Here
we look at the factors taken into account and some of the reasons why
some rankings changed from last year
Factors
We look at various factors including cost of ownership, rate of return,
the associated loyalty program (co-brand), ease of redemption, card
acceptance, partnerships, issuing bank and benefits. Coupled with nearly 15 years of research, answers to hundreds of email questions from readers
plus the charts and articles that we have written provides us the insight
into the pros and cons of each card.
New Cards added to the Rewards Canada rankings
Scotia More Rewards Visa
Reasons for the ranking changes from 2016
Travel Points Credit Cards (with Annual Fee)
The only change we see in this category this is the further drop in the rankings of the BMO Rewards World Elite Mastercard. This card, while still a really decent card option loses ground due to a couple of negative changes to card in 2016. First was the addition of a $50 fee for the supplementary card which means you are looking at $200 in annual fees if you get the card + supplementary card. Also the sign up bonus for the card was lowered from 30,000 points to 20,000 which means if you do get a supplementary card your sign up bonus is a wash with the fees - you don't come out ahead like most of its competitors. Also most of the other cards in the category let you book travel with any provided while BMO still requires you to book via BMO Rewards.
Travel Points Credit Card (with
no annual fee)
For the first in seven years we see a major change in this category! This is the news maker category this year. There hasn't been much movement in the No Fee category for a long time until now. With the introduction of the Scotia More Rewards Visa we see it crowned as the champion for this category! There has been one top card for the past 7 years but when a newcomer comes along that can offer double the return of that card and more than double most of the other cards in the category then changes happen! That's what happened here, the Scotia More Rewards Visa card offers a return anywhere from 1.65 to 2.54% when redeeming for travel. Sure the More Rewards Visa card doesn't have a sign up bonus or a major insurance package but for most people grabbing no fee cards they really aren't looking for benefits outside of the rewards offered.
Hybrid Travel Rewards Credit Card (with annual fee)
No changes in this category from 2016!
Airline Credit Card
This category saw some slight changes this year for third and fourth place. We continue to see the rise of the Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan World Elite Mastercard. The program had changes late in 2016 that sees flights cost as little as 5,000 miles between Western Canada and Seattle. With a sign up bonus of 25,000 miles that means upward of 5 one way flights can be had with only a $75 annual fee! Not in Western Canada? Don't worry the Alaska Airlines card can still work for you as the program has great partnerships with American Airlines, Cathay Pacific, Air France KLM, Emirates, Japan Airlines and other airlines all who serve all of Canada very well! In this category we also decided to pull the CIBC Aerogold Visa Infinite Card out of the rankings seeing that the primary Aeroplan co-brand card is connected to TD and typically the TD card has better sign up offers than the CIBC card that's the card you should really look at. In its place we bring in another Aeroplan co-brand card, the American Express AeroplanPlus Platinum Card It is one of the strongest earning Aeroplan miles cards out there and comes with amazing benefits but what keeps it lower in the rankings is the $499 annual fee that keeps the card out of reach for some.
Hotel Credit Card
No change in this category from 2016!
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