KOHO Extra Prepaid Mastercard Review 2024

• Earn a $20 cash bonus when you sign up for a KOHO account and make your first purchase within 30 days of registration.
• Earn 1.5% cash back on groceries, bills and services and eating and drinking.
• Earn 0.25% cash back on all other purchases.
• Earn 5% interest on the entire balance.
• Instantly redeem cash back at any time for any amount through the KOHO app.
• International currency exchange rate of 0%.
• No Foreign transaction fees
• No spending caps for rewards.
• Get one free ATM withdrawal per month outside of Canada.
• Includes on-demand financial coaching and in-app credit score updates.
• 30% off credit building options, including credit building (a KOHO line of credit), flexible credit building (a secured line of credit that’s available by invitation only) or both.
• KOHO Cover gives you interest-free overdraft protection with no application, no late fees and no effect on your credit score, but eligibility depends on the user.

The KOHO Extra Prepaid Mastercard is a subscription plan upgrade of the KOHO account that costs $9 per month to use. The cost unlocks the cash back earn rate to 1.5% (1% on their Essential plan). This 1.5% rate applies to your grocery, eating and drinking, and ground transportation purchases. You can also earn 5% cash back with selected merchants like Booking.com. Aside from cash back, you also earn 5% interest on any money held in your account. (You can get up to 5% interest with KOHO’s Everything plan, on your entire account balance, but it’ll cost you $19 per month.)

It comes with a functional app that helps you understand your spending and saving. Because it’s prepaid, it won’t help you build credit, but for an extra $7 per month, you can add a credit building feature that gives you a line of credit for which you choose the amount, repay at the end of the month and KOHO reports it to the credit bureaus. It’s a powerful tool for anyone looking to build credit without access to a regular credit card.

Bonus features like no foreign exchange fees, unlimited e-Transfers and RoundUps that put your savings on autopilot make the KOHO Extra card worthy of purchasing.

• $84 annual fee
• Credit building option for an additional $7 per month
• 1.5% cash back on groceries, drinking or dining out, and ground transport. Plus, 0.25% cash back on other purchase categories.
• Up to 5% interest on your account balance

The best way to use the KOHO Extra card is as a savings and spending account, where you can earn money as both cash back and interest by, well, saving and spending.

Earning Rewards

Earning rewards is easy. You fund your KOHO account either via direct deposit or simply by e-transferring money from your regular chequing account. Then you can set up savings goals, like a trip with friends, a big night out on the town or a dream family road trip. Or, use the RoundUps feature that automatically transfers spare change to your KOHO savings account.

You can also earn 1.5% cash back when you buy groceries, go out to eat and drink, and use transportation. It’s automatically deposited to your KOHO account right away. You can earn up to 5% additional cash back with select merchants. It’s worth noting that more partners are being added all the time. This extra cash back from partners will hit your account within one to two business days.

If you shop with their partners, the KOHO gets close to some of the best cash back credit cards like the CIBC Dividend Visa Infinite Card with 4% cash back on gas and groceries or the BMO CashBack World Elite Mastercard with a whopping 5% cash back on groceries. However, both those cards have higher annual fees and high-income requirements.

Redeeming Rewards

Earning rewards with the KOHO Extra Prepaid Mastercard is super easy. Like any of their cards, the moment you buy something, you get your cash-back reward straight into your account. With partners, it takes one to two business days.

Rewards Potential

The KOHO Extra Prepaid Mastercard packs a punch in rewards. With 0.25% cash back on all purchases, 1.5% on groceries, dining and transportation, it really ups KOHO’s reward game. Compared to some top-tier credit cards, these rewards might seem limited. However, for prepaid cards, KOHO’s reward scheme is among Canada’s finest.

• Earn 1.5% cash back on essential spending categories like groceries, transportation (e.g. transit, Uber) and fun ones like eating and drinking out
• Use the app to set multiple savings goals and manage your spending while earning up to 5% interest on any money held within your account
• Access credit building services for an extra $7 per month to improve your credit score that unlocks more financial opportunities like lower insurance rates, better approvals for other financial products and more
• Earn even more cash back (up to 5%) with select merchants and partners in the KOHO network

Interest Rates

• Regular APR Min: N/A
• Regular APR Max: N/A

Fees

• Cash Advance: N/A
• Foreign Transaction Fee: 0%
• Annual Fee: $84 (or $9 a month)
• Any other fees: Depending on the out-of-network fee, an ATM fee of $2 or $3 may apply

How the KOHO Extra Prepaid Mastercard Stacks Up

KOHO has a lower-than-average annual fee, up to 5% interest on savings and 1.5% cash back on savings in major categories.

KOHO Extra Prepaid Mastercard vs. CIBC AC Conversion Visa Prepaid Card

CIBC’s AC Conversion Visa does not currently offer any cash back on purchases, while KOHO gives you 0.25%. What’s more, KOHO gives you 1.5% cash back on major spending categories like groceries, eating and drinking, and transportation, plus bonus cash back with select partners to earn even more. While you don’t have to pay an annual fee with CIBC, you’ll have to fork over foreign exchange fees—unless you’re in a country where they waive the fees, such as the US, Europe and England.

The extra cash back with the KOHO extra card quickly negates its cost, and depending on what CIBC changes their cash back rate to in late October, KOHO still has more features and offerings like its app, credit building opportunities and unlimited e-Transfers.

KOHO Extra Prepaid Mastercard vs. KOHO Essential Prepaid Mastercard

These cards are cut from the same plastic, but they made their offers to suit different needs. The KOHO Essential card gives you 1% cash back on groceries, eating, drinking and transportation. The KOHO Essential charges $4 per month or $48 per year as an annual fee, $7 per month (rather than $10) for credit building and you will still need to pay foreign transaction fees (1.5% of the transaction amount). However, both cards earn 5% savings interest on your total balance.

If you can afford the annual fee, the KOHO Extra provides better rewards.

KOHO Extra Prepaid Mastercard vs. EQ Bank Card

The EQ Bank Card is on a mission: No fees. No annual fees, no foreign transaction fees and no ATM fees—even if the ATM charges you, EQ will issue a refund. KOHO has an annual fee, no foreign transactions fees and no ATM fees (unless the out-of-network ATM charges you). The cash back earn rate is the same as KOHO Extra for all purchases, but the Extra gives you just that—extra—in its three spending categories and with its merchant partners. To get the EQ Bank card, you’ll also need to open an EQ savings account to load money, whereas KOHO allows you to load money from wherever you bank via one of its unlimited e-Transfers.

If you already bank with EQ, there’s an argument to get the EQ Bank Card and have everything in one spot, but KOHO Extra offers more value for your dollar thanks to its spending categories and premium partnerships.

When determining a rating for individual credit cards, the Forbes Advisor Canada editorial team factors in an exhaustive list of data points. With this card, the scoring model used takes into account factors such as, but not limited to, rewards rates and categories, fees, welcome bonus, and other benefits and features. Keep in mind what may be best for some people might not be right for you. Conduct informed research before deciding which cards will best help you achieve your financial goals.

If you’re a student, a new Canadian, or someone looking to better manage their money, it’s a fantastic card with great rewards that doesn’t have income requirements or require a certain level of credit score to apply. If you have great credit and earn a decent wage, for approximately $40 more per year, you can find better cash back cards.

Related: Best Credit Cards To Have in Canada