travel hacks canada

Nomadic Matt's Travel Site

Travel Better, Cheaper, Longer

How to Earn Points and Miles in Canada

Collecting points and miles is one of the best ways to lower your travel costs. Flights, accommodation represent two of the biggest expenses travelers face so getting those to zero allows you to travel more for less. When money isn’t a worry, the world is your oyster.

While I have tons of points and miles resources on this website for U.S. travelers, I get a lot of questions from Canadians about whether they can take advantage of points and miles too. And the answer is always yes!

While the U.S. has the most deals and opportunities, Canada isn’t too far behind and is the second biggest points market in the world.

To help you understand the Canadian points and miles world, I reached out to my friend and fellow travel blogger Ricky Zhang from Prince of Travel . In this interview, he shares his tips and tricks.

Nomadic Matt: Hey Ricky! Thanks for doing this! To begin, tell us about yourself. Ricky : I’m based out of Montreal and Toronto , and I’ve always loved to travel and get the best bang for my buck when doing so. For the past few years, I’ve run the Prince of Travel website, which is dedicated to helping my fellow Canadians maximize their frequent flyer miles and credit card points to travel the world at a fraction of the price.

How did you get into the points and miles game? I first became interested in points and loyalty programs back in 2013. As a university student in Canada , I was making frequent trips back home to China to visit my family and I was trying to figure out how I could get airport lounge access.

It turns out that there was a little-known opportunity to earn top-tier Star Alliance Gold status very easily with the loyalty program of Aegean Airlines, the Greek national airline. I figured out that I could simply credit the miles from one or two of my round-trip flights to Aegean and I’d end up with Star Alliance Gold, which would get me the lounge access I wanted.

That led me to the online blogs and forums, where I quickly learned that credit card points — and specifically the signup bonuses — was the key to racking up the points and funding many trips around the world (often in business class or First Class) at a fraction of the price.

From there, I was hooked and I’ve just continued honing my craft over the years!

The U.S. is known for its awesome travel credit cards. How does Canada compare? Many outside observers would probably guess that the Canadian travel credit card market is less lucrative than the US and, while that’s true in some ways, there are also ways in which Canada is the more favorable place to be.

The US has a wider range of travel credit cards, provides access to a greater number of airline and hotel programs, and also gives consumers larger quantities of signup bonuses (for example, 100,000-point bonuses are a regular occurrence whereas, in Canada, the single-highest signup bonus is 75,000 points).

However, the US credit card issuers are also stricter about limiting the number of signup bonuses that a single individual can obtain (or imposing limits on how often you can obtain them), whereas the Canadian issuers haven’t imposed such limits, making Canada much more favorable in terms of earning the signup bonuses repeatedly.

Almost all the cards in Canada let you double- or triple-dip on the bonus (although the terms and conditions may not always say so). It’s easy for issuers to update their terms and conditions to say that you’re only eligible for a once-in-a-lifetime bonus, but much more challenging for them to actually enforce that from an IT perspective.

In addition, there are ways for Canadians to apply for US credit cards as well, thus letting us play the game on both sides of the border!

Really? How can Canadians get a U.S. travel credit card? Well, to do that, you need three things:

• A US address
• A US bank account
• A social security number (or something equivalent)

The address is easy. Just use a friend or family member’s address, or a mail-forwarding service. The bank account is also easy. Just use the cross-border banking service of your favorite Canadian bank to set up a US domiciled bank account with your US address listed on it.

The social security number part is tricky. You can’t just get one unless you actually study or work in the US. Instead, you can get an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN), which is an equivalent number that many issuers also accept in place of an SSN.

Any foreign resident can get apply for an ITIN from the IRS if they show that they’ve earned income in the US (for example, if you’ve earned $5 gambling in Vegas) but need to be exempt from withholding taxes on that income as a foreign resident. Once you have your ITIN, you can use that in place of the SSN on US credit card applications – and voilà!

What are some of the best credit cards in Canada right now? The single-highest signup bonus one can obtain in Canada is the American Express Business Platinum Card, which gives you 75,000 Membership Rewards points upon spending $7,000 (CAD) in the first three months.

This card is also very valuable for its referral bonus of 25,000 Membership Rewards points, which you earn simply for referring a friend or family member to a card of their own, and can add up very quickly after just a handful of referrals. Then you’ve also got the unlimited Priority Pass lounge access and the Marriott Gold Elite status perks as well.

However, the Business Platinum does come with an annual fee of $499. For those who are more interested in First Year Free offers to minimize their out-of-pocket cost, I’d recommend the TD Aeroplan Visa Infinite, which is offering 30,000 Aeroplan miles + First Year Free.

Moreover, RBC Avion points can be very valuable due to how flexible they are, so in that regard the RBC Visa Infinite Avion is another great card to pick up, offering 15,000 Avion points at signup.

In most cases, you don’t need to be a small business owner in the traditional sense to get a business card. Instead, you apply as a “sole proprietor”, which is a form of doing business in which you operate under your own name. Just enter your own name as the business name and apply, and most issuers are happy with it.

And what about debit cards? When it comes to avoiding ATM fees abroad? The frontrunner in this regard is the Stack Prepaid MasterCard, which does not impose any foreign transaction fees on foreign ATM withdrawals. Stack is free to apply for and to load funds, and only charges you the fair currency exchange rate when you withdraw money at a foreign ATM (although the local ATM fee may still be charged). It’s my go-to method for withdrawing cash while I’m traveling.

What tips do you have for new points and miles collectors in Canada? There’s always a ton of reading and scouring online blogs and forums at the start of the learning curve, but the best way to actually get started would be to think about one or two places you’d like to go over the next year (which places, what time of year, how many passengers, what class of service, etc.), then research specifically the best ways to make that trip happen using points, and then put together a strategy for earning those points using credit card signup bonuses.

Having this strategy in place will allow you to learn the ropes and reap rewards much faster than if you simply opened credit cards left, right, and center without a clear goal in mind.

Besides that, try to make it out to an in-person event or meetup at some point so that you can get to know other members of the community — that’ll accelerate your learning process by leaps and bounds. You can learn about them from some of the following groups/websites:

• Prince of Travel Elites
• PointsNerd.ca
• RedFlagDeals
• Welcome Bonuses for Canadians (Reddit)

I try to host in-person events for Prince of Travel readers about twice a year, and I’m also looking to host a larger-scale PointsCon event sometime later this year, so stay tuned for details on that one.

Otherwise, the Prince of Travel Elites community regularly hosts small informal gatherings, which are known as “Miles & Pints”, in cities all across Canada, so make sure to join the group and keep an eye out for the next event in your area!

Where can people find you online/on social media to learn more? I can be found sharing Miles & Points knowledge, industry news and analysis, travel tips, and reviews from my own trips every day at princeoftravel.com and sharing weekly videos on my YouTube channel . Also follow me on Instagram , where I post the highlights from my travels, and get to know the rest of the community on my Prince of Travel Elites group on Facebook !

Book Your Trip to Canada: Logistical Tips and Tricks

Book Your Flight Use Skyscanner to find a cheap flight. They are my favorite search engine because they search websites and airlines around the globe so you always know no stone is left unturned.

Book Your Accommodation You can book your hostel with Hostelworld as they have the biggest inventory and best deals. If you want to stay somewhere other than a hostel, use Booking.com as they consistently return the cheapest rates for guesthouses and cheap hotels.

Don’t Forget Travel Insurance Travel insurance will protect you against illness, injury, theft, and cancellations. It’s comprehensive protection in case anything goes wrong. I never go on a trip without it as I’ve had to use it many times in the past. My favorite companies that offer the best service and value are:

• Safety Wing (for everyone below 70)
• Insure My Trip (for those over 70)
• Medjet (for additional repatriation coverage)

Looking for the Best Companies to Save Money With? Check out my resource page for the best companies to use when you travel. I list all the ones I use to save money when I’m on the road. They will save you money when you travel too.

Want More Information on Canada? Be sure to visit our robust destination guide on Canada for even more planning tips!

Got a comment on this article? Join the conversation on Facebook , Instagram , or Twitter and share your thoughts!

Disclosure: Please note that some of the links above may be affiliate links, and at no additional cost to you, I earn a commission if you make a purchase. I recommend only products and companies I use and the income goes to keeping the site community supported and ad free.

Related Posts

Get my best stuff sent straight to you!

Pin it on pinterest.

How to Start Travel Hacking in Canada in 2023

By Thomas Guenther | Published on 27 Sep 2023

Travel Hacking in Canada was terrifying to me when I first heard about it. We have notoriously expensive travel costs and I didn’t think that it would be easy to do. I was wrong. What travel hacking in Canada really means is manipulating rewards programs. You find and exploit loopholes in credit card rewards programs and airline promotional offers to rack up your points and then redeem them for nearly free flights and hotel rooms. Canada: let’s do this!

How travel hacking in Canada can save you a lot of money

It saved my holiday budget. When I checked out the Air Canada website and went through the motions of booking a flight from Winnipeg to Mexico. I clicked on their Aeroplan button and found the Redeem button. From there, I selected a departure and return date and chose how many people would be travelling. The website immediately pulled up a bunch of different flights but instead of seeing exorbitant prices for round-trip tickets, I saw the costs in Aeroplan miles, and it blew my socks off.

A round-trip economy flight for 2 adults, a toddler, and an infant with two free checked bags, preferred seats, and priority boarding was only around 50,000 points each! But the site had a credit card promotion that gave me a ton of points. Just for signing up for a credit card, a quarter of the plane ticket cost is covered. A similar round-trip ticket with slightly worse perks, only one free checked bag instead of two, would cost around $1800. I am hooked.

Travel hacking in Canada: how to get started

Now, here are some basic steps for the average Canadian. That is if they want to step into travel hacking for themselves and make their next vacation cheaper than they ever thought possible. I genuinely believe this hobby can be fun and rewarding, no pun intended.

Research Your Next Vacation

The key is to do this as early as possible. Where do you want to go? Even if it’s somewhere within Canada, you can travel hack it. Don’t spend hours researching multiple credit cards, hotels, and airlines to find which ones have the sweetest deals. If you’re like me, that will be the fastest way to abandon this travel hacking game altogether. For now, start by thinking about where you actually want to go next. Start broad and narrow down your plans:

• Which country do you want to visit?
• Which area of that country?
• Which cities are in that area?
• Which airlines travel to that city?
• Which hotels are in that city?

Answer those five simple questions first, and you’ll be well on your way to making your next vacation a lot cheaper because airlines partner up with hotels and staying in these hotels is a great way to increase your rewards, either by taking advantage of a discount, sale, or promotion, or just using your rewards credit card to earn more rewards.

Tips to fly at low cost

There are many air travel hacks . Certainly, travel credit cards offer rewards to help you. But it would be a mistake to limit yourself to this strategy for reducing the cost of your plane tickets.

First of all, you need to be aware that airlines use sophisticated technologies that adapt flight prices according to the frequency with which you search for a particular flight and your browsing location. Using a virtual private network like NordVPN , McAfee or PureVPN will prevent airlines from knowing where you’re browsing from, which they often use to alter prices.

A VPN lets you select a server in another country. This is particularly useful, as flight prices can vary according to the perceived economic situation of the place you’re travelling to. Compare flight prices and finalize your purchase using the VPN server in the country with the lowest price.

Next, try to make your stopovers as long as possible. Stopovers last at least 24 hours and can extend over several days. Booking a flight with a stopover is therefore an excellent way of getting two vacations for the price of one. Finally, boarding last on the plane increases the chances that you’ll be offered an incentive (such as a free night’s accommodation) to take another flight if the plane is overbooked, or a free upgrade to first class.

Research credit cards

Credit card rewards are the most important aspect of travel hacking. Airlines will usually have a partner that lets you accumulate points or miles when using their credit card. Then you can turn those rewards into flights, car rentals, hotel stays, etc. Check your preferred airline’s website for any promotional offers they might be running for credit cards. You can also use a credit card comparison tool.

Spending thousands of dollars just to qualify for points is what you might have to do. As inflation and prices are rising, you might want to be careful with your spending and set up a budget . Don’t be afraid. There are lots of credit cards on the market with various promotional offers for points and realistic spend requirements. So, you will absolutely be able to find something that fits your budget and travel needs.

Apply for the right credit card

Effective travel hacking is hinged on this crucial step: selecting the perfect credit card. The right card can unlock a trove of points, miles, and perks, catapulting your travel experiences to new heights. At the time of writing, these are the best travel credit cards in Canada:

RBC Avion Visa Infinite Card

The RBC Avion Visa Infinite Card is one of the best credit cards RBC has to offer . You could snag up to 35,000 bonus Avion points, basically giving you a free ride anywhere within North America or the Caribbean.

Every dollar spent accumulates an Avion point, with a 25% boost on eligible travel expenditures. Enjoy no blackout dates or seat restrictions – if there’s a spot available, it’s yours, even during bustling seasons. Flexible redemption starts at just 7,500 points for one-way flights.

Winter enthusiasts will love the Friday Friend Pass, offering 2-for-1 ski passes to participating resorts. Then, enhance your everyday essentials with savings on gas, boosted Petro-Points, and elevated Be Well points at Rexall. Plus, enjoy the convenience of $0 delivery fees with a complimentary 12-month DoorDash subscription .

Eligibility requirements: Minimum annual personal income of $60,000, or minimum annual household income of $100,000, or a total minimum of $250,000 investable assets. Must be a Canadian citizen or permanent resident, and the age of majority in the province or territory where you live.

But this card is not your only option

These cards don’t seem right for you? You may want a different travel credit card .

Pro travel hackers might apply for four or five cards every year, but don’t feel pressured. Start with one that you know you can handle. The absolute worst thing you can do when travel hacking is to carry a balance on your credit card.

Credit card churning

The trick is so well-known in the U.S. that some credit card companies have set up rules to limit credit card churning . In Canada, it’s still relatively easy to do, and groups like Churning Canada on Reddit and Credit Card Churning on Facebook can help you.

First, look for credit cards with the most attractive welcome offers and low annual fees. Take note of spending requirements and of the date you’ll earn your rewards. Then apply only for those cards you are likely to be approved by checking the eligibility criteria. To qualify for welcome rewards, you generally need to spend a specific amount over a given period. Once you’ve met the requirements, you should receive the sign-up bonus. Now redeem your travel rewards and close your account!

Use your rewards credit card a lot

One last thing about using your new rewards credit card: use it all the time. Charge every nickel you can to the credit card. For travel hacking to be most efficient, you need to rack up as many rewards as you can as fast as you can. So, put away the debit card, shove the cash under your mattress, just kidding, don’t do that, and swipe that plastic everywhere you go.

Log the date you applied, the date you were approved, the date you received the card in the mail, your passwords, the details on how you earn points with the card, your total points, etc. Doing this will help you feel much more at ease about this travel hacking process because you won’t have to worry about forgetting any valuable information or missing an important date.

Use your travel rewards

You’ve been spending money on your credit card, you’ve earned the promotional offer, and now you’ve banked enough points to pay for your vacation. Good for you! Now you have to use them correctly.

When you book your flight, you will see that points don’t cover every cost associated with travel. There are fuel taxes, airline fees, baggage fees, and surcharges that you will have to pay. On the plus side, however, depending on how many points you have, those fees might be the only things you have to pay out-of-pocket for! If I have to pay $200 for some random taxes, but I saved $2,000 because I paid my family’s tickets with points, I’m calling that a win.

Another important point to remember is to try and stay loyal to one airline and a hotel chain that partners with that airline. These companies reward loyalty. Pair that with the rewards you’re earning with your promotional or sign-up offer and the money you spend on your card, and you’ll accumulate more rewards than you can count.

Did the travel hacking bug bite? Then keep earning those rewards. Be daring and consider applying for more credit cards to nab these big sign-up bonuses then cancel the card once you have the points. Or, keep using the first card you applied for if it suits you and the annual fee is balanced by the rewards you earn. Just remember to take excellent notes and pay your credit card bills on time.

Tips to book your hotel room

As with flights, using your points is just one way of reducing the cost of your hotel stay. Start by using a last-minute booking application like Hotwire . Then, ask for an upgrade at the desk, especially if it’s a special occasion like a birthday or graduation trip. Hotels rely on customer feedback, and staff are often asked to go the extra mile to make you feel comfortable and welcome. You’re more likely to get an upgrade if you ask at the end of the day, when front desk staff have a better idea of how busy the hotel is. Finally, by becoming a CAA member, you can get discounted rates at many hotels in Canada and the U.S., such as Best Western and Hilton.

Travel hacking in Canada can be really easy. I sometimes think of it like a job, and the points are my salary. It takes a little reading, commitment, and financial discipline but you can do this! A few hours a month, sure, but that’s definitely worth some cheaper flights and hotel rooms on your next vacation, whether in Canada or outside of it.

FAQs About Travel Hacking in Canada

Unlocking the realm of travel possibilities, travel hacking embodies the myriad of techniques through which you can collect points and miles for upcoming adventures. It entails the astute use of credit card rewards, airline and hotel loyalty programs, opening pathways to discounted travels, even using the best airlines , and a plethora of enticing privileges.

There are many ways to travel hack flights. First, use a VPN when buying tickets, after you compared flights . Also use online platforms to assist you in finding the best flight at the lowest price like  Kayak ,  Skyscanner , and  Hotwire . Then, use layovers or stop-overs to visite more destinations for the price of one. Don’t forget to consolidate as much credit card loyalty points as possible.

The core of travel hacking is to use credit card rewards to pay for your trip or at least, part of your trip. Depending on your style, you might focus on air travel hacks , hotel hacks or credit card churning .

This money-saving tip that went viral on TikTok might work some times, but is not a sure thing. In short, pillows often don’t count toward your carry-on or personal item limit. As a result, the idea is to fill a pillow case with clothing or other items to beat extra baggage charges. However, be prepared to pay for extra luggage if you get caught!

You could save a lot of money thanks to travel hacking. However, there is one thing you want to be careful with. Risks arise when people get too aggressive with their credit card applications. You might end up spending too much (in order to get the sign up bonuses) and too many applications will impact your credit score .

Yes, it is perfectly legal. People apply for and cancel credit cards all the time. However, many credit card issuers have put rules in place to prevent excessive travel hacking.

Best travel hacks depend on where you are going. Great hotel hacks include switching hotel to get a better one on the cheaper nights and a more basic hotel when the prices are higher (such as weekends). The best air travel hacks almost always include using travel credit cards  that reward cardholders with points that can be redeemed for things like plane tickets, seat upgrades and lounge access. 

Thomas Guenther

Travel hacking 101: A beginner’s guide to travel hacking like a pro

When I started travel hacking 11 years ago, it was an obscure “hobby” that few had heard about and most dismissed as a scam . Nowadays, seemingly everyone is doing it to some degree. Whether getting in on the latest credit card promotion or snagging a first-class seat for the price of coach, travel hacking has become more popular than ever.

It’s the easiest way to save on travel and improve your experience. Utilizing travel hacking methods, you can fast-track your way to top-tier elite status and earn frequent flyer miles without ever stepping on a plane.

There is endless information about maximizing every dollar (and mile) spent. But if you’re new to this “game” and just want a simple explanation of how it works, you’ve come to the right place.

Here is everything you need to know about getting started with travel hacking.

What is travel hacking?

Travel hacking involves earning frequent flyer miles or points through non-traditional methods and redeeming them for nearly-free travel.

The most common travel hacks include leveraging credit card welcome bonuses for premium cabin flights and taking advantage of sweet spots and generous routing rules to get the best deal on award flights.

How much are points and miles worth?

Points are worth 1-2 cents each, depending on the loyalty program and how you use them. You’ll generally get the highest value by redeeming points for premium cabin flights and luxury hotel stays. Some programs impose a fixed value on points, depending on the fare cost. For example, Southwest Rapid Rewards points are worth 1.3 cents towards Wanna Get Away fares.

The same goes for transferrable rewards. Most of them are worth at least one cent each towards direct travel bookings. For example, Chase Ultimate Rewards® are worth 1.25 cents each towards direct travel bookings for Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card  cardholders and 1.5 cents for those with a Chase Sapphire Reserve® .

The difference between points, miles, and rewards

Points, miles, and rewards are different types of loyalty currencies. There are exceptions, but airlines usually issue miles, while points come from hotel loyalty programs or bank rewards.

A good travel hacking strategy involves having a mix of all three currencies.

Transferable rewards

Thanks to their flexibility, transferable bank rewards are the gold standard of loyalty currency. You can transfer them to airline miles or hotel points, usually at a 1:1 ratio or better.

Examples of transferrable rewards include Amex Membership Rewards, Capital One Venture Rewards miles, Chase Ultimate Rewards®, and Citi ThankYou® points.

Airline miles

You might be wondering if it’s worth earning airline miles when you can just transfer your bank rewards points instead.

Well, you should earn airline miles from a co-branded airline credit card for several reasons. For starters, you can supplement welcome bonuses from airline cards with a bonus from a transferrable rewards card to reach your travel goals faster.

In addition, some airlines incentivize you to earn miles (through a co-branded credit card or otherwise). For example, American Airlines counts all co-branded credit card spending towards elite status. Meanwhile, Southwest Rapid Rewards issues the Companion Pass after you earn 125,000 points in a calendar year (which increases to 135,000 next year). Earning airline miles can pay off.

Hotel points

Hotel points can go a long way in reducing out-of-pocket travel expenses. You can earn hotel points from co-branded hotel credit cards, by shopping online, and even by participating in surveys. Hotel credit cards offer generous welcome bonuses, with perks like elite status and annual free nights.

Examples of hotel points you should consider earning include World of Hyatt, Marriott Bonvoy, Hilton Honors, and IHG One Rewards.

How to start travel hacking

Travel hacking is fun and rewarding but can also be a lot of work. There is a wealth of information about ways to earn and burn points for maximum value. But if you’re just learning and want to know the basics, here’s a step-by-step guide to getting started.

Step 1: Set a goal

Before you embark on your travel hacking journey, you’ll want to set a goal. Are you hoping to redeem miles for international travel ? Or perhaps you’re saving up for a family trip to Disneyland. Regardless of your goals, it’s important to identify them early on to determine which credit cards and loyalty programs will help you get there.

Step 2: Choose your rewards program(s)

Once you’ve determined your travel goals, it’s time to pick your loyalty programs. Start with your home airport; if you live in an airline hub city, that airline can be a good starting point. There’s no sense in earning Southwest points if you live in Alaska. You might be better off with the Alaska Mileage Plan program since the airline serves the region and offers domestic and international partners. You’ll have more opportunities to redeem miles, and if you fly the airline often enough, you’ll even earn elite status.

When choosing a loyalty program, keep partner airlines in mind. For example, if you’re saving up for a Hawaiian vacation and want to fly United, you should consider collecting Turkish Miles&Smiles instead. Turkish Airlines is a Star Alliance member, like United, and offers domestic United flights for just 15,000 miles round-trip in economy. Exploring partner programs can help you save on award travel, stretching your miles further.

Choosing a hotel loyalty program might be easier. Think about which hotels you like when traveling and which elite benefits you care about. Most hotel loyalty programs let you earn top-tier status from credit cards alone, so think about which programs offer the best perks and properties in the destinations you like to travel to.

Here’s a look at every major hotel program’s global footprint to help you choose:

• Marriott Bonvoy: Over 8,000 properties in 139 countries
• Hilton Honors: Over 7,000 hotels in 122 countries
• Choice Privileges: Over 7,000 hotels in 40 countries
• IHG One Rewards: Over 6,000 properties worldwide
• Radisson Rewards: Over 1,700 hotels worldwide
• World of Hyatt: Over 1,150 hotels in 70 countries

While it’s good to identify at least one airline and hotel program, you shouldn’t put all your eggs in one basket. Try to collect at least one transferable rewards currency, so you’re not limited to only a few programs.

Transferrable rewards can also protect you against program devaluations — if one airline or hotel increases its redemption requirements, you can transfer your points to another.

Here are some of the most popular transferrable rewards programs:

• American Express Membership Rewards®
• Bilt Rewards
• Capital One Miles
• Chase Ultimate Rewards®
• Citi ThankYou® Rewards

Step 3: Choose a credit card

Once you’ve identified the loyalty program you want to earn points with (and incorporated at least one transferrable currency), it’s time to find a credit card.

When choosing a credit card, you should consider the following features:

Welcome bonus

A high welcome bonus will help you achieve your travel goals much faster. Some credit card bonuses are high enough to cover a round-trip international business class ticket. You’ll incur a 2-5 point credit score hit from every inquiry, so make it count. You should aim for a welcome bonus of at least 50,000 points, and plenty of cards meet that criteria.

Credit card application rules

Remember that some banks have strict application rules when applying for credit cards. For example, American Express limits welcome bonuses to one per lifetime. Meanwhile, Chase’s infamous 5/24 rule prevents you from being approved for a new card if you’ve had five or more in the last 24 months.

Be sure to familiarize yourself with these rules before applying for a card to avoid unnecessary rejection.

Travel perks

Many travel rewards cards come with valuable perks like elite status, airport lounge access, airline fee credits, and annual free nights. Think about which of these perks you’re likely to maximize every year. Doing so can help you choose the best credit card and figure out if the card is worth renewing every year.

Annual fees

Travel hacking can get expensive if you’re not careful about annual fees. Rewards credit card annual fees range from $89-$695. It’s easy to get tempted by a high welcome bonus, but annual fees can dent your travel budget if you’re not careful.

Before settling on a credit card, explore the lower or no-annual-fee version to see if it’s a better fit.

For example, the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card may seem appealing with its welcome bonus, but you’ll pay a lower annual fee with the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card .

Step 4: Other ways to earn points

Credit card welcome bonuses are the fastest way to earn points, but they’re not the only way. You can earn points from shopping portals, dining rewards programs, completing surveys, and more.

Shopping portals:

• American AAdvantage eShopping
• Alaska Mileage Plan Shopping
• Delta SkyMiles Shopping
• Free Spirit Online Mall
• Hilton Honors Shopping Mall
• JetBlue TrueBlue Shopping
• Southwest Rapid Rewards Shopping
• United MileagePlus Shopping

Dining rewards programs:

• American AAdvantage Dining
• Alaska Mileage Plan Dining
• Delta SkyMiles Dining
• Free Spirit Dining
• Hilton Honors Dining
• IHG Rewards Club Dining
• JetBlue TrueBlue Dining
• Marriott Eat Around Town
• Southwest Rapid Rewards Dining
• United MileagePlus Dining

Airline companion passes

Airline companion passes are one of the best travel hacking tools to stretch your points further. Some passes are issued annually as a credit card benefit, while others have to be earned. In most cases, you can save 50% or more on airfare with a companion pass.

Here’s a look at companion passes you should consider adding to your travel hacking arsenal:

Alaska Airlines Famous Companion Fare

The Alaska Airlines Famous Companion Fare is a great travel hacking tool for west coast flyers. The pass is issued as part of the welcome bonus on the Alaska Airlines Visa® credit card and reissued annually. Considering the Alaska card has a reasonable annual fee, this is a terrific benefit.

Simply book a companion on the same flight and pay just $99 (plus taxes and fees).

American AAdvantage

You can get an American Airlines Companion Certificate from one of four co-branded credit cards. The spending requirement ranges from $20,000 to $30,000 per year. Once you’ve secured the certificate, you can use it to cover a companion’s airfare for just $99 plus taxes and fees.

• Barclays Aviator Red World Elite Mastercard: Spend $20,000 in a year
• AAdvantage Aviator Silver Mastercard: Spend $20,000 in a year
• AAdvantage Aviator Business Mastercard: Spend $30,000 in a year
• CitiBusiness® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® Mastercard®: Spend $30,000 in a year

The American Airlines Companion Certificate is only valid on round-trip economy class tickets within the contiguous U.S. For Puerto Rico and U.S. Virgin Island residents, the pass is good for round-trip flights originating in those destinations.

British Airways Travel Together Ticket

The British Airways Travel Together Ticket is issued to British Airways Visa Signature® cardholders who spend $30,000 in a calendar year . This perk can take the sting out of high fuel surcharges imposed on British Airways award tickets transiting through London.

The Travel Together Ticket is valid in all cabins, including first class and international fares .

Delta Companion Passes

Delta has two companion passes: one is valid on economy class tickets only, while the one issued through the Delta SkyMiles® Reserve Card can be applied to first-class travel. You’ll pay just $80 for your companion’s ticket, which is a bargain — especially when using it for first-class flights.

Note that the Delta companion tickets are not valid on award flights or basic economy tickets.

Here’s a list of cards you can earn the companion pass with:

• Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express Card
• Delta SkyMiles® Platinum Business American Express Card
• Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card
• Delta SkyMiles® Reserve Business American Express Card

Iberia airfare discount

Iberia offers a $1,000 airfare discount on two tickets booked on the same flight. You can earn it by spending $30,000 on the Iberia Visa Signature® Card per calendar year. It’s valid in all cabins, providing ultimate flexibility.

Southwest Companion Pass

The Southwest Companion Pass is one of the most popular travel hacking tools out there. You can get one after completing 100 segments or earning 125,000 Southwest points in a calendar year, though the requirement is increased to 135,000 points in 2023. However, points earned from the Southwest credit card welcome bonuses count towards the pass.

It only takes one business or one personal card welcome bonus to earn the Southwest Companion Pass:

• Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus Credit Card : Earn 50,000 points after you spend $1,000 within the first three months of account opening
• Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card: Earn 50,000 points after spending $1,000 within the first three months of account opening
• Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Credit Card: Earn 50,000 points after spending $1,000 within the first three months of account opening
• Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Business Credit Card: Earn 80,000 bonus points after spending $5,000 within the first three months of account opening

Redeeming points

You’ve accrued thousands of points and are ready to start booking your dream vacation. Now what? Redeeming points isn’t exactly easy, and that’s by design. Loyalty programs count on members not doing their due diligence to get as much out of their points and miles as possible.

While booking the first award that pops up in the search result is easy, that’s not the best way to stretch your points. Here are a few concepts you should familiarize yourself with to get the most out of your points:

Stopovers and open jaws

While a simple round-trip flight is great, you can stretch your points further by incorporating stopovers and open jaws into your flights.

A stopover is when you visit an additional destination on your way to your final destination or home. Several airline loyalty programs allow you to add a free stopover to award flights:

• Alaska Mileage Plan (free stopover on one-way awards)
• ANA Mileage Club ( one free stopover and one open-jaw on round-trip awards)
• Cathay Pacific Asia Miles ( up to four destinations per itinerary)
• Emirates Skywards (one free stopover per round-trip)
• Japan Airlines Mileage Bank ( three stopovers or two stopovers and one open-jaw )
• Singapore Krisflyer ( one stopover and one open-jaw per roundtrip flight )
• United MileagePlus (one free stopover within the same region per round-trip flight)

Open jaws are another great way to add a destination to your itinerary. An open jaw is when you return from a different destination than you flew into.

One example of an open-jaw ticket is if you fly from New York to London and then return home from Paris. Many people book this route with Avios because British Airways imposes hefty fuel surcharges on flights departing from London. Savvy travelers will take a train to Paris and fly back from Charles de Gaulle to save money.

But booking an open-jaw doesn’t have to be about saving money. It’s a great way to see multiple destinations on the same trip, especially in Europe, where connecting flights are relatively cheap. Here’s a list of loyalty programs that allow open jaws on round-trip award tickets:

Fourth and fifth night free

Some hotel programs offer free nights when you redeem points for consecutive nights at one property. These deals can help you save as much as 25% on an award stay. The most generous is IHG One, which offers a fourth night free to IHG Rewards Traveler, IHG Rewards Premier, and IHG Rewards Premier Business card members. Meanwhile, Marriott members and Hilton elites get the fifth night free on award stays.

These discounted award rates can help you save thousands of points and book extra free nights at no cost. Factor this into your award-booking strategy, and you’ll stretch your points further.

Take advantage of sweet spots

Sweet spots are awards that are significantly discounted compared to other loyalty programs. Both hotels and airlines have sweet spot awards that can help up your travel hacking game.

For example, Turkish Airlines offers round-trip economy class tickets between the mainland U.S. and Hawaii for just 15,000 miles. That’s what some loyalty programs charge for a one-way ticket, making this an excellent sweet spot award.

Travel hacking is all about finding ways to stretch your points further. You can do this with tactics like searching for generous credit card welcome bonuses, booking flights with stopovers and open jaws, taking advantage of hotel programs that offer free nights, and looking for airline sweet spots.

With a little bit of effort, you can travel hack your way to (nearly) free travel.

Happy travels!

About the author

Ariana Arghandewal

Ariana is a travel reward expert and founder of her own award-winning blog., PointChaser. She has worked as an editor and covered all things points, miles, and credit cards for over a decade across a number of personal finance sites.

Your money deserves more than a soundbyte.

Get straightforward advice on managing money well.

Most financial content is either an echo chamber for the "Already Rich" or a torrent of dubious advice designed only to profit its creators. For nearly 20 years, we've been on a mission to help our readers acheive their financial goals with no judgement, no jargon, and no get-rich-quick BS. Join us today.

We hate spam as much as you do. We generally send out no more than 2-3 emails per month featuring our latest articles and, when warranted, commentary on recent financial news. You can unsubscribe at any time.

Travel hacking is a marathon… not a sprint!

Travel Hacking in Canada is the art of mastering rewards programs and credit cards to travel -almost- for free. However, there are some important rules to know.

Moderation is always best

Everyone would like to be able to afford a dream trip in 3 months thanks to points & miles, spending as little as possible thanks to credit card sign-up bonuses in particular .

Yet, we tell you daily in the community: the game plan is essential to your reward earning process . Of course, there may be cases where, within a few months, a lot of money can be saved on:

• Hotel nights
• Airbnb rentals
• Flight tickets
• Stays at Disney
• Guide: How to Get Free Airport Lounge Access
• Guide: Save On Foreign Currency Transactions
• Guide: How To Save On Airbnb With Points?
• Guide: Save on Hotels with Points
• Guide: How can I save on plane tickets with points?

But in the vast majority of cases, for a family, this action plan should be spread out over a year .

Credit card applications

Sure, you can apply for several credit cards on the same day in order to reduce the impact of these applications on your credit report, but you have to be smart about it too!

Ask yourself:

Would a credit card issuer consider it normal for you to sign up for one card in January, another in April and another in July? And that afterwards, you only spent the strict minimum to unlock the welcome bonus, without continuing to make some purchases on the card?

Diversify your credit card applications throughout the year : first, you’ll apply for a CIBC credit card, then a BMO credit card, and finally a Scotiabank credit card. And in the meantime, several American Express cards , depending on welcome offers .

Repeated bonuses

Unlike the U.S., where the market has seen a major tightening of the rules on repeat bonuses in recent years, Canada seemed untouched until now.

However, in recent years, issuers seem to be trying to curb this by imposing new restrictions. For example, American Express has gradually relevé or expanded the thresholds for earning welcome bonuses from the :

• American Express ® * Aeroplan ® Reserve Card
• Platinum Card ®
• American Express ® Gold Rewards Card

Even though the “ lifetime bonus ” rule had been put in place in 2015 by American Express, it was never likely to be implemented until 2020. At that point, American Express’ actions were drastic. It unilaterally closed without notice all the accounts it considered to have abused this rule. All points earned in the accounts of the targeted cards have been cancelled.

Then, Scotiabank recently introduced a new limitation requiring not to have held the same product for the last 24 months in order to obtain the welcome bonus as for the :

• Scotiabank Gold American Express ® Card
• Scotiabank Passport™ Visa Infinite* Card
• Scotia Momentum ® VISA Infinite* Card

Secondly, TD Bank has introduced a rule that you can’t get a welcome bonus if you’ve already opened the same type of card in the last 12 months like for the:

• TD ® Aeroplan ® Visa Infinite Privilege* Credit Card
• TD ® Aeroplan ® Visa Infinite* Card
• TD ® Aeroplan ® Visa Platinum* Card
• TD First Class Travel ® Visa Infinite* Card

Limitations on application

Aside from repeated bonuses, some issuers want to protect themselves from points hoarders.

• HSBC / TD / CIBC / MBNA banks are picky about the number of applications one can make in a few months. They no longer hesitate to refuse a person if too many requests have been made on the credit report in the last few months
• NBC / HSBC / Scotia / TD banks are very vigilant about income requirements ($60,000 and over) to issue a card. See the conditions imposed by Scotiabank as an example . Some no longer hesitate to bring people into the branch to check their documents.
• American Express seems to be more vigilant about small business cards: it is possible to get a card like the Marriott Bonvoy™ Business American Express ® Card, but more difficult to hold 2 similar products simultaneously like the Business Platinum Card ® from American Express and the American Express ® Business Gold Rewards Card ®

So take your time and space out your requests to certain issuers!

The means to reach requested expenditures

In this article, we have discussed many ways to achieve the spending required by credit cards issuers to help unlock bonuses:

• Store gift cards to anticipate upcoming expenses in the next 6 months (Gas, Grocery, Shopping, Renovations…)
• Payment of municipal taxes, school taxes, daycare fees through third party services
• paying your rent with Chexy
• Annual fees or subscriptions charged to the credit card at one time
• Payment of group outings to restaurants , trips…

All these tips are still entirely valid today.

Second, there are ways to apply for for cards that require little or no minimum spending. My colleague Aline has listed various strategies to easily earn points . In addition, there are also ways specifically for credit cards that earn cash back .

On the other hand, American Express has put a stop in 2019 on other means used such as prepaid gift cards that are “cash equivalents.”

Do not confuse the following:

• Prepaid Vanilla gift cards (which can be used as “cash equivalents” and which we do not recommend)
• with store gift cards (like SAQ, Home Depot…) which are restricted to the banner.

In this case, moderation is much better. Rather than racing to unlock your bonuses through this method, take your time .

Besides, it’s not optimal to sign up for two credit cards simultaneously, each asking you to spend $3,000 in 3 months, and then not be able to reach that level of spending. Therefore, it would be wiser to apply for to only one card in this case.

Take…. your…. time, like in a marathon!

Abusive behaviour and red flags

In an effort to eliminate any behaviour that appears abusive to an issuer, avoid:

• Declare an annual income of $40,000 and make $10,000 in monthly purchases on your card
• Buying stuff every day at the same store with the same purchase amount (gift cards, anyone?)
• Calling the credit card issuer to find out when your bonus will be received
• Keeping a card open for 3 months, getting its bonus, and closing the card

Indeed, the last thing you want is to receive a call from the card issuer fraud department!

So if you know you’re in the wrong… you don’t call a credit card company: you keep a low profile . And avoid any “abnormal” behaviour.

The basic rules of smart travel hacking

Let us remind you of the basic rules of smart travel hacking :

• Learn… every day
• Identify expenses for the year
• Calculate the profitability of your point hunt
• Establish a travel hacking strategy
• Resist the temptation of travel hacking
• Share your knowledge with the community
• The travel hacker remains discreet when Travel Hacking

Bottom Line

Milesopedia is here to help you understand:

• how loyalty programs work
• credit cards and credit report rules
• tips for using your points intelligently and optimally
• optimal strategies for your needs

And the Milesopedia community is here to help and answer your questions.

• Beginner's Guide

All posts by Jean-Maximilien

Suggested Reading

Going Awesome Places

Detailed itineraries + travel guides

11 Must-Have Canadian Credit Cards for Travel Hackers in 2024

Last Updated March 20, 2023 William Tang

You are here: Home » Travel Hacking » 11 Must-Have Canadian Credit Cards for Travel Hackers in 2024

You don’t have to b e a jetsette r to collect a lot of frequent flyer points.  In fact, they key to building up a nice cachet of points is by signing up for and using the right credit cards.  The question of course most people have though is, “what Canadian credit card should I sign up for?”  In this article you’ll find a few of my top pics and a nifty little tool to help you filter down and find more information on the credit cards that are personalized to your needs.

Before we do that, I think it makes sense to talk a bit about the travel hacking strategies as it relates to credit cards.  Why do credit cards matter and how are travel hackers taking advantage to maximize on points?

Read other ways you can save money

• Dummy’s guide to new Aeroplan program
• Review of Le Meridien Bora Bora 
• The Uber airport hack that drivers don’t want you to know about
• How to travel Europe on the cheap
• Secrets to ITA routing language

Car rentals don’t need to be expensive

• If you haven’t heard about car rental coupon codes, this is going to blow your mind .

Table of Contents

Jump straight to the Canadian credit card for travel hackers.

In This Article

How to travel hack with Aeroplan

How to travel hack with hotels, key strategies to think about with canadian credit cards, wait, so what’s the catch, travel hacking with credit cards in a nutshell, 1 – american express aeroplan reserve card, 2 – american express business platinum, 3 – american express business gold rewards, 4 – cibc aeroplan visa infinite, 5 – american express marriott bonvoy.

• 6 – American Express Business Marriott Bonvoy®TM

7 – Scotiabank Gold American Express

8 – scotiabank passport visa infinite card.

• 9 – American Express Cobalt®TM

10 – CIBC Aventura Visa Infinite

11 – stack prepaid mastercard, credit cards for travel hacking comparison table, final thoughts about travel hacking credit cards, travel resources for your next trip, travel hacking credit cards for canadians.

Frequent flyer miles or hotel points kind of require you to fly a lot or stay in many hotels in a year.  That’s going to be problem for 90% of the Canadian population because well we all have normal lives and it’s just not a feasible thing.  So how come there seems to be so many travel hackers out there and how do your friends get all those points to book trip after trip?

The key to travel hacking is in credit cards.

The concept is simple.  You have to spend money on a day to day basis.  Credit cards have incentives for people to use their cards by offering bonuses.  One of those bonuses is the accruing of points.  These could be special bank-specific points or they could be direct tie-ins with other loyalty programs.  The more you spend, the more points you get.

That sounds great Will, but say you get 2 Aeroplan points per dollar and you spend $10,000 a year, that’s only 20,000 Aeroplan points.  Wait that’s enough for a short-haul flight to say New York but you’re probably thinking to yourself “That’s it??”

This is where bonuses come into play.

It’s no secret that credit cards offer bonus points when signing up and meeting some sort of minimum threshold spend.  For instance, the American Express Gold ® TM  is currently running a promotion where they’re giving away 25,000 points as long as you spend $1,500 in the first 3 months which shouldn’t be too hard.  I love this Card because their first year is free too.

So that gets you 30,000 and maybe in a year you’ll collect 15,000 points through spend so that gets you up to 45,000 in a year.  Not too shabby.

Take it the next level and you then sign up for a different card like the CIBC Aerogold Visa where you can easily get 25,000 Aeroplan points.  After this, you’re up to 75,000 points which is good enough for a round trip flight to Asia.   BOOM!

The above principles work the exact same way for hotels but the scale is a little different because there aren’t as many credit cards that you can take advantage of.

The best Canadian credit cards for hotel programs align best with Marriott Bonvoy.  With one or two of the American Express Marriott Bonvoy ® TM Cards , you can quickly build up 102,000 points just be signing up and meeting the spend thresholds in a year.

Some of the cards mentioned below also give you instant Gold Elite status so there’s that too.

Why should you care?   As much as free flights are high value, aspirational properties like Le Meridien Bora Bora and the Conrad Maldives are just a few examples of epic properties I’ve stayed at over the years thanks to points.

Combine travel hacking through credit cards for hotels and flights and you’ve got a majority of your travel expenses covered!

There are a number of other things you can do to boost your points quite quickly.

• Look for promotions – Credit cards are always boosting the bonus points to entice new customers.  Wait for these to maximize what you get.  First-year-free offers are few and far between these days but sometimes they do come around.
• Refer friends, family, and even co-workers – This is often overlooked but if you make yourself a “expert” in credit cards and points, you can start referring pretty much everyone you know.  For instance Amex Gold offers 5,000 points for every referral.  Keep referring and keep earning.
• Literally get your family in on the action – Amex is very good for this.  Think about it.  If you sign up and manage the card for multiple close family members where you work out an agreement to get their points, when the time comes to book one of those  travel hacking itinerary with Aeroplan , you just transfer them over to your Aeroplan account and there you go.
• Add supplementary cards – Some cards offer extra points for signing up for extra cards under the same account.  Typically this would be for your spouse.
• Not always about the points  – Don’t worry I haven’t forgotten about all the other cards that offer straight redemption of points to travel spending.  These are fantastic as well actually if you are the type to do a lot of travel.  These cards offer bonuses too.
• Each card has its own strengths – Some cards offer 2:1 points on travel.  Some cards offer more points for spend on grocery and drug.  Know where your cards excel at and use the right card in the right situation.  Since I know I get bonus points for gas on my Amex Gold , I always pay with my Amex.
• Channel all your spending – I think this goes without saying that you should put as much as your natural spend on your credit cards.  Cash is king but credit cards are for smart kings.
• Great Canadian Rebates   – Always check places like GCR which will give you some incentive for signing up for a credit card through their site.  Most of the time it’s some sort of cashback so annual fee credit cards become even sweeter.

I’m sure some of the above aren’t brand new to you but for those that have never dived in, I’m sure you’ve wondered what’s really happening behind the scenes or you’ve thought “I’m sure it’s not as easy as it sounds”.

• Credit ratings – This is a common question I get.  Yes, signing up for cards means hits on your credit but not necessarily in a bad way because if you’re paying on time, you’re actually building up credit.  Credit card applications do make a ping on your credit but it’s not substantial.  The truth is, I feel this is more of an urban myth than anything.  I personally have not seen any major credit implications from signing up for many cards.
• You need to keep track – You should try to stay organized here.  It’ll be easy to forget when your card renews and when those annual fees hit.  It’s also easy to forget when you signed up and cancelled for a card so write those down.  Spread out your credit card sign ups so you can make sure you meet those spend criteria for the sign up bonuses.
• Points devalue – Don’t hold on to your points for too long because it’s an inevitable fact for all loyalty programs that they will eventually devalue them.
• Annual income + credit score –  Cards will vary but the general rule of thumb is that you should have decent credit score (700+) and income ($60,000+).

If I boil down “travel hacking” from a credit card perspective, it really comes down to these 5 things.

• Take advantage of sign up bonuses.
• First year free is awesome but annual fees aren’t bad either as the prize can be worth the cost.
• It may sound counter-intuitive but signing up for more cards over a long period of time is what you’re going for (see point #1).
• American Express has great referral bonuses if you can get your friends, family and coworkers to sign up.  There are some awesome opportunities to partner up with your spouse as well.
• Spread out the signing up of cards throughout the year so you can hit those spend thresholds and you don’t put yourself in trouble.

11 of the best travel credit  cards

I’ve used all of these cards at some point in time and so I’m quite familiar with these.  I call them my favourite because each has contributed to how I was able to pull off a trip to South Africa and Seychelles for only $203 per person .

2023 Update

This is an unprecedented few years and it’s had major ripple effects in all industries including the financial sector.  All major changes you can find here.

American Express Personal Platinum – New Platinum card members earn 25,000 Welcome Bonus Membership Rewards® points when you charge $2,000 in purchases to your Card in the first 3 months (this is a reduction from 50,000 with $3,000 in spend).

American Express Business Platinum – Earn a Welcome Bonus of 35,000 points when you charge $7,000 in purchases to your Card in your first 3 months (this is a reduction from 40,000 with $5,000 in spend).

American Express Gold Rewards – This magically disappeared overnight although there are rumours that it’ll make a come back down the road. If you already have the card, you’re still good to use it but you won’t be able to sign up for it.

This is one of the new kids on the block with the Air Canada’s Aeroplan changes . Hot off the heels of the sweeping redesign of this loyalty program, they continued their partnership with American Express to launch 3 new American Express Aeroplan cards .

The best out of all of them is the American Express Aeroplan Reserve card because it’s clear that Amex is putting all of their focus in this premium card (yes it’s a credit card vs a charge card) where they’re offering up to a 90,000 welcome bonus of Aeroplan points. On top of that, they’re also offering a Buddy Pass.

Here’s how it works. You earn 30,000 points upon spending $3,000 in purchases in the first 3 months. You then earn 5,000 Aeroplan points for each month billing period in which you spend at least $1,000 in the first 12 months. That’s a total of 90,000 Aeroplan points.

The Buddy Pass is good for a companion ticket on a round trip flight within North America. This only covers the base fare and not the taxes and fees. You can also convert this buddy pass to 30,000 Aeroplan points if you call in but the deadline is November 30, 2021 which has been detailed on Red Flag Deals .

This is a great card for those that are looking to continue to build up their cache of Aeroplan points.

Something else that isn’t quite well marketed is the fact that I can tell that they’re really pushing the use of this card because they are putting out a ton of offers including these:

• Mobile wallet – Earn 3 bonus points for every $1 in qualifying mobile wallet purchases – up to 1,500 points.
• Grocery – Earn $150 back in your grocery spend. (yes I literally got $150 worth off free groceries)
• Grocery, dining, and food delivery – Earn 10 bonus points for every $1 in purchases (up to 50,000 points).
• Wayfair – Spend at least $100 and earn a $15 credit.
• Fairmont and Sofitel – Spend at least $350 and earn a $70 credit.
• Discover Alberta – Spend at least $250 at hotels in Alberta and earn a $50 credit (this was also replicated in Quebec, Ontario, and BC).
• Air Canada – Earn up to $250 in statement credits with Air Canada.

These are offers that I used to see more on the Amex Platinum but now showing up frequently on the Aeroplan Reserve which provides a tons of savings. In some ways, it feels like they’re cannibalizing some of their own products.

The last thing I’ll mention is that this is a metal card which has a nice premium feel to it.

CREDIT CARD FEATURES

Price:   Annual fee is $599.  Additional card is $199. No fee additional cards are free (no travel perks).

Point System:  Air Canada Aeroplan (read all the changes )

Sign Up Bonus:   90,000 Aeroplan points – 30,000 when you charge $3,000 within your first 3 months + up to 60,000 points when you spend $1,000 or more each month in the first 12 months with this special link .

Earn System:

• Earn 3x the points on eligible purchases made directly with Air Canada and Air Canada Vacations.
• Earn 2x the points on eligible dining and food delivery purchases in Canada.
• Earn 1x the points on everything else.
• Earn 1,000 Status Qualifying Miles and 1 Status Qualifying Segment for every $5,000 in eligible net purchases charged to your Card. You can also rollover unused Status Qualifying Miles (up to 200,000) to qualify for Aeroplan Elite Status the following year.
• Save on baggage fees  – Your first checked bag is free (up to 23kg/50lb) for up to 9 people travelling on the same reservation (has to be an Air Canada flight).
• Maple Leaf Lounge  – Gain access to select Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounges and Air Canada Cafés in North America with same-day ticket on any flight operated by Air Canada or Star Alliance.
• Priority Pass  – Complimentary membership to Priority Pass’ collection of airport lounges. However usage fee still applies.
• Priority Airport Services  – This includes Air Canada priority check-in, Zone 2 priority boarding, and priority baggage handling.
• Priority Standby and Upgrades  – Get prioritized on the standby waitlist for an Air Canada flight and higher priority when you request an upgrade.
• Annual Worldwide Companion Pass  – When you spend $25,000 in net purchases in a year, you can buy an accompanying Air Canada economy class ticket at a fixed base fare from $99 to a maximum of $599 CAD (plus taxes, fees, charges, and surcharges).
• Rollover Status Qualifying Miles and eUpgrade Credits  – You can roll over up to 200,000 unused SQM to the following year. Any unused eUpgrade Credits can also be used the following year.
• Benefits at YYZ  – If you fly out of Toronto Pearson International Airport, you get to access the expedited security lane, complimentary valet service, 15% Express Park and Daily Park, and 15% off Car Services.
• Preferred pricing  – Book flight reward tickets for even fewer points.
• No expiry of Aeroplan points  – As long as you are a Cardmember, your points will never expire.
• American Express Experiences  – Get advanced tickets to concerts, shows and events through Front Of The Line and also advanced screenings to movies.
• Amex Offers  – Cardmembers will receive exclusive offers tailored to you for dining, shopping, and more.

GCR Eligible?:   Yes the Amex Aeroplan Reserve card is eligible for $50 in cash back with GCR .

Referral Bonus:   If you refer friends and family, you get 10,000 Aeroplan points.

Insurance Coverage:   $5 million out of province/country emergency medical insurance (15 days under 65), $500,000 travel accident insurance, trip interruption insurance, flight delay insurance, car rental theft and damage insurance, baggage delay, lost or stolen baggage insurance, hotel burglary insurance, buyer’s assurance protection plan, and purchase protection plan.  Full fare/accommodations/product must be purchased with this Card for this to apply.

Why it rocks and why would you get it:

• Best bonus right now – At 90,000 Aeroplan points, this is the best offer you can get right now. Just make sure you can put the $1000/month spend on it for a year after signing up.
• Accelerate your Aeroplan growth – This is a wickedly fast way to grow your Aeroplan point balance.
• Great travel perks – For those that fly Air Canada a lot (that should be most Canadians), this gives you all of the top flying benefits.
• Great bonus Amex offers – I mentioned this earlier but it seems like they’re really focused on getting people to use this card so they’ve been pumping out a ton of “personalized” offers to individuals. This provides tons of great value and you’ll appreciate their efforts.
• Great travel insurance coverage – $5 million is top in its class but just be aware that it’s only for 15 days and only those under 65.

Who it’s not for:

• No first year free – Those days are over unfortunately and so for a premium card $599 is par for the course.
• Those that don’t travel much – This is a very Aeroplan-centric card and so if you don’t care about those points, travel perks, and insurance this might not be worth it.
• Not as flexible – Compared to the Membership Rewards program, you’re locked into Aeroplan so you won’t have the opportunity to transfer these points to something else.

What happened to the Amex Gold?: If you’re wondering where the American Express Gold Rewards card went, they temporarily discontinued the card in Canada in 2021. That said, they might be bringing it back so stay tuned!

This is a really interesting option that is honestly open to anyone even if you don’t technical run a business.  After you run through the benefits, you’re definitely going to want to sign up for this.  Considerations you’re going to have to make though is whether you can spend $7,000 in 3 months.

The annual fee is $499 but this is offset by the fact that you get Priority Pass Select membership .  This means that you get unlimited lounge access for you and a guest.

Now this isn’t anything more than vanity but what I love about the Platinum card is that it’s actually a metal Card which gives it a nice heft to it and that little nudge of bragging rights.

You’ll notice that the Personal Platinum isn’t mentioned in this list and this is because the annual fee of $699 will be a little too steep for some and the incremental benefits of it aren’t that impressive over the Business Platinum.

Price:   Annual fee is $499.  Supplementary Cards are $199.

Point System:   American Express Membership Rewards (standard tier).

Sign Up Bonus:   50,000 Membership Rewards points after you charge $7,000 in the first 3 months by signing up here .

• 1.25 point on every $1 on all spend you make on the Card.
• Complimentary access to over 1,200 airport lounges worldwide.   The American Express Global Lounge Collection includes The Centurion Lounge network, Plaza Premium Lounges, and hundreds of other domestic and international lounges.
• Receive Marriott Bonvoy Gold Status (you will need to apply)
• Receive Hertz Gold Plus Rewards Five Star Tier Membership (you will need to apply)
• Special YYZ benefits – Complimentary Valet Service at Terminal 1 and Terminal for 3 (waives the $25 valet fee).  Express Park and Daily Park is 15% off via statement credit.
• Access to Membership Rewards which has flexible conversions to airline frequent flyer programs including Aeroplan and hotel programs.
• Ability to convert points to statement credits (not a good idea).
• Fixed points travel program (not a good idea).

GCR Eligible?:   Yes the Amex Business Platinum card is eligible for $100 in cash back with GCR .

Referral Bonus:   If you refer friends and family, you get 5,000 Membership Rewards points.

Insurance Coverage:  $5 million emergency medical insurance for out of province/country (15 days and under 65), $500,000 travel accident insurance, trip cancellation insurance, trip interruption insurance, StandbyMD, travel medical concierge, travel emergency assistance, car rental theft and damage insurance, lost or stolen baggage insurance, baggage delay insurance, flight delay insurance, and hotel/motel burglary insurance.  Full fare/accommodations/product must be purchased with this Card for this to apply.

• All about the points – 45,000 is more than the 25,000 you get with the Amex Personal Gold or 40,000 with the Amex Business Gold.
• Almost as good as the personal Card – It may not be good as the Personal Platinum Card that Amex offers but you still get full lounge access.
• Strategically use this Card paired with the Gold – If you know American Express Gold gets you 2x points on gas, drug and grocery, use the Platinum card everywhere else to leverage the 1.25 accelerator.
• High threshold spend – If you don’t think you can spend $7,000 in your first 3 months, don’t risk it.  Wait until the timing is right and you have a big purchase coming up.

Now I know your hesitation.  You don’t own a business right?  Thing is, you honestly don’t need to be an official business entity to be able to get this Card. They don’t require a corporation number or anything like that.  You can literally be YourName Inc and say you’re in the business/tech consulting business and that’s all you really need.  It was easy before and it still is now.

The main consideration over the personal Gold is that you have to spend $5,000 in the first 3 months so I wouldn’t sign up for this Card and the Business Platinum at the same time.  Stagger it.

Price:   Annual fee is $250.  Supplementary Cards are $50.

Welcome Bonus:   30,000 Membership Rewards points when you charge $5,000 in your first 3 months.

• 2 points for every $1 spent at specific suppliers that you set (unfortunately not the most useful since the supplier list is quite limited).
• 1 point on every $1 for everything else.

GCR Eligible?:   Yes the Amex Business Gold Rewards is eligible for $75 in cash back with GCR .

Insurance Coverage:   $100,000 travel accident insurance (accidental death or dismemberment), Car rental theft and damage insurance, lost or stolen baggage insurance, hotel/motel burglary insurance, flight delay insurance, baggage delay insurance, and travel emergency assistance.  Note that there is no emergency travel medical.

• You don’t need to technically be official registered as a business – Anyone can sign up for this Card.
• Great welcome bonus – At 40,000, this is a good one to have in your portfolio.
• Average travel insurance coverage – It covers most things but critically lacks emergency medical insurance.
• Not a good travel card – With no emergency travel medical insurance, and no in-destination travel features, it’s not a great card to be putting your travel spend on.

This is a great basic card that still offers a waiver on the annual fee and helps you build up Aeroplan miles/points.

As you might’ve heard, Aeroplan is changing and while there are a slew of new cards, old cards like this will still exist and rebranded to the new Aeroplan program .

If you’re wondering whether you should get this or the twin version of the card offered by TD , I’d say if you’re looking for something with no annual fee, the CIBC card is excellent. If you want more points, TD is offering 35,000 bonus Aeroplan points vs the 20,000 here.

Price:   Annual fee is $139 but first year is frequently waived.  Additional supplementary cards are $50.

Point System:   Aeroplan

Sign Up Bonus:   10,000 Aeroplan miles upon first purchase and 10,000 Aeroplan miles once you spend $1,000 or more in your first 4 months.  That gives you a total of 20,000 Aeroplan miles.

• 1.5 miles for every $1 spent eligible grocery, gas and aircanada.com purchases (including Air Canada Vacation packages).
• 1 mile on every $1 for everything else.
• Earn 1,000 Status Qualifying Miles and 1 Status Qualifying Segment for every $10,000 in eligible purchases.
• Baggage fees – Free first checked bag for you and authorized users and up to 8 companions every time you fly with Air Canada.
• Buddy Pass – As a new cardholder, you’ll get a Buddy Pass when you spend $1,000 or more in your first 4 months.

GCR Eligible?:   None available.

Referral Bonus:   None

Insurance Coverage:  $5 million out-of-province emergency travel medical insurance (15 days under 65 or 3 days 65+), $500,000 common carrier accident insurance (accidental death or dismemberment), trip cancellation and trip interruption insurance, flight delay and baggage insurance, auto rental collision and loss damage insurance, mobile device insurance, hotel burglary insurance, and purchase security & extended protection service. 

• First year free – This is one of the few first year free (FYF) card on the market right now when it comes to good travel hacking credit cards in Canada.
• It’s a Visa – We all know it, American Express is awesome but in Canada it’s not accepted everywhere so to have a Visa in your wallet is super handy.
• Part of the Aeroplan strategy – If Aeroplan is your focus in travel hacking (it is for most Canadians), it’s a perfect complement in your portfolio of cards.
• Excellent travel insurance coverage – As far as coverage goes, this gives you everything you’re looking for including $5 million in medical coverage.

The reality in Canada is that we have limited choices when it comes to credit cards that are partnered with the main hotel chains.  All we have is Marriott Bonvoy and their collaboration with American Express (sorry I’m not counting Best Western).

While this Card has seen many changes over the years, starting off as an SPG card, it’s still one of the tried and true ways to accrue Marriott Bonvoy points.  Hotel points are just as important as airline points because after all, once you get those  free flight tickets, you’re going to need an epic place to stay.  This Card allows you to do that.

If you’re not that into Marriott, well, you can just convert them to Aeroplan points so that flexibility is pretty sweet.

Price:   Annual fee is $120.  First supplementary Card is free.

Point System:   Marriott Bonvoy

Sign Up Bonus:   50,000 Marriott Bonvoy sign up bonus after $1,500 spending in the first 3 months by signing up here .

• 5 points for every $1 spent at Marriott properties.
• 2 point on every $1 for everything else.
• Receive a 15,000 points bonus from the Marriott Bonvoy program when you transfer 60,000 points to a frequent flyer program.
• Annual Free Night Award after your anniversary each year.
• Complimentary Marriott Bonvoy Silver Elite status.
• Easy conversion to airline frequent flyer programs including Aeroplan.

GCR Eligible?:   Yes the Amex Marriott Bonvoy is eligible for $20 in cash back with GCR .

Referral Bonus:   If you refer friends and family, you get 10,000 Marriott Bonvoy points.

Insurance Coverage:   Travel emergency assistance (note that it does not include emergency medical insurance), $500,000 travel accident insurance (accidental death or dismemberment), car rental theft and damage insurance, flight delay insurance, baggage delay insurance, lost or stolen bag insurance, and hotel burglary insurance, buyer’s assurance protection plan, and purchase protection plan. Full fare/accommodations/product must be purchased with this Card for this to apply.

• Build Marriott Bonvoy points fast – This is one of the core ways to grow your Marriott Bonvoy points.
• Annual free night reward – This is a handy certificate to have but note that it is only good for properties up to Category 3.

6 – American Express Business Marriott Bonvoy ® TM

This Card may look almost identical to the standard Marriott Bonvoy American Express but there are a few subtle changes I’ll point out.

The annual fee may be higher but what you gain is in Gold Elite vs. Silver Elite status and you get the 3x multiplier on gas, dining and travel.

This is the perfect Card to have if you’re serious about building up your cache of Marriott Bonvoy points and is precisely one of the cards in my portfolio that allowed me to be able to stay at Le Meridien Bora Bora and how it was one of my main strategies to go there for practically free .

Price:   Annual fee is $150.  First supplementary card is $50.

Sign Up Bonus:   50,000 Marriott Bonvoy sign up bonus after $3,000 spending in the first 3 months by signing up here .

• 3 points on every $1 spent on gas, dining, and travel.
• Complimentary Marriott Bonvoy Gold Elite status.
• Get an automatic upgrade to Marriott Bonvoy Gold Elite status when you reach $30,000 in purchases each year.

GCR Eligible?:   Yes the Amex Business Marriott Bonvoy is eligible for $50 in cash back with GCR .

Insurance Coverage:   Travel emergency assistance (note that it does not include emergency medical insurance), $500,000 travel accident insurance (accidental death and dismemberment), car rental theft and damage insurance, flight delay insurance, baggage delay insurance, lost or stolen bag insurance, and hotel/motel burglary insurance, purchase protection plan.  Full fare/accommodations/product must be purchased with this Card for this to apply.

• Instant Marriott Bonvoy Gold Elite status – Gold actually takes some work to get so this isn’t a small deal.
• Build Marriott Bonvoy points fast – It’s hard accumulating Marriott Bonvoy points unless you’re a consultant like in my previous life .  This is the next best thing especially with that extra 3x multiplier in place.

This card rebranded not long ago and it’s a great American Express card with the unique feature of completely eliminating 2.5% foreign transaction fees.  They’ve also built in a generous multiplier on common-spend categories.  This means this is a great card to have with you to use for daily use.

With the demise of the old Amazon and Capital One credit cards that touted the “no exchange fees” feature, up from the ashes came Scotiabank to become one of the de-facto cards that offer this now.  What this means is that when you use the card internationally the credit card will apply an exchange rate but not tack on an additional 2.5% fee to the rate which most people don’t realize is happening with all the other credit cards out there.

What you lose as an American Express is access to Membership Rewards since this is a Scotiabank product.  Scotia Rewards works like every other bank’s reward system and can only be used to book travel within their own platform, convert it for products in their e-store (terrible value in my opinion), or cash credit in your statement.  The point values are fixed and doesn’t have the possibility to scale as you build up more points since you can’t convert it to say, Aeroplan.

Price:   Annual fee is $120.  First supplementary card is $29.

Point System:   Scotia Rewards

Sign Up Bonus:  25,000 bonus points ($250 value) after your first $1,000 in the first 3 months.

• 5 points for every $1 spent on entertainment purchases (includes movies, theatre, and ticket agencies), eligible grocery stores, restaurants, fast food, and drinking establishments (includes popular food delivery and food subscriptions).
• 3 points on every $1 spent on eligible gas and daily transit (includes rideshare, buses, taxis, subway, and more), and streaming services such as Netflix.
• Priority Pass membership but using the lounge still costs $27 per entry.
• Can redeem points at a rate of 100 points per $1 (10,000 for $100) with minimum redemption of 5,000 points on travel spend.

GCR Eligible?:   Yes the Scotiabank Gold American Express is eligible for $60 in cash back with GCR .

Referral Bonus:   None.

Insurance Coverage:   $1 million travel emergency medical insurance (25 days under 65, 3 days 65+), $500,000 travel accident insurance, trip cancellation/interruption insurance, flight delay insurance, delayed and lost baggage insurance, rental car collision loss/damage insurance, hotel/motel burglary insurance, and purchase security & extended warranty protection.  You need to charge at least 75% of your trip cost (flight, accommodations, tickets, guides, meals, car rental).

• No foreign exchange fees – Save 2.5% on foreign currency purchases which makes it great for travel.
• Awesome point accelerators – 5x and 3x multipliers built into the card are really handy to scale up your point earnings just from spending daily.  They also have interesting bonuses on brands like Uber and Netflix.
• Good travel insurance coverage – It has all the coverage you’d need for travel but it has an exceptional $1 million on medical insurance built in.

I’ve done a full deep dive of the Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite card but wanted to include this one for the purposes of actual travel use as opposed to signing up for bonuses.

This card is very similar the previous Scotiabank product with the no foreign transaction fee feature but the difference with this one is that you get more bonus points to start and you get 6 lounge passes.  The other huge benefit of this card is that it is a Visa instead of an American Express.  This means that you’ll have way more confidence that you’ll be able to use this card wherever you go. Another interesting feature that’s added on here is the hidden “Price Protection Service” advantage where if something you buy drops in price within 60 days, you’ll be able to make a claim of up to $100 (max of $500 a year).

What you lose compared to the Scotiabank Gold American Express are those big point multipliers and slightly cheaper annual fee.

As a result, this is the perfect card to bring with you on your travels because you’re saving money every time you’re swiping this card over another.

Price:   Annual fee is $139.  First supplementary card is free.

Sign Up Bonus:  30,000 bonus points ($300 value) after your first $1,000 in the first 3 months.

• 5 points for every $1 spent on eligible grocery stores, dining, entertainment purchases, and daily transit purchases (including buses, subways, taxis and more).
• 6 free airport lounge visits & Priority Pass membership.

GCR Eligible?:   Yes the Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite is eligible for $55 in cash back with GCR .

Insurance Coverage:   $1 million travel emergency medical insurance (25 days under 65, 10 days 65+), $500,000 travel accident insurance, trip cancellation/interruption insurance, flight delay insurance, delayed and lost baggage insurance, rental car collision loss/damage insurance, hotel/motel burglary insurance, purchase security & extended warranty protection, and purchase protection service.  You need to charge at least 75% of your trip cost (flight, accommodations, tickets, guides, meals, car rental).

• It’s a Visa – Good travel cards that are Visa’s are few and far between since American Express is so dominant so if you’re needing one in your wallet, this could be the one to sign up for.
• Great travel insurance coverage – It has all the coverage you’d need for travel but it has a great $1 million on medical insurance built in and longer coverage than what other cards include.
• Best for seniors – This is the only card that covers seniors for 10 days.
• Price Protection Service – Not something you see in many cards but a pretty cool feature that you can take advantage of.
• Lounge passes – 6 free lounge passes with Priority Pass is really handy for travellers

9 – American Express Cobalt ® TM

A few years ago, I would’ve shaken my head to see make the list but after using this Card for 2+ years now, I’m a believer in the power of the Amex Cobalt Card.

I would call this a specialty Card because it has a lot of limitations but let me walk you through it.

How you should use it:   The 5x accelerator is the sweet spot for this Card because what they don’t advertise is the fact that you can use it at grocery stores.  There’s quite a number of creative ways you can leverage this but think gift cards and prepaid credit cards.  Just let this think in.  If you spend $500 on your Cobalt Card, you get 2,500 points which also then kicks in that welcome bonus.

Where it’s limited:   While you do get access to Membership Rewards, they’ve essentially nerfed it slightly by creating a lower Select tier.  Everything is practically the same for travel purposes except you can’t transfer it to Aeroplan and other airline loyalty programs.  As a result, I primarily use this Card as my supplement to the American Express Marriott Bonvoy card(s).

I’ll be the first to say that this isn’t a product for everyone but if you’re smart about it, you can make it work in your portfolio of travel hacking credit cards.

Price:   Annual fee is $120 (charged $10 per month).  Supplementary Cards are free.

Point System:   American Express Membership Rewards Select (this is their lower tier program which really means no transfer to airline programs)

Welcome Bonus:  Earn up to 45,000 Membership Rewards points – When you sign up before May 5, 2021 with this link , you can earn:

• Welcome Bonus of 15,000 Membership Rewards points when you spend a total of $3,000 in purchases on your Card in your first 3 months of Cardmembership.
• 2,500 points per billing period when you spend $500 in purchases on your Card each month for a total of 30,000 points in a year.
• 5 points for every $1 spent on eligible restaurants, bars, cafés, grocery stores , and even food delivery in Canada.
• 2 points for every $1 spent on eligible transit & gas purchases in Canada and eligible travel purchases.
• Receive regular Perks such as bonus reward offers and access to events.
• Get access to Amex Front Of The Line Presale & Reserved Tickets as part of American Express Experiences.

GCR Eligible?:   Yes the American Express Cobalt is eligible for $100 in cash back with GCR .

Insurance Coverage:   $5 million out of province/country emergency medical insurance (under 65, first 15 days), $250,000 travel accident insurance (accidental death and dismemberment), flight delay insurance, baggage delay insurance, hotel burglary insurance, lost or stolen baggage insurance, car rental theft and damage insurance, purchase protection plan, and buyer’s assurance protection plan.

• Great daily-use card – The 5x point accelerator
• Great travel insurance coverage – It has all the coverage you’d need for travel but it has an exceptional $5 million on medical insurance built in.

This is one of the newer players in the market and takes a unique angle as a travel hacking card.  It’s great in some ways and not one of the best in other regards.

First, let’s talk about the great features of the CIBC Aventura Visa Infinite.  For one, I love that it includes a rebate on the Nexus application.  I signed up for this card literally because I knew my renewal was coming up and it worked like a charm.  I didn’t have to apply or do anything.  It picked up the fee and it refunded the amount as a statement credit.  It also includes 4 airport lounge passes with Priority Pass which is handy.

The disappointing part about the program is in CIBC’s own Aventura points program.  In theory it sounds great and if you build up enough points you could do some damage with it by redeeming points on flight tickets but if you’ve invested a ton of time in building up your Aeroplan points, this doesn’t really help you and in fact divides your efforts.  There is decent value in flight redemptions and some merchandise but I am not sure if it’s worth focusing on this.  The statement credit conversion is also pretty terrible at $1 per 160 points vs other programs which is $1 for 100 points (see Scotiabank Gold American Express )

For me, this is a get-in-and-out-quick kind of card since first year free is offered.  Use it if you’re applying for Nexus soon and maybe a quick short-haul flight that you have.  Otherwise, convert the points to cash and call it a day.

Price:   Annual fee is $139 (first year free offered).  Supplementary cards are $50.

Point System:   Aventura Points

Sign Up Bonus:  20,000 Aventura points after you make your first purchase.  Additionally, you can get 15,000 Aventura points if you spend at least $10,000 in your first year.  This means a total of 35,000 Aventura points ($187.50 in statement value or up to $800 in flight redemption value).

• 2 points for every $1 spent on travel through CIBC’s portal.
• 1.5 points for every $1 spent on eligible gas stations, grocery stores and drug stores.
• Priority Pass Membership and 4 complimentary airport lounge visits per  year
• Nexus application rebate of $50
• Unique to Aventura is that you can redeem points for flights using their own system which Ratehub does a great job of breaking down .  Alternatively, you can use the points as a statement credit of $25 per 4,000 points.

GCR Eligible?:   None at the moment.

Insurance Coverage:   $5 million out-of-province emergency travel medical insurance (15 days under 65 or 3 days 65+), $500,000 common carrier accident insurance (accidental death or dismemberment), trip cancellation and trip interruption insurance, flight delay and baggage insurance, auto rental collision and loss damage insurance, hotel burglary insurance, mobile device insurance, purchase security and extended protection service.

• Nexus application – Covers the entire application fee.
• Mobile device insurance – This is another unique feature that they slip in.  It’s great if you can use it but it means that you must have purchased the phone with this card and either lost it, had it stolen, or accidental damage.  This covers up to $1,000.

One thing you’ll notice in this list is that Mastercards are sorely lacking in the credit cards for travel hacking space.  It’s a bit unfortunate as they’ve kind of fallen off the relevance train but this prepaid Mastercard has some interesting features for travellers.

The key feature of this card isn’t well advertised but similar to the Scotiabank cards, it also does not apply any foreign exchange fees on top which is great for travellers.

As a prepaid card, this Mastercard is fundamentally different to use because you have to load it.  You can do this by using an e-transfer or direct deposit (via cash load through Canada Post, Hasty Market, Canadian Tire Gas, Mobil, and Pharmachoice, payroll, bill pay, or through the CRA).

Another hidden feature is that you can withdraw money from Canadian ATMs for free.

This sounds pretty terrible but when you combine the fact that you can load it via bill pay (some other prepaid cards allow you to move funds this way) and withdraw money from ATM, there are some creative options for moving money around.

Price:   None

Point System:   None

Sign Up Bonus:  None

Earn System:  None but they do have rewards and offers built in that are either link-based or based on spending on the card.

• No fees including foreign exchange fees and ATM withdrawals

Referral Bonus:   $5 per referral

Insurance Coverage:   None

• No foreign exchange fees – This saves you 2.5% when travelling.
• A money mover – In the world of pre-paid cards which is a whole other topic, this card is a great option for Canadians to move money around.

SIGN UP VIA MOBILE

I get that there are a lot of choices and for those that aren’t looking to go all-in, you’ll want to make a calculated decision on what makes sense for you.  I understand that everyone has a different situation and so ultimately a comparison table is going to make things more clearly when you see everything side-by-side.

The below is a table where I’ve distilled as much of the pertinent information as possible.  It is by no means complete especially on the insurance side of things (my mind is a huge slurry after going through all those giant PDF documents) but it gives you what you need to know.

Think of travel hacking through credit cards a marathon.  It’s not the kind of thing where you’ll be able to hit your goals in one year or two.  If you want to be serious about it, you’ll be going through different cards every month and carrying them for at least 12 months or more.

At the end of the day, American Express has the most powerful portfolio of cards because of their bonuses, their ability to refer, and the flexibility in the Membership Rewards program.  However, if you’re looking for a card that’s more widely accepted, you’ll have to think about keeping a Visa in your mix.

If you ask me today , what card you should get, I’d say it’s the American Express Business Platinum .  It’s got a large welcome bonus, unlimited lounge passes with Priority Pass, and a good all-around 1.25x accelerator.

Get started today

• American Express Aeroplan Reserve Card – Claim 90K Aeroplan points
• American Express Business Platinum  – Claim your 45K MR points
• American Express Business Gold –  Claim your 40K points
• CIBC Aerogold Visa – Claim your 20K points
• American Express Marriott Bonvoy – Claim your 51K Marriott Bonvoy points
• American Express Business Marriott Bonvoy – Claim your 51K Marriott Bonvoy points
• Scotiabank Gold American Express – Claim your 25K Scotiabank rewards points
• Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite – Claim your 30K Scotiabanks rewards points
• American Express Cobalt – Claim your 50K MR Select points
• CIBC Aventura Visa Infinite – Claim your 35K Aventura points
• STACK Prepaid Mastercard – Sign up today

What you should read next

• Where and How To Buy The Best Travel Insurance
• Marriott Corporate Codes – The Best Ones and How to Use Them
• Everything You Need to Know About the New American Express Aeroplan Cards
• Air Canada’s Aeroplan Changes and the New American Express Cards

If you’re in the process of planning your trip and putting together your itinerary, these are genuinely the best resources that the Going Awesome Places team stands by 100% .

Credit cards: Don’t get burned by hidden fees on top of terrible exchange rates. When we travel now, we use the Wise Card . Simply load it with the currency you need before you go and use it as a regular VISA or their digital wallet card. Use their free app to track how much you have and top up when you need to.

Flights: Of all the booking search engines, Skyscanner is the most helpful and easy to use thanks to their Everywhere feature . Kayak is also another that’s we will often check as well.

Car Rental: If you’re looking to save money, these car rental coupon codes will be a true game-changer. Otherwise, DiscoverCars and RentalCars are great places to start.

Airport Parking: You’ll need a spot to leave your car at the airport so why not book a spot at a discount. Use code AWESOME7 to get at least $5 off at Airport Parking Reservations or Park Sleep Fly packages.

Data: We’ve been a huge fan of wifi hotspot devices like PokeFi because their rates are so good and you can use it globally but recently, we’ve really loved using eSIMs. The best one is Airalo . Save money by getting region-specific eSIMs and use referral code WILLIA9500 to get $3 USD credit on your first purchase. Ubigi is another one that we’ve had success with where they uniquely offer 5G coverage. Use code AWESOME10 to save 10% on your first order.

Hotels: Our go-to is Booking.com because they have the best inventory of properties including hotels and B&Bs plus they have their Genius tier discounts . The exception is Asia where Agoda always has the best prices. TripAdvisor is also useful for reviews and bookings.

Vacation Rentals: Your first instinct will be to check Airbnb but we always recommend checking VRBO as well if you’re looking for a vacation rental.

Tours: When planning our trips, we always check both Viator and GetYourGuide to at least see what’s out there in the destination that we’re going to. They often have different offerings and prices so check both.

Travel Insurance: Learn how to buy the best travel insurance for you. This isn’t something you want to travel without.

• Insured Nomads – Popular insurance provider for frequent travelers and comes with great coverage and special perks.
• RATESDOTCA – Search engine Canadians looking for the cheapest insurance including multi-trip annual policies.
• SafetyWing – A perfect fit for long-term nomads.
• Medjet – Global air medical transportation.
• InsureMyTrip – Best for seniors, families, and those with pre-existing conditions.

If you need more help planning your trip, make sure to check out our Travel Toolbox where we highlight all of the gear, resources, and tools we use when traveling.

About William Tang

William Tang is the Chief of Awesome behind the award-winning Going Awesome Places which is focused on outdoor adventure, and experiential travel. His true passion lies in telling stories, inspiring photography and videos, and writing detailed itineraries and travel guides. He is a member of Travel Media Association of Canada (TMAC), Society of American Travel Writers (SATW), Adventure Travel Trade Association (ATTA), and Travel Massive. He has also been featured in publications such as Reader's Digest, Entrepreneur, Men's Journal, and Haute Living. Make sure to learn more about William Tang to find out his story and how Going Awesome Places started.

Find us on social media

• Skip to main content
• Skip to primary sidebar
• Skip to footer

Must Do Canada

The Best Things to Do in Canada

Travel Hacking in Canada

April 19, 2018 By Matthew G. Bailey 1 Comment

Sharing is caring!

As many of you know, we travel around Canada quite a bit, exploring the best things to do from coast to coast to coast . However, we also travel around the world as much as we can and have visited six continents, 38 countries, and over 250 cities over the last seven years. In fact, it’s our love for world travel that also led to our love for exploring Canada, as travelling around the world made us appreciate the incredible scenery, attractions, and culture of our home country.

For me, it all started with a solo trip to Australia, New Zealand, and Indonesia way back in 2009. Then, in 2012, I had the opportunity to do an exchange semester at a university in Malaysia. So, Karla and I travelled to Southeast Asia for an entire year, visiting Malaysia, Thailand, Laos, Indonesia, Singapore, Myanmar, Cambodia, the Philippines, and China. Our passion for travel multiplied and we just didn’t want to stop. At the same time, we didn’t have the money to pay for a lot of trips, so I started learning about something called travel hacking, which inevitably led to the creation of CanadianFreeFlyers.com.

Travel hacking is learning how to maximize the earning of frequent flyer miles while redeeming them for world-class trips. It’s perfect for the frugal flyer who still wants to travel a lot and experience luxurious flights. Over the last six years, I’ve earned over 2,000,000 points and have experienced a wide variety of flights including Emirates First Class, which comes with a private suite, an onboard shower, a 27-inch TV screen, and unlimited Dom Perignon champagne. Needless to say, all of these experiences were incredible and would have been impossible without points. I then started telling my family and friends how to do it, and after watching them succeed, I created Canadian Free Flyers, a site where I teach Canadians how to earn hundreds of thousands of frequent flyer miles and how to use them for free flights around the world .

There are many ways to earn miles but one of the best ways to do it is by getting credit cards and using them for everyday spending. My favourite travel points are American Express Rewards because they can be transferred to a wide variety of airlines, including Air Canada’s Aeroplan. If you’re up for trying out an AMEX card, one of the cards I always recommend starting with is the American Express Personal Gold card, which comes with  25,000 points after spending just $1,500 within the first three months. That’s enough for a round-trip flight within Canada or the continental USA. However, even if you’re not into travel points, there are so many other types of credit cards as well. The best way to find out about the best credit cards for you is to compare them with  in-depth reviews of credit cards .

Once you’ve figured out the type of points you want to earn and the credit cards you want to have, the next step is creating a travel goal and learning the best ways of maximizing the redemption of your points. The last thing you want to do is redeem all your points for a crappy flight with high taxes. There are all kinds of ways to maximize points, including free stopovers, open jaws, or using them for business class and first-class flights. Not all points are created equal, so it’s best to sign up for my travel hacking course or research some of the best methods for redeeming the points you have. There is a lot of information out there so it’s a good idea to know where you want to go and what points you want to use to get you there.

Three Important Steps To Earning Free Flights

Make it a Priority : One of the most important things that helped me become a travel hacker was prioritizing. It sounds really simple but until I made earning points a priority, it would take me years just to earn enough for a short-haul flight. Once I learned how to earn the points and then prioritized it with all my spending, that’s when my points balance exploded!

Use Credit Cards : The next important step is utilizing credit cards to earn points on everyday spending. As long as you pay off your balance in full each month and use the cards to buy only what you need, credit cards are a great way to leverage yourself to more flights and more travel.

Maximize Your Redemption : Once you have the points, don’t waste them. Generally speaking, the shorter the flight, the worse the value is. This is not always the case but it’s a general rule of thumb. Flying to further destinations or more difficult locations, or adding in a free stopover or an open jaw will greatly increase the value of your points. In addition, flying in business class will also give you much more value compared to the economy.

I hope you learned something in this short introduction to travel hacking.

Have you ever used points for a trip?

If you’re looking for places to go, here are some ideas:

• 10-Day Costa Rica Itinerary
• Things to Do in Vancouver
• Puerto Vallarta Vacations
• Things to Do in Jordan

LIKE THIS POST? PIN IT!

About Matthew G. Bailey

Matthew G. Bailey is the founder and editor-in-chief of Must Do Canada. Growing up in Alberta to a mother from Quebec and a father from Newfoundland, Matt spent his childhood playing hockey under the Northern Lights and hanging out in the forest before moving to Calgary and travelling to more than 250 cities spanning 42 countries and 6 continents. He loves travel, learning new things, playing sports, writing, making videos, photography, and scuba diving. You can also find him at LiveLimitless.net .

Reader Interactions

May 24, 2020 at 1:08 am

Good write up

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Please enter an answer in digits: 2 − 1 =

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed .

© 2022 Must Do Canada. All Rights Reserved.

Things to Do in Canada

• Privacy Policy
• Work With Us
• Get in Touch
• Facts about Canada
• Canadian Languages
• Canadian Money
• Canada Flags
• Things to Do in Calgary
• Best Canada Road Trips
• Best Road Trip Essentials
• Fall in Canada
• Travel Resources

Canada Travel Hacks

You might think that traveling to Canada is more or less the same as traveling to the United States. But that’s just not true. Despite the two country sharing a border, there are a lot of differences but don’t worry; our Canada travel tips will cover everything you need to know. From general information and travel requirements to stereotypes and helpful Canada travel hacks and tricks, here’s everything you need to know before traveling to Canada!

Basic Information About Canada

Canada is home to 37 million people.

Official Language

The official languages are English and French.

Canada ”s official currency is the Canadian Dollar (currency code CAD). One Euro/USD is equal to roughly 1.5-1.4 CAD.

With a territory of 9,984,670 square kilometers, Canada is the 2nd largest country in the world. Canada is bordered by Alaska in west, and by 12 US states of the continental United States in south, Canada shares maritime borders with Greenland and Saint Pierre and Miquelon (belongs to France).

Because of the vast region Canada has many climates, most of Canada has a continental climate where the southeast and the southwest coast has temperate climate, and the northernmost has a sub-arctic climate.

Economy & Budget

Canada has a highly developed economy with a free market economy. Backpackers can survive with around $60 per day, while mid-range travelers spend between $120 and $150 per day on average.

Ottawa is the capital city of Canada with a total population of 994,000.

Books to read before traveling to Canada

More canada travel hacks.

A Travel Guide to Whitehorse, Yukon

Whitehorse is unlike any city I’ve visited before. As the capital of Canada’s Yukon Territory, Whitehorse is home to just under 30,000 people – almost the total population of the entire Territory – and it’s so far north that you need to drive south to reach Alaska. Yukoners who live in Whitehorse value living among nature (which the …

5 Canadian road trips to get on your bucket list

Canada has got to be one of the most gorgeous countries on Earth. With breath-taking landscapes of snowy mountain peaks, glistening blue lakes and sprawling green forests, it’s the kind of place where you don’t need any ‘activities’, you can simply spend your entire trip admiring the views. The expanses of Canada are as vast …

The Travel Hack’s Guide to The Yukon

  Located in southwest Canada, the wild and sparsely populated Yukon territory is paradise for every adventure seeker and landscape lover. It’s a place to escape from everyday life and enjoy a natural, unedited version of the world. Glassy blue lakes fringed with impossibly straight trees and rugged mountains with snowy peaks lingering in the distance. …

Year-Round Adventure in the Yukon

There’s something about the Yukon that just gets under your skin. While I was there I heard the same story over and over again, from countless people. “I came for a week, for a holiday,” they’d say with a shrug. “That was twenty years ago.” “So what made you stay?” I’d ask, and they’d simply …

10 reasons you need to visit the Yukon right now

If you’ve been following October’s Destination of the Month, you’ll probably have picked up by now that I’m just a little bit obsessed with the Yukon. It’s an area of the world I knew very little about before I arrived, so I was totally blown away by the beauty, the friendly people, the absolute wilderness all …

Finding Silence in the Yukon’s Southern Lakes

Do you know what silence sounds like? It might seem like a stupid question, but until I travelled to the Yukon, I’d never experienced true, uninterrupted silence. It was one of the most startling things I noticed while I was there. Life in London is noisy at the best of times, so for me, silence is …

How to Shop Till You Drop in Edmonton

It probably doesn’t sound like an obvious choice for shopping, but the city of Edmonton in the Canadian Province of Alberta is, surprisingly, the perfect destination for a shopaholic. Dangerously good, but perfect. Whether you love huge malls with international brands and gleaming department stores or you’re more fond of independent boutiques and hunting for …

Unexpected Edmonton: 10 things you didn’t know

Edmonton, a Canadian city relatively unknown to many outside of that great vast country, especially when compared to the mighty beasts of Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver. Yet, Edmonton is one of those hidden gem kind of cities that us travel-folks love to discover! When I was invited on The Travel Hack trip to Edmonton I jumped …

Searching for Northern Lights in the Yukon

When I arrived in the Yukon, I announced to my guide that I wanted to see two things: a moose, and the northern lights. I knew better than to expect the aurora borealis – also known as the northern lights – on demand. There was a time when I was obsessed with seeing them. I …

Dog Sledding in Canada

There is no way to gracefully fall from a dog sled. They make it look so easy as they stand on the back of the sled with their army of powerful dogs ploughing through the snow. But they don’t tell you is a dog sled is really difficult to stay on! Well, for someone who …

Farm to Fork: Range Road Gourmet Dinner in Edmonton

On a gloriously warm evening in Edmonton we were treated to a super special dinner at the Prairie Gardens with Range Road Dinners, a local food and local chef initiative that gave us the opportunity to sample some incredible fresh gourmet food. We were here for a delicious meal but it was also to learn …

Finding Wilderness in Kluane National Park, Yukon

Kluane National Park was one of the highlights of my trip to the Yukon. By the time I reached the park, I’d had a few days exploring this vast Canadian Territory, so I thought I had seen all of the breathtaking scenery there was to offer. How wrong I was! Kluane is an area of …

52 Essential Edmonton Experiences you Need to Try

Edmonton’s one of those destinations that sort of sneaks up on you. As soon as we arrived, and crossed over the North Saskatchewan River, we were struck by our first glimpse of the city. It’s surrounded by parklands and greenery, so it’s got a lot of natural beauty to offer, but there’s so much more …

Canada Royal Tour in Whitehorse, Yukon

Elle has just returned from an incredible trip to the Yukon in Canada where she joined the press team and followed the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge during their Canada Royal Tour. If you’ve been following Elle’s trip on Instagram you will have seen how beautiful the Yukon looks! Today, Elle is sharing her experience …

I’m going to The Yukon on a Canadian Wilderness Adventure!

I’m so excited to announce that next week I’ll be flying to the Yukon for a week of exploring, and a little bit of Royal spotting. Yep, you read that right. Royals. The Royal Visit to Canada The Royal Family recently announced that The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge will be embarking on an incredible …

A Foodie’s Guide to Edmonton, Canada

Edmontonians are proud of their city’s food scene. Get talking to a local about their hometown (it’s easy, they love where they live) and food is bound to come up early in the conversation. And it’s easy to see why, when there are so many incredible cafes, restaurants and bars dotting the city. They even …

Team Travel Hack’s first epic day in Edmonton, Canada

  Our team trip to Edmonton already feels like a distant dream. But one of those gorgeous dreams where you keep remembering fragments of it and having flashbacks for years to come. A smell, a taste, the way a person says your name can bring back memories that instantly transport you there. And in my …

8 Reasons you need to visit Edmonton…Now!

The city of Edmonton in Alberta, Canada deserves a bit of a spotlight. If you haven’t been you’re seriously missing out and if you have been, well I’m sure you won’t need me to tell you that you need to visit Edmonton again! I’ve just returned from a family break out there and am already …

Your Ultimate Guide to the World Ski and Snowboard Festival (WSSF)

“Party in April. Sleep in May”. That’s the tagline accompanying Whistler’s annual Ski and Snowboard Festival. To be honest, it tells you a lot of what you need to know about the event… having just attended, I can confirm; sleep is most definitely needed. With late spring and summer being full of ski holiday deals, …

Glacier Adventures in Jasper

Contrary to every one else’s thoughts, this breakfast at the Crimson Hotel was my favourite on the trip so far. Freshly scrambled eggs, some diced potatoes, and a light fluffy pancake with a couple of strips of well cooked bacon drizzled maple syrup! YUM… At 7.45am we were fed and ready to leave Jasper town …

Downtown Edmonton and Elk Island National Park

Our Wednesday began at 8.30am where we met our fellow adventurers in the lobby and together, we headed on a 15 minute drive to Downtown Edmonton. To all of our delights, we were welcomed with a cup of coffee from Nomad Espresso and a selection of breakfast dishes from Northlands Truck 1879… Breakfast poutine (UNREAL), …

Visiting Jasper National Park

Day 3 in Canada had us venturing out of Edmonton and onto Jasper. We left our hotel at 7.45am to get a head start on the 4.5 hour journey through Jasper National Park to our first activity of the day – the Sulphur Skyline Hike. As you can see it’s a STUNNING drive, with some …

Canada: Arriving in Edmonton and a Food and Cocktail Tour

If exploring a brand new country, as beautiful as Canada, wasn’t enough, I was surprised by the smiley check in lady with an upgrade to Business Class. She actually looked as surprised as I did considering I was dressed in pretty much my pyjamas with the intent of optimising my comfort in economy class for …

Visiting Vancouver, Canada

Just before Christmas I had what can only be described as the best early Christmas present possible. It wasn’t that big bottle of Coco Mademoiselle or those leather boots that I’ve been hinting for (although I must have been a good girl because Santa brought me those too), it was a 10 day trip to …

Vibrant Dreamer

Globe Travel & Financial Independency Tale

Travel Hacking With Canadian Loyalty Programs

With the cost of flights and hotels at record highs, many people are turning to travel hacking to save money. Travel hacking is where people earn points and/or miles to help offset their future travel costs. However, with dozens of loyalty programs and hundreds of credit cards available, many people have no idea where to begin. If you’re a Canadian and want to start travel hacking, these are the loyalty programs you’ll want to become familiar with.

Air Canada’s loyalty program is called Aeroplan. What many people don’t realize is that Aeroplan went through a huge overhaul in 2021. These days, you can redeem any seat available on Air Canada. In addition, Aeroplan has more than 40 airline partners where you can redeem your points.

What makes Aeroplan appealing is that Air Canada has the most reach when it comes to Canadian airlines. Aeroplan points are also incredibly easy to earn since there are more than a dozen Aeroplan credit cards in Canada. Mid-tier and premium Aeroplan credit cards typically come with a welcome bonus in the 50,000 to 100,000 Aeroplan points range. That’s pretty generous, considering it’s not hard to find a return flight within Canada and the U.S. for under 30,000 Aeroplan points.

There is one downside to Aeroplan. They use dynamic pricing. That means when flights are in demand, the number of points required for an award flight also increases. It’s not uncommon to find flight prices that exceed the Aeroplan flight reward chart. Although this is highly annoying for consumers, there are always ways to save if you’re flexible.

WestJet Rewards

Air Canada may be the largest airline in Canada, but WestJet has a strong presence in western Canada, so it’ll appeal to many Canadians. Instead of earning points or miles with WestJet rewards, you earn WestJet Dollars. This effectively makes WestJet Rewards a cash back program.

While there’s no denying the simplicity of cash back, WestJet Rewards is a bit basic. Your WestJet dollars can only be used on WestJet flights and a handful of partners. In addition, you still need to pay airport transportation charges (ATC). Since you only have WestJet dollars to work with, you won’t be able to use your rewards for cheap aspirational travel such as a business class flight around the world.

That said, the strength of WestJet Rewards lies in its credit cards. The Westjet RBC World Elite Mastercard gives you your first checked bag free and an annual free companion voucher. The companion voucher is incredibly valuable since it allows a secondary passenger to travel with the primary cardholder at a fixed price.

Marriott Bonvoy

For those that want to focus on hotels instead of flights, Marriott Bonvoy will be of interest. Marriott Bonvoy is the loyalty program of Marriott International. Marriott International has more than 8,000 hotels in 140+ countries. Basically, it’s not hard to find a Marriott hotel anywhere in the world.

Marriott Bonvoy is relevant to Canadians since it’s the only major hotel chain with a co-branded credit card. With the Marriott Bonvoy Amex Card, you get a good welcome bonus and a free annual night certificate. That benefit more than covers the annual fee of $120.

Similar to Aeroplan, Marriott Bonvoy uses dynamic pricing. This can be annoying since the price of reward nights can fluctuate quite a bit. That said, when you book five nights on points, you’ll only pay for four. This lowers the average nightly rate, which can be quite good.

American Express Membership Rewards

Finally, there’s American Express Membership Rewards. This program is excellent since you can transfer your points to various travel loyalty programs. For example, you can transfer your points to Aeroplan at a 1:1 ratio or Marriott Bonvoy at a 1:1.2 ratio. This is relevant since your points are more flexible. You would only need to transfer your points when you find a good redemption.

More importantly, American Express credit cards come with some incredible welcome bonuses. For example, the Amex Platinum Card typically has a welcome bonus worth about 100,000 points. Since you can transfer your points to Aeroplan, you can maximize your value.

For example, 100,000 Aeroplan points will get you about three to four return flights within North America in economy class. That’s a value of around $2,000. Even though the card comes with an annual fee of $699, the welcome bonus would be worth more than double that.

The Bottom Line

Travel hacking requires a little bit of research, but the goal is to focus on programs that help you reach your dreams. To earn points fast, you need to sign up for credit cards with huge welcome bonuses and then cancel them before your second annual fee posts. Not everyone will like the idea of applying for new credit cards and then cancelling them, but there’s no other way to earn points as quickly. Always keep an eye out for the best travel credit cards in Canada , as there’s usually an offer that’s worth it.

Barry Choi is a personal finance and travel expert at moneywehave.com. He makes frequent

media appearances where he talks about all things related to money and travel.

Other Posts You Might Enjoy Reading

• Best Travel Credit Cards In Canada – How to Travel For Free
• How to Save on Gas in Canada – 10 Cents per Litre Discount – Road trip Gas Hacks
• TD Rejected My New Credit Card Application! Boo TD!
• BMO Rewards Points Value Guide – Maximize BMO Points Dollar Amount

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

Sign me up for the newsletter!

The best travel hacks to help you save money!

Ready for your next travel adventure? Read this article before you begin planning.

Travel hacking in Canada might seem challenging, since we have undeniably fewer credit card options compared to our neighbours to the south and we pay some of the highest airline taxes, fees, and surcharges in the world. But there are still some special tricks used by Canadian travel pros that are sadly underutilized by the general public.

Don’t overpay! Before you book your next vacation be sure to review the below strategies  and save more of your hard-earned loonies .

1. A little flexibility yields spectacular deals

Have you ever seen those ridiculously low fares on travel websites and wondered how they found them? Well, there’s a good chance they’re using  KAYAK’s explore tool . On KAYAK, you simply pick your departing airport, set your dates for “Anytime, Any Duration,” and then pick your budget. KAYAK will then display all the prices on your search criteria.

As you can see from the above screenshot, I found flights to Dublin from Toronto for $399 or to Bogota for $464. You have to click through to confirm the price and see the dates, but this tool is nonetheless one of the best travel hacks available since it’ll help you find cheap airfare with minimal effort.

2. Set up price alerts

Another feature that top travel websites offer (including Skyscanner and Google flights) is the invaluable price alert. This feature allows you to select flights you’d like to keep an eye on and then the website will email you whenever the price of airfare goes down. Since Skyscanner and Google flights have thousands of partners, you’re actually getting access to all of those sites at the same time, so there’s no need for you to spend hours scouring multiple platforms for the lowest airfare. Just wait for the emails and if you see a price drop down to a number you’re comfortable with, book it right away before it jumps back up.

3. A shoulder to fly on

When it comes to  travelling on a budget in Canada , opening yourself up to alternative travel seasons can lead to major savings. Many of us tend to have a set location and dates in mind when we’re dreaming up our trips, but you’ll usually only find deals that check off one of those criteria, not both.

Travelling during the low or shoulder seasons is a great way to get the most bang for your buck. March break, summertime, and Christmas are the most expensive times to travel in or out of Canada, so try to plan your trip for late spring or in the fall. You could also fly out between Tuesday – Thursday or in the mid-afternoon, since those dates and times tend to have less demand.

4. Nab free flights with the right travel card

There’s absolutely no reason to pay for a flight or hotel without getting something in return. There are many Canadian credit cards that offer rewards points that, when accumulated, can be redeemed for free travel, and they offer stellar travel perks on the side. Earn enough points and you can even  get free flights  or a  free night at a hotel .

5. Consolidate your points with transfers

Travel hacking in Canada becomes a bit easier if you know the  value of your points  and if/how they can be transferred to other loyalty programs. For example, American Express Membership Rewards have a base value of 1 cent per point if you redeem them for travel. Those points can be transferred to Marriott Rewards at a 1:1.2 basis which means if you want 50,000 Marriott Rewards points, it’ll cost you 41,667 Amex MR Points.

50,000 Marriott Rewards points will get you one free night at a category 6 hotel. However, the cash value of the night should be more than $416.67 to be worthwhile to you, since that’s the value of the points you had transferred from American Express. If the room you have an eye on only costs $350 for the night, you’re better off saving your 35,000 American Express Rewards points to make a more worthwhile redemption.

6. Sign up for every mailing list

Most people hate the idea of getting a bunch of emails, but it’s one of the quickest ways to find a travel deal. Travel websites, airlines, and tour operators always alert their mailing lists first about the most recent deals they offer. For sites that focus on mistake airfares, those deals could last just a few hours. For example,  nextdeparture.ca  recently found roundtrip tickets from Toronto to Thailand or Vietnam for $679 CAD which is about half of what you would normally pay.

Even major travel brands have special deals that go  exclusively  to their mailing list, since the exclusive deals incentivize customer loyalty. So next time you’re about to click ‘unsubscribe’, pause and reconsider. Don’t underestimate the value of a few extra emails landing in your inbox. It’s one of the best travel hacks out there!

About the Author

Moneywise Contributor

Barry Choi is a Toronto-based personal finance and travel expert who makes frequent media appearances. When he's not educating people on how to be smarter with money, he's earning and burning miles and points for luxury travel.

What to Read Next

Best staycation ideas to save you money

When your budget's not travel-friendly, take a trip in your own home

With a tight budget, why not vacation at home? Here are 10 staycation ideas in Canada that will also save money.

Your financial horoscope for this week

As J.P. Morgan reportedly said, “Millionaires don’t use astrology, billionaires do.”

Caring for your human (and fur) babies in job loss

Kids can take care of themselves, right?

The content provided on Money.ca is information to help users become financially literate. It is neither tax nor legal advice, is not intended to be relied upon as a forecast, research or investment advice, and is not a recommendation, offer or solicitation to buy or sell any securities or to adopt any investment strategy. Tax, investment and all other decisions should be made, as appropriate, only with guidance from a qualified professional. We make no representation or warranty of any kind, either express or implied, with respect to the data provided, the timeliness thereof, the results to be obtained by the use thereof or any other matter.

The Financial Post trademark is used under license from Postmedia Network Inc. All Rights Reserved.

• Book Travel
• Credit Cards

Travel Hacking in Canada

Welcome! If you’re reading this, you’re probably wondering how “travel hacking” works, and how you can use it to travel the world for almost free.

In fact, this website, Prince of Travel, is all about helping Canadians achieve exactly this: see more of the world, often in business class or First Class, at a fraction of the cost.

To be honest, I’m not a fan of the term “travel hacking” at all , given the connotations of the term. The art of travelling on points – a description I greatly prefer – basically boils down to:

Earning as many rewards points as possible for as little cost as possible, typically by signing up for credit cards with high signup bonuses

Redeeming those points for as high a value as possible, typically by travelling in business class or First Class

Here’s the caveat: while the idea behind maximizing Miles & Points is simple, carrying it out requires some legwork and research on your part. Have a look around this website, starting with the Newbie’s Guide , the introductory article to everything there is to know about this wonderful game we play.

Feel free to have a look around the site so you can start learning the tricks of the trade and achieving your upcoming travel goals. Travelling on points is one of the most fruitful and enjoyable things you can do if you’d like to see more of the world but don’t want to pay full price.

And if you have any questions, feel free to reach out via our contact form or via Instagram , Facebook , or Twitter .

Happy travels!

“This post contains hotel affiliate link such as The Marriott CF Toronto Downtown Hotel, I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on my link“. Please […]

Top Best Things to Do in Snowland, Toronto, Canada

Every world traveler must visit Toronto once in their life. It’s one of the fastest-growing cities in the world and it boasts everything from food, arcades, art, theater, […]

Vacation Travel Guide & Travel Stories in the Canadian Province of Ontario

Whoever wants to visit Canada, Ontario is a must-see place! With so much to do and so much to see, Ontario will surely be an exciting travel destination. […]

Copyright © 2019–2024 TAH Media & Consulting . All Rights Reserved.

Privacy Overview

The Ultimate Guide to Travel Hacking: Credit Card Bonus Categories and Beyond

Disclosure: The Globetrotting Teacher may receive commission from card issuers. Some or all of the card offers that appear on the The Globetrotting Teacher are from advertisers & may impact how & where cards appear on the site. The Globetrotting Teacher does not include all card companies or all available card offers. Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities.

How do you  keep maximizing your miles and points earnings  once you meet the minimum spend on your travel rewards credit card and earn the welcome bonus?

Many travel rewards credit cards come with bonus spending categories. With them, you’ll earn  more  than 1x point per dollar when you use the credit card for purchases in that specific category.

In order to leverage the full potential of credit card bonus categories, you have to keep track of which card to use when and where.

The Ultimate Guide to Travel Hacking: Credit Card Bonus Categories and Beyond!

There’s a running joke in my house where my husband often looks helplessly into his wallet not sure what credit card to use for which purchases.

He knows many of the cards have bonus categories and is  lucky  he has a travel-rewards obsessed wife who knows.

Oh, he  absolutely   loves  when I’m shouting, “Use   Sapphire Reserve !” as he runs in to pickup our Friday night pizza.

Step One- Know Your Credit Card Bonus Categories.

1.  As a travel hacking beginner , you likely have just a few travel rewards credit cards.

Knowing which card to use for specific types of spending should be clear and straightforward.  The key is remembering when you’re out there spending!  

Typical credit card bonus categories include spending on:

• restaurants
• streaming services
• office supplies
• and telecommunications (cable, the internet, phone, etc.).

The more you maximize your credit card bonus categories, the more miles and points you’ll earn in a shorter period of time.

The credit card bonus categories were probably part of the reason you applied for the card in the first place. It may also be what makes paying the annual fee on a credit card not only worth it but also a no-brainer.

One consideration is  knowing your spending patterns .

Someone who drives long distances for work should absolutely have a travel rewards credit card with a gas bonus category like one of the Hilton Surpass or Blue Cash Preferred offered by Amex or the Citi Premier.

Keep your  travel goal  in mind, though.

Having 100k Hilton points won’t necessarily be immediately valuable if your upcoming destinations don’t have Hilton properties nearby.

Do your research to know which type of miles and points you need for your travel goal.

The bottom line is you absolutely need to know and keep track of which credit card to use for which type of spending.  

2.  Some cards, like the  Chase Freedom Flex  have rotating bonus categories that change each quarter.

With these cards, you’ll earn 5x the points or cashback on whatever the bonus categories are for that quarter up to $1,500 in spending.

Before the new quarter begins, you need to activate the bonus category in order to qualify for the 5x the points or cashback. Both cards have no annual fee.

Chase Freedom Flex, in particular, partners perfectly with other Ultimate Rewards earning credit cards like the Sapphire Reserve, Sapphire Preferred, and Business Ink cards, allowing all points earned with Freedom to be transferred to one of the other cards.

Afterward, the total points can be transferred to Chase’s travel partners .

3.  One last option to consider is building a travel rewards wallet that includes a card for non-bonused spending.

You’ll inevitably have bills and purchases that don’t align with any bonus category. However, some cards offer more than 1x per dollar for all purchases.

Cards like Chase Freedom Unlimited, the Blue Business Plus Card from American Express, and the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card all earn more than 1x per dollar for all purchases.

Additionally, they all earn flexible rewards currency and combine well with other cards in their respective travel rewards eco-systems.

Stop and Think:

• What credit cards do you have?
• What bonus categories do they offer?

Make a note for yourself and stick it in your wallet or save it on your phone so you can refer to it when you’re making purchases.

As you continue with points and miles, the goal is to have cards to cover all your categories of spend so you’re always earning more than 1x for every dollar spent.

Step Two- Think Outside the Box

Knowing which card to use to maximize bonus categories is just the first step. 

The more you learn and the more creatively you think, the more likely it is you’ll find ways to double and triple dip on points.

Consider a few examples.

Chase Freedom Flex typically includes one quarter per year with a grocery spending category. All money spent up to $1,500 in grocery stores would earn 5x the points.

If you were to max out the bonus categories each quarter that would be an extra 7.5k points multiplied by 4 quarters for a total of 30k points annually.

Not bad for a no annual fee card!

But, what if you don’t spend $1,500 on groceries in a quarter? 

1.  Instead, make use of the gift card kiosks often found in grocery stores. They often sell gift cards from Visa to Starbucks to Home Depot and everything in between.

Think about upcoming purchases, gifts you plan to give, even grocery gift cards for yourself to use in the future, to make the most of the bonus category.

If you buy the gift cards with your Freedom Flex card, it will register as a grocery purchase and you’ll earn 5x the points.

If you have the Ink Cash, the same applies as above, except at office supply stores. I even purchase Amazon gift cards at office supply stores and load them into my Amazon account to always earn 5x the points when I shop there.

2. Double-dip on your miles and points earnings by using shopping portals .  

The miles and points earned from a shopping portal are  in addition  to your credit card’s bonus categories.

If you buy an item through a shopping portal that also happens to be a bonus category for one of your credit cards, you’ll earn miles and points from your credit card and through the shopping portal.

Office Supply stores sell visa gift cards, sometimes at a discount.  Staples even allows you to buy gift cards online.

Purchase the highest-value gift card with a points-earning credit card, preferably one that has an office supply bonus category. Then, use the visa gift card(s) to buy through a shopping portal to earn, even more, miles and points.

In particular with Visa gift cards, start slowly. Even if your intention is to use them for your bills and expenses, they sometimes attract the wrong kind of attention from banks.

3. American Express Offers is another way to think more creatively about your spending and earning.  

If you have an American Express account, go to the bottom of your home page and look for “Amex Offers & Benefits.” Click the “Load More” option to see all available offers.

Look for deals at places you would normally shop or at merchants where you plan to shop.

Also, though, look for discounted gift cards or purchases for stores like Lowes, Home Depot, or Staples that also have gift card kiosks. An offer might look like this, “Get $15 off when you spend $100 at Home Depot.”

If you find an Amex offer that works for you, simply click “add to card” and then use that credit card to make the purchase at that merchant before the offer expires.

But, how can this be lucrative for miles and points earning?!  

Consider the Home Depot offer from above. If you go to Home Depot and buy a Visa gift card from their gift card kiosk and pay with the American Express card you added the offer to, you’ll get a $100 gift card for $85.

• You’ll earn American Express points from the purchase.
• You’ll have made a profit because the activation fee for a visa gift card is usually $6.95 and you saved $15.
• Now, use that visa gift card to shop through a shopping portal. You’ll earn whatever the earn rate is for the store you choose.

ProTip: Just be sure to read the terms for each shopping portal. Some of the bank portals, like Chase and Capital One only let you earn points for shopping when you pay with one of their credit cards.

One note about Amex Offers… occasionally there are offers to increase the earn rate when you use your card at particular stores.

For example, earn 2x the points when you shop at Target or Amazon. This allows for a double dip if you use your American Express to shop at Target through a shopping portal.

It’s also a good way to earn extra at Amazon if you don’t have another way to increase your earn rate.

4.  Last but not least,  be on the lookout for time-sensitive promotions sent via email or snail mail.  

For example, my Citi American Airlines Platinum Select credit card upped its earn rate for specific bonus categories for a limited time. It made sense to use that card for these purchases during this time.

If I hadn’t checked my mail, I would’ve missed it!

Give it a try.

• Which credit card can you use to buy a gift card to do some portal shopping?
• Check out the Amex Offers for your card to see what’s currently offered.

Step Three- Every Little Bit Helps!

I’m always looking for ways to maximize my spending and you should, too. In fact, I have no loyalty to any stores. I follow the best deals to earn as many miles and points and other rewards as possible.

Here are a few ideas to consider in addition to the ideas above.

• Take a look at rewards websites and apps like Ibotta and Dosh.  They allow you to earn cashback rewards that stack with your credit card bonus categories and shopping portals. 
• Remember shopping portals for travel bookings, too!  Hotels like Marriott and IHG can earn extra airline miles and because you still book through the hotel itself, you’re able to earn hotel points and accrue nights to earn status. 
• Speaking of booking travel,  use shopping portals to earn when booking on sites like  Expedia  and  Travelocity .  Not only will you earn rewards from the portal, log in to your account, for example, with Expedia to also earn Expedia points.
• Lastly,  look for shopping portal promotions.   Back-to-school  and the holiday season often come with miles and points earning bonuses for meeting spending tiers. This is in addition to any rewards earned from your credit card, an Amex offer, Ibotta, etc.

Credit Card bonus categories are the key to long-term miles and points earning. With some effort, your purchases can yield huge returns on your spending in the form of travel rewards.

What questions do you have about credit card bonus categories?

Like this post? Please share it on social media using the share buttons below!

Related Posts

Earning with Dining Programs

The Wonders of Shopping Portals

4 thoughts on “the ultimate guide to travel hacking: credit card bonus categories and beyond”.

Why would people buy gift cards through Amazon or Ebay (then you mail them the card?) when they can just purchase them at stores? What am I missing about this? I am intrigued by the idea.

Hi Sunny, I know how you feel. It’s an intriguing idea. People would buy the gift cards from a seller/reseller on Amazon or Ebay because it comes at a discount. So either you have gotten a gift card at a discount and then sell it for that amount. Or, you’re buying gift cards and reselling them at a discount. The upside for you is that you earn the miles on your card, but pay less to earn them. So if you buy a $50 gift card and resell it for $40, you’re earning miles on $50 but really spending $10 to earn them. The downside is that gift card values can fluctuate and other issues could arise like the card getting lost in the mail. Still, though, there are travel hackers who do this on a large scale and have success. Just do your research first and understand the time and risk involved. Hope that helps!

As per this comment about the Chase Freedom card, “But, what if you don’t spend $1,500 on groceries in a quarter? This is often my dilemma.” Must you spend the quarterly limit to get the 5x points? Do you not get the 5x points if you don’t spend, for example, $1500?

Thanks for reading, Jan. You absolutely will get the 5x the points on any amount of money spent in the bonus category up to $1500. If you don’t have enough spending to max out the $1500 then consider getting creative. For example, this quarter you can earn 5x the points at Walgreens. Walgreens sells gift cards for all kinds of merchants. Sometimes I’ll buy some Amazon gift cards or some for another merchant I know I’ll use in the future to try and max out the bonus. Hope that helps! 🙂

Leave a Comment Cancel Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed .

Privacy Overview

The Starter’s Guide to Canadian Travel Hacking Part 1: Flights

• May 22, 2016

Canadian travel hacking is great. Not as good as in the United States but still great. That’s because we have the second best travel hacking opportunity in the whole wide world!

Why should you travel hack? Do you want to see the world? Do you love getting travel deals? Want to increase the frequency that you travel every year?

Regardless of your reason, with travel hacking, you can double, triple or quadruple the amount of travel you do per year! How does that sound?

So, what exactly is travel hacking?

That’s a good question and here is the answer: travel hacking is utilizing every loop hole in the system to help you save tons of money on travel. Many of the travel hacking tricks are unconventional which is actually a good thing. If everyone travel hacked, it wouldn’t be as lucrative as it is today. So don’t worry if most people don’t want to do it. It’s not for everyone. It’s for people who will do whatever it takes to travel more often without going broke.

How I got started on Canadian travel hacking

Let me tell you a quick story on how I got started on Canadian travel hacking. When Karen (my girlfriend) and I first started dating, I promised her that I would take her to Harry Potter Land one day. In September 2014, I had just paid off my student loan at that time (September 2014) and didn’t have much left in my savings account.

After coming back from a short road trip between Las Vegas and Bryce Canyon National Park, Karen and I felt that we did a pretty good job budget wise for this trip. So, while hanging out with my friend, I told him how much money Karen and I saved thanks to flying on a budget airline (Allegiant). He laughed at me and said he went to Asia for $90. I was shocked. He then taught me about his Canadian travel hacking tricks.

Long story short, Karen and myself started using the travel hacking strategies. And, by December 2014, we were able to fly round trip to Florida from Vancouver for merely $140! We also did a 5-day Caribbean cruise for $270 per person including tax and stayed at a Marriott Hotel for free. I fulfilled my promise to her despite being flat broke!

All Smiles at Harry Potter Land

Learn how you can do it:

Canadian travel hacking topics:.

• Accommodations
• Hotel Elite Status
• Relocation Vehicles – Cars, RVs, Campervans

Travel Hacking Flights

The cheap way.

The cheap way to book your flights would be to use flight aggregate sites such as these two:

If your flight date is flexible, you can certainly find some deals that cost below the average ticket price. And as a result, you will save some money.

The problem is, it might take you awhile to find those really awesome deals. Which leads us to…

The Cheaper Way

The cheaper way to book your flights would be to use websites that focuses on flight deals. They are:

• nextdeparture (not as good as they used to be)
• secretflying
• flyfork (hasn’t been updated since December 2019)

They often have cheap deals, mistake fares, and last minute flights. From my opinion, secretflying and yvrdeals are currently the best option of the four.

Hidden city ticketing

Hidden city ticketing means you fly to a specific destination but you get off the airport at your layover. Here’s a scenario: you live in Toronto and you want to fly to LA. The ticket to LA, for some reason, is more expensive than flying to Honolulu. What you then do is use the skiplagged.com and fly to Honolulu instead. On the way to Honolulu, your flight will have a layover in LA. You will then leave the airport at LA instead of taking the connecting flight to Honolulu. This is what hidden city ticketing means. And, it’s a great way to save money on airfare. Keep in mind that this method is frowned upon by airlines; nonetheless, it is completely legal and there’s nothing stopping you from using this strategy.

Another excellent way to travel for cheap is to use budget airlines. For example, you can get an Air Asia pass and fly around Asia for really cheap.

Here is a list of some of the more useful budget airlines to use world wide:

• Allegiant Air  – Western United States
• Ryanair  – Europe
• Easyjet  – Europe
• Jetstar Airways – Australia
• Air Asia – Southeast Asia
• Viva Colombia – South and Central America

Here is the link to the rest of the budget airlines worldwide.

The problem with budget airlines is that they are limited to a specific region in the world. For example, Allegiant Air is strictly for Western United States. I can’t use Allegiant to fly overseas.

This is when the cheapest method of travel comes in…

The Cheapest Way

The single best way to Canadian Travel Hacking is to use frequent flyer points.

Back in 2016 while using the old Aeroplan program, I used my miles to book a flight from Vancouver to Tel Aviv, Israel . After taking advantage of Aeroplan routes that charge lower carrier fee, and spending 40,000 Aeroplan miles, the cost of the flight was merely $73.53 .

After doing a quick search on Skyscanner, the cost of the exact same flight is $1,046.04. That is over $900 more than what I paid!

The Slow Way and Faster Way to Earn Frequent Flyer Miles

The slow way to earn frequent flyer miles is the traditional way.

In the traditional way, you earn points by spending money. Typically, for every dollar you spend, you will earn 1 mile. For example, it cost 25,000 Aeroplan miles round-trip to fly to Honolulu from Vancouver. Traditionally, you need to spend $25,000 to get 25,000 miles.

Some people are more strategic and will take advantage of points multipliers that comes with certain credit cards. For example, with the TD Aeroplan Infinite VISA, you can earn double the points when buying groceries. That means if you run all your grocery bill onto your TD Aeroplan Infinite VISA, you can double the speed when earning frequent flyer miles. This strategy is not bad and I do encourage you to maximize the points you earn. But as you can already guess, there is a much faster way to earn miles.

Credit Card Sign Up Bonuses 

Taking advantage of credit card signup bonuses is the single fastest way to earn frequent flyer miles. (Aeroplan will be your go-to frequent flyer program in Canada)

Here’s an example:

You want to fly to Hawaii from Vancouver.  You check the new Aeroplan Points Predictor Tool to see how many points you need:

Looks like you need, at most, 17,500 points to fly one-way to Hawaii from Vancouver. The quickest way to get that 35,000 points to fly round-trip is to signup for credit cards with enough welcome bonus to earn you those points.

Here is an example of how to use a credit card to give you enough points to travel to Hawaii:

During promotional periods, you can apply for the TD Aeroplan Visa Infinite. With this card, you can earn 10,000 points after your first purchase. Then, you will earn 10,000 points after spending $1000 within the first 90 days of getting the card. Finally, you can earn 30,000 points from exchanging your buddy pass to Aeroplan points. The credit card has the annual fee waived for the first year which saves you more money.

Disclaimer: I am not affiliated with TD or any other credit card companies. 

If you want to travel elsewhere, simply check the Aeroplan points predictor tool website to determine how many points you need. Then, apply for a credit card during promotions that will earn you the most amount of Aeroplan points.

If you are curious to see how credit card signups will affect your credit score, feel free to read this blog post . The linked article is a guide on how to keep your credit score healthy as you travel hack your way to all your dream destinations.

After earning the points you need, it’s time to book your flight.

Booking Aeroplan Flights

Since the release of the new Aeroplan program, fuel surcharge is a thing of the past. Booking your Aeroplan points has never been easier. Simply go to the Air Canada website, pick your destination, and book away! It’s no longer as complicated as the old program.

With that being said, there are more complex routing available for advanced Aeroplan users. Check out this ultimate guide to the new Aeroplan program to learn more how it works.

Canadian Travel Hacking Flights Conclusion

In this article, we came to the conclusion that travel hacking is the best way to save money on travel. Even if you are the casual traveler, you can reap the benefits of travel hacking by simply getting three new credit cards per year. That’s roughly 80,000 points.

Let’s say you budget $2000 per year on buying airfare. With travel hacking, you can easily double, triple, quadruple the amount of traveling you will be able to do. Instead of spending that $2000 on one overseas ticket. You can get three credit cards, earn 80,000 miles and spend around $100-$200 for one round trip flight.

You can then use the remaining $1800 on the other cheap flying methods such as using budget airlines or getting flight deals from the other websites.

Let’s say you find a flight to Asia from secretflying.com for $700. Then you take Allegiant Air to Las Vegas for $150. That still leaves you with $950 and you’ve flown three times already!

In part 2 of the Starter’s Guide to Canadian Travel Hacking, I will be covering accommodations.

Subscribe to Travel and Live Free’s email list to get the latest blog post and updates!

Like me at  Facebook  to get the latest updates on my journey around the world. Don’t forget to subscribe to my  YouTube  channel to watch the latest video of my travels

Share this:

• Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
• Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
• Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)
• Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
• Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)
• Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)
• Points and Miles
• Aeroplan , Air Canada , alaska airlines , American Express , Canadian Long Term Travel , Canadian Travel , canadian travel hacking , Fairmont , Frequent Flyer , Harry Potter Land , Hyatt , Israel , Marriott Hotel , PointsandMiles , Popular , start here , Travel , Travel Hacking , travel hacking canada , Travel the World

6 thoughts on “The Starter’s Guide to Canadian Travel Hacking Part 1: Flights”

Nice guide Kendrick! I wasn’t aware of the flight deals sites. How I wish it’s easier for people from Singapore and Malaysia to earn miles with credit cards! Recetly I applied one and had to spend $1000 in 2 months to earn 8000 miles for the sign up bonus.

Hi Hazel, great to hear from you. Yeah… unfortunately, the order of countries with a stronger frequent flyer program would be USA > Canada > UK/Germany/???/Australia > everyone else. That’s good that you are trying your best to still earn some points. I heard HSBC can give you some Kris Flyer points, feel free to research that. You can also try RocketMiles and get an American or Canadian address to earn some points. It’s great if you plan on booking accommodations and would like to rack up frequent flyer points, quickly. I bet you can even get Aeroplan points by using RocketMiles. Feel free to shoot me an email after you do some research on those areas and I’ll see if I can help you out.

Pingback: The Starter's Guide to Canadian Travel Hacking Cruise Ships

Pingback: The Starter's Guide to Travel Hacking Relocation Vehicles

Pingback: The Starter's Guide to Travel Hacking Hotel Elite Status

Pingback: Free Air Berlin Silver Status and One World Ruby Status for 4 Months

Comments are closed.

380 Days of Travel Around the World Music Video

Kendrickanguy.

Enter your email to receive the Travel and Live Free Newsletter and a 10 step cheat sheet To traveling around the world!

• About Kendrick
• Privacy Policy
• Travel Destinations
• North America
• South America

Travel Tips

Products and services.

• Travel Courses

Follow Us On The Web

Travel and Live Free

All rights reserved..

This browser is not supported. Please use another browser to view this site.

• Credit cards

Newcomers to Canada

• ETF finder tool
• Best crypto
• Couch potato
• Fixed rates
• Variable rates
• Mortgage payment calculator
• Income property
• Renovations + maintenance
• Compound interest calculator
• Household finances
• Find a Qualified Advisor Tool
• Monthly budget template
• ETF Finder Tool
• Student money
• First-time home buyers
• A Guide For New Immigrants
• Best dividend stocks
• Best online brokers
• Where to buy real estate
• Best robo-advisors
• Making sense of the markets

Ask a Planner

• A Rich Life
• Interviews + profiles

Retired Money

Advertisement

By Margaret Montgomery on November 2, 2023 Estimated reading time: 9 minutes

Travel hacks to help you save money on your next trip

Here are some ways Canadians can save money on travel for holiday vacations and beyond—including flight hacks, thrifty destinations and more.

Despite high interest rates and inflation, statistics show that many Canadians are still making travel a priority. In August 2023, Canadians took 924,900 return trips overseas, up 22.9% year-over-year and just 17.4% shy of pre-pandemic levels, reports Statistics Canada . Bookings by Canadians going overseas have grown year-over-year for each month in 2023 so far. Talk about escaping reality.

Many of us are also making sacrifices to afford our vacation plans. Forty one per cent of Canadians cut back on their grocery spending to afford travel, according to a survey by FlightHub Group . Plus, over one in four (28%) Canadians who can’t afford travel have taken on credit card debt to finance their trips, the survey found. 

Nobody wants to come home from a relaxing holiday only to face a sizable credit card bill. (Yup, I’ve been there myself, and while I’m not proud, I’m not afraid to admit it.) Instead of taking on debt to pay for travel, try a combination of money-saving strategies and clever travel hacks from the experts. Here’s how to get started.

3 ways to save money on travel for Canadians 

1. choose an affordable destination.

Where you go can make a big difference in cost. Danica Nelson is a personal finance influencer and avid traveller who’s visited 25 countries. When she’s not border-hopping, she maintains a home base in Toronto. Nelson says that choosing affordable destinations where she can stretch her Canadian dollar further—like Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam, to name a few—has been key. 

“In Vietnam, I could stay in a five-star hotel for as low as $55 Canadian per night. In Da Nang, you could get the freshest seafood available and a beer for $5 Canadian, or a banh mi sandwich for about $1 Canadian,” Nelson says. She’s even gotten a flower bath and one-hour massage for $60 Canadian in Bali. (FOMO-inducing, I know.) For more inspiration, check out four Canadian digital nomads who travel to, or live year-round in, affordable destinations like Panama, Costa Rica, Greece and more. 

What’s your strategy for saving on your next trip? ✈️ — MoneySense (@MoneySense) November 2, 2023

2. Use a travel credit card to save money and earn more travel points 

Booking with a travel credit card can be a cheaper way to travel, since you may be able to get cheaper pricing on flights, hotels and rental cars through your credit card’s rewards program. With my co-branded CIBC Aeroplan Visa card, for example, I earn Aeroplan points on my purchases, and I can get preferred pricing on Air Canada flights. This means I can use fewer Aeroplan rewards points than the amount typically required to book flights. 

Nelson adds that using a travel card can also help you avoid foreign transaction fees (typically around 2% to 3%) while you’re abroad, and earn more points to redeem towards hotels or flights for future trips. 

3. Switch to carry-on luggage 

Switching out your suitcase for a carry-on bag can help you save money and time at the airport. “Travelling with only a carry-on- has been a way that people have learned to save a lot of money by not having to pay for checked baggage fees,” Nelson says. She recommends investing in a small suitcase that fits the airline carry-on baggage size requirements and one personal item like a backpack, purse or tote bag. Check ahead of time whether your flight carrier charges for checked baggage, as in some cases, you could get a stowed suitcase for free with your ticket.

Personally, I’ve changed over to a small carry-on suitcase, and it’s saved me the hassle and cost of checked baggage. Some other hacks I use to save money on travel: I buy groceries for lunches and breakfasts. I also budget for dinners out ahead of time, and any other costs like coffees or treats here and there.

Flight booking hacks to use for your next trip 

Nelson uses travel deal sites like Next Departure (which also has an app) and Flytrippers, and flight search tools like Google Flights to get notified when airlines have flash sales. 

“Google Flights will give you a calendar that shows when would be the cheapest return and departure days for you to travel on after you input the length of your trip,” Nelson says. 

Another easy thing to do is sign up for airline newsletters or follow airlines on social media. Air Canada, WestJet and other airlines often have deals for flights to certain destinations or incentives for booking all-inclusive trip packages (hello, holiday vacation). So if you’re looking for discounts, turn those email notifications on. 

It’s easier to get cheaper flights if you can be flexible with your dates, Nelson notes. She also recommends avoiding peak travel dates like long weekends, holidays and mid-summer. Flight prices tend to be more expensive on weekends in general, so if you can, try to fly on a weekday, too. 

If you can’t be flexible with your dates and you prefer to iron out your plans ahead of time, don’t fret—Nelson says she sometimes sees deals that are posted a few months in advance. Again, it’s a good idea to sign up for airline mailing lists and follow airlines on social media.

Using travel rewards points to save money 

You can choose from a wide range of credit card rewards programs to fit your spending habits and preferences. If you want to make travel a priority, consider using a travel credit card that allows you to earn points you can redeem on flights and hotels. Travel cards often come with insurance—which can cover trip cancellations, flight delays and emergency medical expenses—and rental car insurance. That may save money on something you weren’t expecting to happen, from lost baggage and a canceled flight to a hospital stay. Look into what your card’s insurance policy includes—if the coverage is good enough, you might not have to tack on any extra coverage when booking your vacay. 

Nelson says she saves a lot of money on flights and accommodations by redeeming credit card reward points. She uses the Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite, which earns Scene+ points , because she prefers the flexibility of being able to redeem her points on her credit card statements to cover travel bookings for everything from flights to Airbnbs and hotels. She isn’t loyal to specific airlines, so Scene+ works better for her than programs that require booking flights through a travel portal. Nelson says that American Express travel credit cards offer similar flexibility and high earn rates, as you can transfer your points to other airline programs for “the ultimate flexibility.” She does say that travel rewards points systems aren’t always easy to navigate, and that you should do the math to see if it would be cheaper for you to redeem your hard-earned points or pay out of pocket. 

“If you are someone who tends to travel in North America, for example, or you have a more consistent or predictable way to travel, then airline-specific travel points programs [like Aeroplan] might actually be the best for you,” Nelson says. “You can apply the points towards your favourite airline and maybe get upgraded to business class.”

How much money should you save to travel?    

Create a budget for your vacation to estimate your total travel expenses and determine how much you need to save for your big trip.

A sinking fund is a great way to separate your “fun money” (a.k.a. travel money) from your “bills and necessities” account. Nelson recommends that you stash your sinking fund savings in a high-interest savings account (HISA) . She suggests looking for accounts with generous interest rate offers and welcome bonuses. She uses EQ’s Personal Account and the Wealthsimple Cash Account. That way, you can be rewarded for your savings and grow your balance—that means more money for dinners out and souvenirs on your getaway. 

I use a HISA myself to save for trips, starting several months in advance. The high promotional rates applied to my deposits help my savings grow steadily. 

How to budget for travel

Joseph Curry, Certified Financial Planner at Matthews + Associates in Peterborough, Ontario and Founder of RetirementPlanningSimplified.ca, applies the personal finance mantra “pay yourself first” for discretionary savings like travel. He says your “hub account” is where your income should go, using this model. Payments like your rent/mortgage, retirement savings and utility bills should be automatically drawn out of the hub account, Curry says. Then you have your discretionary spending account, which you can use for expenses like groceries . (Yes—groceries are discretionary, even though they are a necessity, because you can go “all out” and buy fancy foods or stick to the essentials, depending on your values, Curry says.) 

“The problem for people who want to travel is that if you just put all that excess discretionary money down into one account, it usually just gets spent right away because you know you don’t need the money for travel or other big ticket items right away,” Curry says. “Then when the trip comes up, you might have to end up putting your trip expenses on your credit card, because you didn’t save any of your discretionary money specifically for travelling.” 

Relying on your credit card for travel expenses can be dangerous, Curry says, because your balance might grow beyond what you can pay off when you return—especially if you rack up interest charges, too. “It’s kind of a snowball effect that will just make it more and more difficult to travel in the future, because now instead of starting to save for the next trip you are stuck paying down the previous trip.” 

This is why he suggests opening a separate high-interest savings account for your travel funds. Set up an automatic transfer or manually move some money from your discretionary account (what’s left after paying your bills) to your travel fund after each paycheque. But make sure you know how much discretionary money you need to set aside for groceries and things you may not want to part with—like a gym membership or your cellphone plan. 

The ultimate travel budgeting hack: Figure out your values and priorities 

Be conscious about where you want your discretionary money to go. Get clear on your priorities, too—if you value shopping and dinners out more than you value travel, then you don’t have to say yes to every trip you’re invited to (like your cousin’s destination wedding or a lavish bachelorette party abroad). But if travel is a priority for you and you have a few vacations planned for the year, get started on your sinking fund.

Read more about travel :

• The best credit cards for airport lounge access in Canada for 2023
• Working towards your dream lifestyle? Here’s how financial goals can help
• The best travel insurance credit cards in Canada for 2023
• Is your credit card’s travel insurance enough?

Share this article Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linkedin Share on Reddit Share on Email

About Margaret Montgomery

Comments cancel reply.

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Related Articles

Buying ETFs in Canada Tool: The MoneySense ETF Screener

Which ETFs should you invest in? Which ones best suit your risk tolerance? What about personal ethics? Check out...

The best cities in Canada for work for newcomers

Sponsored By

National Bank of Canada

Making sense of the markets this week: April 28, 2024

Google to the moon, Meta, IBM, and Canadian railway stocks are down, automakers have a good earnings day, Verizon...

Wise card Canada review 2024

This prepaid travel card eliminates foreign exchange charges on your purchases abroad, though the loading fees could irk some...

PepsiCo beats Q1 revenue forecasts as price increases

Food and beverage company expects organic growth of 4% in 2024.

GM reports first-quarter earnings for 2024

General Motors reports strong first-quarter profits as prices help offset small U.S. sales dip.

My MoneySense

“My take on debt has changed over time”: Eva Wong on saving and investing

Borrowell’s co-founder and COO on the best and worst financial advice, and the biggest money lesson she’s learned from...

How to double your CPP income

New analysis from the National Institute on Ageing makes a strong case for delaying Canada Pension Plan payments to...

“Should I delay my CPP if I’m not contributing to it?”

You can still benefit from deferring Canada Pension Plan payments with less than maximum contributions.

A closer look at “Sell in May and go away”

A pattern in the markets works—until it doesn’t. Investors will be better off focusing on the fundamentals.

• Skip to content

Travel Hacking & Amex Card Insights For Canada

Amex Canada Credit Card Rewards Tips for Travel

Learn how to turn everyday purchases into rewarding vacations. Travel smarter, travel better with PointsWise – your go-to guide for unlocking the full potential of your American Express Credit Card in Canada.

How to Earn the Marriott Bonvoy Amex Referral Bonus in Canada

Introduction Amex Canada has a Refer a Friend program for its Cardmembers, so existing Cardmembers can…

Continue Reading How to Earn the Marriott Bonvoy Amex Referral Bonus in Canada

A Beginner’s Guide to Marriott Bonvoy Amex Card Benefits in Canada

Introduction Loyalty pays when it comes to staying at Marriott hotels. As a Marriott Bonvoy Amex…

Continue Reading A Beginner’s Guide to Marriott Bonvoy Amex Card Benefits in Canada

Marriott Bonvoy Amex Card: How It Works for 5x Points on Gas & Travel in Canada

How to Earn the Marriott Bonvoy Amex Card Welcome Bonus in Canada

Aeroplan Reserve Cards See New Welcome Bonuses

Discover the most rewarding amex cards.

Turn everyday purchases into rewarding vacations with a Canadian Amex Card. PointsWise shows you how.

Featured Card: Amex Cobalt

Read the Amex Cobalt Review

Amex Cobalt Tips & Tricks

• Welcome Bonus: up to 15000 Amex points
• Annual Fee: $155.88 ($12.99/mo)
• Rewards: Earn 5x points on eligible eats and drinks in Canada, including groceries and food delivery. Spend cap applies.

Amex Card Reviews

• Amex Aeroplan Business Reserve Card Canada Review
• Amex Aeroplan Card Canada Review
• Amex Aeroplan Reserve Card Canada Review
• Amex Business Edge Card Canada Review
• Amex Gold Rewards Card Canada Review
• Amex Business Platinum Card Canada Review
• Amex Cobalt Card Canada Review
• Amex Green Card Canada Review
• Amex Platinum Canada Review
• Amex SimplyCash Canada Review
• Amex SimplyCash Preferred Canada Review
• Marriott Bonvoy Business Card Amex Canada Review
• Marriott Bonvoy Card Amex Canada Review

Apply for An Amex Card

Sign Up for our Newsletter

Get alerts on the best welcome bonus offers, and learn how to maximize your Amex Card rewards in Canada.

Learn the secrets to earning points on everyday purchases with your Amex Credit Card and treat yourself to a vacation. PointsWise shows Canadians how it's done.