The strongest everyday earner in Canada for food spend. If you can work around Amex acceptance, the Cobalt out-earns nearly every premium card at a fraction of the fee.
Best for: People who spend heavily on groceries, restaurants, and delivery and want maximum transferable points per dollar.
Skip if: Your main grocery stores don't take Amex, or you want a simple card with no monthly-fee bookkeeping.
$191.88 annual fee · First-year net value ≈ $699 · Amex Membership Rewards · See offer
The strongest all-around cash-back Mastercard in Canada by blended rate. The fee pays for itself quickly for grocery-heavy households.
Best for: Households with heavy grocery and recurring-bill spend who want the strongest blended cash-back rate available on a Mastercard.
Skip if: Your grocery spend doesn't get near $500 a month — the 5% stops there, and the no-fee CashBack Mastercard captures most of the value for free.
$139 annual fee · First-year net value ≈ $740 · Cash back · See offer
The best 'simple points' earner in Canada. Pairs a huge food multiplier with no-FX — a strong one-card answer for pragmatists.
Best for: Food-heavy spenders who want high guaranteed earn without learning transfer partners.
Skip if: You'd rather earn transferable points — the Cobalt's MR points are worth roughly double per point.
$120 annual fee · First-year net value ≈ $620 · Scene+ · See offer
A dining card wearing a cash-back card's name. The 4% on restaurants is permanent and among the best no-fee dining rates in Canada, but it stops at $5,000 of spend a year and everything outside that category earns ordinary rates.
Best for: People who eat out regularly and want a no-fee card whose best rate — 4% on restaurants, bars, and coffee shops — doesn't expire after year one.
Skip if: Groceries dominate your spend: 1.5% is well behind the no-fee cards built around the grocery aisle.
No annual fee · First-year net value ≈ $340 · Cash back · See offer
A solid no-fee grocery earner. Straightforward and fee-free, with an upgrade path once spend outgrows the cap.
Best for: Free-card shoppers whose grocery bill is the biggest line item in the budget.
Skip if: Your grocery spend already exceeds $12,000/year — the World Elite version's higher cap and bill-payment rate pay for its fee.
No annual fee · First-year net value ≈ $140 · Cash back · See offer
An excellent free card for the right household, and an unremarkable 1% card for everyone else. Know your banners before applying.
Best for: Loblaws/Shoppers/No Frills shoppers who want a free World Elite card layered onto grocery spend they're already doing.
Skip if: You don't shop Loblaw banners — the earn rate collapses to 1% elsewhere.
No annual fee · First-year net value ≈ $90 · PC Optimum · See offer
A capable low-fee card for existing National Bank clients. Cancel the bundled insurance once the bonus posts to keep it cheap.
Best for: National Bank clients who want a low-fee rewards card with a real grocery/dining bonus rate.
Skip if: You want transferable points — Amex Cobalt or other MR cards earn more per dollar with airline upside.
$70 annual fee · First-year net value ≈ $390 · National Bank Rewards · See offer
A genuinely strong no-fee card for Canadian Tire loyalists — 4% at Triangle banners and 3% on groceries rival paid cash-back cards — but the income requirement and CT Money's redemption ceiling keep it a specialist's pick rather than an everyday-carry default.
Best for: Canadian Tire, Sport Chek, and Mark's shoppers with real grocery spend who clear the income threshold and want a free World Elite card.
Skip if: You don't shop Triangle-family banners regularly, or you don't clear the $80K/$150K income bar — the fee-free base Triangle Mastercard earns the same rates without the income gate.
No annual fee · First-year net value ≈ $250 · CT Money · See offer
A solid, unglamorous free cash-back card. The 2% grocery rate is its best feature; everything else is average.
Best for: Grocery-heavy households who want a simple, genuinely free cash-back card.
Skip if: You spend heavily outside groceries/gas/dining — a flat-rate card likely earns more overall.
No annual fee · First-year net value ≈ $120 · Cash back · See offer
A capable no-fee entry into Scene+. Fine on its own, and a natural stepping stone toward the Passport once travel and lounge access matter.
Best for: Free-card users who want simple points on food and entertainment spend with an easy upgrade path to the Passport later.
Skip if: You want cash back with no redemption thinking at all — a flat cash-back card is simpler for the same $0 fee.
No annual fee · First-year net value ≈ $130 · Scene+ · See offer
A solid broad-category 2% cash-back card, freshly restructured in February 2026. The $49 fee and lack of a sign-up bonus are the main drawbacks.
Best for: Everyday spenders who want simple flat-2% cash back across groceries, gas, transit, and bills.
Skip if: You spend heavily past $25,000/year in those categories, or you want a card with no annual fee.
$49 annual fee · First-year net value ≈ $250 · Cash back · See offer
A well-targeted student card: modest earn, but on exactly the categories a student budget hits, with a redemption a 19-year-old will actually use.
Best for: Students who go to the movies and want simple, immediately-usable points on food and entertainment spend.
Skip if: You'd rather build travel points — Scene+ doesn't transfer anywhere.
No annual fee · First-year net value ≈ $105 · Scene+ · See offer
A strong no-fee Scene+ grocery card for Empire-banner shoppers. The 3x grocery rate is genuinely good; Amex acceptance is the only real friction.
Best for: Shoppers at Sobeys-family grocers who want a no-fee Scene+ earner and can work around Amex acceptance.
Skip if: Your grocery store doesn't take Amex, or you want travel insurance built in.
No annual fee · First-year net value ≈ $180 · Scene+ · See offer
A fee-based upgrade over PC's free World Elite card, justified mainly by the PC Express Pass. Confirm current earn rates directly before applying.
Best for: Heavy Loblaw-banner households who use PC Express grocery delivery/pickup often enough to offset the fee.
Skip if: You don't use PC Express delivery — the no-fee PC World Elite Mastercard likely nets more value.
$120 annual fee · First-year net value ≈ $150 · PC Optimum · See offer
A solid no-fee TD Rewards earner. The 3x grocery/dining/transit rate is genuinely good; just redeem through Expedia For TD to get full value.
Best for: Anyone who wants a no-fee everyday points card with strong grocery, dining, and transit earn and no income requirement.
Skip if: You want maximum point value or transferable rewards — TD Rewards redeem best only through Expedia For TD.
No annual fee · First-year net value ≈ $200 · TD Rewards · See offer
A reasonable no-fee grocery cash-back card, but the $6,000 cap and participating-merchant restriction limit how much the 2% rate is really worth.
Best for: No-fee shoppers who buy groceries at mainstream (non-warehouse) grocers and want simple cash back.
Skip if: You buy groceries at Costco or Walmart (they may not earn 2%), or you want a flat-rate card with no category caps.
No annual fee · First-year net value ≈ $150 · Cash back · See offer
A capable no-fee everyday earner with an unusually broad 2x list and a birthday bonus. Redeem for travel to get the most from the points.
Best for: Anyone who wants a no-fee points card with broad 2x categories and doesn't mind ~0.5¢ cash redemptions.
Skip if: You want higher redemption value or uncapped categories — a flat cash-back card may net more.
No annual fee · First-year net value ≈ $120 · MBNA Rewards · See offer
The accessible on-ramp to Triangle Rewards. Upgrade to the World Elite tier the moment your income qualifies — same fee, better grocery rate.
Best for: Canadian Tire, Sport Chek, and Mark's shoppers who don't clear the World Elite tier's income requirement.
Skip if: You clear the $80K/$150K income bar — the World Elite version earns double on groceries for the same $0 fee.
No annual fee · First-year net value ≈ $150 · CT Money · See offer
A fine low-fee cash-back card, but the $30 fee is hard to justify against free alternatives earning similar rates.
Best for: National Bank clients who want simple, broad cash-back categories without tracking a complex rewards program.
Skip if: You want a genuinely free card — mycredit Mastercard or Tangerine Money-Back earn similar rates with no fee.
$30 annual fee · First-year net value ≈ $80 · Cash back · See offer
Rewards math assumes you pay your balance in full every month — interest charges quickly exceed any rewards value.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best credit cards for groceries and dining in canada?
Amex Cobalt Card leads this ranking with a Standard Score of 7.7/10. BMO CashBack World Elite Mastercard is the closest runner-up. See the full comparison table above for how every card in this category scores.
How is this ranking put together?
Cards are ranked by the Standard Score — six weighted components applied identically to every card in this category. Cards with the same published one-decimal score are co-ranked. The full weights, grading scale, and principles are published in our methodology.
Why do earn rates on groceries vary so much between cards?
Card networks and issuers negotiate different merchant-category codes, so a card that pays well at a supermarket banner might pay only its base rate at a warehouse club or specialty grocer. Check whether your usual store is coded as "grocery" by your specific card before assuming a headline rate applies.
Are there caps on bonus grocery or dining earn rates?
Many cards cap the bonus-category spend that earns the higher rate, often monthly or annually, with everything past the cap dropping to the base rate. Read each card's review for its cap details — a high headline rate with a low cap can underperform a lower, uncapped rate for big spenders.