Regardless if you want travel points, cash back, low interest or perks, you can easily find a Mastercard that caters to your needs. Let’s look at the best credit cards Mastercard has to offer.
Best Mastercard credit cards in Canada
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Best cash back Mastercard
Rogers Red World Elite Mastercard
Earn a minimum of 1.5% cash back on all purchases, and 3% on U.S. dollar purchases. Redeem rewards when you want.
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Interest Rates:
25.99% purchase, 27.99% cash advance, 27.99% balance transfer
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Best travel Mastercard
MBNA Rewards World Elite Mastercard
Get 5 MBNA Rewards points per $1 across five categories, plus an annual bonus of 10% of the points earned over 12 months.
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Interest Rates:
19.99% purchase, 24.99% cash advance, 22.99% balance transfer
Welcome offer:
$200 value
Earn 20,000 bonus points (approximately $165 in cash back value) after you make $2,000 or more in eligible purchases within the first 90 days.
Get $100 Gift Card Offer
Best balance transfer Mastercard
MBNA True Line Mastercard credit card
Get on top of your debt with a 12-month, interest-free period on balances transferred from another card.
Offer ends
April 22, 2025
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Interest Rates:
12.99% purchase, 24.99% cash advance, 17.99% balance transfer
Compare popular Mastercards
Compare Mastercard credit cards available in Canada using our interactive tool below. You can filter cards based on rewards value, annual fees, income requirements and more. Use the tool below to compare credit card options, or keep scrolling for our editors’ top picks.
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Check out the pros and cons of our top Mastercard picks across the cash back, travel, balance transfer and other categories.
Best cash back Mastercard
At a glance: The Rogers Red World Elite Mastercard is our pick for the best cash back card in Canada. It offers a high 1.5% cash back on all purchases, with a standout 3% cash back on U.S. dollar purchases. The card has no annual fee, yet it still packs impressive perks, like comprehensive insurance and access to concierge services.
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Rogers Red World Elite Mastercard
Annual fee: $0
Welcome offer: None at this time.
Card details
| Interest rates | 25.99% on purchases, 27.99% on cash advances, 27.99% on balance transfers |
| Income required | $80,000 per year |
| Credit score | 725 or higher |
Best travel rewards Mastercard
At a glance: You’re sure to rack up points quickly with the MBNA Rewards World Elite Mastercard. In addition to earning 5 MBNA Rewards points per $1 spent across five categories—restaurant, grocery, digital media, membership and household utility purchases on the card—cardholders get an annual birthday bonus of 10% of the points earned in the last 12 months. How fun is that?!
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MBNA Rewards World Elite Mastercard
Annual fee: $120
Welcome offer: earn 20,000 bonus points (approximately $165 in cash back value) after you make $2,000 or more in eligible purchases within the first 90 days. (Not available for residents of Quebec.)
Card details
| Interest rates | 19.99% on purchases, cash advances 24.99% on cash advances, 22.99% on balance transfers |
| Income required | $80,000 per year |
| Credit score | 660 or higher |
| Point value | 1 MBNA Rewards point = $0.01 when redeemed for travel |
Best low-interest Mastercard
At a glance: If you need to pay down debt, the MBNA True Line Gold Mastercard has a lot to offer, like a modest $39 annual fee and one of the lowest interest rates on the market. So more of your money goes toward paying off your balance, and not feels. Plus, there is no annual income requirement, making this extremely accessible for many Canadians.
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MBNA True Line Gold Mastercard
Annual fee: $39
Low interest rate: 10.99%
Welcome offer: This card does not have a welcome offer at this time.
Card details
| Interest rates | 24.99% on cash advances, 13.99% on balance transfers |
| Income required | None specified |
| Credit score | 660 or higher |
Best balance transfer Mastercard
At a glance: Feast your eyes on the best balance transfer card in Canada. If you’re looking for a way to reduce the interest on existing debt, the MBNA True Line Mastercard offers a 0% balance transfer rate for a full year. Even at the regular balance transfer interest rate of 17.99%, this card saves you on interest charges. There’s no annual fee for you and up to nine additional users.
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MBNA True Line Mastercard
Annual fee: $0
Balance transfer offer: Receive a 0% interest rate for 12 months on balance transfers completed within 90 days. (Offer not available for residents of Quebec.)
Card details
| Interest rates | 12.99% on purchases, 24.99% on cash advances, 17.99% on balance transfers |
| Income required | None specified |
| Credit score | 660 or higher |
Best secured Mastercard
At a glance: The Secured Neo Mastercard is the best secured credit card in Canada. With a low annual fee and the option to start with a deposit as low as $50, this secured credit card works as an affordable way to establish or rebuild credit. Plus, the Neo account dashboard is easy to use to manage your account and to redeem rewards on eligible purchases, making it a smart choice for everyday spending.
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Secured Neo Mastercard
Annual fee: $60
Rewards: A minimum of 0.5% cash back and an average of 5% cash back on purchases at partners
Welcome offer: Get $25 when you sign up.
Card details
| Interest rates | 19.99% to 29.99% on purchases (19.99% to 24.99% for Quebec residents) and 22.99% to 31.99% on cash advances (22.99% to 25.99% for Quebec residents) |
| Income required | None |
| Credit score | 690 or higher |
What types of credit cards does Mastercard have?
Mastercard is a credit card company that partners with different financial institutions and companies to offer Mastercard cards. There are three tiers of Mastercard credit cards available in Canada: including its standard credit cards, World and World Elite cards. The World comes with more perks than the standard card and World Elite comes with premium benefits, like better rewards and insurance coverage. But here are the Mastercard cards available in Canada. Tap each category to see the list of Mastercard credit cards available for Canadians.
How do I activate my Mastercard?
You don’t activate your Mastercard credit card through Mastercard itself. You have to do that with the credit card issuer, whether it’s BMO, PC Financial or Westjet. But the good thing is that most providers allow you to do it the same way: contacting the issuer by telephone or online/app. Never respond to a text message or email prompting you to activate your credit card, as that might be a phishing scam. Always go to the issuer directly.
You’ll be asked for the credit card number, expiration date and pin. You should be able to create a pin, too. Put the pin number in a safe place and never use anything obvious, like your birthday or a common sequence of numbers (like 1-2-3-4). And if you can make the pin long (say more than four characters), go for it. And make sure the pin is different from what you use for other cards.
Once your card is activated, you can use it right away. If you have any issues, call the issuer.
Where can I get a Mastercard?
You have options in Canada on where to apply for a Mastercard credit card. The obvious choice is a bank or credit union, such as BMO, National Bank, RBC, Capital one or Desjardins. But you have other options. There are retail cards available through companies like President’s Choice (Loblaws and Shoppers), Canadian Tire and Rogers. Even WestJet offers Mastercard credit cards through a partnership with RBC.
But that’s not to say you have to apply directly through the bank, especially if you are shopping around. You can also apply through articles like this one on MoneySense. While we compare and rank credit cards and other financial products, it’s one of the ways we can earn money. However, unlike some other sites, we also consider credit cards that we don’t have a partnership with, so you may see some cards without a link to apply (no affiliate link available). But we do our due diligence as personal finance journalists to get you the best information possible.
