Banking Packages With Free Premium Credit Cards

Let’s face it, we don’t enjoy paying annual fees for credit cards…

It’s something that is simply tolerated due to the increased perks and rewards returns we get by using them. And one way to remove those fees is through high end banking packages.

Most of Canada’s big banks have premium banking packages that come with a credit card annual fee waiver or rebate. Some of those packages can even have their monthly fees waived as well when you keep a minimum balance in your chequing account at all times.

While this isn’t for everyone, rebating both your monthly premium banking fee and credit card annual fee together is certainly attractive.

For American Express, MBNA, and other cards that aren’t (directly) issued by one of the big banks ‒ unfortunately, this won’t help you with your fees.

While these packages offer a lot more than just the fee waiver, we’ll focus primarily on the credit cards and go through what each of Canada’s six big banks has to offer.

And then when we know how it works, figure out what may be the best strategy.

How it works

Besides the credit cards, these premium banking plans waive the fees for just about anything you can think of, including:

• using other banks’ ATMs,
• cheques,
• Interac e-Transfers,
• bank drafts,
• certified cheques, and
• money orders.

Some of them even have discounts on safe deposit boxes. But, before we go any further…

A warning: Getting one of these accounts simply for the credit card will actually cost you more, as these accounts typically cost between $25-30 per month. You generally need to use the other features to increase the savings required.

But if you already pay monthly fees for banking, why not consider which credit cards you are using and see if there is a better match for your banking? This could increase the value of what you are currently paying.

The best way this works is if the monthly fee can be waived by leaving a minimum balance in the account.

While there is a small cost to leaving $5,000 or more dollars in the chequing account at basically 0% interest ‒ it pales in comparison to the monthly premium banking fee I no longer have to pay.

Instead of leaving the money in a savings account with an annual interest rate of 1.1%, leaving $5,000 parked in a 0% interest chequing account results in a loss of interest, or opportunity cost of $55 a year. The upside is that doing so pays for your full annual credit card fee while saving you more money when you take advantage of the other premium features of these accounts that come with no extra cost.

However, as you’ll see below, this only works with BMO, Scotiabank, and TD.

My personal example

As a personal example, I have the Scotiabank Ultimate Package.

I always leave the $5,000 in my chequing account, costing me $55 per year in interest earned over a basic savings account.

With that, I get the Scotia Momentum^® Visa Infinite^* Card for free – that’s a savings of $120 annually. It’s already the best cash back credit card for me, and saving the annual fee every year makes it that much better.

I also like having a safety deposit box, and this account comes with one for free ‒ saving another $60 per year. Overall, I saved a net of $125 not including other savings this banking account provides.

Scotia Momentum^® Visa Infinite^* Card

4.4 Genius Rating

3.2 (77) User reviews

$20 GeniusCash + 10% cash back on purchases for 3 months + 4% cash back on groceries.^*

Annual fee

$120.00 $0

1st year waived

Welcome bonus

$159^◊
10% cash back

Annual rewards
$498^◊
GC Ends: Dec 31, 2025

GC: $20

I Want This Deal Learn More

Instant approval: Yes

Credit estimate:

Scotia Momentum^® Visa Infinite^* Card

GC: $20

4.4 Genius Rating

3.2 (77) User reviews

$20 GeniusCash + 10% cash back on purchases for 3 months + 4% cash back on groceries.^*

Annual fee

$120.00 $0

1st year waived

Welcome bonus

$159^◊
10% cash back

Annual rewards
$498^◊
GC Ends:

Dec 31, 2025

Credit estimate:

 (725 - 759)

I Want This Deal Learn More

Instant approval: Yes

Rewards

Details & Eligibility

Genius Rating

User Reviews

Pros & Cons

Show More

Rewards

Details & Eligibility

Genius Rating

User Reviews

Pros & Cons

Big 6 Canada banks & their plans

Here is a list of the 6 big banks in Canada, with the name of the plan, what credit cards have fee rebates, and if the monthly fee can be waived.

1. Scotiabank

Scotiabank offers the Ultimate Package. This account has a credit card annual fee waiver of up to $139 for the following cards:

• Scotiabank Gold American Express^® Card
• Scotia Momentum^® Visa Infinite^* Card
• Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite Card
• Scotiabank Value Visa Card

This bank account has a monthly fee of $30.95, which can be waived if you maintain a daily minimum balance of $5,000 in the account.

Scotiabank Ultimate Package details

The Ultimate Package is the real deal among Scotiabank chequing accounts, with a bevvy of features, including:

• unlimited transactions,
• unlimited Interac e-Transfers,
• no fees on non-Scotia ATM withdrawals,
• $55 annual fee waiver on a safety deposit box,
• free cheques, money orders, and certified cheques,
• earn Scene+ points on debit purchases,
• 0.10% additional interest with the Momentum Savings account, and
• no fee for overdraft protection.

Scotiabank also offers these other chequing accounts. One feature of every Scotiabank chequing account is the ability to earn Scene+ points on debit purchases:

• Preferred Package (includes a one time annual fee waiver on the above credit cards),
• Basic Plus, and
• Basic.

Scotiabank savings accounts

Want to see what Scotia has for savings accounts? Here’s a rundown of the accounts they offer:

• Momentum Savings,
• Savings Accelerator,
• Money Master Savings,
• Scotia U.S. Dollar Daily Interest, and
• Scotia Euro Daily Interest Savings.

2. BMO

BMO offers the Premium Plan for those who like “extra perks.” The plan offers an annual rebate of up to $150 on the following credit cards:

• BMO CashBack^® World Elite^®* Mastercard^®*
• BMO Ascend^™ World Elite^®* Mastercard^®*
• BMO AIR MILES^®† World Elite^®* Mastercard^®*
• BMO eclipse Visa Infinite^* Card

This account costs $30 per month, which is waived with a minimum monthly balance of $6,000.

BMO Premium Plan chequing account

Beyond the annual fee savings, here’s what the Premium Plan includes:

• unlimited transactions,
• unlimited Interac e-Transfers,
• no fees on non-BMO ATM withdrawals,
• $12 annual discount on a safety deposit box,
• free cheques, money orders, and drafts, and
• no fee for overdraft protection.

Beyond this account, BMO also offers these other chequing accounts:

• Performance Plan (which includes a $40 rebate on the above credit cards),
• Plus Plan,
• Air Miles Plan, and
• Practical Plan.

BMO savings plans

On the savings side, BMO has a few different savings accounts for you to choose from.

• Savings Builder,
• Smart Saver,
• Premium Ratem
• U.S. Dollar.

3. TD Canada Trust

TD has the All-Inclusive Banking Plan. It carries an annual fee waiver for the primary cardholder and one supplementary card for a variety of cards.

This account costs $29.95 per month, which is waived with a minimum daily balance of $5,000.

Here are the cards that are eligible:

• TD First Class Travel^® Visa Infinite^* Card
• TD^® Aeroplan^® Visa Infinite^* Card
• TD Cash Back Visa Infinite^* Card
• TD Aeroplan Visa Platinum
• TD Platinum Travel Visa

TD All-Inclusive chequing account

The TD All-Inclusive offers almost anything you need from a TD chequing account. It includes:

• unlimited transactions,
• unlimited Interac e-Transfers,
• no fees on non-TD ATM withdrawals,
• free small safety deposit box,
• free cheques, money orders, and certified cheques, and
• no fee for overdraft protection.

There’s also these other TD chequing accounts available:

• Unlimited Chequing,
• Every Day Chequing, and
• Minimum Chequing.

TD savings accounts

For savings accounts, here are TD savings accounts:

• ePremium Savings,
• Every Day Savings, and
• High Interest Savings.

4. National Bank

National Bank offers The Total chequing account. While the annual fee on the credit cards does not get waived, they will give you up to $150 cash back on the annual fee for any National Bank Mastercard at enrollment, such as:

• National Bank World Elite Mastercard
• National Bank World Mastercard
• National Bank Platinum Mastercard
• National Bank Syncro Mastercard

This account costs $25.95 per month, which is waived with a minimum daily balance of $6,000.

National Bank Total Chequing Account

This account has a few other unique features not found elsewhere. Here’s what’s included:

• unlimited transactions,
• unlimited Interac e-Transfers,
• $5 annual fee waiver on a safety deposit box,
• free cheques, money orders, and certified cheques,
• an integrated line of credit, and
• free overdraft protection.

Here are the rest of the chequing accounts offered by National Bank:

• The Connected,
• The Modest, and
• The Minimalist.

National Bank savings accounts

National Bank also offers 2 savings accounts:

• High Interest Savings, and
• USD Progress.

5. RBC Royal Bank

RBC provides the VIP Banking plan. RBC offers a $120 rebate for the primary cardholder and $50 for a supplementary card for the following:

• RBC Avion Visa Infinite Privilege
• RBC Avion Visa Infinite
• RBC Visa Platinum Avion
• RBC U.S. Dollar Visa Gold
• RBC^® British Airways Visa Infinite^‡
• RBC Cash Back Preferred World Elite Mastercard
• WestJet RBC World Elite Mastercard

The plan has a monthly fee of $30, which can’t be waived. However, RBC offers a multi-product rebate that can reduce the monthly fee to $19.95 a month.

To qualify for the fee reduction, you need to have 2 of the following with RBC in addition to the VIP account:

• RBC Credit Card
• Active RBC investment
• Qualifying RBC Home equity financing product

RBC VIP Banking Plan

One nice thing about any RBC chequing account – when you pay with your debit card at Petro-Canada, you’ll save 2 cents per litre and earn 20% bonus Petro-Points.

As for the account itself, it offers:

• unlimited transactions,
• unlimited Interac e-Transfers,
• no fees on non-RBC ATM withdrawals,
• $60 annual fee waiver on a safety deposit box,
• free cheques, money orders, and certified cheques,
• no fee for overdraft protection.

If you’re interested, here are the other chequing accounts offered by RBC:

• Signature No Limit Banking,
• No Limit Banking, and
• Day to Day Banking.

RBC savings accounts

On the savings side of things, here are the accounts offered by RBC:

• NOMI Find & Save,
• High Interest eSavings,
• Enhanced Savings,
• Day to Day Savings, and
• US High Interest eSavings.

6. CIBC

CIBC has the Smart Plus account. It carries an annual fee waiver for the following credit cards and more:

• CIBC Aventura^® Visa Infinite^* Card
• CIBC Aventura^® Gold Visa^* Card
• CIBC Aeroplan Visa Infinite Card

This account costs $29.95 per month, which is waived with a minimum daily balance of $6,000.

CIBC Smart Plus chequing account

The CIBC Smart Plus chequing account offers many of the same features as the other banks’ accounts:

• unlimited transactions,
• unlimited Interac e-Transfers,
• no fees on non-CIBC ATM withdrawals,
• free cheques, money orders, and certified cheques,
• no fee for overdraft protection.

And here are the other accounts offered by CIBC:

• Smart Account, and
• Everyday Account.

CIBC savings accounts

CIBC also has a variety of savings accounts to choose from.

• eAdvantage Savings, and
• US$ Personal.

Summary

There are a large variety of credit cards available with an annual fee rebate, including a variety of both rewards and cash back options.

Picking the right bank can be a method to remove those credit card fees. BMO and Scotiabank are especially attractive because their monthly premium banking fees are also waived as long as you maintain the minimum daily balance specified.

Here are the 8 credit cards, offered by these 2 banks, where an annual fee rebate is offered:

FAQ

What banks offer chequing accounts with annual fee waivers for credit cards?

The following banks offer chequing accounts with annual fee waivers on select credit cards:

• Scotiabank,
• BMO,
• TD,
• RBC, and
• CIBC.

Can the monthly fee be waived on the chequing accounts offered by the big banks?

Only the accounts offered by Scotiabank, BMO, and TD can have the chequing account monthly fee waived by maintaining a minimum daily balance.

Does National Bank offer an annual fee waiver for their credit cards?

No, National Bank only offers an annual fee waiver for the first year if you have the Total Plan.