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Best cash back credit cards

Headline rates are marketing; caps are the product. We price every card's earn structure with its caps — which is how a "5%" card loses to a 4% one, and why the quiet 2%-on-everything card wins big households.

Verified at the issuer · June 12, 2026

The picks

CIBC Dividend Visa Infinite

CIBC · Visa Infinite

$120/yr
Best overall (uncapped 4%)

The page now states no limit on total cash back — 4% on gas, EV charging and groceries without the annual caps its rivals carry. First year rebated.

Pros

  • 4% gas + groceries, uncapped per the card page
  • EV charging counted at 4%
  • First-year fee rebate, ongoing welcome to $350

Cons

  • 2% tiers narrower than Momentum’s
  • Travel medical dies at 65
  • Additional-card fee rises to $50 in August
Verified at the issuer

Amex SimplyCash Preferred

Amex

$120/yr
Best flat rate (2% on everything)

The quiet winner for high total spenders: 4% gas and groceries plus an uncapped 2% on absolutely everything else — the strongest base rate in Canada.

Pros

  • 2% base, no caps, no categories to manage
  • 4% gas + groceries (to $1,200 back/yr on groceries)
  • No income requirement

Cons

  • Amex acceptance gaps — several major grocers don’t take it
  • No first-year fee waiver
  • 65+ travel medical excluded
Verified at the issuer

Scotiabank Momentum Visa Infinite

Scotiabank · Visa Infinite

$120/yr
Best for bills + groceries together

The only card paying 4% on recurring payments AND groceries (each to $25,000/yr) — the two biggest line items in most retired households.

Pros

  • 4% groceries + 4% recurring bills
  • Generous $25k annual caps
  • 15% intro offer to Nov 1

Cons

  • 1% only after the caps
  • Gas at 2% trails the 4% cards
  • Mobile-app-era Scotia service
Verified at the issuer

Tangerine Money-Back

Tangerine · Mastercard

$0/yr
Best no-fee

Pick your own 2% categories (groceries, bills, gas — your choice), unlimited and uncapped, at zero fee with a $12,000 income requirement.

Pros

  • 2% in 2–3 categories YOU choose, no caps
  • $0 forever
  • Lowest income gate in the market

Cons

  • 0.5% outside chosen categories
  • No travel medical at any age
  • No insurance to speak of
Verified at the issuer

Wealthsimple Visa Infinite Privilege

Wealthsimple

$0–240/yr
Best if you qualify for the waiver

2% on everything with NO foreign-transaction fee — free if you hold $100k at Wealthsimple or direct-deposit $4,000/month. For waiver-qualified households it simply outearns every card here.

Pros

  • 2% everywhere, uncapped — plus 0% FX
  • Fee fully waivable ($100k assets or $4k/mo deposits)
  • Lounge access included

Cons

  • $20/month if you don’t qualify for the waiver
  • Young program — terms may evolve
  • Insurance certificate worth reading before relying on it
Verified at the issuer

Full facts for every card — offers, rates, insurance — on the main card table.

The caps math: a real household

$1,000/month groceries + $300 gas + $500 recurring bills + $700 everything else ($30,000/year), priced through each card's verified earn structure and caps:

CardHow it earns on this mixAnnual cash backNet of fee
CIBC Dividend VI 4% × $15.6k (groc+gas) + 2% × $6k (bills) + 1% × $8.4k $828 $708 after fee
Amex SimplyCash Preferred 4% × $15.6k + 2% × $14.4k (everything else) $912 $792 after fee — if your stores take Amex
Scotia Momentum VI 4% × $18k (groc+bills) + 2% × $3.6k (gas) + 1% × $8.4k $876 $756 after fee
BMO CashBack WE 5% groc capped at $500/statement (→ $300/yr) + 1–4% slivers + 1% base ≈ $560 ≈ $560 (fee waived yr 1; $139 after)
TD Cash Back VI 3% × $21.6k (4 categories, under the $15k caps) + 1% × $8.4k $732 $593 after fee
Wealthsimple VI Privilege 2% × $30k — everything, no categories $600 $600 with the waiver · $360 at $20/mo
Tangerine ($0) 2% × $18k (chosen: groceries + bills) + 0.5% × $12k $420 $420 — no fee to recover

Computed from issuer-verified earn rates and caps; before welcome offers, which add $100–$350 in year one. Change the mix and the ranking moves — heavy grocery households tilt further toward the uncapped 4% cards; spread-out spenders toward the flat 2%.

Frequently asked questions

Why does the BMO card’s 5% lose to the 4% cards?

The cap. BMO CashBack World Elite pays 5% on groceries only up to $500 of spend per statement period — about $25/month, $300/year — then drops to 1%. A household spending $1,000/month on food earns more from an uncapped 4% (about $480/yr) than from BMO’s capped 5% plus 1% overflow (about $360). Headline rates without their caps are marketing; the worked table above prices the caps.

Cash back or points — which is worth more?

Cash is the honest default: a dollar is a dollar, with no redemption charts, transfer partners or seat availability deciding its value. Points cards can beat cash for people who fly often and redeem well (see best travel cards) — but for the typical household, and especially in retirement when travel patterns change, the certainty of cash usually wins. Our main table shows both kinds side by side.

What about the welcome offers?

They’re real first-year money — Momentum’s 15% intro (to $300, window closes Nov 1, 2026), CIBC’s up-to-$350, TD’s up-to-$350 — but they’re one-time. Choose the card on its steady-state math (the table above), then treat the offer as a bonus for choosing now. The hub tracks every offer’s end date.

Do these rates apply at any store?

Category coding decides — and the trap is Amex acceptance: several major Canadian grocers have historically not accepted American Express at all (Costco does). Before counting on SimplyCash Preferred’s 4%, confirm your actual stores take Amex. Visa/Mastercard category traps are smaller but real: warehouse clubs and superstores sometimes code as "merchandise," not groceries.

Educational comparison, not credit advice. Every rate, cap and fee verified at the issuer's pages on June 12, 2026; terms change without notice. The worked example uses our own arithmetic on the verified structures — your category mix and store coding will vary.