You don't have to be a jetsetter to collect a lot of frequent flyer points. In fact, they key to building up a nice cachet of points is by signing up for and using the right credit cards. The question of course most people have though is, “what Canadian credit card should I sign up for?” In this article you'll find a few of my top pics and a nifty little tool to help you filter down and find more information on the credit cards that are personalized to your needs.
Before we do that, I think it makes sense to talk a bit about the travel hacking strategies as it relates to credit cards. Why do credit cards matter and how are travel hackers taking advantage to maximize on points?
Read other ways you can save money
- Dummy's guide to new Aeroplan program
- Review of Le Meridien Bora Bora
- The Uber airport hack that drivers don't want you to know about
- How to travel Europe on the cheap
- Secrets to ITA routing language
Car rentals don't need to be expensive
- If you haven't heard about car rental coupon codes, this is going to blow your mind.
Table of Contents
Jump straight to the Canadian credit card for travel hackers.
Here's what we're covering:
- Travel Hacking Credit Cards for Canadians
- Travel Hacking With Credit Cards In A Nutshell
- 11 of the best travel credit cards
- 1 – American Express Aeroplan Reserve Card
- 2 – American Express Business Platinum
- 3 – American Express Business Gold Rewards
- 4 – CIBC Aeroplan Visa Infinite
- 5 – American Express Marriott Bonvoy
- 6 – American Express Business Marriott Bonvoy®TM
- 7 – Scotiabank Gold American Express
- 8 – Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite Card
- 9 – American Express Cobalt®TM
- 10 – CIBC Aventura Visa Infinite
- 11 – STACK Prepaid Mastercard
- Credit cards for travel hacking comparison table
- Final thoughts about travel hacking credit cards
Travel Hacking Credit Cards for Canadians
Frequent flyer miles or hotel points kind of require you to fly a lot or stay in many hotels in a year. That's going to be problem for 90% of the Canadian population because well we all have normal lives and it's just not a feasible thing. So how come there seems to be so many travel hackers out there and how do your friends get all those points to book trip after trip?
The key to travel hacking is in credit cards.
The concept is simple. You have to spend money on a day to day basis. Credit cards have incentives for people to use their cards by offering bonuses. One of those bonuses is the accruing of points. These could be special bank-specific points or they could be direct tie-ins with other loyalty programs. The more you spend, the more points you get.
How to travel hack with Aeroplan
That sounds great Will, but say you get 2 Aeroplan points per dollar and you spend $10,000 a year, that's only 20,000 Aeroplan points. Wait that's enough for a short-haul flight to say New York but you're probably thinking to yourself “That's it??”
This is where bonuses come into play.
It's no secret that credit cards offer bonus points when signing up and meeting some sort of minimum threshold spend. For instance, the American Express Gold®TM is currently running a promotion where they're giving away 25,000 points as long as you spend $1,500 in the first 3 months which shouldn't be too hard. I love this Card because their first year is free too.
So that gets you 30,000 and maybe in a year you'll collect 15,000 points through spend so that gets you up to 45,000 in a year. Not too shabby.
Take it the next level and you then sign up for a different card like the CIBC Aerogold Visa where you can easily get 25,000 Aeroplan points. After this, you're up to 75,000 points which is good enough for a round trip flight to Asia. BOOM!
How to travel hack with hotels
The above principles work the exact same way for hotels but the scale is a little different because there aren't as many credit cards that you can take advantage of.
The best Canadian credit cards for hotel programs align best with Marriott Bonvoy. With one or two of the American Express Marriott Bonvoy®TM Cards, you can quickly build up 102,000 points just be signing up and meeting the spend thresholds in a year.
Some of the cards mentioned below also give you instant Gold Elite status so there's that too.
Why should you care? As much as free flights are high value, aspirational properties like Le Meridien Bora Bora and the Conrad Maldives are just a few examples of epic properties I've stayed at over the years thanks to points.
Combine travel hacking through credit cards for hotels and flights and you've got a majority of your travel expenses covered!
Key strategies to think about with Canadian credit cards
There are a number of other things you can do to boost your points quite quickly.
- Look for promotions – Credit cards are always boosting the bonus points to entice new customers. Wait for these to maximize what you get. First-year-free offers are few and far between these days but sometimes they do come around.
- Refer friends, family, and even co-workers – This is often overlooked but if you make yourself a “expert” in credit cards and points, you can start referring pretty much everyone you know. For instance Amex Gold offers 5,000 points for every referral. Keep referring and keep earning.
- Literally get your family in on the action – Amex is very good for this. Think about it. If you sign up and manage the card for multiple close family members where you work out an agreement to get their points, when the time comes to book one of those travel hacking itinerary with Aeroplan, you just transfer them over to your Aeroplan account and there you go.
- Add supplementary cards – Some cards offer extra points for signing up for extra cards under the same account. Typically this would be for your spouse.
- Not always about the points – Don't worry I haven't forgotten about all the other cards that offer straight redemption of points to travel spending. These are fantastic as well actually if you are the type to do a lot of travel. These cards offer bonuses too.
- Each card has its own strengths – Some cards offer 2:1 points on travel. Some cards offer more points for spend on grocery and drug. Know where your cards excel at and use the right card in the right situation. Since I know I get bonus points for gas on my Amex Gold, I always pay with my Amex.
- Channel all your spending – I think this goes without saying that you should put as much as your natural spend on your credit cards. Cash is king but credit cards are for smart kings.
- Great Canadian Rebates – Always check places like GCR which will give you some incentive for signing up for a credit card through their site. Most of the time it's some sort of cashback so annual fee credit cards become even sweeter.
Wait, so what's the catch?
I'm sure some of the above aren't brand new to you but for those that have never dived in, I'm sure you've wondered what's really happening behind the scenes or you've thought “I'm sure it's not as easy as it sounds”.
- Credit ratings – This is a common question I get. Yes, signing up for cards means hits on your credit but not necessarily in a bad way because if you're paying on time, you're actually building up credit. Credit card applications do make a ping on your credit but it's not substantial. The truth is, I feel this is more of an urban myth than anything. I personally have not seen any major credit implications from signing up for many cards.
- You need to keep track – You should try to stay organized here. It'll be easy to forget when your card renews and when those annual fees hit. It's also easy to forget when you signed up and cancelled for a card so write those down. Spread out your credit card sign ups so you can make sure you meet those spend criteria for the sign up bonuses.
- Points devalue – Don't hold on to your points for too long because it's an inevitable fact for all loyalty programs that they will eventually devalue them.
- Annual income + credit score – Cards will vary but the general rule of thumb is that you should have decent credit score (700+) and income ($60,000+).
Travel Hacking With Credit Cards In A Nutshell
If I boil down “travel hacking” from a credit card perspective, it really comes down to these 5 things.
- Take advantage of sign up bonuses.
- First year free is awesome but annual fees aren't bad either as the prize can be worth the cost.
- It may sound counter-intuitive but signing up for more cards over a long period of time is what you're going for (see point #1).
- American Express has great referral bonuses if you can get your friends, family and coworkers to sign up. There are some awesome opportunities to partner up with your spouse as well.
- Spread out the signing up of cards throughout the year so you can hit those spend thresholds and you don't put yourself in trouble.
11 of the best travel credit cards
I've used all of these cards at some point in time and so I'm quite familiar with these. I call them my favourite because each has contributed to how I was able to pull off a trip to South Africa and Seychelles for only $203 per person.
2023 Update
This is an unprecedented few years and it's had major ripple effects in all industries including the financial sector. All major changes you can find here.
American Express Personal Platinum – New Platinum card members earn 25,000 Welcome Bonus Membership Rewards® points when you charge $2,000 in purchases to your Card in the first 3 months (this is a reduction from 50,000 with $3,000 in spend).
American Express Business Platinum – Earn a Welcome Bonus of 35,000 points when you charge $7,000 in purchases to your Card in your first 3 months (this is a reduction from 40,000 with $5,000 in spend).
American Express Gold Rewards – This magically disappeared overnight although there are rumours that it'll make a come back down the road. If you already have the card, you're still good to use it but you won't be able to sign up for it.
1 – American Express Aeroplan Reserve Card
This is one of the new kids on the block with the Air Canada's Aeroplan changes. Hot off the heels of the sweeping redesign of this loyalty program, they continued their partnership with American Express to launch 3 new American Express Aeroplan cards.
The best out of all of them is the American Express Aeroplan Reserve card because it's clear that Amex is putting all of their focus in this premium card (yes it's a credit card vs a charge card) where they're offering up to a 90,000 welcome bonus of Aeroplan points. On top of that, they're also offering a Buddy Pass.
Here's how it works. You earn 30,000 points upon spending $3,000 in purchases in the first 3 months. You then earn 5,000 Aeroplan points for each month billing period in which you spend at least $1,000 in the first 12 months. That's a total of 90,000 Aeroplan points.
The Buddy Pass is good for a companion ticket on a round trip flight within North America. This only covers the base fare and not the taxes and fees. You can also convert this buddy pass to 30,000 Aeroplan points if you call in but the deadline is November 30, 2021 which has been detailed on Red Flag Deals.
This is a great card for those that are looking to continue to build up their cache of Aeroplan points.
Something else that isn't quite well marketed is the fact that I can tell that they're really pushing the use of this card because they are putting out a ton of offers including these:
- Mobile wallet – Earn 3 bonus points for every $1 in qualifying mobile wallet purchases – up to 1,500 points.
- Grocery – Earn $150 back in your grocery spend. (yes I literally got $150 worth off free groceries)
- Grocery, dining, and food delivery – Earn 10 bonus points for every $1 in purchases (up to 50,000 points).
- Wayfair – Spend at least $100 and earn a $15 credit.
- Fairmont and Sofitel – Spend at least $350 and earn a $70 credit.
- Discover Alberta – Spend at least $250 at hotels in Alberta and earn a $50 credit (this was also replicated in Quebec, Ontario, and BC).
- Air Canada – Earn up to $250 in statement credits with Air Canada.
These are offers that I used to see more on the Amex Platinum but now showing up frequently on the Aeroplan Reserve which provides a tons of savings. In some ways, it feels like they're cannibalizing some of their own products.
The last thing I'll mention is that this is a metal card which has a nice premium feel to it.
CREDIT CARD FEATURES
Price: Annual fee is $599. Additional card is $199. No fee additional cards are free (no travel perks).
Point System: Air Canada Aeroplan (read all the changes)
Sign Up Bonus: 90,000 Aeroplan points – 30,000 when you charge $3,000 within your first 3 months + up to 60,000 points when you spend $1,000 or more each month in the first 12 months with this special link.
Earn System:
- Earn 3x the points on eligible purchases made directly with Air Canada and Air Canada Vacations.
- Earn 2x the points on eligible dining and food delivery purchases in Canada.
- Earn 1x the points on everything else.
- Earn 1,000 Status Qualifying Miles and 1 Status Qualifying Segment for every $5,000 in eligible net purchases charged to your Card. You can also rollover unused Status Qualifying Miles (up to 200,000) to qualify for Aeroplan Elite Status the following year.
Features:
- Save on baggage fees – Your first checked bag is free (up to 23kg/50lb) for up to 9 people travelling on the same reservation (has to be an Air Canada flight).
- Maple Leaf Lounge – Gain access to select Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounges and Air Canada Cafés in North America with same-day ticket on any flight operated by Air Canada or Star Alliance.
- Priority Pass – Complimentary membership to Priority Pass' collection of airport lounges. However usage fee still applies.
- Priority Airport Services – This includes Air Canada priority check-in, Zone 2 priority boarding, and priority baggage handling.
- Priority Standby and Upgrades – Get prioritized on the standby waitlist for an Air Canada flight and higher priority when you request an upgrade.
- Annual Worldwide Companion Pass – When you spend $25,000 in net purchases in a year, you can buy an accompanying Air Canada economy class ticket at a fixed base fare from $99 to a maximum of $599 CAD (plus taxes, fees, charges, and surcharges).
- Rollover Status Qualifying Miles and eUpgrade Credits – You can roll over up to 200,000 unused SQM to the following year. Any unused eUpgrade Credits can also be used the following year.
- Benefits at YYZ – If you fly out of Toronto Pearson International Airport, you get to access the expedited security lane, complimentary valet service, 15% Express Park and Daily Park, and 15% off Car Services.
- Preferred pricing – Book flight reward tickets for even fewer points.
- No expiry of Aeroplan points – As long as you are a Cardmember, your points will never expire.
- American Express Experiences – Get advanced tickets to concerts, shows and events through Front Of The Line and also advanced screenings to movies.
- Amex Offers – Cardmembers will receive exclusive offers tailored to you for dining, shopping, and more.
GCR Eligible?: Yes the Amex Aeroplan Reserve card is eligible for $50 in cash back with GCR.
Referral Bonus: If you refer friends and family, you get 10,000 Aeroplan points.
Insurance Coverage: $5 million out of province/country emergency medical insurance (15 days under 65), $500,000 travel accident insurance, trip interruption insurance, flight delay insurance, car rental theft and damage insurance, baggage delay, lost or stolen baggage insurance, hotel burglary insurance, buyer's assurance protection plan, and purchase protection plan. Full fare/accommodations/product must be purchased with this Card for this to apply.
Why it rocks and why would you get it:
- Best bonus right now – At 90,000 Aeroplan points, this is the best offer you can get right now. Just make sure you can put the $1000/month spend on it for a year after signing up.
- Accelerate your Aeroplan growth – This is a wickedly fast way to grow your Aeroplan point balance.
- Great travel perks – For those that fly Air Canada a lot (that should be most Canadians), this gives you all of the top flying benefits.
- Great bonus Amex offers – I mentioned this earlier but it seems like they're really focused on getting people to use this card so they've been pumping out a ton of “personalized” offers to individuals. This provides tons of great value and you'll appreciate their efforts.
- Great travel insurance coverage – $5 million is top in its class but just be aware that it's only for 15 days and only those under 65.
Who it's not for:
- No first year free – Those days are over unfortunately and so for a premium card $599 is par for the course.
- Those that don't travel much – This is a very Aeroplan-centric card and so if you don't care about those points, travel perks, and insurance this might not be worth it.
- Not as flexible – Compared to the Membership Rewards program, you're locked into Aeroplan so you won't have the opportunity to transfer these points to something else.
What happened to the Amex Gold?: If you're wondering where the American Express Gold Rewards card went, they temporarily discontinued the card in Canada in 2021. That said, they might be bringing it back so stay tuned!
2 – American Express Business Platinum
This is a really interesting option that is honestly open to anyone even if you don't technical run a business. After you run through the benefits, you're definitely going to want to sign up for this. Considerations you're going to have to make though is whether you can spend $7,000 in 3 months.
The annual fee is $499 but this is offset by the fact that you get Priority Pass Select membership. This means that you get unlimited lounge access for you and a guest.
Now this isn't anything more than vanity but what I love about the Platinum card is that it's actually a metal Card which gives it a nice heft to it and that little nudge of bragging rights.
You'll notice that the Personal Platinum isn't mentioned in this list and this is because the annual fee of $699 will be a little too steep for some and the incremental benefits of it aren't that impressive over the Business Platinum.
CREDIT CARD FEATURES
Price: Annual fee is $499. Supplementary Cards are $199.
Point System: American Express Membership Rewards (standard tier).
Sign Up Bonus: 50,000 Membership Rewards points after you charge $7,000 in the first 3 months by signing up here.
Earn System:
- 1.25 point on every $1 on all spend you make on the Card.
Features:
- Complimentary access to over 1,200 airport lounges worldwide. The American Express Global Lounge Collection includes The Centurion Lounge network, Plaza Premium Lounges, and hundreds of other domestic and international lounges.
- Receive Marriott Bonvoy Gold Status (you will need to apply)
- Receive Hertz Gold Plus Rewards Five Star Tier Membership (you will need to apply)
- Special YYZ benefits – Complimentary Valet Service at Terminal 1 and Terminal for 3 (waives the $25 valet fee). Express Park and Daily Park is 15% off via statement credit.
- Access to Membership Rewards which has flexible conversions to airline frequent flyer programs including Aeroplan and hotel programs.
- Ability to convert points to statement credits (not a good idea).
- Fixed points travel program (not a good idea).
GCR Eligible?: Yes the Amex Business Platinum card is eligible for $100 in cash back with GCR.
Referral Bonus: If you refer friends and family, you get 5,000 Membership Rewards points.
Insurance Coverage: $5 million emergency medical insurance for out of province/country (15 days and under 65), $500,000 travel accident insurance, trip cancellation insurance, trip interruption insurance, StandbyMD, travel medical concierge, travel emergency assistance, car rental theft and damage insurance, lost or stolen baggage insurance, baggage delay insurance, flight delay insurance, and hotel/motel burglary insurance. Full fare/accommodations/product must be purchased with this Card for this to apply.
Why it rocks and why would you get it:
- All about the points – 45,000 is more than the 25,000 you get with the Amex Personal Gold or 40,000 with the Amex Business Gold.
- Almost as good as the personal Card – It may not be good as the Personal Platinum Card that Amex offers but you still get full lounge access.
- Strategically use this Card paired with the Gold – If you know American Express Gold gets you 2x points on gas, drug and grocery, use the Platinum card everywhere else to leverage the 1.25 accelerator.
- Great travel insurance coverage – $5 million is top in its class but just be aware that it's only for 15 days and only those under 65.
Who it's not for:
- High threshold spend – If you don't think you can spend $7,000 in your first 3 months, don't risk it. Wait until the timing is right and you have a big purchase coming up.
3 – American Express Business Gold Rewards
Now I know your hesitation. You don't own a business right? Thing is, you honestly don't need to be an official business entity to be able to get this Card. They don't require a corporation number or anything like that. You can literally be YourName Inc and say you're in the business/tech consulting business and that's all you really need. It was easy before and it still is now.
The main consideration over the personal Gold is that you have to spend $5,000 in the first 3 months so I wouldn't sign up for this Card and the Business Platinum at the same time. Stagger it.
CREDIT CARD FEATURES
Price: Annual fee is $250. Supplementary Cards are $50.
Point System: American Express Membership Rewards (standard tier).
Welcome Bonus: 30,000 Membership Rewards points when you charge $5,000 in your first 3 months.
Earn System:
- 2 points for every $1 spent at specific suppliers that you set (unfortunately not the most useful since the supplier list is quite limited).
- 1 point on every $1 for everything else.
Features:
- Access to Membership Rewards which has flexible conversions to airline frequent flyer programs including Aeroplan and hotel programs.
GCR Eligible?: Yes the Amex Business Gold Rewards is eligible for $75 in cash back with GCR.
Referral Bonus: If you refer friends and family, you get 5,000 Membership Rewards points.
Insurance Coverage: $100,000 travel accident insurance (accidental death or dismemberment), Car rental theft and damage insurance, lost or stolen baggage insurance, hotel/motel burglary insurance, flight delay insurance, baggage delay insurance, and travel emergency assistance. Note that there is no emergency travel medical.
Why it rocks and why would you get it:
- You don't need to technically be official registered as a business – Anyone can sign up for this Card.
- Great welcome bonus – At 40,000, this is a good one to have in your portfolio.
- Average travel insurance coverage – It covers most things but critically lacks emergency medical insurance.
Who it's not for:
- Not a good travel card – With no emergency travel medical insurance, and no in-destination travel features, it's not a great card to be putting your travel spend on.
4 – CIBC Aeroplan Visa Infinite
This is a great basic card that still offers a waiver on the annual fee and helps you build up Aeroplan miles/points.
As you might've heard, Aeroplan is changing and while there are a slew of new cards, old cards like this will still exist and rebranded to the new Aeroplan program.
If you're wondering whether you should get this or the twin version of the card offered by TD, I'd say if you're looking for something with no annual fee, the CIBC card is excellent. If you want more points, TD is offering 35,000 bonus Aeroplan points vs the 20,000 here.
CREDIT CARD FEATURES
Price: Annual fee is $139 but first year is frequently waived. Additional supplementary cards are $50.
Point System: Aeroplan
Sign Up Bonus: 10,000 Aeroplan miles upon first purchase and 10,000 Aeroplan miles once you spend $1,000 or more in your first 4 months. That gives you a total of 20,000 Aeroplan miles.
Earn System:
- 1.5 miles for every $1 spent eligible grocery, gas and aircanada.com purchases (including Air Canada Vacation packages).
- 1 mile on every $1 for everything else.
- Earn 1,000 Status Qualifying Miles and 1 Status Qualifying Segment for every $10,000 in eligible purchases.
Features:
- Baggage fees – Free first checked bag for you and authorized users and up to 8 companions every time you fly with Air Canada.
- Buddy Pass – As a new cardholder, you'll get a Buddy Pass when you spend $1,000 or more in your first 4 months.
GCR Eligible?: None available.
Referral Bonus: None
Insurance Coverage: $5 million out-of-province emergency travel medical insurance (15 days under 65 or 3 days 65+), $500,000 common carrier accident insurance (accidental death or dismemberment), trip cancellation and trip interruption insurance, flight delay and baggage insurance, auto rental collision and loss damage insurance, mobile device insurance, hotel burglary insurance, and purchase security & extended protection service.
Why it rocks and why would you get it:
- First year free – This is one of the few first year free (FYF) card on the market right now when it comes to good travel hacking credit cards in Canada.
- It's a Visa – We all know it, American Express is awesome but in Canada it's not accepted everywhere so to have a Visa in your wallet is super handy.
- Part of the Aeroplan strategy – If Aeroplan is your focus in travel hacking (it is for most Canadians), it's a perfect complement in your portfolio of cards.
- Excellent travel insurance coverage – As far as coverage goes, this gives you everything you're looking for including $5 million in medical coverage.
5 – American Express Marriott Bonvoy
The reality in Canada is that we have limited choices when it comes to credit cards that are partnered with the main hotel chains. All we have is Marriott Bonvoy and their collaboration with American Express (sorry I'm not counting Best Western).
While this Card has seen many changes over the years, starting off as an SPG card, it's still one of the tried and true ways to accrue Marriott Bonvoy points. Hotel points are just as important as airline points because after all, once you get those free flight tickets, you're going to need an epic place to stay. This Card allows you to do that.
If you're not that into Marriott, well, you can just convert them to Aeroplan points so that flexibility is pretty sweet.
CREDIT CARD FEATURES
Price: Annual fee is $120. First supplementary Card is free.
Point System: Marriott Bonvoy
Sign Up Bonus: 50,000 Marriott Bonvoy sign up bonus after $1,500 spending in the first 3 months by signing up here.
Earn System:
- 5 points for every $1 spent at Marriott properties.
- 2 point on every $1 for everything else.
- Receive a 15,000 points bonus from the Marriott Bonvoy program when you transfer 60,000 points to a frequent flyer program.
Features:
- Annual Free Night Award after your anniversary each year.
- Complimentary Marriott Bonvoy Silver Elite status.
- Easy conversion to airline frequent flyer programs including Aeroplan.
GCR Eligible?: Yes the Amex Marriott Bonvoy is eligible for $20 in cash back with GCR.
Referral Bonus: If you refer friends and family, you get 10,000 Marriott Bonvoy points.
Insurance Coverage: Travel emergency assistance (note that it does not include emergency medical insurance), $500,000 travel accident insurance (accidental death or dismemberment), car rental theft and damage insurance, flight delay insurance, baggage delay insurance, lost or stolen bag insurance, and hotel burglary insurance, buyer's assurance protection plan, and purchase protection plan. Full fare/accommodations/product must be purchased with this Card for this to apply.
Why it rocks and why would you get it:
- Build Marriott Bonvoy points fast – This is one of the core ways to grow your Marriott Bonvoy points.
- Annual free night reward – This is a handy certificate to have but note that it is only good for properties up to Category 3.
- Average travel insurance coverage – It covers most things but critically lacks emergency medical insurance.
6 – American Express Business Marriott Bonvoy®TM
This Card may look almost identical to the standard Marriott Bonvoy American Express but there are a few subtle changes I'll point out.
The annual fee may be higher but what you gain is in Gold Elite vs. Silver Elite status and you get the 3x multiplier on gas, dining and travel.
This is the perfect Card to have if you're serious about building up your cache of Marriott Bonvoy points and is precisely one of the cards in my portfolio that allowed me to be able to stay at Le Meridien Bora Bora and how it was one of my main strategies to go there for practically free.
CREDIT CARD FEATURES
Price: Annual fee is $150. First supplementary card is $50.
Point System: Marriott Bonvoy
Sign Up Bonus: 50,000 Marriott Bonvoy sign up bonus after $3,000 spending in the first 3 months by signing up here.
Earn System:
- 3 points on every $1 spent on gas, dining, and travel.
- 5 points for every $1 spent at Marriott properties.
- 2 point on every $1 for everything else.
- Receive a 15,000 points bonus from the Marriott Bonvoy program when you transfer 60,000 points to a frequent flyer program.
Features:
- Annual Free Night Award after your anniversary each year.
- Complimentary Marriott Bonvoy Gold Elite status.
- Easy conversion to airline frequent flyer programs including Aeroplan.
- Get an automatic upgrade to Marriott Bonvoy Gold Elite status when you reach $30,000 in purchases each year.
GCR Eligible?: Yes the Amex Business Marriott Bonvoy is eligible for $50 in cash back with GCR.
Referral Bonus: If you refer friends and family, you get 10,000 Marriott Bonvoy points.
Insurance Coverage: Travel emergency assistance (note that it does not include emergency medical insurance), $500,000 travel accident insurance (accidental death and dismemberment), car rental theft and damage insurance, flight delay insurance, baggage delay insurance, lost or stolen bag insurance, and hotel/motel burglary insurance, purchase protection plan. Full fare/accommodations/product must be purchased with this Card for this to apply.
Why it rocks and why would you get it:
- Instant Marriott Bonvoy Gold Elite status – Gold actually takes some work to get so this isn't a small deal.
- Build Marriott Bonvoy points fast – It's hard accumulating Marriott Bonvoy points unless you're a consultant like in my previous life. This is the next best thing especially with that extra 3x multiplier in place.
- Annual free night reward – This is a handy certificate to have but note that it is only good for properties up to Category 3.
- Average travel insurance coverage – It covers most things but critically lacks emergency medical insurance.
7 – Scotiabank Gold American Express
This card rebranded not long ago and it's a great American Express card with the unique feature of completely eliminating 2.5% foreign transaction fees. They've also built in a generous multiplier on common-spend categories. This means this is a great card to have with you to use for daily use.
With the demise of the old Amazon and Capital One credit cards that touted the “no exchange fees” feature, up from the ashes came Scotiabank to become one of the de-facto cards that offer this now. What this means is that when you use the card internationally the credit card will apply an exchange rate but not tack on an additional 2.5% fee to the rate which most people don't realize is happening with all the other credit cards out there.
What you lose as an American Express is access to Membership Rewards since this is a Scotiabank product. Scotia Rewards works like every other bank's reward system and can only be used to book travel within their own platform, convert it for products in their e-store (terrible value in my opinion), or cash credit in your statement. The point values are fixed and doesn't have the possibility to scale as you build up more points since you can't convert it to say, Aeroplan.
CREDIT CARD FEATURES
Price: Annual fee is $120. First supplementary card is $29.
Point System: Scotia Rewards
Sign Up Bonus: 25,000 bonus points ($250 value) after your first $1,000 in the first 3 months.
Earn System:
- 5 points for every $1 spent on entertainment purchases (includes movies, theatre, and ticket agencies), eligible grocery stores, restaurants, fast food, and drinking establishments (includes popular food delivery and food subscriptions).
- 3 points on every $1 spent on eligible gas and daily transit (includes rideshare, buses, taxis, subway, and more), and streaming services such as Netflix.
- 1 point on every $1 for everything else.
Features:
- Priority Pass membership but using the lounge still costs $27 per entry.
- Can redeem points at a rate of 100 points per $1 (10,000 for $100) with minimum redemption of 5,000 points on travel spend.
GCR Eligible?: Yes the Scotiabank Gold American Express is eligible for $60 in cash back with GCR.
Referral Bonus: None.
Insurance Coverage: $1 million travel emergency medical insurance (25 days under 65, 3 days 65+), $500,000 travel accident insurance, trip cancellation/interruption insurance, flight delay insurance, delayed and lost baggage insurance, rental car collision loss/damage insurance, hotel/motel burglary insurance, and purchase security & extended warranty protection. You need to charge at least 75% of your trip cost (flight, accommodations, tickets, guides, meals, car rental).
Why it rocks and why would you get it:
- No foreign exchange fees – Save 2.5% on foreign currency purchases which makes it great for travel.
- Awesome point accelerators – 5x and 3x multipliers built into the card are really handy to scale up your point earnings just from spending daily. They also have interesting bonuses on brands like Uber and Netflix.
- Good travel insurance coverage – It has all the coverage you'd need for travel but it has an exceptional $1 million on medical insurance built in.
8 – Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite Card
I've done a full deep dive of the Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite card but wanted to include this one for the purposes of actual travel use as opposed to signing up for bonuses.
This card is very similar the previous Scotiabank product with the no foreign transaction fee feature but the difference with this one is that you get more bonus points to start and you get 6 lounge passes. The other huge benefit of this card is that it is a Visa instead of an American Express. This means that you'll have way more confidence that you'll be able to use this card wherever you go. Another interesting feature that's added on here is the hidden “Price Protection Service” advantage where if something you buy drops in price within 60 days, you'll be able to make a claim of up to $100 (max of $500 a year).
What you lose compared to the Scotiabank Gold American Express are those big point multipliers and slightly cheaper annual fee.
As a result, this is the perfect card to bring with you on your travels because you're saving money every time you're swiping this card over another.
CREDIT CARD FEATURES
Price: Annual fee is $139. First supplementary card is free.
Point System: Scotia Rewards
Sign Up Bonus: 30,000 bonus points ($300 value) after your first $1,000 in the first 3 months.
Earn System:
- 5 points for every $1 spent on eligible grocery stores, dining, entertainment purchases, and daily transit purchases (including buses, subways, taxis and more).
- 1 point on every $1 for everything else.
Features:
- 6 free airport lounge visits & Priority Pass membership.
- Can redeem points at a rate of 100 points per $1 (10,000 for $100) with minimum redemption of 5,000 points on travel spend.
GCR Eligible?: Yes the Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite is eligible for $55 in cash back with GCR.
Referral Bonus: None.
Insurance Coverage: $1 million travel emergency medical insurance (25 days under 65, 10 days 65+), $500,000 travel accident insurance, trip cancellation/interruption insurance, flight delay insurance, delayed and lost baggage insurance, rental car collision loss/damage insurance, hotel/motel burglary insurance, purchase security & extended warranty protection, and purchase protection service. You need to charge at least 75% of your trip cost (flight, accommodations, tickets, guides, meals, car rental).
Why it rocks and why would you get it:
- It's a Visa – Good travel cards that are Visa's are few and far between since American Express is so dominant so if you're needing one in your wallet, this could be the one to sign up for.
- Great travel insurance coverage – It has all the coverage you'd need for travel but it has a great $1 million on medical insurance built in and longer coverage than what other cards include.
- Best for seniors – This is the only card that covers seniors for 10 days.
- Price Protection Service – Not something you see in many cards but a pretty cool feature that you can take advantage of.
- Lounge passes – 6 free lounge passes with Priority Pass is really handy for travellers
9 – American Express Cobalt®TM
A few years ago, I would've shaken my head to see make the list but after using this Card for 2+ years now, I'm a believer in the power of the Amex Cobalt Card.
I would call this a specialty Card because it has a lot of limitations but let me walk you through it.
How you should use it: The 5x accelerator is the sweet spot for this Card because what they don't advertise is the fact that you can use it at grocery stores. There's quite a number of creative ways you can leverage this but think gift cards and prepaid credit cards. Just let this think in. If you spend $500 on your Cobalt Card, you get 2,500 points which also then kicks in that welcome bonus.
Where it's limited: While you do get access to Membership Rewards, they've essentially nerfed it slightly by creating a lower Select tier. Everything is practically the same for travel purposes except you can't transfer it to Aeroplan and other airline loyalty programs. As a result, I primarily use this Card as my supplement to the American Express Marriott Bonvoy card(s).
I'll be the first to say that this isn't a product for everyone but if you're smart about it, you can make it work in your portfolio of travel hacking credit cards.
CREDIT CARD FEATURES
Price: Annual fee is $120 (charged $10 per month). Supplementary Cards are free.
Point System: American Express Membership Rewards Select (this is their lower tier program which really means no transfer to airline programs)
Welcome Bonus: Earn up to 45,000 Membership Rewards points – When you sign up before May 5, 2021 with this link, you can earn:
- Welcome Bonus of 15,000 Membership Rewards points when you spend a total of $3,000 in purchases on your Card in your first 3 months of Cardmembership.
- 2,500 points per billing period when you spend $500 in purchases on your Card each month for a total of 30,000 points in a year.
Earn System:
- 5 points for every $1 spent on eligible restaurants, bars, cafés, grocery stores, and even food delivery in Canada.
- 2 points for every $1 spent on eligible transit & gas purchases in Canada and eligible travel purchases.
- 1 point on every $1 for everything else.
Features:
- Receive regular Perks such as bonus reward offers and access to events.
- Get access to Amex Front Of The Line Presale & Reserved Tickets as part of American Express Experiences.
GCR Eligible?: Yes the American Express Cobalt is eligible for $100 in cash back with GCR.
Insurance Coverage: $5 million out of province/country emergency medical insurance (under 65, first 15 days), $250,000 travel accident insurance (accidental death and dismemberment), flight delay insurance, baggage delay insurance, hotel burglary insurance, lost or stolen baggage insurance, car rental theft and damage insurance, purchase protection plan, and buyer's assurance protection plan.
Why it rocks and why would you get it:
- Great daily-use card – The 5x point accelerator
- Great travel insurance coverage – It has all the coverage you'd need for travel but it has an exceptional $5 million on medical insurance built in.
10 – CIBC Aventura Visa Infinite
This is one of the newer players in the market and takes a unique angle as a travel hacking card. It's great in some ways and not one of the best in other regards.
First, let's talk about the great features of the CIBC Aventura Visa Infinite. For one, I love that it includes a rebate on the Nexus application. I signed up for this card literally because I knew my renewal was coming up and it worked like a charm. I didn't have to apply or do anything. It picked up the fee and it refunded the amount as a statement credit. It also includes 4 airport lounge passes with Priority Pass which is handy.
The disappointing part about the program is in CIBC's own Aventura points program. In theory it sounds great and if you build up enough points you could do some damage with it by redeeming points on flight tickets but if you've invested a ton of time in building up your Aeroplan points, this doesn't really help you and in fact divides your efforts. There is decent value in flight redemptions and some merchandise but I am not sure if it's worth focusing on this. The statement credit conversion is also pretty terrible at $1 per 160 points vs other programs which is $1 for 100 points (see Scotiabank Gold American Express)
For me, this is a get-in-and-out-quick kind of card since first year free is offered. Use it if you're applying for Nexus soon and maybe a quick short-haul flight that you have. Otherwise, convert the points to cash and call it a day.
CREDIT CARD FEATURES
Price: Annual fee is $139 (first year free offered). Supplementary cards are $50.
Point System: Aventura Points
Sign Up Bonus: 20,000 Aventura points after you make your first purchase. Additionally, you can get 15,000 Aventura points if you spend at least $10,000 in your first year. This means a total of 35,000 Aventura points ($187.50 in statement value or up to $800 in flight redemption value).
Earn System:
- 2 points for every $1 spent on travel through CIBC's portal.
- 1.5 points for every $1 spent on eligible gas stations, grocery stores and drug stores.
- 1 point on every $1 for everything else.
Features:
- Priority Pass Membership and 4 complimentary airport lounge visits per year
- Nexus application rebate of $50
- Unique to Aventura is that you can redeem points for flights using their own system which Ratehub does a great job of breaking down. Alternatively, you can use the points as a statement credit of $25 per 4,000 points.
GCR Eligible?: None at the moment.
Referral Bonus: None
Insurance Coverage: $5 million out-of-province emergency travel medical insurance (15 days under 65 or 3 days 65+), $500,000 common carrier accident insurance (accidental death or dismemberment), trip cancellation and trip interruption insurance, flight delay and baggage insurance, auto rental collision and loss damage insurance, hotel burglary insurance, mobile device insurance, purchase security and extended protection service.
Why it rocks and why would you get it:
- Nexus application – Covers the entire application fee.
- Great travel insurance coverage – It has all the coverage you'd need for travel but it has an exceptional $5 million on medical insurance built in.
- Mobile device insurance – This is another unique feature that they slip in. It's great if you can use it but it means that you must have purchased the phone with this card and either lost it, had it stolen, or accidental damage. This covers up to $1,000.
11 – STACK Prepaid Mastercard
One thing you'll notice in this list is that Mastercards are sorely lacking in the credit cards for travel hacking space. It's a bit unfortunate as they've kind of fallen off the relevance train but this prepaid Mastercard has some interesting features for travellers.
The key feature of this card isn't well advertised but similar to the Scotiabank cards, it also does not apply any foreign exchange fees on top which is great for travellers.
As a prepaid card, this Mastercard is fundamentally different to use because you have to load it. You can do this by using an e-transfer or direct deposit (via cash load through Canada Post, Hasty Market, Canadian Tire Gas, Mobil, and Pharmachoice, payroll, bill pay, or through the CRA).
Another hidden feature is that you can withdraw money from Canadian ATMs for free.
This sounds pretty terrible but when you combine the fact that you can load it via bill pay (some other prepaid cards allow you to move funds this way) and withdraw money from ATM, there are some creative options for moving money around.
CREDIT CARD FEATURES
Price: None
Point System: None
Sign Up Bonus: None
Earn System: None but they do have rewards and offers built in that are either link-based or based on spending on the card.
Features:
- No fees including foreign exchange fees and ATM withdrawals
GCR Eligible?: None available.
Referral Bonus: $5 per referral
Insurance Coverage: None
Why it rocks and why would you get it:
- No foreign exchange fees – This saves you 2.5% when travelling.
- A money mover – In the world of pre-paid cards which is a whole other topic, this card is a great option for Canadians to move money around.
Credit cards for travel hacking comparison table
I get that there are a lot of choices and for those that aren't looking to go all-in, you'll want to make a calculated decision on what makes sense for you. I understand that everyone has a different situation and so ultimately a comparison table is going to make things more clearly when you see everything side-by-side.
The below is a table where I've distilled as much of the pertinent information as possible. It is by no means complete especially on the insurance side of things (my mind is a huge slurry after going through all those giant PDF documents) but it gives you what you need to know.
Final thoughts about travel hacking credit cards
Think of travel hacking through credit cards a marathon. It's not the kind of thing where you'll be able to hit your goals in one year or two. If you want to be serious about it, you'll be going through different cards every month and carrying them for at least 12 months or more.
At the end of the day, American Express has the most powerful portfolio of cards because of their bonuses, their ability to refer, and the flexibility in the Membership Rewards program. However, if you're looking for a card that's more widely accepted, you'll have to think about keeping a Visa in your mix.
If you ask me today, what card you should get, I'd say it's the American Express Business Platinum. It's got a large welcome bonus, unlimited lounge passes with Priority Pass, and a good all-around 1.25x accelerator.
Get started today
- American Express Aeroplan Reserve Card – Claim 90K Aeroplan points
- American Express Business Platinum – Claim your 45K MR points
- American Express Business Gold – Claim your 40K points
- CIBC Aerogold Visa – Claim your 20K points
- American Express Marriott Bonvoy – Claim your 51K Marriott Bonvoy points
- American Express Business Marriott Bonvoy – Claim your 51K Marriott Bonvoy points
- Scotiabank Gold American Express – Claim your 25K Scotiabank rewards points
- Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite – Claim your 30K Scotiabanks rewards points
- American Express Cobalt – Claim your 50K MR Select points
- CIBC Aventura Visa Infinite – Claim your 35K Aventura points
- STACK Prepaid Mastercard – Sign up today
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