There is a new credit card out that appears to be Canada's best cash-back card with no annual fee. Per RFD, the card is still available from creditrsvp.com with the code CHSS.

MBNA Smart Cash Credit Card - Canada's Best Cash Back No Fee Credit Card - New 2009

MBNA Smart Cash has the following cash-back/rebate:

• 5% cash-back on eligible gas and eligible grocery purchases (so yay to places like Loblaws, nay to Walmart) for the first six months.
• After the first six months, this becomes a still very respectable 3% cash back return on these purchases.
• For all other purchases, 1% cash back with no cap and from the first dollar spent, none of this tiered junk here.

The 3% and 5% cash backs only apply to the first $600 in spending each month, after that you get 1% back. Keep in mind that places like Loblaws do sell gift cards for other retailers...

Once again, there are NO annual fees or application fees for this card. 

MBNA Smart Cash's payout policy is also very good, you can request a cheque once you have $50 in credits. This is more convenient than Citi Enrich's once a year cheque for most people. 

So, all in all, you can't possibly earn less with this card than the Citi Enrich Mastercard that I've reviewed here. 

Need to call MBNA Smart Cash Customer Service and want to almost completely avoid waiting on hold? Use the MBNA Smart Cash Customer Service Phone Numbers listed here!

So Tell Me, How do I Apply for the MBNA Smart Cash Credit Card?

The card can now be directly applied for through the MBNA website here. 

It is currently unadvertised, not on their website and only available as an upgrade, so here is what needs to be done to get it:

Get the advertised MBNA Mastercard, Premier Rewards Platinum Plus Mastercard, which also has no annual fee.

If you end up getting another card, then you'll likely have to first upgrade to the Premier Rewards and then upgrade again to the Smart Cash. But who knows, perhaps some reps may be able to upgrade you directly from your a non-PremierRewards MBNA Credit Card to Smart Cash.I will investigate this myself, since I have a basic MBNA credit card through my credit union at the current moment. 

Yes, you will have to call MBNA and ask to be upgraded to the Smart Cash credit card.

Not all reps that you call and speak with may know about the card (though this should be improving by the day) as this card is new. So you may have to call MBNA multiple times or ask to speak with a supervisor. Just be persistent is what I'm trying to say. 

Comparison between MBNA Smart Cash and Citi Enrich Credit Cards

One unfortunate missing element for Smart Cash is that it does not have the Price Protection feature that the Citi Enrich has, so you might want to get/have that card for purchases where this might be helpful. This is especially true since you're not likely to need Price Protection when buying gas/groceries, since they aren't eligible for it. 

For low spenders, it might take a while to get to the $50 rebate point. If for some reason you don't buy much gas or do grocery shopping, you would be better off with the Citi Enrich (less hassle + more usable features). 

For biiiiiig spenders (>$50k/year), having an uncapped card like this allows for more rewards than the Citi Enrich Platinum ($500/year cap on cash back). But at these spending levels, the CIBC Dividend Platinum Visa with the annual fee is a better cash back rebate card.

Source

There's a thread on RFD by angel_wing0 that is currently over 200 pages (not posts, pages!) long covering the MBNA Smart Cash Credit Card. I think I've covered all of the important stuff for this card. This card is a big deal.