Here at Rewards Canada we’ve seen a fair share of credit cards come and go over the past 23 years. Some were really good, no, in fact were great cards that are truly missed! So we thought we’d take a trip down memory lane to look at the ones we wish were still available to Canadians!
Here are the cards we wish were still available in Canada (in their best form):
Diners Club Club Rewards Mastercard
The Diners Club Club Rewards Mastercard, isn’t completely gone but BMO shut it down for new applications over a decade ago so it isn’t available to general Canadian populace.
When BMO took over the North American license for the Diners Club from Citibank there were high hopes for the cards but instead they have pretty much destroyed this iconic brand in Canada and the U.S.. Luckily, they didn’t kill the cards off completely as anyone who had the cards and didn’t cancel them have been able to continue to use them. We just wish BMO would make them available to everyone again instead of just select corporate clients.
The lounge access is great as it provides unlimited access to over 1,300 lounge worldwide for the primary and any additional/supplementary cardholders.
The Club Rewards program itself is OK, not the best out there but not the worst either and the points can be converted to several airline and hotel programs most notably Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan, British Airways Executive Club and Virgin Atlantic Flying Club
Finally, quite possibly the best reason to hold on to this card, which would be a great selling point if BMO ever made it available again is the car rental Collision Damage Waiver (CDW) coverage. It is the only card in Canada that does not have an MSRP cap on rental cars. All cards in Canada that offer CDW coverage cover cars of up to C$65,000 or C$85,000 MSRP value. With cars becoming ever more expensive, those MSRP caps can sneak up on person super easily, especially when they get free upgrades from the rental agency.
Capital One Aspire Travel World Elite Mastercard
Once considered one of the best credit cards in Canada, the Capital One Aspire Travel World Elite Mastercard is also technically not completely absent from our market just like the Diners Club card. The card was shut down to new applications about seven years ago but Capital One allowed those who had the card to keep it. However, those that did keep it have seen the card be devalued numerous times where for many it doesn’t make sense to keep the grandfathered card on hand.
Back in the day the card, the card that was born from the Capital One Miles Plus Platinum Mastercard with No Hassle Rewards was famous for its 2 miles per dollar earn rate that equated to a 2% return on all spending and at that time was the best overall earn rate in Canada since it was on all spend. You could redeem the miles for any travel purchased on the card making it an extremely flexible travel rewards card.
Add to this the bonus of 10,000 miles awarded each year on the card’s anniversary and you were effectively only paying $20 per year for an 2% return card. The card also provided an excellent suite of insurance benefits. Overall, it was a simply amazing card!
HSBC World Elite Mastercard
This card has only been out of our market for several months but we sure miss it already! During its seven or so year life span the HSBC World Elite Mastercard was one of the best cards in Canada and was well known for having some amazing limited time welcome bonus offers.
At the time this card was removed from market in March 2024, it was considered the best overall Mastercard, the best No FX Fee card and it provided the best for insurance coverage for those over 65 years of age!
It featured tiered accelerated earn rates, no foreign transaction fees, and an annual travel enhancement credit. All of which easily made the card pay for itself. It also had numerous redemption options including transfers to British Airways Executive Club, Cathay and Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer. All the benefits coupled with a variety redemption options really made this card stand out and it is sorely missed!
Marriott Rewards Premier Visa Card
Launched in 2012 by Chase, the Marriott Rewards Premier Visa Card replaced an earlier “Platinum” version of the card and was the first major travel credit card to offer No Foreign Transaction Fees.
The card came with an excellent welcome bonus of 30,000 points which was good for four free nights at a Category 1 hotel or one night at Category 6 hotel. Not only did it offer the bonus points but it also came with a Category 1-4 free night award upon approval! Later on in its life, this free night award was removed from the welcome bonus offer.
The card also offered an annual Category 1 to 5 free night award as a card anniversary bonus each year and automatic Silver Elite Status (awarded as 15 elite nights) Both of these benefits carry on today on its replacement the Marriott Bonvoy American Express Card.
Priority Club World Mastercard from Capital One
When the Priority Club World Mastercard from Capital One launched in 2011 it actually tied the now defunct Starwood Preferred Guest Card from American Express as the top hotel card in Canada.
The card came with a 30,000 point welcome bonus, which at the time could be used for six free nights with the famous IHG Points Breaks redemptions. It also provided automatic Platinum Elite status in Priority Club which is now known as IHG One Rewards.
The card also had one of the best insurance coverage packages at the time including Trip Cancellation, which was a rarity back in 2011 and also out of province emergency medical coverage, which also was still rare back then!
This card was a worthy competitor and we miss those days where there was actual competition in the market for hotel credit cards.
American Express Blue Sky Card
The card that introduced American Express’ clear card design to the Canadian market, the Blue Sky card was the best no annual fee travel rewards card back in the early 2010s.
It was a simple yet very rewarding travel rewards card. All spending on the card earned 1.25 points per dollar spent (great for Costco as they only accepted Amex back then) and could be redeemed towards any travel booked on the card. The redemption rate was 1,000 points to $10 or 1 cent per point which meant a 1.25% return on spending – the best for any no fee card at the time. Just as we see now with Membership Rewards cards, at that the time the Blue Sky points could be redeemed up to 12 months after the travel charge was posted to the account.
MBNA Alaska Airlines World Elite Mastercard
Another card that hasn’t been out of our market for very long, the MBNA Alaska Airlines World Elite Mastercard being discontinued in 2023 really couldn’t have come at a worse time. With Mileage Plan redemption options for Porter Airlines set to launch very soon and Alaska Airlines now offering Toronto to Seattle flights, there is no better time for an Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan credit card in Canada! Unfortunately that’s not the case and with the promised MBNA Rewards to Mileage Plan transfer option taking forever to launch, the old MBNA Alaska card is already missed.
The old MBNA Alaska card featured Alaska Airlines’ famous companion fare as annual benefit, provided a first checked bag free benefit and a quite healthy welcome bonus that could be earned multiple times a year (it was great for the churning community). Being able to use Mileage Plan miles on all of Alaska’s partners like JAL, Cathay, American Airlines and more made the card a points & miles enthusiast’s dream!
Wrapping it up
The Canadian credit card market has been over saturated for well over a decade and its no wonder we lose cards due to the stiff competition. It’s too bad though as we have lost some really good cards and yet some really, how do I put this nicely, not so good cards have remained or been introduced into the market.
How about you? Which credit card(s) do you wish were still available in the Canadian market? Perhaps the MBNA Best Western or Choice Privileges cards? The CUETS Mastercards? TD’s American AAdvantage Card or Capital One’s Delta SkyMiles card? Let us know in the comments below!