Annual fee: $0.00

*Terms and conditions apply

†Based on a comparison of the non-promotional grocery rewards earn rate on cash back credit cards with no annual fee as of January 4, 2023.

No annual fee and unlimited cash back with up to 2.00% on grocery store purchases are three big reasons we picked this as a great credit card for students.

But there's more.

You'll also get 1.00% cash back on all other purchases and pre-authorized payments.

If you drive, you can link your card with Petro Canada to save 3.00 cents per litre and 20% more Petro points at Petro-Canada.

For more rewards, use Rexall as your drug store of choice to earn 50.00 Be Well points for every $1 you spent on products there (25,000 Be Well points is worth $10).

They even throw in a 3-month DashPass subscription meaning you'll enjoy unlimited deliveries with no fees on orders of $15 or more (worth $30).

Finally, they give you purchase security and extended warranty protection—which is great for your brand new laptop.

If you're more of a traveller, check out the other RBC student credit cards like the RBC Ion with no annual fee.

There's no annual fee and no minimum income requirements, plus they'll give you a bonus cash back reward for signing up and making your first purchase within four months.

Arguably the most valuable category for students, outside of tuition and text books, are groceries. With this card, you get 2.00% cash back on groceries no matter where you shop.

You'll also earn 1.00% cash back on everyday purchases like gas, transit, dining and recurring bills. You'll get 0.50% cash back on everything else.

Bundle this card with a CIBC student chequing account and they'll give you up to $250^†.

And for your precious new electronic devices, CIBC gives you 90 day purchase protection and extended warranty insurance. Pretty sweet, right?

This offer is not available for residents of Quebec.

†Terms and Conditions Apply

The information for the CIBC Dividend cash back card for students has been collected independently by Money.ca. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.

A no annual fee card that helps you rack up travel points for a weekend getaway with roommates.

You'll quickly earn points, with 3 points for every $1 spent on groceries and restaurants, 2 TD Rewards Points for every $1 you spend on recurring bill payments and 1 TD Rewards point on all other purchases using your card.

As a welcome bonus, earn a value of $50 in TD Rewards Points to use on eligible Amazon.ca purchases plus, no annual fee.

Book your travel through Expedia® For TD† for the best prices and even more rewards potential.

You'll also get a free 6 month† Uber One membership, a $60 value, to save on Ubers and Uber Eats fees—a big bonus for students.

†Terms and conditions apply.

If you like cash back, look no further than Scotia Momentum No-Fee Visa Card.

For the first 3 months, you can earn a whopping 5% cash back on all purchases (up to $2,000 in total purchases), so Scotia is essentially paying you to use their card—that's something we can root for.

After that, you'll earn 1.00% cash back on every day purchases from gas to groceries, drug store purchases and recurring bill payments. You'll earn 0.50% on everything else.

If you're currently carrying credit card debt, the Momentum is one of the best balance transfer credit cards, too. You'll pay 0% for the first 6 months which makes paying off credit card debt much easier.

The Scene+ program is super flexible in its rewards where you can redeem for travel, shopping, dining and more.

As a welcome bonus, Earn up to 5,000 bonus Scene+ points within your first 3 months.

Earning is easy, too. You earn 1.00 Scene+ point for every $1 you spend on everyday purchases and 2.00 Scene+ points per dollar when you spend at Cineplex theatres and at Sobey's brand grocery stores (FreshCo, Foodland, Safeway, IGA, etc.)

For newcomers, Scotiabank has a StartRight^® Program^† which approves newcomers for a credit card for up to $15k. They also have no-fee chequing accounts and high interest savings accounts which could prove useful.

A no-fee travel card that turns your everyday purchases into a dream vacation.

Aeroplan is one of the best loyalty travel programs in Canada, so why not foray into it with CIBC's Aeroplan card which has no minimum income requirement.

As a welcome bonus, get up to $200 in value in your first year.

You earn 1.00 Aeroplan point for every $1.50 you spend on gas, groceries, and Air Canada flights. You can also earn points twice at over 150 Aeroplan partners and online retailers through the Aeroplan eStore (a great place to look for student discounts, too!)

They're also throwing in purchase security and extended warranty protection insurance, travel accident insurance and rental car insurance.

†Terms and Conditions Apply. This offer it not available to the residents of Quebec.

The information for the CIBC Aeroplan® Visa* Card has been collected independently by Money.ca. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.

KOHO has 4 credit cards, some free, some you have to pay for, but all of them are prepaid meaning you have to put money on the card to use it.

KOHO is more than just a prepaid card. It’s made up of multiple products that help you get a good overview of your finances, manage your money, and save more.

Your KOHO Prepaid Mastercard® connects to a digital account that can be accessed via the KOHO app. The app breaks down your spending by showing you where your money is going so you can stay on top of your financial health.

Not only that, but when you use KOHO you earn cash back. With KOHO Easy you earn up to 5.00% cash back at partnered merchants, and you can also earn saving interests on your entire KOHO account balance, up to 2% depending on your KOHO version. By upgrading to KOHO Extra for an annual fee, $84 (or $9/month), you can earn up to 2% cash back on select categories, like transportation, groceries, and eating and drinking, which has the potential to earn you a lot more each year.

KOHO’s RoundUp feature is particularly helpful if you’re trying to save money on a student budget. If you choose to use this feature, every time you swipe your KOHO card and make a purchase, it will round up your bill to the nearest $1, $5, or $10 and put the difference into your savings account. It’s a really easy way to save money without having to monitor funds going in and out or transferring between accounts.

With their paid programs, you can access their credit building product. So, while you may find it hard to get credit, KOHO helps you build credit so you can access an unsecured credit card and unlock more rewards faster.

If you can afford the $48.00 fee (charged at $4 per month), the RBC Ion+ gives you enough Avion points to claim that money back in gift cards alone. If you sign up for an RBC Signature No Limit Bank account, they'll give you a $4 rebate each month of your credit card fee.

You'll also enter the Avion program, one of Canada's best loyalty programs. With the RBC ION+ Visa you'll earn 3.00x Avion points for every dollar you spent on groceries, dining, and food delivery as well as commuting (gas, transit, Ubers), and streaming, digital gaming, and other subscriptions.

You'll earn 1.00 Avion point for every $1 you spend elsewhere.

And don't forget to download the Avion app and browser extension to earn rewards and discounts wherever you shop.

RBC gives you 2 years of coverage on your mobile device (so long as you purchased it with this card) and give you purchase security and extended warranty insurance which is invaluable for students' precious laptops with all your information.

Unlike other credit cards, the Tangerine student credit card allows you to earn unlimited Money-Back Rewards on everyday purchases — with no annual fee.

You also choose which categories where you want higher cash back. You can get 2.00% cash back on groceries, restaurants, gas, recurring bills, drug stores, public transportation and more. Two categories not enough? Get a third by opening a Tangerine Savings Account.

Tangerine's app also helps you track, organize and categorize your spending so you have a better idea of where you're spending your money.