Who this card is for
A good fit if you…
- People whose restaurant, bar, and coffee spend is large enough for Simplii’s elevated dining category to matter, and who will watch the caps.
- Households that also put gas, groceries, drugstores, and pre-authorized bills on one Visa and can live with the 1.5% rate.
- CIBC or Simplii customers who want a digital-bank card without walking into a branch for the application.
- Anyone who pays in full. The purchase rate is not a feature.
Skip it if you…
- Travellers collecting Aeroplan on purpose. Even though the welcome offer text currently mentions Aeroplan points, this product is positioned as cash back — do not pick it as an Air Canada cobrand.
- Shoppers who want to choose 2% categories instead of living inside Simplii’s dining-and-caps box. That is Tangerine Money-Back.
- Applicants who qualify for a 4% grocery Visa Infinite such as the CIBC Dividend Visa Infinite Card and will spend enough at the supermarket to clear that fee.
- Anyone who hates tracking caps. The 1.5% buckets are explicitly capped in the feature list; once you blow past them, the rate drops.
Pros and cons
Pros
- Dining, bars, and coffee are the personality of the card, which is a better everyday story than a flat 1% Visa if you actually eat out.
- 1.5% on gas, groceries, drugstores, and pre-authorized payments covers a lot of a Canadian month — until the annual caps hit.
- Visa acceptance is the practical advantage over an American Express cash-back card at grocers and small merchants.
- Simplii is built for people who already do their banking in an app, without a Big Five branch requirement on the product page.
- The detailed features tell you to confirm current rates and caps on Simplii’s site, which is the right instinct for a card whose listed details are messy.
Cons
- The headline currently shows a non-zero annual fee, while the detailed features say “no annual fee.” Until Simplii’s live page settles that, do not budget from this review’s fee tile alone.
- The welcome offer text currently bundles a large “up to” value with Aeroplan points and a first-year fee rebate. That reads like a cobrand offer sitting on a cash-back card. We will not treat those Aeroplan figures as a Simplii signup gift.
- Annual caps on the 1.5% categories mean heavy grocery or bill-pay households fall back to the lower rate partway through the year.
- Additional-card fees, the cash-advance rate, eligibility terms, and insurance are not currently listed.
- Cash back will not book a lie-flat seat. If you want Aeroplan, use an Aeroplan cobrand and ignore this card’s bonus wording.
Fees and value: is the annual fee worth it?
First-year snapshot (estimate)
- Annual fee
- $0
- Estimated welcome bonus value
- up to $100
- Bonus minus fee (estimate)
- $100
This is a simple comparison of the estimated welcome-bonus value against the annual fee. It ignores rewards on spending, credits you have to remember to use, and interest if you carry a balance. Offers change — verify with the issuer.
Start with the fee table, then open Simplii’s own page. Our headline annual fee and the detailed features currently tell two different stories: one looks like a mid-tier paid card, the other like the no-fee digital Visa Simplii has long been known for.
The welcome offer text also mentions a first-year fee rebate, which only makes sense if a fee exists. This review will not pick a winner between those figures.
If the live product is $0, value is just dining cash back minus caps. If the live product charges the fee in our table, dining and the 1.5% buckets have to clear that bar the same way any other paid cash-back card does.
Offers change. Pay the statement in full either way.
Rewards and earn rates explained
Rewards program: Cash Back
This is a cash-back Visa, not an Aeroplan card, despite what the welcome offer text currently says. The card’s features describe elevated cash back on restaurants, bars, and coffee; 1.5% on gas, groceries, drugstores, and pre-authorized payments with annual caps; and a lower rate on everything else.
Merchant coding still applies: a grocery-store hot bar, a coffee counter inside a bookstore, or a “pre-authorized” payment that the network does not flag as recurring can miss the bonus bucket. Redeem as cash back according to Simplii’s rules, not as flight rewards.
Welcome bonus: how to unlock it
Earn 20% cash back on eligible gas, grocery and drugstore purchases and pre-authorized payments in your first 3 months (on up to $500 in spend; up to $100 cash back)
The current welcome bonus describes a large “up to” value that includes Aeroplan points and a first-year fee rebate. That looks like a listing error, and it is a poor fit for a Simplii cash-back Visa.
This review will not walk you through how to unlock 50,000-class Aeroplan on a product whose earn mix is restaurants and groceries. Use Simplii’s application page.
If that page shows a cash offer, a fee rebate, or no bonus at all, believe Simplii. If it shows Aeroplan, you are likely looking at the wrong product.
No eligibility terms are listed, so a 12-month exclusion is not confirmed either — though most Canadian issuers apply one.
Welcome bonus eligibility: For new Simplii Financial Cash Back Visa cardholders approved beginning February 2, 2026. Not available if you have opened or cancelled a Simplii Financial Cash Back Visa Card within the last 12 months. Simplii may disqualify, limit or revoke the offer for abuse, manipulation or suspected fraud.
FAQ
Is the Simplii Financial Cash Back Visa worth it in 2026?
It is worth it when dining and coffee are a real share of spend, you will respect the 1.5% caps, and Simplii’s live fee matches what you are willing to pay. It is not worth it as an Aeroplan strategy or as a 5% grocery card.
Does the Simplii Cash Back Visa have an annual fee?
The listing currently disagrees with itself: the headline annual fee shows a paid card, and the detailed features call it a no-annual-fee cash-back Visa. Confirm on Simplii’s site before you apply, and treat this page’s fee tile as a prompt to check, not as the last word.
Does this card earn Aeroplan points?
The rewards program is cash back. A welcome bonus that mentions Aeroplan is not the same thing as an Aeroplan cobrand. If you want Aeroplan, look at the CIBC Aeroplan Visa Infinite Card instead.
Simplii vs Tangerine Money-Back?
Tangerine currently lists a $0 fee and lets you pick 2% categories. Simplii hard-wires dining plus capped 1.5% everyday categories. Choose Tangerine for control; choose Simplii if restaurants are the whole point and the live Simplii fee is acceptable.
Simplii vs CIBC Dividend Visa Infinite?
Dividend Visa Infinite is CIBC’s paid grocery-and-gas cash-back card with Visa Infinite income rules. Simplii is the digital, dining-led sibling under the same parent. They are not substitutes: one is a supermarket Infinite card, the other is an everyday Visa with caps.
Compare related cards and guides
More Canadian credit card lists that match this product, plus a few cards people usually compare it with.
- Tangerine Money-Back Credit Card review · Tangerine · $0 annual fee
- CIBC Dividend Visa Infinite Card review · CIBC · $120 annual fee
- SimplyCash Preferred Card from American Express review · American Express · $119.88 annual fee
