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After taking a look at groceries and gas station purchases, let’s also consider the best credit cards for dining out and food delivery here in Canada.
Like grocery stores, restaurants and other venues can decide which forms of payment to accept and which to decline, so we’ll run through the best overall options and then other good backup options. As usual, cash back cards will make an appearance for those who prefer to collect their rewards in Canadian dollars.
The Best Overall Options
Amex Cobalt
“I am Jack’s complete lack of surprise” – is how I feel about recommending the Amex Cobalt card yet again. But it is hard to beat, with an incredible 5x Amex Membership Rewards (MR) earning rate on all dining out and food delivery purchases.
My favourite transfer partners for Amex MR are Aeroplan, British Airways Avios, and Air France KLM Flying Blue, all of which transfer at a 1:1 ratio. Sometimes, Amex will also run 30% transfer bonuses to Avios and at a 1:1.3 ratio, I’ll even move points speculatively.
For those wanting to redeem for premium cabin air travel, MR is the best currency to collect.
RBC Ion+ Visa
The RBC Ion+ Visa stands out as a strong second contender as it earns 3x Avion points on dining out and food delivery.
That might not sound very good, as there are other credit cards earning 5x points aside from the Cobalt, but the power of the RBC Ion+ Visa comes from just how good Avion points are.
RBC has a powerful wallet combo: the RBC Avion Visa Infinite allows you to transfer your points to airline frequent flyer programs (like British Airways Avios and American Airlines AAdvantage) and the RBC Ion+ Visa has a powerful earning rate. Combining the two means you can move your points from your RBC Ion+ Visa to the RBC Avion Visa Infinite and get the best of both worlds.
If you hold the RBC Avion Visa Infinite Privilege card, you can also redeem your Avion points at a flat 2 cents per point towards any business or first class flight directly through the RBC travel portal.
Best Cash Back Cards for Dining Out & Food Delivery
My top recommendation for a cash back is actually the Tangerine Money-Back World Mastercard due to the 2% cash back on purchases in two categories of your choice and dining can be selected as a category. Of note, this 2% is unlimited, meaning you’ll continue to earn 2% back no matter how much you spend on dining.
The Simplii Financial Cash Back Visa Card does earn a higher 4% cash back on dining out and food delivery, but only up to the first $5,000 spent annually. After the first $5,000, the cash back drops to just 0.5%, so you’ll want to switch to a different card; after all, $5,000 averages out to just $416 per month.
As someone juggling 5+ cards in my wallet at all times, one less card to worry about needing to switch after spending $X is worth the trade-off so I would stick to the Tangerine Money-Back World Mastercard.
Other Notable Mentions
Although not strictly cash back, Scene+ points can be redeemed at a flat rate of 1 cent per point for travel, Cineplex, Sobeys, and more. For travel, you can redeem on the Scene+ website as a statement credit toward any purchase, and for Sobeys, you can redeem right at the checkout counter.
The flexibility of Scene+ points is why the Scotiabank Gold American Express Card has a permanent spot in my wallet, with a generous 5x earning rate on all dining out and food delivery purchases. This is equivalent to 5% cash back to me, and you can even redeem for Uber rides at 1 cent each as a statement credit.
I also hold the BMO eclipse Visa Infinite Card, for 5 points earned per dollar on all dining purchases, should I want to earn fixed-value points to offset travel purchases, and Amex is not accepted.
BMO rewards points can be redeemed for all travel at a fixed rate of 150 points = $1 aka 0.56 cents per point. Therefore, the effectively earning rate is 3.33% when used for travel. Like Scene+, BMO rewards points can be redeemed directly with the “Pay with Points” option without having to use BMO’s in-house travel portal.
Takeaway
For aspirational travel, the best credit cards for dining out and food delivery purchases are the Amex Cobalt and the RBC Ion+ Visa, which earn 5x MR and 3x Avion points, respectively.
If cash back is what you’re after, then the Tangerine Money-Back World Mastercard is a stand-out with flat 2% back on unlimited dining spending.
However, if you want cash back, do consider the Scotiabank Gold American Express Card for a 5x Scene+ points earn rate, which can be redeemed for any travel purchase at a flat 1 cent each. If Amex is not accepted, I’d lean towards the BMO eclipse Visa Infinite Card for an effective 3.33% earn rate on restaurant purchases when redeemed towards travel akin to cash back.
