How We Review Credit Cards

By Marcus Liang, Credit Card Analyst · Last updated August 27, 2026

The four steps behind every review

Every card review and comparison on BestCreditCardCanada.ca follows the same process, in the same order, so a verdict on one page means the same thing as a verdict on another.

1. We read the source documents. Reviews are built from the issuer’s current cardholder agreement and fee schedule, not from the marketing page. If the agreement and the ad disagree, the agreement wins, and we say so.
2. We run the math on real spending. A rewards rate is meaningless until it is applied to a realistic monthly budget, net of the annual fee. Our reviews show the working: dollars earned per year at a stated spending level, so you can swap in your own numbers.
3. We check the approval reality. Stated income requirements, the credit profile a card typically approves, and how the issuer treats thin or rebuilding files. The best card you cannot get approved for is worth nothing.
4. We give a verdict. Every page ends with who the card or category is right for, and who should skip it. If a popular card is a poor fit for most people, the review says that plainly.

The data we check on every card

Each full review carries the same data set, verified against issuer documents on the day the page is published or updated: the annual fee, earn rates by category including their caps, the welcome bonus and its expiry date, purchase and cash advance interest rates, the foreign transaction fee, minimum income and credit profile requirements, and the insurance package. The verification date is printed on the page. If a figure on any page no longer matches the issuer’s documents, tell us and we will verify and correct it with a fresh date.

How the site makes money, and why it does not bend the verdicts

Some applications started through this site earn a referral fee from the card issuer or its marketing partner. Two rules keep that honest. Verdicts are written before monetization is considered, and we recommend options that earn us nothing whenever they fit the reader better. The full policy is in our terms and on the about page.

What we will not publish

No guaranteed-approval promises, because no honest site can make them. No rankings ordered by commission. No points-maximizing advice for budgets the math does not support. And no figure we have not checked against the issuer’s own documents.

See the current comparisons