Canada’s Mastercard credit card market spans no-fee cash back to ultra-premium travel rewards. Mastercard is accepted at Costco Canada (unlike Visa or Amex at some periods historically) and offers World Elite tier benefits that rival Visa Infinite. Here are the best Mastercard credit cards in Canada for 2026.
Top Picks at a Glance
| Card | Annual Fee | Best For | Key Benefit |
|---|---|---|---|
| BMO CashBack World Elite Mastercard | $120 | Grocery cash back | Up to 5% on groceries |
| National Bank World Elite Mastercard | $150 | Travel rewards | Flexible travel redemption, strong insurance |
| Rogers Red World Elite Mastercard | $0 | No-fee flat-rate | 1.5% on all purchases; 3% on foreign/Rogers spend |
| Tangerine Money-Back Credit Card | $0 | No-fee cash back | 2% in up to 3 chosen categories |
| MBNA Rewards World Elite Mastercard | $120 | Travel flexibility | Strong earn on eligible travel spend |
| PC Financial World Elite Mastercard | $0 | PC Optimum points | 45 PC Optimum pts/$1 everywhere; 30 extra pts at Loblaws banners |
| CIBC Costco Mastercard | $0 | Costco shoppers | 3% at restaurants, 2% at Costco, 1% everywhere |
| BMO eclipse Visa Infinite | $120 | Everyday points | 5x on groceries, dining, gas, transit, drug stores |
| Scotiabank Momentum Visa Infinite | $120 | Tiered cash back | 4% on groceries and recurring bills |
| MBNA Smart Cash World Elite Mastercard | $120 | Gas & grocery cash back | 5% cash back on gas and groceries |
Best Mastercard for Cash Back
BMO CashBack World Elite Mastercard — Best for Groceries
Annual fee: $120 | Network: Mastercard World Elite
Earns up to 5% cash back on grocery purchases (on first $500/month), 4% on transit and recurring bills, 3% on gas and EV charging, 1% everywhere else. Cash back is deposited annually. World Elite benefits include Mastercard Travel Pass by DragonPass and purchase protection.
MBNA Smart Cash World Elite Mastercard — Best for Gas + Groceries
Annual fee: $120 | Network: Mastercard World Elite
Earns 5% cash back on gas and grocery purchases for the first six months (then 2% on gas and groceries, 1% everywhere else). No rotating categories or category selection needed. Good for households with predictable gas and grocery spending.
Rogers Red World Elite Mastercard — Best No-Fee Flat Rate
Annual fee: $0 | Network: Mastercard World Elite
Earns 1.5% cash back on all purchases and 3% on Rogers, Shaw, and Fido service bills and on foreign currency transactions. Effectively the best no-fee flat-rate cash back card in Canada. The 3% on foreign spend more than offsets the 2.5% FX surcharge, making it net-positive on international purchases — unique among no-fee Canadian cards.
Best Mastercard for Travel Rewards
National Bank World Elite Mastercard — Best All-Round Travel Mastercard
Annual fee: $150 | Network: Mastercard World Elite
Earns 5 points per $1 on travel and entertainment, 2 points per $1 on everything else. Includes comprehensive travel insurance (emergency medical, trip cancellation, flight delay), airport lounge access through Mastercard Travel Pass, and an annual travel credit. A competitive alternative to Visa Infinite travel cards that is accepted at Costco.
MBNA Rewards World Elite Mastercard — Best for Flexible Travel Booking
Annual fee: $120 | Network: Mastercard World Elite
Earns points redeemable for travel on any airline with no blackout dates. Competitive earn rate with straightforward redemption. A good choice for travellers who don’t want to commit to a single airline loyalty programme.
Best No-Fee Mastercards
Tangerine Money-Back Credit Card — Best for Category Cash Back
Annual fee: $0 | Network: Mastercard
Choose up to three categories that earn 2% cash back (groceries, gas, dining, home improvement, hotels, furniture, public transit, entertainment, drug stores, or recurring bills). All other purchases earn 0.5%. Cash back is deposited monthly. No income requirement and widely accessible.
PC Financial World Elite Mastercard — Best for PC Optimum Shoppers
Annual fee: $0 | Network: Mastercard World Elite
Earns 45 PC Optimum points per $1 everywhere and enhanced rates at Loblaws, Shoppers Drug Mart, Esso, and Mobil. PC Optimum points redeem for free groceries and Shoppers purchases ($10 per 10,000 points = 1 cent/point). Ideal for households that regularly shop at Loblaws-owned banners.
Best Mastercard for Costco
The CIBC Costco Mastercard is the co-branded Costco Canada card, earning 3% cash back at restaurants and on Costco.ca, 2% at Costco warehouses, and 1% everywhere else. The card has no annual fee and is accepted at all Costco Canada locations.
Read the full CIBC Costco Mastercard review →
Since Costco Canada accepts all Mastercards, any of the top-earning Mastercards above also work well at Costco. The MBNA Smart Cash earns 2% on groceries (Costco counts as a grocery store for many Canadians’ spending purposes); the Rogers Red earns 1.5% flat.
Mastercard vs. Visa vs. Amex in Canada
| Feature | Mastercard | Visa | Amex |
|---|---|---|---|
| Acceptance | Very wide — including Costco | Very wide | More limited — not at Costco; not at some retailers |
| Top tier | World Elite | Visa Infinite / Visa Infinite Privilege | Centurion (Black Card) |
| Income threshold (top tier) | $80,000+ personal | $60,000+ personal | Varies |
| Transfer partners | Limited (some co-brand) | Limited (some co-brand) | Amex Membership Rewards transfers to Aeroplan, Avios, and more |
Bottom line: Visa and Mastercard are near-universally accepted in Canada. Amex is accepted at most retailers but not all. For Costco specifically, Mastercard is the way to go.