How do I use the credit card compare tool?

The compare tool ranks Canadian credit cards on your own spending, so the card at the top is the one that pays you the most, not the one with the loudest ad. You tell it how you spend, choose what you want in a card, and read the numbers on each card.

Step 1: Tell it how you spend

Under Rewards Calculator Algorithm choose how to give us your spending.

Step 2: Set your preferences

Under Credit Card Preferences each choice changes which cards show up or how they are valued:

• Reward Type: Cash Back, Points or Both (the default).
• Points Redemption Type: Cash Value or Best Redemption (the default). It appears unless you chose Cash Back only. Cash Value hides points cards that can't be redeemed for cash. Which one should I pick?
• Annual Fee: No fees shows only cards with no annual fee. Yes, if it's worth it (the default) shows them all.
• Special Rebates: Cash Rebates shows only cards that currently have a Finly rebate, paid to you when you apply and are approved. All cards shows everything.
• Credit & Income Info: your Credit Score, and your Personal and Household income. Cards whose requirements you wouldn't meet are left out.
• Special Benefits and Annual Fee Rebates: tell us if you are a Rogers, Fido, Shaw or Comwave customer, or have $100K or more at Wealthsimple (or $4,000 or more a month in direct deposit), or would sign up for a bank account that waives a card's annual fee. Eligible cards are then valued with the boost or the waiver.
• Show More Filters: Institutions, Payment Networks, Benefits, Insurance and Card Types. Pick the ones a card must have.

Click Reset Filters to Default to start over. Above the list, type in Search for a credit card to find one by name.

Step 3: Choose how to sort

Use Sort By. The list starts on Net Annual Rewards. A note under the heading repeats what the current sort means.

• Net Annual Rewards: ongoing yearly rewards after subtracting the annual fee.
• First Year Total Value: welcome bonus and rewards, minus fees.
• First Year Bonus Value: the welcome bonus only.
• Lowest Fee: annual fee from lowest to highest, no-fee cards first.
• Lowest Interest: purchase interest rate from lowest to highest.
• Finly Rebate: the exclusive Finly cash back when you apply through us.

Step 4: Read a card's numbers

Each card shows its First Year Bonus Value (or Welcome bonus if we can't calculate it), its Net Annual Rewards, and a First Year Value badge. Click the info icon on the badge to see how the figure is built. If a card has a welcome bonus your spending doesn't reach, the bonus shows as $0 with the note “Adjust spending to reach bonus”.

What the First Year Value is made of

The info icon lists the parts:

• First Year Rewards: a year of your spending at the card's own earn rates, with its caps applied. Points are valued at the redemption you chose.
• plus First Year Bonus Value: the welcome bonus, only if your spending reaches what the offer asks for inside its time window.
• plus Finly Rebate: shown only when the card has one.
• minus Annual Fee: crossed out and shown as $0 when the fee is waived for the first year, or waived by an option you chose.
• minus Foreign Transaction Fees: shown only when you have foreign spending and the card charges a fee on it.