Seven Credit score Playing cards for Households Who Like to Journey

As most of you who follow my content already know, I love to travel with my family. Sadly, travelling with a family of five isn’t cheap (nor is raising one, for that matter).

Everything from grocery bills to dining out, transportation costs, utilities, and beyond is more expensive than it was before I had kids. Also, let’s not forget all the additional costs that come with raising children, like gear and clothing, childcare, school tuition, extracurricular activities, and summer camps, to name a few.

Since there’s no way around many of these expenses, you may as well maximize the benefits you can get from all the spending you do. And if you’re earning the right kinds of points, it can also make travelling more of a reality than it otherwise would be.

In this post, I’ll cover my top credit card picks for families who love to travel, with a particular focus on ones without high annual fees.

Best Card for Earning and Redeeming: American Express Cobalt Card

The first card that all families should have in their wallets is the highly touted American Express Cobalt Card.

Not only does this card have no minimum income requirement and a low $12.99 (all figures in CAD) monthly fee ($155.88 annually), it also has some of the best earning rates that you’ll find for everyday family spending categories.

This family-favourite card earns the valuable Membership Rewards points at the following rates:

• 5 points per dollar spent on eligible restaurants and groceries (up to $2,500 monthly)
• 3 points per dollar spent on eligible streaming services
• 2 points per dollar spent on eligible gas, public transit, and travel purchases
• 1 point per dollar spent on all other eligible purchases

In November 2023, there was some negative buzz around this card as it underwent a 50% drop in its welcome bonus, and it increased the monthly spend required to achieve it.

As it stands currently, you can earn a welcome bonus of up to 15,000 MR points upon spending $750 each month in the first year of card membership, earned as 1,250 points for each month in which you spend at least $750.

Despite the recent drop to the welcome bonus, the significant earning rates on this card continue to make it an excellent choice. And to be fair, it’s never really been a card that you get for its welcome bonus, but rather for the powerful earning rates on everyday spending instead.

For many families, spending $750 a month won’t be an issue, with probably half of that being spent on groceries alone. Add on dining out once a week or so, a monthly subscription to Netflix, Disney+, and Spotify, plus gas for driving the kids to and from school and their extracurricular activities, and you’ll hit that spend in no time, with category multipliers to boot.

With the Cobalt card, not only is the earning great, but so is the redeeming. American Express Membership Rewards points are transferable to a wide variety of partners, including Aeroplan, Air France KLM Flying Blue, British Airways Executive Club, Cathay Pacific Asia Miles, and Marriott Bonvoy, amongst others.

If you travel in economy and award space is hard to find for the whole family, you can also consider using American Express’s Fixed Points Travel Program, through which you can redeem a fixed number of points to cover the base ticket price of any flight, up to the maximum allowable fare.

Best Card for Fixed-Value Points and No FX Fees: Scotiabank Gold American Express Card

Another card that has great earning rates on everyday family spending and offers flexible redemption options is the Scotiabank Gold American Express Card.

For a reasonable $120 annual fee, you can earn the following with the Scotiabank Gold American Express Card:

• 6 Scene+ points per dollar spent on eligible purchases at Sobeys, IGA, Safeway, FreshCo, and more†
• 5 Scene+ points per dollar spent on eligible grocery, dining, and entertainment purchases†
• 3 Scene+ points per dollar spent on eligible gas, transit, and streaming service purchases†
• 1 Scene+ point per dollar spent on all other eligible purchases†

Scene+ is a flexible points currency that can be applied against any travel purchase at a value of 1 cent per point.†

The current welcome bonus of up to 40,000 Scene+ points† is therefore equivalent to $400 that can be used to offset travel costs on your credit card statement.† This is a great way to redeem for any hotel, vacation rental, tour, excursion, or flight booked with any vendor without needing to worry about award space availability.

With a minimum income requirement of just $12,000,† it also makes it a great starter card for your working teenager, especially if they love going to the movies or attending sports games.

Although the elevated earning rates only apply to spending within Canada, the no foreign exchange fees feature makes this a great card to use outside Canada as well. This feature will save you 2.5% on every transaction you make abroad, which can certainly add up when travelling as a family.

If you’re looking for something with wider merchant acceptance as a non-Amex card, consider getting the Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite Card as an alternative, which also offers no foreign exchange fees.

For an annual fee of $150, you earn 2–3 Scene+ points per dollar spent on categories similar to those above, and you’ll receive six complimentary lounge visits per year through the ​​Visa Airport Companion Program.†

Best Mastercard for 5x Earning: MBNA Rewards World Elite^® Mastercard^®

For a card with wider acceptance at dining establishments and grocery stores that still has great earning rates, consider the MBNA Rewards World Elite^® Mastercard^®.

For a modest annual fee of just $120,† you can earn the following amounts of MBNA Rewards points on everyday spending:

• 5 MBNA Rewards points per dollar spent on eligible restaurant, grocery, digital media, membership, and household utility purchases†
• 1 MBNA Rewards point per dollar spent on all other eligible purchases†

It’s worth pointing out that this card is one of the few that offers a great multiplier on utilities spending.

Additionally, MBNA recently released a targeted promotion offering 5 MBNA Rewards points per dollar spent at wholesale clubs, including Costco. Going to Costco is a weekly routine for many families, so this is a great multiplier to leverage should it (hopefully) become a permanent feature of the card in the future.

On the redemption side, MBNA Rewards can be redeemed against travel purchases at a value of 1 cent per point; however, these purchases need to be made through the bank’s own online travel booking portal. This makes them less flexible than Scene+ points, but still useful for families who love to travel.

Notably, MBNA is currently working on making MBNA Rewards transferable to Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan program, which will make this card even more valuable for families.

For example, the inclusion of this transfer partner will open up opportunities to redeem for flights with Condor. This airline releases award seats in quantities of seven or more, making it great for families looking to book a trip from one of several Canadian airports to Frankfurt and beyond.

Best Aeroplan Card for Family Travel: TD Aeroplan^® Visa Infinite* Card

If your family mainly flies Air Canada with any frequency, or is heavily invested into the Aeroplan program, you’ll surely want to pick up an Aeroplan co-branded credit card.

The TD Aeroplan® Visa Infinite* Card has an annual fee of $139,† which is currently being rebated for the first year.† Until January 3, 2024, the card is offering a welcome bonus of up to 50,000 Aeroplan points, with a minimum spending requirement of $7,500 in the first year.†

For Aeroplan perks, you’ll get preferred pricing on Aeroplan redemptions with Air Canada,† a free checked bag for yourself and up to eight other passengers travelling with you on the same reservation,† and travel insurance on Aeroplan bookings.†

Even if your family only flies with Air Canada once per year, the free checked bag alone more than makes up for the annual fee. And if you happen to encounter any turbulence on your trip, you’d be covered by the card’s insurance offerings, too.†

The card doesn’t have 5x category earning multipliers like some of the other cards we’ve looked at already, but you’ll still earn Aeroplan points at the following rates:

• 1.5 Aeroplan points per dollar spent on eligible gas, grocery, and Air Canada purchases
• 1 Aeroplan point per dollar spent on all other eligible purchases

With this card, you’ll also receive a NEXUS application fee rebate of up to $100 every 48 months, provided as a statement credit.†

I’ve found having NEXUS to be very beneficial for speeding through customs with my family, and with the $100 credit being almost enough for two applications (currently $50 USD each), it’s also great for helping offset that cost.

Best Card for WestJet Perks: WestJet RBC^® World Elite Mastercard

If you fly WestJet with any frequency, it’s definitely worth having the WestJet RBC^® World Elite Mastercard in your household portfolio.

Currently, it has an all-time-high welcome bonus of up to $700 WestJet Dollars,† with a $119 annual fee,† and a minimum spending requirement of $5,000 in the first three months.†

With this card, you’ll get a free checked bag for yourself and up to eight other passengers travelling with you on the same reservation,† travel insurance on WestJet Rewards bookings,† and an annual companion voucher.†

The companion voucher allows a second guest on the same itinerary to enjoy a reduced fare of $119, plus taxes and fees, between Canada and the Continental US, or $399, plus taxes, on any other WestJet itinerary.

If your family tends to travel during peak seasons, such as Spring Break or during the summer or winter holidays, the companion voucher can provide a meaningful discount when prices are otherwise high.

For a family of four, you’ll want to make sure your partner picks up one of these cards too – that way, you’ll each get a voucher to use each year.

Also, if you prefer, each companion voucher can be converted into four lounge passes to use at WestJet partner lounges, which is good for a free meal before your next flight.

Best Card for Family Lounge Access: CIBC Aventura^® Visa Infinite* Card

If you only travel once or twice a year, but would like the comforts of an airport lounge to take advantage of, then get the CIBC Aventura® Visa Infinite* Card.

With an annual fee of $139 that’s rebated for the first year,† a current welcome bonus of up to 40,000 Aventura Points,† a NEXUS application rebate of up to $100,† and four complimentary lounge visits per year,† this card is a no-brainer for families who love to travel.

We mentioned earlier that the Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite Card offers six complimentary lounge visits per year; however, it comes with a $150 annual fee that isn’t rebated in the first year. This is why the CIBC Aventura^® Visa Infinite* Card takes the top spot.

Most other credit cards that provide unlimited lounge access only extend access to the primary cardholder and maybe one or two guests, which often isn’t enough for families. However, both of the above-mentioned cards are exceptions and have more modest annual fees, which is great for families.

For both cards, lounge access is through the ​​Visa Airport Companion Program, which is operated by DragonPass. You’ll need to enrol for the lounge access benefit, either through the Visa Airport Companion App or on the website.

CIBC Aventura Points are useful in offsetting travel costs or purchasing extra flight tickets, especially in a situation where there isn’t enough award flight availability for the entire family.

You can redeem your points through Aventura’s Fixed Airline Rewards Chart, which could yield a value as high as 2.29 cents per point. Aventura Points can also be redeemed against any travel purchase made on the card at the elevated rate of 1.25 cents per point until March 31, 2024.

Best Card for Travel Insurance: National Bank^® World Elite^® Mastercard^®

A card that doesn’t get as much attention as it should is the National Bank® World Elite® Mastercard®.

This card is great for paying taxes on any award flight redemption, as it’s one of the few cards that allows you to pay for only part of a trip and still be covered by travel insurance.

Additionally, you can essentially keep the card for free year after year, as the $150 annual travel credit can be redeemed against travel incidentals, offsetting the card’s $150 annual fee.

The earning rates on the card are also pretty decent, and it’s one that offers a 5x earning rate. As a cardholder, you’ll earn the following:

• 5 À la carte Rewards points per dollar spent on groceries and dining
• 2 À la carte Rewards points per dollar spent on recurring bill payments and on travel booked through the À la carte Travel Agency
• 1 À la carte Rewards point per dollar spent on all other eligible purchases

For this card, the multiplier on recurring bill payments is particularly unique. It’s good to know that I can get something extra out of my huge heating, hydro, cellular, and internet bills.

This card is also another good non-Amex option for dining and groceries, given that not all vendors accept American Express.

À la carte Rewards points must be redeemed for travel through the bank’s À la carte Travel Agency at a maximum value of 1 cent per point. This makes them slightly less flexible than Scene+ points, but still a great way to book and offset travel expenses.

Conclusion

Credit cards can really help reduce your family’s travel costs, and can also elevate your travel experiences; however, it’s not always easy to figure out the best cards to have.

In general, I’d suggest holding both an American Express card and a non-American Express card that each have 5x multipliers, a card with no foreign exchange fees, a card that provides great travel insurance on your award flight bookings, and a card that will give you lounge access.

Hopefully this post has helped you clarify which cards best meet the travel needs of your family.

In this post, we covered the cards that give you the biggest bang for your buck, but if you have airline status or higher household or business spends, then you may be able to justify getting a premium credit card with a higher annual fee – but that’s a discussion for another post.

†Terms and conditions apply.