You can now earn and burn Aeroplan Miles on Azul Brazilian Airlines

A major decline in travel due to the current global pandemic has not stopped Air Canada's Aeroplan from growing the program for future travel. It was only a few short weeks ago the program announced their partnership with Etihad Airways and as of today they have added another airline, Brazil's Azul Brazilian Airlines. This partnership is perfect as it was not too long Aeroplan lost Avianca Brazil as a partner, well not just Aeroplan, any airline that was partnered with them as Avianca Brazil folded. FYI Aeroplan does still have Brazil's Gol as a partner.

If you are unfamiliar with Azul, they are a Brazilian carrier based in São Paulo and operate a fleet of 145 aircraft including two-class Airbus A330s. The partnership that is already live sees the ability for Aeroplan members to earn and redeem miles on Azul flights in all cabins. Azul serves over 100 destinations across South America as well as select routes to Europe and the United States.

Azul's Network

 Here is the mileage earning chart for flights on Azul:

 On the redemption side here is what Aeroplan tells us:

• Azul flights will be subject to Aeroplan’s Fixed Mileage Flight Reward chart, available here.
• Members will be able to book Azul flights online at aeroplan.com, as well as via our Contact Centre.
• Azul flights can be combined with flights operated by Air Canada and our other international partners.
• Fuel surcharges will not apply on Azul operated flights.

Got to love that last line - no fuel surcharges is always nice! Also seeing that you can combine flights you can look using Air Canada to get to Brazil and connect to Azul's flights or choose to fly Air Canada to one of Azul's U.S. gateways (Ft. Lauderdale and Orlando) and then fly on their 2 class Airbus A330.  As the airline falls into Aeroplan's regular Fixed Mileage Flight Reward chart you would be looking at 60,000 miles round trip in Economy between Canada/U.S. and Brazil or 110,000 miles for Business Class. As always it is half that amount for one way flights.

Right now Brazil is being devastated by the COVID-19 pandemic which likely means there won't be many Aeroplan members rushing to redeem for flights on Azul but the announcement and launch of this partnership is great to have as knowledge in your back pocket for your future travel plans.

Title Image courtesy of Airbus

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Top 5 Credit Card Sign Up offers for July - These cards provide some of the best value out of their welcome bonuses

Here are the Rewards Canada Top 5 Credit Card Sign Up offers for the month of July 2020! This is not a 'best' credit card list like our Top Travel Rewards Credit Card rankings but instead a look at cards that have very good acquisition (welcome/sign up) offers. As always when choosing a card you should always take other factors into account other than the just sign up bonus, but when some of these cards are first year free, they can and do pay off even when you grab them strictly for the sign up rewards. This month we see two first year free cards on the list!

UPDATE: THE BMO Rewards Elite Mastercard changed on July 10 and is now off this list - it has been replaced with the WestJet RBC World Elite Mastercard.

For this month the list is the exact same as June's list as there haven't been any significant changes to the higher end welcome offers in our market. Do note the BMO World Elite Mastercard will see a change in a couple of days - for the better - so wait until Friday if you are considering it! The update to the card will keep it in fourth spot but it will be better.

Editor's Note:
As travel is curtailed right now these offers are more forward looking and can and should be used towards your long term travel plans - whether that's later this year, next year or even beyond. Getting the cards now allows you to achieve the sign up bonuses as you wish and then continue to spend to build up those points and miles balances to make those future vacations that much better. - Or in the case of all the cards except the Alaska Airlines Mastercard you can also look at cash back or cash back equivalents like gift cards from each program if you are looking at short term financial help. If you are going for the latter focus on the cards that have no fee in the first year so that you can maximize your value.

Remember as well that you will find this list smack dab in the middle of the Rewards Canada homepage for easy reference!

Here are our top 5 credit card sign up offers for July (in order of welcome bonus value, calculated as minimum mile/points value minus annual fee)

Marriott Bonvoy American Express Card - 50,000 Points (Apply here)
Minimum value: $380

No changes to this card means it stays put on the list The 50,000 points, awarded after spending $1,500 on the card in three months are worth at least $500 in our minds which means after subtracting the annual fee you are coming out ahead by $380. In reality you can pull even more value out of the card (into four figures) as we outlined in our post A look at how The Marriott Bonvoy American Express Card provides huge value!  Don't forget you get an annual free night with the card as well on the card anniversary date!
Minimum Income: N/A

Alaska Airlines World Elite Mastercard - 30,000 Miles (Apply here)
Minimum value: $330

This card offers a welcome bonus of 30,000 miles when you spend $1,000 on the card in the first three months of having it. This is one of the easiest bonuses to achieve and this card is one of the most churnable in Canada. There are really no problems in getting it 2-4 times in one year alone! Those 30,000 miles are worth no less than $330 when redeeming for economy class flights and just go up from there like the TD Aeroplan card.
Minimum Income: $80,000 Personal or $150,000 Household

HSBC World Elite Mastercard - 60,000 points (Apply here)
Minimum value: $300
This card offers a welcome bonus of 60,000 points, split between 20,000 on first purchase and 40,000 more when you spend $6,000 within 180 days of getting the card. The annual fee of $149 is waived in the first year as well meaning these points come to you at no cost other than card spend.The card has a lot of other good benefits like no foreign transaction fees to consider as well! Those 60,000 points are worth $300 in travel rewards but those points can also be converted to British Airways Executive Club, Cathay Pacific Asia Miles or Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer. 

Minimum Income: $80,000 personal or $150,000 household or $400,000 in assets at any Canadian Financial Institution

CIBC Aerogold Visa Infinite Card - 20,000 Miles (Apply here)
Minimum value: $240
 The bonus is awarded as follows: 15,000 Aeroplan Miles when you make your first Purchase with your Card + 5,000 Aeroplan Miles when you spend $3,000 or more in the first four billing periods. Plus your first year annual fee is waived! Depending on how you redeem those Aeroplan miles should be worth no less than $240 but more likely closer to $500 or more! In fact if you take the per mile value from our post from late July 2019 this welcome bonus would be worth $1,500 or more.
Minimum Income: $60,000 Personal or $100,000

WestJet RBC World Elite Mastercard - 300 WJD (Apply here)

Minimum value: $231
 The WestJet RBC World Elite Mastercard actually requires the least amount of spend out of any of the cards on this list. Spend $1 and you'll get the 300 WestJet dollars bonus. You do have to pay the $119 annual meaning you come out $231 ahead.

Minimum Income: $80,000 personal or $150,000 household
If you went for all these cards you ultimately could end up with anywhere from $1,500 to over $2,500 in travel value. However even if you only take on one or two you are helping your travel budget significantly at no cost other than regular credit card spend. We don't really recommend getting all five in one month unless you know you can meet the minimum spend for them all at once, rather you'd want to pick one or two right now, perhaps another next month and so on.

Disclaimers:
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.

Sponsored advertising. The Toronto-Dominion Bank (TD) is not responsible for the contents of this site including any editorials or reviews that may appear on this site. For complete and current information on any TD product, please visit the TD site. 

World of Hyatt offering 15% back in points for award stays + free parking + bonus points on dining

Hyatt Hotels launched another initiative today in efforts to encourage more people to travel and whether it is a road trip, staycation or any other travel this promotion is one to check out

The major part of this new promotion is for World of Hyatt members looking to redeem points for stays. Members have the opportunity to receive 15% of the points back that  they redeem for award nights or points+cash stays and even when using points for hotels incidentals like room upgrades or spa services. The rebate is awarded as bonus points 6-8 weeks after they are used – this means you do have to have the full amount of points in your account for the redemption you plan on completing. Now if you happen to have a U.S. based Hyatt credit card and I know some our Canadian readers do, you’ll get an additional 10% bonus meaning you’ll receive a 25% bonus on the total amount of points redeemed during the promotion period. That promotion period is from July 8 to October 8 and you need to register for it by September 1.

To be able to earn the 15% bonus points as a non-credit card holding World of Hyatt member you need to register for the offer here while Hyatt credit card holders need to register for the offer here.

When you redeem for free nights during this promotion they will  include free parking while Globalists will also receive free parking on eligible paid stays during the promotion period. Remember as well Hyatt is offering their Bonus Journeys promotion right now that offer triple points starting with your second stay (2,500 on first stay if you are an elite member) and free nights or points+cash awards count for those bonus points. So you can earn even more points on those stays!

Finally if you are not planning a stay but enjoy dining at a restaurant at your local Hyatt Hotel you can earn triple points on eligible spend when not staying the night, for dine-in, takeout or delivery at participating outlets at Hyatt hotels and resorts, from July 8 to October 8, 2020.

Big savings at the Fox Hotel & Suites in Banff with this Travelzoo offer

Another great Travelzoo offer to let you know about! (Travelzoo is an affiliate partner of Rewards Canada, we thank you in advance if you choose to purchase via our links) This time it is for the Fox Hotel & Suites in Banff.

The deal has you book the stay via Travelzoo with the ability to cancel without any fees up to 72 hours before check in.

Here's what's included:

• Check in through Oct. 8:
  
  • $199 per night ... Hotel Queen Bed Room
  • $249 per night ... Superior 1-Bedroom Suite
  • $309 per night ... Premium Loft Suite
  • $499 per night ... Superior 2-Bedroom Suite
• Chips and salsa, with two classic margaritas served at Chili’s Restaurant, once per stay ($31 value)
• Note: The following facilities are temporarily closed as a precautionary measure amid the COVID-19 pandemic: whirlpools, hot tubs, dry saunas and steam saunas

For comparison here are some screenshots of what the hotel is charging when you book direct with them (before taxes and fees):

This is for a 2 night stay (the minimum requirement) from July 21 to 23:

As you can see the Travelzoo offer saves you $50 per night and that doesn't even take into account the drinks and chips/salsa at Chili's.

Learn more about and book this offer here.

Earn 1,000 Bonus Aeroplan Miles when you join the program & complete your first mileage earning transaction by July 31

Aeroplan has brought back their new member bonus for the month of July. If you are one of the small majority of Canadians who haven't joined yet or if you have but your partner, kids or other family members and friends haven't it is time to let them know about this offer. Right now when you join Aeroplan and complete your first mileage earning transaction by July 31 you'll earn 1,000 bonus miles. The easiest mileage earning opportunities right now are to make a purchase via the Aeroplan eStore or to buy some Aeroplan miles.

Offer details:
1,000 Bonus Aeroplan Miles when you join the program and complete your first mileage earning transaction by July 31. Join here! Until Jul 31, 20

Find many more Aeroplan Bonus Miles offers here!

Image via Aeroplan

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July 7 Update: BMO card changes coming later this week, AIR MILES adds All Purpose Realty as a partner & closure of NEXUS enrollment centers extended

Have you been contemplating the BMO No Fee Rewards Mastercard with its 20,000 point bonus? Grab it now as that offer will change on Friday!

 On the other hand if you have been thinking about the card's sibling, the BMO Rewards World Elite Mastercard wait to apply for it. The sign up offer gets better on Friday.

AIR MILES has add a new realty partner to their list of companies that you can earn miles with. All Purpose Realty joins the ranks and you can earn up to 10,000 miles when you buy and/or sell a home. The maximum number of AIR MILES is 5,000 per transaction so when they market it as up to 10,000 I'm assuming that latter value comes from utilizing All Purpose for both the sale of a home and the purchase of a home. Find out more here.

Quite a while ago we let you know that if you were planning to go for a NEXUS interview that the US CBP had extended the closure of their enrollment centers to July 6. Bad news is that has now been further extended to at least August 10. (Source DoC)

Airline Schedule Updates
This will now be a standard feature in our daily update posts as we summarize Canadian operations based on data from RoutesOnline and other sources. Remember that many of these route plans are subject to change and right now they are changing frequently!

Right now Etihad Airways is flying 1 flight per week out of Toronto to Abu Dhabi but they are planning on boosting that to 3 flights per week as of July 17 (Source RoutesOnline)

Korean Air is offering 3 flights per week out of Toronto and 4 per week from Vancouver for the month of July. (Source RoutesOnline)

SWISS appears to be restarting their Montreal to Zurich route on July 14 with 3x weekly service. (Source RoutesOnline)

Remember to visit and bookmark our COVID-19 resource page where we are keeping you up to date with all the latest airline, hotel, lounges and loyalty program news, policies, closures and more.

Posts since our last update:

• Buy Aeroplan Miles and receive up to a 75% bonus + 100% Altitude Qualifying Dollars up to $5,000
  Aeroplan hasn't been selling miles for very long but they are already pushing out their second big promotion for…
• Summary of global hotel systemwide bonus points promotions – July Edition
  Here is your monthly update of all the global hotel bonus points promotions that are available. We are starting…
• New Amex Offers for Ivanhoe Cambridge Gift Cards and Robinson Lighting
  Two new Amex Offers offers showed up in my account today for the Platinum Card from American Express and my…
• The cards Rewards Canada recommends to replace the devalued Capital One Aspire Travel World Elite Mastercard
  Last week news broke that one of the best long running travel rewards cards in Canada was being devalued.…
• July 3 Update: 2x Coast Rewards Points + up to 40% off Coast Hotel Stays and 20x PC Optimum points for Shoppers Drug Mart online purchases
  Coast Hotels is offering double Coast Rewards points and up to 40% off stays at their hotels in Canada…

Deals:

Sandman Hotels 7 day summer sale - save up to 45% when you book by July 12 for stays until September 30. Find out more here

Fairmont Hotels Stay Close - Buy Night 1 Get 1 Night free at select hotels in Canada, U.S. and Mexico. Find out more here

Instacart: Get $10 when you place your first order with Instacart! Register here.

SkipTheDishes - Sign up with this link to get $5 off your first order over $15. Find out more here

WealthSimple Trade:  Receive $5 when you deposit and trade at least $100 worth of stock with WealthSimple Trade. Find out more here (We will also receive $5 when you receive $5)

Rewards Canada receives a small commission when you use any of the above offers. You don't have to chose to use our links but we thank you in advance if you do.

Canadian Bonus Offers

N/A

Other Bonus Offers

ALL Accor Live Limitless
- 500 Bonus ALL Rewards Points for stays at participating hotels in Bosna & Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Lithuania, Latvia, Poland, Macedonia, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia. More... Until Jul 31, 20

Shangri-La Hotels Golden Circle
- Double GC Points for stays at any Shangri-La hotel, resort, Kerry hotel, JEN hotel and Traders hotel Worldwide. More... Until Aug 31, 20

Sonesta Hotels Travel Pass
- 500 Bonus Travel Pass Points per night at the Royal Sonesta New Orleans. More... Until Dec 29, 20

Voila Hotel Rewards
- OFFER EXTENDED 30% Bonus VHR Points for each stay at any participating VOILÀ hotel Worldwide. More... Until Sep 30, 20



Follow Rewards Canada:

Buy Aeroplan Miles and receive up to a 75% bonus + 100% Altitude Qualifying Dollars up to $5,000

Aeroplan hasn't been selling miles for very long but they are already pushing out their second big promotion for those who want to buy or gift miles! The first time they ran a promotion was when they launched the ability to buy miles at any time and that promotion offered an astonishing 115% bonus for those who got in on the offer right away - then others were able to get 90% followed by 60%. This time the offer will be a mystery bonus, a promotion we've seen from other programs selling miles like Alaska Airlines. When you login you'll see what your bonus will be and we know it will max out at 75% for some members. What the criteria is to get the 75% is unknown but if we take what other programs have done in it is usually reserved for those who have bought miles before. On top of the mystery bonus Aeroplan will also be providing 100% of what you spend on the miles (pre tax) as Altitude Qualifying Dollars (AQD) up to a maximum of $5,000.

This is the perfect promotion for those of you who may have already earned some AQMs through Aeroplan's Travel at Home promotions where you have enough AQMs for one level of Altitude status but not enough AQDs. If you actually spend $5,000 buying Aeroplan Miles the 5,000 AQD covers the requirements for Prestige 25K and Elite 35K. Or it may be just enough to get you to that next level should you already have some AQDs earned from flying before or even during the pandemic.

This promotion is slated to run until July 12 so you have less than a week to take advantage of it however (don't quote me on this though) many of the buy miles promotions, even Aeroplan's first one, tend to get an extension these days!

Learn more about this offer here.

Update: Here is the offer I received:

Buy 2,000-50,000 miles = 25% bonus miles
Buy 60,000-170,000 miles = 40% bonus miles
Buy 180,000-240,000 miles = 60% bonus miles
Buy 250,000+ miles = 75% bonus miles

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Summary of global hotel systemwide bonus points promotions – July Edition

Here is your monthly update of all the global hotel bonus points promotions that are available. We are starting to see more offers emerge as hotel companies try to encourage any sort of travel now that there is even the smallest glimmer of hope that parts of the world are starting to return to normal.

One of the easiest ways to rack up lots of hotel points is to take advantage of these systemwide bonuses that come from many of the big chain programs and also from the lesser known programs. In fact, right now it should be rare for you NOT to earn a bonus. Unless you are staying at a boutique hotel or perhaps an independent hotel most other hotels out there have a bonus. So take advantage of it! These systemwide bonuses simply require you to register beforehand and they do not affect hotel pricing as long as you book a point eligible rate which are most rates out there. Of course booking through a third party site like Expedia or Rocketmiles does not count as most chains only award points on bookings that are made directly with them. Without further ado here are all the current promotions that are available to everyone:

Provider	Offer	Validity Date
ALL Accor Live Limitless	No Offers at this time	--
	For a complete listing of all ALL Accor Live Limitlessbonus point offers please visit Rewards Canada's ALL Accor Live Limitless page
Best Western Rewards	Receive a $25 Best Western Gift Card when you complete one stay at a Best Western Hotel in the United States, Canada, and the Caribbean. Full details, online registration & booking  (Registration is required) For residents of the U.S. and Canada only	Until Sep 7, 20
	Receive a $25 Best Western Travel Card when you complete 1 stay at a Best Western Hotel and submit a gas receipt or electric vehicle charging receipt within 10 days of your stay. Full details & online booking For residents of the U.S. and Canada only	Until Aug 31, 20
	For a complete listing of all Best Western Rewards bonus point offers please visit Rewards Canada's Best Western page
Choice Hotels Privileges	Earn up to 8,000 Bonus Privileges Points after every two separate qualifying stays at participating Choice Hotels Worldwide. Full details, online registration & booking (Registration is required) For residents of the U.S. and Canada only	Jun 10 – Sep 7, 20
	For a complete listing of all Choice Privileges bonus point offers please visit Rewards Canada's Choice page
Coast Hotels Coast Rewards	Double Coast Rewards Points on all stays at Coast Hotels in Canada and the U.S.. Full details	Until Aug 15, 20
	For a complete listing of all Coast Rewards bonus point offers please visit Rewards Canada's Coast Rewards page
GHA Discovery	No Offers at this time	--
	For a complete listing of all GHA Discovery bonus offers please visit Rewards Canada's GHA page
Hilton	Earn 2,000 Bonus Honors points per stay at Hilton Hotels worldwide plus 10,000 bonus points for every 10 nights stayed. Full details, online registration & booking (Registration is required )	Until Sep 7, 20
	For a complete listing of all Hilton HHonors bonus point offers please visit Rewards Canada's Hilton page
Hyatt	Triple World of Hyatt Points starting with your second stay at Hyatt hotels and resorts worldwide and participating M life Rewards destinations, Small Luxury Hotels of the World hotels and Lindblad Expeditions. Register online (Registration is required) Elite Member Offer details: 2,500 Bonus World of Hyatt Points + Triple Points for stays at Hyatt hotels and resorts worldwide and participating M life Rewards destinations, Small Luxury Hotels of the World hotels and Lindblad Expeditions. 2,500 bonus points will be awarded on your first stay and then the 3x points on all stays after that. Register online (Registration is required)	Register by Aug 31 for stays Jun 15 – Sep 15, 20
	For a complete listing of all Hyatt Gold Passport bonus point offers please visit Rewards Canada's Hyatt page
InterContinental Hotels Group	No Offers at this time	--
	For a complete listing of all IHG Priority Club bonus point offers please visit Rewards Canada's IHG page
Marriott	No offers at this time	--
	For a complete listing of all Marriott Rewards bonus point offers please visit Rewards Canada's Marriott page
Millennium Hotels My Millennium	No offers at this time	--
	For a complete listing of all Millennium Hotels My Millennium bonus point offers please visit Rewards Canada's My Millennium page
Preferred Hotel Group iPrefer	No offers at this time	--
	For a complete listing of all Preferred Hotel Group iPrefer bonus point offers please visit Rewards Canada's iPrefer page
Radisson Rewards	Earn 5,000 Bonus Radisson Rewards points on each stay at all Radisson Collection, Radisson Blu, Radisson, Radisson RED, Park Plaza, Park Inn by Radisson, and Country Inn & Suites by Radisson hotels worldwide. Full details, online registration & booking (Registration is required)	Until Dec 31, 20
	For a complete listing of all Radisson Rewards bonus point offers please visit Rewards Canada's Radisson Rewards page
Red Roof Inns RediRewards	No offers at this time	--
	For a complete listing of all Red Roof bonus point offers please visit Rewards Canada's RediRewards page
Sandman Hotels	Double Lucky13 rewards stamps for stays at all participating Sandman Hotels in Canada and the U.S. Full details	Until Dec 31, 20
	For a complete listing of all Radisson Rewards bonus point offers please visit Rewards Canada's Sandman Hotels Lucky13 Rewards page
Shangri-La Golden Circle	Double GC Points for stays at any Shangri-La hotel, resort, Kerry hotel, JEN hotel and Traders hotel Worldwide. Full details & online registration (Registration is required)	Until Aug 31, 20
	For a complete listing of all Shangria-La bonus point offers please visit Rewards Canada's Golden Circle page
Sonesta Hotels Travel Pass	No offers at this time	--
	For a complete listing of all Sonesta Hotels bonus point offers please visit Rewards Canada's Travel Pass page
Voila Hotel Rewards	30% Bonus VHR Points for each stay at any participating VOILÀ hotel Worldwide. Full details & online registration (Registration is required)	Until Sep 30, 20
	For a complete listing of all Voila Hotel Rewards bonus point offers please visit Rewards Canada's VHR page
WorldHotels Rewards	No offers at this time	--
	For a complete listing of all Wyndham Rewards bonus point offers please visit Rewards Canada's WorldHotels page
Wyndham Rewards	2,000 bonus Wyndham Rewards points per stay at participating Wyndham Hotels Worldwide. Bonus awarded for up to 5 stays. Full details, online registration & booking (Registration is required)	Until Jul 28, 20
	For a complete listing of all Wyndham Rewards bonus point offers please visit Rewards Canada's Wyndham page

New Amex Offers for Ivanhoe Cambridge Gift Cards and Robinson Lighting

Two new Amex Offers offers showed up in my account today for the Platinum Card from American Express and my wife's Marriott Bonvoy American Express card account:

The first one is really the stand out offer and you should log in to your account right away to see if you have been offered it as it is limited to 15,000 registrations. The offer itself is like getting a 20% discount on almost any shopping at Ivanhoe Cambridge shopping malls as these are the mall gift cards that you can use at most stores within those malls. You can earn the offer three times so ideally you'd buy three $100 gift cards and get $60 back in statement credits. You don't even have to go to the mall just yet to even buy it - you can buy it online and then use it when you do head out.

The second offer is great if you are looking to replace some lighting, doing some renos etc. as you can earn a one time $50 credit when you spend $250 or more at Robinson Lighting & Bath. (Why couldn't they have had this 5 years ago when we did a big reno and spent some a good chunk of change at Robinson!)

If you are eligible you'll find both offers in your Amex account for you to register for. We also have them listed in our Guide to American Express Canada 'Amex Offers'

 

The cards Rewards Canada recommends to replace the devalued Capital One Aspire Travel World Elite Mastercard

Last week news broke that one of the best long running travel rewards cards in Canada was being devalued. That card is the Capital One Aspire Travel World Elite Mastercard and although it hasn't been available to new customers for nearly three years now, those who did have the card were able to keep it and continue earning and burning on it like before with it's 2% return on all spending and the 10,000 point anniversary bonus being grandfathered in. That 2% and 10,000 points made it worthwhile for the majority of cardholders to keep the card in their wallets but that has changed now.

As reported last week the card will be devalued as of August 5. The earn rate will drop to 1.5% which is still respectable however in the grand scheme of looking at the whole picture of what cards provide and how the competitors ramp up against the card it makes the card weaker. Then by taking away the 10,000 point anniversary bonus cardholders are losing out on a $100 value - which many competitors offer in another form. Whether its the first bag free on the WestJet RBC Mastercard, to the $100 in travel credits on the HSBC World Elite Mastercard or Priority Pass lounge visit passes on the Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite card, the market is ripe with better options than the Aspire Travel World Elite Mastercard.

Here are the top travel cards Rewards Canada recommends as replacement options for the Capital One Aspire Travel World Elite Mastercard:

HSBC World Elite Mastercard
This card also earns 1.5% back on spending that can be redeemed towards any travel however that gets boosted to 3% on travel purchases which puts it ahead of the Aspire card. On top of that the card has no foreign transaction fees - which means purchases in US$ or other currencies will be 2.5% cheaper than the Aspire card plus the card provides an annual $100 travel enhancement credit that can be used towards things like seat selection, baggage fees and more. Finally the other big bonus this card has over the Aspire card is the ability to convert the points earned to British Airways Executive Club, Cathay Pacific Asia Miles or Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer. Learn more about and apply for the HSBC World Elite Mastercard here.



MBNA Rewards World Elite Mastercard
The MBNA Rewards World Elite Mastercard is the closest replacement to the Capital One Aspire Travel World Elite Mastercard in terms of earn rate. The card earns 2 points per dollar spent and those points can be redeemed for any travel booked via MBNA Rewards at a rate of 5,000 points to $50 which means it is a full 2% return. For cash back redemptions it drops a little to 1.67% but we're more concerned with the travel redemption rate and that is equal to the old Cap One rate. Learn more about and apply for the MBNA Rewards World Elite Mastercard here.



WestJet RBC World Elite Mastercard
This card provides a 1.5% return on all spending except for purchases with WestJet which will earn 2%. So on the earn side it is pretty equal with Capital One however if you are someone who flies WestJet the extra benefits this card provides over Capital One are what you need to look at such as the first checked bag fee being covered for you and up to 8 people on the same reservation and then the coveted annual companion voucher where someone can travel with you for only $119 to $399 depending on where you are flying to. Both those benefits provide a ton of value when compared to the Aspire card. Learn more about and apply for the WestJet RBC World Elite Mastercard here.

American Express Cobalt Card
This is the number one travel rewards credit card in Canada and if you are good to go with Amex then this is the card to get. It has super strong earn rates ranging from 1 to 5 points per dollar spent which translates to a 1% to 5% return towards any travel you book by yourself. Redeem those points via Amex's Fixed Travel Points program and that return can be as high as 10%! You also have the option to convert points to Marriott Bonvoy which can then be converted to over 40+ airline frequent flyer programs. Learn more about and apply for the American Express Cobalt Card here.


Scotiabank Gold American Express Card
Another big earner like the Cobalt Card, the Scotiabank Gold American Express card provides returns of 1% to 5% when you redeem your points towards travel that you book from any travel provider. It will also save you 2.5% on foreign currency transactions since the card has No Foreign transaction fee.  Learn more about and apply for the Scotiabank Gold American Express card here.

Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite Card
The Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite Card provides a 1% to 2% return on spending when you redeem for travel booked via any travel provider so on average you may come out at about the same earn rate as the newly devalued rate on the Cap One card. Like the HSBC card this card has no foreign transaction fees meaning it will save you 2.5% on any non-C$ purchases then add in the fact the card provides 6 free airport lounge visits per year and you should be pulling more value out of this card than the Cap One card. Learn more about and apply for the Scotia Passport Visa Infinite Card here.

TD First Class Visa Infinite Card
This card also allows you to use your points for booking travel via any provider at a minimum return of 1.2 to 1.5% - so not as good as the Cap One Aspire card however that rate gets boosted if you make purchases or end up redeeming your points to book travel via ExpediaForTd. That's the key to this card is utilizing TD's partnership with Expedia to extract the most value out of the points.  For example booking travel via ExpediaForTD online earns you 9 points per dollar and those points when redeemed on ExpediaForTD would net you a 4.5% return. Learn more about and apply for the TD First Class Visa Infinite Card here.



Now these aren't the only options to replace the Capital One Aspire World Elite Travel Mastercard - you have a whole slew of other travel rewards cards, cash back cards from the big banks, little banks and credit unions but the above list does represent the best overall options for anyone reading this post from coast to coast to coast. As always we do recommend that you do your research and find the card that will work best for you.