How to maximize your AIR MILES earning with these cards

In this portfolio your primary card will be the BMO AIR MILES World Elite Mastercard as its earn rate is simple. 1 AIR MILES Reward Mile for every $10 you spend on the card. Nice and easy. No specific category bonuses to worry about and the card comes with a nice 3,000 AIR MILES Reward Miles sign up bonus. The secondary card in this portfolio is the American Express AIR MILES Platinum Card. Its annual fee is waived in the first year so it won't cost you anything and you can get the 2,000 Reward Miles sign up bonus. Its earn rate 1 AIR MILES Reward Mile for every $10 spent but only at AIR MILES sponsors and on gas and grocery purchases. So for those types of purchases it really is a toss up between using the Mastercard or the American Express Card. Outside of those categories always go with the Mastercard unless you are at merchant that only accepts American Express. Just before the first year is up on the Platinum Amex you could choose to switch it to the no fee regular American Express AIR MILES card to save yourself $65 but still have that Amex in your wallet for when a promotion comes up that is tied into using an Amex card.

At first it seems like the third card makes no sense at all. The TD First Class Visa Infinite Card does not earn AIR MILES (no Visa card does) but you can end up using it when you go to redeem your AIR MILES Rewards Miles. How and why? Well on AIR MILES redemptions you still have to pay the taxes and fees as you can't use your Reward Miles towards them. So if you have used your TD First Class Visa for those purchases where only a Visa card is accepted and built up some TD Rewards Points you can use them towards those taxes and fees. Redeem your AIR MILES for a reward flight and when prompted online or by phone as to which credit card to use to pay for the taxes and fees give them your TD Visa numbers. Once that charge shows up on your account after a couple of days, go online to tdrewards.com or give them call to redeem those points against the charge that shows up from AIR MILES. You can redeem as little as 250 points for a $1 credit or if you have enough points you can use them to cover all the taxes and fees and you have now got your AIR MILES reward ticket completely free.

Related: Which credit cards can be used to cover award ticket taxes, fees and surcharges?

The Ultimate AIR MILES Credit Card Portfolio:

Card	Card Features
BMO AIR MILES®† World Elite®* MasterCard®* Annual Fee: $120 Primary Card $50 Additional Card Interest Rate: Purchases 20.99% Cash Advances 23.99% (21.99% for Quebec residents) Welcome offer: Get 2,000 AIR MILES Bonus Miles and we’ll waive the $120 annual fee for the first year*. · Get 3x the Miles for every $12 spent at participating AIR MILES Reward Partners* and 2x the Miles for every $12 spent at any eligible grocery store* · Earn 1 reward mile for every $12 in credit card purchases, everywhere you spend* · Get valuable benefits and offers for digital everyday services from a variety of on-demand apps and subscription services · Use your card at Costco · Extended Warranty · Access over 1 million Wi-Fi hotspots around the world - all at no added cost, and no added fees or roaming charges* · Complimentary membership in Mastercard Travel Pass provided by DragonPass.* · Use less Miles with our exclusive 25% discount on one worldwide AIR MILES flight redemption during the calendar year.* · BMO AIR MILES World Elite Travel and Medical Protection* · BMO Concierge Service* · Unlock Mastercard Travel Rewards cashback offers when you travel and shop outside of Canada *Terms and conditions apply BMO is not responsible for maintaining the content on this site. Please click on the Apply now link for the most up to date information
American Express®  AIR MILES* Platinum Credit Card Card Type: Credit    Annual Fee: $120 Additional Card Fee: $50 Annual interest rate 20.99% on purchases and 21.99% on funds advances; Missed payment applicable rates, 23.99% and/or 26.99% • New American Express® AIR MILES®* Platinum Credit Card Cardmembers, earn a Welcome Bonus of 2,000 AIR MILES®* Bonus Miles when you charge a total of $1,500 in purchases to your Card within your first three months of Cardmembership. That’s enough to redeem for $200 towards your purchases with AIR MILES®* Cash  • Earn 1 Mile for every $5 in Card purchases, up to $30,000 annually, on eligible food & drinks, (such as eligible restaurants, coffee shops and stand-alone grocery stores), and eligible gas & transit (such as local commuter transportation including ridesharing services and taxi) in Canada. • Earn 1 Mile for every $10 in Card purchases everywhere else. • American Express® AIR MILES®* Platinum Credit Card Cardmembers can take advantage of the Annual Travel Redemption Benefit. Once per calendar year, when an eligible Cardmember uses Dream Miles with the AIR MILES Reward Program to book their first single flight or package vacation through airmiles.ca or vacations.airmiles.ca, they can get Bonus Miles equivalent to 25% of the net number of Miles used (up to a maximum of 750 Bonus Miles). • Shop at participating AIR MILES®* Partners®* across Canada with your Card and show your AIR MILES®* Card, and you can earn Miles twice • American Express is not responsible for maintaining or monitoring the accuracy of information on this website. For full details and current product information click the Apply now link. Conditions apply
TD First Class Travel® Visa Infinite* Card Annual Fee: $139 Additional Cards: $50 † Annual interest rate 20.99% on purchases and 22.99% on funds advances $60,000 personal or $100,000 household annual income Limited Time Offer Earn up to 145,000 TD Rewards Points† plus, first year no Annual Fee for the Primary and Additional Cardholders†. Conditions Apply. Must apply by May 28, 2023. Earn up to $1,000 in value† including up to 145,000 TD Rewards Points, and get a full Annual Fee Rebate† for the Primary and 1st Additional Cardholder† for the first year and additional travel benefits. Must apply online by May 28, 2023. Earn a welcome Bonus of 20,000 TD Rewards Points when you make your first Purchase with your Card†. Earn 115,000 TD Rewards Points when you spend $5,000 within 180 days of Account opening†. Earn a Birthday Bonus of up to 10,000 TD Rewards Points† Get an annual TD Travel Credit† of $100 when you book at Expedia® For TD. To receive the first-year annual fee rebate, you must activate your Card and make your first Purchase on the Account within the first 3 months after Account opening and you must add your Additional Cardholders by May 29, 2023. Earn 8 TD Rewards Points† for every $1 you spend when you book travel through Expedia® For TD† Earn 6 TD Rewards Points† for every $1 you spend on Groceries and Restaurants†. Earn 4 TD Rewards Points† for every $1 you spend on regularly recurring bill payments set up on your Account† Earn 2 TD Rewards Points For every $1 you spend on other Purchases made using your Card† plus earn an annual Birthday Bonus† of up to 10,000 TD Rewards Points Your TD Points don’t expire as long as you are a TD First Class Travel Visa Infinite* Cardholder An annual TD Travel Credit† of $100 when you book at Expedia® For TD. TD Rewards Birthday bonus† that helps you celebrate in style. An extensive suite of travel insurance coverages which helps you travel prepared No travel blackouts†, no seat restrictions† and no expiry† for your TD Rewards Points as long as your account is open and in good standing. Redeem your TD Rewards Points towards making purchases at Amazon.ca with Amazon Shop with Points. Conditions apply. See more details. This offer is not available for residents of Quebec. For Quebec residents, please click here. † Terms and Conditions apply. Sponsored advertising. The Toronto-Dominion Bank (TD) is not responsible for the contents of this site including any editorials, product reviews and listings. For complete and current information on any TD product, please click the Apply Now button.

Related: American Express Platinum AIR MILES Credit Card Review / BMO AIR MILES World Elite Mastercard Review

Other Card Options:

If you want to upgrade your travel you could choose to go with the American Express AIR MILES Reserve card. It comes with a heftier annual fee of $299 but comes with a slightly higher sign up bonus of 2,400 miles but the key with this card is the additional benefits it brings. It gives you automatic AIR MILES Onyx status meaning your AIR MILES will never expire as long as you hold the status and comes with a free companion ticket when you redeem for a flight with a value of up to 1,700 AIR MILES. It also pays for an annual Priority Pass which allows you to access airport business class lounges along with 4 complimentary lounge visit passes. Or as we mentioned above if the BMO AIR MILES World Elite Mastercard is your main card you can just choose to go with a no-fee Amex option in the portfolio. On the other hand if you have something like the Platinum or Reserve from Amex and want a lower version of a Mastercard you could go to the no fee BMO AIR MILES Mastercard but with that card you'll do away with your strongest AIR MILES earning potential and the 25% discount on reward flights in North America. So we would not recommend going that route!

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