5 credit cards that are best to
continually fund your travels

 

No matter where you look, whether it is here on Rewards Canada or elsewhere, there is always lots of coverage and hype around credit card welcome bonus offers. But what happens once you've received the bonus and used those points up? At that point you want to make sure you have the right card(s) in your wallet that are the best for continually funding your travels for the long term.

In a somewhat indirect fashion, this has always been a focus on Rewards Canada with features like Credit Cards Ranked: Any Travel Anytime Rewards and Which credit card earns the most Aeroplan Points where we take an in-depth look at credit card value on an everyday spending basis with absolutely no influence from the welcome bonus offers.

And that's what we continue to have right here in this feature - the cards that provide the best value for any and all of your travels after using up any welcome bonus points offers that you have scored. Having one or more of these cards are the key to get you travelling soon again and helping you save on all your future travels!

Related: Everyday Value Series - Start travelling sooner with these 12 credit card welcome bonus offers

In a nutshell, the best long term cards are the ones that have really strong accelerated and base earn rates combined with flexible and really strong redemption value. You know - the earn to burn ratio or as Rewards Canada has been driving into the heads of our readers for over two decades "You have to look at both sides of the equation!" Earning 5 points per dollar isn't as good as may it appear if each point is only worth two thirds of a cent!

 

The 5 credit cards that are best to continually fund your travels

 

Earn Rates: 1 to 5 Membership Rewards Points per $1 spent
Point Redemption Value (Rate of return): 1% to 30% or more
Minimum redemption amount: 1,000 points
Monthly fee: $12.99
Best used for: Any travel at anytime redemptions, fixed points redemptions, Aeroplan Points, British Airways Avios, Marriott Bonvoy Points, Air France KLM Flying Blue Miles, American AAdvantage Miles, Cathay Asia Miles, Hilton Honors Points, Delta SkyMiles, Etihad Guest Miles

One of Canada's three Points Earning Machines (as classified by Rewards Canada) the American Express Cobalt Card needs no introduction to those who have been indoctrinated into the world of points and miles!

But if you are new to our wonderful little world, The American Express Cobalt Card has held the title of the best overall travel rewards credit card in Canada since it launched in 2017 and is the one card that every Canadian should have in their wallet.

With a 5x points earn rate on eats and drinks (groceries, dining, coffee shops, take out, food delivery, bars, bakeries and so on), 3x points on select streaming services, 2x points on gas, transit, taxis and ridesharing, this card racks up the points quickly! It does have to be noted the 5x points on eats and drinks is capped at $2,500 in spend per month after which it will earn 1 point per dollar. This cap does not affect other spending categories which are unlimited.

Related: American Express Cobalt™ Card Confirmed Multiplier Locations - See where you can earn 5x, 3x, 2x and 1x points with the best Canadian credit card

Not only does the card provide strong earn rates, it has the most flexibility and selection when it comes to redeeming for travel!

You can purchase any travel on the card with any travel provider (Air Canada, WestJet, Porter, Hilton, Expedia and the list goes on) and redeem your points against the charge. With this option you redeem at a rate of 1,000 points for a $10 credit which works out to 1% to 5% return on spending which meets or beats most cards in Canada. With this option you have up to 12 months after the charge posts to your account to redeem points towards it!

Or, you can redeem the points via American Express' Fixed Points for Travel reward chart where you redeem a set amount of points for airline tickets within Canada or from Canada to regions around the world. The Fixed Points for Travel option provides up to 2 cents per point in value which applied to the earn to burn equation equates to up to a 2% to 10% return on spending.

The travel redemptions don't end there though - you still have American Express' "Frequent Traveller Participants" which are their airline and hotel partners that you can convert points to. There are seven airlines and two hotel programs that participate and this is where you can really push the value of the 5x points earned on the Cobalt Card. With those airline and hotel programs there is to potential to receive outsized value on redemptions (2, 3, 4, 5, 6 or more cents per point) so when you apply that to the earn to burn equation you have the potential to get returns that can eclipse 30% on the 5x points earning. 30% is not a typo. People in the points & miles community get this value on a regular basis, which leads to our constant preaching that the overall value from this card simply cannot be matched by any other credit card in Canada.

Heard enough and are convinced this card should be in your wallet too?
Simply click here to learn more about and/or to apply for the American Express Cobalt Card

Earn Rates: 1 to 6 Scene+ Points per $1 spent
Point Redemption Value (Rate of return): 1% to 6%
Minimum redemption amount: 100 points
Annual fee: $120
Best used for: Any travel at anytime redemptions

The second of Canada's three Points Earning Machines, the Scotiabank Gold American Express Card provides the ability to earn a lot of points quickly and on top of this it features No Foreign Transaction Fees for non Canadian Dollar purchases!

Related: Scotiabank Gold American Express Card Confirmed Multiplier Locations - See where in the world you can earn 5x, 3x, and 1x points with this No FX Fee Points Earning Machine

Scotia's Points Earning Machine provides 6 points per dollar spent at Scene+ grocery store partners (Sobeys, Safeway, IGA, FreshCo, Foodland and more), 5 points per dollar on dining, food delivery and other eligible grocery stores (Includes popular food delivery and food subscriptions) 5 points per dollar on eligible entertainment purchases (Includes movies, theatre and ticket agencies stores), 3 points per dollar on eligible gas and daily transit options (Includes rideshares, buses, subway, taxis and more), 3 points per dollar on eligible streaming services and then 1 point per dollar on all other purchases.

This card is another example of a "true" any travel at anytime rewards card as you can purchase any travel with any travel provider (Air Canada, WestJet, Porter, Hilton, Expedia and the list goes on) and redeem your Scene+ points against the charge. With this option you redeem at a rate of 100 Scene+ points for a $1 credit which works out to 1% to 6% return on spending. You have up to 12 months after the charge posts to your account to redeem Scene+ towards it!

TIP: If you think you would never use the American Express Cobalt Card's Fixed Points for Travel and/or airline & hotel conversion options - then the Scotiabank Gold American Express Card is the way to go!

Click here to learn more about and/or to apply for Scotiabank Gold American Express Card

 

Earn Rates: 1 to 5.5 MBNA Rewards Points per $1 spent
Point Redemption Value (Rate of return): 0.83% to 5.5%
Minimum redemption amount: 100 points
Annual fee: $120
Best used for: Any travel at anytime redemptions

The last of Canada's three Points Earning Machines, the MBNA Rewards World Elite Mastercard is another card that has the potential to rack up a lot of points quickly and it doesn't hurt that it has birthday bonus awarding you with even more points!

This Points Earning Machine from MBNA provides 5 points per dollar spent on restaurant, grocery, digital media, membership, and household utility purchases and then 1 point per dollar on all other purchases. It also provides a birthday bonus where MBNA will automatically award 10% extra points on all purchases made during the previous 12 months up to a maximum of 15,000 bonus points. That effectively gives the card an earn rate of up to 5.5 points per dollar. The five 5x points categories each have an annual cap of $50,000 of spending ($250,000 in total) which means you can earn a lot of points if you are big spender in those accelerated categories,

To get the best value from the points on this card you have to redeem them for travel booked via MBNA Rewards which it makes a little less flexible than the previous cards, but flexible enough in that you can book flights, hotels, car rentals and more via MBNA Rewards. With this option you redeem at a rate of 100 MBNA Rewards points for a $1 credit which works out to 1% to 5.5% return on spending. Unlike the previous cards, redeeming points at this highest value is only possible at time of booking, there is no redeeming points after the fact unless you are OK with getting lower value for your points.

While the card isn't considered to have most flexible of any travel at anytime rewards, you can utilize the card's cash back redemption option after you make a purchase with any travel provider (Air Canada, WestJet, Porter, Hilton, Expedia and the list goes on). With this cash back/statement credit option you redeem at a rate of 120 MBNA Rewards points for a $1 credit which works out to 0.83% to 4.57% return on spending. As you can see that's less than booking travel direct with MBNA Rewards but it's still better than a good chunk of the any travel anytime travel cards in our market.

Click here to learn more about and/or to apply for MBNA Rewards World Elite Mastercard

 

Earn Rates: 1 to 5 À la carte Rewards Points per $1 spent
Point Redemption Value (Rate of return): 0.83% to 5%
Minimum redemption amount: 10,000 points
Annual fee: $150
Best used for: Any travel at anytime redemptions

A behemoth when it comes to travel insurance, the National Bank of Canada World Elite Mastercard is card that when used strategically is also a very strong points earner that can help you save on future travels.

The National Bank of Canada World Elite Mastercard provides 5 points per dollar spent on grocery and restaurant purchases, 2 points per dollar on gas and electric vehicle charging, recurring bills and travel purchases via À la carte Travel Agency, and then 1 point per dollar on all other purchases.

It has to be noted the 5x points category is capped at $2,500 per month on all your spending. This means, if you spend $750 on non-grocery or restaurant purchases you would have $1,750 of spend available to earn 5x points for that month. Anything beyond that cap has grocery and restaurant purchases earning 2 points per dollar. This is what is meant by "used strategically" and by that we mean really focus on using the card on groceries and restaurants and wait to put other purchases on the card until you've maximized your 5x points earning each month.

To get the best value from the points on this card you want to redeem them for travel booked via À la carte Rewards which only offers flights and vacation packages. There are no options to book hotels, cars or other travel unless it is part of a vacation package. This makes the card quite a bit less flexible than the first three cards on the list. With this option you redeem at a rate of 10,000 À la carte Rewards points for a $100 credit which works out to 1% to 5% return on spending. Unlike the first three cards, redeeming points at this highest value is only possible at time of booking, there is no redeeming points after the fact unless you are OK with getting lower value for your points.

The National Bank of Canada World Elite Mastercard also offers a true any travel at anytime reward option so you can make a purchase with any travel provider (Air Canada, WestJet, Porter, Hilton, Expedia and the list goes on) and then redeem points towards that charge. With this option you redeem at a rate of 12,000 points for a $100 credit (when redeeming up to 55,000 points) and a rate of 11,000 points for a $100 credit (when redeeming 55,000 or more points). Depending on your redemption, this works out to 0.83% to 4.54% return on your spending. You have up to 60 days after the charge posts to your account to redeem À la carte Rewards points towards it!

Click here to learn more about and/or to apply for National Bank of Canada World Elite Mastercard

 

Earn Rates: 1% to 4% in BONUSDOLLARS
Dollar Redemption Value (Rate of return): 1% to 4%
Minimum redemption amount: $20
Annual fee: $295 - $395
Best used for: Any travel at anytime redemptions

One of the hidden gems of the points and miles world, the Desjardins Odyssey Visa Infinite Privilege doesn't get its fair share of the spotlight (it has no welcome bonus so it is often left out of any article mentions) but it is one of the better long term cards in the Canadian market!

Featuring a 4% BONUSDOLLARS earn rate on restaurants, entertainment, and alternative transportation, 3% on groceries and travel and then 1.5% on all other purchases, this is another card that grows your future travel rewards balance quickly! All of these earn rates are unlimited with no monthly or annual spending caps except for the 3% on travel which is capped at $25,000 of travel spend per calendar year after which it is 1% for the remainder of the year.

This card is another example of a "true" any travel at anytime rewards card as you can purchase any travel with any travel provider (Air Canada, WestJet, Porter, Hilton, Expedia and the list goes on) and redeem your BONUSDOLLARS against the charge. With this option you redeem at a rate of 1 BONUSDOLLAR for a $1 credit (min. $20 redemption) which works out to 1.5% to 4% return on spending. With this option you have up to 60 days after the charge posts to your account to redeem BONUSDOLLARS towards it!

Click here to learn more about and/or to apply for Desjardins Odyssey Visa Infinite Privilege Card

Wrapping it up

Whether it's using points to discount your travel or making your travel more luxurious by using them to increase your vacation budget, if you want to continually help fund your future travels you need to consider having one or more of the above cards in your wallet. The speed with which they earn points and in turn the value they provide for those points when redeeming them make them a must for travel enthusiasts.

As always, one should also take into account more factors than earn and burn when selecting a credit card. You also need to consider at any additional benefits and/or insurance coverage that you would like or need. A card that has lower earn rates may be best for you if it provides airport lounge access, has excellent out of province emergency medical insurance and so on. In the grand scheme of things it is best to have multiple cards with at least one of them being a card that provides unmatched value for earn to burn and then another card for features/benefits/insurance coverage.

 

Title image by France Fehr from Pixabay