Best No Annual Fee Credit Cards
For those of you who don’t like paying annual fees. This is the post for you.
Personally, I would actually prefer signing up for credit cards that waive their first year annual fees. Those are generally the credit cards with much more generous sign up bonuses. So you take the bonus first, then decide what you want to do with the credit card after the first year. In some cases, it may make sense to pay the annual fee.
That being said. I understand that there are some people who want the least amount of hassle, but not having to worry about remembering to cancel, worry about the affect it will have on their credit score, etc.
I don’t think that I will ever really be able to recommend 1 top no annual fee credit card that trumps everyone else. If you absolutely want the least amount of hassle, then I would say take the credit card that is affiliated with your bank account, so that you have everything in one place and don’t worry about the return on rewards.
Otherwise, I would say that it highly depends on your spending habits. What I would highly recommend is that you have more than 1 no annual fee credit card to optimize the return on more categories of spending. For the above reasons, I have listed the credit cards below in alphabetical order.
American Express SimplyCash Card
- No annual fee
- Earn 5% cash back on all eligible purchases at gas stations, grocery stores and restaurants in Canada (up to $250 cash back) for the
first 6 months of Card membership - Earn 1.25% cash back on all other purchases and when the Welcome 5% Rate ends
- No annual fee
- Earn $50 cash back (if you apply before April 30, 2016)
- Earn 0.5% cash back on all purchases
- Earn 10% – 15% discount at the stores listed on the SPC website
Capital One Platinum MasterCard
- No annual fee
- Exclusive to Costco members
- Earn 3% cash back on restaurant purchases
- Earn 2% cash back on gas purchases
- Earn 0.5% cash back on the first $3,000 on all other purchases (1% thereafter)
- Cash back will be credited on your January statement as a rebate coupon for Costco purchases
Chase Amazon.ca Rewards Visa Card
- No annual fee
- Earn $20 Amazon.ca bonus sign up gift certificate
- Earn 2% cash back on Amazon.ca purchases
- Earn 1% cash back on all other purchases
- No foreign transaction fees
- No annual fee
- Earn 15,000 sign up bonus Petro points after your first purchase
- Earn 5,000 bonus Petro points for every $1,000 spent per month
- Earn 15 Petro points for every $1 spent at Petro-Canada, grocery stores and drug stores
- Earn 10 Petro points for every $1 spent on all other purchases
- No annual fee
- Earn 20,000 (or 40,000 link) sign up bonus points after your first purchase
- Earn 50 points for every cash advance transaction over $50
- Earn 1.5 point for every $1 on all purchases
- Receive a 1 tier elite status upgrade within the Best Western Rewards program when you spend $6,000 on your card within 1 year
MBNA Smart Cash Platinum Plus MasterCard
- No annual fee
- Earn 5% cash back (on the first 6 months) on gas and grocery purchases on $400 worth of monthly (calendar month) purchases
- Earn 2% cash back (after the first 6 months) on gas and grocery purchases on $400 worth of monthly (calendar month) purchases
- Earn 1% cash back for all other purchases on $1,250 worth of monthly (calendar month) purchases
President’s Choice Financial World Elite MasterCard
- No annual fee
- Earn 20,000 sign up bonus PC points
- Earn 30 PC points for every $1 spent at PC stores, Shoppers Drug Mart, Pharmaprix, pctravel.ca and PC mobile (excluding PC mobile prepaid services)
- Earn 30 points per litre of Esso Supreme (Octane 91) and Esso SUPREME+ (Octane 93)
- Earn 20 points per litre on other gasoline or diesel
- Earn 10 PC points for every $1 spent on all other purchases
- No annual fee
- Earn 4,500 sign up bonus Esso Extra points after your first purchase
- Earn 2 points for every $1 spent at participating Esso branded retail stations
- Earn 1 Esso Extra point for every $1 spent on all other purchases
RBC Shoppers Optimum MasterCard
- No annual fee
- Earn 15,000 sign up bonus Shoppers Optimum points after your first purchase
- Earn 15 Shoppers Optimum points for every $1 spent on in-store purchases made at Shoppers Drug Mart
- Earn 5 Shoppers Optimum points for every $1 spent on all other purchases
Scotiabank Scene Visa Card
- No annual fee
- Earn 4,000 sign up bonus points (if you apply before January 30, 2016)
- Earn 5 points for every $1 spent at Cineplex Entertainment theatres (including movie ticket, popcorn, drinks, etc.)
- Earn 1 point for every $1 spent on all other purchases
Tangerine Money-Back Credit Card (when it is available system-wide)
- No annual fee
- Earn 2% cash back on a select group of categories (choice of 2 categories, a 3 choice if you deposit the cash back into your Tangerine Savings Account)
- Earn 1% cash back on all other purchases
- 1.5% foreign conversion fee