Best credit cards for newcomers from China

The picks

1. Best all-round pick

Scotia · Visa

Scotia Passport Visa Infinite+

No foreign transaction fee on a Visa, which is the network that loads cleanly into Alipay and WeChat Pay. Lounge passes help on the Vancouver connection, and Scotiabank StartRight accepts newcomer applications.

Watch out: The $150 fee applies from year one, so it pays off above roughly $6,000 in annual foreign-currency spending.

Annual fee

$150

Welcome bonus

25,000 - 35,000 pts

Minimum spend

$2,000 - $40,000

First-year value

$200

RatehubFull details in the comparison table

2. Best flat-rate no-FX card

Wealthsimple · Visa

Wealthsimple Visa Infinite+

2 percent on eligible purchases with no Wealthsimple foreign exchange fee, so yuan spending earns the same as domestic spending. The $240 fee is waived with $100,000 in eligible assets or a qualifying direct deposit.

Watch out: It requires a Wealthsimple Chequing account and its own approval, so it is a month-six card rather than a landing-week card.

Annual fee

$240, waived if eligible

Welcome bonus

$25 Wealthsimple account referral

Minimum spend

$100 account deposit for referral

First-year value

$25

Get the $25 Wealthsimple referralFull details in the comparison table

3. Best for flights to China

TD · Visa

TD Aeroplan Visa Infinite

Air Canada flies Vancouver to Beijing and Shanghai nonstop and Air China is a Star Alliance partner, so Aeroplan covers the routes. Free first checked bag helps on trips that carry gifts in both directions.

Watch out: The fee rebate is year one only, and the Aeroplan earn rate on this card is modest outside its bonus categories.

Annual fee

$139

Welcome bonus

10,000 - 40,000 pts

Minimum spend

$3,000

First-year value

$375

RatehubFull details in the comparison table

4. Best for domestic spending

Scotia · Amex

Scotia Amex Gold Scene+

No foreign transaction fee plus 5x Scene+ on groceries and dining, which covers the Canadian half of the wallet while the Passport covers travel.

Watch out: Amex is not accepted in most of mainland China and is thin at independent Asian grocers in Canada. This is the second card, not the only card.

Annual fee

$120

Welcome bonus

25,000 - 45,000 pts

Minimum spend

$2,000 - $7,500

First-year value

$330

RatehubFull details in the comparison table

Getting approved with no Canadian credit history

Canadian lenders score you on a file that starts empty the day you land. That is a timing problem, not a credit problem, and every large bank runs a program built around it.

Apply through the newcomer program by name rather than the general application form. The general form runs a standard credit decision and will decline a thin file that the newcomer stream would have approved.

• Scotiabank StartRight, RBC Newcomer Advantage, CIBC Welcome to Canada, TD New to Canada, and BMO NewStart all issue unsecured cards to people with no Canadian credit file.
• Bring your permanent resident card or work permit, passport, SIN, and proof of a Canadian address. Some branches also accept a credit report from your home country to support a higher limit.
• Your first limit is usually $1,000 to $5,000. It grows on request after six to twelve months of on-time payments.
• A secured card, where you post a deposit equal to the limit, is the fallback if a newcomer program turns you down. It reports to the bureaus the same way.

Acceptance matters more than rewards on trips back

Outside hotels, airports, and international chains, a physical foreign card is often refused in mainland China. The fix is to add a Visa or Mastercard to Alipay or WeChat Pay before you travel, since both wallets accept foreign cards and are taken almost everywhere.

Amex is the weakest choice for that trip. Keep it for Canadian spending and carry a no-FX Visa for anything billed in yuan.

• Load the wallet while you still have Canadian phone service. Verification steps are easier before you land.
• Decline dynamic currency conversion if a terminal offers to bill you in Canadian dollars. The merchant rate is worse than the network rate.

Yuan-billed purchases add up quietly

Foreign transaction fees of 2.5 percent apply on almost every Canadian card. On a household that spends $6,000 a year in Chinese currency, that is $150 that a no-FX card keeps.

Taobao, JD, Chinese app stores, and domestic flight bookings all bill in yuan, and the 2.5 percent lands on every one of them regardless of where you are sitting when you buy.

Flying home on points

Aeroplan is the practical program because Air Canada flies Vancouver to Beijing and Shanghai and Air China is a Star Alliance partner. From Toronto, expect a Vancouver connection on the award.

Peak-season pricing around Lunar New Year is severe on both cash and points. Booking eleven months out is the only reliable way to keep the cost down.

The habits that build your score fastest

Payment history and utilization drive most of a Canadian credit score. Pay the statement balance in full every month, and keep the balance you carry at statement time under about 30 percent of your limit.

One card used well beats three cards used carelessly. Add a second card once the first has six months of clean history, not before.

• Set the full-balance autopay the day the card arrives. A single missed payment costs more than a welcome bonus is worth.
• Do not close your first card once you upgrade. Length of history counts, and the oldest account anchors it.
• Check your report free at Equifax and TransUnion. Errors on newcomer files are common because names get transliterated inconsistently.

Questions, answered

Related guides

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  The cards Canadian banks approve without a Canadian credit file, ranked by what they pay in year one.

• Best credit cards for newcomers from India

  Cards that skip the 2.5 percent rupee surcharge, pay on grocery spend, and reach Delhi on Aeroplan.