Guide: Save on Flights with Reward Points

To the point Find out how to save a lot of money on flights with credit card travel points!

We have written a detailed article on the best point hunting techniques for finding cheap flights. As part of this strategy, we are only interested in programs that offer travel points that can be applied directly to your flights.

Objective : Flights

Here, your goal is to be able to:

book on the website that suits you the most (Air France, Kiwi.com, Skyscanner, Momondo…)
travel on the dates that suit you
Take the itinerary of your choice
Use the airlines that are right for you
etc.

So you want more freedom than the one you could have with Aeroplan or AIR MILES. You should always hold a credit card with travel points: it will offer you some flexibility!

Sometimes, we use credit cards with hotel points to get free hotel nights, while on other occasions, we redeem travel points to pay for flights!

Reward Programs

To save on flights, you will need to use travel points.

Every credit card issuers have travel points programs:

Some will offer you the possibility:

to book with any travel agency or airline
while others will have their own online agency, often offering the same prices

Of course, we will prefer programs that offer more flexibility, but we should not disregard the others!

Here are the top 4 travel reward programs to save money on flights:

HSBC Rewards

To use your HSBC Rewards points, charge any travel purchase to your HSBC World Elite^® Mastercard^® (and earn 6 points per dollar for this type of purchase).

Then you can go to the HSBC Rewards portal to apply your points on your travel purchases and get a statement credit.

For example, here is the purchase of an Air Transat flight on my HSBC World Elite^® Mastercard^®:

Introducing the HSBC World Elite® Mastercard® — Redeeming HSBC points for an Air Transat flight ticket

So, 50,000 HSBC Rewards points can save you $250 on your flight!

American Express Membership Rewards Points (flexible option)

With the Membership Rewards program, you can apply points to any flight purchase charged to one of the six Membership Rewards Cards.

You can apply 1,000 points for a $10 credit or 10,000 points = $100. Below, an Air Transat flight booked with an American Express Card:

So 25,000 Membership Rewards can save $250 on a flight!

American Express Membership Rewards Points (fixed option)

For some flights, American Express has assigned a fixed chart: you will be able to use a predetermined number of points based on the cost of your flight.

So in this case, 15,000 Membership Rewards points = $300! An option to keep in mind and which we have detailed here.

Scene+ Scotiabank

The Scotiabank SCENE+ program works the same way: you can apply your points directly to the purchase of your flight charged to one of the cards from the program.

This means that 5,000 points can be used for a $50 credit, or 10,000 points = $100.

For example, 25,000 SCENE+ points can save you $250 on your flight!

BMO Rewards

BMO Rewards program works differently: you must use BMO’s travel booking portal to redeem points earned with one of the three credit cards that are part of the program.

The redemption rate will always be the same when using points for travel, in this case to save on flights: 10,000 points = $71

For example, 35,000 BMO Rewards points can save you $250 on your flight!

Credit cards

With the goal and programs set, we can now look at credit cards that earn points to save money on airfares.

HSBC Rewards Offer

The HSBC World Elite® Mastercard® is a great credit card with no foreign transaction fees, especially for travel purchases.

For a limited time, you can get:

Up to 110,000 points ($550 value in travel rewards) if you live in Quebec and with no minimum purchase!
Up to 80,000 points ($400 value in travel rewards) and waiver of the annual fee for the first year if you live outside Quebec

With the HSBC World Elite® Mastercard®, you can earn:

6 points per dollar for travel purchases (flights, hotels, Airbnb, all-inclusive, etc.)
3 points per dollar for all other purchases including Costco

This means a return of 1.5% to 3% depending on your purchases!

You can apply your points on any travel purchase charged to your HSBC World Elite® Mastercard® (flights, hotels, Airbnb, all-inclusive, etc.). But you can also transfer your points to three airline loyalty programs: British Airways Executive Club, Asia Miles and Singapore Airlines Krisflyer.

Finally, with the HSBC World Elite® Mastercard® you get:

$100 annual travel credit (for airport lounges, for example)
Unlimited access to Boingo WiFi hotspots around the world
10% discount for hotel bookings on Expedia or Agoda
Premium insurance for your travels and purchases

Finally, the HSBC World Elite® Mastercard® does not charge any conversion fees for foreign exchange transactions: you save 2.5% for each transaction.

American Express Membership Rewards offers

Here are the 7 Cards of the American Express Membership Rewards Program, whose points can save you money on your flights.

The Best Membership Rewards Offer from American Express

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.

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:

Category	Points per dollar
Grocery	5
Food delivery	5
Restaurants and bars	5
Convenience stores	5
Streaming subscriptions	3
Gas station	2
Gas & Transit	2
Travel	2
Other	1

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

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

Find out in this article how to maximize the welcome bonus to get 60,000 points with your everyday spending. This offer may be withdrawn at any time.

Like all American Express Canada Cards, there is no minimum income requirement.

Scotia Rewards Offers

Here are the top 3 credit cards part of the Scotia SCENE+ program.

The most interesting in our opinion are:

The Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite* Card: one of the only cards in Canada with no foreign currency conversion fees AND to offer six free access to airport lounges. Check its presentation here.
Scotiabank Gold American Express^® Card: This card does not charge any foreign currency conversion fees. This credit card is particularly interesting thanks to its accelerated points earning and its excellent insurance package. See its presentation here.

BMO Rewards Offers

There are 2 cards that are part of the BMO Rewards program:

The BMO Ascend World Elite Mastercard is one of Canada’s best travel Mastercard credit cards. With our exclusive offer, you can get up to 70,000 Welcome Bonus Points:

40,000 points when you spend $3,000 in the first 3 months
2,500 points per month after $2,000 in monthly purchases from the 4th to the 15th month, up to 30,000 points

Plus, the annual fee is waived in the first year for both the primary cardholder and authorized users.

With the BMO Ascend World Elite Mastercard, you earn:

5 points per dollar on travel purchases
3 points per dollar on dining purchases
3 points per dollar for entertainment purchases
3 points per dollar on recurring bill payments

And 1 point for every $1 spent everywhere else, including at Costco. You can use your points for travel purchases on the BMO Rewards website (flights, hotels, car rentals, all-inclusive).

The BMO Ascend World Elite Mastercard also offers:

Four annual complimentary passes to airport VIP lounges
Premium insurance for your travels or purchases
Concierge services

Conclusion

To apply this strategy to save on airline tickets with Reward Points, you could only focus on one program. Or you can get into multiple programs, which is ideal for a couple: each of you applying for a different card.

The three best cards in our eyes are:

Also, as you can see, these cards sometimes require a high income ($60,000 – $80,000/year), while others require lower income ($12,000 with the Scotiabank Gold American Express^® Card) or even no minimum income (American Express Cobalt^® Card).

So everyone can benefit from travel points to save on flights!