The 7 Best Mastercard Credit Cards in Canada for 2023

The wide variety of credit cards available in Canada is impressive! With so many credit card options available to consumers, it is important to stay informed. It is also normal to be unsure of which card best suits your needs while respecting your financial situation. Among the big names that everyone knows, Mastercard is particularly popular. Its logo appears on some of the best credit cards in Canada. In order to help you make a decision, our team has put together a list of the best Mastercard credit cards in Canada.

The Impact of Credit Cards

Before you start looking at your options, it’s important to understand one of the basic principles of credit in Canada: the credit score! A credit report is an analytical tool that provides a picture of a person’s financial situation, while the credit score is an overall rating of the quality of the credit report. A credit report follows us throughout our lives and allows us to qualify for certain financial products, such as bank loans, and even insurance. Therefore, credit cards are a tool that can help or harm your financial future.

Why Get a Mastercard?

Selecting a credit card, whether it’s a Mastercard, Visa, or a smaller network, involves a series of considerations. Choosing a Mastercard often depends on one’s specific financial goals and preferences. One compelling reason to opt for a Mastercard is its widespread acceptance. Both Mastercard and Visa have established themselves as global giants in the credit card industry, ensuring that a Mastercard will be accepted at the majority of businesses, both domestically and internationally. This wide acceptance can be particularly advantageous for frequent travelers or individuals who wish to have a universally recognized payment method at their disposal.

Additionally, the choice may hinge on the specific rewards and benefits offered by Mastercard over Visa. Different credit cards within the Mastercard network may provide distinct advantages, such as Mastercard Travel Rewards. Depending on your lifestyle and spending habits, you may find that a Mastercard offers benefits that align more closely with your needs and preferences. It’s worth carefully examining the individual offerings within the Mastercard network to determine whether they cater to your specific interests, whether they be related to travel, shopping, or other categories.

1. BMO CashBack Mastercard – Best No-Fee Mastercard Credit Card 

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One of Mastercard’s best-value cards is the BMO CashBack Mastercard. It’s no wonder it’s one of the most popular cards among Canadians. It has no annual fee and it earns a fair amount of cash back. In addition, the interest rates offered are very standard and BMO usually has attractive welcome offers on this card.

The rewards program offers cash back up to 3%. This rate applies to all grocery expenses and makes this card one of the best cash back credit cards. For recurring bill payments that are pre-authorized on the card, the cash back rate is 1%. Finally, for all other purchases charged to the card, you get 0.5%. For instance, a typical family charging $1,000 expenses to the card monthly would get over $200 back over one year. This calculation reflects spendings of $200 in groceries, $100 in bill payments, and $700 on other card purchases. 

Among other benefits, the BMO CashBack Mastercard offers an eight-day coverage for out-of-country medical expenses up to $5 million. There is also a concierge service to facilitate reservations for the theatre, restaurants, etc. 

Eligibility	Description
Credit score (estimated)	600
Annual income	None
Other	Be a Canadian resident. Have reached the age of majority in your province or territory.

2. Rogers World Elite Mastercard – Best Mastercard for Cash Back on USD Purchases

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The Rogers World Elite Mastercard earns 1.5% cashback on all your purchases, and even 3% cashback on all eligible purchases in U.S. dollars, which will soon wipe out the fees associated with currency conversion. This card is ideal if you like to travel to the USA or buy stuff online in US currency. It offers a welcome bonus of $25 in cashback and has no annual fees. To get the bonus, you must make your first purchase within three months of receiving your card.

The Rogers World Elite Mastercard offers an attractive range of insurance benefits when you’re outside Canada. For example, the card covers you for emergency medical care when you are out of the country, and includes trip interruption and cancellation insurance. You’ll also receive a free Mastercard Travel Pass, giving you access to 1,300 airport lounges worldwide at a cost of $32 USD per visit. And for getaways closer to home, it also offers collision and damage insurance with a rental car.

Eligibility	Description
Credit score (estimated)	725
Annual income	$80,000 personal or $150,000 household
Other	Be a Canadian resident. Have reached the age of majority in your province or territory.

3. Neo Credit – Best Mastercard Credit Card for Shopping at Neo Partners

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With Neo Credit, you get as much as 15% cash back. On average, customers get 5% at Neo partners. These include Clearly, Frank and Oak, Sport Check and several restaurants, among others. Rewards accumulate instantly, and there’s no limit to the amount of cash back you can earn.

Neo claims to have over 10,000 partners. To find out which stores near you are partners, use the Neo app. Moreover, you’re guaranteed a minimum of 0.5% cash back. In fact, if your average monthly cash back rate falls below 0.5%, Neo will compensate it, up to a maximum of $50.

With so many partners across Canada, you’d have to go to great lengths not to earn super cash back. These are just a few of the many features that make the Neo Credit card one of the best Mastercard credit cards in Canada!

Eligibility	Description
Credit score (estimated)	600
Annual income	None
Other	Be a Canadian resident and have a Canadian photo ID. Have reached the age of majority in your province or territory.

4. KOHO Prepaid Card – Best Prepaid Mastercard

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The KOHO Mastercard stands out as one of the top choices in the contemporary prepaid credit card landscape. It mirrors the advantages of a typical credit card, but since it’s a prepaid card, you avoid incurring interest charges. This prepaid card is universally accepted wherever Mastercard is recognized. To avoid any monthly or annual fees, make sure to pick the Easy plan.

The Easy plan offers a 1% cash back on purchases related to groceries and transportation. Additionally, it offers a 0.5% interest on your entire account balance, so it works as a savings account too. Despite the absence annual fees, it should be noted that a 1.5% conversion fee is levied on foreign currency transactions.

While prepaid cards typically have no bearing on one’s credit score, KOHO goes a step beyond by providing a credit-building tool. For a monthly fee of $10 with the Easy account, you can enroll in their Credit Building program, which meticulously reports your credit progress to the prominent credit bureaus in Canada. This opens the door for you to enhance your credit score within a span of six months.

Eligibility	Description
Credit score	None
Annual income	None
Other	Be a Canadian resident. Have reached the age of majority in your province or territory.

5. MBNA Rewards World Elite Mastercard – Best Mastercard Credit Card for Rewards

The MBNA Rewards World Elite Mastercard is not well known to the general public. But it has great benefits that many people will love! The rewards program allows you to earn points based on daily purchases made on the card. Points are then redeemable for brand name merchandise, gift cards at participating retailers, cash back, charitable donations and travel.

Even better, cardholders earn 5 points for every dollar spent at restaurants, grocery stores, on digital media, subscriptions and household utilities. This is applicable up to $50,000 in annual spending. For other categories of purchases, people benefit from one point per dollar spent. 

As part of the rewards program benefits, on their birthday, cardholders of the MBNA Rewards World Elite card receive a point bonus of 10% of the total number of points that have accumulated in the account during the 12 months prior to the primary cardholder’s birthday month, up to a maximum of 15,000 points. There are also several insurances that are included with the card. 

Eligibility	Description
Credit score (estimated)	680
Annual income	Over $80,000 personal or $150,000 household
Other	Be a Canadian resident. Have reached the age of majority in your province or territory.

6. BMO World Elite CashBack Mastercard – Best Premium Mastercard Credit Card

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Let’s continue the list with another BMO credit card that’s particularly popular. The BMO World Elite CashBack Mastercard is a popular choice for money savers! This card is the big sister of the BMO CashBack Mastercard (seen previously). As you can imagine, the rewards program is very generous. Cardholders get 5% back on groceries, 4% back on transportation, 3% back on gas and electric vehicle charging, 2% back on recurring bills pre-authorized on the account and 1% back on all other purchases. If you do the math based on your family’s expenses, you’ll notice that you could get some pretty significant amounts.

Cardmembers enjoy free access to over 1 million Wi-Fi hotspots around the world with Boingo Wi-Fi for Mastercard. As an added benefit, they can save up to 25% off rentals at participating National Car Rental and Alamo Rent a Car locations. You also get a complimentary membership Travel Pass provided by DragonPass. This allows you to access airport lounges for a fee of just $32 USD per person, per visit. Finally, cardmembers under the age of 65 are entitled to coverage for all out-of-province and out-of-country hospital medical expenses. However, this only applies to trips of less than eight days. If you want more travel insurance, you can find compelling offers on our travel insurance comparison tool.

The BMO World Elite Cash Back Mastercard also has the advantage of covering damage and loss of purchases for 180 days. The warranty on retail products is extended to a maximum of two years. As with many BMO credit cards, cardholders receive attractive discounts for many events, including some Cirque du Soleil shows!

Eligibility	Description
Credit score (estimated)	725
Annual income	$80,000 personal or $150,000 household
Other	Be a Canadian resident. Have reached the age of majority in your province or territory.

7. Tangerine World Mastercard – Best Mastercard Credit Card for Cash Back on Flexible Categories

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Let’s finish up with the Tangerine World Mastercard, which is unique! Unlike other rewards programs, it allows you to choose from a list of purchase categories that earn enhanced cash back. A 2% rebate is offered in two categories of your choice from the following list: groceries, entertainment and transportation, furniture, restaurants, hotels and motels, gas, recurring bill, pharmacy and parking. This card offers the option of a third category at 2% if cash back is deposited into a Tangerine Savings Account. All other purchases have a 0.5% cash back rate. 

Cash back is automatically paid monthly. It can be deposited on your credit card statement or directly into the Tangerine Savings Account. Cardholders are entitled to an unlimited amount of cash back.

The card comes with purchase insurance, which covers damage and loss of products purchased for the first 90 days of ownership. The extended warranty doubles the retailer’s warranty for up to one additional year.

Eligibility	Description
Credit score (estimated)	680
Annual income	$60,000 personal or $100,000 household
Other	Be a Canadian resident. Have reached the age of majority in your province or territory.

FAQs about the Best Mastercard Credit Cards in Canada