7 Credit Cards for Families Who Love to Travel

As most of you who follow my content already know, I love to travel with my family. Sadly, travelling with a family of five isn’t cheap (nor is raising one, for that matter).

Everything from grocery bills to dining out, transportation costs, utilities, and beyond is more expensive than it was before I had kids. Also, let’s not forget all the additional costs that come with raising children, like gear and clothing, childcare, school tuition, extracurricular activities, and summer camps, to name a few.

Since there’s no way around many of these expenses, you may as well maximize the benefits you can get from all the spending you do. And if you’re earning the right kinds of points, it can also make travelling more affordable than it otherwise would be.

In this post, I’ll cover my top credit card picks for families who love to travel, with a particular focus on ones without high annual fees.

1. Best Amex Card for Earning and Redeeming: American Express Cobalt Card

The first card that all families should have in their wallets is the highly touted American Express Cobalt Card.

Not only does this card have no minimum income requirement and a low $12.99 (all figures in CAD) monthly fee ($155.88 annually), it also has some of the best earning rates that you’ll find for everyday family spending categories.

This family-favourite card earns the valuable Membership Rewards points at the following rates:

• 5 points per dollar spent on eligible restaurants and groceries (up to $2,500 monthly)
• 3 points per dollar spent on eligible streaming services
• 2 points per dollar spent on eligible gas, public transit, and travel purchases
• 1 point per dollar spent on all other eligible purchases

Despite what’s usually an underwhelming welcome bonus with a monthly minimum spending requirement, the powerful earning rates on everyday spending for this card continue to make it an excellent choice. 

For many families, meeting the monthly spending target won’t be an issue, with a good portion of it being covered by groceries alone. Add on dining out once a week or so, a monthly subscription to Netflix, Disney+, and Spotify, plus gas for driving the kids to and from school and their extracurricular activities, and you’ll hit that spend in no time, with category multipliers boosting your earn along the way.

With the Cobalt card, not only is the earning great, but so is the redeeming. American Express Membership Rewards points are transferable to a wide variety of valuable partners, including Aeroplan, Air France KLM Flying Blue, British Airways Executive Club, Cathay Pacific Asia Miles, and Marriott Bonvoy, amongst others.

If you travel in economy and award space is hard to find for the whole family, you can also consider using American Express’s Fixed Points Travel Program, through which you can redeem a fixed number of points to cover the base ticket price of any flight, up to the maximum allowable fare.

2. Best Visa Card for Earning and Redeeming: RBC® ION+ Visa

The RBC® ION+ Visa is a great card to compliment the Amex Cobalt Card for all those restaurants or grocery stores that won’t take Amex. Not only does this card offer generous multipliers on range of categories, it also has no minimum income requirement and only charges a $4 monthly fee ($48 annually), making it an affordable option for everyone.^†

This amazing card earns Avion Premium points at the following rates:

• 3 Avion points per dollar spent on qualifying grocery, dining, food delivery, gas, rideshare, daily public transit, electric vehicle charging, streaming, digital gaming, and digital subscriptions^†
• 1 Avion point per dollar spent spent on all other eligible purchases^†

With no minimum income requirement and benefits that align with teenagers’ interests in video games, music, and digital streaming services, this makes an excellent first credit card for young adults. 

Plus, it’s great for families who want to supercharge their earning on common categories, including groceries, dining, food delivery, gas, and streaming.

When it comes to the redemption side of things, Avion Premium points are more restrictive in that they can only be transferred to WestJet Rewards, or cashed out for statement credits and gift cards. 

However, if you hold a RBC credit card that earns Avion Elite points, you can easily convert your Avion Premium points into Avion Elite points and unlock the full ability to redeem your points through the RBC Air Travel Redemption Schedule and transfer them to American Airlines AAdvantage, British Airways Executive Club, and Cathay Pacific Asia Miles.

3. Best Card for Fixed-Value Points and No FX Fees: Scotiabank Gold American Express Card

Another card that has great earning rates on everyday family spending and offers flexible redemption options is the Scotiabank Gold American Express Card.

For a reasonable $120 annual fee,^† you can earn the following with the Scotiabank Gold American Express Card:

• 6 Scene+ points per dollar spent on eligible purchases at Sobeys, IGA, Safeway, FreshCo, and more^†
• 5 Scene+ points per dollar spent on eligible grocery, dining, and entertainment purchases^†
• 3 Scene+ points per dollar spent on eligible gas, transit, and streaming service purchases^†
• 1 Scene+ point per dollar spent on all other eligible purchases^†

Scene+ is a flexible points currency that can be applied against any travel purchase at a value of 1 cent per point.^†

You can use the points earned from the card’s welcome bonus and your daily spending to easily offset travel costs on your credit card statement. This is a great way to redeem for any hotel, vacation rental, tour, excursion, or flight booked with any vendor without needing to worry about award space availability.

With a minimum income requirement of just $12,000,^† it also makes it a great starter card for your working teenager, especially if they love going to the movies and sports games, or just staying at home binging on Netflix.

Although the elevated earning rates only apply to spending within Canada, the no foreign exchange fees feature makes this a great card to use outside Canada as well. This feature will save you 2.5% on every transaction you make abroad, which can certainly add up when travelling as a family.

If you’re looking for something with wider merchant acceptance as a non-Amex card, consider getting the Scotiabank Passport® Visa Infinite* Card as an alternative, which also offers no foreign transaction fees.

For an annual fee of $150, you earn 2–3 Scene+ points per dollar spent on categories similar to those above, and you’ll receive six complimentary lounge visits per year through the ​​Visa Airport Companion Program.^†

4. Best Aeroplan Card for Family Travel: TD Aeroplan^® Visa Infinite* Card

If your family mainly flies Air Canada with any frequency, or is heavily invested into the Aeroplan program, you’ll surely want to pick up an Aeroplan co-branded credit card.

The TD Aeroplan® Visa Infinite* Card has an annual fee of $139,^† which is often rebated for the first year, and comes with a typically generous welcome bonus with a reasonable minimum spending requirement.

For Aeroplan perks, you’ll get preferred pricing on Aeroplan redemptions with Air Canada,^† a free checked bag for yourself and up to eight other passengers travelling with you on the same reservation,^† and travel insurance coverage on Aeroplan bookings.^†

Even if your family only flies with Air Canada once per year, the free checked bag alone more than makes up for the annual fee. And if you happen to encounter any turbulence on your trip, you’d be covered by the card’s insurance offerings, too.^†

The card doesn’t have 5x category earning multipliers like some of the other cards we’ve looked at already, but you’ll still earn Aeroplan points at the following rates:

• 1.5 Aeroplan points per dollar spent on eligible gas, grocery, and Air Canada purchases^†
• 1 Aeroplan point per dollar spent on all other eligible purchases^†

With this card, you’ll also receive a NEXUS application fee rebate of up to $100 (CAD) every 48 months, provided as a statement credit, which offsets the $120 (USD) application fee.^†

5. Best Card for WestJet Perks: WestJet RBC^® World Elite Mastercard

If you fly WestJet with any frequency, it’s definitely worth having the WestJet RBC^® World Elite Mastercard in your household portfolio.

With this card, you’ll get a free checked bag for yourself and up to eight other passengers travelling with you on the same reservation,^† travel insurance on WestJet Rewards bookings,^† and an annual companion voucher.^†

The companion voucher allows a second guest on the same itinerary to enjoy a reduced fare of $119, plus taxes and fees, between Canada and the Continental US, or $399, plus taxes, on any other WestJet itinerary.

If your family tends to travel during peak seasons, such as Spring Break or during the summer or winter holidays, the companion voucher can provide a meaningful discount when prices are otherwise high.

For a family of four, you’ll want to make sure your partner picks up one of these cards too – that way, you’ll each get a voucher to use each year.

Also, if you prefer, each companion voucher can be converted into four lounge passes to use at WestJet partner lounges, which is good for a free meal before your next flight.

6. Best Card for Family Lounge Access: CIBC Aventura^® Visa Infinite* Card

If you only travel once or twice a year, but would like the comforts of an airport lounge to take advantage of when you do, then consider the CIBC Aventura® Visa Infinite* Card.

With an annual fee of $139 (that’s often rebated in the first year), a welcome bonus of Aventura Points, a NEXUS application rebate of up to $100,^† and four complimentary lounge visits per year,^† this card is a no-brainer for families who love to travel.

Most other credit cards that provide unlimited lounge access only extend access to the primary cardholder and maybe one or two guests, which often isn’t enough for families. However, this card is an exception and has a much more modest annual fee, which is great for families.

Lounge access is through the ​​Visa Airport Companion Program, which is operated by DragonPass. You’ll need to enroll for the lounge access benefit, either through the Visa Airport Companion App or on the website.

CIBC Aventura Points are useful in offsetting travel costs or purchasing extra flight tickets, especially in a situation where there isn’t enough award flight availability for the entire family.

You can redeem your points through the CIBC Aventura Airline Rewards Chart, which could yield a value as high as 2.29 cents per point, offering the best way to get outsized value from your points.

7. Best Card for Travel Insurance: National Bank^® World Elite^® Mastercard^®

A card that doesn’t get as much attention as it should is the National Bank® World Elite® Mastercard®.

This card is great for paying taxes on any award flight redemption, as it’s one of the few cards that allows you to pay for only part of a trip and still be covered by travel insurance.

Additionally, you can essentially keep the card for free year after year, as the $150 annual travel credit can be redeemed against travel incidentals, offsetting the card’s $150 annual fee.

The earning rates on the card are also pretty decent, and it’s one that offers a 5x earning rate. As a cardholder, you’ll earn the following:

• 5 À la carte Rewards points per dollar spent on groceries and dining
• 2 À la carte Rewards points per dollar spent on recurring bill payments and on travel booked through the À la carte Travel Agency
• 1 À la carte Rewards point per dollar spent on all other eligible purchases

For this card, the multiplier on recurring bill payments is particularly unique. It’s good to know that I can get something extra out of my huge heating, hydro, cellular, and internet bills.

This card is also another good non-Amex option for dining and groceries, given that not all vendors accept American Express.

À la carte Rewards points must be redeemed for travel through the bank’s À la carte Travel Agency at a maximum value of 1 cent per point. This makes them slightly less flexible than Scene+ points, but still a great way to book and offset travel expenses.

Conclusion

Credit cards can really help reduce your family’s travel costs, and can also elevate your travel experiences; however, it’s not always easy to figure out the best cards to have.

In general, I’d suggest holding both an American Express card and a non-American Express card that each have 3x–5x multipliers, a card with no foreign exchange fees, a card that provides great travel insurance on your award flight bookings, and a card that will give you lounge access.

Hopefully this post has helped you clarify which cards best meet the travel needs of your family.

In this post, we covered the cards that give you the biggest bang for your buck, but if you have airline status or higher household or business spends, then you may be able to justify getting a premium credit card with a higher annual fee – but that’s a discussion for another post.

^†Terms and conditions apply. Please refer to the card issuer’s website for up-to-date information. Reasonable efforts are made to maintain accuracy of content.