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A dream trip to the UAE with points and miles

A dream trip to the UAE with points and miles
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Before browsing the photo reports from our trip to the United Arab Emirates, here’s how we put it together using points & miles.

Foreword

Let’s be honest: only a tiny minority of people can afford First Class flights or stays in palace hotels.

Yet loyalty programs, through the points & miles they hand out, let anyone live these… one-of-a-kind experiences!

lh first fra bos jm
Lufthansa First Class

And that’s what has always fascinated us: with a few credit card sign-ups and careful optimization of every dollar spent, the dream becomes reality!

lufthansa first class lounge frankfurt 02
Audrey and her chauffeur on arrival

In the life of a serious points & miles collector, there are experiences you dream of ticking off, and that we’ve been lucky enough to live over the past few years:

But there’s always « the urge » to go further… to live something unique every time!

That’s how the idea for this trip to the United Arab Emirates came about, right before the 2018 holiday season.

A couple… of parents

Audrey and I are the parents of Alexandra (3 and a half) and Arthur (1 and a half). Ever since they were born, we haven’t stopped travelling… with them!

It’s quite simple: they’ve come with us everywhere, and we’ve loved every minute of it!

arthur alex vegas
Arthur and Alexandra – Las Vegas

Several times to different parts of France to visit family, to Malta, all over North America and Canada… they even did their own mini world tour in 2017, going to Hong Kong, Vietnam, and San Francisco.

asiana airlines a330 business class sgn icn 57
Asiana Airlines – Business Class – A330

Being parents of young children, living far from our families, means making certain trade-offs: there’s no slipping away for a weekend or leaving the little ones with the grandparents!

Those of you who are parents will understand: every now and then, a couple needs to… reconnect!

So, during a conversation in May 2018, my mother offered to look after the kids at her place in Nice, both of them, for a week just before Christmas.

We jumped at the chance! And that’s how this romantic getaway to the United Arab Emirates was born!

A couple… of travellers!

Let’s come back to the unique experiences we wanted to live… and that were at risk of soon disappearing through the points & miles route. Among them:

Why disappearing? Because the options used with points & miles can be seen as « loopholes » in the system… or simply because the airline or hotel no longer finds it worthwhile to offer them.

In this kind of situation, you have to act fast! And as you’ll see in our reports, we came close to missing the A380 on our entire itinerary! Our outbound flight was on a B777:

etihad first 777 23
Etihad First – 777

Putting the trip together

To put this trip together, we started a little more than 6 months ahead, in May 2018, with the last bookings made in October 2018 for a December 14, 2018 departure.

Here are a few summary tables of the points & miles we put to work across this whole trip.

The flights

Audrey and I left Montreal a week apart, which explains the different flights and types of points used.

RouteWho?AirlineClassProgramPointsCash
Montréal-NiceJMSwissBusinessAeroplan55,000 miles$80
Nice-ParisJMAir FranceEconomyScotia Rewards10,500 points(instead of $105)
Montréal-ParisAudreyAir FranceBusinessFlying Blue39,750 miles$324
Paris-Abu DhabiBothEtihadFirstAsiana Club80,000 miles$400
Abu Dhabi-ParisBothEtihadFirstAsiana Club80,000 miles$400
Paris-NiceBothEasyjetEconomyMembership Rewards Select42,000 points(instead of $420)
Nice-MontréalBothSwissBusinessAeroplan110,000 miles$200

Here are the programs we used:

Aeroplan

To earn Aeroplan miles, the easiest route is through the 4 American Express cards that earn Membership Rewards points:

The most lucrative offer is the referral one for the Business Platinum Card: 75,000 points!

Flying Blue

Here, we got particularly lucky. In August 2018, for one day, American Express Canada allowed Membership Rewards points to be transferred to Flying Blue miles. A glitch? A test run before launch?

It was clearly a glitch, even though we regularly call for Flying Blue to become a Membership Rewards transfer partner.

afklm amex
Flying Blue, an American Express Canada transfer partner?!

In any case, we took advantage of the opportunity to transfer a few tens of thousands of points to Flying Blue miles… which we used on this occasion to try Air France’s new business class between Montreal and Paris.

Asiana Club / Marriott Bonvoy / Marriott Bonvoy / American Express Membership Rewards

Easily the most « fun » part of putting this trip together…! Fair warning… hold on tight, because 4 loyalty programs were used here!

Asiana Club is a partner of Etihad Airways. And as it happens, the Asiana Club award chart is especially generous for flights between Europe and the Middle East:

asiana club europe

Here’s what it costs:

  • 40,000 miles round-trip in economy class
  • 60,000 miles round-trip in business class
  • 80,000 miles round-trip in first class

Yes, 80,000 miles round-trip in first class on Etihad Airways (you know… the one with the bed 😉 ).

merci milesopedia etihad
merci milesopedia etihad

Now, how do you earn Asiana Club miles in Canada? Through Marriott Bonvoy!

The conversion rate is 3 Marriott Bonvoy points = 1 Asiana Club mile. But if you transfer in blocks of 60,000 points, you get 5,000 bonus miles!

So, to get 80,000 Asiana Club miles, you need to transfer 195,000 Marriott Bonvoy points:

Marriott pointsMiles earnedBonus milesTotal Asiana miles
60,00020,0005,00025,000
60,00020,0005,00050,000
60,00020,0005,00075,000
15,0005,00080,000
195,000 points65,00015,00080,000 miles

But how do you rack up that many Marriott Bonvoy points? Through the American Express Cobalt Card, the Marriott Bonvoy American Express Card and the American Express cards that earn Membership Rewards points!

Let’s be upfront: we got very lucky! For more than a year in Canada, you could transfer Membership Rewards points to Starpoints at a 2:1 rate (versus only 3:1 in the United States), then transfer those Starpoints to Marriott Bonvoy points at a 1:3 rate.

Which, in the end, meant transferring Membership Rewards points to Marriott Bonvoy at a very attractive rate of 1:1.5, or 2:3.

So, to get 195,000 Marriott Bonvoy points, we had to transfer:

If you prefer a visual:

Membership Rewards2:1 rateSPG1:3 rateMarriott2.4:1 rateAsiana
130,00065,000195,00080,000

So we turned 130,000 Membership Rewards points into 80,000 Asiana miles to treat ourselves to this round-trip in Etihad First Class, worth CA$10,000!

Scotia Rewards points

Scotia Rewards points are so easy to use: just charge any travel purchase to your card (flights, hotels…) and you can then apply your points against that purchase!

We earned our Scotia Rewards points by signing up for the Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite + Card: 25,000 bonus points as a welcome offer, 6 Priority Pass airport lounge visits… and no foreign transaction fees on purchases made in foreign currencies!

Annual fee
$150
Our valuation
$350
Milesopedia first-year estimateFirst-year valueWelcome bonus$350Total$350Rewards on your spending are not included. The calculator that adds them from your own profile is on the card's page.
Welcome offer
Up to 35,000 points
Ends Nov 1, 2026
Apply Now

on Scotiabank's website

With this welcome offer for the Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite +* Card +* CardMC, you’ll earn 25,000 welcome bonus Scene+ points after charging $2,000 in purchases to your account within the first three months.

Plus, every year, earn an annual bonus of at least 10,000 Scene+ points when you charge at least $40,000 in purchases to your account. In total, the offer represents up to 35,000 Scene+ points and a value of up to $1,250 in the first year, including rewards, savings on foreign transaction fees and airport lounge access.

With the Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite +* Card, you earn 3 points per $1 spent at Sobeys, IGA, Safeway, Foodland and participating Co-ops, and 2 points per $1 spent at other grocery stores, restaurants, eligible entertainment and eligible daily transit. You earn 1 point per $1 on all your other everyday purchases.

These points can be redeemed against any travel purchase at a rate of 1,000 points = $10 (flights, hotels, all-inclusives and even Airbnb), or as cash back with Scene+ at the same rate.

The Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite +* Card also offers:

  • No fees for foreign currency transactions
  • 6 complimentary airport VIP lounge passes
  • Excellent insurance for your travels and purchases
  • Visa Infinite* Concierge Services

We have named this credit card the Best Credit Card with No Foreign Transaction Fees in 2024, 2025, and 2026.

Annual fee

Primary card$150
Additional card$50

Annual income required

Individual$60,000
Household$100,000

Conversion fees

0%

Earning rate

  • 2xGroceries
  • 2xRestaurants
  • 2xTransit
  • 2xEntertainment
  • 1xAll spending

Value

1st Year Value$650
2nd Year Value$397

Card benefits

Concierge service24/7
Airport lounge access$240

Travel insurance

Travel medical (under 55)Up to $1,000,000 / 25 days
Travel medical (55-64)Up to $1,000,000 / 25 days
Travel medical (65+)Up to $1,000,000 / 3 days
Trip CancellationUp to $1,500
Trip InterruptionUp to $2,500
Delayed BaggageUp to $1,000
Lost BaggageUp to $1,000
Flight DelayUp to $500
Hotel BurglaryUp to $1,000
Travel AccidentUp to $500,000

Purchase protection

Purchase ProtectionIncluded
Extended Warranty+1 years
Auto Rental CollisionUp to $65,000 / 48 days

Membership Rewards Select points

The American Express Cobalt Card earns « Select » Membership Rewards points. These points cannot be transferred to airline partners, unlike the other 4 cards that earn Membership Rewards points.

They can only be transferred to hotel partners such as Marriott Bonvoy.

When you earn Select Membership Rewards points at 5 points per dollar (groceries, convenience stores, restaurants…), it can be worthwhile to apply them to your travel purchases… and that’s exactly what we did here.

42,000 Select Membership Rewards points saved us $420 on our Easyjet flights between Paris and Nice.

Annual fee
$191.88
Our valuation
$255
Milesopedia first-year estimateFirst-year valueWelcome bonus$255Total$255Rewards on your spending are not included. The calculator that adds them from your own profile is on the card's page.
Welcome offer
Up to 15,000 points
Apply Now

on American Express's website

Apply with confidence — no impact on your credit scoreApply with confidenceCheck whether your application will be approved before you submit it, with no impact on your credit score*When you apply for a personal American Express Credit Card, we will tell you whether you are eligible without affecting your credit score. So you can apply with confidence.*Instant decisions are only available for consumer Card applications (also called “personal Cards”).

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

American Express Cobalt® Card welcome offer

The welcome bonus is paid out monthly over your first 12 months. You earn 1,250 Membership Rewards points for each monthly billing period in which you charge $750 in net purchases to your card, in any category (1X, 2X, 3X or 5X). That adds up to 15,000 Membership Rewards points over the year, a welcome offer we value at $255.

Earning the full bonus means $9,000 in net purchases spread across 12 monthly billing periods. This offer rewards steady monthly spending rather than one large purchase.

You can use these points as statement credits on everyday or travel purchases, at the same rate either way: 1,000 points = $10.

You can also transfer them to Aeroplan, Avios (British Airways and Qatar Airways), Flying Blue, Marriott Bonvoy or Hilton Honors. With the full welcome bonus, that is a choice between:

  • 15,000 Aeroplan points
  • 15,000 Avios points
  • 15,000 Flying Blue Miles
  • 18,000 Marriott Bonvoy points

If hotel points are what you are after, our ultimate guide to Marriott Bonvoy and our complete map of Marriott Bonvoy hotels by category show what those points can actually buy.

American Express Cobalt® Card benefits

Here is what the card gives you, starting with the benefits cardholders use most.

  • 5X points on eligible eats and drinks in Canada: groceries, restaurants and bars, home food delivery and convenience stores. A spend cap applies.
  • 3X points on eligible streaming subscriptions in Canada.
  • 2X points on eligible gas, public transit and ride sharing purchases in Canada.
  • 1 additional point on eligible hotel and car rental bookings made through American Express Travel Online.
  • 1X point per dollar on everything else, with no category restrictions.
  • Points that hold the same value either way: 1,000 points = $10 as a statement credit, or a 1:1 transfer to several airline and hotel loyalty programs.
  • No minimum income requirement, as with every American Express Canada card.
  • Additional cards at no extra cost: the first and every other supplementary card is $0.
  • The Hotel Collection: a room upgrade when available, 12pm check-in and late check-out when available, and up to $100 USD in hotel credit on amenities charged to the room for a stay of two or more consecutive nights, booked through American Express Travel.
  • Front Of The Line® presale and reserved tickets for concerts and theatre performances, plus offers and events curated for cardmembers through Amex Experiences.
  • A soft credit check before you apply: you can see whether you will be approved with no impact to your credit score. This applies to American Express personal card applications.

To see how it compares with the rest of the line-up, read our round-up of the best credit cards from American Express in Canada.

The 5X categories and where they apply

The 5X rate is the reason most people carry this card. In Canada it covers four kinds of merchants:

  • Groceries: Metro, IGA, Sobeys, Super C, Safeway, Whole Foods.
  • Restaurants and bars: sit-down meals, takeout and drinks.
  • Home food delivery.
  • Convenience stores: Couche-Tard, 7-Eleven.

The 2X rate covers gas stations such as Esso, Shell and Petro-Canada, along with public transit and ride sharing.

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

Category Points per dollar
Grocery (Metro, IGA, Sobeys, Super C, etc.) 5
Home food delivery 5
Restaurants and bars 5
Convenience stores 5
Streaming services 3
Service station 2
Transport 2
Travel 1
Other 1

That works out to a 1 to 5% return on those purchases. For example, if you spend $1,000 per month across groceries, restaurants and food delivery, you earn $50 back per month, or $600 per year from that category alone. Transfer the points to a program such as Aeroplan instead and the return can be higher.

You can also stack these categories with the hundreds of stores that offer 5x points.

American Express Cobalt® Card insurance coverage

The card comes with a broad insurance package. The amounts below are the coverage limits; conditions, age limits and exclusions are set out in the certificate of insurance linked in the Insurance section above.

Travel insurance

  • Emergency medical: up to $5,000,000 for the first 15 days of a trip.
  • Travel accident: accidental death and dismemberment of up to $250,000 for you, your spouse and dependent children under age 23 when travelling on a common carrier (plane, train, bus or ship) and the tickets are charged to your card. Supplementary cardholders and their families are covered too.
  • Flight delay: up to $500 for necessary hotel, meal and sundry expenses bought within 48 hours when you are delayed or denied boarding for four hours or more and no other transportation is available. This $500 is an aggregate limit per occurrence, shared with missed connection and delayed baggage coverage.
  • Delayed baggage: up to $500 for essential clothing and sundries bought within four days when your outbound luggage is delayed six hours or more. This $500 is an aggregate limit per occurrence, shared with missed connection and flight delay coverage.
  • Lost or stolen baggage: up to $500 per occurrence for all insured persons combined, for checked or carry-on baggage and personal effects in transit, when the airline tickets are charged to your card. Within that limit, jewellery is capped at $300 per occurrence and golf clubs, including golf bags, at $250 per occurrence.
  • Hotel and motel burglary: up to $500 against the loss of most personal items if your hotel or motel is burglarized, when the stay is charged to your card.

Rental car insurance

Theft and damage coverage is included for a rental car with an MSRP, for its model year, of up to $85,000 excluding all taxes, for rentals of up to 48 days. To use it, decline the Loss Damage Waiver (LDW) or any similar option from the rental company and charge the full rental to your card. There is no cost for this coverage, and it replaces the daily insurance the rental company charges, usually $16 to $23 per day.

Mobile device insurance

Your device is covered for up to $1,000 per occurrence when it is charged to the card, for up to two years from the date of purchase. The payout is based on the depreciated value of the device, which falls by 2% of the purchase price for every completed month, less a 10% deductible. Theft and accidental damage coverage starts on the 91st day after purchase, because the first 90 days are covered by purchase protection.

Purchase protection and extended warranty

Eligible items charged to your card are insured against accidental physical damage or theft for 90 days from the purchase date, up to $1,000 per occurrence for all items combined. The card also extends the original manufacturer’s warranty by up to one additional year on eligible items, with indemnification limited to $10,000 per insured item and $25,000 per Cardmember per policy year for all items combined.

American Express Cobalt® Card fees

  • Card fee: $15.99 per month, which equals $191.88 per year, for residents outside Quebec. Quebec residents are billed $191.88 per year.
  • Additional cards: $0.
  • Purchase interest rate: 21.99%.
  • Cash advance interest rate: 21.99%.
  • Foreign transaction fee: 2.5%.
  • Minimum income required: none.

Because the fee is billed monthly rather than in one annual charge, you can stop and restart the cost in step with how much you are actually using the card.

Annual fee

Primary card$191.88
Additional card$0

Annual income required

Individual$0
Household$0

Conversion fees

2.5%

Earning rate

  • 5xRestaurants
  • 5xGroceries
  • 5xConvenience
  • 3xStreaming
  • 2xTransit
  • 2xGas & EV
  • 1xAll spending

Value

1st Year Value$1,828
2nd Year Value$799

Transfer partners

  • AeroplanAirline
  • British Airways ClubAirline
  • Cathay Asia MilesAirline
  • Etihad GuestAirline
  • Flying BlueAirline
  • Hilton HonorsHotel
  • Marriott BonvoyHotel

Travel insurance

Travel medical (under 55)Up to $5,000,000 / 15 days
Travel medical (55-64)Up to $5,000,000 / 15 days
Delayed BaggageUp to $500
Lost BaggageUp to $500
Flight DelayUp to $500
Hotel BurglaryUp to $500
Travel AccidentUp to $250,000

Purchase protection

Purchase ProtectionUp to $1,000 / 90 days
Extended Warranty+1 years
Mobile DeviceUp to $1,000 / 2 years
Auto Rental Collision (primary)Up to $85,000 / 48 days

The hotels

For the hotels, we used only Marriott Bonvoy points:

CityHotelNightsPointsCash value
Abu DhabiThe St. Regis Abu Dhabi135,000 points (certificate)CA$310
DubaiRenaissance Downtown Hotel, Dubai270,000 points (certificate + 35,000 points)CA$750
Dubai areaAl Maha, a Luxury Collection Desert Resort & Spa, Dubai3180,000 pointsCA$4,800
Total215,000 points + 2 certificatesCA$5,860

For two of the nights, we used the free-night certificate from the Marriott Bonvoy American Express Card and the Marriott Bonvoy Business American Express Card. This certificate is issued when the annual fee renews.

Since 2 of our cards were up for renewal in August and September 2018, I deliberately chose to pay the second-year fee, wait for the certificates to land in the Marriott Bonvoy account (7-8 weeks later), and then cancel those two cards (in October and November).

So it was as if we paid $120 for this certificate worth 35,000 points. Each of our nights cost more than CA$300… a nice saving!

al maha bedoin suite piscine
al maha bedoin suite piscine

As for the stay at the Al Maha, a Luxury Collection Desert Resort & Spa, Dubai, it was a genuine sweet spot of the Marriott Bonvoy program that we’d written about a few months earlier.

But this sweet spot stopped existing 1 week after our stay!

Indeed, the 60,000-points-per-night rate included the room… but also all meals (breakfast / lunch / dinner) plus 2 activities a day. From now on, the 60,000-points rate covers only the room! Given that everything else costs around US$800 a night… it’s unfortunately no longer worth going there.

How did we get these 215,000 Marriott Bonvoy points? Largely through sign-ups for the 2 Marriott Bonvoy credit cards (4 cards between the two of us!):

Featured
Annual fee
$120
Our valuation
$990
Milesopedia first-year estimateFirst-year valueWelcome bonus$990Total$990Rewards on your spending are not included. The calculator that adds them from your own profile is on the card's page.
Welcome offer
Up to 110,000 points
Ends Sep 22, 2026
Apply Now

on American Express's website

Apply with confidence — no impact on your credit scoreApply with confidenceCheck whether your application will be approved before you submit it, with no impact on your credit score*When you apply for a personal American Express Credit Card, we will tell you whether you are eligible without affecting your credit score. So you can apply with confidence.*Instant decisions are only available for consumer Card applications (also called “personal Cards”).

The Marriott Bonvoy® American Express®* Card is the best credit card in Canada for free hotel nights.

New Cardmembers can earn up to 110,000 Marriott Bonvoy® points with the current offer:

  • Earn 80,000 points after you spend $6,000 on your Card in your first 6 months of Cardmembership.
  • Plus, earn 30,000 points by making a purchase during your 15th month of Cardmembership.

This offer ends on September 22, 2026. The annual fee is $120, and there is no annual fee on Additional Cards, so you can add a partner or a family member at no extra cost.

Every year after your first Card anniversary, you receive an Annual Free Night Award good for a redemption of up to 35,000 points at eligible hotels and resorts worldwide. At a valuation of 0.9 cents per Marriott Bonvoy point, that certificate is worth roughly $315, which on its own more than covers the $120 annual fee. That is the main reason to keep this Card year after year instead of cancelling it.

To get the most out of the certificate, aim it at a night that would otherwise price close to the 35,000 point ceiling.

The Card also gives you 15 Elite Night Credits each calendar year and automatic Marriott Bonvoy Silver Elite status. Those credits count toward the next Elite tier, so you begin every year 15 nights ahead of where you would otherwise start.

You move up to Gold Elite status automatically when you reach $30,000 in purchases on the Card in a year, or when you combine 10 qualifying paid nights within one calendar year with the 15 Elite Night Credits from your Card.

Marriott Bonvoy points are generally valued at 0.9 cents each. On that basis, the 110,000 point welcome offer is worth about $990, and an Annual Free Night Award used at its full 35,000 point ceiling is worth about $315.

Marriott Bonvoy points pull their weight on free nights rather than on gift cards or merchandise, which is why this Card should be judged on the hotel stays it produces.

You earn 5 points per dollar on eligible purchases at participating Marriott Bonvoy hotels and 2 points per dollar on all other purchases. Points can be redeemed for free nights with no blackout dates at more than 7,000 hotels around the world.

The Card carries a solid package of coverages: $500,000 travel accident insurance, flight delay, baggage delay, lost or stolen baggage and hotel or motel burglary at $500 each, car rental theft and damage up to $85,000 for rentals of up to 48 days, Purchase Protection for 90 days and a one year Extended Warranty.

Two things to plan around: the 2.5% foreign transaction fee on purchases made in a foreign currency, and the 21.99% purchase interest rate, which makes this a Card to pay in full every month. Like all American Express Canada Cards, no minimum income is published for this Card, and you can see whether you would be approved before you apply, with no impact on your credit score.

Annual fee

Primary card$120
Additional card$0

Annual income required

Individual$0
Household$0

Conversion fees

2.5%

Earning rate

  • 5xMarriott Bonvoy hotels
  • 2xAll spending

Value

1st Year Value$1,437
2nd Year Value$312

Travel insurance

Delayed BaggageUp to $500
Lost BaggageUp to $500
Flight DelayUp to $500
Hotel BurglaryUp to $500
Travel AccidentUp to $500,000

Purchase protection

Purchase ProtectionIncluded
Extended Warranty+1 years
Auto Rental Collision (primary)Up to $85,000 / 48 days
Featured
Annual fee
$150
Our valuation
$990
Milesopedia first-year estimateFirst-year valueWelcome bonus$990Total$990Rewards on your spending are not included. The calculator that adds them from your own profile is on the card's page.
Welcome offer
Up to 110,000 points
Ends Sep 22, 2026
Apply Now

on American Express's website

Apply with confidence — no impact on your credit scoreApply with confidenceCheck whether your application will be approved before you submit it, with no impact on your credit score*When you apply for a personal American Express Credit Card, we will tell you whether you are eligible without affecting your credit score. So you can apply with confidence.*Instant decisions are only available for consumer Card applications (also called “personal Cards”).

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text el_class="checkmarks"]This credit card has been the Best Business Credit Card in Canada for hotels for many years. For a limited time, you can earn 50,000 points as a welcome bonus. With this Card you can earn:
  • 5 points per dollar on Marriott Bonvoy purchases
  • 3 points per dollar on gas, dining and travel purchases
  • 2 points per dollar on all other purchases
Also, as a Cardmember, you get many benefits such as:
  • An Annual Free Night Award for up to 35,000 points
  • 15 Elite Night Credits each calendar year for your Marriott Bonvoy Elite Status
  • Automatic Marriott Bonvoy Silver Elite status membership
  • Access to American Express promotional offers
  • Access to pre-sale tickets
Finally, you are covered with reliable insurance for your travels and purchases. Like most American Express Credit Cards, there is no minimum income required to apply for this Card.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

The Marriott Bonvoy® Business American Express®* Card is the best credit card for the self-employed, professionals and small business owners who travel.

With this welcome offer, you can earn up to 110,000 Marriott Bonvoy Points:

  • Earn 80,000 points after you spend $10,000 on your Card in your first 6 months of Cardmembership.
  • Plus, earn 30,000 Points by making a purchase during your 15th month of Cardmembership.

This exceptional offer ends on September 22, 2026.

It’s a card we recommend you keep, because each year at renewal, you’ll get an Annual Free Night Award for up to 35,000 points, plus 15 Elite nights per year, counting towards your Marriott Bonvoy Elite status.

With this Card, you earn 5 points per dollar for all your spending at Marriott Bonvoy establishments, and you can earn 3 points per dollar for :

  • Gas
  • Dining
  • Travel

And 2 points per dollar on all other purchases.

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

Annual fee

Primary card$150
Additional card$50

Annual income required

Individual$0
Household$0

Conversion fees

2.5%

Earning rate

  • 5xMarriott Bonvoy hotels
  • 3xTravel
  • 3xGas & EV
  • 3xRestaurants
  • 2xAll spending

Value

1st Year Value$1,520
2nd Year Value$347

Travel insurance

Delayed BaggageUp to $500
Lost BaggageUp to $500
Flight DelayUp to $500
Hotel BurglaryUp to $500
Travel AccidentUp to $500,000

Purchase protection

Purchase ProtectionIncluded
Extended Warranty+1 years
Auto Rental Collision (primary)Up to $85,000 / 48 days

The car rental

Finally, for our car rental, we chose to use BMO Rewards points.

An inexpensive rental, since it cost us a little under 45,000 BMO Rewards points, most of which came from signing up for the BMO Ascend World Elite Mastercard: it offers 35,000 BMO Rewards points, 4 airport lounge visits, excellent insurance… and is free the first year.

Annual fee
$0 $150
No annual fee the first year
Our valuation
$820
Milesopedia first-year estimateFirst-year valueWelcome bonus$670Annual fee rebated$150Total$820Rewards on your spending are not included. The calculator that adds them from your own profile is on the card's page.
Welcome offer
Up to 100,000 points
+ First Year Annual Fee Rebate
Apply Now

on BMO's website

The BMO Ascend World Elite Mastercard is one of the best World Elite Mastercard travel rewards credit cards in Canada. With our welcome offer, you can get up to 100,000 BMO Rewards points, for a total value of up to $1,600.

Plus, there’s no annual fee in the first year for the primary cardholder and additional cardholders, and you benefit from a 0% introductory interest rate on balance transfers for 12 months (with a 2% balance transfer fee).

With the BMO Ascend World Elite Mastercard, you get:

  • 5 points per dollar on eligible travel*
  • 3 points per dollar on eligible dining, entertainment, and recurring bill payments*
  • 1 point per dollar on all other purchases*

The card also offers:

  • 4 complimentary airport lounge accesses per year via Mastercard Travel Pass provided by DragonPass*
  • comprehensive travel insurance, including emergency medical coverage up to $5 million for 21 days*
  • A NEXUS statement credit in the first year*
  • Six months of Instacart+ membership plus a monthly $10 Instacart credit with an eligible card*

Annual fee

Primary card$150
Additional card$50

Annual income required

Individual$80,000
Household$150,000

Conversion fees

2.5%

Earning rate

  • 5xTravel
  • 3xRestaurants
  • 3xStreaming
  • 3xBills & recurring payments
  • 3xEntertainment
  • 3xTelecom
  • 1xAll spending

Value

1st Year Value$1,148
2nd Year Value$289

Card benefits

Airport lounge access$160

Travel insurance

Travel medical (under 55)Up to $2,000,000 / 21 days
Travel medical (55-64)Up to $5,000,000 / 21 days
Trip CancellationUp to $1,500
Trip InterruptionUp to $2,000
Delayed BaggageUp to $500
Lost BaggageUp to $500
Flight DelayUp to $500
Hotel BurglaryUp to $1,000
Travel AccidentUp to $500,000

Purchase protection

Purchase ProtectionIncluded
Extended Warranty+1 years
Auto Rental CollisionUp to $65,000 / 48 days

Conclusion

And that’s how we put together this exceptional one-week romantic trip to the United Arab Emirates!

In the coming articles, you’ll find our photo reports on the flights we took and the hotels where we stayed.

abu dhabi

Our featured card

Annual fee
$150
Our valuation
$350
Milesopedia first-year estimateFirst-year valueWelcome bonus$350Total$350Rewards on your spending are not included. The calculator that adds them from your own profile is on the card's page.
Welcome offer
Up to 35,000 points
Ends Nov 1, 2026
Apply Now

on Scotiabank's website

With this welcome offer for the Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite +* Card +* CardMC, you’ll earn 25,000 welcome bonus Scene+ points after charging $2,000 in purchases to your account within the first three months.

Plus, every year, earn an annual bonus of at least 10,000 Scene+ points when you charge at least $40,000 in purchases to your account. In total, the offer represents up to 35,000 Scene+ points and a value of up to $1,250 in the first year, including rewards, savings on foreign transaction fees and airport lounge access.

With the Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite +* Card, you earn 3 points per $1 spent at Sobeys, IGA, Safeway, Foodland and participating Co-ops, and 2 points per $1 spent at other grocery stores, restaurants, eligible entertainment and eligible daily transit. You earn 1 point per $1 on all your other everyday purchases.

These points can be redeemed against any travel purchase at a rate of 1,000 points = $10 (flights, hotels, all-inclusives and even Airbnb), or as cash back with Scene+ at the same rate.

The Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite +* Card also offers:

  • No fees for foreign currency transactions
  • 6 complimentary airport VIP lounge passes
  • Excellent insurance for your travels and purchases
  • Visa Infinite* Concierge Services

We have named this credit card the Best Credit Card with No Foreign Transaction Fees in 2024, 2025, and 2026.

Annual fee

Primary card$150
Additional card$50

Annual income required

Individual$60,000
Household$100,000

Conversion fees

0%

Earning rate

  • 2xGroceries
  • 2xRestaurants
  • 2xTransit
  • 2xEntertainment
  • 1xAll spending

Value

1st Year Value$650
2nd Year Value$397

Card benefits

Concierge service24/7
Airport lounge access$240

Travel insurance

Travel medical (under 55)Up to $1,000,000 / 25 days
Travel medical (55-64)Up to $1,000,000 / 25 days
Travel medical (65+)Up to $1,000,000 / 3 days
Trip CancellationUp to $1,500
Trip InterruptionUp to $2,500
Delayed BaggageUp to $1,000
Lost BaggageUp to $1,000
Flight DelayUp to $500
Hotel BurglaryUp to $1,000
Travel AccidentUp to $500,000

Purchase protection

Purchase ProtectionIncluded
Extended Warranty+1 years
Auto Rental CollisionUp to $65,000 / 48 days

Our editorial integrity

Our reviews and rankings are based on an objective assessment. Advertisers do not influence our content. We may receive compensation through some links; our analysis and opinions remain independent.