Two of the leading Canadian credit cards with no annual charge and include insurance coverage, purchase security and extended protection, as well as an additional card at no extra cost.
Key Comparisons
| BMO AIR MILES®† Mastercard®* for students | RBC ION Visa | |
| Estimated Credit Score | 300 | N/A |
| Annual Fees | N/A | N/A |
| Interest Rate | 20.99% | 19.99% |
| Insurance Coverage | Yes | Yes |
| Pros | 1. 3x the Miles for every $25 at participating Air Miles partners and get 800 bonus miles as a welcome bonus. 2. Any Cash Miles you collect can only be redeemed as cash rewards, where 95 miles is worth $10. 3. includes 1 year of extended warranty coverage and 90 days of purchase protection, giving you some added protection for the things you buy. | 1. 1.5 points per $1 spent on groceries, daily transit, rideshares, EV Charging, streaming, digital gaming, and subscriptions. 2. Earn an extra 20% Petro Points – on top of the 3 cents per litre you’re saving when you pay with this credit card and every $1 you spend at Rexall drug stores will rake you in 50 more Be Well points. 3. Get 6,000 Avion points on approval – that’s a $60 value. |
| Cons | 1. It doesn’t come with many related benefits like travel medical insurance, airport lounge access, flight discounts, and discounted vacation packages. 2. You can only earn 0.69% based on flights, and an even lower 0.42% if you collect cash miles. 3. Includes only 2 types of purchase insurance. | 1. A disappointing insurance package, it comes with only an Extended Warranty and Purchase Protection. 2. Travel value is much lower, you’ll need to redeem 172 points to save $1 instead of the usual 100, and you can’t transfer to HBC. 3. Don’t get full access to the RBC Avion Rewards program. |
Key Benefits of BMO AIR MILES®† Mastercard®* for students
Annual Fee and Welcome Bonus
Though this is standard for a student credit card, it’s still comforting to note that there is no annual charge on this card. The BMO student Air Miles Mastercard features a great earn rate that is double at participating partners when it comes to earning Air Miles. When you spend $1,000 in the first three months, you will receive 800 bonus miles. That’s a lot of perks for a student credit card. When redeemed for Air Miles cash, they are worth $84. And it’s worth up to $138 if you optimize flight redemptions using dream miles.
Basic Insurance Coverage
It isn’t much, but it does include a minimal extended warranty and purchase protection. Anything over and beyond basic rewards and no annual fee is a plus for a student credit card. Things purchased with this credit card will have more protection, therefore it is best to make use of the privileges that come with your card.
Air Miles Rewards
If you collect Air Miles, you know how difficult it is to build up your rewards bank at the usual earn rate. However, by carrying the BMO AIR MILES® Mastercard®* for students in your wallet, you’ll be able to earn 1 Air Mile for every $25 spent everywhere. Plus, when you shop at eligible Air Miles partners, your earning rate is tripled. You can use your Air Miles points to pay for travel, products, and events, as well as to pay for purchases in-store. Miles earned with the BMO AIR MILES® Mastercard®* for students (including welcome bonus miles) are applied to the next status level. With enhanced status, you might obtain exclusive deals on items and travel.
Key Benefits of RBC ION Visa
Annual Fee and Welcome Bonus
Earn 1.5X Avion points1 with every $1 spend on groceries, rides, gas, and electric vehicle charging, streaming, digital gaming, and subscriptions. For every $1 spent on all other qualifying purchases, you will receive one Avion point. With Interac e-Transfer2, you may use your Avion points to pay bills, and credit card balances, or even transfer money to friends. Because the minimum redemption is only $10, you may put your points to good use. Through avionrewards.com, you may redeem your points for gift cards, merchandise, the latest Apple devices, over 50,000 tech products at Best Buy, and more.
Purchase Security and Extended Warranty Insurance
Purchase Security Insurance covers direct unintentional physical loss or damage to personal property or gifts purchased with your RBC ION Visa credit card and/or RBC Rewards® points for ninety (90) days from the date of purchase. The maximum amount of coverage is $50,000 per year, or the equal number of RBC Rewards points, per RBC ION Visa credit card. Extended Warranty Insurance, on the other hand, instantly doubles the original manufacturer’s warranty for a period of up to one (1) year.
Additional Perks
When you link the RBC ION Visa to your Petro-Points account and pay with it, you save 3 cents per liter on gas or diesel purchases at Petro-Canada and earn 20% more Petro-Points and Avion points. Cardholders will also receive a 3-month complimentary DashPass subscription worth over $30. When you purchase with your RBC credit card, you will be charged no delivery fees on orders of $15 or more. RBC credit cardholders who connect a Be Well card can earn 50 Be Well points for every $1 spent at Rexall. With zero-liability coverage, you can rest easy knowing that your card is safe from unlawful use. If you have any problems with your account, you can contact RBC via their 24-hour customer support number.