How to choose the best credit card for your needs?

To the point Find the best credit card for you. Explore cash-back vs. travel rewards and make informed choices with our comprehensive guide. Your ideal match awaits!

Step 1: Defining Your Credit Card Goals Step 2: Crafting Rewards to Suit You

Step 3: Refining Travel Goals and Requirements Points and their best redemption for travel

Step 4: Maximizing Rewards Accrual A simple wallet for the best cash-back returns A simple wallet for the best travel rewards returns

Step 5: Optimal Reward Multiplier Selection Bottom Line

“What is the best credit card for me?” This frequently pondered question echoes through our group and during Milesopedia events, underlining the increasing role credit cards play in both the realm of cash-back rewards and travel benefits.

However, there’s no universal answer due to the diverse array of offerings and individual requirements.

This article aims to serve as a comprehensive resource, gathering all pertinent inquiries related to this topic. Its purpose is to illuminate the path for individuals as they navigate the world of credit card choices.

Step 1: Defining Your Credit Card Goals

Before embarking on the journey to selecting the best credit card, it’s essential to outline your intentions and desires. Delving into card selection requires a clear vision of what you aim to achieve with these financial tools.

In the realm of rewards, two primary categories beckon:

Cash-back Rewards
Travel Rewards

It’s crucial to consider credit cards primarily as payment methods while pursuing rewards. Should budget management or credit card balance maintenance pose difficulties, revisiting your financial habits is advisable.

Exploring balance transfer or cash advance options can help recalibrate your financial course, but can also be used as leverage to earn rewards or a bit of passive income. It’s worth noting that interest charges from unpaid balances will definitely outweigh the value of earned rewards. Balance transfer and cash advance offers aren’t incentives for increased spending but serve as opportunities for debt repayment.

For those seeking advice on building credit, valuable resources are available in the articles provided by Milesopedia to understand how it works and the best ways to improve it:

Step 2: Crafting Rewards to Suit You

For those well-versed in financial management and budgeting, credit cards evolve into tools for optimizing rewards, enabling you to:

Saving Everyday with Cash-back on All Expenses
Elevating Travel Frequency and Style (such as flying in Emirates or Singapore Airlines First Class suites)
Leveraging Reward Points for Maximum Tax Returns
Strategic Investment using Credit Card Points
Fulfilling Dreams and Achieving Early Retirement

If your primary aspiration revolves around accumulating substantial cash-back rewards, proceed directly to the 4th step.

Step 3: Refining Travel Goals and Requirements

Should your focus lie on accruing rewards for travel, it’s essential to define these objectives with precision. Unlike straightforward cash-back rewards, travel rewards encompass a multitude of options and avenues. Consequently, pinpointing the best credit card for travel necessitates meticulous consideration.

Selecting a credit card tailored for travel necessitates evaluating numerous factors. The following considerations guide your decision-making process:

Type of Points and Travel Types: Rewards programs offer various types of points—airline miles, hotel points, etc. Each of these points is better suited for specific travel types. Accumulating different types of points for different trips, based on your destinations and preferences, can be advantageous. Do you often aim for budget destinations or luxury retreats in the Maldives or in French Polynesia?
Destination and Travel Type: Before choosing a card, identify your planned destinations and preferred travel style. Business trips, family vacations, solo adventures—each travel type influences the ideal card choice.
Date Flexibility and Seasonality: Are you flexible with travel dates? Do you travel during peak seasons or off-peak times? These factors play a critical role in card selection, as some offers are more advantageous during non-peak periods.

Number of Travelers and Baggage: Are you travelling solo, as a couple, with a large family, or in a group? Do you need a card that offers benefits for multiple people? Additionally, consider whether you require perks like complimentary checked baggage.
Insurance and Coverage: Travel insurance can vary significantly from one card to another. If you’re seeking specific insurance coverage, ensure that the card provides the necessary protections.

Travel Class: Do you wish to travel in economy or business class? Some cards offer exclusive benefits for business-class flights, which might impact your decision.
Airport Lounge Access: Frequent travellers often value access to airport lounges for relaxation before flights. If this is appealing to you, look for cards that offer this benefit.
Frequency of Travel: Are you an occasional or frequent traveller? Some cards are tailored for frequent travellers, while others are better suited for those who travel sporadically. When you are a frequent traveller, you have more opportunities to get a higher target valuation (even possibly more than Milesopedia’s estimation).

Points and their best redemption for travel

The subsequent table encapsulates diverse travel goals and associated point types.

The possible redemption listed are only the most popular ones and usually the best way to optimize your points, there may be many other uses not mentioned. For more details, follow the links.

Points program	Credit Card	Popular redemptions
Aeroplan	Aeroplan Credit Cards American Express Membership Rewards Credit Cards	Air Canada, partners (Etihad Airways, Emirates, etc.), and Star Alliance flights Short-haul flights in North America Long-haul flights in economy class (depending on the cash price) Aeroplan stop-overs Flights in premium economy or business class
AIR MILES	BMO^{^®} AIR MILES^{^®}Mastercard^{^®}* BMO^{^®} AIR MILES^{^®}World Elite^{^®}* Mastercard^{^®}* BMO AIR MILES^{^®}† World Elite^{^®}* Business Mastercard^{^®}*	US Park Tickets (Disneyland, Disney World, Universal Studios) Short-haul flights in North America
American Express Membership Rewards	American Express Membership Rewards Credit Cards	Any travel expense: flights on any company, hotels, Airbnb, excursions, tours, cruises, etc. Transferable to various other programs, notably : Aeroplan, Avios, Flying Blue, Asia Miles, Marriott Bonvoy and Hilton Honors
Asia Miles	American Express Membership Rewards Credit Cards	Cathay Pacific, OneWorld and partner airlines flights Flights with stopovers Flights with multiple Oneworld partners Qatar Airways Qsuites
Aventura	CIBC Aventura^{^®}Visa Infinite* Card CIBC Aventura^{^®}Gold Visa* Card	Any travel expense: flights on any company, hotels, Airbnb, excursions, tours, cruises, etc. CIBC Aventura: How to use Aventura Points for cheap travel
Avios	RBC British Airways Visa Infinite Card RBC Avion Visa Infinite Card RBC Avion Visa Infinite Business Card American Express Membership Rewards Credit Cards	British Airways, Qatar Airways, OneWorld and partner airlines flights Oneworld multi-partner award tickets North America to Europe in economy class on off-peak dates Short-haul and direct flight Domestic flights in Japan, Australia, USA, etc. Qatar Airways Qsuites
BNC Rewards	World Elite Mastercard from National Bank World Mastercard from National Bank Platinum Mastercard from National Bank	Any travel expense: flights on any company, hotels, Airbnb, excursions, tours, cruises, etc. National Bank: How To Use NBC Reward Points On Your Travel?
Flying Blue	American Express Membership Rewards Credit Cards	Air France/KLM, Skyteam and partner airlines flights North America to Europe in economy class with Promo Rewards Discounted award flights for children under 11
Marriott Bonvoy	Marriott Bonvoy^{^®}American Express^{^®}* Card Marriott Bonvoy^{^®}Business American Express^{^®}* Card American Express Membership Rewards Credit Cards	Over 8,000 Marriott Hotel stays Get the 5^th night free when you pay with points Transferable to various airline programs
Scene+	Scotiabank Passport™ Visa Infinite* Card Scotiabank Platinum American Express^{^®} Card Scotiabank Gold American Express^{^®} Card Scotiabank American Express^{^®} Card Scotiabank^{^®}Scene+™ Visa* Card	Any travel expense: flights on any company, hotels, Airbnb, excursions, tours, cruises, etc. How to use your Scene+ points to save on travel
WestJet Dollars	WestJet RBC World Elite MasterCard	WestJet and partners’ flights

With travel objectives well defined, proceed to the next step.

Step 4: Maximizing Rewards Accrual

Regardless of whether you’re chasing cash-back or travel rewards, points accumulation follows two paths:

Lucrative Sign-Up Bonuses
Strategic Organic Earnings

A balance between these approaches optimizes rewards. While welcome bonuses offer substantial gains, long-term sustainability requires a blend of strategies. The impact of occasional new card applications on credit scores is less severe than commonly believed.

Our community often discusses the best credit card selection for upcoming “rounds,” as intermittent applications are common. For newcomers, gradual integration into this world is advised, considering this endeavour’s marathon-like nature.

Organic return refers to day-to-day reward earnings versus sporadic and ponctual sign-up bonuses.

Construct a comprehensive list of regular expenses by category. Each card boasts strong category accelerators, enabling precise earning maximization.

Simultaneously, budget establishment aids in curbing phantom expenses or refining savings goals.

A simple wallet for the best cash-back returns

The following example is a simple two-card cash-back wallet for someone who isn’t prepared to tackle credit card fees but still wants the maximum return.

Credit Card	Category	Return
Tangerine World Mastercard	Drug Store Home Improvement Public Transportation and Parking	2%
CIBC Dividend^® Visa Infinite* Card (first-year-free)	Other	10% (up to $2000 during the first 4 months) then 1%
	Grocery	4%
	Gas	4%
	EV Charging	4%
	Amazon, SAQ, Netflix, clothing, etc. (with the Gift Card Strategy)	4%
	Recurring Bill Payments	2%
	Restaurants	2%

In this example, you could keep your base product for your organic spending, the Tangerine World Mastercard, and benefit from an elevated return for those infamous ‘’other’’ categories for a few months with the CIBC Dividend^® Visa Infinite* Card.

Then, for the rest of the year, you can earn more cash-back without having to pay any fees. When your time with the CIBC Dividend^® Visa Infinite* Card, you can close it and spend the next year with the TD Cash Back Visa Infinite* Card to keep getting high returns.

Visa compatibility with Costco presents a unique opportunity. A $2,000 Costco gift card purchase yields a 10% return, a substantial increase from 1%. That way, you will be set for a while, and you’ll be in no rush to spend it.

A simple wallet for the best travel rewards returns

Here is a simple base wallet example for general travel expenses (flights, accommodation, excursions, getting the best exchange rate, saving on foreign exchange fees, etc.); while it’s more difficult to avoid paying fees with these, they are considered the best credit cards for accumulating a lot of points on a regular basis. Furthermore, most of these cards come with annual travel credits or recurring promotional offers.

As this is a base wallet, you can add more products to cover all your specific needs and benefits you desire as getting points for ‘‘travel’’ can be very vague. For example, if you need a Nexus Membership for fast-tracking through the airport or if you need Marriott’s free night certificates because you often stay with the chain to enjoy your elevated status.

Credit Card	Category	Return	Needs
American Express Cobalt^® Card	Grocery	5X	Any travel expense: flights on any company, hotels, Airbnb, excursions, tours, cruises, etc. Suitable for economy flights (all airlines), business class and all-inclusive holidays Versatile points suitable for any destination worldwide Transferable to various other programs, notably: Aeroplan, Avios, Flying Blue, Asia Miles, Marriott Bonvoy and Hilton Honors
	Gas	2X
	Amazon, SAQ, Netflix, clothing, etc. (with the Gift Card Strategy)	5X
	Streaming memberships	3X
	Restaurants	5X
	Other	1X
World Elite Mastercard from National Bank	Grocery	5X	Any travel expense: flights on any company, hotels, Airbnb, excursions, tours, cruises, etc. Suitable for economy flights and all-inclusive holidays Suitable for Air Transat flights Excellent travel insurance coverage (when paying in cash or with points) Unlimited NBC Lounge access DragonPass Lounges Membership Annual $150 travel credit National Bank: How To Use NBC Reward Points On Your Travel?
	Gas	2X
	Amazon, SAQ, Netflix, clothing, etc. (with the Gift Card Strategy)	5X
	Recurring Bill Payments	2X
	Restaurants	5X
	Other	1X
Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite* Card	On every $1 you spend at Sobeys, IGA, Safeway, Foodland, FreshCo, Voilà by Sobeys, Voilà by IGA, Voilà by Safeway, Chalo! FreshCo, Thrifty Foods, IGA West, Les Marchés Tradition, Rachelle Béry and Co-Op. FreshCo, Thrifty Foods, IGA West, Les Marchés Tradition, Rachelle Béry and Co-Op.	3X	Any travel expense: flights on any company, hotels, Airbnb, excursions, tours, cruises, etc. Suitable for economy flights (all airlines), business class and all-inclusive holidays No foreign conversion fees Six free lounges access How to use your Scene+ points to save on travel
Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite* Card	Grocery stores, dining, entertainment purchases, and daily transit purchases (including buses, subways, taxis and more)	2X

The infamous other category never yields a generous return which is why I try to put those expenses exclusively towards unlocking a welcome bonus when possible.

Paying credit card fees can be a great investment. Indeed, most of them come with great perks that offset the fees partially or completely such as bigger rewards accelerator, travel credits, lounge access, purchase and travel insurance, free luggage, etc.

Step 5: Optimal Reward Multiplier Selection

A comprehensive monthly expense list helps credit card selection for each category.

You can view our various guides here:

Bottom Line

Prior to selecting the best credit card for you, it’s crucial to establish your goals (cash-back vs. travel and which type of travel) and evaluate your specific needs. Detailed comparisons of benefits, annual fees, and points conversion rates should guide your decision-making process.

It’s essential to remember that credit cards should be treated like debit cards. While enjoying the rewards, ensure you don’t fall into debt. The key is to spend wisely and live within your means. After all, the best rewards are peace of mind and strong financial health.

Ultimately, there isn’t one best credit card; instead, there’s a card that aligns best with your preferences and habits. Making an informed choice requires time, research, and a deep understanding of what each card offers.

In summary, if the question “What is the best credit card?” persists, it’s important to remember that the answer lies in a thorough analysis of your personal needs.