How We Rate Products

Every comparison page on CompassNorth publishes the specific criteria used to evaluate the products on it, under a “How we picked these” section. This page explains the general framework behind those criteria.

Credit cards

We weigh the annual fee against realistic rewards value for a typical spender in that use case, approval accessibility (minimum income and credit score required), the clarity of terms and any spending caps, and — for travel cards — included insurance and foreign transaction fees.

Banking

For savings accounts, we prioritize the standard ongoing rate over introductory bonus rates that expire after a few months. For chequing accounts, we look at whether transaction limits and e-Transfer fees are genuinely absent, not just marketed as “no fee” with exceptions.

Mortgages

Because advertised rates depend heavily on individual qualification, we treat rate as one input among several, alongside prepayment privileges, portability, and conversion flexibility — factors that matter over the life of the mortgage regardless of your exact rate.

What we don’t do

• We don’t accept payment in exchange for a specific rating or ranking position.
• We don’t use “guaranteed approval” or similarly misleading claims.
• We don’t publish rates or fees we haven’t sourced from a provider disclosure.

Every rating is a snapshot as of its “last verified” date. If you believe a rating no longer reflects a product’s current terms, please use our contact page to let us know.