Something to consider when choosing a credit card is the strength of its travel insurance benefits. Frequent travellers often look to their credit cards for protection and reimbursement when something unexpected occurs on their trips, be it flight delays, baggage delays, trip cancellation or interruption, or major accidents and medical emergencies.
Here are the best credit cards in Canada offering strong travel insurance benefits.
Best Credit Cards for Travel Insurance
Best Overall Card for Travel Insurance
- Earn 20,000 Scene+ points upon spending $1,000 in the first three months
- Earn an additional 20,000 Scene+ points upon spending $7,500 in the first year
- Earn 6x Scene+ points at Sobeys, IGA, Safeway, FreshCo, and more
- Plus, earn
1x5x Scene+ points on groceries, dining, and entertainment - Also, earn
1x3x Scene+ points on gas, transit, and select streaming services - Redeem points for statement credit for any travel expense
- No foreign transaction fees
- Enjoy the exclusive benefits of being an American Express cardholder
- Annual fee: $120
The Scotiabank Gold American Express Card is one of the best all-round credit cards in Canada. You’ll earn Scene+ points to the tune of 5% back on groceries, restaurants, and entertainment, 3% back on gas, transit, and streaming services, and 1% back on everything else.
The card offers both trip cancellation and interruption for up to $1,500 per person, flight delay insurance for delays of more than four hours, up to $500 per person, as well as delayed and lost baggage insurance of up to $1,000.
You’ll get emergency medical insurance of up to $1 million for you, your spouse, and dependent children on unexpected medical illness or injury when travelling out-of-province for up to 25 days (3 days for age 65 and up).
The card also offers auto rental collision insurance on cars with an MSRP of up to $65,000, purchase protection and extended warranty coverage, and mobile device insurance, worth up to $1,000.
With no foreign transaction fees anywhere, a very reasonable annual fee of $120, and a minimum personal income requirement of just $12,000 to qualify, the Scotiabank Gold American Express Card is the best overall card for travel insurance.
Best Visa Card for Travel Insurance
- Earn 30,000 Scene+ points upon spending $1,000 in the first three months
- Earn an additional 10,000 Scene+ points upon spending $40,000 in the first year
- Earn
1x2x Scene+ points on groceries, dining, entertainment, and transit - Plus, earn 3x Scene+ points on grocery purchases at Sobeys, IGA, Safeway, and FreshCo
- Visa Airport Companion membership with six free lounge visits per year
- Redeem points for statement credit for any travel expense
- Minimum income: $60,000 personal or $100,000 household
- Annual fee: $150 (waived in the first year)
The Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite Card sets itself apart as a true traveller’s card, offering strong welcome bonus, no foreign exchange fees, and a 2% effective earning rate on grocery stores, dining, entertainment purchases, and daily transit purchases, both home and abroad.
Similar to the Scotiabank Gold American Express Card, this card offers both trip cancellation and interruption, but up to $2,500 per person, flight delay insurance for delays of more than four hours, up to $500 per person, as well as delayed and lost baggage insurance of up to $1,000.
With this card, you’ll get emergency medical insurance of up to $2 million for you, your spouse, and dependent children on unexpected medical illness or injury when travelling out-of-province for up to 25 days (3 days for age 65 and up).
The card also offers auto rental collision insurance on cars with an MSRP of up to $65,000, but does not offer the mobile device insurance.
Note that this card has minimum income requirement of $60,000 or a household income of $100,000.
Best Mastercard for Travel Insurance
- Earn 2,000 AIR MILES®† upon spending $3,000 in the first three months†
- Earn
1x3x AIR MILES®† per $12 spent at AIR MILES®† partners† - Earn
1x2x AIR MILES®†per $12 spent at grocery stores, wholesale clubs, and alcohol retailers† - Use AIR MILES®† for Cash Rewards or Dream Rewards†
- Minimum income: $80,000 personal or $150,000 household†
- Annual fee: $120 (rebated in the first year)†
The BMO AIR MILES®† World Elite®* Mastercard®* is a must-have card for avid AIR MILES collectors, as it offers a competitive earning structure along with perks such as a 25% discount on a flight redemption worldwide redeemed through the AIR MILES portal.
The card offers a good insurance package, including:
- Emergency medical insurance for the first 15 days on out-of-province trips, up to $5 million†
- Trip cancellation insurance for up to $1,500 per insured person and $5,000 per trip†
- Trip interruption insurance for up to $2,000 per insured person and $10,000 per trip†
- Flight delay benefits of up to $500 per trip for reasonable expenses incurred on a flight delay of four hours or more†
- Car rental insurance and Collision Damage Waiver benefits, which allow you to save on the insurance fees that car rental companies usually charge†
The annual fee, which is normally $120, is currently rebated for the first year† as part of the welcome offer, but a minimum $80,000 (individual) or $150,000 (household) annual income is required to qualify.
Best No Fee Card for Travel Insurance
- Earn 2% cash back - no limits. Exclusively for eligible Rogers, Fido or Shaw customers.†
- Plus, earn 50% more cash back every time you redeem for Rogers, Fido or Shaw purchases.†
- Also, earn bonus cash back to offset the foreign transaction fee on USD purchases†
- Minimum income: $80,000 personal or $150,000 household
- Annual fee: $0
The Rogers World Elite® Mastercard® is a solid choice for anyone looking for simplicity: one card for all purchases with no annual fee and a high cash back rate. It’s also a good card if you’re a Rogers customer and spend in US dollars, and don’t mind paying foreign transaction fees.
The card provides generous insurance provisions for a card that doesn’t have an annual fee.
The emergency medical assistance only covers trips up to 10 days for most cardholders. However, it also provides coverage for trips up to 3 days for cardholders aged 66 to 75. This would be valuable for weekend getaways for seniors, who usually aren’t covered at all by credit card insurance.
Cardholders will also get both trip cancellation and trip interruption insurance of up to $1,000 per insured person.
Lastly, the card also offers purchase security and extended warranty protection, covering most eligible items you’ve purchased with your card should they be stolen or damaged within 90 days of purchase, as well as doubled the warranty period compared to the manufacturer’s warranty.
Note that there is a minimum income requirement of $80,000 annual personal income or $150,000 annual household income and cardholders are asked to spend at least $15,000 per year, otherwise they might be downgraded to a lower tier credit card with weaker benefits.†