TD Aeroplan® Visa Infinite* Card vs Scotiabank Gold American Express® Card: Which one is better?

TD Aeroplan® Visa Infinite* Card

3.5

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RECOMMENDED CREDIT SCORE

300

Poor

560

Fair

660

Good

725

Very Good

760

Excellent

Scotiabank Gold American Express® Card

4.7

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RECOMMENDED CREDIT SCORE

300

Poor

560

Fair

660

Good

725

Very Good

760

Excellent

Rewards Breakdown

Annual Rewards

$533.24

Air Canada Aeroplan

Welcome Bonus

$735

Air Canada Aeroplan

Annual Fee

$139

First Year Value

$1,129.24

$394.24 in years after

Based on $2,000/mo average spending. Calculate your rewards.

Rewards Breakdown

Annual Rewards

$613.54

Scene+

Welcome Bonus

$450

Scene+

Annual Fee

$120

First Year Value

$1,063.54

$493.54 in years after

Based on $2,000/mo average spending. Calculate your rewards.

Insurance Included

Emergency Out of province Medical

$2M/insured up to 21 days

Emergency Medical Over 65

$2M/insured up to 4 days

Trip Cancellation

$1.5K/person, $5K/trip

Trip Interruption

$5K/person, $25K/trip

Flight Delay

$500/person after 4 hours

Baggage Delay

$1K/person after 6 hours

Lost or Stolen Baggage

$1K/person after 6 hours

Travel Accident

$500,000

Car Rental Damage & Theft

Up to 48 consecutive rental days

Hotel Burglary Insurance

$2500

Purchase Protection

90 days

Extended Warranty

1 year

Mobile Device Insurance

$1,000

Insurance Included

Emergency Out of province Medical

$2M/insured up to 21 days

Emergency Medical Over 65

$2M/insured up to 4 days

Trip Cancellation

$1.5K/person, $5K/trip

Trip Interruption

$5K/person, $25K/trip

Flight Delay

$500/person after 4 hours

Baggage Delay

$1K/person after 6 hours

Lost or Stolen Baggage

$1K/person after 6 hours

Travel Accident

$500,000

Car Rental Damage & Theft

Up to 48 consecutive rental days

Hotel Burglary Insurance

$2500

Purchase Protection

90 days

Extended Warranty

1 year

Mobile Device Insurance

$1,000

Extra Benefits

Concierge Services

Free first checked bag

First checked bag is free for primary cardholder on WestJet flight and up to 8 guests

Nexus Application

$100 every 4 years

Visa Infinite Exclusive Benefits

Golf Benefit

Troon Rewards Golf benefits like discounts at over 95 resorts and courses around the world plus access to select private clubs across the U.S

Extra points

Earn 50% more Stars and 50% more Aeroplan points at participating Starbucks stores

Extra points

Earn points twice at over 150 Aeroplan partner brands and over 170 online retailers through the Aeroplan eStore

Status lift

Reach Aeroplan Elite™ Status sooner by earning 1,000 Status Qualifying Miles and one (1) Status Qualifying Segment for every $10,000 of net purchases

Car Rental Discount

10% off base rate of Avis Rent A Car and Budget Rent A Car

Trip and legal Assistance

Extra Benefits

Concierge Services

No Foreign Transaction Fees

American Express Experiences

Discount

Discount on PriorityPass Membership

Interest Rates

Purchase:

20.99%

Cash Advance:

22.99%

Interest Rates

Purchase:

20.99%

Cash Advance:

22.99%

Annual Fee

$139

Annual Fee

$120

First Year Waived

Income Required

Min Personal Income:

$60,000

Min Household Income:

$100,000

Income Required

Min Personal Income:

$12,000

Min Household Income:

N/A

Welcome Bonus

10,000 points after approval. 25,000 points after spending over $5,000 within 180 days of account opening.

Welcome Bonus

Earn 25,000 bonus Scene+ points by making at least $1,000 in everyday eligible purchases in your first 3 months. Plus, for a limited time, you are eligible to earn a 20,000 Scene+ point bonus when you spend at least $7,500 in everyday eligible purchases in your first year.

Rewards Rate

1.5 points on gas, Groceries and Air Canada and Air Canada vacations (maximum 120,000 points annually)
1 point on everything else

Rewards Rate

6 Points on on every $1 you spend at Sobeys, Safeway, IGA, Foodland & Participating Co-ops
5 Points dining and at other eligible grocery stores,entertainment purchases which includes movies, theatre, and ticket agencies
3 Point on Rides which includes ridshare,buses,taxis, subways and more
3 Points on eligble streaming services (Netflix, Spotify, Disney+, Crave and more)
1 Point on everything else

Loyalty Program

Air Canada Aeroplan

Loyalty Program

Scene+

Point Redemption Options

Most Optimal

Travel

0.825¢ / point

Gift Cards

0.74¢ / point

Transfer to Airline Partners

2.1¢ / point

Point Redemption Options

Travel

0.825¢ / point

Gift Cards

0.74¢ / point

Entertainment

1¢ / point

Groceries (Sobeys)

1¢ / point

Restaurants

1¢ / point

Merchandise

0.76¢ / point

Statement Credits

0.7¢ / point

Is this card worth it?

If you are a frequent AirCanada traveler, we highly recommend this card given its many benefits specific to the Aeroplan program. Among all the Aeroplan cards, we like this one the most because it provides a more comprehensive list of benefits compared to the others.

Is this card worth it?

The Scotiabank Gold American Express® Card is one of our favorite cards. It has a very solid rewards program, earning one of the highest rewards among all credit cards in Canada. In addition, it offers comprehensive travel benefits, including the rare and valuable no foreign transaction fee benefit, making it a great and balanced credit card in terms of both rewards and benefits. The first-year annual fee waiver is the cherry on top, providing even greater value to cardholders.

Pros

Great benefits for Air Canada travelers, such as free checked baggage, will save you more in fees than you spend on annual membership fees. High coverage limit on the insurance for this card

Pros

No foreign transaction fee saves you 2.5% on all non-CAD purchases.
Rewards cover all high-spending categories, including food, groceries, entertainment, and gas.
Comprehensive coverage of all travel insurance.

Cons

The rewards rate on this card is not that high. There are non-Aeroplan cards with much better reward programs, and their points can later be transferred to this card, making them better options if you are looking to gather Aeroplan points.
You lose the flexibility to use other airlines if you want to take advantage of the benefits of this card.

Cons

The card network is American Express, which might not be widely accepted in some countries, making it a bit harder to use the no foreign transaction fee benefit.
Having a lounge pass would have made this card even more perfect, but there is access to a discount code for lounge access pass purchases.