Best Current First Year Fee Waived Cards for January 2018
We are back again with our monthly update on the first year fee waived credit cards list. Seems like the current trend is that most first year fee waivers are with fixed rewards or cash back. I really hope that this trend will shift at some point to see more airline and hotel (miles and points) promotions instead.
Note that we also have two other types of monthly lists going on:
If you would like to see other lists as well, please let us know in the comment section below.
Permanent Offers
These are credit cards do not specify that there is an end date, nor is there a limited time mentioned. For the time being, they appear to be permanent, but as you may have seen with other cards, this can change at any moment without notice. One unfortunately thing is that this list is becoming very short.
Rogers Bank Platinum MasterCard
- $29 annual fee (waived the first year and continually waived by setting up pre-authorized Rogers, Fido or chatr monthly bills payments)
- Earn $25 cash back sign up bonus
- Earn 4% cash back on on foreign exchange purchases
- Earn 1.75% cash back on all purchases
American Express Business Gold Rewards Card
- $250 annual fee (first year fee waived)
- Earn 30,000 sign up bonus points after spending $5,000 in the first 3 months
- Earn 1 point for every $1 spent on all purchases
- Earn 1 additional point for every $1 spent at 3 suppliers of your choice to a maximum of 250,000 additional points each calendar year
Limited time offers with no end date
This is the newest list that I added, since there are at least two credit cards that fit this criteria. Since there is no specific end date, it may very well terminate without notice.
Meridian Visa Infinite Cash Back Card
- $99 annual fee (first year fee waived for a limited time)
- $30 annual fee for supplementary cardholders
- Earn 4% cash back on gas and grocery store purchases (on the first $25,000 in purchases, then 1% for all other purchases)
- Earn 2% pharmacy purchases and utility bill payments (on the first $25,000 in purchases, then 1% for all other purchases)
- Earn 1% cash back on all other purchases
- Require either $60,000 annual personal income or $100,000 annual household income
Current promotional offers
Below are the offers with a specified end date. Though many of the cards tend to extend their promotional period as one ends.
Scotiabank GM Visa Infinite Card
- $79 annual fee (first year fee waived if you apply before January 31, 2018)
- Earn 5% cash back in GM Earnings on the first $10,000 spent annually on all purchases
- Earn 2% cash back in GM Earnings on all purchases after the first $10,000
- Cash back to be used for the purchase price or lease of a Chevrolet, Buick, GMC, or Cadillac
Scotia Momentum Visa Infinite Card
- $99 annual fee (first year fee waived if you apply before February 28, 2018)
- $30 annual fee for a supplementary cardholder
- Earn 5% cash back on the first $3,000 or the first 3 months (whichever comes first) (if you apply before February 28, 2018)
- Earn 4% cash back for every $1 spent on gas and grocery purchases
- Earn 2% cash back for every $1 spent on drug store purchases and recurring bill payments
- Earn 1% cash back for every $1 spent on all other purchases
CIBC Dividend Platinum Visa Card
- $99 annual fee (first year fee waived if you apply before February 28, 2018)
- $30 annual fee for a supplementary cardholder (maximum 3 cards)
- Earn 4% cash back on gas and grocery purchases
- Earn 2% cash back on Tim Hortons and TELUS purchases
- Earn 1% cash back on all other purchases
CIBC Dividend Visa Infinite Card
- $99 annual fee (first year fee waived if you apply before February 28, 2018)
- $30 annual fee for a supplementary cardholder (maximum 3 cards)
- Earn 4% cash back on gas and grocery purchases
- Earn 2% cash back on Tim Hortons and TELUS purchases
- Earn 1% cash back on all other purchases
Scotiabank Gold American Express Card
- $99 annual fee (first year fee waived if you apply before February 28, 2018)
- $29 annual fee for a supplementary cardholder
- Earn 25,000 sign up bonus after spending $750 in the first 3 month (if you apply before October 31, 2017)
- Earn 4 points for every $1 you spent on gas, grocery, dining and entertainment purchases
- Earn 1 point for every $1 spent on all other purchases
BMO Air Miles World Elite MasterCard
- $120 annual fee (first year fee waived if you apply before April 30, 2018)
- $50 annual fee for a supplementary cardholder
- Earn 3,000 sign up bonus Air Miles (if you apply before April 30, 2018) (earn 1,000 miles after the first purchase and earn an additional 2,000 miles after spending $3,000 within the first 3 months)
- Earn 1 Air Mile for every $10 spent on all purchases
- Receive 2 Priority Pass lounges passes per year
- $120 annual fee (first year fee waived if you apply by February 28, 2018)
- Earn 15,000 sign up bonus Aventura points (after the first purchase)
- Earn 2 points on purchases made with the CIBC Aventura Rewards Centre
- Earn 1.5 point for every $1 spent on gas, groceries, drug stores and at select CIBC bonus rewards Establishments
- Earn 1 point for every $1 on all other purchases
CIBC Aventura Visa Infinite Card
- $120 annual fee (first year fee waived if you apply by February 28, 2018)
- $50 annual fee for a supplementary cardholder (maximum of 3 cards)
- Earn 15,000 sign up bonus Aventura points (after the first purchase)
- Earn 3 points spent at select CIBC bonus rewards Establishments
- Earn 2 points on purchases made with the CIBC Aventura Rewards Centre
- Earn 1.5 point for every $1 spent on gas, groceries and drug stores
- Earn 1 point for every $1 on all other purchases
CIBC Aventura Visa Card for Business
- $120 annual fee (first year fee waived if you apply before February 28, 2018)
- $50 annual fee for a supplementary cardholder (up to 9 maximum)
- Earn 30,000 sign up bonus points (earn 20,000 after the first purchase and an additional 10,000 after spending $1,000 in the first 3 months)
- Receive $120 annual travel credit (promotion begins August 1, 2017, and ends December 31, 2018)
- Earn 2 points for every $1 spent on the CIBC Aventura Rewards Centre
- Earn 1.5 point for every $1 you spend on gas and travel purchases
- Earn 1 point for every $1 spent on all purchases
TD First Class Travel Visa Infinite Card
- $120 annual fee (first your fee waived if you apply before March 1, 2018)
- Earn 50,000 sign up bonus TD Points (if you apply before March 1, 2018)
- Earn 9 TD Points for every $1 spent by booking travel online through Expedia
- Earn 3 TD Points for every $1 spent on all other purchases
- $150 annual fee (waived the first year if you apply before April 30, 2018)
- $50 annual fee for a supplementary cardholder
- Earn 35,000 sign up bonus points (if you apply before April 30, 2018)
- Earn 2 points for every $1 spent on all purchases
- Receive 4 complimentary Priority Pass Lounge Access visits
As usual, please let me know if I missed anything in the comment section below!
2018??
Guess I still can’t believe it is 2018. Thanks for spotting that Deb!
Effective Jan 15, 2018, BMO World Elite Mastercard now has tiered point system. 3pts for meals, travel and entertainment expenses and 2pts for everything else. Each point is worth about $0.00714 (unlike, in the past, in which 1pt = $0.01).
Thanks for the heads up DL! Slight devaluation there.
Slight? That’s 25% off…it sucks.
Yep. Only good if most of your expenses are dining, travel and entertainment related, as cardholders get a 2.14% return. It may still be worthwhile for those who open a chequing and savings account under the Bank Unlimited Plan (i.e., BMO’s online only bank accounts). Those who have accounts under the Bank Unlimited Plan can get the $150 annual fee waived without having to keep a minimum balance in their chequing/savings account.
Matthew, the following text appears above for a BMO card. Perhaps you copy/pasted from an earlier post. One does wonder what the actual terms are, and one wonders if similar inaccuracies exist elsewhere in this post.
“Earn 3,000 sign up bonus Air Miles (if you apply before November 30, 2017)”
Thanks for spotting that Deb! I appreciate it!