Who this card is for
A good fit if you…
- Households that spend enough on groceries and gas for a 4% category to clear a Visa Infinite fee once the first-year rebate ends, and who will stay inside the $20,000 bonus-category cap or the $50,000 annual purchase cap.
- People who also dine out, ride transit, and pay recurring bills, and can park those on the same card for 2% before the cap.
- Applicants who meet the personal or household income figures in eligibility and have not opened, transferred, or cancelled another Dividend card in the last 12 months.
- Cash-back fans who bank at CIBC and do not want to learn Aeroplan for an everyday card.
Skip it if you…
- Light grocery spenders. If the supermarket is not a major bill, year two of this fee is a membership in a club you do not visit.
- Applicants who cannot meet Visa Infinite income. CIBC Dividend Platinum and the no-fee Dividend Visa sit lower on the same ladder.
- Air Canada collectors who applied for the wrong CIBC Infinite card. That is the Aeroplan Visa Infinite.
- Anyone who revolves a balance. 4% groceries will not outrun the purchase rate.
Pros and cons
Pros
- 4% cash back on eligible grocery stores, gas, and EV charging is a sharper supermarket rate than TD’s 3% Infinite stack.
- 2% on commuter transit (including rideshare), restaurants, recurring payments, and eligible CIBC-by-Expedia travel covers more of a Canadian month than grocery-only cards. The Expedia 2% is not subject to the $50,000 / $20,000 cap.
- 1% on everything else, and on bonus-category spend after the cap, is a respectable floor for a paid cash-back card.
- The current welcome, for new cards approved beginning July 16, 2026, is up to $350: 10% cash back up to $200 on the first $2,000 over four statements, $50 for one pre-authorized payment, and a $120 first-year annual-fee rebate.
- Additional cards are $50 each, up to 3, and that additional-card fee is rebated in the first year.
Cons
- After year one, the annual fee returns unless a new promotion says otherwise. Grocery spend has to keep working.
- The 4% and 2% rates (other than 2% on CIBC by Expedia) apply to the first $50,000 in net annual card purchases or the first $20,000 in net annual purchases in the bonus categories, whichever comes first. After that, purchases earn 1%. Both limits reset after your December statement date.
- Merchant coding is strict: grocery means grocery stores and supermarkets, gas means service stations and EV charging with MCC 5552, and “recurring” means the merchant flags it as recurring.
- Warehouse clubs, restaurants inside grocers, and travel booked outside CIBC by Expedia are easy ways to miss the bonus rate.
- Eligibility currently blocks people who opened, transferred, or cancelled another Dividend card in the last 12 months — including a product-change from Platinum.
Fees and value: is the annual fee worth it?
First-year snapshot (estimate)
- Annual fee
- $120
- Estimated welcome bonus value
- $350
- Bonus minus fee (estimate)
- $230
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.
The fee table shows a paid Infinite card. The welcome includes a first-year annual-fee rebate valued at $120, so year one can look like a waived fee if you are approved on or after July 16, 2026 and you collect the rest of the offer.
The marketed total is up to $350: up to $200 from 10% cash back on net purchases up to $2,000 over the first 4 statements, $50 for setting up one pre-authorized payment in that same window, and the $120 rebate. Additional cards are $50 each for up to 3, and that fee is rebated in the first year.
Year two is the full fee versus 4% groceries and gas plus 2% on the secondary categories, only until you hit $50,000 in annual card purchases or $20,000 in the bonus categories, whichever comes first. CIBC by Expedia’s 2% is excluded from that cap.
After the cap, the rate is 1%. If the net is smaller than the no-fee Dividend Visa or a $0 card like Tangerine, do not keep Infinite for the metal.
Offers change. Pay in full.
Rewards and earn rates explained
Rewards program: Cash Back
This card pays cash back, not points. You earn 4% on purchases (less returns) at merchants classified as grocery stores and supermarkets, or as gas service stations, automated fuel dispensers, and electric-vehicle charging with MCC 5552.
You earn 2% on Canadian commuter transportation (subway, streetcar, taxi, limousine, rideshare — not air, car rental, or cruises), eating and drinking places, recurring payments the merchant classifies as recurring, and eligible CIBC-by-Expedia bookings excluding taxes and similar add-ons. Everything else earns 1%.
The 4% and 2% offers, other than the 2% on CIBC by Expedia, are available on the first $50,000 in net annual card purchases (all purchases by all cardholders) or $20,000 in net annual purchases at grocery stores, supermarkets, gas stations, automated fuel dispensers, EV charging, commuter transportation, eating and drinking places, or on recurring payments, whichever comes first. After that, net purchases earn 1%.
The $50,000 and $20,000 limits reset after your December statement date. Costco, a superstore that codes as a mass merchant, or a meal-kit company can miss 4%.
Insurance includes Mobile Device Insurance, Purchase Security and Extended Protection, Out-of-Province Emergency Travel Medical Insurance for the first 10 days of a trip if the insured person is 64 or under, $500,000 Common Carrier Accident Insurance, and Car Rental Collision/Loss Damage Insurance on rentals up to 48 days with an MSRP up to $85,000. Read the certificates.
If you want 3% on a wider stack that includes streaming, compare TD Cash Back Visa Infinite, which caps 3% at $15,000 a year in each bonus category. If you want 5% groceries and can meet World Elite income, compare BMO CashBack World Elite.
Welcome bonus: how to unlock it
Earn up to $350 in value
For new cards approved beginning July 16, 2026, the offer is up to $350. That is a 10% cash-back welcome of up to $200 over the first 4 statements on net purchases up to $2,000, a $50 cash-back bonus for setting up one pre-authorized payment within those same 4 statements, and a first-year annual-fee rebate valued at $120.
You need the spend, the PAP, and the rebate to match the “up to” figure. Eligibility currently says CIBC may approve you and still withhold the offer if you opened, transferred, or cancelled another Dividend card in the last 12 months.
That includes moving from Dividend Platinum. Hit the $2,000 cap with grocery and gas you would buy anyway; do not add a fake pre-authorized payment you will forget to cancel.
Welcome bonus eligibility: CIBC may approve your application, but you are not eligible to receive this Offer if you have opened, transferred or cancelled another Dividend card within the last 12 months.
FAQ
Is the CIBC Dividend Visa Infinite Card worth it in 2026?
It is worth it when grocery and gas spend is high enough that 4%, inside the $20,000 bonus-category cap and the $50,000 annual purchase cap, still beats a no-fee 2% card after the ongoing fee, and when you qualify on income. It is not worth it as an Aeroplan substitute or as a card for someone who picks up groceries once a week on a small bill.
Is the annual fee waived in the first year?
The current welcome, for new cards approved beginning July 16, 2026, includes a first-year annual-fee rebate valued at $120, inside an “up to $350” package. Additional cards at $50 each (up to 3) are also first-year rebated. That is an offer, not a permanent $0 card. Budget for the full fee in year two.
Dividend Visa Infinite vs Dividend Platinum vs the no-fee Dividend Visa?
Platinum currently lists 3% grocery/gas at a lower fee and a much lower income bar. The no-fee Dividend Visa pays 2% groceries and 1% on several everyday categories.
Infinite is the 4% grocery product for people who clear Visa Infinite income, with the $50,000 / $20,000 cap. Additional Infinite cards are $50 each, up to 3, with the first year rebated.
Pick the lowest rung that still matches spend.
CIBC Dividend Visa Infinite vs TD Cash Back Visa Infinite?
CIBC pays 4% at the supermarket and gas pump and 2% on transit, dining, recurring payments, and CIBC by Expedia, until $50,000 in annual purchases or $20,000 in the bonus categories, whichever comes first (Expedia’s 2% is excluded from that cap). TD pays 3% on a broader stack that includes streaming and digital media, on the first $15,000 a year in each of four categories, then 1%. Choose CIBC for grocery and fuel; choose TD if bills and streaming are as large as the shop.
Does this card charge foreign-exchange fees?
Most Canadian Visa Infinite cards add a foreign-conversion fee on foreign-currency purchases. Dividend Infinite is a grocery cash-back card, not a no-FX travel card. For overseas spend, compare Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite, and confirm CIBC’s current FX rate in the agreement.
Compare related cards and guides
More Canadian credit card lists that match this product, plus a few cards people usually compare it with.
- CIBC Dividend Platinum Visa Card review · CIBC · $99 annual fee
- TD Cash Back Visa Infinite Card review · TD · $139 annual fee
- BMO CashBack World Elite Mastercard review · BMO · $139 annual fee
