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Welcome to Rewards Canada's second annual Top Cash back Credit Card rankings! Now that the cards we have been waiting for have been updated or released we are pleased to offer our list of the Top Cash Back Credit Cards in Canada for 2018. The main card we were waiting for was the Rogers World Elite Mastercard that was announced earlier this year but wasn't officially released until late May. That card debuts at number three in the rankings thanks to strong earn rate and no annual fee. We are still waiting to see what will happen with Brim Financial's launch - they have cash back cards coming out but no one seems to have received cards from them yet so we could not wait any longer to see if could add them in. The actual rankings see a shift in the third to fifth spots which means the top two spots remain the same as 2017 with the SimplyCash Preferred Card taking top spot once again and the mbna Rewards World Elite Mastercard coming in a close second. Both cards still offer a straight 2% Cash back. A very strong offering from both. Both have similar annual fees, SimplyCash at $99 and the mbna card $89. Where the SimplyCash card gets mbna is on the sign up bonus and the insurance package. mbna gives you 10,000 points as a sign up offer which is worth $100 while SimplyCash gives you 5% back for the first 6 months capped at $300 which is the equivalent of a $180 sign up bonus. Then you look at the insurance benefits and the SimplyCash blows mbna away with travel medical, flight delay, baggage delay and hotel/motel burglary insurance, all of which mbna does not offer. The one perk mbna has over the SimplyCash Preferred card is acceptance. Being a Mastercard you can use it more places than the SimplyCash card. The beauty in this however is that we always recommend that you carry a Visa, a Mastercard and an American Express card in your wallet. So if you are all about cash back there is no harm in getting both the mbna Rewards World Elite Mastercard and the SimplyCash Preferred card. By doing so you'll know you are always getting a 2% return, have great travel insurance coverage and pretty much shop anywhere with both cards in hand. With the Rogers World Elite Mastercard landing in third place it drops last year's third place card, the venerable Scotia Momentum Visa Infinite Card down to fourth and we see the best Travel Rewards card in Canada, the American Express Cobalt Card come in fifth place thanks to its cash back component. To see all the cards we considered and to learn about all the rewards and benefits on all the cards visit Rewards Canada's Cash Back Credit Card Comparison Chart. You'll also want to visit our Ultimate Cash Back Credit Card Portfolio to see what we think is the best combination of cards for your wallet. We compared well over 20 cash back card options for Canadians for the best of the best and from those comparisons these are our picks for the Top Cash Back Credit Cards in Canada:
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2nd |
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3rd |
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4th |
A long time front runner, the Scotia Momentum Visa Infinite card has always been one of Canada's better cash back cards and even the best a few years ago. While it has strong category bonuses of up to 4% cash back, the 1% on non-category purchases and supplementary card fees makes the card only net third place in our first rankings |
5th |
Primarily considered a travel rewards card, the American Express Cobalt Card stormed onto our market in the fall of 2017. Not only did it grab the number one spot in 2018 Top Travel Rewards Credit Card rankings it grabs 5th spot in these rankings! The reason why is that the card's Membership Rewards points can be used towards any purchase made on the card at any time. The fact that you can redeem points any time means you are not waiting until the end of the month or end of the year to get cash back. While the base cash back rate is only 0.7% that gets bumped to 1.4% to 3.5% when you shop at the 2 points per dollar and 5 points per dollar categories this card has! And you still have the option to get a full 5% back of if you redeem as cash back towards a travel charge! |
| What is a Cash back Credit Card? A cash back credit card rewards you for your everyday spending with cash. On every purchase you'll earn a percentage back that is paid out either on a monthly or yearly basis depending on the card. |
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| Card | Details | Previous Rankings |
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The SimplyCash Preferred Card from American Express continues to be the best cash back card in Canada. Here are just some of the reasons why this card came out on top:
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2017: 1st |
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The mbna Rewards World Elite Mastercard was originally a travel rewards card but when they changed it to allow you to redeem for cash back with no devaluation the card quickly came out as one of the best cash back cards. Some of the reasons why this card is an exceptional card are as follows:
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2017: 2nd |
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New to our market and the rankings, the Rogers World Elite Mastercard jumps into the rankings thanks to having no annual fee coupled with strong earn rates and a decent insurance package:
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New to the rankings |
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Several years ago, this was the best overall cash back card in Canada but others continue to make inroads on the card. That being said, it is still a strong card especially if you can make use of its category bonuses. Here are a few points as to why this card ranks well:
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2017: 3rd |
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The American Express Cobalt Card replaces the Scotiabank Gold American Express card in this spot and like the latter is one many would not consider for cash back but given the fact you can use points for any purchase it ranks high up as a cash back card. Here are some of the reasons why:
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New to the rankings |
