That said, NY Times ran an article on "the holy grail" 2% cash back credit cards last year [0] which includes four:
- Barclaycard Arrival Plus World Elite Mastercard
- Capital One Venture Visa Signature
- Citi Double Cash MasterCard
- Fidelity Investment Rewards American Express
[0]: Credit Cards With 2% Rebates, While (or if) They Last http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/09/your-money/credit-and-debi...
Perhaps it's different in Canada but Visa and MasterCard are the most popular credit card brands in the US.
The only time I've seen something related in the US is at discount grocery store chain Aldi's (it has some commonalities with Walmart) which has a 0.5% surcharge to pay with a debit or credit card in the US and Australia. They had been doing this internationally for a while, in countries where they accept credit cards at least, and Europeans seem to be more accepting of it than Americans, but it only became consistent in the US over the past year or so.
Until it was acquired a few months ago I was a longtime user of FatWallet to make a few percentage points back on the dollar at many stores.
2. Jet Anywhere
Jet.com has an incredible cash back program called Jet Anywhere. While the number of stores is small, the percentages are very strong. For example, 20% back at Nike or Saks Fifth.
What I'm getting the most out of though is plane tickets. Flight purchases through them get 5.6% back via Orbitz or 4.8% back via Expedia. After verifying you completed the travel, they dispatch cash back in the form of Jet Cash in 30 days. Many items on Jet are equal or cheaper than Amazon, so this is effectively cash. 5% back on plane tickets becomes a significant amount of money very quickly.
By the way — they do not have a Chrome extension and I have interest in working on one.
3. Cash back credit card
I also purchase everything on a card that gives 2% cash back on every purchase without exception. This is literal cash off your bill, not a rewards program.
I've received $100+ back from the first two methods, and even more from the third.
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I'm really passionate about the topic of "money hacking" and happy to discuss more via email if you're interested. I'm currently writing a few blog posts on personal financial habits myself.