Benchmark Money

Best travel credit cards in Canada

A travel card earns its fee on two things most comparisons treat as footnotes: what the foreign transaction fee costs you, and whether the insurance is the kind you would actually claim on. The points are the part everyone reads and the smallest part of the answer.

We track 28 travel credit cards in Canada, 2 of them with no annual fee. Every figure here comes from the issuer’s own published pages and terms, last checked 18 August 2026. Where an issuer does not publish something we leave it blank rather than guess, which is explained on how we research.

How we picked

  • The foreign transaction fee first. At the usual 2.5%, a card costs $250 on $10,000 spent abroad, which is more than most annual fees.
  • What the points are worth at our own published valuation rather than the issuer's marketing figure.
  • Travel medical coverage, the amount, the trip length and the age at which it stops. Coverage that ends at four days is a weekend policy.
  • Lounge access counted in free visits. A membership with no free visits is not lounge access and several cards are marked down here for calling it that.

The 10 best travel credit cards

  1. Scotiabank Gold American Express Card

    Scotiabank$120 a year5x on groceriesNo foreign transaction fee4.7 out of 5

    Best all-rounder

    Five points a dollar on groceries, dining and entertainment with no foreign transaction fee, for $120. Nothing else here does all three. The catch is that it is an Amex, so it will be refused where a Visa would not.

    Read the full Scotiabank Gold American Express Card review

  2. CIBC Aeroplan Visa Infinite Card

    CIBC$139 a year1.5x on groceries4.0 out of 5

    Best free checked bag

    The free first checked bag covers up to nine people on one booking, which is the reason to hold this card. The earn rates are ordinary and the spending cap is tighter than it looks.

    Read the full CIBC Aeroplan Visa Infinite Card review

  3. Scotiabank Platinum American Express Card

    Scotiabank$399 a year2x on everythingNo foreign transaction fee4.0 out of 5

    $399 for a flat 2 points a dollar, no foreign transaction fee, ten lounge visits and a 9.99% interest rate. An unusual combination that suits a specific reader very well.

    Read the full Scotiabank Platinum American Express Card review

  4. TD Aeroplan Visa Infinite Card

    TD$139 a year1.5x on groceries4.0 out of 5

    Best for Air Canada flyers

    The free first checked bag for you and up to eight companions is worth more than the fee if you fly Air Canada even twice a year. The earn rates are ordinary.

    The annual fee is waived for the first year only.

    Read the full TD Aeroplan Visa Infinite Card review

  5. Wealthsimple Visa Infinite Privilege Credit Card

    Wealthsimple$240 a year2% on everythingNo foreign transaction fee4.0 out of 5

    The same 2% and the same $240 fee as the Infinite +, with better insurance and six lounge visits. You are paying the same money for benefits, not for a higher earn rate.

    Read the full Wealthsimple Visa Infinite Privilege Credit Card review

  6. BMO Ascend World Elite Mastercard

    BMO$150 a year5x on travel3.9 out of 5

    5 points a dollar on travel and 3 on dining, entertainment and bills, with the fee waived in year one. Every bonus category is capped and BMO puts the caps in a popup.

    The annual fee is waived for the first year only.

    Read the full BMO Ascend World Elite Mastercard review

  7. CIBC Aeroplan Visa Infinite Privilege Card

    CIBC$599 a year1.5x on groceries3.8 out of 5

    $599 for unlimited Maple Leaf Lounge access in North America, plus 1.5 Aeroplan points a dollar on most everyday categories. The lounge benefit is the reason to hold it.

    Read the full CIBC Aeroplan Visa Infinite Privilege Card review

  8. WestJet RBC World Elite Mastercard

    RBC$139 a year2x on groceries3.8 out of 5

    Best for WestJet flyers

    An annual companion voucher that flies someone with you from $119, plus a free checked bag. Worth it if WestJet is your airline and worth very little if it is not.

    Read the full WestJet RBC World Elite Mastercard review

  9. American Express Aeroplan Reserve Card

    American Express$599 a year2x on dining3.7 out of 5

    $599 for 3 Aeroplan points a dollar with Air Canada, 2 on Canadian restaurants and Maple Leaf Lounge access. The trip insurance is the same as on the $120 card.

    Read the full American Express Aeroplan Reserve Card review

  10. American Express Aeroplan Card

    American Express$120 a year1.5x on dining3.6 out of 5

    $120 for 2 Aeroplan points a dollar with Air Canada and 1.5 on Canadian restaurants. The best mid tier Aeroplan earn rate, from the issuer people forget offers one.

    Read the full American Express Aeroplan Card review

The other 18

Every travel card we track, in the same order. A card outside the top ten is not a bad card; it is a card that lost to the ones above it on the criteria at the top of this page.

Questions people ask

Which is the best of the travel credit cards in Canada?
On our ranking it is the Scotiabank Gold American Express Card. That is our opinion rather than a fact, built from the criteria at the top of this page, and the runners up are close enough that your own spending can reorder them.
Are there any with no annual fee?
2 of the 28 on this page have no annual fee, and the best rated of those is the CIBC Aeroplan Visa Card.
How often is this page updated?
It is generated from our card database every time it loads, so it reflects whatever we last verified rather than whenever somebody last edited an article. Each card carries its own verification date.
Do you earn money from these links?
On some cards, yes, and it is disclosed on the card page next to the button. It does not change the ranking, which is why the ranking rules are published rather than described as a proprietary score.

Other lists

Comparing something other than travel credit cards? Compare every personal card on your own spending, look at business cards, or browse the full directory.