The Ultimate Air Canada Credit Card Portfolio

 

In this feature of Rewards Canada' Ultimate Credit Card Portfolios we look at the ultimate one for travelling on Air Canada. This one differs somewhat from our Ultimate Aeroplan Portfolio as it is not as focused on simply earning and redeeming Aeroplan Points but rather the maximizing of the benefits you get for travelling on Air Canada while still taking into account the Aeroplan earn and burn aspect.

We have always recommended that you should carry a Visa, a Mastercard and an American Express card in your wallet. The reason why is that there are benefits, promotions and earning potential unique to each brand of credit card. Here we outline one card from each brand that will help you make you travel on Air Canada better, easier and more enjoyable all the while earning Aeroplan Points or other points with your purchases. Ultimately there are various options that could be utilized for an Air Canada portfolio but we look at one card from each issuing family that will benefit you when you travel on Air Canada. If you are only out for earning Aeroplan Points you should check out our Ultimate Aeroplan Portfolio.

What is Rewards Canada's Ultimate Air Canada Credit Card portfolio? It's the following three cards:

 

The TD® Aeroplan® Visa Infinite Privilege* Card is the obvious choice since it provides many Air Canada benefits while the Cobalt Card is the best card in Canada for earning lots of Aeroplan points and the Brim World Elite makes the most sense as a Mastercard for the portfolio. There are no Mastercards that actually provide Air Canada benefits and we'll explain our choice in this article. You could also go for the CIBC version of the Aeroplan Visa Infinite Privilege Card but seeing that TD is the primary issuer for Aeroplan we use that card in this portfolio.

Five Key Benefits of this portfolio

• Priority services† when flying with Air Canada including Priority Check-In†, Priority Boarding† and Priority Baggage Handling†
• Maple Leaf Lounge access† and global lounge access membership with annual passes
• Annual Worldwide Companion Pass†
• Really good Aeroplan points earn rates
• Strong insurance coverage

Why you want to get each of these cards

The Benefits

The first card in the portfolio is the TD® Aeroplan® Visa Infinite Privilege* Card. This card would be set as the main card in this portfolio for your travels as it provides a wealth of elite like benefits when you fly on Air Canada.

Having this card in your wallet is almost like having elite status with Air Canada. It provides Priority Check-In†, Priority Boarding† (Zone 2) and Priority Baggage Handling†. Speaking of baggage handling, the card provides your first checked bag free† for you and up to eight people on the same Air Canada reservation.

Then you have lounge access†, with this card you and a guest can enter Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounges in North America when flying a same-day ticket on a flight marketed or operated by Air Canada, Air Canada Rouge, Air Canada Express, or any Star Alliance member airline. On top of this the card also provides membership in the Visa Airport Companion by DragonPass which is a global lounge access program. The Visa Airport Companion program allows the member to access lounges all around the world at a discounted rate but the good news is the card provides six free access passes annually so you won't pay any fees until you use those up.

Recommended reading: Rewards Canada's Guide to Business Class Lounge Access

The benefits with this card don't end there. As with all Aeroplan co-brand cards, by having the TD® Aeroplan® Visa Infinite Privilege* Card you'll receive preferred pricing when redeeming Aeroplan points for Air Canada flights. That is, you'll receive a discount on the number points required when you make an award flight redemption for travel on Air Canada. You also get a NEXUS credit†, rollover status qualifying miles, rollover status eUpgrade credits and more. You can also receive an annual worldwide companion pass when you spend at least $25,000 on the card each year.

Recommended reading: TD® Aeroplan® Visa Infinite Privilege* Card Review

The Points Earning

The second card in the portfolio is the American Express Cobalt® Card which just happens to be the best overall credit card in Canada and in most cases, the best card for earning the most Aeroplan points possible. It is the points earning as to why the card is in the portfolio over the American Express® Aeroplan®* Reserve Card. The Reserve card is an amazing card however it and the TD Visa Infinite Privilege provide almost the exact same benefits so by having the TD Infinite Privilege you'd be better off having the Cobalt Card to boost your Aeroplan earning.

Recommended reading: Which credit card earns the most Aeroplan Points?

The American Express Cobalt Card earns 5 points per dollar spent on eats and drinks. That's dining, dining delivery, groceries, bars, coffee shops and more. Next it offers 3 points per dollar on select streaming services and 2x points on travel, gas, transit, taxis and ride sharing. All those earn rates are the top earn rates for Aeroplan points. Now, the card doesn't earn Aeroplan points directly, it earns Membership Rewards points which can be transferred on a 1:1 basis to Aeroplan. Those transfers are almost always instant when you initiate them so the Cobalt Card is pretty much like having an Aeroplan card.

Recommended reading: American Express Cobalt™ Card Review

No Foreign Transaction Fees & the Costco Connection

After the discontinuation of the MBNA Best Western Mastercard the Canadian market was left without a Mastercard that is connected to Air Canada or Aeroplan. So we have to look at Mastercard that would suit the portfolio well and seeing as this portfolio is definitely a consideration for international travellers the right card to round it out is the Brim World Elite Mastercard.

The primary reason this card is in the portfolio is for its No Foreign Transaction fees. This means they don't charge you the 2.5% fee when making purchases not in Canadian Dollars like the other two cards in the portfolio and most other cards in Canada. If you do travel outside of Canada a fair amount and/or shop online from the U.S. or other countries this card can provide some substantial savings for you. On top of not charging the FX fee this card earns cash back on all purchases made with this card. That cash back can be redeemed towards any purchase you make on the card.

If you shop at Costco this card also fulfills the payment role for the warehouse giant. Canadian Costco warehouses only accept Mastercard so you can utilize the Brim card for your purchases here.

Related: Brim World Elite Mastercard review

Spending with this portfolio

Here's how you should split up your spending with this credit card portfolio:

• Air Canada purchases: TD® Aeroplan Visa Infinite Privilege Card (2 points per dollar)
• All other non-Air Canada travel purchases: American Express Cobalt Card (2 points per dollar)
• Dining, Drinks, Grocery, Food Delivery: American Express Cobalt Card (5 points per dollar)
• Gas, Transit, Ride Sharing: American Express Cobalt Card (2 points per dollar)
• Streaming Services: American Express Cobalt Card (3 points per dollar)
• Costco Canada Purchases: Brim World Elite Mastercard (Up to 2% cash back)
• All other purchases in Canada: TD Aeroplan Visa Infinite Privilege Card ( 1.25 points per dollar)
• Dining, Drinks, Grocery, Food Delivery outside of Canada: American Express Cobalt Card (5 points per dollar)
• All other purchases outside of Canada: Brim World Elite Mastercard (Save the 2.5% foreign transaction fees + earn up to 2% cash back)
  

Of note the American Express Cobalt Card has $2,500 monthly cap on the 5x points eats and drinks category. Should you reach that cap start using the TD card for those purchases as you'll earn 1.5 Aeroplan points on most of those purchases.

 

Here are the details on these three cards