How We Rate Canadian Credit Cards — YieldMaple Methodology

This page sets out YieldMaple's formula for scoring credit cards: five categories, each scored 1 to 5, weighted into a single rating out of 5. The inputs come from what each issuer publishes on its own pages: earn rates, fees, welcome-offer terms, insurance coverage and income requirements. The star ratings now on our credit-card reviews were set editorially and don't yet follow this formula; the page explains that below.

The 5 categories we score

The formula scores a card 1-5 in each of these categories. Each category score is multiplied by its weight, and the weighted scores are added together into a single final star rating.

1. Rewards value (30%)

The dollar value a cardholder gets back at a fixed sample spending profile of $36,000/year ($3,000/month), split 30% groceries & dining, 15% gas, 10% travel and 45% everything else. For each card, the formula takes the total annual rewards earned at that profile (valuing points at a redemption rate the issuer publishes), deducts the annual fee, and compares the result to a baseline 1% no-fee cashback card ($360/year at that spend).

5/5: Net rewards 2x+ the baseline ($720+/year on $36K spend after fees)
4/5: 1.5–2x baseline ($540-$720)
3/5: 1–1.5x baseline ($360-$540)
2/5: 0.5–1x baseline ($180-$360)
1/5: Under 0.5x baseline (under $180, or negative)

2. Fees & cost transparency (20%)

How fair the fee structure is, and how clearly the issuer discloses it. Includes annual fee, supplementary card fees, foreign transaction fee, NSF fees, cash advance fees, and balance transfer fees.

5/5: No annual fee, 0% FX, fully disclosed all fees
4/5: Low annual fee ($0-$120) with strong value justification, or 0% FX
3/5: Standard fee structure for the card class
2/5: Higher-than-average fees with limited justification
1/5: Aggressive fee structure or hidden fees

3. Welcome bonus & first-year value (15%)

First-year value combines the welcome bonus, any first-year fee waiver, and the rewards earned during first-year spending at the sample profile above. The formula measures first-year net value as a multiple of the card's ongoing annual fee.

5/5: First-year net value 5x+ the ongoing annual fee
4/5: 3-5x ongoing fee
3/5: 2-3x ongoing fee
2/5: 1-2x ongoing fee
1/5: Below 1x ongoing fee, or no welcome bonus

4. Perks & insurance (20%)

Non-rewards benefits that make the card more valuable: travel insurance, lounge access, rental car insurance, purchase protection, extended warranty, mobile device insurance, retail discounts, and concierge.

5/5: Comprehensive travel medical + trip coverage + airport lounge access package
4/5: Strong travel medical + rental car + purchase protection package
3/5: Standard insurance package for the card class
2/5: Limited insurance (purchase protection only)
1/5: Minimal or no included insurance

5. Approval ease & access (15%)

How accessible the card is to typical Canadians. A lower published income requirement, and being available without an existing banking relationship, score higher. The formula only uses requirements the issuer publishes; it does not guess at credit-score cutoffs.

5/5: No published income minimum
4/5: Published minimum up to $35,000 personal income
3/5: Published minimum up to $50,000 personal income
2/5: Published minimum up to $60,000 personal / $100,000 household income
1/5: Published minimum above that, or an existing banking relationship required

The formula

The formula's final star rating is:

Final rating = (
    Rewards value     × 0.30
  + Fees & cost       × 0.20
  + Welcome bonus     × 0.15
  + Perks & insurance × 0.20
  + Approval ease     × 0.15
  )

The result is rounded to the nearest 0.5 star (halves round up). Example: a card that scores Rewards 5, Fees 3, Welcome 5, Perks 4, Approval 4 gets (5 × 0.30) + (3 × 0.20) + (5 × 0.15) + (4 × 0.20) + (4 × 0.15) = 4.25 → rounded to 4.5.

Where our current ratings stand: the star ratings now shown on YieldMaple's credit-card reviews were set editorially. They were not calculated with this formula, which is why some of them aren't on the half-star steps it produces, and the reviews don't show a per-category breakdown. Treat a review's stars as an editorial summary, not a formula result. Welcome-offer figures quoted in a review's text can also lag the issuer's current terms; the dated offers in our credit-card deal listings are the ones checked against each issuer's official page.

What the formula leaves out

Commission rate. Commission is not an input to the formula. None of the credit cards in our deal listings currently has a live affiliate link, so YieldMaple earns no commission on them. If that changes, a card that pays a commission will not score higher because of it.
Issuer relationship. Whether an issuer is, or becomes, a YieldMaple affiliate partner is not part of the formula.
Prestige. How premium a card "feels" is not one of the five categories, so it can't move the formula score.
Reader feedback. Our star ratings are not an average of reader or user scores.

When we update ratings

A card's scoring inputs change when any of these change:

The issuer adjusts the welcome bonus
Annual fee, FX fee, or other fee changes
Insurance coverage changes (e.g., travel medical reduced)
Earn rates change in core bonus categories
The published income requirement moves

A review's star rating is not recalculated automatically when one of these changes; it changes only when the review itself is updated. The welcome offers in our credit-card deal listings were last checked against each issuer's official page on October 11, 2026, and each listing shows its own check date.

What the ratings are based on

The formula's inputs are what each issuer publishes: the product page, the welcome-offer terms, and the fee, insurance and eligibility details. Neither the formula nor the current editorial star ratings are based on hands-on testing. We don't apply for, hold and use each card before rating it, and we don't claim to have checked published earn rates against real statements. In our credit-card deal listings, a points bonus is only given a dollar value when the issuer publishes a redemption rate for its points; where it doesn't, we don't assign one.

Five questions to ask of any card rating

Whether you're reading our reviews or anyone else's, these are worth checking:

Is the welcome bonus the one on the issuer's official offer page today, and does the page say when it was last checked?
Are all six fee types covered (annual, supplementary, FX, NSF, cash advance, balance transfer)?
When points are given a dollar value, is it based on a redemption rate the issuer publishes, or on the reviewer's own estimate?
Does the page say whether the reviewer actually held and used the card, or whether it's based on the issuer's published terms?
Does the stated income requirement match what the issuer publishes?

If one of our card pages fails any of these, tell us using the details below.

Why we publish the formula

A star rating on its own doesn't tell you what it rewards. Publishing the five categories and their weights means you can see what drives a score and re-weight it for yourself: if you never travel, for example, perks and insurance may matter less to you than the 20% our formula gives them.

Submit a correction

Find an error in our scoring or in a card's details? Email yieldmaple@gmail.com with the card name and the input you think is wrong, plus a link to the primary source (ideally the issuer's own page). If the source confirms it, we correct the page and update its date.