In this feature of Rewards Canada' Ultimate Credit Card Portfolios we look at the ultimate one for earning British Airways Executive Club Avios. This is an ideal wallet for those who like to fly with British Airways, Aer Lingus, Qatar Airways and other oneworld partner airlines.
We have always recommended that you should carry a Visa, a Mastercard and an American Express card in your wallet as there are benefits, promotions and earning potential unique to each brand of credit card. There are a few options that could be utilized for a British Airways portfolio however we feel the trio listed below are best suited for the task. These cards will provide strong Avios earning along with some good benefits and strong insurance coverage while not breaking the bank on annual fees.
What is Rewards Canada's Ultimate British Airways Executive Club Credit Card Wallet? It is the following three cards:
Visa: RBC British Airways Visa Infinite Card
American Express: American Express Cobalt® Card
Mastercard: Rogers World Elite Mastercard
You may be asking why does a British Airways portfolio even make sense for someone in Canada? There are many reasons! First off, British Airways is founding member of the oneworld alliance which means you can use Avios for flights not only on British Airways but on their oneworld partners like Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, Cathay Pacific and Qatar Airways just to name a few. Second, is for some really good redemption options on those airlines. From the famous Aer Lingus Toronto to Dublin Aer Lingus economy class sweet spot to redeeming for Qatar Airways QSuites to low Avios requirements for intra-European and intra-Asia flights, the options with BA's Executive Club are numerous!
Why these three?
A quick overview as to why these three cards make up this portfolio:
- RBC British Airways Visa Infinite Card: Your card to provide discounts on British Airways flights when you are purchasing them with cash and for providing an annual companion fare if you meet the minimum spend required.
- American Express Cobalt Card: Your primary Avios earner providing up to 5 Avios per dollar spent
- Rogers World Elite Mastercard: Airport lounge access membership and card for select purchases made in US Dollars plus the card to use at Costco warehouses in Canada.
The RBC British Airways Visa Card is the obvious choice in this portfolio since it is the only Executive Club co-brand card in Canada and its primary function in the portfolio is to provide discounts on British Airways flights. For American Express it's the Cobalt Card which provides the highest potential Avios earning on many everyday purchases. As there is no longer a publicaly available Mastercard option in Canada that earns British Airways Executive Club Avios (either directly or via conversion) we fill the spot with a no fee high cash back earning Mastercard, the Rogers World Elite Mastercard (you do not have to be a Rogers customer to get this card).
Key benefits of this portfolio
- Potential to earn a lot of Avios
- Discounts on British Airways flights
- Decent insurance coverage
- Complimentary airport lounge access membership
How to maximize your Avios earning with these cards
Before we jump into maximizing your earning with these cards let's look at their earn rates in Avios per dollar spent (we'll discuss the conversion rates below).
| RBC British Airways Visa Infinite Card | American Express Cobalt® Card | Rogers World Elite Mastercard | |
|---|---|---|---|
| British Airways Flights | 2 Avios | 1 Avios | 1.5% cash back (not Avios) |
| Other travel purchases | 1 Avios | 1 Avios | 1.5% cash back (not Avios) |
| Grocery | 1 Avios | 5 Avios | 1.5% cash back (not Avios) |
| Dining / Food Delivery | 1 Avios | 5 Avios | 1.5% cash back (not Avios) |
| Select Streaming Services | 1 Avios | 3 Avios | 1.5% cash back (not Avios) |
| Gas | 1 Avios | 2 Avios | 1.5% cash back (not Avios) |
| Daily Transit (includes taxi / ride shares) | 1 Avios | 2 Avios | 1.5% cash back (not Avios) |
| Drug Stores | 1 Avios | 1 Avios | 1.5% cash back (not Avios) |
| All other spending | 1 Avios | 1 Avios | 1.5% cash back (not Avios) |
Right away from the chart you can see that for the most part the card that gives you the best earn rates is the American Express Cobalt Card. The card earns Membership Rewards points that convert 1:1 to British Airways Executive Club. With earn rates of one to five Membership Rewards points it equates to one to five Avios per dollar spent. You'll want to try to funnel as much accelerated category spending as you can onto this card. Do note there is an annual cap of $30,000 on the 5x points earning for eats and drinks. There is no cap on the Cobalt card's 3x and 2x points earning categories. If you hit that cap you can move your spend to the RBC British Airways Visa Infinite Card to earn 1 Avios per dollar spent for dining while using the HSBC World Elite Mastercard for groceries to earn 1.6 Avios per dollar spent.
For purchases in the few categories where the Cobalt Card isn't accepted you'll want to use the RBC BA Card to maximize your Avios earning. For example, Loblaw's family of grocery store purchases don't accept Amex so you would use your RBC BA Card here. Costco warehouses in Canada only accept Mastercard so the Rogers is your go to card there.
When purchasing British Airways tickets you'll want to buy them with the RBC British Airways Visa Infinite Card not only for the 2x Avios but for the 10% discount. Not only that, the purchase(s) will help you reach the $30,000 annual spend requirement to receive the companion voucher.
When it comes to travel purchases outside of flights on British Airways you may want to utilize the American Express Cobalt Card as sometimes there are transfer bonuses from Amex to BA so your 1 point per dollar spent may work out to more than 1 Avios per dollar.
In general, you will want to funnel as much spending onto the Amex Cobalt Card. In the world of points and miles it is always good to keep a stash of points in a flexible or hybrid rewards program like American Express Membership Rewards. By doing so you are not limiting yourself to one program (even though we are focusing on British Airways Executive Club) since you can redeem for any travel via Membership Rewards, use your points for statement credits and even convert to other airline and hotel programs. Essentially you're keeping your all your options open with the Cobalt Card.
The only caveat to funneling all your spend to the Cobalt card is if you do want to reach the annual requirement of $30,000 in spending on the RBC British Airways Visa Infinite card to receive the annual companion voucher (learn more about the voucher in the next section). In that case I would still try to use the Cobalt Card as much as possible for the 5x earning and then put everything else on the RBC card.
As a tie in to keeping your points as flexible as possible we recommend that you do not transfer your American Express Membership Rewards to British Airways Executive Club until you know you are close to actually redeeming for an award ticket.
The only time we recommend converting points without an award in mind is during bonus time! Amex has run bonuses at in the past for transferring their Membership Rewards points to British Airways.
The typical bonus we have seen in the past from Amex is 30% which bumps up the effective earn rate on the Cobalt Card to 1.3 to 6.5 Avios per dollar.
Additional benefits from the cards in this portfolio:
This is where the RBC British Airways Visa Infinite card comes in handy and that is for booking tickets and flying with British Airways. The card offers a 10% discount on British Airways flights and the discount is off the total cost of the fare (including taxes, fees, and carrier charges) for travel in any cabin from economy (World Traveler) to premium economy (World Traveler Plus) for business (Club World) or even First Class. If you buy several British Airways tickets a year, that 10% off can provide big savings – especially if it is for business or first class. Think about a business class flight between Toronto and London that can run $5,000 or more. Ten percent of that is $500 and that alone pays for the $165 annual fee a few times over! Click here to learn more about the 10% discount.
The second benefit to the RBC card is the annual Companion Award eVoucher. You'll receive the voucher when you spend $30,000 or more on the card in any calendar year. This voucher is used when you make an award booking which means it can save you a lot of Avios! What this means is that when you book an award ticket departing from Canada you can use the voucher when to redeem for second award ticket on the same reservation to take a companion along. All you pay are the taxes and fees for the companion fare. Just like the 10% discount this is benefit is available on all fare classes. Thinking about a business class reward that is 100,000 Avios per person? Well, with this voucher it basically becomes 50,000 Avios per person - plus taxes and fees of course!
The American Express Cobalt Card itself does not have a lot of travel benefits outside of its decent insurance coverage. However It does have Amex Offers, which are offers provided to cardmembers throughout the year where you can receive statement credits or bonus points for shopping with specific retailers. The card also has Amex ExperiencesTM which include Front of the Line concert tickets and other special event offers.
Finally, the Rogers World Elite Mastercard provides you with Mastercard Travel Pass by Dragon Pass which provides discounted entry fees to over 1,300 airport lounges worldwide plus discounts on airport dining around the globe.
Earn up to 75,000 Avios with the welcome bonuses in the first year
The RBC British Airways Visa Infinite Card has a limited time welcome bonus offer providing up to 60,000 Avios in the first year. The bonus is awarded as 15,000 Avios when you are approved for the card and then 35,000 Avios when you spend $6,000 in the first three months. You'll earn the final 10,000 points after the first year with the card as an anniversary bonus
The American Express Cobalt Card offers up 15,000 welcome bonus points over the course of 12 months. It is awarded as 1,250 bonus points for each month that you spend $750 or more on the card. Those 15,000 points work out to 15,000 Avios.
The Rogers World Elite Mastercard does not offer any welcome bonus at this time.
If you do get yourself all the card in the Ultimate British Airways Credit Card Portfolio you'll have 75,000 Avios just from the welcome bonuses. And that doesn't include the points you earn on your actual spending. When you do take into account spending you'll have more than enough Avios for three round trip tickets in economy class between Toronto and Dublin on Aer Lingus.
Recommended reading: RWRDS Availability Alert: Aer Lingus Business Class Toronto to Dublin
Here are further details on these three cards:
RBC British Airways Visa Infinite Card
Get Up To 60,000 Aviosˆ with the RBC® British Airways Visa Infinite
Annual Fee: $165 | Additional Card Fee: $75 | 20.99% on purchases 22.99%* on cash advances and balance transfers *21.99% if you reside in Quebec.
Step 1: Receive 15,000 Avios as welcome bonus upon approval
Step 2: 35,000 bonus Avios when you spend $6,000 CAD in the first 3 months
Step 3: Another 10,000 bonus Avios after your first yearˆ
- Collect 1 Avios for every $1 CAD spent on qualifying net purchases*
- Collect double Avios when you shop with British Airways and BA Holidays*
- Earn a companion voucher when you spend $30,000 CAD annually. You can either take a companion with you or fly solo instead for a 50% Avios discount on the cost of one reward seat ticket. Plus, you'll have the flexibility to pay a lower, flat fee to cover taxes, fees and carrier charges and a fixed Avios amount when you make a Reward Flight booking.˜
- 10% off British Airways flights when you book and pay with your card∞
- Redeem for flights and more - you can spend your Avios on all of the travel things you love, including cabin upgrades with British Airways or reward flights with British Airways and any of the oneworld partner airlines to almost 1,000 destinations worldwide**
- Comprehensive Insurances including 31–day out of country/province emergency medical insurance1, flight delay insurance2, hotel burglary3 and rental car4 insurance. Even eligible purchases you make with the card are protected4.
- Luxury Visa Infinite benefits5 such as first in line service for exclusive events and hotel and dining exclusives via www.visainfinite.ca
- Complimentary 24/7 Concierge Service5
- Link your RBC card with a Petro-Points membership to instantly save 3₵ per litre on fuel at Petro-Canada stations and earn 20% more Petro-Points and 20% more Avion points
- Get $0 delivery fees for 12 months from DoorDash
- Link your RBC British Airways Visa Infinite card with a Rexall Be Well account and get 50 Be Well points for every $1 spent on eligible products at Rexall. Redeem Be Well points faster for savings in store on eligible purchases where 25,000 Be Well points = $10
Corresponding legal references and product terms are available on the RBC website, which will be available and agreed upon in the customer onboarding process.
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American Express Cobalt® Card
2024 Top Overall Travel Rewards Card | 2024 Top Hybrid Travel Rewards Card
In your first year as a new Cobalt Cardmember, you can earn 1,250 Membership Rewards® points for each monthly billing period in which you spend $750 in net purchases on your Card. This could add up to 15,000 points in a year. That’s up to $150 towards a weekend getaway or concert tickets
Monthly Fee $12.99/month of Cardmembership ($155.88 annually) | Additional Cards: $0 | Annual interest rate 21.99% on purchases and 21.99% on funds advances
- Earn 5x the points on eligible eats and drinks in Canada, including groceries and food delivery. Spend cap applies.
- Earn 3x the points on eligible streaming subscriptions in Canada
- Earn 2x the points on eligible ride shares, transit & gas in Canada
- Earn 1 additional point on eligible hotel and car rental bookings via American Express Travel Online
- Earn 1x point for every $1 in Card purchases everywhere else
- Enjoy access to hotel bookings, a room upgrade (when available), 12pm check-in and late check-out (when available), and up to $100 USD hotel credit to use on amenities when charged to the room for a stay of 2 or more consecutive nights through The Hotel Collection from American Express Travel
- Transfer points 1:1 to several frequent flyer and other loyalty programs
- Cobalt Cardmembers receive regular Perks such as bonus reward offers and access to great events
- Access Front Of The Line® Amex Presale & Reserved Tickets to some of your favourite concerts and theatre performances and special offers and events curated for Cardmembers with Amex ExperiencesTM
- American Express is not responsible for maintaining or monitoring the accuracy of information on this website. For full details and current product information, click the Apply Now link. If you apply and get approved for an American Express Card, (I/we) may receive compensation from American Express, which can be in the form of monetary payment
- Click here to apply for the American Express Cobalt Card
Rogers Red World Elite Mastercard
Enjoy 3% cash back value when you redeem with Rogers plus insurance benefits
Annual Fee: $0 | Additional Card Fee: $0 | Annual interest rate 20.99% on purchases and 22.99% on funds advances | $80,000 personal or $150,000 annual household income
- 2% cash back - no limits. Exclusively for eligible Rogers, Fido or Shaw customers.
- 3% unlimited cash back on U.S. dollar purchases.
- 5 Roam Like Home days at no cost with an eligible Rogers mobile plan (up to $75 value).
- Get 1.5x more cash back every time you redeem for Rogers, Fido or Shaw purchases2
Travel Benefits: - Complimentary membership to Mastercard Travel Pass provided by DragonPass
Access to over 1,300 airport lounges worldwide
$32 USD per person per visit Included
Insurance Benefits: - Extended Warranty and Purchase Protection
- Rental Car Collision/Damage
- Out-of-Province/Out-of-Country Emergency Medical
- Trip Interruption
- Trip Cancellation
- Click here to apply for Rogers Red World Elite Mastercard
Other Card Options:
For American Express you actually have a variety of cards you could actually choose from including the American Express Gold Rewards Card or The Platinum Card. These cards will earn less points (Avios) but provide more benefits than the Cobalt Card. The Platinum Card is well known as the best airport lounge access card in Canada so if you fly a lot and need lounge access this is the card to get. The Platinum Card also provides discounts on British Airways flights via the International Airline Program, however the discount is only available on premium fares.
On the Visa side of things the best alternative option is the RBC Avion Visa Infinite Card. With the Avion card you are able to convert your Avion Rewards points on a 1:1 based to British Airways and just like HSBC, RBC tends to offer a transfer bonus once or twice per year. If you include that bonus this card will actually earn more than the RBC BA card (outside of British Airways bookings) but you would forego your 10% discount and the ability to earn that companion voucher.
As mentioned with Mastercard there are no options for earning Avios (either directly or by conversion) so there are no other cards that can be truly considered as a British Airways card. We feel the best option is the Rogers card but another card with really good potential for this portfolio would be the BMO AscendTM World Elite®* Mastercard®* - primarily for the four free annual lounge passes it offers with its Mastercard TravelPass by DragonPass membership.
This feature was first posted on August 7, 2017 and is updated regularly.
Title image courtesy of British Airways