Cash Is King — But Not All Cash Back Cards Are Equal

For people who don’t want to think about points, transfer partners, or redemption strategies, cash back cards offer simplicity. Here’s what’s available in Canada right now.

Flat-Rate Cash Back

Rogers World Elite Mastercard — 1.5% cash back on everything, no foreign exchange fees. No annual fee. Best for set-it-and-forget-it simplicity, especially for USD purchases.

Tangerine Money-Back World — 2% on up to 3 categories you choose (grocery, gas, restaurants, etc.), 0.5% on everything else. No annual fee. Good if your spending clusters in specific categories.

Category Bonuses

Card	Top Category	Rate	Annual Fee
BMO CashBack WE	Gas	5%	$120
TD CashBack VI	Gas/Grocery	3%	FYF
CIBC Dividend VI	Gas/Grocery	4%	FYF
Scotia Momentum VI	Recurring Bills	4%	$120

Sign-Up Bonus Cash

Some cards offer straight cash instead of points:

• TD Momentum VI: 10% on first $2,000 spend = $200 cash
• Scotia Momentum VI: 10% on first $2,000 = $200 cash
• Tangerine World: $120 bonus on $1,500 spend

When Cash Back Makes Sense

• You don’t travel enough to redeem points well
• You value simplicity over maximum value
• You prefer predictable returns over variable redemptions
• You won’t remember to optimize transfer partners

When It Doesn’t

A 2% cash back card sounds good until you realize signup bonuses on points cards offer 10-20% effective returns on minimum spend. If you’re willing to do one signup bonus per year, you’ll beat any cash back rate.

Team cash back or team points? Both have their place.