A lot of the focus on Rewards Canada is about credit cards as they are the easiest and number one way to earn loyalty points and miles in Canada. When it comes to spending your hard earned money on credit cards most of what we discuss revolves around the category bonuses awarded on those cards. Five times points this, three times points that but what about non-category bonus spending? Which cards stand out when it comes to your spending outside of things like groceries, gas, travel and other typical categories that are bonused? That's the focus of this feature and hopefully it can help you out especially if you are someone who does have a lot of spend on your card(s) that don't fall into category bonuses.
Rewards Canada's picks for the best cards to maximize the value earned on everyday spending outside of non-category bonuses are as follows:
Marriott Bonvoy American Express Card
Non-Category spend earn rate: 2 Marriott Bonvoy Points per dollar
This is the card that we here in the Rewards Canada family
actually use the most on non-category spending. The Marriott Bonvoy
American Express Card earns 2 points per dollar spent on everyday
non-category bonus spending. We value Bonvoy points at no less than 1
cent each. That means the return on spending is 2% - however the value
tends to be higher. Our most recent redemption with Marriott saw a
return of around 1.4 cents per point or a 2.8% return. In the past we
have written about pulling value out of the Marriott and shown examples
where you could redeem points for a value of 1.6 to over 4 cents each.
Those amounts equate to a 3.2% to 8+% return on your everyday
non-category bonus spending.
Recommended reading: Marriott Bonvoy™ American Express® Card Review
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TD Aeroplan Visa Infinite Privilege Card
CIBC Aeroplan Visa Infinite Privilege Card
Non-Category spend earn rate: 1.25 Aeroplan points per dollar
Again you will have a varying return on these cards as it all depends on what you redeem your Aeroplan miles for. But as a baseline I would use a value of 1.2 cents per mile for an Aeroplan mile - which means these card's 1.25 points per dollar equates to no less than a 1.5% return. Just like the others in this list that return can grow - and grow a lot. We have shown in multiple posts on our blog on how you can redeem for business class flights and enjoy a big return. From 2.6 cents per point to 5.8 points and higher! At 5.8 cents per points the everyday non-category earn of 1.25 miles on these cards equates to a 7.25% return!
RBC Avion Visa Infinite Privilege Card
Non-Category spend earn rate: 1.25 Avios per dollar
With British Airways Executive Club you have varying return on these cards as again it all depends on what you redeem your Avios for. But as a baseline I would use a value of 1.6 cents per Avios - which means these card's 1.25 Avios per dollar only equates to a 2% return. Again this is low but that return can grow. When you value the Avios for a business class redemption from 2 cents to 5 cents or more you see another great return valuation! At 5 cents per Avios the everyday non-category earn of 1.25 Avios on these cards equates to a 6.25% return!
TD Aeroplan Visa Infinite Card
CIBC Aeroplan Visa Infinite Card
American Express Gold Rewards Card
The Platinum Card from American Express
Non-Category spend earn rate: 1 Aeroplan point per dollar
Again you will have a varying return on these cards as it all
depends on what you redeem your Aeroplan miles for. But as a baseline I
would use a value of 1.2 cents per mile for an Aeroplan mile - which
means these card's 1 point per dollar only equates to a 1.2% return.
That may seem low but that return can grow. When you value the miles for
a business class redemption from 2.6 cents per point to 5.8 cents or higher you
can see how it grows! At 5.8 cents per point the everyday non-category
earn of 1 mile on these cards equates to a 5.8% return!
Recommended reading: TD® Aeroplan® Visa Infinite* Card Review
RBC Avion Visa Infinite Card
RBC British Airways Visa Infinite Card
American Express Gold Rewards Card
The Platinum Card from American Express
Non-Category spend earn rate: 1 Avios per dollar
With British Airways Executive Club you have varying return on these cards as again it all depends on what you redeem your Avios for. But as a baseline I would use a value of 1.6 cents per Avios - which means these card's 1 Avios per dollar only equates to a 1.6% return. Again this is low but that return can grow. When you value the Avios for a business class redemption from 2 cents to 5 cents or more you see another great return valuation! At 5 cents per Avios the everyday non-category earn of 1 Avios on these cards equates to a 5% return!
MBNA Alaska Airlines World Elite Mastercard
Non-Category spend earn rate: 1 Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan Mile per dollar
Similar to the Marriott card - Mileage Plan miles from Alaska Airlines are worth about 2 cents per mile on average. As the card earns 1 mile per Canadian dollar spent this equates to a 2% return. Again, like the Marriott card above - and in fact most of the cards in this list - that value can go much higher. That's because you can redeem Alaska Airlines miles for as little as 5,000 miles for one way flight from Western Canada to Seattle or go for those amazing business class and first class flights on airlines like Japan Airlines where the value can grow exponentially. It is very common to be able to achieve returns over 4 cents per mile equating to a 4% return or higher return on your everyday non-category bonus spending.
American Express SimplyCash Preferred Card
Non-Category spend earn rate: 2% Cash Back
The only non travel rewards card in our list is one of the top cash back cards in Canada! The American Express SimplyCash Preferred Card provides a nice simple 2% back on all spending made on the card. This is perfect for those who aren't looking for travel rewards like all the cards above and for those looking for simplicity in calculating their rewards since it is 2% on each and every purchase.
You'll notice that all of the cards don't include programs that are proprietary to the credit card issuers themselves. The reason why is the ability to redeem points and miles from airline and hotel programs for rewards that provide outsized value. Most credit card proprietary programs have a flat rate redemption and most for most of them this means their everyday non-category spending only equates to a 1% to 1.5% return at tops. Of course this non-category spending is only one part of the equation and you should take all of a card's earning and benefits into account when selecting one. However we hope this feature helps you out, especially if you are someone who puts most of your spending into those categories that aren't covered by various card's bonus offers.
If I was to pick one card of the bunch it is the Marriott Bonvoy American Express card. Why? It is the card that the Rewards Canada family has in our wallets for all of our non-category bonus spending. The main reason is that we find great value in the program even though there are cards in our wallets such as the American Express Gold Rewards card and The Platinum Card from American Express. For us the Marriott Bonvoy American Express card is providing us those points for stays in far flung locales where the cash outlay is crazy - not to mention we have really healthy balances in the other programs as well!
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