All credit card questions in Canada stop at two questions for me: Do you shop at Costco Do you have have rogers services If you answered yes to both questions, you go with the rogers world elite Mastercard More on reddit.com

What provider do you have your phone plan with? If it’s Rogers their cash back Mastercard gives 2% back on everything (2.6% if you use the cashback on your phone bill). Otherwise the Simplii cash back Visa gives 4% on dining out (up to a limit) and the Tangerine Money-Back credit card gives 2% back on 2-3 categories of your choice. Keep in mind your bank doesn’t matter when you’re applying for a credit card, you can bank with Scotia and have a credit card from RBC, for example. More on reddit.com

Here are my cards to optimize cashback (Scotia Momentum IV is technically a card with a fee but you can get first year free to try out. But don't start it until December because they only pay the cashback on November statement and so you want to be able to cancel AFTER getting your cashback. Scotia Momentum IV: Mainly for the 4% cashback on recurring bills. We don't use it much for groceries because we mainly shop at Wal-Mart (close to our house) and Visa doesn't code Walmart as grocery. It's not worth it typically, except for the fact we use it with Chexy to pay big bills such as property and CRA taxes, monthly strata fees, and other utilities that normally don't accept credit card. These all code as 4% recurring bills. We get this card free with our Ultimate Package. Yes, I get the $6000 daily balance is "leaving money on the table", but we use other services such as bank drafts, safety deposit box, etc. that doesn't make it worth leaving. On that note, here is my Chexy referral link where we can both get $15 off a payment: https://app.chexy.co?ref=ITopARZItMMflfDxIM0cD95Ig4G3 BMO Cashback MasterCard (no annual fee): We use this solely to shop at Wal-Mart for the 3% cashback on groceries (it's just the two of us and we don't spend more than $500 a month on groceries). MasterCard codes WM Supercenter as grocery hence why we use it. Simplii VISA (no annual fee): For the first $5,000 annual spend on restaurants/bars/food delivery etc. for 4% cashback. We eat out alot so we typically do max this. Costco MasterCard (Costco membership fee): For the 3% cashback on restaurants after we max out our Simplii 4% annual spend. Amazon MBNA (no annual fee): Strictly for Amazon purchases to earn 2.5% as we are prime members. Rogers Red WE (no annual fee): For everything else to earn 2% cashback as we are Rogers customers. Currently am running down a $880 Rogers credit from trading in a phone, but will eventually charge my Rogers bill to this card for the 3% redemption rate. Lastly, for FX transactions, such as when travelling, we now have the Wealthsimple VISA for 2% cash back and 0 FX fees. Note, I'm sure folks can wrack up more value earning points instead of cashback for travel, such as through Amex Cobalt; however, I don't really want to fuss with points since my wife gets travel discounts anyway as she works in the industry. I'm strictly a cashback guy and this is the way I've best optimized that. Honourable Mention: Canadian Tire/Triangle MasterCard for paying for bills that normally don't accept credit. This has been obsoleted with my discovery of Chexy + Scotia Momentum IV though. More on reddit.com

Of all big banks, RBC probably has the worst credit cards. But no matter what you do, don't get a low-rate VISA, unless you're having to keep a balance on it. Your balance should be paid in full every month, so the interest rate should never apply. In your case, just get the free card with the best cash back that you can find. For instance, the Rogers Red Mastercard is quite competitive, particularly if you have any services with Rogers (2%). More on reddit.com