You’ve likely been offered a store credit card when checking out at a large retailer.
If you’ve ever wondered whether they are any good and are actually worth getting, you’re at the right place to find out.
With some good options on the Canadian market – and some not-so-good ones – I’ve done extensive research and compiled the best ones in today’s list.
And if you’re part of the 82% of Canadians who prioritize rewards when selecting a credit card, you will likely find something that is up your alley. So, keep reading to find out about the best store credit cards in Canada.
- Up to 45 PC Optimum Points per $1 spent
- Minimum 10 Points per $1 spent
- Travel Emergency Medical Insurance and Rental Car Insurance
- 21-day interest-free grace period
- $0 annual fee
- Up to 4% in Canadian Tire “CT” Money
- No fee, no interest financing available
- Extended Warranty Insurance and Roadside Assistance Gold Plan
- $0 annual fee
- Double points at Hudson’s Bay (up to four points per $1 spent)
- Up to two points per $1 spent elsewhere and cash-back through Neo partners
- No over-limit fees
- Free shipping on all Hudson’s Bay online orders
- $0 annual fee
Features You Should Look For In A Store Credit Card
Store credit cards provide perks for shopping at a specific chain of retailers. When looking for a new card, you should check for certain features to ensure you choose the correct one.
More specifically, I recommend you to think about cash-back rewards, the interest charged, annual fees, insurance, fees and eligibility criteria.
You should also consider whether or not you already shop at the given store with which the card is in partnership.
As store credit cards incentivize shopping at their stores by giving out good rewards, the card may not prove very useful if you only shop at that given store a few times per year.
Pros and Cons Of A Store Credit Card
- More savings and discounts at a given retailer
- Cash-back rewards and perks for shopping at places you already visit often
- Relatively more relaxed eligibility criteria
- Low annual fees
- A better credit score usually means better rewards
- Usually offer limited insurance
- Usually come with lower credit limits
- Limits high rewards to only one (or just a few) retailers
- Lower-interest options are rarely available
The Best Store Credit Cards in Canada
Here are some of the best store credit card options in Canada.
1. President’s Choice Financial World Elite Mastercard
Standout Features:
- No annual fee
- Up to 45 PC Optimum Points per $1 spent
- Minimum 10 Points per $1 spent
- Travel Emergency Medical Insurance and Rental Car Insurance
- 21-day interest-free grace period
- Purchase interest rate: 20.97%
The World Elite Mastercard by President’s Choice Financial is one of the best store credit cards you can get in Canada as long as you meet its eligibility criteria, which is an $80,000 minimum personal income per year or a $150,000 household income per year.
With increased point accrual at Shoppers Drug Mart, Esso Gas, PC Travel and other PC-owned businesses such as Joe Fresh, No Frills and Loblaws, you can get a really good amount of money off your grocery purchases over time with no annual fees involved.
If you do not meet the income criteria for the World Elite Mastercard, PC Financial also has two lower-tier cards with no annual fee. Although they offer slightly fewer PC Optimum Points per $1 spent, they are still really great options.
Regardless of which of the PC Financial credit cards you get, 10,000 Optimum Points equal a $10 reward towards purchases, which can really add up over time.
The PC World Elite card also offers great insurance for travel, rental car collision/damage and purchase assurance.
If you qualify for this card, I highly recommend it. Otherwise, their other credit cards are also great, especially if you regularly shop at President’s Choice stores.
2. Triangle World Elite Mastercard
Standout Features:
- Up to 4% in Canadian Tire “CT” Money
- No annual fee
- No fee, no interest financing available on qualifying purchases
- Extended Warranty Insurance and Roadside Assistance Gold Plan
- Purchase interest rate: 19.99%
This card is really great if you regularly shop at one of the following stores: Canadian Tire, Atmosphere, Sport Chek, Mark’s/L’Équipeur, Party City, Hockey Experts, Sports Rousseau, L’Entrepôt du Hockey, and participating Sports Experts locations.
Here is how the reward system works:
- Up to 4% in CT Money in the above retailers
- Up to 3% in CT Money at grocery stores (except for Walmart and Costco)
- 5¢-7¢ per litre at Gas+/Essence+ locations
Your collected CT Money points are eligible to be redeemed at any of the above retailers. If you already shop at these places regularly, this card can be a really good addition to your wallet.
The no-interest financing and insurance on this card are also really good bonuses, given that the card has no annual fee.
You can learn more about this Triangle World Elite Mastercard and Triangle’s other credit cards on the Triangle website.
3. Hudson’s Bay Mastercard – In Partnership With Neo Financial
Standout Features:
- No annual fee
- Double points at Hudson’s Bay (up to four points per $1 spent)
- Up to two points per $1 spent elsewhere and cash-back through Neo partners
- No over-limit fees
- Free shipping on all Hudson’s Bay online orders
- $0 inactive fee
- Purchase interest rate: 19.99% – 24.99%
We have done extensive reviews on Neo Financial here at Wealth Awesome, and this Hudson’s Bay Mastercard is in partnership with Neo.
This card offers the same everyday cash-back rewards as the regular Neo Credit Card but also has great perks for shopping at Hudson’s Bay stores as well as thebay.com. Any accumulated points can be redeemed at The Bay stores or on their website.
With this card, you also get to reap the benefit of free shipping on all of your thebay.com orders (granted that you buy your item(s) with your Hudson’s Bay Mastercard) with no purchase minimum.
You can learn more about this Hudson’s Bay Mastercard here.
4. Walmart Rewards World Mastercard
Standout Features:
- No annual fee
- Up to 3% Walmart Reward Dollars (minimum 1%)
- No reward limit
- Zero Liability Protection, Extended Warranty Plan and Purchase Assurance (additional perks are available at a fee)
- Purchase interest rate: 19.89%
- Household income of $100,000 per year required (lower-tier available)
This Walmart card is your best bet if you regularly shop at Walmart stores or walmart.ca. It also has good rewards for any gas purchases, which is fantastic. Here is how their Walmart Reward Dollars system works:
- 3% at Walmart.ca
- 1.25% for gas purchases
- 1.25% at Walmart Canada stores
- 1% for everything else
With this card, one point equals $1 that you can redeem towards anything that Walmart sells either online or in-store.
You must have a $100,000 household income to be approved for this World Mastercard. If your annual household income is lower than this, you will receive a Walmart Rewards Mastercard instead, which is also another good option. I will cover this card next.
5. Walmart Rewards Mastercard
Standout Features:
- No annual fee
- Up to 1.25% Walmart Reward points per $1 spent (min. 1%)
- Installment plans for purchases are available (at a fee)
If you do not qualify for the Walmart Rewards World Mastercard, this card is also a great option.
The main difference is that you only earn 1.25% rewards for your purchases on walmart.ca (instead of 3%.) The rewards for everything else -including in-store and gas purchases- are virtually the same.
Here’s a breakdown of the point system:
- 1.25% at Walmart (in-store or online at Walmart.ca)
- 1% for any gas purchases
- 1% for anything else
Once again, you can redeem your points for any Walmart purchases in-store or online. Do keep in mind that this card has very limited insurance protection.
Thus, I recommend you use another card for travel, car rentals or any large purchases that may benefit from purchase assurance or an extended warranty.
6. Amazon.ca Rewards Mastercard
Standout Features:
- No annual fee
- 2.5% cash-back at Amazon.ca and Whole Foods markets for Prime members (1.5% for non-Prime members)
- Minimum 1% cash-back everywhere else
- 2.5% cash-back on eligible foreign currency transactions (offsets FX fees)
- Purchase Assurance and extended warranty
- Discounts at Avis Rent-A-Car and Budget Rent-A-Car
- Purchase interest: 19.99%
I highly recommend this card to you if you are an Amazon Prime member and regularly shop on this site (or at Whole Foods Markets.) If you are not a Prime member, there are likely better options out there for you for cash-back and rewards.
The amazon.ca Rewards Mastercard is offered in partnership with MBNA – a division of TD (Toronto-Dominion) Bank. MBNA also offers really great low-interest credit cards, which are covered in this 11 Best Low-Interest Credit Cards In Canada list.
This card is available to Canadian residents who are of the age of majority in the province/territory in which they reside. You can apply directly on Amazon’s website.
7. CIBC Costco Mastercard
Standout Features:
- $0 annual fee
- Up to 3% cash-back at restaurants and Costco gas (minimum 1%)
- Special rates on CIBC installment plans
- Doubles as your Costco membership card
- Earn 0.25% cash back on CIBC Global Money Transfers
- Up to three additional cardholders at no cost
- Mobile Device Insurance (up to $1000), Purchase Security, Extended Warranty and Zero Liability
- Purchase interest rate: 19.75%
This CIBC Cosco Mastercard is only available to Costco members. If you’re already a member or have been planning on becoming one, this card might be the right one for you. Here is how the cash-back system on this card works:
- 3% cash-back on restaurants and at Costco gas locations
- 2% cash-back at other gas stations and Costco.ca
- 1% purchases on everything else, including any in-store Costco purchases
This card also has fantastic insurance perks as well as discounts on installment plans. You can also have up to three additional cardholders at no cost, significantly increasing your cash-back over time. I’d highly recommend it to Costco members.
You can learn more about CIBC in the following big five banks in Canada post.
8. Honourable Mention – Neo Financial Credit Card
Standout Features:
- No annual fee
- Average 5% cash-back at more than 7000 stores
- 21-day interest-free grace period
- Tap to freeze feature and spending analytics
- Secured option available
- Purchase interest rate: 19.99% – 24.99%
Neo Financial is a fintech company based in Saskatchewan. Their credit card product comes in two forms: regular and secured.
If your credit score is low, I’d highly recommend the secured version as it proves to be a great way to build your credit while getting great cash-back.
The reason this card is mentioned in this list is that it provides fantastic cash-back, more than what some of the cards on this list give out. If good cash-back and rewards are your priorities, this card may be able to replace other options out there.
With this card, you not only average out to 5% cash-back at more than 7000 retailers across Canada, but you can also get 15% cash-back rewards on your first purchase at participating partners. And wherever you shop, 0.5% cash-back is guaranteed.
You can learn more about Neo and sign up for the Neo Credit Card here.
9. Honourable Mention – Koho Premium
Standout Features:
- Prepaid – no credit check necessary
- Up to 2% cash-back
- No foreign exchange (FX) fees
- One free international ATM withdrawal each month
- Financial coaching at no additional cost
- $9 monthly or $84 per year
Koho Premium is another good option if you are looking for a new card for shopping purposes.
Prepaid and offered in partnership with Mastercard, it charges no FX fees, gives great cash-back and has a really good phone app and technology behind it.
You also do not need to undergo a hard credit check in your application, which is really great.
Koho has both a free option as well as this premium option with a $9 monthly cost (or $84 per year if you pay upfront.)
If you are looking for good cash-back on your purposes and want to take advantage of travel perks and financial coaching benefits, I’d recommend the Premium over the regular. Either way, Koho can be a really good prepaid option for shopping.
You can learn more about Koho and sign up here.
Conclusion
Store credit cards can be a good way to rack up rewards points or cash-back while shopping at the places that you visit often.
With options that cater to large and popular retailers such as Costco, President’s Choice, Walmart and Amazon, I hope that you have been able to find a card that can provide you with good shopping perks.
If the interest on these cards is a bit too high for your liking, especially if you plan on carrying a balance regularly, check out this post on the best low-interest credit cards in Canada.
If you’re getting ready for some travelling, you can also check out this post that covers the best travel credit cards in Canada.
