I've Been Using A Travel Credit Card For 2 Years & Here's How Easy It Was To Get Free Flights
The views expressed in this Opinion article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect the views of Narcity Media.
Travel credit cards were always something people told me I "had to get" and I brushed it off because it just didn't seem to be worth the hassle of getting one.
About two years ago though, when I was switching around my banking, I was convinced by a TD employee to try out the TD Aeroplan Visa Infinite Card, and I haven't looked back since.
If you're like me two years ago and the thought of choosing between the many Canadian travel credit cards sends a shiver down your spine, then this breakdown is for you.
Here's how the Aeroplan TD credit card actually works, the pros and cons of it, and what I've gained from using it, so you can find out if it's actually worth the buy-in for you.
How much it'll cost you
The first year of having this credit card is undoubtedly the best. On top of seeing Aeroplan points rack up, the annual fee of $139 is waived (an offer which still stands), and you can get up to 50,000 Aeroplan points just for signing up.
Exactly what points and perks you can get for signing up can vary, but I signed up with my partner as an additional cardholder (for an extra $75 fee) and this alone got us enough points to fly from Vancouver to Halifax to see our family that same Christmas.
Avoiding that expensive plane ticket had me happy with the credit card off the bat.
After the first year though, there is an annual fee to be aware of, as well as eligibility requirements.
Who can get the TD Aeroplan Visa Infinite Card
To be approved for this specific card you need to have a "$60,000 annual personal income or $100,000 annual household income," according to the TD website. You'll also need to be a Canadian resident.
If you don't meet those annual income requirements though, you can opt for the TD Aeroplan Visa Platinum Credit Card, which gives you fewer points upon signing up and doesn't accumulate points as easily, but has no income eligibility. The fee for that card is also only $89 per year.
TD Aeroplan Visa Infinite Card pros
With any travel credit card, how beneficial it can be really comes down to how much you'd use it. If you rarely travel, it's not necessarily going to be worth it for you to sign up, but if you do go on a few vacations a year, it's probably a good idea.
Over the past two years, I've travelled more than ever, so it was actually the perfect time to get this card and start an Aeroplan account. Without it I would've essentially been throwing money away, so it's definitely been worth my while.
If you really want to maximize the points you get with the card then follow my lead and become the go-to booking person for all group trip Airbnbs, dinners, and anything else you can put on your credit card.
Because I have my partner as an additional cardholder, we also rack up points a lot faster since both of us are making purchases. Even if you have one card though, you can still get a decent amount of points.
With this specific credit card you can earn 1.5 points for every $1 spent on things like groceries, gas and Air Canada purchases. Every $1 spent on other purchases will earn you 1 point.
Then if you use your credit card along with your Aeroplan membership number at Aeroplan partner brands (this includes Starbucks, LCBO and Uber, for example) you can earn points twice over.
One of my favourite benefits of having this card is getting my first checked bag free when I travel with Air Canada. Since I travel a lot and often check a bag, this actually saves me a lot of money (up to $75 for international flights) and makes the annual fee worth it in just a couple of trips. You can get this perk if you have Aeroplan status, but you need to reach that 25,000-point threshold first.
With this card your Aeroplan points also never expire, which is a really nice perk. If you don't have a travel credit card then your points will expire in 18 months if you've not been active on your account.
The thing that makes this credit card worth it for me is that I spend the same way I used to, but now I get free flights. You can spend your Aeroplan points on other stuff but I always save mine for travel and have had multiple round-trip flights for free because of it.
On the TD website, there's a tool where you can see how many Aeroplan points you could earn using the card in your first year, based on your monthly spending. If you spend $1,000 on gas/grocery/Air Canada purchases, and $1,000 on other purchases, then you can get about 80,000 points. That includes the first-year bonus points, but it's still a whole lot of travel points.
TD Aeroplan Visa Infinite Card cons
I'm in favour of this credit card overall, but there are some drawbacks.
Points rack up quickly for us, which is great, but it does limit us to travelling with Air Canada or its partners. Even if we aren't using points for the flight, we're still incentivized to make purchases with Air Canada and it doesn't always have the best flight options (or the cheapest fares).
Sometimes I find myself opting for Air Canada flights at a less convenient time and pay more money out of pocket for the sake of accumulating points, which I can admit isn't always cost-effective.
There is also a 2.5% foreign transition fee for this credit card, which you can avoid with other credit cards. The Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite Card, for example, has no foreign transition fees which is a big perk if you go abroad a lot.
You do get a lot of good perks with this credit card, but there are some gaps that other options fill. For example, you don't get access to any airport lounges with this card, which is a drawback for me. On a long travel day, it would be nice to sit back in one of the fancy lounges, especially since the TD Aeroplan Visa Infinite Privilege Card does give access.
If you take full advantage of this credit card then it's worth the annual fee in my opinion.
But you don't have to take my word for it that this is among the best Canadian travel credit cards out there. Some of the best were recently laid out for Narcity by an expert and they rated the Aeroplan Visa Infinite Card as one of the best options out there, along with the American Express Cobalt Card, EQ Bank Card, and the American Express Platinum Card.
