Beyond cash back, travel is the most valuable redemption category on any rewards credit card. If you’re a savvy cardholder who collects reward points strategically and pays off their card every month—not hampered by a growing balance, fees and interest charges—it’s possible to travel entirely for free just by redeeming reward points alone.
We’re talking free flights, hotel stays, cruises and vacation packages that can all be redeemed with points. Plus, while you’re getting all or part of your trip paid for, many credit cards have built-in perks designed to make the trip itself as stress-free as possible. These include benefits like travel insurance, free checked bags, airport lounge access and priority designation through airport or border security. Yes, play your (credit) cards right and what once was a stressful experience can now be a breeze.
That said, with so many different travel programs to choose from, it can be difficult to know which program is the best choice to maximize your spending with.
With that in mind, Forbes Advisor Canada has researched the best cards and programs on the market and can guide you to its picks for the best credit cards for travel in Canada.
1
American Express Cobalt® Card
Welcome Bonus
Up to 15,000 Membership Rewards points
Annual Fee
$155.88 ($12.99 per month)
Regular APR
21.99%
2
RBC Avion Visa Infinite
Annual Fee
$120
Welcome Bonus
Get up to 55,000 Avion points* (a value of up to $1,100†), that’s enough to fly anywhere in North America or the Caribbean
Regular APR
20.99%
3
TD® Aeroplan® Visa Infinite* Card
Annual Fee
$139
Welcome Bonus
Up to $1200 in value†
Regular APR (Purchases) / Regular APR (Cash Advances)
20.99% / 22.99%
When determining a rating for individual credit cards, the Forbes Advisor Canada editorial team factors in an exhaustive list of data points. With travel, the scoring model used takes into account factors such as, but not limited to, travel points value, earn rate in various purchase categories, fees, welcome bonus, and other rewards 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.
The American Express Cobalt® Card is one of the most decorated and award-winning credit cards in the Canadian market, giving massive rewards value for travel and groceries.
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
Annual Fee: $155.88 ($12.99 per month)
Other Benefits and Drawbacks: Despite the annual fee and the fact that Amex is still not accepted in as many places in Canada as Visa or Mastercard, (though the Amex acceptance map is expanding) the American Express Cobalt remains arguably the most lucrative credit card in Canada. It dominates two categories (travel and groceries) with the value of its annual rewards. Plus, the ability to transfer Membership Rewards points at a one-to-one ratio to many loyalty programs makes it extremely versatile for frequent flyers.
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The CIBC Aventura Visa Gold card is a good alternative to the Amex Cobalt with a slightly lower annual fee and slightly less annual rewards value, earning an estimated $444 per year with the annual fee factored in. It also has similar redemption flexibility to the Cobalt card and includes travel insurance options.
Rewards: 2 Aventura Points per dollar spent on travel purchases made through the CIBC Rewards Centre. Plus 1.5 points per dollar spent on gas, grocery and drug purchases and 1 point per dollar on all other purchases.
Welcome Offer: 35,000 Aventura Points (earn 15,000 points when you make your first purchase and 20,000 points when you spend $3,000 or more in the first four monthly statement periods).
Annual Fee: $139 (First year rebated)
Other Benefits and Drawbacks: Though the $139 annual fee and the $15,000 personal annual income requirement could be considered drawbacks, a big benefit is the fact that one Aventura point is worth an average of $0.02 per point when redeeming for travel and they could be worth between 2.3 to 2.8 cents per point depending on the route you’re redeeming for. This means that the Aventura Gold (and any Aventura credit card) stretches your dollar even further than the typical points-based credit card loyalty program that keeps its points worth an average of $0.01 per point.
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Basically the same offering as the Aventura Gold Visa Card with higher annual earnings and extra Visa Infinite benefits.
Rewards: 2 Aventura Points per dollar spent on travel purchases made through the CIBC Rewards Centre. In addition, you’ll get 1.5 points per dollar spent on gas, grocery and drug purchases and 1 Aventura point per dollar for all other purchases.
Welcome Offer: Earn up to 60,000 Aventura Points (up to $1,200 in travel value): 15,000 Aventura Points after making your first purchase, 20,000 Aventura Points after spending $3,000 or more in net purchases in the first 4 monthly statement periods and 25,000 Aventura Points after having at least $6,000 in net purchases posted to your account in the first 4 monthly statement periods. Terms and conditions apply. This offer is not available to residents of Quebec.
Annual Fee: $139 (rebated in the first year)
Other Benefits and Drawbacks: You’ll get the network exclusives and benefits of the Visa Infinite banner, like special events and experiences, but you need to be making $60,000 as an individual and $100,000 as a household for the privilege.
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A great card for Air Canada frequent fliers who also want Visa Infinite benefits. It also gives you annual reward earnings totaling $527.32 based on an average spend in a number of common purchase categories from Canadians.
Rewards: 1.5 Aeroplan Points for every dollar spent on gas, groceries and on Air Canada flights, including through Air Canada vacations. 1 point per dollar on all other purchases and you can earn points twice when you shop at 150 Aeroplan partners and 170 eStore online retailers.
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 (Get an annual fee rebate)
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.
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For a hefty annual fee, cardholders get every premium credit card benefit a traveller could want.
Rewards: 3 Aventura points per dollar on all travel purchases made through the CIBC Rewards Centre. Plus, 2 points per dollar on all eligible dining, entertainment, grocery, gas and transportation purchases. Finally, you’ll get 1.25 points per dollar on all other purchases.
Welcome Offer: 80,000 Aventura Points in the first year. This means 50,000 Aventura Points when you spend $3,000 or more over your first four statement periods and 30,000 Aventura Points as an additional account anniversary bonus.
Annual Fee: $499
Other Benefits and Drawbacks: This card has a huge $499 annual fee and income requirements that will exclude most Canadians from applying for it at $150,000 individual or $200,000 household annual income. Still, if you can afford it, a world of luxury benefits is open to you like airport lounge access, dedicated taxi and limousine service, exclusive dining and wine experiences, a car rental discount, high dollar maximums on travel insurance and even a metal credit card for every successful applicant.
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This card offers flexible rewards and generous trip and World Elite credit card network benefits, including insurance, for frequent WestJet fliers. However, it offers a modest annual rewards value at $311.69 according to average Canadian spending.
Rewards: 2% back in WestJet Dollars when you book WestJet flights and vacation packages. Plus, 1.5% back in WestJet Dollars on everyday purchases.
Welcome Offer: Earn up to 450 WestJet dollars (a value of up to $450 off the base fare). Get 250 WestJet dollars after the first purchase and 200 WestJet dollars after spending $5,000 in the first 3 months. Conditions applyǂ.
Annual Fee: $119
Other Benefits and Drawbacks: Though the base earn rate of 1.5% can be beaten easily by other travel credit cards, the annual companion voucher, the free-checked bag, the World Elite benefits like membership in the airport lounge club, Mastercard Airport Experiences and 10 types of insurance, make a compelling case to any potential cardholder who likes flying WestJet.
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Your dollar can go further per point with the RBC Avion Visa Infinite as long as you redeem for the right rewards.
Rewards: 1 Avion Point per every dollar spent and an extra 25% savings on eligible travel purchases.
Welcome Offer: Get 35,000 Welcome Points on approval and 20,000 bonus points when you spend $5,000 in your first 6 months*. Apply by April 30, 2024.
†Terms and conditions apply. Refer to the RBC website for up-to-date offer terms and conditions.
Annual Fee: $120
Other Benefits and Drawbacks: Though the RBC Airline Redemption Schedule gives you incredible value per point, other modes of redemption, though flexible, only give you 1% in value. The extra travel benefits like the Rexall Be Well points and Petro-Points are nice, but you have to decide if the extra perks and insurance are worth the high income requirements.
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A great card if you want flexible rewards that cover taxes and fees on flights with a little bit of travel and purchase insurance for no annual fee.
Rewards: 1 Aeroplan Point per dollar on gas, groceries and Air Canada purchases, including Air Canada vacation packages. Also, get 1 point per $1.50 on all other purchases.
Welcome Offer: 10,000 Aeroplan Points when you make your first purchase ($200 in travel value).
Annual Fee: $0
Other Benefits and Drawbacks: Though the base earn rate and welcome bonus are low, it’s still nice to get flexible rewards that can be redeemed for fights, gift cards and merchandise with a modest selection of travel and purchase insurance for no annual fee.
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If you’re looking for every possible travel perk, reward and consumer protection a TD card has to offer, look no further than this one.
Rewards: Earn 2 Aeroplan Points for every dollar spent on Air Canada purchases, including Air Canada Vacations. Cardholders also earn 1.5 points for every dollar spent on gas, groceries, travel and dining purchases, as well as 1.25 points on every dollar for other purchases made with your card.
Welcome Offer: Earn a welcome bonus of 20,000 Aeroplan points when you make your first purchase with your new card. Earn an additional 40,000 Aeroplan points† when you spend $10,000 within 180 days of Account opening. Plus, earn a one-time anniversary bonus of 25,000 Aeroplan points when you spend $15,000 within 12 months of Account opening.† Terms and conditions Apply. Not available for residents of Quebec. Account must be approved by June 3, 2024.
Annual Fee: $599
Other Benefits and Drawbacks: Cardholders need a minimum annual income of $150,000 individually, or $200,000 all together, so this card is beyond the means of most Canadians.
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All of the features found in TD’s more expensive cards for under $100 a year.
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 $500 in value† including up to 20,000 Aeroplan points†. 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: This card’s insurance coverage is lower than other TD Aeroplan offerings, but it does allow cardholders to earn Aeroplan Points twice at certain participating retailers.
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A cheap annual fee ($89) gets you quite the selection of travel perks, benefits and insurance.
Rewards: 3 points per dollar on grocery purchases, 2 points per dollar on dining and entertainment purchases and 1 point per dollar on all other purchases.
Welcome Offer: A welcome bonus of 15,000 Welcome Points worth $150 that you can redeem for gift cards, travel experiences and cash rewards in the form of statement credit.
Annual Fee: $120
Other Benefits and Drawbacks: There’s a low welcome offer and modest annual rewards but you do get a lot of travel benefits for only an average annual fee.
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Welcome Offer: $100 WestJet Dollars when you spend $1,000 in the first 3 months and make your first purchase.
Rewards: Earn 1% in WestJet dollars for every qualifying purchase you make on your card and 1.5% in WestJet dollars when you buy WestJet flights or WestJet Vacations packages.
Annual Fee: $39
Other Benefits and Drawbacks: It may come with a low annual fee and a good selection of insurances, but the welcome bonus and earn rate are modest. Still, with the lower barrier for entry thanks to an average qualifying credit score, it might be the window to collecting WestJet Dollars faster for the rest of us.
Credit card data research and analysis by Debra Toews and Tia Duncombe.
Generally, travel credit cards in Canada come in two distinct varieties: those that are specific to a particular airline, like WestJet or Alaska Airlines and those that belong to a loyalty program that offers travel rewards as one of their main features, like Aeroplan, Air Miles, Aventura, Avion or Amex Membership Rewards.
They also either follow a cash back or points model when it comes to earning points, dollars or miles towards travel rewards. What that means is, you’re either collecting a point from an airline or travel loyalty program or you’re collecting a percentage of a point with every purchase.
As for redemption, largely if you’re redeeming for flights—typically, the marquee reward on any travel credit card—when you’re flying, where you’re flying, what class you’re flying in and how far you’re flying all have an impact on how many points, dollars or miles flights can cost. As a result, the value of your travel rewards are not usually static or straightforward. Instead, it’s constantly fluctuating.
Credit scores needed to get a travel credit card can vary, but the best ones usually require credit scores described as Very Good/Excellent (740-900). A more limited selection of travel credit cards with lower earn rates and fewer travel benefits or perks are available for credit scores classified as Fair/Good (580-739) or Good/Very Good (661-780). Meanwhile, travel credit cards aren’t available for those with Poor/Fair (0-580) credit scores.
The primary reason to get a travel credit card is the chance to travel the world for free (except maybe taxes, fees and surcharges). Not only that, but with the right credit card, flying goes from stressful to swanky and it starts from the moment you get to the airport.
From airport lounges to free checked bags and more, there are several reasons to get a travel credit card. Not just where you can go for free, but the perks you’ll get at the airport and on the plane.
Plus, while you’re abroad, several insurance protections that come with your travel credit card can cover you if you run into medical issues while on your trip or if your rental car gets in an accident. Some insurance options you might find on a travel credit card include emergency travel medical, common carrier accident, delayed or lost baggage, trip cancellation or interruption and rent car collision loss/damage insurance.
Along with several benefits, there are a few drawbacks to travel credit cards that you should be aware of. They are the following:
If you’re picking a travel credit card, it’s important to evaluate them based on the following criteria.
You’re going to want a welcome bonus that is not only large and gives you enough points or miles for a free trip right off the bat, but a welcome bonus where the criteria for those points or miles is something you both can and want to achieve. Depending on your financial situation, spending $5,000 in three months and signing up for electronic statements may not be something you can easily do, so only sign up for cards where the welcome bonus is actually achievable and makes sense for your current situation.
Related: Best Credit Card Welcome Offers
With any travel credit card, you should look for a credit card with the highest possible earn rate so you can rack up as many points and miles with your spending to get to travel rewards faster. If the earn rate is too low, you may feel like a hamster on a wheel: always turning—or in this case, earning—but never getting anywhere.
High annual fees are customary when dealing with travel credit cards, especially when it comes to the most premium among them with long lists of perks and benefits. Since you’re likely going to be paying an annual fee in every case, a good general rule of thumb is, the more benefits the card has, the higher the annual fee and the lower the number of benefits, the lower the annual fee.
Further to that, a great way to decide if an annual fee is worth it when measured against the rewards and benefits is to see if the value of those rewards and benefits are greater than the annual fee itself. If you’re getting more value from your rewards and perks than the annual fee is costing you, then the card can generally be considered worth the annual fee.
Reward flexibility is also a great quality to use when evaluating travel credit cards. Ask yourself, “Does this card give you reward points or miles only for travel or can you redeem them for something else as well?”
Often, travel rewards cards also allow you to redeem points or miles for merchandise, gift cards, statement credits and more. However, the value of your points or miles is usually less than if you just redeemed them for travel.
Still, if multiple redemption options are important to you, then look for a travel credit card with more reward flexibility.
Beyond reward points, every travel card comes with perks and benefits like concierge service, lounge access, travel insurance, extended warranty, free first checked bags at the airport and purchase protection, among other things, so you’ll need to ask yourself, what supplemental benefits and perks are actually important to you and choose a credit card based on that.
General travel credit cards offer the ultimate flexibility. They are agnostic in the sense that they are not tied to a specific airline or frequent flyer program like Aeroplan, Air Miles and Avion Rewards. Generally, this is good news because it means you can transfer the points associated with your credit card into a variety of frequent flyer and hotel loyalty programs, which gives you access to enough airline or hotel variety that you can truly find the best value for your points and potentially fly further and stay longer for a cheaper price. The few things you need to note about general travel cards is that the points program on your card may not have the same value when transferred into an airline, frequent flyer or hotel loyalty program of your choice, so choose a transfer partner where you can get the most value for your points. Also, you may need to redeem through your credit card issuer’s own travel portal or travel agency. Sometimes when you book travel through such an online travel portal. your points automatically become more valuable just because of how you are booking.
Co-branded travel cards are those affiliated with frequent flyer programs or specific airlines like Air Canada, WestJet, Cathay Pacific, Air Miles, Aeroplan, Avion or Marriott Bonvoy. If you have a favourite airline, hotel or frequent flyer program you collect points from on a regular basis through their various retail partnerships, a card featuring that brand is probably best to maximize the amount of points you can collect from that brand. Your loyalty will also be rewarded because as you collect more and more points you will usually get higher status with brand, which gives you perks like free checked bags on flights with a specific airline, late check-ins with specific hotels or the privilege of needing fewer points to redeem for travel arrangements with certain loyalty programs. The one thing that co-branded travel cards take away from you is flexibility. Once you choose one, your committed to only flying that airline or only staying in that hotel or only using that frequent flyer program. If you don’t, your points will go to waste and likely eventually expire due to inactivity.
If you travel a lot and find yourself spending a lot of money on flights and hotels, then a travel card is probably for you. Most travel cards allow you to collect points towards all your essential travel expenses, such as free flights, free hotel stays and even privileges and upgrades to make your flight or hotel stay more enjoyable. It’s recommended that if your spending would lean you towards a travel card, you should select one that’s brand agnostic, with no specific allegiance to any particular hotel, airline or loyalty program. This way, you can transfer your points to any of the leading travel loyalty programs according to which one gives you the most for your spending and collected number of points and you don’t have to fly with a specific airline, stay at a certain hotel or pick from offers available from a particular travel loyalty program.
However, if your spending takes you in a more general direction, not associated exclusively with travel, or if you carry a balance pretty often, it’s best to go with a cash-back card. Cash-back cards most often give you a certain percentage of cash back on specific purchase categories. Some cards offer flat-rate cash back that gives you the same percentage of cash back for all of your purchases, regardless of category, but all cash back can be redeemed for statement credit that you can put towards your balance to bring it down. Some cash-back cards allow you to redeem your cash back for gift cards, merchandise or cash, in the form of deposits into a savings account from the bank that issues the credit card.
There are different types of travel credit cards in Canada. They generally split into the following overarching varieties based on what kind of travel rewards you can redeem.
General travel rewards are rewards that you can redeem for any kind of travel. In addition to flights, you’ll be able to redeem for cruises, vacation packages, hotel stays and other things besides travel, like merchandise and gift cards. Most people prefer these travel credit cards because they give you the most flexibility and don’t force you to use one provider when redeeming rewards.
Airline rewards are pretty straightforward. You’re most often redeeming for flights on that particular airline. Sometimes the airline also provides vacation packages you can book with rewards or the airline has its own portal for merchandise and other rewards outside of travel, like events and experiences.
Another aspect of an airline travel rewards card is the airline may belong to a wider partnership with other airlines, such as Star Alliance. In those cases, you’ll be able to transfer your points from your airline card and exchange them for points from another airline, giving you the opportunity to cast a wider net to look for flights and redeem them with your points at a potentially greater value with the other airline’s rewards program.
Hotel rewards cards allow you to redeem points for free nights at whatever hotel your hotel credit card is linked to. You’ll often also be entitled to a free night on your birthday or the anniversary of the day you opened the credit card account. You might also be entitled to other benefits at the particular hotel in question, such as free Wi-Fi, a discount at the hotel restaurant and more.
Usually with a hotel credit card linked to that hotel’s rewards program, you can often achieve a higher status in that hotel’s loyalty program much faster simply by having the hotel credit card. As you rise in the ranks to gold, silver and platinum for example, this will entitle you to even more perks and special treatment at that hotel.
To use travel rewards effectively and get the most benefit from your points, it’s important to understand how to use travel rewards credit cards effectively and it starts with their earn rate.
The earn rate on a travel credit card is how many points or miles you earn for every dollar you spend. The more points you earn per dollar, the faster you’ll be able to rack up the points and the quicker you’ll be able to redeem them for a trip.
You obviously want a travel credit card with a large earn rate, but you should also be aware that certain purchase categories may have a larger earn rate until you hit a maximum dollar amount and then the earn rate will revert to what the base rate is for all purchases and this is usually a lot lower. This is why, along with the earn rate, you will want to know those spending caps as well.
The best way to calculate the value of travel credit card points is to divide the dollar value of the points by the number of points required to achieve that dollar value. For example, if 50,000 points on a welcome bonus have a $300 value, that means that each point is with $0.006 (a fraction of a cent).
Be aware however, that the value of travel points or miles change based on where you are going, what class of ticket you want, what season you are booking in and whether it is a short-haul or long-haul flight.
Points also don’t often cover taxes, fees or airport surcharges. They also usually decrease in value if you are redeeming for anything other than travel, so a gift card usually will cost more to get per point, relative to the number of points you have, than a flight would.
Typically, travel points do not expire as long as your credit card account remains open and in good standing. However, some loyalty program points do expire if you do nothing with them and they sit idle for up to a year. It really depends on the program, but the vast majority of points in most travel rewards programs do not expire.
There are several different types of travel insurance policies that you may find included as part of the benefit package on a travel rewards card. Typically, the more types of insurance included, the better the card’s overall benefit package.
This is insurance that pays out if you suffer a medical emergency while outside of your home province. Policy amounts are usually in the multiple thousands to millions of dollars. You will want to look at your credit card benefits guide to see what sort of medical circumstances are not covered by the policy and therefore not considered an “emergency travel accident.”
This is insurance that covers you in the event that the common carrier (train, plane, bus, car, etc.) you are traveling on gets in an accident and you are injured as a result. Amounts here are typically slightly less than emergency out-of-province medical insurance and are in the neighbourhood of several hundred-thousand dollars. Like all insurance policies, check the exclusions before making a claim.
Travel interruption insurance reimburses the lost portion of your trip and related travel expenses, like hotel stays, if your trip is interrupted for a covered reason. Trip cancellation provides a lump sum payment meant to reimburse you for travel expenses if you had to cancel your trip in advance for an unforeseen covered reason, such as the unexpected illness or injury of you and your traveling companion that deems you unfit to travel according to a licensed medical doctor.
Flight delay insurance covers your expenses related to the fact your flight was delayed past a covered amount of time, such as four hours. Covered expenses can include meals, accommodations and other reasonable or necessary expenses that occur up to a certain length of the delay, like 48 hours.
Lost or delayed baggage insurance covers expenses, up to the maximum amount of the policy, related to lost or delayed baggage. This can include replacement clothing, replacement toiletries and any other essentials covered by the policy.
Rental car collision/loss damage insurance covers a rental car in the event that it’s damaged in a collision or stolen after you rent it. In order to qualify for this kind of coverage on your credit card, you must decline the collision damage waiver (CDW) offered by the rental car company. This type of insurance usually comes in two varieties, primary and secondary.
Primary means it will overtake your own personal car insurance policy as the primary source of insurance in case coverage is needed and secondary means the policy will cover anything your personal car insurance policy doesn’t cover.
Also, rental car collision/loss damage insurance only covers damage or theft of the car, it doesn’t cover damage on the other car involved in a collision or any other property damage. In addition, it won’t cover any expenses related to bodily injury or death.
Hotel/Motel burglary insurance covers any covered personal items stolen from out of your hotel or motel room during your stay and reimburses you for the subsequent replacements up to a certain amount determined by the insurer.
There are various ways you can redeem the points or miles that come from travel credit cards and the style you encounter largely depends on the loyalty program you’re redeeming points or miles from.
Primarily there are three different travel redemption models you will see with a travel rewards credit card. They are the following:
Consistent Points are points that are always the same value no matter what you’re redeeming for and where you are traveling. This is the most straightforward redemption model as you always know what points are worth and their value never changes.
Fluctuating points are what you will find with most travel credit card loyalty programs, including the largest ones, Aeroplan and Air Miles. This is a model where the value of your points change according to where you’re traveling, when you are traveling, how far you are going and your class of ticket.
Typically, short-haul flights within North America are the cheapest, while long-haul flights to distant lands, such as Asia and Australia are the most expensive. Business class flights always cost more than flights in economy class and bookings during busy times always cost more than time periods that aren’t as busy.
A third way to redeem rewards is through point transfers to other travel loyalty programs through other airlines. Some programs, like Amex Membership Rewards, allow you to redeem points at a ratio of 1:1 to a number of airline and travel reward loyalty programs. While sometimes point transfers decrease the original value of your points, sometimes transferring points to another travel loyalty program or airline will actually increase their value.
You can apply for a travel rewards credit card online or in-person at the issuing financial institution, the same way you can apply for any type of credit card.
To be eligible for a travel rewards card you likely need to be the age of majority in the province or territory where you are a resident. You must have the target credit score the issuing bank is looking for on a particular travel card. Plus, on certain cards, you will need to make a certain annual personal or household income.
To fill out a travel credit card application, follow these steps:
You can earn rewards on everyday purchases, so even if you don’t travel very often you still have opportunities to earn points or miles towards hotel stays and transportation, especially flights. Travel rewards cards also give you an opportunity to fly for free or stay in hotels for free as well. Finally, a travel rewards card can protect you if something goes wrong at the airport with your flight or at your destination thanks to the insurance benefits they usually come with.
If you want a good travel credit card, you’re looking for a high earn rate, with a lot of perks and benefits and no spending cap for a low to modest annual fee. Of course, you’re likely not going to get everything, but if the insurance coverage is extensive, at least you’ll be protected should any unforeseen calamities or emergencies befall you while abroad.
According to Forbes Advisor’s assessment, the American Express Cobalt gives you the most value of any other travel credit card on this list with nearly $600 worth of points on an annual basis, plus a bevy of perks and benefits along with the ability to find better value for your travel miles by transferring them 1:1 to other travel loyalty and airline programs.
Yes, the rewards like free flights, hotel stays, vacation packages, merchandise, gift cards and more, are too good to pass up. Plus, the benefits you get like a NEXUS rebate, airport lounge access and a free first checked bag make actual traveling a lot less stressful. Plus, any travel insurance you get can help reimburse any expenses you may have if things go wrong on your trip. This is especially important because your provincial health insurance doesn’t cover you when you travel outside of your province of residence.
Because you can transfer your American Express Membership Rewards to several different frequent flier programs around the world at a 1:! Ratio, the Amex Cobalt is probably best for international travel.
Let’s be clear that Visa or Mastercard are only the payment networks that most credit cards work on (there’s also American Express, which issues its own cards). Visa and Mastercard do not issue their own cards, so most of the benefits a travel Mastercard or Visa may have should be attributed to the issuer of the card. That being said, more Visa cards appear high on this list, while the best branded travel cards on this list come from Mastercard. The split in terms of quality is pretty even, but Mastercard and Visa cards do have some network benefits that come with its Infinite and Infinite Privilege cards, in the case of Visa, and World and World Elite, in the case of Mastercard, so whether Visa or Mastercard is better may come down to which network benefits you might prefer.
If you travel a lot you should invest in a travel card. If you get enough points, you can get a free flight overseas to the destination of your choice and with the right hotel card you might get a free hotel stay while you are there. Be aware though, that your points may have different value depending on when you book, where you are going and what class of travel you’d like to fly in.
If your already in Europe, you should pick a card with no foreign transaction fees, so that you aren’t charged them when you make purchases in Europe. The Scotiabank Gold American Express Card is a great option because you can put your Scene+ points towards even more travel and it offers a comprehensive list of travel insurance coverages along with rental car collision/loss damage insurance.
Probably the best credit card to use while traveling is a bit of a toss-up between the CIBC Aventura Gold Visa or the CIBC Aventura Visa Infinite Card because of their comprehensive travel insurance benefits, lounge access and exclusive perks. The major difference being that the Visa Infinite has exclusive Visa Infinite network benefits as well as income requirements to be eligible and the Aventura Gold doesn’t have those income requirements and doesn’t have as much travel insurance coverage. Other than that, it’s difficult to tell the two credit cards apart.
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