Building a Credit Card Portfolio for Air Canada Frequent Flyers

With Air Canada being the country’s largest airline, offering routes around the world, and over 50 airline partners, finding the right credit cards to maximize your travel experience is crucial.

While holding just one of Aeroplan’s many co-branded credit cards offers great benefits, adding a few extra cards to your portfolio can further elevate how you travel.

Whether it’s by boosting your Aeroplan points balance, unlocking lounge access, giving you peace of mind with solid travel insurance, or saving you money on foreign transaction fees, the right combination of cards can ensure that every trip is not only rewarding but also comfortable.

In this article, we’ll show you which cards to get to create an Air Canada credit card portfolio that’s worthy of any frequent flyer and that will cover you when it comes to earning Aeroplan points, enjoying lounge access, saving on those pesky baggage fees, and more.

Enjoy Perks and Benefits with an Aeroplan Co-branded Credit Card

If you fly with Air Canada with any frequency, your first stop should be an Aeroplan co-branded credit card to unlock Air Canada-specific perks.

Depending on which co-branded card you choose, these perks range from free checked bags to airport lounge access to priority services and more.

When selecting a card for your portfolio, you’ll want to pick the card that best suits you based on how often you travel and what perks most appeal to you.

American Express Aeroplan Reserve Card

If you fly on Air Canada fairly often, we recommend the American Express Aeroplan Reserve Card as our top choice because of its strong perks and features which can not only help you travel in comfort but can also help you in your pursuit of Aeroplan Elite Status.

First, with the American Express Aeroplan Reserve Card, you earn 3 Aeroplan points per dollar spent on Air Canada and Air Canada Vacations, which is the highest earning rate for Air Canada purchases in Canada.

The card also earns 2 Aeroplan points per dollar spent on dining and food delivery, and 1.25 Aeroplan points per dollar spent on everything else.

You’ll also benefit from a free checked bag for yourself and up to eight companions on the same reservation, and you’ll have access to preferred pricing on Aeroplan redemptions.

At the airport, your experience will be streamlined with priority check-in and Zone 2 boarding, and you can relax before your flight with unlimited access to Maple Leaf Lounges in Canada and the US for yourself and one guest.

The American Express Aeroplan Reserve Card comes with lounge access

Additionally, for those working towards earning or maintaining Aeroplan Elite Status, the American Express Reserve Card lets you earn 1,000 Status Qualifying Miles (SQM) and 1 Status Qualifying Segment (SQS) for every $5,000 spent, helping you reach status faster.

Plus, up to 200,000 unused SQM can be rolled over to the next year, and your eUpgrades are valid for two years from the time they’re earned, giving you more flexibility than the usual one-year expiration.

To top it all off, the card comes with great travel insurance coverage and the ability to use the American Express referral program to refer friends and family and earn even more Aeroplan points.

TD® Aeroplan® Visa Infinite* Card

For those who fly less often, the TD® Aeroplan® Visa Infinite* Card offers solid Air Canada benefits for the considerably lower annual fee of $139 compared to the American Express Aeroplan Reserve Card’s hefty $599 annual fee.

While the TD® Aeroplan® Visa Infinite* Card doesn’t have the same elevated earning rates as the American Express Aeroplan Reserve Card, it will still help you accumulate Aeroplan points towards your next redemption.

The TD® Aeroplan® Visa Infinite* Card is great for everyday spending

This card earns 1.5 Aeroplan points per dollar spent on eligible groceries, gas, and Air Canada purchases,† and 1 Aeroplan point per dollar spent on all other eligible purchases.†

In terms of Air Canada-specific benefits, you’ll enjoy a free checked bag for yourself and up to eight companions on the same reservation, along with preferred pricing on Aeroplan redemptions and the ability to earn 1,000 Status Qualifying Miles (SQM) and 1 Status Qualifying Segment (SQS) for every $10,000 you spend on the card.

Additionally, this card comes with a $100 NEXUS credit and offers great insurance coverage that applies to both cash fares and to Aeroplan award tickets when you charge the full taxes and fees of the redemption ticket to your TD® Aeroplan® Visa Infinite* Card.

Both the TD® Aeroplan® Visa Infinite* Card and the American Express Aeroplan Reserve Card typically offer strong welcome bonuses and allow you to earn Aeroplan points on your everyday purchases.

But if you’re looking to boost your Aeroplan points even further, combining one of these cards with the American Express Cobalt Card will give you the ultimate points-earning combo.

Boost your Aeroplan Balance with the American Express Cobalt Card

Since a big chunk of many people’s everyday spending goes towards groceries, dining, and bars, the American Express Cobalt Card is the perfect card to use to boost your Aeroplan balance.

We’ve chosen this card since it has the strongest earning potential in Canada, thanks to its ability to earn 5 American Express Membership Rewards (MR) points per dollar (all figures in CAD) spent in the food and drink category.

You’ll get up to 5 MR points per dollar spent with the Cobalt Card

With this and the card’s other elevated earning rates, your balance of MR points can really add up quickly; just be aware that after $2,500 in monthly spend within this category, the earning rate drops to 1 point per dollar spent.

MR points are one of the most valuable and flexible reward currencies in Canada due to their excellent redemption opportunities and their ability to be transferred to multiple airline and hotel loyalty programs.

To help you build your Aeroplan balance, the MR points that you earn with your Cobalt Card can be transferred to Aeroplan at a rate of 1:1. This means you’re essentially earning 5 Aeroplan points per dollar spent on food and drink.

Beyond the 5x earning rate for food and drink, the Cobalt Card also earns 3 points per dollar spent on streaming services, 2 points per dollar spent on gas and transit, and 1 point per dollar spent on everything else, making it a well-rounded option for any credit card combo.

By using this card for your daily spend, you can help build up your Aeroplan balance for amazing redemptions.

Round it Out: Fill in Any Missing Perks

While a two-card setup will get you most of the way towards elevated travel with Air Canada, adding a third card is your best bet if you want to have full coverage for earning, perks, travel insurance, and lounge access.

This third card should provide whatever you feel you’re missing from the other two cards. We think that for a frequent flyer, there are two perks that you’re most likely interested in filling out: additional lounge access and/or saving on foreign transaction fees.

Many credit cards offer lounge access as a perk for cardholders

If you travel often, you may want lounge access coverage in addition to the Maple Leaf Lounge access that comes with the American Express Aeroplan Reserve Card mentioned above (or, if you didn’t choose the American Express Aeroplan Reserve card from the section above, you may want lounge access in general).

If a diversity of lounge access isn’t so important to you, or you have this need covered with another card or through elite status, then you may want to choose a card that offers no foreign transaction fees to save yourself some money when you travel.

Scotiabank Passport® Visa Infinite* Card

If you don’t see yourself needing unlimited or diverse lounge access, but you’d still like to enjoy the occasional visit, consider the Scotiabank Passport® Visa Infinite* Card.

The two features of this card that we think are worth highlighting in this context are its complimentary Visa Airport Companion Program membership, which includes six free DragonPass lounge visits per year at over 1,200 airport lounges globally, and its offer of no foreign transaction fees, saving you 2.5% on every purchase made in foreign currencies.

The card also earns flexible Scene+ points, which can be redeemed against all travel purchases made on the card at a fixed-value of 1 cent per point. When combined with the lounge access and no transaction fees, this a great card to add to any frequent flyer portfolio.

American Express Platinum Card or Business Platinum Card from American Express

Now, if you’re a frequent flyer that values comfort when you travel and would like to vastly increase your lounge access, the American Express Platinum Card or the Business Platinum Card from American Express are both great options.

Enjoy unlimited lounge access through the American Express Global Lounge Collection

Both cards come with unlimited lounge access for you and a guest at thousands of airport lounges worldwide through the American Express Global Lounge Collection.

Additionally, both cards offer an array of travel-related perks and benefits such as complimentary Marriott Bonvoy Gold Elite status and Hilton Honors Gold Elite status, annual travel credits, access to American Express Fine Hotels & Resorts, and more.

When it comes to choosing between the three cards we’ve mentioned in this section, you’ll want to consider whether you prefer more and diversified lounge access, or whether you would benefit most from saving on foreign transaction fees while enjoying a smaller amount of lounge access.

Of course, you’ll also want to take the cards’ annual fees into consideration as well, especially since the American Express Platinum Card and the Business Platinum Card from American Express both come with hefty annual fees of $799, while the Scotiabank Passport® Visa Infinite* Card comes with a more affordable annual fee of $150.

Conclusion

When it comes to choosing the right credit card combo for frequently flying with Air Canada, there’s no one-size-fits-all solution. It all comes down to what you value most – whether it’s earning Aeroplan points quickly, enjoying Air Canada benefits, getting into lounges, or avoiding foreign transaction fees.

Whether you’re one of the airline’s most frequent flyers or just someone looking to elevate your travel, any of the above credit cards will certainly help make your Air Canada and Aeroplan experiences smoother, more rewarding, and more enjoyable.

If you’d like some support crafting your perfect credit card portfolio, our Prince of Travel consultants would be happy to help create an ideal portfolio tailored to you.

† Terms and conditions apply. Please refer to the card issuer’s website for up-to-date information.