Top No Fee Travel Cards to look at with the current economic downturn

While economists aren't saying that we are in a recession yet there has definitely been a downturn in the Canadian economy and lots of you may be feeling the pinch. There have been thousands of lay offs in the Alberta oil patch alone so how can you go about saving some money but continue to maximize your travel rewards on credit card spending? You could look at adjusting your portfolio to credit cards that carry no annual fee. The great news is some of them provide benefits that rival many fee based cards like the Capital One^® Aspire Travel™ Platinum MasterCard^®.  If you are between jobs because of a lay off or have had to take a pay cut due to current economic situation then you need to look at all aspects of your financial portfolio including credit cards and reward programs. Do you have multiple premium cards with annual fees in your credit card portfolio? If so, you could save yourself several hundred dollars by switching to no fee cards for some or all of them while continuing to build up your rewards balance for the time when your own situation improves to start vacationing again!

Every year we release our Top Travel Rewards Credit Card rankings and one category is no fee travel points cards. The first four from this past March haven't changed and are listed below. However the 5th place card, the CAA Rewards MasterCard underwent changes and the no fee version is no longer a top 5 contender.

American Express Blue Sky Credit Card

• New Blue Sky® Credit Card Cardmembers, earn 10,000 Blue Sky® Points after you charge $500 in purchases to your Card in your first three months of Cardmembership.
• Earn 1.25 Blue Sky Points for every $1 in purchases charged to the Card
• You can start redeeming with as little as 10,000 points towards any travel purchase charged to your Card
• Enjoy the convenience of no blackout dates, no advance purchase requirements, no seat restrictions and no travel restrictions.
• $100,000 Travel Accident Insurance
• 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.
Apply Now

Capital One® Aspire Travel™ Platinum MasterCard®

• Earn reward miles – with no annual fee!
• Earn 1 reward mile for every $1 spent – on all purchases
• Get 5,000 bonus reward miles with your first purchase
• Get 25% extra reward miles every year
• Annual interest rate of Prime +16.8%
• Redeem for travel, cash, or gift cards
• Valuable Platinum benefits, including Purchase Assurance and Extended Warranty
• Add an authorized user for $0
• MasterCard PayPass
Platinum Travel Benefits
• Baggage Delay
• Travel Accident Insurance
• Travel Assistance
• Car Rental Collision/Loss Damage Waiver
Platinum Everyday Benefits
• Price Protection Service
• Extended Warranty
• Purchase Assurance

 

American Express Air Miles Credit Card

New American Express  AIR MILES Credit Card Cardmembers, earn a bonus of 500 AIR MILES®* reward miles the first time you use an approved Card.
• Earn 1 reward mile for every $15 in Card purchases at AIR MILES®* Sponsors
• Earn 1 reward mile for every $20 in purchases you charge to the Card everywhere else
• Shop at participating AIR MILES®* Sponsors across Canada with your American Express® AIR MILES®* Credit Card and your AIR MILES®* Collector Card, and you can earn reward miles twice
• More than 1000 rewards to choose from! Redeem for a wide range of rewards - everything from electronics to travel and more
• 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.
Apply now

BMO Air Miles MasterCard

800 Bonus AIR MILES when you apply for and receive the BMO AIR MILES MasterCard
- and there’s No annual fee
- Earn more reward miles when you use your card at Shell, National Car Rental and Alamo Rent A Car
- 1 AIR MILES reward mile for every $20 that you spend on your credit card
Apply online

mbna Rewards MasterCard

• Earn 1 MBNA Rewards point for every $1 in eligible purchases
• 1,000 bonus points after your first eligible purchase
• Redeem points for cash back, travel, brand-name merchandise, gift cards from top retailers and charitable donations
• No annual fee
Apply Online 

Fee cards that are first year free

You can also look into several travel cards which are first year free, these typically earn a lot more points than those above and have greater benefits. You can then decide just before the anniversary of the card whether to keep them or not so you do or don't pay the annual fee on them.

American Express Gold Rewards Card
• New American Express® Gold Rewards* Cardmembers can earn a Welcome Bonus of 25,000 Membership Rewards® points - our HIGHEST Gold Rewards Card offer - just by making $500 in purchases in the first three months of Cardmembership
• No Annual Fee for the first year; $150 Annual Fee thereafter*
• That's enough for a round trip flight to almost anywhere in North America
• Transfer your points to frequent flyer programs, or 1:1 to Aeroplan®* and Avios
• Earn double points on eligible travel and everyday purchases
• Charge any travel to your Card theøaern pay for it with points
• 1 Free Supplementary Gold Rewards Card (a $50 value*) to help you earn points faster
• 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.
• *As a Charge Card, the balance must always be paid in full each month. 30% annual interest rate applies to balances not paid in full.
Conditions apply
Apply Now


American Express Air Miles Platinum Credit Card

• New American Express  AIR MILES Platinum Credit Card Cardmembers, earn a bonus of 2,000 AIR MILES reward miles when you charge a total of $500 in purchases to your Card within your first three months of Cardmembership.
• Enjoy your first year free
• Earn 1 reward mile for every $10 in Card purchases at AIR MILES®* Sponsors
• Earn 1 reward mile for every $10 in Card purchases at other eligible grocery stores, gas stations, and drugstores in Canada
• Plus, earn 1 reward mile for every $15 in Card purchases everywhere else
• Shop at participating AIR MILES Sponsors across Canada with your Card and show your AIR MILES®* Collector Card, and you can earn reward miles twice
• More than 1000 rewards to choose from! Redeem for a wide range of rewards - everything from electronics to travel and more
• 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.
Apply now
Conditions apply

Chase Marriott Rewards Premier Visa
30,000 Bonus Rewards Points when you apply for and receive the Premier card. Points are awarded after your first purchase.
Annual Fee: $120 (waived in the first year)
Supplementary cards: free
30,000 Marriott Rewards Points sign up bonus after your first purchase
1 Free Night at a Category 1 - 4 location upon card approval
5 Marriott Rewards points per $ spent at Marriott locations
2 Marriott Rewards points per $ spent on Airline Tickets, Car Rental agencies and restaurants
1 Marriott Rewards point on all other spending
15 Night credit towards elite status, which translates to automatic Silver status
Anniversary bonus of 1 free night at a Category 1 - 4 location
Apply online.
Canadian Residents Only
Chase 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. Conditions apply

“The interest rates, fees, rewards details, benefits and other details of the Capital One product(s) described in the article may have changed since the time of publication. Please consult the product information pages on the Capital One website for accurate product details. In the event of any conflict between the product details in this article and the Capital One website, the details on the Capital One website shall prevail.”