Canada’s Top Travel Rewards Credit Card: Amex and Aeroplan Among the Winners

January 25, 2021 ctn_admin

Travel may not be on the radar for Canadians due to the ongoing pandemic but people are itching to get away once it is safe to do so. That means most Canadians are planning for the long term when it comes to travel and now is the time to start thinking about collecting as many points and miles possible for those future travels.

The easiest way to build up those points balances is through credit card spend and that plays a key factor in determining the best travel rewards cards in Canada For a fourth straight year, the American Express Cobalt Card takes the top prize in Reward Canada’s Travel Rewards Credit Cards Ranking as it is the best card to use to build up a flexible travel rewards balance that provides big redemption value. 

For over 13 years Rewards Canada has been helping Canadians sift through the more than 70 travel rewards credit card offerings with its annual ranking. The rankings can be found at rewardscanada.ca/TopTravelCreditCard2021/ 

This year’s ranking reflects a forward looking pattern as Canadians stay home to curb the spread of the Coronavirus with plans being made for future travel in late 2021, 2022 and beyond.

“Like many Canadians the Rewards Canada family has not set foot on a plane since February 2020,” says Patrick Sojka, founder of RewardsCanada.ca. “We are definitely in the planning stages of some amazing trips we would like to take but are practicing a wait and see approach while making sure that all our household spending is on the best credit cards and earning us those points and miles to help fund those trips.”

In addition to the Cobalt Card taking home “Best Overall Travel Reward Card’ honours, the remaining five categories that cards are ranked in are: Travel Points with annual fee, Travel Rewards Credit Card with no annual fee, Hybrid (flexible currency), Airline and Ultra Premium card. The credit cards are evaluated by key factors including cost, flexibility, partnerships, rate-of-return, benefits and redemption options. 

And The Winners Are:

Best Overall Travel Rewards Card: American Express Cobalt Card

Travel Points Credit Card: Scotiabank Gold American Express Card

No Fee Travel Rewards Credit Card: mbna Rewards Platinum Plus Mastercard

Hybrid Card (Flexible Currency): American Express Cobalt Card

Airline Card: TD Aeroplan Visa Infinite Card

Ultra Premium Credit Card: The Platinum Card from American Express

Over the past year the biggest news in the credit card and loyalty space was the launch of the new Air Canada Aeroplan program and that has factored in significantly in this year’s rankings. The shift in Aeroplan back to a frequent flyer program meant the discontinuation of the coalition program category which has been replaced a new category which is gaining popularity and that is Ultra Premium cards like The Platinum Card from American Express and Visa Infinite Privilege cards from numerous Canadian issuers.

 “The purpose of our annual ranking is to make choosing the right travel reward card easier”, adds Sojka. “It’s also about staying on top of trends and keeping Canadians informed of how industry changes may impact their enjoyment of these cards.”

The Top Travel Rewards Card feature, with complete rankings and background, can be found online at: rewardscanada.ca/TopTravelCreditCard2021/ (Short URL: rwrds.ca/TopCC2021)

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