Methodology
How we rate every card
The Canada Cards Score is our independent editorial rating, built only from figures we verify on each issuer's official pages. We rank by the value you get, never by who pays us.
Every card on this site carries a Canada Cards Score from 0 to 10. It is a deterministic, transparent rating: the same inputs always produce the same score, and every input traces to a primary source. It is our editorial assessment, not an issuer claim and not an average of user reviews.
What goes into the score
Everyday earn rate
The strongest rewards rate the card earns on real spending, normalized so a 5 percent or 5x category tops the scale.
Welcome value
The estimated cash value (CAD) of the current welcome offer, using our published points valuations. Labelled as an estimate, never a guarantee.
Annual-fee value
Whether the fee is justified by the rewards and benefits it returns. A no-fee card scores full marks; a fee card scores on the value it gives back.
Benefits depth
Insurance coverages, airport lounge access, and no-foreign-transaction-fee status, counted from the official benefit pages.
Interest cost
The purchase APR, since a lower rate matters if you ever carry a balance.
How we source the data
Fees, rates, earn rules, welcome offers, and benefits come from each issuer's own product and application pages and disclosure documents. Reputable comparison sites are used only to discover cards, never as a source of a figure. When a value cannot be confirmed on an official page, we leave it blank rather than guess.
Points and miles are converted to an estimated CAD value so points cards and cash-back cards can be compared on the same footing. Those are mid-market estimates, explained on our points valuations page, and your real value depends on how you redeem.
We re-check the official pages regularly and stamp each card and ranking with the date it was last verified. Rates and offers change, so always confirm details on the issuer's site before applying. Nothing here is financial advice.
Independence
We rank cards by the value they deliver to you, computed by the score above. Our ranking order is never sold, and an affiliate relationship never moves a card up the list. If a card we earn nothing from is the best pick, it still ranks first.
Independent and cited
See the score on every card.
Browse Canada's cards ranked by the Canada Cards Score, every figure linked to its official source.