Which Credit Cards Give The Best Travel Rewards?

With the coronavirus pandemic currently crippling the planet, this isn’t exactly the best time for you to book any travel plans. In fact, earlier today, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau warned Canadians against all international travel. He is also considering tightening the border to some international travellers. With that said, we look forward to the days when the COVID-19 crisis is behind us and we can travel safely again.

If you’re like millions of other Canadians who enjoy travelling, you likely use a credit card that enables you to accrue travel rewards. As a Canadian merchant, you’re surely aware of the benefits of accepting such credit cards as they help consumers build their point totals while supporting your store. But which credit cards give the best travel rewards?

BMO World Elite Mastercard.

According to Barry Choi and Keph Senett on MoneySense.ca, the BMO World Elite Mastercard is considered the best Mastercard for travel rewards. They reveal that the card currently comes with a sign-up bonus of 35,000 points when you charge $3,000 to the card within the first three months of card membership. Those points have a value of $250. New cardholders also get the annual fee of $150 waived for the first year. But that’s not the card’s best benefit.

As Choi and Senett explains, “the four free annual airport lounge passes are good at any over 1,000 lounges that part of the Mastercard Airport Experiences by LoungeKey network which is basically the same as Priority Pass. Furthermore, Mastercard is more widely accepted than some of the other card providers; you can use it to shop at stores like No Frills and Costco.”

TD First Class Travel Visa Infinite Card.

Choi and Senett list the TD First Class Travel Visa Infinite Card as the best Visa card for travel rewards. Users receive three TD Rewards Points for every dollar spent. In addition, cardholders get nine points when they book travel on the Expedia For TD platform online. This works out to a 4.5 percent return in points, and six points when booking on Expedia for TD by phone for a 3 percent return.

“The current welcome bonus of up to 80,000 Points is worth up to $400, and it’s easy to obtain,” writes Choi and Senett, “You’ll get 20,000 Points after your first purchase, and up to 60,000 Points on purchases during the first three months, when you earn 5 times the Points on your purchases. The annual fee of $120 is rebated for the first year as part of the current promotion.”

Scotiabank Gold American Express.

Choi and Senett write that the Scotiabank Gold American Express card gives users five Scotia Rewards Points for every dollar spent on groceries, entertainment and dining. Cardholders get three points for every dollar spent on gas, public transit and streaming services and one point for every dollar spent on everything else. As a result, Canadians are able to accumulate a lot of points pretty quickly.  

“Cardholders can book their travel on any airline either through the Scotia Rewards Travel portal or on a different site where applied Points will result in a statement credit,” report Choi and Senett, “In both cases, 100 Points are worth $1 in travel. And there’s no foreign currency conversion fee—this will automatically save you the 2.5% to 3% that most cards automatically charge on purchases abroad.”

No matter which credit cards your customers use, at Canadian POS, we strongly believe there’s no better way to accept them than with the revolutionary Poynt Smart Terminal. Call us at 1-877-748-2884 or email us at info@localhost to learn more!