Check these Canadian credit cards for students with insurance coverage, cashback options, and low-interest rate.
Key Comparisons
| RBC ION+ Visa | BMO CashBack® Mastercard®* for students | |
| Estimated Credit Score | N/A | 300 |
| Annual Fees | $48 | N/A |
| Interest Rate | 19.99% | 20.99% |
| Insurance Coverage | Yes | Yes |
| Pros | 1. Earn an extra 12,000 Avion points simply for being approved for the card in the first place. 2. Cardholders can earn 3x Avion Points for every $1 spent on rideshares and EV charging as well as the usual gas and daily transit categories. 3. Mobile Device and Purchase Security Insurance – receive 2 years of coverage up to $1,000 in the event that it is lost, stolen, inadvertently damaged, or suffers a mechanical failure. | 1. Get 3% cash back on food purchases once the welcome offer expires, 1% cash back on automatic bill payments, and limitless 0.5% cash back on all other purchases. 2. The most adaptable redemption possibilities available for any Canadian credit card (even compared to premium cash back cards). 3. Extra benefits including extended warranties and purchase protection, as well as rentals and Cirque du Soleil ticket savings. |
| Cons | 1. A disappointing insurance coverage because it only has one type of insurance. 2. An interest rate of 19.99% for new purchases and 22.99% for cash advances and balance transfers. You should therefore stay away from this card if you have a tendency to carry a balance on your credit card. 3. The value for redeeming with travel is lower than other RBC cards, requiring you to redeem 172 points to save $1 on travel (instead of 100). | 1. Only 0.5% of purchases made outside of boosted categories have a standard earn rate. 2. Monthly grocery spending and recurring bill payments are both limited to $500 each. 3. The 5% cash back welcome offer has a cap of $100 (equivalent to $2,000 in purchases). |
Key RBC ION+ Visa Benefits
Mobile Device and Purchase Security Insurance
When you use this credit card to purchase a mobile device, you will receive 2 years of coverage up to $1,000 in the event that it is lost, stolen, inadvertently damaged, or suffers a mechanical failure. This coverage applies to cell phones in particular. Automatically doubles the manufacturer’s original Canadian warranty by up to an additional year, for a total of five years, and covers qualifying card purchases against loss, theft, or damage within 90 days of purchase.
Welcome Bonus and Annual Fee
The RBC ION Visa offers a straightforward introductory bonus. Following the approval of your account, you will gain 6,000 points. You may easily get $60 in incentives with that. The fact that this card has no annual charge is a major benefit. You won’t incur any expenses by keeping this card on hand. Additionally, there are no income restrictions, which makes it simpler for people to qualify for the card.
Bonus and Points
There are special bonus categories available with the ION Visa. Bonus points for in-app purchases and purchases made for digital games? In the Canadian marketplace, that is novel. Additionally, they pretty much have all of your streaming content covered. Your non-category purchases will still earn you 1 point for every $1 spent. With each Avion Rewards point having a value of up to one cent, you may expect a fantastic return on your purchases of 1% to 1.5% with a credit card with no annual fee.
Key BMO CashBack® Mastercard®* for students Benefits
Cashback and Redeeming CashBack
From May, cardholders will be able to earn 3% cashback on groceries (up to a $500 monthly maximum), 1% cash back on any recurring bills (up to $500 per month), and 0.5% cash back on all other eligible transactions (no monthly maximum). Particularly if you spend a lot on groceries or have many regular payments, this new tiered cash back system is much more tempting. Your cash back points can now be redeemed even faster thanks to BMO. With a BMO MasterCard, you can always get cash back starting at only $1. Every time your cash back balance hits $25, you can also set up automatic cash back redemptions into a BMO account (like a checking, savings, or BMO InvestorLine account). Additionally, you have the option of using your cash back earnings as a bill credit. Especially when compared to cash back cards that only allow you to redeem your points once a year or if you reach a certain minimum reward amount, this card’s numerous redemption options give tremendous flexibility.
Welcome Bonus and Perks
Receive a $50 cash back bonus (when you spend $6,000 in your first year) in addition to up to 5% cash back in your first three months. The excellent balance transfer offer on the BMO Cash Back MasterCard continues to set it apart from many other no-fee and even premium cash back cards. For the first nine months, cardholders can benefit from a 0.99% introductory interest rate on balance transfers. Note that there is a 2% transfer fee* and that after the nine-month period, the interest rate on the remaining balance transfers increases to a high cash advance rate of 22.99% (21.99% for Quebec residents).You can save up to 25% on rentals from National Car Rental and Alamo Rent A Car locations if you ever need to rent a car or van (for example, for a short road trip or to move into a new apartment).
Credit Booster
One of the simplest ways to start and gradually raise your credit score is to obtain and appropriately use a credit card. Of course, when you’re young and have little income, as when you’re a student, it can be difficult to get a credit card. Fortunately, most banks are aware of this and provide a variety of credit cards with reduced approval standards that most students can fulfill. These cards are specifically created for students. If you use one of these credit cards for students, like the BMO CashBack Mastercard for students, and pay it off completely each month, it can help you raise your credit score.