Best Canadian Credit Cards for Miles and Points
Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.
I love Canada. I used to make near weekly business trips to Montreal and Toronto in my old job and nowadays there are many Canadian TPG readers - many of whom sit idly on the side as we gorge ourselves on mega credit card bonuses here in the US. While we are accustomed to 50,000 and up bonuses here, our friendly northern neighbors rarely get to see much action. However, there are a couple decent deals on the market right now that can help boost your balances if you do happen to live in Canada:
40,000 points after $3,000 in spend within 3 months on the Aeroplan Platinum American Express. $499 annual fee. Aeroplan has short haul rewards that start at 15,000 miles roundtrip and business class to Western Europe is only 90,000 miles, so this card could easily pay for itself many times over. Note: Aeroplan now imposes hefty fuel surcharges on many Star Alliance awards.
40,000 points after $1,000 in spend within the first 3 months on the Capital One Aspire Travel World Mastercard. 2 points per dollar spent. $150 annual fee. These points can't be transferred to any mileage programs, but they are worth about a cent each towards travel and the flights booked earn miles and elite miles.
25,000 points after $3,000 in spend within 3 months on the American Express Business Gold Rewards Card. $180 annual fee, waived the first year. American Express Membership Rewards Canada points transfer to Aeroplan, Alitalia, British Airways, Delta, Priority Club, Hilton and Starwood (2:1 ratio).
25,000 miles after first purchase on the Capital One Delta Skymiles World Mastercard. 2,500 anniversary points every year. $120 annual fee.
15,000 points after $500 in spend within 3 months on the American Express Gold Rewards Card. $150 annual fee, waived for the first year.
10,000 points for the Personal Starwood American Express after you charge $1,000 in purchases within the first three months of cardmembership. Gold status after $30,000 in spend and a free weekend night at $40,000 in spend. $120 annual fee.
15,000 points for the Business Starwood American Express. Gold status after $30,000 in spend and a free weekend night at $40,000 in spend. $150 annual fee.
15,000 points after first purchase for the RBC Avion Infinite. Points can be transferred to British Airways (at frequent 50% bonuses), American Airlines and Cathay Pacific. $120 annual fee.
You can get rebates on applying to many of these cards through GreatCanadianRebates.ca.
Please feel free to comment on your favorite Canadian credit card or add a top deal of your own.
By the way, if you want to check out a clip of me being interviewed on the Canadian news channel BNN while in Toronto this past September, check out this video link: BNN_ca
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