03 Jul The best credit cards for online shopping in Canada 2024
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.
At a glance: 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.
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SimplyCash Preferred from American Express
- Annual fee: $120
- Earn rate: 4% cash back on eligible gas and grocery purchases; 2% cash back on everything else
- Welcome offer: earn a $40 statement credit for each monthly billing period in which you spend $750 in purchases on your card.
- Annual income requirement: None
At a glance: 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.
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Rogers Red World Elite Mastercard
- Annual fee: $0
- Earn rate: 1.5% cash back on all purchases, or 2% back for Rogers, Fido and Shaw customers; 3% cash back on all purchases in USD
- Welcome bonus: This card does not have a welcome bonus at this time.
- Annual income requirement: Personal income of $80,000 or household income of $150,000
Meridian Visa Infinite Travel Rewards
At a glance: 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.
Meridian Visa Infinite Travel Rewards
- Annual fee: $99
- Earn rate: 1.5 points per dollar; 3 points per dollar on purchases made in foreign currencies
- Welcome offer: This card does not have a welcome bonus at this time.
- Annual income requirement: Personal income of $60,000 or household income of $100,000
At a glance: 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.
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Home Trust Preferred Visa
- Annual fee: $0
- Earn rates: 1% on all purchases in Canada and pay no FX fees on foreign currency purchases
- Welcome offer: This card does not have a welcome bonus at this time
Amazon Rewards Mastercard
At a glance: 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.
Amazon Rewards Mastercard
- Annual fee: $0 (Prime subscription required for full card benefits)
- Earn rate: 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)
- Income requirement: None specified
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:
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