The best rewards credit card is the one that effortlessly earns you points on every purchase you make. Having one of these cards in your wallet can be the key to earning vacations, flights, merchandise, statement credits and more. In fact, these cards can actually be so valuable that many Canadians have even turned collecting rewards points into a hobby.
That said, with so many rewards cards to choose from, it can be overwhelming to try to find the best one for you. You need to consider everything from earn rates and spending categories to annual fees, interest rates and whether the card has any other useful benefits, like travel insurance or airport perks. With this in mind, Forbes Advisor has done the legwork for you and ranked the 10 best rewards credit cards in Canada. Use this list of the best rewards credit cards in Canada to narrow down your search and see how the top cards align with your needs.
When determining a rating for individual credit cards, the Forbes Advisor Canada editorial team factors in an exhaustive list of data points. With rewards, the scoring model used takes into account factors such as, but not limited to, earn rates and categories, fees, welcome bonus, and other rewards and features. In the event of a tie, credit cards are ranked according to their annual reward value in dollars. 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 looking for redemption versatility, a welcome bonus that’s easy to acquire and a low annual fee, the new RBC ION+ Visa does the job quite handily.
Rewards: Earn 3 points per dollar on groceries, dining out, food delivery, rideshares, gas, public transit, electric vehicle charging, streaming, digital subscriptions and gaming, including in-game purchases. Plus, earn 1 Avion Rewards point per dollar on all other purchases.
Welcome Offer: Get 12,000 Avion welcome points upon approval – $80 of value in gift cards.
Annual Fee: $48 (Paid as $4 per month).
Other Benefits and Drawbacks: Despite this card having an annual fee, it is low and charged in installments of $4 per month. The earn rate in a number of categories is quite decent and this is perhaps the only card on the market where you can earn on gaming purchases. There aren’t a lot of insurance options to speak of despite the annual fee, and the travel redemption value is quite low, too (unless you’re transferring your points to WestJet Rewards).
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This card gives you some of the best earn rates on common purchase categories and great value on redemption for travel, merchandise and gift cards—all for no annual fee.
Rewards: Earn 4 points†† per dollar on restaurant, grocery, digital media, membership and utility purchases for the first 90 days (2 points‡ per dollar in those categories thereafter). Plus, 1 point‡ per dollar on all other purchases.
Welcome Offer: 10,000 MBNA Rewards (5,000†† once $500 is spent on purchases and another 5,000†† when you switch to e-statements).
Annual Fee: $0
Other Benefits and Drawbacks: For no annual fee, the fact that you can earn 4 points per dollar in so many categories is a win. That said, the fact that it’s only for the first 90 days of having the account open is a drawback. However, the remaining earn rate of 2 points per dollar is still quite high and the $10,000 purchase cap still leaves a lot of room for great earning potential.
††, ‡, Terms and conditions apply. This offer is not available to residents of Quebec.
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This card gives a decent earn rate for Aeroplan points with no annual fee. When it comes to travel, Aeroplan points cover taxes and fees and can redeem flights with a combination of points and cash. Aeroplan points can also be redeemed for merchandise, gift cards and entertainment.
Rewards: 1 point per dollar spent on gas, groceries and Air Canada purchases, including Air Canada Vacations. 1 point per $1.50 spent on all other purchases, including CIBC Global Money Transfer with no transaction fees. Plus, earn double the points when you make purchases at over 150 retail and 170 online eStore Aeroplan partners.
Welcome Offer: Earn 10,000 Aeroplan Points (a $200 travel value) after your first purchase.
Annual Fee: $0
Other Benefits and Drawbacks: Despite flexible redemption offers and the opportunity to redeem for flights faster by using cash with your points, the earn rates on common purchases and the annual earnings value on travel are relatively low compared to other travel credit cards.
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The darling of the Canadian credit card market, the American Express Cobalt® Card has topped—or been in contention to top—Forbes Advisor’s Best Grocery, Best Travel, Best Hotel, and Best Amex lists. That said, it’s no surprise it shows up here, too. This credit card makes it every time due to its high earn rates, high annual rewards value, and numerous perks and benefits.
Rewards: Earn 5 Membership Rewards per dollar spent on groceries (up to $30,000 annually), 3 Membership Rewards points per dollar spent on eligible streaming subscriptions in Canada, 2 Membership Rewards points per dollar spent on rideshares, transit and gas in Canada 1 Membership Rewards point per dollar spent on all other eligible purchases and 1 additional Membership Rewards point for every dollar spent on eligible hotel or car rental bookings made with American Express Travel.
Welcome Offer: In your first year as a new Cobalt Cardmember, you can earn 1,250 Membership Rewards® points for each monthly billing period in which you spend $750 in net purchases on your Card. This could add up to 15,000 points in a year. That’s up to $150 towards a weekend getaway or concert tickets
Other Benefits and Drawbacks: There aren’t many drawbacks to point out, other than the relatively high annual fee, the decreased welcome bonus compared to what it had been and the fact that American Express still doesn’t have as wide an acceptance in Canada as Visa or Mastercard. Other than those factors, this card remains one every Canadian should have in their wallet, based on its rewards potential and the valuable benefits it provides.
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This card carries the highest earn rate on dining and at select grocery stores in Canada. It comes with many redemption options, including travel, has the highest annual earnings available on this list and many insurance options.
Rewards: Earn 6 Scene+ Points for every dollar spent at Sobeys, Safeway, Foodland and more. Earn 5 Scene+ Points for every dollar spent on dining, restaurants, delivery services, food subscription services and grocery stores that aren’t a subsidiary of Sobeys. Earn 5 Scene+ Points for every dollar spent on entertainment, including movie theatres and ticket agencies. Earn 3 Scene+ Points for every dollar spent on gas and transit, including rideshares, taxis, subways and buses. Earn 3 Scene+ Points for every dollar spent on eligible select streaming services. Finally, earn 1 Scene+ Point per dollar for all other purchases.
Welcome Offer: Welcome bonus of 40,000 Scene+ points (Earn 20,000 points by making at least $1,000 in the first three months, get 20,000 points when you spend at least $7,500 in your first year). Must open card by July 1, 2024 to qualify.
Annual Fee: $120
Other Benefits and Drawbacks: The possible $943.12 in annual earnings more than covers this card’s $120 annual fee. Plus, while most premium cards require a minimum personal income of $60,000 per year, this one only requires $12,000 annually and includes no foreign exchange fees on international purchases.
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A great starter card for those looking to enter the Aeroplan travel loyalty program.
Rewards: Earn 1 point for every dollar spent on eligible gas, grocery and direct through Air Canada® purchases (including Air Canada Vacations®) made with your card. Earn 1 point† for every $1.50 spent on all other eligible purchases made with your Card. Earn points twice when you pay with your Card and provide your Aeroplan number at over 150 Aeroplan partner brands and at 170+ online retailers via the Aeroplan eStore (www.aeroplan.com/estore).
Welcome Offer: Earn a welcome bonus of up to 20,000 Aeroplan points† (up to $500 in value†). Earn 10,000 Aeroplan points when you make your first purchase with your new card and an additional 10,000 Aeroplan points when you spend $1,000 within 90 days of account opening. †Terms and conditions Apply. Account must be approved by September 3, 2024. This offer is not available to residents of Quebec.
Annual Fee: $89 (Get a first-year annual fee rebate; account must be approved by September 3, 2024)
Other Benefits and Drawbacks: The earn rate on this card is low, but the annual earnings value of $449.80 is great on Air Canada flight redemptions given the low annual fee and you might actually appreciate qualifying for this card if your income restricts you from getting more premium Aeroplan cards.
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If you want to support Canadian veterans and get great annual earnings value on MBNA Rewards for a number of flexible redemption options, including travel, this is the credit card to get, especially for no annual fee.
Rewards: Earn 2 points for every dollar spent on restaurant, grocery, digital media, membership, and household utility purchases until you hit the $10,000 spending cap in each category. Plus, earn 1 point per every dollar spent on all other purchases. In addition, you’ll get a Birthday Bonus Points equal to 10% of the total number of Points the account earned in the 12 months before your birthday month to a maximum of 10,000 points.
Welcome Offer: Earn 2,500 MBNA Rewards ($12.50 in cash back value) after your first eligible purchase within the first 90 days of account opening and then earn an additional 2,500 MBNA Rewards ($12.50 in cash back value) when you’re enrolled for e-statements within the first 90 days of account opening.
Annual Fee: $0
Other Benefits and Drawbacks: While this card may only appeal to Royal Canadian Legion members and their families and it is light on benefits and perks, especially insurance, you can’t ignore the possible $439.59 in annual earnings value and the large number of purchase categories you can earn MBNA rewards from.
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The annual earnings here really aren’t that bad, but the benefits that can be had outside of the Loblaws diaspora are thin, even though there’s no annual fee.
Rewards: Earn 30 PC Optimum points per dollar spent at Loblaws banner stores, 45 PC Optimum points per dollar at Shoppers Drug Mart, 30 points per litre at Esso, 30 points per dollar at PC Travel and 10 points per dollar everywhere else.
Welcome Offer: None
Annual Fee: $0
Other Benefits and Drawbacks: If you shop at the Loblaws family of stores, there’s a lot of benefit to be had. If you don’t, the card is rather light on benefits, including minimal insurance offerings. However, the insurance it does have is generous as long as you can actually meet the income requirements to qualify.
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This card earns Aeroplan points in high-spend categories and has a selection of useful travel perks, like insurance and a free checked bag, too.
Rewards: 1.5 Aeroplan Points for every dollar spent on gas, groceries and on Air Canada flights, including through Air Canada vacations. Earn points twice when you shop at 150 Aeroplan partners and 170 eStore online retailers. Plus, 1 Aeroplan Point per dollar on all other purchases.
Welcome Offer: A welcome bonus of up to 50,000 Aeroplan points (10,000 points with first purchase, 15,000 after four months of spending $4,000 or more and 25,000 as anniversary bonus). Terms apply. This offer is not available to residents of Quebec.
Annual Fee: $139 (rebated in the first year)
Other Benefits and Drawbacks: Though you’ll need at least $60,000 in annual individual personal income or $100,000 in household income to qualify for this card, it will give you supplemental benefits like a free checked bag and a full suite of travel insurance options. Plus, redeem for flights, merchandise, gift cards and more.
Credit card data research and analysis by Debra Toews and Tia Duncombe.
A rewards credit card works just like a regular card, in that you use it as a method of payment for purchases. The difference is that a rewards card gives you something back for your spending, whether that be in the form of rewards points or miles. These rewards can be redeemed for things such as flights, vacations, merchandise, gift cards and statement credits on your monthly bill. What you can redeem rewards for varies based on the type of credit card you have.
The following is a detailed rundown of everything that goes into a rewards credit card with advice on how to maximize their potential sprinkled in. If you want to be a cardholder who gets the most out of your spending and the loyalty points that come with it, you first need to learn exactly what your credit card rewards points are worth.
The earn rate on a rewards card is one of its most important features and the biggest indicator of whether that card is worth a spot in your wallet.
The earn rate is essentially how many points the card earns per dollar spent. This usually varies by spending category, with some cards earning more points on select purchases like groceries, gas, subscriptions and travel. These cards then have a base earn rate, which the amount of points it earns across all purchases.
For example, a card may earn 4 points per dollar on gas and groceries, 3 points per dollar at drugstores and on recurring bills and 2 points per dollar on all other spending.
To maximize the earning power of your card, make sure the spending categories that earn the most points align with your regular spending.
To figure out the value of your credit card rewards points, all you need to do is divide the dollar value of the reward by the number of points it takes to redeem it. For example, if it takes 10,000 points for flight from Toronto to Buffalo that normally costs $300, then each point is worth $0.3.
Keep in mind, that reward point value is not always consistent across rewards or even within the same rewards category. For example, how many points it costs to get a free flight often depends on when you book, where you are going, how far your destination is from your starting point and what class of ticket you are buying. Meanwhile, things like travel rewards (flights and hotels) often cost less per point than things like merchandise and gift cards, or even statement credit.
Do Rewards Points Ever Expire?
Of course, it depends on the loyalty program, but most of the time, as long as your account remains in good standing, your points will never expire. If you’re collecting points from a loyalty program where points do expire, it usually only happens if there is no activity in the account for a year or more.
There are a number of ways rewards can be redeemed from a rewards credit cards. Chief among them is online through the loyalty redemption portal of the program. These portals function similar to shopping on Amazon or anywhere else on the web that requires you to have an account. Once you’re logged in, you should be able to see your points balance and search for merchandise, gift cards and vacation packages. Once you select what item you’d like to redeem for, follow the prompts and purchase it using your points balance.
When redeeming for statement credit, a running tally of your points balance usually can be seen somewhere on your online banking portal where you pay your credit card and you can usually select “Pay With Points” or “Pay With Rewards” and then you can select how many points you’d like to apply to your balance using an interactive slider.
When paying for travel rewards such as flights or hotels, you often have to make your purchase through a specific travel portal that corresponds to your program where you will be given the option to “Pay With Points” before concluding the transaction.
Some loyalty programs also have dedicated travel agencies where you can arrange travel and pay with your points over the phone with the help of a customer service representative. If the loyalty program corresponds to the airline that you’re traveling on or the hotel you’re staying at, you will be able to apply your points balance right at the time of booking directly from the hotel or airline website.
When redeeming rewards points at a retail partner in-store. Normally, all you have to do is inform the cashier that you’d like to pay for your purchases with points. Present both your loyalty rewards membership card and/or your credit card and the cashier will facilitate the transaction.
Like most financial products, rewards credit cards come with a set of terms and conditions. These need to be agreed to before you become a cardholder and should be accessible online. As with anything, it’s important to read these through to know what you’re signing up for.
Once you know how much your rewards are worth and how to redeem them, the next steps are trying to get as many rewards points as possible, while maximizing your return for the points that you’ll be redeeming.
You will never be able to maximize your rewards if you continue to carry a balance on your credit card. This is due to the fact that if you’re always paying down a balance, the accumulated interest takes away from your point value since you’ll always be paying more money on top of the spending it took to acquire the points in the first place.
Also, if you are always paying your credit card bill late, not only are you subject to late fees, but you risk your account falling out of good standing and violating your cardholder agreement, which means you won’t be able to collect or redeem rewards at all.
In the first year of card membership, you’ll usually get the most points in a lump sum thanks to welcome offers. You’ll also find that welcome offers are enough to get you started with a flight or large reward right away without having to spend money to earn more points, so taking advantage of a welcome offer is truly equal to getting a free flights.
Welcome offers must be earned within the first year. so make the welcome offer a point of comparison when you’re selecting a credit card in the first place — the bigger and the easier to earn, the better.
Accelerated categories are purchase categories that will help you earn rewards points faster — hence, the “accelerated” designation.
These are any purchase category that earn rewards above the base rate, such as 5 points per dollar, 3 points per dollar or even 2 points per dollar. This is because most base rates (as in, the rate you get on every purchase that isn’t part of an isolated purchase category) are 1 pint per dollar.
If you don’t just earn points on every dollar, but buy items as much as possible in purchase categories that give you more points per dollar, you’ll be on the way to redeeming your rewards points much sooner and potentially more often.
Credit card stacking a risky strategy that requires applying for and managing multiple credit cards. Not many people take advantage of it because they don’t want to have to have so much credit that may tempt to spend more money and push them further into debt. However, if you can manage multiple credit cards responsibly, applying for multiple credit cards and taking advantage of large welcome offers could be a great way to accumulate lots of rewards points quickly.
For example, if an Air Canada flight to Honolulu you want to take will cost you 100,000 reward points and you’re nowhere near that total, all hope is not lost. You could apply for an Aeroplan credit card that will either give you that many points as part of welcome offer or put you reasonably close if you’re already part of Aeroplan, which can give you time to earn the rest on the credit card you already have or use your existing Aeroplan points.
Double-Dip with Loyalty Cards
Speaking of Aeroplan, they have an offer where if you shop at their over 150 in-store retail partners or over 170 online retail partners, you’ll get double the points. Therefore, our advice would be to shop at retail partners with Aeroplan and any other loyalty program that allows you to earn double the points when you shop at certain stores. The more you do that, the more points you will earn — and fast.
Related: Canada’s Best Credit Card
There are several types of credit card rewards that cardholders can redeem and they all work slightly differently. They are the following:
Cash-back rewards offer a percentage of cash back — most commonly redeemed in the form of statement credit — on every dollar you spend. The base rate on every purchase outside of accelerated purchase categories is usually either 1% per dollar or 0.5% per dollar. You then see anywhere from 6% to 2% per dollar on common purchase categories, such as groceries, gas, transit, dining and entertainment. Other than statement credit, cash back can be redeemed as a cash back deposit in a savings or investment account.
Airline rewards credit cards allow you to collect points toward flights on a single airline. Some airline credit cards also allow you to transfer your points to a partner airline at a certain ratio — the best of them being 1:1. Some even have their own in-house web portal where you can also redeem flights for merchandise, gift cards and vacation packages.
As for flights, some loyalty programs also cover taxes and fees as well as the base fare, while some do not. How many points you can redeem for a particular flight largely depends on when you book, where you’re going how far you’re traveling and the class of ticket you are buying.
For example, short-haul, economy class flights within North America booked in low season will cost less than long-haul international flights in business class booked in high season, like the summer or spring break. Airlines rewards cards also usually come with complementary travel perks like emergency travel medical insurance, lost baggage and flight delay coverage, airport lounge access, rental car insurance and a free checked bag.
Hotel rewards credit cards usually offer points from a loyalty program connected to a specific hotel chain, such as Marriott (Bonvoy), Best Western (Best Western Rewards) or Hilton (Honors), Collect enough points and you achieve a certain status level, such as gold, silver or platinum. These status levels correspond with a certain number of perks during your hotel stay, like a free continental breakfast, free high-speed internet and free late checkout.
Hotel rewards credit cards also give you free award nights (a free night stay) usually on your birthday or the anniversary of account opening. Some hotel credit cards and the corresponding loyalty program offer so many free nights per year depending on your status level. Of course, the higher your status, the more nights you get and you earn status by collecting more points. How do you collect points? Usually you get the most by making purchases at the hotel while stay there and by booking more and more hotel stays at the corresponding hotel chain per year.
There are some credit cards that give you points you can redeem for hotel rewards, but they are not tied to a particular hotel chain. They may also offer the opportunity to redeem points for flights and other rewards. In this case, they are considered a travel rewards credit card.
Travel rewards cards aren’t restricted to flights like airline rewards cards or free hotel stays and perks like hotel rewards cards. Instead, you can redeem your points for all of those travel perks and more, such as vacation packages and cruises. You might also be able to transfer your points to another travel rewards loyalty program and fly on even more airlines or stay at even more hotels.
The advantage of travel credit cards is you can travel with any airline and stay at any hotel. They have the flexibility that airline and hotel credit cards don’t and you can earn points through any travel method, including rideshares, cruises or transit buses. Of course, there might be some restrictions in the fine print of your credit card agreement and redeeming for flights might be cheaper than redeeming for hotel stays, but you can still do both. You don’t have to be tied down and that’s all that matters if your picking a travel rewards credit card over an airline rewards or hotel rewards one.
Store or brand rewards credit cards give you rewards at that store or through that brand and you not only earn rewards by shopping at that store or purchasing that brand but you must redeem rewards at that store or on that brand’s website. A good example of this is the PC Optimum card, which allows you to redeem points for free groceries, but only at Loblaws supermarkets.
How do you redeem? When it’s time to pay for your groceries, you just tell the cashier you’d like to use points while presenting your PC Optimum credit card or membership card at the counter. They then will redeem your points at a rate of 10,000 points for every $10 spent.
Other store cards include the HBC credit card for example, which functions much the same way in the sense that you can redeem in-store or online. (You can also redeem your PC Optimum points at the PC Express website when you’re getting your groceries delivered). So that’s how these cards work. Their only real disadvantage is you have to use them at those stores and only those stores.
Gas rewards cards allow you to redeem points for free gas or gas discounts at their corresponding gas stations. You can also earn more points by buying gas at those gas stations or through other purchases as well. Usually the highest earn rate comes from baying gas at that gas station and the base rate comes from all other purchases. There might be earning caps for the high gas purchases earn rate, where if you spend a certain amount, purchases then revert to the lower base rate.
For example, let’s say you get 5 points per dollar when you buy gas at Petro-Canada until you spend $10,000 in a year. Once that spending cap is reached, all purchases at Petro-Canada are worth 1 point per dollar, which is the base rate on all other purchases outside of gas purchases and other accelerated purchase categories.
Rewards credit cards with flexible points are those with points that can be exchanged for a variety of perks, including entertainment, merchandise, gift cards, statement credits and travel.
Though many of these cards have an option to redeem for travel, they’re different from travel-specific rewards cards. Travel rewards cards typically offer more travel specific perks, like heightened earn rates on travel spending, airport perks like lounge access and priority boarding and extensive travel insurance coverage.
There are several credit card rewards programs in Canada where cardholders have ample opportunity to earn points and redeem for rewards. The following are some of the most popular rewards programs available nationwide:
Air Miles is one of the oldest, most well established travel loyalty programs in Canada. It is divided into two redemption categories: Air Miles Cash and Air Miles Dream. Points allocated to Air Miles Cash cover merchandise, events, vacation packages, gift cards and every other reward that isn’t travel. Air Miles Dream is the more traditional pool for points and it covers flights. By default, all the points you collect with Air Miles are allocated to Air Miles Dream. If you’d like to allocate points to Air Miles Cash, you must use a sliding bar on the Air Miles site and shift the percentage from 100% Air Miles Dream to 60% Air Miles Dream and 40% Air Miles Cash, for example. This is of course at your discretion, but points can’t be transferred to either pot retroactively.
Air Miles has its own online portal to buy merchandise like appliances and electronics, among other things. You can also get gift cards, vacation packages and event tickets through this portal. As for travel, Air Miles does not cover taxes and fees on flights and the point value isn’t consistent across flights and varies widely depending on when you book, where you’re going and the class of ticket you’re buying. Most of the time, individual points are worth a fraction of a cent each with it being worth more if its domestic, economy and booked in low season than it would be if it’s international, business class and booked in high season. Air Miles also has several retail partners where purchases made with your Air Miles credit card give you double the points.
Aeroplan is the largest rival travel rewards program to Air Miles in Canada. The main difference between the two is that flights available through Aeroplan are restricted to Air Canada and its Star Alliance airline partners. You can transfer Aeroplan points to any Star Alliance member airline, like Lufthansa, at a stated rate you can find at the conversion part of the Aeroplan website. When it comes to hotel partners, 3 Marriott Bonvoy points equal 1 Aeroplan points or with Hilton Honors, 10,000 Hilton Honors points equal 1,000 Aeroplan points.
Aeroplan points cover taxes and fees when booking flights and like Air Miles, individual Aeroplan points are worth a fraction of a cent and their value depends on the details of the trip. Aeroplan credit cards also offer Air Canada specific travel perks such as access to Air Canada’s airport lounge — The Maple Leaf Lounge — or a free checked bags on Air Canada flights.
We’ve already covered this rewards program briefly in another section. However, for review, this program allows you to collect points on purchases at Shoppers Drug Mart and Loblaws-owned grocery stores. You can redeem points for money off your bill at these stores at a rate of $10 for every 10,000 PC Optimum points collected. To redeem or earn points, you must present your PC Optimum membership card or your PC Optimum credit card at checkout. If your redeeming, just tell them you’d like to redeem and if you are collecting, they will ask you if you have PC Optimum and scan your card.
Money off of groceries and drugs at these particular stores are the only rewards you can get with this program. However, it is versatile enough to allow you to still earn and redeem points when you buy groceries online through the PC Express web portal and arrange for contactless pick-up.
Though American Express credit cards aren’t accepted as widely as Mastercard and Visa, their Membership Rewards Program is among the most valuable and versatile credit card reward programs around. Though it has a per point average value of $0.01, when you transfer points to airline partners it’s worth $0.02 per point and when you transfer points to hotel partners they’re worth 1.16 cents.
Amex Membership Rewards credit cards are also notorious in a good way for their high earn rates in common purchase categories like groceries, travel and dining and for their amazing perks like American Express Front Of The Line, which gives you first access to concert and event tickets, or American Express Experiences, which gives you access to exclusive events just for cardholders.
Petro-Points rewards can be redeemed for discounted and free gas at Petro-Canada. Redemption value for Petro-Points is as follows:
If you’re a regular Petro-Points collector with a simple membership card, the above is what you can expect on redemption. However, if you link your RBC credit card to your Petro-Points Rewards card, you’ll get $0.13 off your first 200 litres and $0.3 off every litre after than. You’ll also get 20% more Petro-Points earned on all purchases.
Connected to the Scotiabank suite of credit cards, the Scene+ Rewards program is one of the most popular in Canada. The “+” in Scene+ also means a lot by signaling redemptions go beyond free movie tickets at Cineplex theatres. Now you can redeem for free movie tickets and more like free meals at popular restaurants, discounts on activities and events at places like the Rec Room interactive arcade, flights through the Scene+ Travel by Expedia portal and, most recently, groceries at Sobeys and Sobeys-owned stores like Foodland and IGA. Much like PC Optimum, grocery discounts can be redeemed at a rate of 1,000 points for every $10 spent. However, it takes 10 times more PC Optimum points for $10 off groceries through that program.
With Scene+ you can earn Scene+ points at a rate of 3 points per dollar when you book flights and hotel stays through Scene+ Travel by Expedia and you’ll earn 1 point for every $3 spent at over 700 dining partners, including Montana’s Eastside Mario’s, Swiss Chalet and Harveys. You can also earn points when you make flyer purchases at Sobeys and when you shop online through Rakuten by Scene+. Plus, buying movie tickets and snacks at Cineplex theatres still earns you Scene+ points, just like it did when the program was just called Scene (no “+”) and Cineplex was its only major retail partner.
Now that you know what is available through some of the most popular credit card rewards programs in Canada, here are some of the factors that must go in to choosing the right rewards credit card for you.
The first thing you must decide for yourself is the kind of rewards you’re interested in: Gas? Groceries? Movie tickets? Flights? Hotel stays? Maybe you want a rewards card that you can redeem for all those things. Not only should you pick a card based on the rewards you want, but the purchases you make most already. This way, you won’t have to change your natural buying habits just to acquire specific rewards. It will make actually earning rewards fast very easy, as opposed to a more arduous task that goes against your usual purchasing habits.
The welcome bonus is the next thing to look at because if it’s big enough, you’ll likely be able to redeem for a large reward, like a flight, as soon as you earn it. This means that the bigger the welcome bonus, the better the rewards card. However, along with the size of the welcome bonus, you must make sure that the steps to acquire the points advertised aren’t too complicated and that you can afford to spend the money required to obtain the welcome bonus without putting yourself in the hole. No one needs to put themselves into debt just for rewards points, so make sure that getting the welcome bonus (no matter how large) is something you can actually do without much hassle.
Obviously, your going to want to know the interest rate on your rewards credit card, especially if you’re inclined to carry a balance. Problem is, most credit cards with valuable rewards have standard to higher than average interest rates ranging from 19.99% to 24.99% APR on purchases. Typically, low interest credit cards mean getting low to no rewards, so take into consideration whether a low interest rate may be more of a priority for you than the opportunity to redeem points for lots of rewards.
Every great rewards credit card has a high earn rate in at least a few common purchase categories. This is crucial if you want to earn points fast and have a chance to redeem rewards at least multiple times a year. If the goal is getting a free reward, you want to do that as soon as possible to stay motivated enough to keep collecting points. There’s nothing worse than collecting points for years before you ever have enough to redeem for anything. As a result, stick to the credit cards with the high earn rates for the most common items you buy most often anyway.
Most good rewards credit cards have high annual fees. After all, the annual fee is one of the ways your credit card issuer finances the rewards they offer. Not that there aren’t rewards cards out there with no annual fee, it’s just the perks aren’t as numerous and the earn rates tend to be not as high when the rewards card has a zero dollar annual fee. Therefore, all premium credit cards do have an annual fee. The calculation you, as the cardholder, need to make is does the cumulative value of all the rewards outweigh the cost of the annual fee? If the answer is “Yes,” then the rewards card is worth it, even with the annual fee. If the answer is “No,” then the annual fee is probably too high relative to the rewards value and you may want to look elsewhere.
Flexible rewards are the most versatile and versatility increases value. Not only can you redeem for many different types of rewards and earn points from many different purchase categories, but you won’t be stuck only patronizing one brand or one store when this might be inconvenient or impractical for your needs. Even if you think your fine with only one type of reward from one type of merchant, flexible rewards credit cards give you options for when things change and you inevitably change your mind. Therefore, it’s recommended you look for flexibility in your rewards credit card because it’s better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it.
Aside from racking up points on your everyday spending, most rewards cards actually include valuable perks that go beyond points. Some common perks include:
No one knows yourself better than you. Therefore, if you find it difficult to manage credit cards in general and they only tempt you to drive yourself deeper into debt, then more credit cards and the additional credit that comes with them is probably not for you. On the other hand, if multiple credit cards can help you earn more rewards quicker thanks to large welcome bonuses that can help you stack credit card points, then go for it, as long as you can manage multiple credit cards responsibly.
In some ways, multiple credit cards can make it easier to track your rewards points and keep you more organized. Perhaps you have one credit card for cash back and one card for rewards. It’s easier to track what you’ve earned from each card when both are on separate bills. Add to that, you may want more options so you are rewarded for your spending where you shop most often.
Some people have PC Optimum credit cards that are just for groceries and pharmaceuticals while they keep Aeroplan cards for travel and a more versatile rewards credit card like a membership rewards credit card for general spending. It’s really just another way to organize your spending if you can manage each credit card successfully and keep track of all your payment due dates.
In order to get any credit card, you need to meet two simple requirements: you must be a Canadian resident and the age of majority in the province or territory where you live.
Otherwise, specific cards have their own criteria that must be met before you can become a cardholder. These could include have a certain annual or household income or a certain credit score. There’s no guarantee you’ll be approved, but some credit cards have a higher bar than others. Here’s how the process usually works:
The best rewards credit card right now as ranked by Forbes Advisor is the MBNA Rewards Platinum Plus Mastercard. This is because it gives you from $415 to $439 in annual earnings value, it carries no annual fee, has amazing redemption flexibility with a myriad of options, including travel and it does well in retaining its point value when redeeming for things like travel, merchandise and gift cards.
The credit card with the highest point value is the Scotiabank Gold American Express with an incredible $943.12 in average annual rewards value. Each Scene point has an individual average value of $0.01, but actual value depends on what you’re redeeming for, as different redemption options carry different redemption values. The $943.12 is based on average spending in a variety of redemption categories by a typical Canadian according to retail and StatsCan data. The amount translates to a whopping 94,311.7 Scene+ points. However, keep in mind that this value does not include this card’s $120 annual fee.
It is worth getting a credit card for the rewards as long as you pay off your credit card balance in full every month and are not paying interest. Carrying a balance and paying interest eats into your rewards value, so at that point, it’s not worth it. An annual fee also eats into your rewards value. Therefore, when selecting a card, make sure the annual rewards value based on your personal annual spending is still more than the annual fee you’ll be paying.
Everything is circumstantial. Reward points are worth it if they have a high value when redeemed. The less a reward point is worth, the more points it takes to redeem for a reward and the less worth it it actually is. To figure out the value of a single reward point, find out how many points is equal to a dollar spent. Divide the number of points needed to earn the reward by the retail price of that reward. Use this equation on a number of cards and the one with the lowest result. The least number of points per dollar, the better the value. Finally, look at the earn rate: The higher the ratio of points per dollar, the better the earn rate and the easier it is to accumulate lots of points, so you can earn rewards faster.
Not all rewards points can be transferred to other programs, so be sure to check with your credit card provider first and foremost. However, some points programs are transferrable, including American Express Membership Rewards, RBC Rewards and Marriott Bonvoy.
Typically, these points can only be transferred to select loyalty programs. The ratio at which they are transferred depends on which program you’re transferring to and from. For instance, American Express Membership Rewards points can be transferred to Aeroplan at a 1:1 ratio, but varies when transferred to other programs.
When redeeming points for flights, it’s important to note that there may be additional fees involved, typically covering taxes and fuel surcharges.
To mitigate these fees, opt for a rewards program that allows you to redeem points for flights including taxes. Additionally, consider selecting airlines that either include fuel surcharges or offer options where these surcharges are minimal. This way, you can maximize the value of your points while minimizing any extra costs.
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