Best Credit Cards for Beginners With Points in Canada

The American Express Cobalt™ Card is the best credit card from American Express, whether you want points for travel or cashback.

The welcome bonus is distributed monthly for the first 12 months. You earn 2,500 Membership Rewards points for every $500 in purchases charged to your card during the month (whether in the 1X, 2X, 3X or 5X category). That’s up to 30,000 Membership Rewards points.

Plus, you can earn a Welcome Bonus of 20,000 Membership Rewards points when you spend a total of $3,000 in purchases on your Card in your first 3 months of Cardmembership. That’s up to 50,000 Membership Rewards points as a welcome bonus!

You can easily use these points as statement credits for everyday or travel purchases. The value is the same for both: 1,000 points = $10. Or, you can transfer your points to Aeroplan, Marriott Bonvoy, or Hilton Honors.

With the American Express Cobalt™ Card, you can earn between 1 and 5 points per dollar:

This is a 1 to 5% return on all these purchases.

In addition, this card provides excellent insurance coverage: car rental theft and damage, baggage delay, lost or stolen baggage, flight delay, $250,000 travel accident, hotel or motel burglary, Mobile Device Insurance, Extended Warranty, Purchase Protection Insurance.

Find out in this article how to optimize the welcome bonus to get 87,500 points with your current spending.

The Marriott Bonvoy™ American Express^® Card is the best credit card for free hotel nights.

With this welcome offer, you can earn up to 85,000 Marriott Bonvoy points:

• 70,000 points after $1,500 in Card purchases within the first 3 months
• 5 points per dollar on travel and gas purchases for your first 3 months (up to 15,000 points)

With this Card, you earn 5 points per dollar on all purchases at Marriott Bonvoy properties and 2 points per dollar on all other purchases.

Finally, this Card has reliable insurance: Baggage delay, Lost or Stolen Baggage, $500,000 Travel Accident, Flight delay, Hotel or motel burglary, Car Rental Theft and Damage, Buyer’s Assurance^® Protection Plan, Purchase Protection Guarantee.

With this welcome offer for the American Express^® Aeroplan^®* Card, you can earn up to 40,000 Aeroplan points and an Air Canada Buddy Pass.

Here’s how:

• 10,000 Aeroplan points and a bonus Buddy Pass after $1,500 in Card purchases within the first 3 months
• 2,500 Aeroplan Points per month, after $500 in Card purchases per month for the first 12 months or 30,000 Aeroplan Points

Remember, you can convert the Air Canada Buddy Pass into 30,000 Aeroplan Points if you wish. So you could earn up to 70,000 Aeroplan points with this welcome offer.

With this Card, you earn 2X the points on purchases made directly with Air Canada and Air Canada Vacations.

And 1.5x the points on Dining and Food Delivery purchases in Canada. Anywhere else, you will earn 1X the points.

Enjoy your first checked bag free (up to 23kg/50lb) for up to 9 people travelling on the same reservation on Air Canada^®* flights.

Would you like a cashback credit card with no-annual-fee and a high earning rate on all your purchases? Here’s an option for you: the SimplyCash™ from American Express.

With this Card, you earn a 1.25% cashback on all purchases.

For the first 6 months, you can earn 4% cash back with the SimplyCash™ from American Express (up to $200 cash back).

And you’ll get insurance with it: $100,000 travel accident insurance, Purchase Protection^® Plan, Buyer’s Assurance^® Protection Plan.

Would you like a travel rewards credit card with no annual fee? Here is an option for you: the American Express^® Green Card.

By signing up for the American Express^® Green Card, you can earn a Welcome Bonus of 10,000 Membership Rewards points when you charge $1,000 in purchases to your Card in the first 3 months of Cardmembership. It’s equal to $100, 10,000 Aeroplan points or 12,000 Marriott Bonvoy points.

With this no-fee Credit Card, you will also have access to online promotional offers to get points or rebates on your purchases.

If you’re looking for a credit card with no annual fee but with a welcome bonus, the Best Western Rewards^® Mastercard is the card for you!

You earn 20,000 Best Western points after your first purchase! It can get you at least one free hotel night.

With this card you earn:

• 5 points per dollar at Best Western properties
• 1 point per dollar anywhere else, including Costco

The MBNA Rewards Platinum Plus^® Mastercard^® is one of the best credit cards with no annual fee in Canada.

With this card, you earn 2 points per dollar on some purchases:

• gas
• grocery stores
• restaurants

One caveat: there is a $5,000 max annual spend per category. And 1 point per dollar everywhere else.

For a limited time, you can get 10,000 welcome bonus points, a $100 value on travel purchases charged to your Card.

With the NBC mycredit Mastercard, you earn:

• 1% cash back on restaurant purchases and recurring pre-authorized payments
• 0.5% cash back on all other purchases, including at Costco

Cash back is automatically applied to your credit card statement every billing cycle.

We recommend this credit card for those who are new to credit cards and want a credit card with no annual fee. Especially since this credit card comes with some insurance for your purchases, including mobile device insurance (which is rare for a no annual fee credit card ).