Best Visa credit cards in Canada
money.ca / visa
Updated: July 20, 2023
We adhere to strict standards of editorial integrity to help you make decisions with confidence. Please be aware that some (or all) products and services linked in this article are from our sponsors.
We adhere to strict standards of editorial integrity to help you make decisions with confidence. Please be aware this post may contain links to products from our partners. We may receive a commission for products or services you sign up for through partner links.
Visa is one of three credit card networks active in Canada (alongside Mastercard and American Express), and is widely recognized as the largest of the trio. Cardholders can be confident that most merchants will accept their Visa, though there are some outliers, like Costco, which accepts Mastercard only. Nonetheless, Visa enjoys a healthy lead in market share, regularly making up over half of global credit card payments by itself, leaving the other card issuers to split the rest of the pie.
The universal popularity of the Visa brand explains the sheer number of Visa cards available in Canada, as well as the consistent majority Visa has on our list of Canada’s best credit cards overall.
Summary of best Canadian Visa credit cards
†Terms and conditions apply.
Best Visa Card for improving credit
Home Trust Secured Visa
Quick Facts
Minimum credit score: Bad-Poor
Minimum income: $0
Age: Age of majority in your province or territory
Residency: resident of Canada
The Home Trust Secured Visa is a very smart choice if you’re looking to improve your credit score, and there are two features that really make it stand out compared to most other secured credit cards: 1. It has neither a monthly nor annual fee, making it a great fit for people who not only need to improve their credit but are looking to do so in a budget-conscious way; and 2. It offers Purchase Security, which is typically a feature reserved for unsecured credit cards only.
Home Trust makes monthly reports about your payments to Canada’s major credit bureaus, so you can expect to gradually build up your credit score, provided you make your payments on time. You guarantee repayment of whatever balance you put on the card by securing it (hence why it’s called a “secured” credit card) with your own money. The security deposit is flexible and can range from $500 to as much as $10,000, depending on how high a credit limit you want and how much money you can put down.
Key features:
- Annual fee: $0
- Credit limit: $500–$10,000
- Purchase interest rate: 19.99%
- Purchase security: Eligible items purchased with the card are insured against theft or damage for 90 days from date of purchase
Click here to apply or learn more by reading our complete Home Trust Secured Visa review.
Best cash back Visa Card
CIBC Dividend® Visa Infinite* Card
Quick Facts
Min. credit score required: Excellent
Min. income required: $60,000 individual or $100,000 household
Age: Age of majority in province
Residency: Canadian resident
Other: No bankruptcy for the past 7 years
The CIBC Dividend® Visa Infinite* Card outshines its competitors among the best cash back cards in Canada on several fronts: Its accelerated earn rates include the two categories where Canadians tend to spend the most money—eligible gas and groceries—and it doles out a huge 4% in each of those categories and for EV charging after the Welcome Offer ends†. There’s an annual fee rebate for the first year†, but it’s still an affordable card after the first year ends.
If you’re drawn to the high earn rates on eligible gas, EV charging, and grocery purchases, but you don’t meet the CIBC Dividend® Visa Infinite* Card’s income requirements, we recommend applying instead for the CIBC Dividend Platinum® Visa Card, which is virtually identical to the CIBC Dividend® Visa Infinite* Card but doesn’t offer as comprehensive an insurance package.
Key features:
- Annual fee: $120 for primary cardholder; $30 per additional authorized user (up to 3)
- Welcome offer: Get a first-year annual fee rebate and earn 10% cash back welcome bonus of up to $200!†
- Regular cash back: After that 4% cash back on eligible gas, EV charging, and grocery purchases†; 2% cash back on eligible transportation, dining purchases and recurring payments†; and 1% cash back on all other purchases†. Get cash back on demand – redeem your cash back at any time when you have a minimum of $25 through CIBC Online and Mobile Banking®†
- Insurance: Includes out-of-province travel medical insurance, trip interruption insurance, flight delay/baggage insurance, and auto rental insurance.†
- Interest rates: 20.99%† Purchase Annual Interest Rate; 22.99%† (for non-Quebec residents only) Cash Advance Annual Interest Rate, and 22.99%† (for non-Quebec residents only) Balance Transfer Annual Interest Rate
Click here to apply or learn more by reading our complete CIBC Dividend® Visa Infinite* Card review.
This offer is reserved for you. Please do not forward it to anyone else. If you have opened, transferred or cancelled another eligible card within the last 12 months, we may approve your application, but you may not receive this offer.†
This is a digital-exclusive offer.† To be eligible for this offer:
1) this offer must have been directly communicated to you from CIBC or from a partner/affiliate; and
2) you must apply for the eligible card through the link provided in the CIBC or partner/affiliate communication to you.†
This offer is reserved for you. Please do not forward it to anyone else. If you have opened, transferred or cancelled another eligible card within the last 12 months, we may approve your application, but you may not receive this offer.†
†Conditions apply
Quebec Residents: Learn More about this CIBC product here.
Résidents du Québec: Pour en savoir plus sur ce produit CIBC, suivez ce lien.
Best travel Visa Card
TD® Aeroplan® Visa Infinite* Card
Quick Facts
Standard purchase APR: 20.99%
Balance transfer APR: 22.99%
Cash advance APR: 22.99%
Minimum credit score required: Good-Excellent
Minimum personal income required: $60,000
Age requirement: Age of majority in your province or territory
Residency requirements: Must be a resident of Canada. This offer is not available for residents of Quebec. For Quebec residents, please click here.
The TD® Aeroplan® Visa Infinite* Card starts new cardholders off with a colossal welcome bonus:
TD® Aeroplan® Visa Infinite* Card's best offer yet. Earn up to $1,600 in value†, including up to 70,000 Aeroplan points† and additional travel benefits.
- Earn a welcome bonus of 10,000 Aeroplan points when you make your first purchase with your new card†
- Earn 40,000 Aeroplan points when you spend $5,000 within 180 days of Account opening†
- Plus, earn an anniversary bonus of 20,000 Aeroplan points when you spend $7,500 within 12 months of Account opening†
- Enroll for NEXUS and once every 48 months get an application fee rebate†
- Plus, share free first checked bags with up to 8 travel companions†
Beyond this impressive start, the card has decent long-term value, collecting 1.5 Aeroplan points† per $1 spent on eligible grocery, gas, and direct through Air Canada® purchases (including Air Canada Vacations®) made with your card (about a 2.1% rate of return), and 1 Aeroplan point† per $1 spent on all other purchases. It also comes with a comprehensive set of travel and purchase insurance†. Its only weakness for hardcore travellers is that it doesn’t offer any form of airport lounge access; plus its annual fee for additional cardholders† is relatively steep.
Key features:
- Annual fees: $139 for primary cardholder; $75 for additional cardholders†
- Welcome bonus: Best Offer yet for the TD® Aeroplan® Visa Infinite* Card: Earn up to $1,600 in value† including up to 70,000 Aeroplan points†. Conditions Apply.
- Aeroplan earn rates: 1.5 Aeroplan points† per $1 spent on eligible gas, grocery, and direct through Air Canada® purchases (including Air Canada Vacations®) made with your card; 1 Aeroplan point† per $1 spent elsewhere; double points at participating retailers and the Air Canada eStore†
- Additional benefits: Well-rounded insurance suite†; share free first checked bags with up to 8 travel companions when travelling with Air Canada†
Click here to apply or learn more by reading our complete TD® Aeroplan® Visa Infinite* Card review.
†Terms and conditions apply.
Best no foreign transaction fee Visa Card
Home Trust Preferred Visa
-1689883883.png)
Quick Facts
Minimum credit score required: Fair-Good
Minimum income: $15,000
Age requirement: Age of majority in your province or territory
Residency requirements: Resident of Canada. This credit card product is not available in Quebec.
Foreign transaction fees, which are typically charged on each purchase not made in Canadian dollars, can silently escalate the expenses of a vacation or business trip. The average fee runs around 2.50% per foreign transaction, so cards that either waive or subsidize these fees are essential companions for frequent travellers. The best Visa credit card for the job is Home Trust’s Preferred Visa, which has the straightforward benefit of not charging these fees for any foreign transactions whatsoever. Cardholders also earn 1% cash back1 on all their eligible purchases in CAD, so the card is ultimately advantageous whether you’re at home or abroad.
Though the Home Trust Preferred Visa does suffer from some minor limitations (e.g. a max of 10 transactions per day), the addition of purchase protection and extended warranties further solidify the deal, and it’s all offered for no annual fee.
Key features:
- Annual fee: $0
- Foreign transaction fee: 0%
- Cash back: 1% cash back1 on all eligible purchases in CAD
Click here to apply or learn more by reading our complete Home Trust Preferred Visa review.
1 Cash advances, balance transfers, interest, fees and foreign transactions (including online purchases in foreign currencies) are not eligible for CashBack Rewards.
How did we choose these cards?
We started by identifying the most popular card categories among our readers; then we compared all the Visa cards in Canada for those categories. Here are some of the most important card features we had in mind when choosing our category winners:
Fees vs. overall value
We always measure a card’s annual fee against the overall value it gives to cardholders in return, based on average consumer spending and debt levels. Some cards with steep annual fees offer such a robust value package that the fee ultimately shouldn’t be a deterrent to those who qualify. On the other hand, you don’t always get what you pay for, and an annual fee isn’t necessarily a sure sign that the card will be packed full of useful benefits. Aside from an annual fee, cards may often have less obvious costs that we also take into consideration, like foreign transaction fees and balance transfer fees.
Interest rates
Cash back and rewards cards typically have APRs hovering around 19.99% to 24.99%; we expect far lower rates from cards in the low interest and balance transfer categories. Cards may also stand out by offering low interest rates across multiple transaction types, like purchases, cash advances, and balance transfers.
Earn rates and redemption values
One of the most important considerations of any rewards or cash back card is how quickly and easily cash back and rewards add up. When analyzing this feature we of course favour higher earn rates; however, we also consider the real-world value of rewards points (see our Loyalty Program Bible for more info). A rewards program’s ease of redemption and transferability is also important.
Sign-up bonus
Everyone likes the immediate gratification of a big sign-up bonus, which may include a bunch of rewards points, enhanced cash back rates, and an annual fee rebate. Of course, in our book a big sign-up bonus won’t trump a card’s overall, long-term value beyond its first year.
Special features
Cards may have an extra advantage if they offer value-added benefits like mobile device or travel insurance, discounts at widely-used merchants, and airport lounge access.
Can’t decide which Visa is for you?
Whether a card is ‘good’ or ‘bad’ depends as much on your personal needs as it does on the card itself. For example, a rewards card offering every travel benefit under the sun won’t be of much use to someone who rarely leaves their home province; a cash back card may seem lucrative at first glance, but its relatively high interest will do more harm than good to someone who might carry a balance from month to month. If after perusing this list you’re still not sure which card is best for you, take a look at our article on choosing a credit card to suit your lifestyle, then come back to make a final decision.
FAQs
Recommended reads:
Latest Articles
Airline industry claims traveller safety at risk with proposed passenger rights rules
S&P/TSX composite down, U.S. stock markets mixed
Judge greenlights class action against Bausch Health on Cold-FX products
Sunwing Airlines to fold into WestJet within a year
Most actively traded companies on the Toronto Stock Exchange
