How to Pick the Best Travel Rewards Credit Cards in Canada

Choosing the Best Canadian Travel Rewards Credit Cards

First Published Date : November 5, 2015

Last week I talked about How to Pick Rewards Credit Cards. Today, I will go into further detail for those who are interested in picking travel credit cards.

Before I start, I would like to clarify that this is NOT an article about any particular travel credit cards to pick. I cannot tell you what frequent-flier credit cards, hotel credit cards, proprietary credit cards, or hybrid rewards credit cards you should be using. It’s up to you to decide what cards suit your needs and lifestyle. However, I do have resources in the A Dawn Journal credit card section that you can use to come up with the best options. And don’t just use one site or one top credit card rating article to research. Spend a good amount of time and use various sites before making your decisions.

What I am going to discuss today is what features and options you need to be aware of before committing to any travel rewards cards. It might look simple on the surface, but there many things you need to be aware of and credit card companies will not provide you this information in black and white, unless you know what to look for and how to look for it.

Travel Rewards Credit Cards for Initial Sign-Up Bonuses

When you want travel credit cards solely for the hefty initial sign-up bonuses for free flights, free hotel nights, and so on, you don’t need to worry about what features the cards are missing because it’s likely you will cancel these cards in a year before the annual fee kicks in. Don’t forget to meet all the requirements for free flights or nights; usually certain amounts have to be spent in 3 months.

Travel Rewards Credit Cards for Ongoing Benefits

If you are holding on to travel credit cards for the benefits they are providing year after year and not using them for daily transactions, you don’t need to worry about missing any features because you use these cards for only one benefit.

Example: I don’t mind keeping the Marriott Rewards Visa Card and paying the $120 annual fee (although I don’t charge anything on this) because this card gives me a free night at Marriott every year, which I value more than $120. Another example: I don’t use my WestJet World Elite MasterCard, but I don’t mind paying the $99 annual fee because it gives me a companion flight (and free checked baggage) anywhere in Canada and the US for $100 every year, which I value at about $500 to $700.

Travel Rewards Credit Cards for Daily Transactions

Regardless of what kinds of travel cards you use, make sure you are getting maximum returns on each dollar and never settle for any credit cards that only give you 1 point (1% return) per dollar. For example, some credit cards will give you 4 points (or 4% return) on grocery, gas, and pharmacy purchases, but will only give you 1 point on all other purchases, including travel. Example: Scotiabank Gold American Express Card.

So what you can do is use one credit card for grocery shopping and another credit card (that gives you more than 1 point) on everything else. Example: BMO World Elite MasterCard gives 2 points on everything. If you do not want more than one card for daily transactions, pick one card that provides 2 (or more) points for everything. So avoid any cards that offer only one point for daily uses.

Also, make sure the cards you are picking for day-to-day needs give you a hefty sign-up bonus as well.

Travel Rewards Credit Cards for Travel Purchases

You have to be extra careful when you are using credit cards to buy plane tickets or hotels, as your trip should have full insurance coverage. Here is my list of coverage that I must have for my trip and I will only use a credit card that provides all these.

– Emergency Medical Insurance

– Travel Accident Insurance

– Trip Cancellation Insurance

– Trip Interruption Insurance

– Flight Delay Insurance

– Lost Luggage

– Hotel/Motel Burglary

– Auto Rental Theft and Collision/Loss Damage Insurance

I don’t mind if I don’t have Lost Luggage and Hotel/Motel Burglary insurance, but everything else is a must for my trip.

Another thing you need to be aware of is your card’s insurance provider. Stick to a credit card where the insurance provider is a reputable one and there are not many complaints when it comes to obtaining insurance benefits. Lots of credit cards offer a full suite of insurances, but the providers make it very difficult to claim and collect benefits when the time comes to do so. I discussed more on this here.

Travel Rewards Cards that Come With Personal Assistant

Do not settle for a travel credit card that does not provide you concierge service. Visa Infinite cards come with Visa’s own concierge service. Other cards usually provide concierge service through a third party or the card company’s own concierge service team.

Concierge service is a free service that is like having your own personal assistant at your disposal 24/7. Concierge service can do basically anything you can think of that you might need help with. Some of them are:

– finding and booking air, hotel, cruise, and restaurant reservations

– finding that hard-to-find concert ticket

– research for you something you need to find out

– help you when you are lost or in trouble in a foreign country

– sending flowers to someone on your behalf

– and much more

I use concierge service vigorously. In the last 6 months I used them to make me a list of all hotels with rates facing ocean in Myrtle Beach, providing me with a report on Las Vegas (what to see + do), and I even called them when I was in Niagara Falls to find me the closest movie theatre. The point is that this is a unique feature your credit card offers and you should take advantage of it.

Currently 3 of my credit cards offer concierge services from 3 different providers. However, Visa’s concierge is very reputable and possibly the best on earth. This is simply their wide coverage across the globe and they know how to deal with a situation in any country. I would not mind paying a $120 annual fee on one credit card just to have Visa concierge, if I don’t use that card for anything else.

How About Annual Fees

If you are looking for all the benefits and features a credit card offers, the fees are indispensable. A no-fee card is not going to offer you anything we talked about so far. So the way you approach fees is that you need to make sure your benefits surpass the total of all the fees you are paying.

My total spending on fees from all credit cards comes to about $700 – $800 annually. However, my benefits exceed well beyond $800. So this $800 is not actually a spending, but it’s an investment that provides me more returns.

Last Word

Before making your selections on your travel credit cards, spend time researching all the features and benefits. It’s likely you will not find everything you need in one card. But the good thing is you can have as many cards as you like. And there is nothing wrong with paying fees on premium credit cards as long as you can justify the fees for the features, services, and benefits you are receiving from your cards.

Bonus Tip – Same banks have several travel rewards credit cards providing different types of rewards. If you are on good terms with your banks, they will gladly transfer your account from one type to another type without hesitation. This serves you both ways because you don’t need to apply for the other credit card you want from your bank (which saves you one hard credit check) and still can get the sign-up bonus. I always have had success doing this with my banks. You have a better chance if you ask your bank after 2-3 years of using one card. If you ask them every year, there is a good chance they will decline