Desjardins Odyssey Visa Infinite Privilege

The Desjardins Odyssey Visa Infinite Privilege is a great choice for a premium Visa card. It has flexible redemptions, high earn rates on categorized and uncategorized spending, and a lower annual fee than competitors.

But perhaps the biggest appeal is the card's generous insurance, among the best in the credit card market.

Also, frequent international travellers based in Quebec will find themselves overflowing with lounge passes.

This card has no welcome bonus, and no first year fee reduction.

Instead, the annual fee is $395, and $95 for additional cards. Desjardins banking members pay lower rates: $295 for the primary cardholder, and no fee for additional cards.

Whether or not you bank with Desjardins, these fees are lower than many other Visa Infinite Privilege cards, with comparable benefits.

This card offers a tiered rewards structure:

• 4% back on restaurants, entertainment, and transit
• 3% back on groceries and travel
• 1.75% back on all other purchases

Rewards are denominated in Desjardins BonusDollars, which are worth a fixed value of $1.

BonusDollars can be redeemed 1:1 for all sorts of things, including statement credit, travel bookings, gift cards, or into your Desjardins investment accounts.

Because the points have a fixed value and are so easy to redeem, I'd treat this card like a cash back card.

The card comes with all of the standard Visa Infinite Privilege benefits for primary and secondary cardholders, including concierge service and the Luxury Hotel Collection. In particular, you'll get a DragonPass membership with free vouchers for six annual visits to lounges and restaurants that participate in the program.

The card also offers 12 annual lounge passes to the Desjardins Odyssey Lounge at Montreal-Trudeau Airport, located in the international departures terminal. All primary and secondary cardholders on the account will receive 12 passes. When you run out of passes, you can pay for additional visits at 50% off the regular price.

Also, the Desjardins Odyssey cards offer car rental benefits, including no young driver surcharge, no fee for additional drivers, Hertz Five Star status, and discounts on luxury car rentals. Visa Infinite Privilege cardholders can get a discount of up to 25% at Hertz or 10% at Dollar and Thrifty on regular car rentals.

The Desjardins Odyssey Visa Infinite Privilege provides outstanding insurance coverage.

The card offers top-tier emergency medical insurance when travelling out of your home province. Cardholders are covered for up to $5,000,000 in damages, for trips up to 60 days, up to age 75.

• Age 59 and under: trips up to 60 days
• Age 60 to 64: trips up to 31 days
• Age 65 to 75: trips up to 15 days

The card can be used for insurance on award tickets. Coverage is valid for trip cancellation or trip interruption, as long as the fees were paid using the credit card. Lost or stolen baggage is covered under the emergency medical policy, which doesn't require the trip to be paid on the card at all.

This card also extends travel insurance to the cardholder's grandchildren, if they are travelling together.

The card's car rental insurance grants coverage for cars valued at up to $85,000, higher than the industry standard for this type of insurance. Paired with discounts on luxury car rentals, this could make for some memorable road trips!

Additionally, the card has industry-leading purchase protection. The extended warranty and purchase protection periods are double what many competitors offer, with up to 2 additional years for extended warranty and up to 180 days of protection against stolen or damaged merchandise.

Finally, the card has mobile device protection. If you buy your phone or tablet with this card, you'll be covered for up to $1,000 for two years, in the event of loss, theft, or accidental damage.