i would say AM is decent, even on short haul between Canadian cities

the one we use the most is YWG-YYZ for my parents. 2000 AM + $125 in taxes/fees vs $500 (often even more, especially recently) cash ticket is 19 cents per mile

sure, it means going out of your way to earn them with CC is not great, but a offer where you get FYF + sign up bonus is still worth nearly $400, which is acceptable for us every now and then (when other options are limited)

Get the Chase for sure, as you get the bonus after first purchase, any amount. As for the AM Plat, $500 is also an easy spend, for over $200 value. You get 500 AM for the referral and 1600 more for the bonus. The 5K though is very steep. Tough to MS that in Canada.

I think you have to pay for your ticket with the card, but I'll have to check on that.

My mistake, that's wrong. You just have to book your ticket using your Westjet ID that your RBC World Elite MC is attached to in order to receive the first checked bag free.

C

best credit card available to Canadians for U.S. travel
 

With the Canadian dollar getting weaker,we are looking to minimize the exchange fee on our credit card when travelling in the U.S. At the same time, we want our Aeroplan or Amex points! Anyone know what card would be best?

Those 2 objectives are mutually exclusive.

Most people get the Amazon.ca CC but there's no points associated with that. Another option is the Sears Financial MC, which gets you Sears points, and doesn't have forex transaction fees.

If you really want the AP or Amex points, you'll have to suck it up and pay the transactions fees.

Marriott Chase rewards has no forex fee...you can convert from Marriott Points to AP, albeit at a bad rate

I also thought about which issue is more important AP points versus no forex fees - if used in the U.S. (vs international)

I have both AMEX Gold Rewards (Canadian) and a no-fee USD MC. Obviously anything spent on the AX will be 1:1 transferable to Aeroplan and Avios.

The US MC makes a huge difference as I am charged in USD and pay in USD. For certain purchases, I have accepted that I will sacrifice earning points for the ability not to have to pay USexchange.

You just need to decide what is more important based on your spending habits.

Sigh. Thanks (I guess) for the reality check. The thing is, travel is our major way of racking up points, so will really have to think on this one: in the past, we have thought it worthwhile, if we get enough points for Business class, but this is getting harder and harder....

To add to 24L, AMEX's forex fees are brutal. If you get a refund, you don't even get the 2.5% back. Be careful using an AMEX oversees. Same as visa/mc for fees, but you lose out on the refund as they dont give it back to you!

I was in the US recently and used my TD IP Visa... no services fees and just Visa's exchange fee at the time.

As I suggested, you really need to decide what is most important and what your goal is.

I pay for all of my travel and car rentals on the AX. If my flights originate in Canada, well no forex fees. But the real value is in the travel insurance (esp!!! having been stranded by another airline in ATL in April)

However, once in the U.S., I only use the USD MC.

Also note: If you use a Canadian card internationally, the purchase will be converted first into USD and then into CAD, although the banks all claim the 2.5% will only be charge once. Thus, I also use my USD card for all international purchases except for travel

I optimistically think that since more US banks are offering cards with no forex fee, it will eventually show up here. I've had a few conversations with AX Canada and the impression I get is that they would rather wait for the "second coming" before they are ever forced to offer this option.

Glad the Sears Financial was mentioned: I have one that I never use, so it's an option. I'm not sure what the TD IP card is: the Aeroplan Infinite card? If so, and they don't charge exchange fees, I would get one again (I had already cancelled mine).

I just got the Chase Marriott Visa (Canadian version.) It really makes no sense to pay 2.5% to Amex or CIBC to get Aeroplan points in foreign countries. I looked at various options and settled on the Marriott-branded card because it works in all countries, not just the US. Although the Marriott points aren't as valuable as Amex or Aeroplan points to me, I figure the 2.5% savings covers off those points I'm not getting and the Marriott ones are just a bonus. It does earn 2 points per $1 on car rental and restaurants, and 5 points at Marriotts, but only 1 point/$ at other hotels - I suppose that makes sense given it's a Marriott-branded card. It also gives Silver status by crediting you with 15 nights so you need _only_ 35 more nights to get Gold status.

They have a tiered system, so low numbers of points transfer at a lower ratios than higher. 10k Marriott points transfer to Aeroplan or Avios at a 5:1 ratio (yuck.) Once you have 70k it's 2.8:1. And, you can always use them for hotel stays.

So is the Alaska Airlines MasterCard worth churning now that the GCR rebate is gone? I was hoping to churn it a few times to get enough points for a business class international flight (150,000 points) but that would be equal to $450 worth of annual fees.