We decided to something a little different this year and that’s to release our Top Travel Rewards Credit Card and Top Cash Back Credit Card rankings at the same time! The reason being is that travel still may not be on the radar for many Canadians due to the pandemic which means for some a switch in their loyalty program strategy. There are those who are itching to get away once it is safer to do so and they are racking up the points (or are looking to rack up the points) for that future travel. For others it has meant a focus in cash back and more liquid rewards rather than travel. It is this even split in strategies that led us to the decision to reveal the Top Travel & Cash Back Rewards Credit Cards at the same time. By doing so Canadians can make an informed decision on how they want to be rewarded for their credit card spending.
Each of the rankings can be found at:
- Top Travel Cards: https://www.rewardscanada.ca/TopTravelCreditCard/
- Top Cash Back Cards: https://www.rewardscanada.ca/topcashback/
The good news is there is one card Canadians can get and be covered for both travel and cash back rewards as that one card takes top spot in both rankings. For our seasoned readers this comes as no surprise but that card is the American Express Cobalt Card. For the fifth straight year it takes the top prize in the Travel Rewards Credit Card rankings and it also takes the top spot in the Cash Back rankings. It has held that top spot on the cash back side since mid-2021 after American Express boosted its cash back redemption rate $10 for every 1,000 points instead of only $7.
Here are all the 2022 winners across the categories we rank the cards in:
Best Overall Travel Rewards Card:
American Express Cobalt Card
Best Travel Points Card:
Scotiabank Gold American Express Card
Best No Fee Travel Rewards Card:
American Express Green Card
Best Hybrid Credit Card:
American Express Cobalt Card
Best Airline Credit Card:
TD® Aeroplan® Visa Infinite* Card
Best Ultra Premium Card:
The Platinum Card from American Express
Best Cash Back Credit Card:
American Express Cobalt Card
Wrapping it up
The rankings are very Amex heavy and for good reason – they are the most rewarding and flexible cards in the market. Add in the fact that American Express has actually been enhancing their products for the better over the past year and really looking after existing cardmembers with so many great promotions it is no wonder they sit on top. The same can be said for Air Canada’s Aeroplan – they have been extremely proactive during the course of the pandemic and the new program that came out in November of 2020 has continually been expanded and enhanced. Now don’t get me wrong, there are lots of other cards that are really great so check out the complete rankings via the links below as you can’t go wrong with any of those that we list as the Top 5 in each category. In fact you most likely should have a couple of these cards in your wallet to cover places that don’t take Amex, to spread out the amount of spend categories you can earn accelerated points and miles with, to cover Costco (they only take Mastercard) and so on!
The Top Credit Card features, with complete rankings and background, can be found online at: