2026 FIFA World Cup: Affordable Flights with Points

The 2026 FIFA World Cup will take place from June 11 to July 19, 2026 in several major North American cities.

The scale of the event will drive high demand, and flight prices are likely to rise quickly. However, Canadian travellers with loyalty points can use a well-optimized strategy to travel at a lower cost or even for free.

This comprehensive guide shows you how to identify, book and optimize your flights to host cities using points programs.

The 2026 FIFA World Cup will take place in 16 cities across Canada, the United States, and Mexico. This continental distribution makes the event accessible to a large number of fans while offering a variety of travel options depending on where spectators are coming from.

In Canada, two major cities will host matches: Toronto and Vancouver. These cities are natural gateways for Canadian soccer fans, thanks to their modern infrastructure and capacity to host international events.

In the United States, several major cities have been selected: New York, Los Angeles, Miami, Dallas, Atlanta, Houston, Seattle, San Francisco, Boston, Philadelphia and Kansas City.

Spread across the East Coast, West Coast, South, and Midwest, these cities offer a wide range of unique cultural experiences.

In Mexico, three cities will be hosting: Mexico City, Guadalajara, and Monterrey. Each offers a unique atmosphere, an exotic vacation climate, and a rich football tradition, in addition to benefiting from good air connectivity with North America.

No matter which city you choose, it’s important to plan early to take advantage of the best transportation and accommodation options, especially during high-demand periods like the World Cup.

To find the best flight options to the 2026 FIFA World Cup host cities, start with the Google Flights tool and the “Explore” function.

It allows you to quickly view prices from your departure airport, such as Montreal, to various destinations in North America, over a given period.

For example, it’s easy to see that Miami stands out as one of the most affordable host cities for the dates searched.

Once you’ve found a good fare, the best strategy is to book your flight with your credit card, then apply your travel points afterward, as a statement credit. This is where the full strength of flexible rewards programs like Scene+ points from the Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite Card comes into play.

Unlike programs that restrict you to limited award seat availability, here you have total freedom: you choose your airline, your travel dates, and any stopovers if needed, and then get reimbursed in points afterwards. It’s simple, seamless, and without restrictions.

A major advantage of this card: there are no foreign transaction fees on purchases made abroad, making it an excellent choice for travellers.

Another strength of the program is that you have up to 12 months after the purchase date to use your Scene+ points to get a statement credit. So, even if you don’t have enough points at the time of the transaction, you can continue to accumulate them stress-free and apply them later. The Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite Card allows you to earn up to 3 points per dollar on everyday purchases like groceries. You will therefore have the opportunity to earn a significant amount of points with this high multiplier.

If direct flights are too expensive or unavailable, consider a more strategic approach: fly into another major nearby city and complete your journey by ground transportation.

For example, to get to Seattle, it might be more advantageous to fly to Vancouver, then rent a car or take a bus across the border (about a 3 to 4 hour drive).

With Scene+ points, you can cover not only your initial flight, but also car rentals, bus tickets, and even accommodation if needed. This flexibility gives you real adaptability, which is especially useful during a major event like the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

The Aeroplan program is one of the most effective in the country for booking domestic and transborder flights, especially with Air Canada and its partners like United Airlines. However, during peak periods (as will be the case during the FIFA World Cup 2026), point redemption rates are likely to be significantly higher than usual.

Why? Because Air Canada and United apply dynamic pricing. In other words, point prices vary according to supply and demand. The greater the demand, the higher the cost in points.

In normal circumstances, it’s realistic to find round-trip economy flights starting at around 15,000 Aeroplan points for a short-haul flight (e.g. Montreal – Toronto) and around 25,000 points for a long-haul flight (e.g. Montreal – Vancouver or to certain U.S. cities). An ideal price for a short getaway with less than 25,000 points!

Currently, when you look at Aeroplan flight prices in points for host cities of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, you’ll often see rates that are nearly twice as high as normal for direct flights. This isn’t surprising, as the event draws huge crowds and also coincides with the start of summer holidays, driving up demand.

So to increase your chances of success with Aeroplan, monitor availability in advance, use search tools like Roame or Seats.aero, and be prepared to be flexible on dates and airports to maximize your points.

The VIPorter program from Porter Airlines can be an excellent option for travellers from Eastern Canada, particularly departing from Toronto or Montreal, to several host cities of the 2026 FIFA World Cup such as New York, Boston, Miami, or Vancouver. Its simple: you can redeem your points directly for any Porter flight, with no availability restrictions.

For example, a one-way flight from Toronto to New York is easily found at around 6,000 to 7,500 VIPorter points, while a one-way flight from Montreal to Vancouver can cost 8,000 to 11,000 points, depending on the season.

Although the scope of the network is more limited than that of Air Canada, Porter covers several major U.S. World Cup host cities, with direct flights from Toronto and Montreal, making it an interesting alternative to other programs. What’s more, you can use VIPorter points with partners like Air Transat and Alaska Airlines, opening up a whole new range of possibilities with this extended network.

During periods of high demand, such as the 2026 FIFA World Cup, fixed-rate award programs become especially valuable for booking flights, particularly within North America. Unlike dynamic pricing programs, these fixed-rate charts provide predictable and stable value, regardless of market fluctuations.

The principle is simple: you redeem a fixed number of points for an airline ticket, up to a predetermined maximum amount (excluding taxes and fees). It’s a great way to get around the price hikes in cash or points that often occur during world events or peak travel periods.

Several Canadian programs work with this model, including:

• American Express Membership Rewards
• RBC Avion Rewards
• CIBC Aventura

For example, with the fixed chart of American Express Membership Rewards, a flight between Montreal and New York will cost 15,000 points, as long as the base fare (before taxes) does not exceed $300. Whether the ticket costs $120, $250, or $299, you will always pay 15,000 points plus taxes and fees.

If the ticket price exceeds this ceiling (for example, $427 in the screenshot below right), you simply pay the difference in cash, in this case $127, while using your 15,000 points to cover the maximum portion.

This approach is especially useful when flight prices skyrocket due to high demand, as will likely be the case for host cities of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, especially if you’re booking at the last minute.