Best Canadian Credit Cards With No Foreign Transaction Fee

The best credit cards in Canada with no foreign transaction fee are the Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite + Card for regular travellers, the Scotiabank Gold American Express Card for heavy food spenders and the Wealthsimple Visa Infinite + Card for flat 2% cash back. All three skip the 2.5% foreign currency charge most Canadian cards add. If you want no annual fee, look at the Home Trust Preferred Visa or the Wealthsimple Visa Infinite 1% Card. Fees and rates below are as of September 2026, so confirm them on the issuer's site before you apply.

Which Canadian credit cards have no foreign transaction fee?

Five cards we review either waive the foreign transaction fee or let you turn it off: the Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite +, the Scotiabank Gold American Express, the Wealthsimple Visa Infinite +, the Rogers Red World Legend Mastercard and, as an optional benefit, the Wealthsimple Visa Infinite 1% Card. Here is how they compare.

Most other cards in our Canadian lineup, including the TD Aeroplan Visa Infinite, RBC Avion Visa Infinite, CIBC Aventura Visa Infinite and American Express Cobalt, charge 2.5% on foreign currency purchases. That is the default you are trying to avoid.

What does a foreign transaction fee actually cost?

On most Canadian cards it costs 2.5% of every purchase made in a currency other than Canadian dollars. The Financial Consumer Agency of Canada (FCAC) explains that issuers apply the charge after converting your purchase into Canadian dollars, so it sits on top of the exchange rate.

The fee is not only a travel cost. It also applies when you buy online from a store that bills in US dollars, euros or pounds, even if you never leave home. Home Trust and Brim both say so in their card disclosures.

The maths is simple. A two-week trip with $3,000 of foreign spending costs $75 in fees at 2.5%. A household that spends $8,000 a year across trips, US-dollar subscriptions and cross-border online orders pays $200. A no-FX card takes that cost to zero, and most of these cards still earn rewards on the same purchases.

How we picked

We started from the Canadian cards on creditcardcompare.net and kept only those whose terms show no foreign transaction fee, or an option to remove it. We then ranked them on four things:

• Everyday earn in Canada. Most of your spending still happens at home, so a no-FX card has to earn well on groceries, dining and bills, not just abroad.
• Annual fee against value. We compared each fee with what a typical traveller saves on the 2.5% charge plus what the card earns.
• Eligibility. Income minimums range from $12,000 to $150,000 personal, which rules some cards in or out quickly.
• Acceptance. American Express is accepted at fewer places than Visa or Mastercard, which matters more when you travel.

Fees, earn rates and eligibility are as of September 2026 and come from our card reviews and the issuers' own pages.

The best no-FX-fee cards in Canada, reviewed

Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite + Card

This is the most complete travel card on the list. Scotiabank lists a $150 annual fee, no foreign transaction fee and six complimentary airport lounge visits a year. It earns 3 Scene+ points per $1 on groceries, 2 points on dining, entertainment and transit, and 1 point on everything else, and it now includes a yearly 10 GB GigSky global data plan.

The catch is eligibility. Scotiabank asks for a minimum personal income of $60,000 to $80,000 or more, or household income of $100,000 to $150,000 or more. The welcome offer was also reduced in August 2026, so check the current bonus before you apply.

Scotiabank Gold American Express Card

If you spend heavily on food, this card earns the most points at home of any no-FX card here. Our review lists 5x Scene+ points on groceries, dining and entertainment and 3x on gas and transit, and Scotiabank's current page adds a 6x rate at Sobeys, Safeway, FreshCo and Foodland. The accelerated rates apply to the first $50,000 of eligible purchases each year, the annual fee is $120 and the minimum personal income is just $12,000.

The catch is the network. American Express is accepted at fewer merchants than Visa or Mastercard, so carry a no-FX Visa or Mastercard as a backup when you travel.

Wealthsimple Visa Infinite + Card

This is the simplest pick: unlimited 2% cash back on every purchase and a 0% foreign exchange fee, so a hotel in Lisbon earns exactly what groceries in Calgary do. The fee is $240 a year, billed as $20 a month, but Wealthsimple waives it if you hold $100,000 or more in individual assets with it or direct deposit at least $4,000 a month into a Wealthsimple chequing account.

The catch is that you have to bank with Wealthsimple. You need an active Wealthsimple chequing account and a personal income of at least $80,000, or $150,000 household.

Rogers Red World Legend Mastercard

This premium Mastercard pairs no foreign transaction fee with cash back and six Plaza Premium Lounge passes a year. It suits Rogers, Fido or Shaw customers who travel abroad often and want Mastercard's wider acceptance.

The catch is cost and eligibility. The fee is $495 and Rogers Bank asks for a minimum income of $150,000 personal or $200,000 household. Part of the card's value comes from credits that only apply to Rogers services, so confirm the cash back rate that applies to you on Rogers Bank's site before applying.

Wealthsimple Visa Infinite 1% Card (beta)

This is the only no-fee card in our reviews that lets you remove foreign transaction fees. It earns 1% cash back on everything, and during your application you pick three benefits from a list; Wealthsimple's Help Centre lists FX fee reversals as one option. Your choices are locked in for 12 months.

The catch is access. The card is an invite-only beta, it needs a personal income of $60,000 or household income of $100,000 (or $250,000 or more in assets), and choosing the FX benefit uses one of your three picks.

Home Trust Preferred Visa (no-fee alternative)

We do not have a full review of this card yet, but Home Trust's own page confirms it has no annual fee and no exchange fees on foreign currency transactions, including online purchases. It earns 1% cash back on eligible purchases with no cap. See the Home Trust issuer page for its other cards.

There are two catches. Foreign currency purchases do not earn cash back, so abroad you save the 2.5% but earn nothing, and the card is not available to Quebec residents. Home Trust lists a 21.99% purchase interest rate.

Is a no-FX card worth an annual fee?

A no-FX card is worth an annual fee when the 2.5% you save on foreign spending, plus the rewards you earn, adds up to more than the fee. The quick test is to divide the fee by 0.025. A $150 fee is covered by fee savings alone at $6,000 a year of foreign spending, and a $120 fee at $4,800.

You rarely have to rely on fee savings alone, because these cards also earn on spending at home. Points from your weekly groceries on the Scotiabank Gold Amex, for example, count toward its fee too. The clearest case where a paid no-FX card loses is a light traveller who spends little abroad and would earn more from a no-fee card in Canada.

If you travel once or twice a year, the Home Trust Preferred Visa or the Wealthsimple 1% card removes the fee without adding a new yearly cost.

What about Brim, Tangerine and other low-FX options?

Brim is no longer a no-FX option. Brim's site now lists a 1.5% foreign transaction fee on its cards, which is cheaper than the usual 2.5% but not zero, so Brim is not in our picks.

The Tangerine Money-Back Credit Card charges 2.5% on foreign currency purchases, but Tangerine lets you choose Foreign Currency Spend as one of your 2% cash back categories. That recovers most of the fee rather than removing it, leaving a net cost of about 0.5% on foreign purchases.

If most of your foreign spending is in US dollars, a US dollar credit card is another route. We compare that approach in our guide to the best credit card for Canada and US spending.

Who should skip these cards?

• People who rarely spend in foreign currency. If you spend a few hundred dollars a year abroad or online in other currencies, a strong no-fee cash back card will likely earn you more.
• Anyone who carries a balance. The FCAC notes that the interest rate matters little only if you pay your balance in full every month. Interest at 20% or more wipes out FX savings quickly.
• Applicants below the income thresholds. Apart from the Scotiabank Gold Amex, every paid card here asks for $60,000 or more in personal income.
• Amex-only wallets. If the Gold Amex would be your only card, add a Visa or Mastercard for merchants that do not take American Express.

For a deeper look at how these charges work in Canada, the US, the UK and Australia, read our explainer on foreign transaction fees.