Best Canadian Tire Credit Cards in Canada

While you can no longer collect colourful Canadian Tire Money banknotes in stores, the program is still alive and well in electronic form. And one of the best ways to earn Canadian Tire Money is a Canadian Tire credit card.

These cards aren’t just for collecting rewards, though. They also offer unique benefits including no-fee financing for large purchases and free roadside assistance. Whether you’re bringing your car in for service or having your skates sharpened, a Canadian Tire credit card could be the right choice for you.

Canadian Tire offers Canadians three credit cards: The Triangle World Elite Mastercard, Triangle Mastercard and Cash Advantage Mastercard. All three have no annual fee, offer Canadian Tire Money on purchases, and enable financing on purchases over $150 at participating retailers, but one stands above the rest.

The best Canadian Tire credit card overall:

4.6/5

4.6

NerdWallet rating

Triangle™ World Elite Mastercard®

Annual fee$0

Rewards rate1%-4%

Intro offerN/A

View details

Rewards breakdown

4%

CT Money at Canadian Tire or its affiliate stores.

3%

CT Money at grocery stores (on the first $12,000 per year, 1% after that).

1%

CT Money everywhere else.

NerdWallet's take

If you spend big regularly at Canadian Tire, stop scrolling — earn 4% back at the retail giant, 3% back at grocery stores and 1% on everything else. You also get access to rental car coverage, gas discounts and roadside assistance, with no annual fee. But the steep $80,000 minimum income requirement may disqualify some users. Best for: High earners who spend big at Canadian Tire.

Pros

• No annual fee.
• Rental car insurance.
• Roadside assistance.

Cons

• $80,000 minimum income requirement.
• Top 4% earn rate is for CT stores only.

Card details

• Collect 3% in Canadian Tire Money on the first $12,000 spent at eligible grocery stores per year and 1% on eligible grocery purchases after that.
• Collect 4% in Canadian Tire Money on qualifying purchases at Canadian Tire, Sport Chek, Mark’s, L’Équipeur, Party City, Pro Hockey Life, Atmosphere, Sports Rousseau, Hockey Experts, L’Entrepôt du Hockey, and participating Sports Experts stores.
• Collect 7 cents in Canadian Tire money per litre of premium fuel, and 5 cents per litre on all other fuel types purchased at Gas+/Essence+ locations.
• Canadian Tire Money can be redeemed at Canadian Tire, Sport Chek, Atmosphere, Sports Rousseau, Hockey Experts, L’Entrepot du Hockey and participating Mark’s/L’Equipeur and Sports Experts stores.
• No fee, no interest financing on qualifying purchases of $150 or more at participating stores. Conditions apply.
• No-receipt returns at participating stores.
• Access to member-only events and personalized offers.
• Priority queuing when calling the Triangle call centre.
• Enrollment in the Triangle World Elite Mastercard Roadside Assistance Gold Plan, which includes 5 service calls per year and unlimited tows to any Canadian Tire Auto Service Centre within towing limits.
• Car rental collision/loss damage waiver insurance.
• Extended warranty insurance for eligible purchases.
• Eligibility: Must be a Canadian resident and the age of majority in the province/territory of residence.
• No annual fee.
• No fee for obtaining a supplementary card on the same account.
• Interest rates: 19.99% on purchases, 22.99% on cash transactions (21.99% in Quebec).

The best Canadian Tire credit card in Canada is the Triangle World Elite Mastercard. This card has no annual fee and earns 4% back in Canadian Tire Money at participating retailers, including Canadian Tire, Sport Chek, Mark’s, Pro Hockey Life, Atmosphere and more. It also earns up to 3% at grocery stores, up to 7 cents per litre of fuel purchased at Gas+ and Petro-Canada stations, and 1% everywhere else.

This card also comes with benefits for motorists including a complimentary Roadside Assistance Gold Plan, which includes up to 250km of towing per service call. You can also get rental car insurance for up to 31 days. And, of course, you can earn and redeem Canadian Tire Money when you bring your car in for service.

Related: The best credit cards for buying gas in Canada

Other Canadian Tire credit cards to consider

The Triangle Mastercard also has no annual fee and earns Canadian Tire Money on every purchase. You can earn 4% back at participating retailers including Canadian Tire, 5 cents per litre of gas at Gas+ and Petro-Canada, up to 1.5% at grocery stores and 0.5% everywhere else.

The Cash Advantage Mastercard has no annual fee and earns cash back — rather than Canadian Tire Money — on all purchases. The problem with this card is that it only earns a base rate of 0.25% to start and you’ll have to spend over $24,000 per year using the card to earn the top reward rate of 1.5%.

Triangle Rewards is the evolution of the venerable Canadian Tire Money program. Rather than paper bills, Canadian Tire Money is now delivered and redeemed electronically. The program is also open to more retailers than just Canadian Tire, making it more useful for Canadians.

What retailers participate in Triangle Rewards?

Many Canadian retailers participate in the Triangle Rewards program.

How do I earn Canadian Tire Money?

You can earn Canadian Tire Money by signing up for a free Triangle Rewards membership and using your card at participating retailers (see above).

Basic Triangle Rewards members get 0.4% back in Canadian Tire money on qualifying purchases. Members also get regular offers which come in a few different forms. For example, you might get a multiplier bonus on certain categories of merchandise (e.g., 20x bonus offer on kitchen appliances), or a fixed bonus for spending a certain amount of money (e.g., spend $80 and get $5).

You can also earn Canadian Tire Money using a Canadian Tire or RBC credit card.

Finally, you can earn Canadian Tire Money when you book travel through WestJet when you link your Triangle Rewards and WestJet Rewards accounts. Disappointingly, Canadian Tire Money is only earned on your own travel — your companions’ air fare won’t earn any rewards. Furthermore, you can’t redeem Canadian Tire Money for travel of any sort.

» MORE: Best travel credit cards in Canada

How do I redeem Canadian Tire Money?

You can redeem your Canadian Tire Money for purchases at participating stores, both in-store and online. Simply scan your Triangle Rewards card at checkout and ask to redeem your Canadian Tire Money. You can redeem at any time for any amount with only a few limitations on what you can buy.

Does Canadian Tire Money expire?

Unlike the old Canadian Tire Money bills that stayed good in your junk drawer forever, electronic Canadian Tire Money expires after your account has been inactive for 18 months.

What if I want regular cash back?

If you don’t want your rewards to be restricted to Canadian Tire spending, the Cash Advantage Mastercard offers accelerated rewards at Canadian Tire stores and pays regular cash back once per year as a statement credit. Don’t expect to earn much cash back with this card, however, as its tiered earn rates start at just 0.25%.

All three Canadian Tire credit cards allow you to finance purchases over $150 at participating retailers. The financing program promises equal payments for 24 months with no setup fee and no interest.

To finance a purchase, just ask the cashier when shopping in-store, or select the “equal payments” option when checking out online. The total amount will be deducted from your available credit and made due over 24 equal monthly payments.

» MORE: Best balance transfer credit cards

In addition to issuing its own credit cards, Canadian Tire has a partnership with RBC that allows cardholders to earn bonus Canadian Tire Money on purchases at participating retailers.

RBC credit card holders need to link their Triangle Rewards account to take advantage of the program. After doing so, you’ll earn 3x the Canadian Tire Money when you use your Triangle Rewards card and linked RBC card at participating retailers.

All RBC credit and debit cards are eligible for the promotion including the RBC Avion Visa Infinite card and the WestJet RBC World Elite Mastercard.