Best Low-Interest Credit Cards In Canada For January 2025

When determining a rating for individual credit cards, the Forbes Advisor Canada editorial team factors in an exhaustive list of data points. With low-interest and no-interest credit cards, the scoring model takes into account factors such as, but not limited to, the balance transfer offer APR, purchase APR, cash advance APR, welcome bonuses and other rewards and features. Keep in mind that what may be best for some people might not be right for you. Conduct informed research before deciding which cards will best help you achieve your financial goals. To determine the best low-interest credit cards, the following methodology is used:

• APR Score – 50%
• Earn Rate – 25%
• Balance Transfer Score – 25%

MBNA True Line® Gold Mastercard®

With the second-lowest credit score requirements, the MBNA True Line® Gold Mastercard® is another option for cardholders with bad credit or a short credit history.

Balance Transfer Offer: None

Rewards: None

Welcome Offer: None

Annual Fee: $39

Other Benefits and Drawbacks: This card may not have the highest annual fee on this list, but it does perhaps have the highest fee for the lowest reward. There are very, very few additional benefits on this card apart from purchase protection and an extended warranty.

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MBNA True Line® Mastercard®

This card’s balance transfer offer is the best of the bunch and should be appealing to anyone needing to pay off a massive balance without breaking the bank.

Balance Transfer Offer: 0% promotional annual interest rate (“AIR”)† for 12 months on balance transfers✪ made within 90 days, with a 3% transfer fee

Rewards: None.

Welcome Offer: No welcome offer.

Annual Fee: $0

Other Benefits and Drawbacks: While the MBNA True Line Mastercard’s APR and lack of annual fee are great, anyone in need of a cash advance should stay clear of this card’s 24.99% advance rate.

†, ✪, Terms and Conditions apply. This offer is not available to residents of Quebec.

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Desjardins Odyssey Visa Infinite Privilege

Cash-back lovers, this is your card. The Desjardins Odyssey Visa Infinite Privilege doesn’t have a balance transfer offer, but it does give fairly robust cashback opportunities for frequent flyers and foodies alike.

Balance Transfer Offer: None.

Rewards: Get 4% cash back on restaurant, entertainment and alternative transportation purchases. Get 3% cash back on grocery and travel purchases, while getting 1.75% cash back on everything else.

Welcome Offer: None

Annual Fee: $295

Other Benefits and Drawbacks: Unfortunately, a lot of people probably won’t qualify for this card. Holders need to earn a minimum of $200,000 in annual household income or $150,000 in personal annual income.

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BMO Preferred Rate Mastercard®*

Anyone concerned about consumer protection who also needs to pay off a hefty bill may want to consider the BMO Preferred Rate Mastercard®* for its balance transfer offer, minimal fee and purchase protection add-ons.

Balance Transfer Offer: 0.99% to 2% transaction fee on all purchases for 9 months.

Rewards: None

Welcome Offer: None

Annual Fee: $29 (waived in the first year)

Other Benefits and Drawbacks: While this card can be a good way to keep purchases safe, its credit card balance protection isn’t standard. You’ll need to get it as an add-on for an extra charge.

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CIBC Select Visa* Card

New holders of the CIBC Select Visa Card will love its balance transfer offer’s low transaction fee for 10 months, but the annual fee for this card might end the honeymoon phase.

Balance Transfer Offer: 0% to 1% transaction fee on purchases for 10 months.

Rewards: None

Welcome Offer: None

Annual Fee: $29 (two years rebated)†

Other Benefits and Drawbacks: Getting a basic balance protection package, along with emergency medical coverage, is a pretty good deal for a card that also gives you decent balance transfer options.

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National Bank Syncro Mastercard

The National Bank Syncro Mastercard has an ultra-low purchase interest rate of 9.95% and a low 13.95% interest rate on cash advances and balance transfers. It also has no income requirements.

Balance Transfer Offer: None

Rewards: None

Welcome Offer: None

Annual Fee: $35

Other Benefits and Drawbacks: This card has a low interest rate on purchases and cash advances and a lack of income requirements. However, it lacks perks and insurance coverage, and it still has a $35 annual fee.

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TD Low Rate Visa

This card has a low annual fee and earns 12.90% on both purchases and cash advances.

Balance Transfer Offer: None

Rewards: None

Welcome Offer: $0

Annual Fee: $25

Other Benefits and Drawbacks: Perhaps the biggest drawback of this card is its lack of a rewards program or cashback options. You will find optional travel accident insurance and trip cancellation, and it earns more Stars at Starbucks—but that’s about it.

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RBC® Visa‡ Classic Low Rate Option

The RBC® Visa‡ Classic Low Rate Option is a low-rate option for people who travel and care about protecting their purchases but don’t use their credit cards for much else.

Balance Transfer Offer: 0.99% introductory interest rate for the first 10 months on balance transfers. Apply by February 26, 2025

Rewards: None

Welcome Offer: None

Annual Fee: $20 (No annual fee for the 1st year*)

Other Benefits and Drawbacks: While there are many protections, from emergency medical coverage to trip cancellation insurance, nearly all of them are optional rather than standard, so they will cost extra.

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Scotiabank Value Visa Card

This is another no-frills card with a fixed 12.99% APR for purchases and cash advances. It is a very solid deal for anyone who needs a quick buck.

Balance Transfer Offer: None

Rewards: None

Welcome Offer: None

Annual Fee: $29

Other Benefits and Drawbacks: The annual fee and few consumer protection options aren’t ideal, nor is the utter lack of cashback opportunities, but you do get 12.99% annual interest on both purchases and cash advances, which are both hard to ignore.

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American Express Essential Credit Card

The American Express Essential Credit Card offers a low 12.99% interest rate and perks like travel accident coverage, consumer insurance, and access to American Express Experiences.

Balance Transfer Offer: None

Rewards: None

Welcome Offer: None

Annual Fee: $29

Other Benefits and Drawbacks: The low interest rate, insurance coverage and Amex perks make this card worthwhile. However, this card earns no rewards, has only one travel insurance coverage and a $29 annual fee.

A low-interest credit card is a card that carries a low purchase, cash advance and balance transfer annual percentage rate (APR) — either on one or all of them. A low interest rate is any APR advertised that’s under 19.99% and could be as low as 0% either permanently or for a limited promotional period. Thanks to a low-interest rate, cardholders can save money on any balance transfer, cash advance or any balance they carry on purchases.

They will at least pay less interest than they would on another credit card with a higher interest rate. The lower the interest rate, the quicker the cardholder starts actually making a dent in the principal balance and not just paying interest, even if they’re making smaller monthly payments. After all, it will take less money to eventually pay off your card than it would if the card had a higher interest rate.

Low-interest credit cards tend to have no annual fee (or a very low one) and limited perks, like rewards or insurance coverage.

The average purchase interest rate in Canada is 23%. Here are some of the interest rate ranges you can expect from several leading credit card issuers across the country.

Related: What Is The Average Credit Card Interest Rate?

Low interest credit cards can save you money if you carry a balance on your card. Most conventional credit cards charge around 19.99% interest, and most low-interest credit cards charge under 9%. Depending on your balance, you’re saving nearly 50% of the interest you’d normally owe.

Some low-interest credit cards do offer rewards. However, you may find that the earn rates aren’t as high and the annual dollar value isn’t as much as they would be on a card with a higher interest rate. For some, a lower interest rate is reward enough.

But, if you’re looking for something more, you’ll often find points programs doling out 2 points per dollar and if you’re lucky, you’ll get a credit card giving your 4% cash back in select categories like the Desjardins Odyssey Infinite Privilege (listed above and available from the Desjardins Group and has credit unions in Quebec and Ontario) which has a 10.9% purchase APR. It also gives you 4% cash back on restaurant, entertainment and alternative transportation purchases, 3% cash back on grocery and travel purchases and 1.75% cash back on everything else.

All that being said, it’s rare to be able to get both low interest and rewards in Canada. Most cards highlighting low interest rates available on the market have no rewards structure to speak of.

Related: Best Credit Cards to have in Canada

Typically, credit cards have interest rates between 19.99% and 25.99%, but with a low interest credit card you could be looking at an interest rate that ranges from 0% to roughly 12.99%. If you carry a balance and have a low interest credit card, it will mean that you will pay less interest on your balance, which will allow you to pay off your balance faster than if you had a balance on a credit card with a higher interest rate. Depending on the amount of your balance, you could save hundreds of dollars in interest over time and shave several months off the length of time it would take to pay off your balance on a more typical credit card with a 19.99% APR.

Another element of credit cards that could carry low interest if you find the right credit card is balance transfers. Here are the lowest balance transfer offers in Canada that are currently available.

MBNA True Line® Mastercard®:

• Annual Fee: $0
• Balance Transfer Offer: 0% promotional annual interest rate† for 12 months on balance transfers✪ with a 3% transfer fee (terms and conditions apply; this offer is not available for residents of Quebec).

Scotiabank Value Visa Card:

• Annual Fee: $29
• Intro Interest Rates: 0% intro on balance transfers for 10 months
• Interest Rates: 12.99% on purchases and cash advances

BMO Preferred Rate Mastercard®*:

• Annual Fee: $29 (waived in the first year)
• Balance Transfer Offer: 0.99% interest rate on balance transfers for nine months with a 2% transfer fee

There are plenty of advances to low-interest credit card. Firstly, they usually have no annual fee or a very low one. They also have low-interest rates, which can save you hundreds or more per year if you carry a balance.

Low-interest credit cards have disadvantages, too. Firstly, they tend to have little to know rewards earnings. Considering that some of the best rewards or cash back credit cards on the market can earn you hundreds per year, this is a missed opportunity.

Second, they tend to have little to know insurance coverage, like travel insurance. This type of insurance coverage is incredibly valuable and frequent travellres can spend hundreds purchasing it for themselves each year—not to mention the cost of going without it, should you end up needing it.

In order to get a low-interest credit card, you need the same things as you would to apply for any credit card. You’ll need to:

• Be a Canadian resident
• Have reached age of majority in your province/territory
• Meet any income and credit score requirements
• Provide employment and person information, like your name, birthday and address

Credit card interest isn’t a blanket statement: there are different types of interest depending on the transaction type. These include:

Credit card annual interest rate

This is the percentage of interest that will be charged on an outstanding balance during a one-year period. This is also referred to as the APR.

Purchase interest rate

This is the annual interest rate you’ll pay on your regular purchases, like groceries or clothes.

Cash advance interest rate

This is the interest rate you’ll pay if you take a cash advance from your card, like withdrawing from an ATM. There is typically no grace period on this interest, either.

Balance transfer interest rate

This is the interest rate you’ll pay when you transfer your balance from another credit card. Typically, there are promotional offers to encourage you to do this, such as 0% interest for 12 months. However, there is usually a transfer fee of 1% to 3% of the total balance. Also, if your balance remains past the period of the promotional offer, it will typically be subject to the cards regular interest rate.

A fixed rate credit card is a credit card with an interest rate that will remain unchanged due to market conditions, such as inflation. Due to its stability, a fixed interest rate is generally higher than the interest rate would start out on a credit card with a variable interest rate because the higher rate compensates for any changing market conditions that may happen while it remains the same. It should also be noted that just because a fixed interest rate on a credit card doesn’t change while you have the card due to market conditions, doesn’t mean it won’t change at all. Your credit card issuer can still decide to raise your interest rate if you miss consecutive payments, for example.

A credit card with a variable rate credit card is a credit card with an interest rate than may start out lower than a fixed rate card, but it changes according to what the issuer’s prime interest rate is. This mans that every time the Bank of Canada (BoC) raises interest rates due to inflation, a variable rate credit card’s interest goes up too.

You may find that the interest rate on a variable rate credit card remains steady for several years and then suddenly or slowly goes up. Your issuing bank isn’t required to notify you when this happens (though they may still) so it’s best to keep a close eye on any changes on your monthly credit card statement and not rely on the issuer to write to you or call you.

If any charge on your credit card hasn’t been paid after the payment due date, interest is charged and will accrue for each billing cycle where you haven’t paid off the balance. You’ll find this interest charge on your credit card statement.

How to calculate credit card interest

In order to calculate your credit card interest, take your credit card’s APR and divide it by 365. This will give you the amount of interest charged per day. For instance:

20/365= 0.54

This will be the percentage you’ll pay per day on an individual charge.

To get a quick and accurate calculation of your daily credit card interest, you can use this handy Credit Card Interest Calculator.

When do you pay interest on a credit card?

After the interest-free grace period, if you haven’t paid back your balance by the due date, you’ll be charged interest. You’ll be charged interest until you pay back the amount in full.

Credit card grace period

In Canada, financial institutions offer a 21-day grace period, which begins on the last day of your billing cycle (which can be found on your credit card statement). If you pay off what you owe during this period, you won’t pay interest. This grace period doesn’t apply to cash advances or balance transfers.

If you pay off your balance in full before your grace period ends, you won’t pay interest on your credit card purchases. Look for your due date on your statement to figure out when you should pay it by.

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