AI-narrated version of this post using a synthetic voice. Great for accessibility or listening while busy.
Affiliate disclosure: NorthMarkets participates in referral and affiliate programs including Wealthsimple. We may earn a referral bonus when you sign up through our links, at no additional cost to you. Card issuer rates, fees, and welcome offers are set by the banks and change frequently — always confirm current terms on the issuer’s official page before applying. Nothing on this page constitutes personalized financial advice. See our Disclaimer for full details.
Try Wealthsimple — get $25 free when you fund an account
Canada’s largest commission-free investing platform. Trade stocks, ETFs, crypto, plus a high-interest cash account. We use it for our own RRSP and TFSA. Get $25 when you fund any account with this link:
Every year the “best travel card” conversation in Canada gets a little more crowded, and a little more confusing. Aeroplan cards, fixed-value Visa Infinites, and Membership Rewards cards all solve slightly different problems, and the right pick depends less on which card has the flashiest welcome bonus and more on how you actually travel. This guide breaks down the strongest options for Canadians heading into 2026, what they actually cost after the marketing numbers wear off, and which traveler profile each one fits best.
How We Picked These Cards
We focused on cards that are widely available to Canadian applicants, have a track record of honouring their welcome offers, and earn in a currency (Aeroplan points, Avion points, or Membership Rewards points) that’s genuinely useful for Canadians flying out of Calgary, Toronto, or Vancouver. We left out ultra-niche business cards and any card requiring US residency. Annual fees, bonus structures, and minimum spend requirements shift throughout the year, so treat the figures below as a snapshot and double-check the issuer’s page before you apply.
Quick-Look Comparison
| Card | Annual Fee | Welcome Bonus (approx.) | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|
| TD Aeroplan Visa Infinite | $139 (first-year rebate offers common) | Up to ~40,000 Aeroplan points | Air Canada loyalists who want a lower entry fee |
| Amex Aeroplan Reserve | ~$599 | Up to ~85,000 Aeroplan points | Frequent Air Canada flyers who want lounge access + top-tier earn |
| Amex Cobalt | $156 (billed $12.99/mo) | Up to ~60,000 Membership Rewards points | Everyday grocery/restaurant spenders who want flexible points |
| RBC Avion Visa Infinite | $120 | Up to ~55,000 Avion points | Travelers who want any-airline flexibility, no blackout dates |
| Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite+ | ~$150+ | Up to ~35,000 Scene+ points | Frequent international spenders (no FX fees) |
| CIBC Aventura Visa Infinite | $139 (often rebated year one) | Up to ~60,000 Aventura points | Simplicity — flexible travel redemptions without a program deep-dive |
Figures above are approximate as of mid-2026 and reflect publicly advertised offers, which are frequently time-limited. Confirm current terms directly with each issuer.
Best Aeroplan-Earning Cards
If you fly Air Canada or a Star Alliance partner more than once or twice a year, an Aeroplan-earning card is usually where the math works hardest in your favour — Aeroplan points still stretch further than most bank points on premium international redemptions.
TD Aeroplan Visa Infinite
This is the accessible entry point into the Aeroplan ecosystem. The standard annual fee sits around $139, though TD runs first-year fee rebates often enough that it’s worth watching for a promo period. Earn rates are strongest on Air Canada purchases, gas, and groceries, and the welcome bonus (structured in stages tied to spending milestones) can land in the 40,000-point range. It won’t get you the lounge perks of the Reserve card, but for someone who takes one or two Air Canada trips a year and wants to bank points without a triple-digit fee, it’s a sensible starting card.
American Express Aeroplan Reserve
The Reserve card carries a real fee — north of $500 — and earns its keep for people who fly Air Canada regularly enough to use the Maple Leaf Lounge access, priority boarding, and the elevated earn rate on Air Canada spend. The welcome bonus is the largest on this list, but American Express cards see lower merchant acceptance than Visa/Mastercard in parts of Canada, so it works best as a second card rather than your only one.
Best Card for Everyday Spending: Amex Cobalt
The Amex Cobalt isn’t strictly a “travel card” in the airline-branded sense, but it deserves a spot here because Membership Rewards points transfer 1:1 to Aeroplan, British Airways Avios, Marriott Bonvoy, and several other travel programs — which makes it one of the most flexible ways to build a travel points balance. The monthly billing structure (roughly $13/month instead of one annual hit) and strong grocery/restaurant earn rate make it easy to rack up points on spending you’re already doing, then decide later whether those points become a flight, a hotel stay, or a cash-back-style redemption.
Best “Any Airline” Fixed-Value Cards
Not everyone wants to be tied to Air Canada. If you fly WestJet, or you book whatever’s cheapest regardless of airline, a fixed-value points card is usually the simpler, lower-stress option.
RBC Avion Visa Infinite
Avion points redeem against travel booked with essentially any airline, with no blackout dates — you’re paying the cash price in points, full stop. The $120 annual fee is reasonable, the welcome bonus is competitive, and Avion points also transfer to partners like WestJet Rewards and Cathay Pacific Asia Miles if you want to get more value out of them than straight redemptions offer.
Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite+
The standout feature here is no foreign transaction fees, which is a real, quiet cost saver if you spend meaningfully outside Canada — that 2.5% FX markup on other cards adds up fast on a two-week trip. Add airport lounge visits and solid earn rates on dining and entertainment, and this card suits people who travel internationally more than they fly domestically.
CIBC Aventura Visa Infinite
Aventura points are straightforward to redeem for flights, hotels, or car rentals through the CIBC travel portal, and the welcome bonus is consistently one of the more generous ones in this fixed-value category. It’s a good “I don’t want to think about a loyalty program” card for someone who just wants points that behave predictably.
Trade-Offs, Not Winners
None of these cards is objectively “best” — they’re built for different spending patterns and travel habits, and the right choice depends on your own numbers:
- Fly Air Canada almost exclusively and travel often: the Aeroplan Reserve’s fee is easier to justify once you’re using the lounge access and elevated earn rate regularly.
- Fly Air Canada occasionally, want a lower fee: the TD Aeroplan Visa Infinite is the more proportionate choice.
- Book whatever airline is cheapest: Avion or Aventura give you that flexibility without giving up decent earn rates.
- Spend a lot abroad: the Scotiabank Passport’s no-FX-fee structure can outweigh a slightly higher annual fee.
- Want points flexibility beyond just flights: Amex Cobalt’s transferable Membership Rewards points give you the most optionality later.
A useful gut-check before applying for any of these: will you realistically hit the minimum spend for the welcome bonus without changing your normal spending habits or carrying a balance? A welcome bonus you have to stretch for, or worse, go into interest-bearing debt for, isn’t actually free.
Where to Put Travel Savings Between Trips: Wealthsimple
A travel card earns points on spending you’re already doing — but the cash you’re setting aside for the trip itself (or the points-bonus cash you didn’t spend) shouldn’t just sit idle in a chequing account. We keep our own travel fund in a Wealthsimple high-interest cash account and use their commission-free investing platform for longer-term goals like RRSP and TFSA contributions. Get $25 when you fund any account with this link:
If you’re weighing where travel savings should actually live year-round, our breakdown of TFSA vs RRSP vs FHSA walks through which account makes sense for different savings goals, and our Wealthsimple referral guide explains exactly how the bonus program works if you’re referring family too.
How to Actually Maximize a Welcome Bonus
The bonus is the headline, but a few practical habits determine whether you actually capture the full value:
- Time big purchases around your application. If you know a flight, a large planned expense, or a tax bill is coming up, apply for the card before you pay it, not after.
- Read the minimum spend window carefully. Most welcome bonuses require hitting a spend threshold within 90 days to 3 months — missing it by a few days can forfeit the entire bonus.
- Don’t chase a card you’ll cancel in year two. Annual fee cards are only “free” if the points, lounge access, or insurance perks you actually use offset the fee. Be honest about whether you’ll use what you’re paying for.
- Check for existing-customer exclusions. Several issuers restrict welcome bonuses to applicants who haven’t held that card (or any card in that family) in the past 12-24 months.
For travelers planning a specific trip rather than just banking points generally, it’s worth pairing a card decision with an actual itinerary — our guides on a Banff weekend from Calgary and a first solo trip to Tokyo both include realistic budget math you can weigh against how many points a given card would actually earn you.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is an annual fee travel card worth it if I only take one trip a year?
It depends on the fee-to-benefit math. A $120 fee card like the RBC Avion Visa Infinite can pay for itself with one welcome bonus alone, even for an infrequent traveler. A $599 fee card like the Aeroplan Reserve is much harder to justify unless you’re using the lounge access and premium perks more than once a year.
Do I need excellent credit to qualify for these cards?
Most premium travel cards in this list expect a good-to-excellent credit history and a minimum personal or household income (commonly in the $60,000-$80,000 range for the Visa Infinite tier, higher for Amex Reserve-level cards). Requirements vary by issuer and can change, so check the specific application page.
Are Aeroplan points or fixed-value points (like Avion) worth more?
Neither is universally “better” — Aeroplan points can deliver outsized value on long-haul premium cabin redemptions if you’re flexible on dates, while fixed-value points are simpler and more predictable for economy flights on any airline. If you don’t want to learn a loyalty program’s redemption chart, fixed-value points are the lower-effort choice.
Can I hold more than one of these cards at once?
Yes, and many frequent travelers do — commonly pairing a no-fee or low-fee everyday spending card with one premium travel card, rather than paying multiple triple-digit annual fees. Just be realistic about how many annual fees you’re actually getting value from.
Will applying for a travel card hurt my credit score?
A new application triggers a hard credit inquiry, which can cause a small, temporary dip. Applying for several cards in a short window has a bigger impact than applying for one card thoughtfully timed around a purchase you were already planning to make.
The Bottom Line
There’s no single “best” travel credit card for Canadians in 2026 — there’s a best card for your specific travel pattern. Frequent Air Canada flyers should look hard at the Aeroplan cards, airline-agnostic travelers are usually better served by Avion or Aventura, and anyone who wants maximum flexibility later should lean toward Amex Cobalt’s transferable points. Whichever card you land on, treat the welcome bonus as a nice-to-have on top of a card you’d want anyway — not the whole reason to apply — and make sure the money you’re not spending on points is still working for you somewhere, whether that’s a high-interest cash account or your TFSA.
Related Auburn AI Products
Build a Canadian content property that earns via affiliates and AdSense? Auburn AI has production kits: