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Tangerine credit cards

How to choose the best Tangerine credit card for you based on cash back rewards, travel benefits and different insurance options.

Looking for the best Tangerine credit card for your lifestyle? Our guide below covers the different Tangerine cards available and their benefits and rewards. We also cover Tangerine credit card requirements, how to apply for a Tangerine card and go through the main Tangerine credit card categories you can select to earn higher cash back return rates.

Compare Tangerine cards

Tangerine World Mastercard

Tangerine World Mastercard logo
Credit recommended (600-)
Read review
600
Min. credit score
$0
Annual fee
Up to 2%
Cash back
10% cash back
Welcome offer
If you're looking for a $0 annual fee credit card with unlimited cash back rewards and a competitive balance transfer offer, then the Tangerine World Mastercard could be right for you. Earn unlimited 2% cash back in two Tangerine credit card categories of your choice (or three categories if you open a Tangerine Savings Account and directly deposit your cash back into the account), and unlimited 0.5% cash back on everything else. Conditions apply. Earn 10% cash back (up to $100) when you spend $1,000 in the first 2 months. Valid until October 31, 2024.
  • Annual fee. This card has a $0 annual fee.
  • Additional cardholders. Add up to 5 additional cardholders for $0.
  • Earn rewards. Earn unlimited 2% cash back in two Tangerine credit card categories of your choice (or three categories if you open a Tangerine Savings Account and directly deposit your cash back into the account), and unlimited 0.5% cash back on everything else. Conditions apply.
  • Earn even more. You can unlock cashback offers while travelling outside of Canada and get rebates which you can apply to your statement with Mastercard Travel Rewards by using your card at select merchants.
  • Balance transfer. Get a 1.95% interest rate on balance transfers for the first six months. You must request a balance transfer within 30 days of approval and activate your card within 45 days of approval. A 1% fee applies (waived for Quebec residents). Other terms and conditions apply.
  • Travel perks. Enjoy exclusive dining, retail and spa offers in over 650 airports worldwide with a complimentary Mastercard Travel Pass provided by DragonPass. Get free car rental insurance, and access over 1,300 airport lounges for $32 USD per visit. Stay connected with access to more than 1 million Wi-Fi hotspots globally through Boingo.
  • Rental car. Charge the full cost of a rental vehicle to your card, and get complimentary damage and theft protection for up to 31 consecutive days.
  • Apps and subscription access. As a cardholder, you'll have access to special benefits and offers from on-demand apps and subscription services.
  • Minimum income requirement. You need a minimum personal income of $50,000 or a combined household income of at least $80,000 to apply for this card.
  • Foreign transaction fee. You'll face a foreign transaction fee of 2.5% every time you use your card overseas or online with international retailers.
  • Limited travel benefits. Though this card offers some nice travel perks, it doesn't come with many of the travel benefits offered by more premium credit cards such as complimentary travel insurance, free flight and hotel upgrades and discounted car rentals.
Annual Fee $0
Purchase APR 19.95%
Cash Advance Rate 19.95%
Balance transfer APR 1.95% intro for the first 6 months (then 19.95% )
Welcome offer Earn 10% cash back (up to $100) when you spend $1,000 in the first 2 months. Valid until October 31, 2024.
Rewards Earn unlimited 2% cash back in two Tangerine credit card categories of your choice (or three categories if you open a Tangerine Savings Account and directly deposit your cash back into the account), and unlimited 0.5% cash back on everything else. Conditions apply.

Tangerine Money-Back Credit Card

Tangerine Money-Back Credit Card logo
Credit recommended (600-)
Read review
600
Min. credit score
$0
Annual fee
Up to 2%
Cash back
10% cash back
Welcome offer
As a cash back credit card, the Tangerine Money-Back Credit Card helps you earn cash rewards on your everyday purchases, with accelerated rewards where you spend the most. Earn 2% cash back in two Tangerine credit card categories of your choice (or three categories if you open a Tangerine Savings Account and directly deposit your cash back into the account), and 0.5% cash back on everything else. Categories include groceries, gas, restaurants, hotels, recurring bill payments, drug store, home improvement and entertainment. Plus, get access to a 1.95% interest rate on a balance transfer for the first 6 months. Earn 10% cash back (up to $100) when you spend $1,000 in the first 2 months. Valid until October 31, 2024.
  • Earn rewards fast. Earn 2% cash back in two Tangerine credit card categories of your choice (or three categories if you open a Tangerine Savings Account and directly deposit your cash back into the account), and 0.5% cash back on everything else.
  • Annual fee. This card comes with a $0 annual fee.
  • Balance transfer rate. Get a 1.95% interest rate on balance transfers for the first six months. To take advantage of this offer, you must complete the Balance Transfer request within 30 days of account approval and activate your card within 45 days of approval. A balance transfer fee equaling the greater of 3% or $5 will be charged on each transferred amount (fee is waived by Tangerine if you're a resident of Quebec).
  • Minimum income requirement. This card has a relatively low minimum income requirement of $12,000.
  • Low return on other purchases. Receive only 0.5 cash back on all other categories of spending.
  • Foreign transaction fee. You'll pay a foreign transaction fee of 2.5% on all overseas purchases.
  • Missed payment fee. You'll pay a 24.95% rate on missed payments.
  • Balance trasnfer fee. Pay a balance transfer fee of 1% of the total transferred amount or $5, whichever is greater.
Annual Fee $0
Purchase APR 19.95%
Cash Advance Rate 19.95%
Balance transfer APR 1.95% intro for the first 6 months (then 19.95% )
Welcome offer Earn 10% cash back (up to $100) when you spend $1,000 in the first 2 months. Valid until October 31, 2024.
Rewards Earn 2% cash back in two Tangerine credit card categories of your choice (or three categories if you open a Tangerine Savings Account and directly deposit your cash back into the account), and 0.5% cash back on everything else.

Tangerine credit card categories

The 10 Tangerine credit card categories people can choose from to earn a higher cash back return rate are:

  • Drug store
  • Eating Places
  • Entertainment
  • Furniture
  • Gas
  • Grocery
  • Home Improvement
  • Hotel & Motel
  • Public Transportation and Parking
  • Recurring Bill Payments

You’ll be able to choose your 2 or 3 high-earn categories when you activate your new Tangerine credit card. You can switch up your high-earn categories by first logging in to Tangerine’s online banking, going to your Tangerine Credit Card Account and clicking ‘Rewards’. Then click ‘Change Categories’ under the category icons to update your picks.

How to earn cash back using Tangerine credit card categories

Tangerine is the only bank in Canada that allows you to choose which categories you’d like to earn a higher cash back rate on. That means you can strategically choose to earn more on the categories you spend the most on. Let’s look at an example to see how earning cash back using various Tangerine credit card categories can work.

Let’s use the Tangerine Money-Back Credit Card as an example: Earn 2% cash back in two Tangerine credit card categories of your choice (or three categories if you open a Tangerine Savings Account and directly deposit your cash back into the account), and 0.5% cash back on everything else.

Erin, an Ontario resident, is looking to optimize her spending. She applies for a Tangerine Money-Back Credit Card, and is able to access 3 high earn rate categories because she also has a Tangerine savings account. Erin realizes that she tends to spend the most money on groceries, recurring bill payments and gas. The table below shows an example of how much cash back Erin could earn per month:

Tangerine credit card categorySpent per monthEarn rateCash back earned in one year
Groceries$4002%$8
Gas$1202%$2.40
Recurring bill payments$3002%$6
All other expenses$3000.5%$1.50

In this example, Erin would get $17.90 in cash back directly deposited into her Tangerine savings account every month just by using her Tangerine credit card – which amounts to earning $214.80 in one year.

While you may be able to find higher cash back earn rates with other credit cards, it’s important to consider each card’s annual fee. In order to make the most out of any cash back program, you need to make sure you plan to spend enough money on your card to earn at least enough cash back to make up the card’s annual fee. One of the big perks of Tangerine credit cards is that they don’t charge annual fees.

Tangerine credit card benefits

Here we breakdown some of the key benefits you’ll get with a Tangerine credit card.

  • Unlimited money-back rewards

There’s no limit to the amount of cash back you can earn at the standard return rates with your Tangerine credit card. The cash back you earn is paid out monthly either to your card balance or redeemed into your savings account. You also don’t have to wait until you’ve accrued some minimum amount of cash back for it to be paid out – it will be paid monthly no matter how small the amount is.

  • Tangerine credit card extras

All Tangerine credit cards come with Purchase Assurance and Extended Warranty coverage. That means that most new, insured items bought on your Tangerine credit card will be automatically covered for loss, theft or damage for 90 days from the date of purchase. The warranty on any item bought with your card will also be doubled up to a maximum of one year.

  • Mobile Wallets

You can conveniently pay with your Tangerine credit card on your mobile device using any of the following wallet apps: Apple Pay, Google Pay and Samsung Pay.

  • Free spending tracking and categorizing

Tangerine will automatically organize the expenses on your credit card so you can easily see at a glance how much your spending and in which categories. That can help you stay on top of your finances, have a better grasp of where exactly your money is going and be able to use that information to budget smarter.

  • Standard Mastercard benefits

Because Tangerine credit cards are all Mastercards, you’ll get access to several standard benefits including Mastercard Zero Liability and Mastercard Tap & Go for safety and ease of use. Mastercard is also accepted in over 210 countries around the world.

How to apply for a Tangerine credit card

If you’ve decided that you would like to apply for a Tangerine credit card, you can begin the application process by clicking the orange “apply now” button on the website. You will then be prompted to answer whether you are currently a Tangerine customer. If you are, then you will proceed to the application page. If you are not, you will be required to enter your Social Insurance Number (SIN) and employment information.

Before you begin your Tangerine credit card application, make sure that you meet the following Tangerine credit card requirements:

  • Age. You need to be the age of majority in the province or territory you reside in.
  • Residency. You need to be a permanent resident in Canada.
  • Credit history. You need to be clear of any bankruptcies over the past seven years.
  • Gross annual income. You need to meet the minimum gross annual income requirement for the card you’re applying for.

Tangerine credit card requirements

If you meet all of the eligibility requirements, you can apply for your Tangerine credit card. During the application process, you may be required to provide the following information:

  • Personal information. You will need to provide your full name, address and contact information. You may need to verify your identity by providing a valid form of identification, such as your driver’s licence or your passport.
  • Employment information. You will need to provide your current, and possibly even previous, employment information.

Compare Tangerine cards with other credit cards

1 - 10 of 40
Name Product CACCF Welcome Offer Rewards Purchase Interest Rate Annual Fee Min. Credit Score Description
RBC Cash Back Mastercard
N/A
Up to 2% cash back
20.99%
$0
Min. recommended credit score: 650
Get up to 2% unlimited cash back on grocery store purchases, and up to 1% cash back on all other qualifying purchases and pre-authorized payments.
Neo Credit Mastercard
Get $25.00 + up to 15% cash back
Up to 5% cash back
19.99% - 29.99%
$0
Min. recommended credit score: 710
Get $25 when you sign up for the Neo Financial Mastercard. Plus, earn bonuses like 15% cashback on your first purchase at most partners, and earn an average of 5% cashback at partner stores and at least 1% cashback guaranteed.
RBC ION Visa
6,000 points
1.5 points per $1 spent
20.99%
$0
Min. recommended credit score: 660
Get 6,000 Avion points when you get approved for the card.
American Express Cobalt Card
15,000 points
Up to 5x points per $1 spent
21.99%
$155.88
Min. recommended credit score: 700
Earn up to 15,000 Membership Rewards points in your first year. Earn 1,250 Membership Rewards points for each monthly billing period in which you spend $750 in purchases. That’s up to $150 towards a weekend getaway or concert tickets.
BMO CashBack Mastercard
5% cash back
Up to 3% cash back
20.99%
$0
Min. recommended credit score: 660
Get 5% cash back on all eligible purchases in the first three months of card membership (up to max. spend of $2,500). Plus, get a rate of 0.99% on balance transfers for 9 months. A 2% fee applies to transferred balances.
BMO Preferred Rate Mastercard
0.99% rate on balance transfers for 9 months
N/A
13.99%
$0 annual fee for the first year ($29 thereafter)
Min. recommended credit score: 660
Get a rate of 0.99% on balance transfers for 9 months with a 2% transfer fee. Plus, get the $29 annual fee waived by your first anniversary.
RBC ION+ Visa
12,000 points
3 points per $1 spent
20.99%
$48
Min. recommended credit score: 660
Get 12,000 Avion points when you get approved for the card.
BMO eclipse rise Visa Card
25,000
Up to 5 points per $2 spent
20.99%
$0
Min. recommended credit score: 660
Earn up to 25,000 bonus points.
RBC Avion Visa Infinite
55,000 points
Up to 1 point per $1 spent
20.99%
$120
Min. recommended credit score: 650
Get up to 55,000 Welcome Points. Get 35,000 Welcome Points on approval and 20,000 bonus points when you spend $5,000 in your first 6 months. Apply by November 25, 2024.
American Express Green Card
10,000 points
1 point per $1 spent
21.99%
$0
Min. recommended credit score: 700
Earn a Welcome Bonus of 10,000 Membership Rewards points when you charge $1,000 in purchases to your card in the first 3 months as a new Cardmember. That’s $100 towards groceries or concert tickets.
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Tangerine cards FAQs

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Written by

Publisher

Chelsey Hurst is a publisher at Finder, specializing in banking and investments. She loves empowering people to avoid financial pitfalls and make better decisions with their money. Chelsey has a Bachelor of Science from Redeemer University, a Master of Science from McMaster University, and has won multiple awards for research communication. In her spare time, Chelsey enjoys cooking and taking long walks in nature. See full bio

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Co-written by

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James Wan was a writer for Finder. James graduated with a Communications Degree with a Minor in Journalism from Simon Fraser University and also received his Marketing Management Diploma from the British Columbia Institute of Technology shortly after. See full bio

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