0% rate on balance transfers for 12 months (3% fee and not available in Quebec)†

Card Details
Interest Rates
Purchase: 12.99%*
Cash Advance: 24.99%*
Balance Transfer: 17.99%*
Promotional Rates
Balance Transfer: 0%*
Promotional Period: 12 months*
Annual Fee
$0
Annual Income
Personal: N/A
Household: N/A
Credit Score Estimate
Welcome Bonus
- You could get a 0% promotional annual interest rate (“AIR”)† for 12 months on balance transfers✪ completed within 90 days of account opening, with a 3% transfer fee.
- This offer is not available for residents of Quebec.
Card & Reward Type
Card Type: Credit
Reward Type: None
Our Rating
5/5
Institution
MBNA
Rewards
- No rewards earned on purchases.
- Standard Annual Interest Rates of 12.99% on eligible purchases, 17.99% on balance transfers✪, and 24.99% on cash advances.
- You could get a 0% promotional annual interest rate (“AIR”)† for 12 months on balance transfers✪ completed within 90 days of account opening, with a 3% transfer fee. This offer is not available for residents of Quebec.
- Use available credit on your credit card to transfer funds right to your chequing account.
- Around-the-clock fraud protection.
Insurance & Benefits
No insurance coverage information available for this card.
Benefits
Details
Car Rental Discount
10% off base rate of Avis Rent A Car and Budget Rent A Car in Canada and US and 5% internationally
Pros & Cons
Pros
- Great to reduce monthly interest payments during the promotional period.
- Low purchase interest rate for people planning to put some balance on their credit card.
Cons
- A flat fee has to be paid on the balance to make the transfer happen.
- Not a good card other for purposes other than balance transfer.
MBNA True Line® Mastercard® Review
The MBNA True Line Mastercard is truly a top-pick for a low-interest credit card.
Sure, with this card, you won’t receive any rewards or coverage, but that’s the compromise you make for substantial savings on interest rates, designed to reduce your monthly payments.
For more information on why this low-interest contender should be on your budget-conscious radar, keep reading.
How You Earn Rewards with the MBNA True Line Mastercard
As we briefly mentioned in the intro, the MBNA True Line Mastercard doesn’t have a rewards program. Instead, the card boasts impressive low-interest rates – something we’ll get into in the next section.
4 Benefits of the MBNA True Line Mastercard
There are plenty of perks tacked on to an MBNA True Line Mastercard membership, let’s take a look at those now:
No Annual Fee
Nothing truly says budget-friendly like no annual fee. Pair that with some savings on interest rates, and you’ve got one of the best credit cards if you’re trying not to break the bank.
Low-Interest Balance Transfer Promotional Period
Perhaps the biggest stand-out feature of the MBNA True Line Mastercard is its promotional period. With this offer, you’ll receive 0% interest for the first year of membership on balance transfers completed within the first few months (specifically 90 days) of account opening.
Still, keep in mind that this welcome bonus is accompanied by a 3% transfer fee.
Low Purchase Interest Rates
Beyond the promotional period, cardholders can expect all-time low interest rates on purchases – perfect for those planning to put some balance on their MBNA True Line Mastercard.
Car Rental Discounts
Despite having no rewards program or insurance coverage, the MBNA True Line Mastercard includes one benefit that road trippers might enjoy.
With this card, take 10% off the base rate of Avis Rent A Car and Budget Rent A Car rentals. These discounts tend to be higher at locations in Canada and the U.S., but lower discount rates are also available through international dealers.
2 Downsides to the MBNA True Line Mastercard
When it comes to credit card reviews, we tell the truth, and truthfully, the MBNA True Line Mastercard has some downsides.
No Rewards or Coverage
It should come as no surprise that one of this card’s biggest downfalls is the fact that it has no rewards program or insurance coverage – but that’s kind of to be expected with most low-interest credit cards.
Still, there are some contenders that successfully blend low interest, a rewards program, benefits, and insurance coverage. You’ll see what we mean in the comparison section.
Higher Interest Rates Outside of the Promotional Period
After the promotional period, apart from the interest rates on purchases, rates on balance transfers and cash advances are still decently high compared to other low-interest options, technically making the MBNA True Line Mastercard less well-rounded as a low-interest contender.
Comparison to Two Other Top Low-Interest Credit Cards
Now that we’ve identified both the MBNA True Line Mastercard’s strong points and shortcomings, it’s time to compare it to other top low-interest credit cards on the Canadian market.
This way, you can see where the MBNA True Line Mastercard continues to prevail and where another option might be better suited to your spending habits.
Here’s a quick overview of the comparisons we’ll be making:
MBNA True Line® Mastercard® | Scotiabank Value® Visa* Card | Scotiabank Platinum American Express® Card | |
---|---|---|---|
Welcome Bonus | 0% rate on balance transfers for 12 months (3% fee and not available in Quebec)† | 0.99% interest on balance transfers for 9 months + first year fee rebate | Up to 80,000 Scene+ points ($800 value) |
Earn Rates |
| This card does not earn rewards on purchases but instead offers much lower interest rates. |
|
Insurance Included | None | 1 type
| 13 types
|
Perks | 1 perk
| 1 perk
| 8 perks
|
Annual Fee | $0 | $29 (First Year Waived) | $399 |
Income Requirements | N/A | N/A | $12,000 personal or $12,000 household |
Apply Now | APPLY NOW | APPLY NOW | APPLY NOW |
MBNA True Line Mastercard vs Scotiabank Value Visa Card
Voted the best overall low-interest credit card by FinlyWealth, it’s no wonder that we’re going to start with the Scotiabank Value Visa Card.
Unlike the MBNA True Line Mastercard, this Visa card comes with a small annual fee. Luckily though, the annual fee is completely waived in the first year of membership.
Moving on to welcome bonuses, while both cards provide promotional offers on balance transfers, the MBNA True Line Mastercard has the better bonus since it supplies cardholders with 0% interest in the first year, whereas the Scotiabank Value Visa Card offers a 0.99% balance transfer rate for the first 9 months of membership instead.
Overall though, the Scotiabank Value Visa Card has lower interest rates on both cash advances and balance transfers outside of the promotional period. However, the MBNA True Line Mastercard still has the best low-interest rate on purchases.
Like the MBNA True Line Mastercard, the Scotiabank Value Visa Card has no rewards program or included coverage. That said, you can opt into balance protection insurance through either a Basic or Comprehensive protection plan.
The two low-interest contenders offer car rental discounts at Avis Rent A Car and Budget Rent A Car locations, except the discount rates are actually higher with the Scotiabank Value Visa.
Ultimately, if you’re looking for better overall low-interest rates on cash advances and balance transfers, plus the opportunity to opt into balance protection insurance, the Scotiabank Value Visa Card might be better suited to you. On the other hand, if you’re more concerned about the interest rates on your purchases and you want a better balance transfer welcome bonus if you want to pay of your balance faster, all for no annual fee, stick to the MBNA True Line Mastercard.
MBNA True Line Mastercard vs Scotiabank Platinum American Express Card
So far, we’ve covered a low-interest Mastercard and a low-interest Visa Card, now it’s time to throw a low-interest American Express credit card into the mix – just to cover all of our bases!
The Scotiabank American Express Card is a bit more exclusive than our previous two low-interest competitors. This card comes with a substantial annual fee and some low income requirements, but there’s a reason for this.
For starters, this contender has the lowest interest rates on purchases, cash advances, and balance transfers at all times – even without having an interest-specific welcome bonus.
Secondly, unlike the MBNA True Line Mastercard (or the Scotiabank Value Visa Card for that matter), the Scotiabank American Express Card actually has a rewards program, earning cardholders a flat rate of Scene+ points on all eligible purchases, plus some bonus points per dollar spent on hotel bookings, car rentals, and arrangements made through Scene+ Travel, powered by Expedia.
If that wasn’t enough, the Scotiabank Platinum American Express Card also has a whopping 13 insurance categories, with valuable travel inclusions like trip interruption and trip cancellation insurance, hotel burglary insurance, and emergency medical coverages.
On top of this, you can expect plenty of premium perks, like no foreign transactions fees (which allows cardholders to avoid the 2.5% fee on international transactions), a Hertz #1 Club Gold Member status lift, and most importantly, tons of complimentary airport lounge access through Priority Pass and Plaza Premium lounges.
Clearly, you’d only apply for the Scotiabank Platinum American Express Card over the MBNA True Line Mastercard if you’re a high spending frequent luxury traveller that’s still looking to save on interest rates. Otherwise, the MBNA True Line Mastercard is much more affordable, accessible, and straight to the point.
Final Verdict
If you’re in search of the best no-fee low-interest credit card, your journey just might end here.
The MBNA True Line Mastercard has nearly everything a budget-conscious cardholder could ask for – including an impressive balance transfer welcome bonus and all-time low interest rates on purchases. They’ve even thrown in some car rental discounts as an added benefit, perhaps to make up for its lack of a rewards program and insurance coverage.
Of course, if you’re looking for better interest rates on cash advances and balance transfers outside of a promotional period, you might want to spend a little more on cards like the Scotiabank Value Visa. Or, if you want the lowest interest rates possible across all interest categories, plus tons of premium benefits, coverage, and a rewards program – consider splurging for the Scotiabank Platinum American Express Card instead.
Legal
†, ✪, Terms and Conditions apply.
This offer is not available for residents of Quebec.
Sponsored advertising. MBNA is a division of The Toronto-Dominion Bank (TD) and TD is not responsible for the contents of this site including any editorials or reviews that may appear on this site. For complete information on this MBNA credit card, please click on the “Apply Now” button.
The Toronto-Dominion Bank is the issuer of this credit card. MBNA is a division of The Toronto-Dominion Bank. ®MBNA and other-trademarks are the property of The Toronto-Dominion Bank.
Balance transfers will be fulfilled in the order listed and are treated as balance transfers in accordance with your Account Agreement. The total value of balance transfers cannot exceed your authorized credit limit. If the value is greater, MBNA may send a partial payment to the named creditor/designated account. THERE WILL BE A TRANSACTION FEE EQUAL TO 3.00% OF THE DOLLAR AMOUNT OF EACH BALANCE TRANSFER INITIATED WITH THIS APPLICATION. A MINIMUM FEE OF $7.50 WILL APPLY TO EACH BALANCE TRANSFER TRANSACTION. A balance transfer may not be used to pay off or down your account balance or any other balances with us (including our affiliates, which would include any member of the TD Bank Group).