Make your plastic work for you by earning perks for your purchases. Here’s a guide to the cards that give you the most bonuses for your buck.

I live in Ontario, Canada and the best thing I ever did was sign up for a President's Choice Finanacial Mastercard. I earn free groceries all the time and never pay an annual fee. And, in terms of rewards, there's nothing I have to keep track of. All I have to do to redeem my points is tell the cashier I'd like to use them up at the point of sale. Awesome!

Depending on the card and your spending patterns, you might make up for the annual fee through the rewards you get. But if you carry a balance, be aware that rewards cards tend to have higher interest rates than standard cards and that you could end up paying more in finance charges than you're getting back in rewards accept credit cards