This guest post was written by Michael, founder of Credit Card Forum, which is a portal for the discussion of credit card reviews and deals. The reason he loves credit cards so much is because he’s obsessed with earning rewards… probably too obsessed!
I came across Y&T’s post back from 2010, about her getting the Starwood credit card from AmEx (she got a pretty sweet signup deal between the bonus points and annual fee being waived). The Canadian version is slightly different than the U.S. version of the Starwood American Express card but two still share the most important benefit – the ability to transfer points to airline frequent flyer programs on a 1 for 1 basis.
That got me thinking… how do the other travel credit cards in Canada compare? I know the American versions inside and out but I have very limited knowledge of Canadian credit cards. So in this post I’m going to compare credit cards and get to the bottom of it…
Note: Being that the U.S. and Canadian dollar are exactly equal right now (1 Canadian dollar = 1.0073 US dollars according to Google finance) we can compare the fees between the two countries on an apples to apples basis.
Delta SkyMiles cards
I was surprised to see that Capital One issues these cards in Canada, because in the U.S. all the Delta credit cards are issued by AmEx. It’s kind of hard to compare them because they’re completely different!
In the U.S. the Delta Skymiles credit cards all have annual fees; $95 for the Gold, $150 for Platinum, and $450 for Reserve. But I see that the Gold version in Canada has no annual fee. That being said, it only gives half the rewards (1 mile for every $2, instead of 1 mile for every $1). In order to get the same rewards, you will need to pony up $120 for the Capital One Delta SkyMiles World MasterCard.
But even if you pay the $120, the benefits still won’t compare. I hardly see any benefits on the Canadian versions. All of the AmEx Delta cards give you the first checked bag for free which saves $50 every roundtrip flight. There are a lot of other added benefits too, depending on the level you go with.
Verdict? The $120 Delta SkyMiles card from Capital One gives okay rewards but is lacking when it comes to benefits. If I lived in Canada, I would not recommend this card (instead check out Y&T’s post about her Canadian Starwood AmEx – definitely more bang for your buck).
American Airlines AAdvantage Cards
In the U.S. there are a total of six variations of the AAdvantage card but it appears there is only one available in Canada – the TD AAdvantage Platinum Visa Card.
For a $120 annual fee, the TD AAdvantage gives 1 mile per dollar on regular purchases and 2 miles per dollar on purchases from American Airlines. This is the same as the U.S. version which charges an $85 annual fee – the Citi Select/Platinum Select AAdvantage card.
Besides the $35 difference in the annual fees, the most noticeable difference is the signup bonus. As I’m writing this the TD AAdvantage card was only giving 10,000 miles. The Citi AAdvantage cards were offering 40,000 miles plus a companion ticket voucher.
Verdict? Other than paying $35 more the cards are largely the same except for the signup offers. If I lived in Canada, I would probably wait for a better signup bonus to come along if I were going to get this card.
American Express Blue Sky
For the U.S. version I wrote an American Express Blue Sky review that goes over the benefits in detail… I’m a big fan of the card! But how does it compare to the Canadian version?
Well for starters, I was glad to see that they both charge no annual fee and give you around more than 1% on your spending! With the U.S. version it’s 1 point per dollar and every 7,500 points you get a $100 statement credit towards any travel purchase of your choice (that’s 1.33% rewards). The Canadian version is slightly different but the end result is pretty close – you get 1.25 points per dollar and every 10,000 points earns you a $100 statement credit (that’s 1.25% rewards). The U.S. version does come with some extra bells and whistles – extra travel benefits – but other than that the two are pretty darn similar.
Verdict? If you live in Canada and want a no annual fee travel rewards credit card, then I would definitely recommend the AmEx Blue Sky. You’re basically earning 1.25% rewards which is hard to beat.
My closing thoughts
When I started writing this article I anticipated it being longer but once I started my research, I came to realize that there are a lot more travel rewards credit cards in the U.S. than there are in Canada. As I mentioned at the top, I don’t know Canadian cards well but from the ones I researched, my favorite is the Starwood American Express card. Make sure you check out Y&T’s post about Canadian travel credit cards to see some others!
I have never seen a direct comparison between Canadian and US rewards cards like this before so it was interesting to read.
Canadians definitely get the short end of the stick when it comes to credit card rewards but we still have some good options.
I have done a very in depth analysis to determine the best credit cards in Canada here if you are interested.
As someone who is not well versed in the reward travel point system….I’m rather curious how these match up to the CIBC aeroplan VISA, and the WestJet VISA. Some time ago, someone compared a bunch of Canadian credit cards, and found the CIBC as the best for either points or travel (can’t remember which). As for the WestJet VISA….I admit I prefer WestJet, but I’ve never done the research into the card.
@Kathy- Hi Kathy, Both the CIBC Aeroplan Visa and the Westjet (I believe its a mastercard) are NOT No-fee. The Westjet mastercard is $79 a year.. and it’s limited to travel with Westjet (which is fine because Westjet goes to some great places). I wonder if you’re talking about this post by Rewards Canada:http://www.rewardscanada.ca/topcreditcard2010.html
Interesting! I was unaware that there are differences between countries for the same basic card. I might get the Canadian version to avoid the foreign exchange fees alone.
@krantcents- You’re American, right? So you would use this for when you come up to Canada to shop?
In Canada, the two most popular ar Air Miles (BMO) and Aeroplan (CIBC Visa AeroGold and AeroGold Infinite)
Aeroplan is by far the fastest way to earn free trips (compared to Air Miles)
Both also offer banking miles (BMO vs CIBC)
@Etienne- I find that Air Miles is only good for gift cards etc. You often need a boat-load of Air Miles for a flight. I personally don’t have the Aeroplan, but I do know that it is popular. I find that it is a bit restrictive though, you can just fly Air Canada or one of their partners, right?
Yes Air Canada or partners. for winter vacation to the south, it’s not ideal. But for a far away getaway, it’s perfect.
I flew one week to Japan and one week to Thailand for $219 (fees and taxes) and 75 000 points. You can’t beat it.
It needs to be used for flights that are usually expensive. If you use it for New York or Paris, it’s cheaper to just pay the flight.
@Etienne- Wow- that’s a steal!!
Yeah, those big destinations are a good option. For destinations like NYC or Paris, I’m sure the taxes they charge add up to exceed the benefits of the points.
This is Laurel from Capital One. I’d like to respond to Michael’s comment that the Delta SkyMiles World MasterCard doesn’t have great benefits. Acutally, the World MasterCard gives a lot of benefits, such as Emergency Travel Medical insurance, Lost Luggage Insurance Baggage Delay insurance and Trip Cancellation coverage – just to name a few. Of course, it is up to every consumer to choose the benefits that matter most to them, but I wanted to point out there are a lot of different benefits to choose from.
We have a ton of travel reward cards! Most have annual fee or bait and switch tactics like first year no fee, fees thereafter.
You have to be really careful with the fine print!
[...] and Thrifty is reviewing the differences between Canadian vs. U.S. Travel Rewards Credit Cards. I don’t own travel card but maybe I should? No, I shouldn’t since I am trying to [...]
Travel Credit Cards in Canada have been covered extensively by Rewards Canada (see Youngs post above), in fact many Canadian news agencies use it as a reference in their articles and three major credit card companies use Rewards Canada’s rankings in their marketing materials. To see much of the work Rewards Canada has done see here
http://www.rewardscanada.ca/choosing-a-travel-credit-card.html
I also like the Amex because it isn’t tied to one particular airline miles program like some of the others. You don’t want to have to fly a certain airline just to chase points. That flexibility is key. Nice post.
@Philip- Thanks PT money
yeah, agree, I like that flexibility too. Don’t want to be tied down to one airline, especially if they suck (AHEM air canada).