Best Travel Credit Cards Canada

Last Updated: 01-24-2024

Page Also Available For:

Travel is a very broad category that covers many subcategories such as airfare, hotels, car rentals, transit, and much more. The best travel credit card should not only offer you the highest return on your spend, but also benefits and perks that fit the way you travel.

Here are our top Canada credit card picks for travel:

American Express Cobalt™ Card: Best for flexible travel rewards.
The Platinum Card®: Best for luxury travel & global lounge access.
Tangerine World Mastercard®: Best no annual fee cash back card for travel.
National Bank World Elite® Mastercard®: Best Mastercard for travel rewards.
Scotiabank Gold American Express® Card: Best for no foreign transaction fee.
National Bank Platinum Mastercard®: Best low-annual fee card for travel insurance.
American Express® Green Card: Best for travel rewards at no annual fee.
MBNA Rewards Platinum Plus® Mastercard®: Best no annual fee Mastercard for travel rewards.
American Express® Aeroplan® Reserve Card: Best for Air Canada benefits.
WestJet RBC World Elite Mastercard: Best for WestJet benefits.
Marriott Bonvoy™ American Express® Card: Best for Marriott travelers.
CIBC Aventura® Visa Infinite Privilege Card: Best Visa Infinite Privilege Card for airfare.

American Express Cobalt™ Card

Best For Flexible Travel Rewards

Earning Rate: Earn 5X Membership Rewards points on restaurant and grocery purchases in Canada, 3X on streaming subscriptions, 2X on gas and transit in Canada and on travel, and 1X on everything else.
Main Highlights: High earning rates combined with the ability to transfer points to 8 partners including Air Canada, Delta Airlines, British Airways, and Marriott Bonvoy.
Annual Fee: $12.99 per month ($155.88 annually)
Summary: The Cobalt Card is one of the best travel credit cards (if not thee best) in Canada. It's fantastic for building up valuable rewards that can be transferred to a hefty list of partners.
Calculate Card Value & AMEX Points per dollar spent for the American Express Cobalt Card.

The Platinum Card®

Best For Luxury Travel & Global Lounge Access

Earning Rate: Earn 2X points on dining and food delivery purchases in Canada, 2X on travel, and 1X on everything else.
Annual Credits: $200 travel credit and $200 dining credit.
Main Highlights: $100 NEXUS application credit, global lounge access (Centurion lounges, Plaza Premium lounges, Delta Sky Club, Airspace lounges, Escape lounges, Priority Pass lounges, and Executive Lounges by Swissport), Fine Hotels + Resorts, complimentary elite status with Hilton, Marriott, and Radisson, special benefits at Toronto Pearson Int'l Airport, and top-notch travel insurance.
Annual Fee: $799
Summary: The Platinum Card has a high annual fee, but it's easily offset by the numerous amount of benefits it offers. Combine that with the fact that points earned with the card are extremely valuable and you have yourself one of the best travel credit cards in Canada.
Calculate Card Value & AMEX Points per dollar spent for The Platinum Card.

Tangerine World Mastercard®

Best No Annual Fee Cash Back Card For Travel

Earning Rate: Earn 2% Money-Back on up to two select categories of your choice and 0.5% on all other purchases. Choose a 3rd 2% Money-Back category if you deposit rewards into a Tangerine Savings account.
Main Highlights: Airport lounge access, car rental collision/loss damage insurance, mobile device insurance, discounts, unlimited 2% Money-Back, and rewards paid out monthly.
Intro Bonus: Get 10% back, up to $100, when you spend up to $1,000 in your first 2 months.
Annual Fee: $0.
Summary: If you prefer to earn cash back over points and miles, but still want access to great travel benefits, the Tangerine World Mastercard is a fantastic option. It earns an unlimited 2% Money-Back, offers a handful of travel benefits, and has no annual fee.
Learn More about the Tangerine World Mastercard.
Calculate Card Value & Cash Back per dollar spent for the Tangerine World Mastercard.

National Bank World Elite® Mastercard®

Best Travel Rewards Mastercard

Earning Rate: Earn 5X points on the first $2,500 in monthly grocery and restaurant purchases (then 2X), 2X points on gas, electric vehicle charging, recurring bill payments, and À la carte Travel purchases, and 1X on all other purchases.
Annual Credits: $150 in travel-fee refunds
Main Highlights: National Bank VIP Lounge access (Montreal-Trudeau) and top-notch travel insurance.
Annual Fee: $150.
Summary: The NBC Mastercard offers a high return across several categories. You can redeem those points for 1 cent apiece towards travel booked through their portal. The card features great travel coverage including trip cancellation and trip interruption insurance.
Calculate Card Value & NBC Rewards Points per dollar spent for the National Bank World Elite Mastercard.

Scotiabank Gold American Express® Card

Best For No Foreign Transaction Fee

Earning Rate: Earn 6X Scene+ points at participating grocers, 5X in Canada on dining, food delivery, entertainment, and other eligible grocery stores, 3X in Canada on gas, daily transit, and select streaming services, and 1X on everything else.
Main Highlights: Airport Lounge access via Priority Pass, No Foreign Transaction Fees on international purchases, and top-notch travel insurance.
Annual Fee: $120
Summary: If you plan on traveling outside of Canada and you want to be able to earn rewards without being penalized, the Scotiabank Gold AMEX Card is the best option. You'll also be able to enjoy high earning rates spending in Canada and travel benefits.
Calculate Card Value & Scene+ Points per dollar spent for the Scotiabank Gold American Express Card.

National Bank Platinum Mastercard®

Best Low-Annual Fee Card For Travel Insurance

Earning Rate: Earn 2 points per $1 on the first $1,000 in grocery and restaurant purchases monthly (then 1.5X), 1.5X on gas, electric vehicle charging, À la carte Travel, and recurring bill payments, and 1X/$1.50 on all other purchases.
Main Highlights: Travel insurance.
Annual Fee: $0 the first year, then $89.
Summary: This is one of the best low-annual fee credit cards for travel insurance. It offers out-of-province medical insurance, trip cancellation/interruption insurance, and other coverage you would normally only find on Mastercard World Elite, Visa Infinite, and high-end AMEX credit cards. It also has no minimum income requirement and earns a solid return on spending.
Calculate Card Value & NBC Rewards Points per dollar spent for the National Bank Platinum Mastercard.

American Express® Green Card

Best For Travel Rewards At No Annual Fee

Earning Rate: Earn 1X Membership Rewards points on all purchases and an additional 1 point per $1 on hotels and car rentals through AMEX Travel Online.
Main Highlights: Shopping coverage.
Annual Fee: $0
Summary: The AMEX Green only earns 1 point per $1 spent on all purchases, but don't let that fool you. These points can be redeemed for high value towards travel through AMEX Travel Online and be transferred to a handful of airline and hotel partners for a shot at even more value.
Calculate Card Value & AMEX Points per dollar spent for the American Express Green Card.

MBNA Rewards Platinum Plus® Mastercard®

Best Travel Rewards Mastercard At No Annual Fee

Earning Rate: Earn 2X MBNA Rewards points on restaurant, grocery, digital media, membership, and household utility purchases, on up to $10,000 in annual spend for each individual category. 1X on everything else.
Main Highlights: Earn up a 10% birthday bonus, up to 10K points per year
Annual Fee: $0
Summary: This card earns a solid return across several popular everyday categories. The annual bonus points you'll receive pushes it slightly beyond other cards of it's class. You'll also be able to enjoy mobile device insurance and shopping coverage.
Calculate Card Value & MBNA Rewards Points per dollar spent for the MBNA Rewards Platinum Plus Mastercard.

American Express® Aeroplan® Reserve Card

Best For Air Canada Benefits

Earning Rate: Earn 3X points on eligible Air Canada and Air Canada Vacations purchases, 2X on eligible dining and food delivery purchases in Canada, and 1.25X on everything else.
Main Highlights: Annual worldwide companion pass, free checked bags (up to 8 people), airport lounge access, priority benefits, and ability to earn SQMs and SQSs towards elite status via spend.
Annual Fee: $599
Summary: The AMEX Aeroplan Reserve Card has a hefty annual fee, but offers a ton of benefits that can easily offset the price if you frequently fly Air Canada. If you can spend $25K on the card to earn the annual companion pass, you should be able to get exceptional value out of the card.
Calculate Card Value & Aeroplan Points per dollar spent for the American Express Aeroplan Reserve Card.

WestJet RBC World Elite Mastercard

Best For WestJet Benefits

Earning Rate: Earn 2% back in WestJet dollars on WestJet flights or WestJet Vacations packages and 1.5% back on all other purchases.
Main Highlights: Annual companion voucher and free checked bag (up to 8 people).
Annual Fee: $119
Summary: This best benefit of this card is the annual companion voucher which allows a person to travel with you on a round-trip flight for $119 CAD in Canada and the continental US and $399 CAD for the rest of the WestJet network. On top of that, the free checked bags will also add up if you and those traveling with you normally have to pay for them.
Calculate Card Value & WestJet Dollars per dollar spent for the WestJet World Elite Mastercard.

Marriott Bonvoy™ American Express® Card

Best For Marriott Travelers

Earning Rate: Earn 5X points on eligible purchases at hotels participating in Marriott Bonvoy and 2X points on all other purchases.
Main Highlights: Free annual night award worth 35K points, complimentary status, and 15 elite night credits towards achieving higher status.
Annual Fee: $120
Summary: The Marriott Bonvoy card is a great option if you stay at Marriott brand hotels. The card has lots of potential if you know how to get the most out of Marriott Bonvoy points. The free night award alone can make the card worth picking up since you can combine it with points in your account.
Calculate Card Value & Marriott Bonvoy Points per dollar spent for the Marriott Bonvoy American Express Card.

CIBC Aventura® Visa Infinite Privilege Card

Best Visa Infinite Privilege Card For Airfare

Earning Rate: Earn 3X points on travel purchases through the CIBC Rewards Centre, 2X on eligible dining, entertainment, transportation, gas and groceries, and 1.25X on everything else.
Annual Credits: $200 Aventura Travel credit
Main Highlights: Two $50 CAD NEXUS application rebates, Priority Pass membership with 6 free lounge visits per year, and the ability to redeem points for Business Class tickets via the Aventura Airline Rewards Chart.
Annual Fee: $499
Summary: If you're a heavy spender and can jump the income requirement hurdle, this card will offer everything you need and more when it comes to airfare.
Calculate Card Value & Aventura Points per dollar spent for the Aventura Visa Infinite Privilege Card.

Travel Rewards Calculator: Which Card Is Best For You?

Results will consist of all travel credit cards in our database for Canada. They will be sorted by net return which is total cash back earned, plus annual credits, and minus annual fees.

Loading Calculator...

If the calculator doesn't load after a few seconds, click here to re-load calculator.

Calculator Options

What Type of Rewards Do You Want To Earn?

This calculator can output the best credit cards for a general rewards type or compile a list of the best credit cards for earning rewards with a specific loyalty program.

Frequent Flyer Programs

Select the frequent flyer program that you want to earn rewards for. Results will include all co-branded credit cards offered by the selected airline and all credit cards partners that allow you to transfer rewards to the selected airline.

Hotel Loyalty Programs

Select the hotel loyalty program that you want to earn rewards for. Results will include all co-branded credit cards offered by the selected hotel program and all credit cards partners that allow you to transfer rewards to the selected hotel program.

Other Loyalty Programs

Select the program that you want to earn rewards for. Results will include all credit cards offered by the selected program and all credit cards partners that allow you to transfer rewards to the selected program.

Personal Or Business?

Are you looking for personal (consumer) credit card or business credit cards? You can also include both in the results.

Income Maximum

Select if you're looking for credit cards based on your own individual income or if you're looking for credit cards based on the income of the entire household -AND- select the maximum income requirement you want listed in the results.

Enter Your Monthly & Yearly Spend Amounts

Add Categories

Options

Resets all fields in the Category Spending section for all columns. Also clears all saved spend values that carry from calculator to calculator.

Deletes all categories in the Category Spending section so you can start fresh.

Add Categories

Search for categories and click 'Add Category' to add it to the calculator. If you want to be more specific, you can specify domestic or international spend.

Type at least 3 characters.

Category Currently Selected:

Spend Region:

About Spend Region: Some credit cards feature categories that only earn rewards when spending in a certain region. Changing this category to Domestic or International spend will calculate such for those cards, otherwise it's assumed by Default.

No Results. This is usually due to:

There's no good card options based on the spend entered.
The calculator is having a brain-fart and is not calculating rewards properly.

Enter different values or try again later.

Results

These estimates are to help guide you towards making the best decision when it comes to picking up a rewards credit card. They should be used for illustrative purposes only.