Scotiabank Gold American Express Card

• Earn 4 Points for every dollar spent on gas stations, grocery stores, dining and entertainment (up to $50,000)
• A lower annual fee and supplementary card fee than most cards in this category
• An excellent suite of insurance and benefits including out of province medical coverage
• The ability to redeem your points for any travel bookings from any travel provider

BMO World Elite Mastercard

• a 2.0% return on all purchases that can be used towards any travel that is booked through BMO Rewards
• A 20,000 point sign up bonus that is worth $200 of travel
• A n annual standard Priority Pass lounge access membership is included plus 4 free lounge visits which saves the cardholder over $200 each year
• An excellent suite of insurance and benefits including out of province medical coverage

TD First Class Travel Visa Infinite Card

• up to a 1.5% return on all purchases plus a 4.5% return on travel booked via Expedia for TD Rewards that can be used towards any travel that via any booking method
• Can start redeeming at 10,000 points or as a little as $3,333.34 in spending
• The ability to redeem your points for any travel bookings from any travel provider
• An excellent suite of insurance and benefits including out of province medical coverage

CIBC Aventura Visa Infinite Card

• A decent return on your spending depending on where you earn your points and what redemption you use the points on
• Category bonuses of 1.5 points on eligible spending at Gas, Grocery and Drug Stores plus additional bonuses at CIBC bonus reward partners
• An excellent suite of insurance and benefits including out of province medical coverage
• Exclusive partner redemption offers

Scotiabank More Rewards Visa Card

• Earn 6 More Rewards points for every $1 spent on purchases at participating More Rewards locations including Save-On-foods, PriceSmart Foods, Overwaitea Foods, Cooper’s Foods and Urban Fare stores and participating More Rewards partners such as Petro Canada and Panago. 4 Points per dollar everywhere else
• When you redeem for travel (booked via More Rewards Travel) that translates to 1.65 to 2.54% return!. Read more here about this!
• Redeem your More Rewards points for travel, groceries, gift cards, merchandise and more
• No annual fee and no earning or redemption caps
  

American Express Blue Sky Credit Card

• Points can be redeemed against booked travel up to 12 months after the charge is posted (book first then spend spend spend to pay it off!)
• Offers a 1.25% return on purchases
• Can redeem as little as 10,000 points, which means you only have to spend $8,000 if you don't include the sign up bonus
  

Capital One^® Aspire Travel™ Platinum Mastercard^®

• Earn reward miles – with no annual fee!
• Earn 1 reward mile for every $1 spent on all purchases
• Get 10,000 bonus reward miles when you spend $500 on net purchases in the first 3 months after account opening – a value of $100 in travel
• Annual interest rate of 19.8%

American Express Air Miles Credit Card

• The ability to earn 1 Mile/$15 at AIR MILES Sponsors and 1/$20 everywhere else
• The inclusion of Travel Accident insurance
• Hundreds of partners where you can double dip with your Air Miles card and the American Express Air Miles Credit Card

BMO Air Miles Mastercard

• Current sign up bonus of 800 AIR MILES
• Earn 1 AIR MILES Reward Mile/$20 spent
• Hundreds of partners where you can double dip with your Air Miles card and the BMO Air Miles Mastercard

American Express Gold Rewards Card

Taking top spot in the Hybrid category for the 7th year in a row, this charge card (you can't run a balance) is the best all around cards in the Canadian market. We even value its Membership Rewards points as the most valuable loyalty currency in Canada right now (see here):

• 25,000 Welcome Points sign up bonus, 2 Points per dollar for Gas, Grocery, Drug Store and Travel purchases. 1 Point per dollar on all other spending
• First Year annual fee is waived
• Book travel how you want and when you want then redeem Membership Rewards points against that charge on your monthly statement.
• Option to transfer Membership Rewards Points to Aeroplan and British Airways Avios (on a 1:1 basis) + other frequent flyer/guest programs with occasional transfer bonuses
  

RBC Visa Infinite Avion

Remaining in 2nd place for the 7th year in a row, this card is one of most popular in Canada thanks to strong marketing from RBC. We still think It could use a makeover for Avion Reward Chart redemptions but we love it since you can convert RBC Rewards points to British Airways, American Airlines and other programs.

• Ability to book flights with any airline with no blackout periods, extremely useful when there are no seat sales
• Up to a 2.3% return on your spending depending on which reward ticket you book
• Option to transfer RBC Rewards Points to WestJet Rewards, British Airways Executive Club, American AAdvantage, Cathay Pacific Asia Miles. Look for the transfer bonus to BA several times per year!
• A complete suite of insurance coverage and benefits
• Unwritten ability to redeem for Business Class tickets although at a lower rate of return when compared to the Avion Reward chart

The Platinum Card from American Express

The second most expensive publicly available card in Canada, The Platinum Card from American Express is the ultimate card for travelers but its high cost keeps it from breaking into the top two spots. Here are just some of the reasons why it is the ultimate high end card:

• 1.25 Membership Rewards points on all purchases
• Exceptional lounge benefits such as Priority Pass, the Canadian Platinum Lounge Benefit, and Airport Club Program
• A yearly $200 travel credit for use through the Platinum Card Travel Service.
• Elite status in the Starwood Preferred Guest program, Club Carlson Hotels and more.

Diners Club Club Rewards Mastercard

The Diners Club Club Rewards Mastercard would actually rank much higher but BMO is not accepting new applications for the card anytime soon so we cannot give it a higher ranking. Here is why this card is one of the best in Canada:

• 1.5% return on all spending when you redeem Club Rewards points for self-booked travel via any travel provider
• Access to over 450 airport business class lounges around the world including many in Canada
• A lower annual fee and supplementary card fee than most cards in this category
• The ability to transfer Club Rewards points to 20+ airline, hotel and rail reward programs

RBC Avion Visa Platinum

The lower end version of the #2 ranking card, the RBC Visa Platinum Avion rounds out the hybrid category with the following features:

• Ability to book flights with any airline with no blackout periods, extremely useful when there are no seat sales
• Up to a 2.3% return on your spending depending on which reward ticket you book
• Option to transfer RBC Rewards Points to WestJet Rewards, British Airways Executive Club, American AAdvantage, Cathay Pacific Asia Miles. Look for the transfer bonus to BA several times per year!
• Unwritten ability to redeem for Business Class tickets although at a lower rate of return when compared to the Avion Reward chart

TD Aeroplan Visa Infinite Card

The TD Aeroplan Visa Infinite Card card has now solidified its place in the Canadian market as the go to Aeroplan co-brand card and the takes top spot in the Airline Card category for the following reasons:

• Ability to earn 1.5 Aeroplan miles on Grocery, Drug Store and Gas Station purchases
• High rate of return when redeeming Aeroplan Miles for Business or First Class flights
• A complete suite of insurance coverage and benefits
• Air Canada and the Star Alliance still provide the most flight coverage domestically and internationally out of Canada, which allows Aerogold holders many redemption options
• Additional benefits for cardholders like Priority Check in and Maple Leaf lounge access when travelling on an Aeroplan award ticket
• and first year free with 25,000 Bonus Aeroplan miles if you apply by May 8, 2015

WestJet RBC World Elite Mastercard

This card became an even better card in 2016 but even with those amazing changes it is still shy of TD Aeroplan's offerings as it just won't get you to every corner in the world or into business and first class, just yet. The WestJet RBC World Elite Mastercard is great, don't get us wrong, and here are just some of the reasons why:

• A 250 WestJet Dollars sign up bonus pays for the card for 2-1/2 years and since WestJet dollars are treated like cash you can use towards any booking immediately as you don't have specific mileage redemptions levels to reach
• A 1.5% return on your everyday spending and 2% for WestJet & WestJet Vacations purchases
• More flights and cities being offered by WestJet along with partnership with airlines like American Airlines,Delta & Qantas benefit this card even further
• A relatively strong insurance package makes sure this card is well rounded
• Get a complimentary round trip companion flight every year (including Plus Fares) for as little as $99 (plus taxes, fees and charges) to anywhere WestJet flies.
• First bag free for the primary cardholder up to 8 people traveling on the same reservation to anywhere WestJet flies!

mbna Alaska Airlines World Elite® Mastercard®
This card is temporarily unavailable

Staying in the top 5 and moving up a spot for the second year in a row, one might not consider Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan as a program to look at but it is actually a great program for Canadian's even though Alaska only flies to Alberta and B.C. due to its strong partnerships with airlines from around the globe.

• 25,000 Mileage Plan Miles upon approval with a lower annual fee than most airline cards - 25,000 miles can get you a round trip ticket in North America as flights start as little as 5,000 miles one way.
• An annual Companion Fare from $121 (USD) ($99, plus taxes and fees from $22)
• the Mileage Plan program has great airline partners like Air France KLM, Emirates, Cathay Pacific, American Airlines and others that allow many Canadians to utilize the program and they allow for some great one way redemptions

American Express AeroplanPlus Platinum Card

Moving into our rankings for the first time, the American Express AeroplanPlus Platinum Card has been a strong card since it launched but we kept it out of the top 5 as we had CIBC's Aeroplan co-brand offering in its place. However since the TD Aeroplan card is the now the mainstay Visa offering we feel the Amex card is a better option than the CIBC Aeroplan cards. Here are just some of the card features that make this card stand out:

• Earn 1.25 miles for every dollar in purchases you charge to the Card, up to $25,000
• Accelerate your earn rate to 1.5 miles for every dollar in purchases over $25,000 annually
• Enjoy a 2-for-1 short-haul flight reward when you redeem 15,000 Aeroplan Miles, with the Partner Ticket benefit
• Access to Air Canada Maple Leaf™ Lounges
  

RBC® British Airways Visa Infinite

The RBC British Airways Visa Infinite Card rounds out the Top 5 airline cards for the second year in a row. This is a program specific card that really benefits those flying on BA however the ability to use Avios on short and medium haul flights in North America at decent redemption rates is what pushed this card back into the Top 5.

• The ability to redeem on British Airways and all of BA's oneworld partners like American Airlines, Cathay Pacific and more. Some great redemptions include15,000 Avios for round trip short haul flight between Canada and the U.S. (Read here for more details on that offer)
• 2x Avios for British Airways tickets charged to the card
• An excellent suite of insurance and benefits including out of province medical coverage
• Receive a complimentary Companion Award Ticket when you spend $30,000 or more on your card in any calendar year

Starwood Preferred Guest Credit Card from American Express

This may be the last year this card is on top and in fact in our rankings at all. Marriott Hotels is taking over Starwood Hotels and we don't know what the outcome of SPG will be but we know it will stick around for 2015. Despite that the Starwood Preferred Guest Credit Card from American Express stays at the top of the Hotel Credit Card category for the 7th year in a row based on these benefits:

• Redeem Starpoints for hotel stays around the world with a potential rate of return of over 5% depending on the hotel and season
• Ability to transfer to 30+ airlines including a 5,000 mile bonus when you transfer 20,000 Starpoints at a time
• Receive SPG Gold Status after $30,000 in spending within a year and a free weekend night after $40,000

Chase Marriott Bonvoy Premier Visa

Remaining in second place, for what could be the last time, the Chase Marriott Bonvoy Premier Visa card is the best no foreign transaction fee card in the market but that's not its only strength. The card is a decent option for a traveler as well:

• The first major travel rewards credit card in Canada to not have a foreign exchange transaction fee - saves the cardholder anywhere from 2-3% on all spending not made in CDN$
• Automatic 15 night credit which gives you Marriott Silver Elite Status
• 30,000 Marriott Bonvoy Points when you make your first purchase with the card plus an anniversary bonus of One Free Night Stay (Cat 1-5) awarded each year
• The annual fee is waived in the first year

MBNA Best Western Rewards Mastercard

The MBNA Best Western Rewards Mastercard rounds out the small hotel category for Canadians with the following benefits:

• Receive Gold Status upon first use of your credit card and Diamond Status when you spend $10,000 in eligible purchases within one year
• 20,000 point sign up bonus and 5 points per dollar spent at Best Western hotels
• A mid level insurance package that is pretty good for a new fee cards
• No annual fee