Best Air Miles Credit Cards in Canada for 2023

American Express  AIR MILES  Credit Card
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Details
Annual Fee: $0
Purchases Interest Rate: 20.99%
Cash Advance Interest Rate: 21.99%
Min Income Requirement: Not Available
Why Apply:

  • No Annual Fee.
  • Earn Air Miles.
  • Travel and Shopping Insurance.
  • Entertainment Exclusive Offers
Recommended Credit Score:
670 900
Average to Excellent
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If you’re looking for a basic credit card that will earn Air Miles while you spend, look no further! The American Express Air Miles card allows card holders to earn Miles everywhere they spend. Card holders obtain insurance and special offers with this card too, all these benefits come with no added cost to you.

  • No Annual Fee. This credit card is one of the few American Express credit cards with no annual fee.
  • Earn Air Miles. For every $15 spent, earn 1 Air Mile on purchases made with Air Miles Partners. Earn 1 Air Mile for every $20 spent elsewhere.
  • Travel and Shopping Insurance. Card holders benefit from travel accident, buyer’s assurance and purchase protection insurance with this card.
  • Entertainment Exclusive Offers. Gain access to special American Express events and experiences with this credit card.

To start off on the right foot, American Express will give you 500 Air Miles when you spend $500 or more within the first three months of owning the card. This is quite an achievable spending requirement for most! After the promotion ends, you’ll earn one Air Mile for every $15 spent on sponsors of Air Miles and one Air Mile for every $20 spent elsewhere. Lastly, card holders earn an additional 500 Air Miles when they refer someone to the credit card.

 

If you’re aiming to eliminate some credit card debt, American Express offers a promotional balance transfer rate of 1.99% for the first six months. Not only will the low interest rate reduce the money you spend on bank charges, the six-month period will give you a clear timeline to eliminate your debt.

 

Air Miles can be redeemed on flights and a wide range of other rewards including sports tickets, electronics, other travel items and much more. Essentially anything for sale in an Air Miles store can be purchased using your points, so long as you have earned enough points of course!

 

On top of the Air Miles benefits, card holders will also reap the benefits of banking with AMEX. This includes purchase protection, Insider Access, travel accident insurance, extended warranty, Front of the Line advance ticket purchases and reserved seating. All of this comes with no annual fee and no income requirements!

 

On the other hand, American Express can be a challenging credit card to rely on 100% of the time because it is not as commonly accepted as Visa or Mastercard. Whether you’re travelling or running errands on the weekend, your AMEX may not always be accepted.

 

All in all, the Air Miles American Express card is a fantastic choice, especially if you’re already invested in the Air Miles loyalty program. Even if you aren’t, this AMEX card is ideal if you’re trying to eliminate some debt through a balance transfer or would like to take advantage of American Express customer benefits. Either way, this credit card has something to offer for everyone!

American Express AIR MILES Platinum Credit Card
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Details
Annual Fee: $120
Purchases Interest Rate: 20.99%
Cash Advance Interest Rate: 21.99%
Min Income Requirement: Not Available
Why Apply:
  • Generous welcome bonus
  • Wide variety of rewards
  • Sufficient travel and shopping insurance
Recommended Credit Score:
670 900
Average to Excellent
Apply Nowlock On American Express's Secure Website

If you pay all your credit card balance monthly and is good at managing money, it makes perfect sense to get a credit card that rewards you – especially if it means free flights. Delivering the right mix of rewards and a low annual fee, the American Express AIR MILES Platinum Credit Card is a sensible credit card for people with mid to high spending. It gives you a lucrative welcome bonus, a generous rewards and referral program, and a good earn rate for an affordable annual fee.

Good value – For a $120 annual fee, this credit card provides more than enough travel benefits, rewards and insurance coverage.
  • Generous welcome bonus – This credit card comes with a 2,000 MILES sign-up bonus that is worth $200 as cash AIR MILES. This is already enough for a short-haul flight.
  • Wide variety of rewards – With more than 1000 rewards to choose from, you can redeem everything from travel to movie tickets, electronics, and more.
  • Sufficient travel and shopping insurance – You get car rental theft and damage insurance, $100,000 travel accident insurance, purchase protection plan, and buyer’s assurance protection plan.

Owners of the American Express Air Miles Platinum credit card earn one Air Mile for every $5 spent on eligible expenses. These expenses include food, drinks, groceries, gas, ride share and transit purchases in Canada, to name a few. Card holders also earn 1 Mile for every $10 spent on non-eligible purchases.

 

Card holders also have the opportunity to earn 2,000 bonus Air Miles.


 New American Express® AIR MILES®* Platinum Credit Card Cardmembers, earn a Welcome Bonus of 2,000 AIR MILES®* Bonus Miles when you charge a total of $1,500 in purchases to your Card within your first three months of Cardmembership. That’s enough to redeem for $200 towards your purchases with AIR MILES®* Cash

 

When it comes to points redemption, card holders can use them to purchase flights, merchandise, electronics, hotels, car rentals, among many other things. In addition, card holders will get 25% bonus Miles, based on how many you’re spending, on their first single flight or vacation package purchased through Air Miles once per calendar year. This once a year offer caps at 750 Air Miles, but still will contribute to one of your annual trips!

 

Card holders also benefit from Front of the Line, Insider Access, travel insurance and shopping insurance from American Express. There are also no income requirements, aside from paying the annual fee of $120.

 

In conclusion, the American Express Air Miles Platinum credit card is an excellent choice, particularly if you’re already invested in Air Miles’ loyalty program. You’ll also reap the benefits of low commitment balance transfers and other American Express benefits. Keep in mind that if you’re not keen on the annual fee of this credit card, American Express offers a basic Air Miles credit card with no annual fees.

 

American Express® AIR MILES®* Reserve
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Details
Annual Fee: $299
Purchases Interest Rate: 20.99%
Cash Advance Interest Rate: 21.99%
Min Income Requirement: Not Available
Why Apply:
  • Automatic Air Miles Onyx Collector status.
  • Annual bonus Reward Miles for companion flights
  • Travel and rental car insurance coverage.
  • Airport lounge access. 
Recommended Credit Score:
740 900
Excellent
Apply Nowlock On American Express's Secure Website

New American Express® AIR MILES®* Reserve Credit Card Cardmembers, earn a welcome bonus of 2,400 AIR MILES®* Bonus Miles when you charge a total of $3,000 in purchases to your Card within your first 3 months of Card membership. That's enough for two select flights

  • Your ticket to the World of Onyx®* - Receive automatic Onyx® Collector status
  • Once a year, when you redeem for any flight Reward within the AIR MILES®* Reward Program, you can receive up to a maximum of 1,700 Miles towards a Companion Flight, for your companion to travel with you for the same itinerary (offer excludes service charges if applicable and taxes)
  • Get 1 Mile for every $10 in Card purchases at eligible AIR MILES®* Partners (excludes purchases made at airmilesshops.ca)
  • Get 1 Mile for every $10 in Card purchases at other eligible grocery stores, gas stations and drugstores in Canada
  • Plus, get 1 Mile for every $15 in Card purchases everywhere else
  • You can receive four (4) complimentary visits per year to more than 1,300 airport lounges around the globe. After your four (4) complimentary visits have been used for the year, you may continue to visit the lounges for a usage fee at the prevailing rate

American Express provides their customers with a lucrative bonus offer when they obtain the Air Miles Reserve credit card. 

New American Express® AIR MILES®* Reserve Credit Card Cardmembers. Earn a welcome bonus of 2,400 AIR MILES®* Bonus Miles when you charge a total of $3,000 in purchases to your Card within your first 3 months of Card membership. That's enough for two select flights 

After the bonus, card holders earn one Air Mile for every $10 spent on eligible Air Miles partner purchases and other eligible purchases such as gas, groceries and pharmacy. One Air Mile is earned for every $15 spent elsewhere. Card holders can redeem their points on flights, hotels, merchandise, car rentals, electronics, among many other things. In addition, card holders will earn Onyx status, a Companion Flight on a round trip economy flight once a year, four complimentary visits to airport lounges around the globe and Priority Pass status. Lastly, card holders also can take advantage of American Express customer benefits including Front of the Line, travel insurance, purchase insurance and Insider Access.

On the flip side, there are some disadvantages to this credit card. First, all of these perks aren’t free, as you can probably imagine! The annual fee for this credit card is $299 which is much more expensive than most travel-based credit cards in Canada. Second, AMEX isn’t as widely accepted as other credit cards are, like Visa and Mastercard. Using an American Express card day to day can be challenging since not every store or vendor will accept it as payment.

In summary, the American Express Air Miles Reserve credit card is a superb choice if you’re dedicated to Air Miles and want to travel in style. If the annual fee is out of your budget, American Express also offers a Platinum version with a less expensive annual fee and a basic version with no annual fee. But remember, the more you pay, the more you’ll get!

 

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Author Bio

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Mohamed Konate

Mohamed Konate is a personal finance expert, blogger, and marketing consultant based in Toronto. He is a former financial services professional who worked at major Canadian financial institutions for many years. He managed the marketing strategy around various financial products ranging from credit cards to lines of credit. Mohamed is passionate about personal finance and holds a Bachelor's in Business Administration from the University of Quebec (Montreal) and a Master's in International Business from the University of Sherbrooke (Quebec). He is also the author of the Canadian Credit Card Guidebook and earns rewards with the American Express Cobalt credit card.