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In Canada, there are lots of loyalty programs to choose from, each one letting you earn points that can save you money on travel, groceries, your credit card bill, and more!
This guide gives you our picks for the best loyalty programs for newcomers to Canada to help you navigate your options and set you on a money-saving loyalty program path.
The best loyalty programs for newcomers to Canada are:
Of course, choosing which loyalty programs to sign up for will depend on your personal priorities and desires in terms of what type of rewards are most helpful and valuable to you.
To help you choose a loyalty program or two that fit your financial and travel goals, we give you an overview of each program in the sections below and connect you with additional guides for more in-depth details.
When choosing your first loyalty program or two, you’ll want to consider the following:
In our list of the best loyalty programs for newcomers to Canada, we’ve included a range of programs, some focusing on free/discount flights, some on free hotel stays, and many offering flexible rewards that can be redeemed in lots of different ways.
With all of the programs, the fastest way to earn points is usually with a co-branded credit card. In fact, in many cases, spending on a credit card is the only way to earn points.
However, there are programs like Scene+ and PC Optimum that let you earn points through eligible purchases by simply signing up for a free membership and scanning your card.
Additionally, with Aeroplan and Marriott Bonvoy, you can earn points when you purchase eligible flights and hotel stays, respectively.
This means that you’ll want to consider your loyalty program preferences when selecting your first credit card so that you can earn a loyalty currency that’s valuable to you.
Luckily, though, you don’t have to only pick one loyalty program — you’re very welcome to earn points with multiple programs by having multiple credit cards and by using the right combination of credit cards and program membership cards.
With all this in mind, every loyalty program is a little bit different, so let’s take a look at each of the 10 on our list:
American Express’ Membership Rewards program is one of the most valuable loyalty programs in Canada.
As a member, you earn membership rewards (MR) points, which are accumulated by making purchases on a handful of American Express credit cards. The number of points you earn is based on the specific card’s earning rate and the type of purchase you made.
For newcomers to Canada, we recommend starting with either the American Express® Green Card or the American Express Cobalt® Card, as these are the most accessible of the American Express credit cards that earn MR points.
A big part of what makes this program so excellent is that MR points can be redeemed many different ways. Not only can you use your MR points for merchandise and gift cards, but you can also use your points for travel and to offset the cost of any purchase made on the card.
Additionally, and possibly most importantly (depending on your travel desires), MR points can also be transferred to a handful of other loyalty programs, like the popular Aeroplan program and the Marriott Bonvoy program.
The American Express Cobalt® Card is one of the best credit cards in Canada thanks to its high earning rates, and it’s one that everyone on the Milesopedia team has in their wallet, so we especially recommend considering this one.
Aeroplan is the loyalty program for Air Canada, and as a member of the program, you earn Aeroplan points.
The best ways to earn Aeroplan points are by flying with Air Canada and partner airlines, transferring American Express MR points, and by spending on co-branded credit cards like TD® Aeroplan® Visa Platinum* Card and the CIBC Aeroplan® Visa* Card.
To help you dig deeper into this valuable program, check out our great guides about choosing the best Aeroplan credit card for you and comparing the American Express card options that earn Aeroplan points.
This loyalty program can be quite valuable when you redeem your Aeroplan points for free or discounted flights with Air Canada or their airline partners. These flights can also potentially include a bonus city thanks to Aeroplan’s generous stopover rules.
Aeroplan points can also be redeemed for car rentals, hotel stays, gift cards, merchandise, and more — though the best value is almost always going to be found in award flight redemptions.
Check out our Aeroplan redemption tips, which will help you find the best deals so that you can travel to all of the fantastic destinations you’re dreaming of.
Make sure to read our Aeroplan Program Guide for Newcomers to Canada to start off the right way with this program.
The next loyalty program that may be of interest for newcomers to Canada is Marriott Bonvoy.
With this program, you earn Marriott Bonvoy points when you stay at any of Marriott’s 9,000+ properties around the world and by spending on a co-branded credit card, like the Marriott Bonvoy® American Express®* Card, or by transferring points from your American Express Membership Rewards account.
Marriott Bonvoy is unique on this list because it’s the only program with its redemptions focused specifically on getting free nights at hotels.
With Marriott Bonvoy points, you can enjoy redemptions for free nights at Marriott’s thousands of properties, including in top destinations like Tokyo, Bali, and the Maldives.
If you’re someone who prefers a little more variety in your redemption options, you’re likely going to find this next option quite attractive.
Scotiabank’s Scene+ program lets you quickly earn Scene+ points by spending with partnered merchants and by making purchases on credit cards like the Scotiabank American Express Card and Scotiabank Scene+™ VISA* Card.
What’s also great about this program is that you can earn and redeem points without having to get a credit card.
Although you’ll earn points faster with a Scene+ credit card, you can easily add this program to your loyalty points wallet by simply signing up for free and scanning your membership card at participating grocery stores, restaurants, and merchants.
Another big part of what makes this program great is that Scene+ points are quite flexible, giving you lots of choice in how and when you redeem them. The best ways to use your Scene+ points include redeeming to save on travel, groceries, restaurants meals, gift cards, entertainment, and more.
When talking about the best loyalty programs for newcomers to Canada, it would be impossible not to mention all the options offered by Canada’s biggest banks.
TD Bank offers its clients the opportunity to choose a TD Rewards credit card like the TD Rewards Visa* Card and the TD Platinum Travel Visa* Card to earn TD Rewards Points on all their purchases.
With this loyalty program, cardholders can earn up to 8 TD Rewards Points per $1 spent, and these points can then be redeemed for travel, Amazon.ca purchases, merchandise, gift cards, and more.
The value of TD Rewards Points varies depending on how you choose to redeem them, but if you’re interested in maximizing your earned points, we highly recommend checking out our guide to travel redemptions with Expedia for TD.
RBC Avion is yet another of the best loyalty programs for newcomers to Canada thanks to its ease of earning, solid value, and ability to transfer to other programs.
Depending on which Avion credit card(s) you have, you can either book a flight directly with your Avion points or you can use your points like cash to offset your flight’s cost.
What’s more, with the Avion Rewards Pay feature, you can use your points to cover general purchases made on your credit card.
Additionally, since this is a travel-focused program, it’s no surprise that one of the most valuable redemption options is to transfer your Avion points to other airline programs. If you’re an Avion Elite member, you can transfer points to WestJet Rewards, British Airways Club, Cathay Pacific Asia Miles, and American Airlines AAdvantage, while other Avion members can enjoy transfers exclusively with WestJet.
Plus, you can transfer Avion points between two accounts, making it easier to accumulate a large amount of points quickly.
To start earning RBC Avion points, consider the program’s most accessible credit card options, like the RBC ION Visa Card, the RBC ION+ Visa Card, and the RBC Avion Visa Platinum.
As a newcomer to Canada, if you’re considering taking advantage of National Bank’s chequing account for newcomers offer, you may also want to look at the NBC Rewards loyalty program.
With this program, you earn NBC À la carte Rewards points by spending on one of the bank’s credit cards, like the National Bank Platinum Mastercard®.
Your accumulated points can then be redeemed for products from the NBC Boutique and financial rewards like investments in your TFSA or statement credits to cover your expenses.
Additionally, you can use your NBC Rewards points for travel bookings made through the À la carte Travel portal and to reimburse travel expenses that you’ve charged to your eligible National Bank credit card.
We’ve got a great guide on how to use your NBC Rewards points on your travels, so consider taking a peak if you’re interested in saving on your next vacation or trip to visit family and friends.
With the BMO Rewards loyalty program, you earn BMO Rewards points by making purchases with one of the program’s credit cards, like the BMO eclipse rise Visa* Card.
Similarly to the other bank loyalty programs, BMO Rewards points can be redeemed a variety of ways.
For example, your points can not only be redeemed for travel, merchandise, gift cards, and statement credits, but you can even use them to invest in your BMO accounts, essentially turning them into cash.
With so many options, it’s easy to use your BMO Rewards points in a way that suits your financial style, whether your goal is to save a bit of money or to get yourself a little treat.
CIBC Aventura is another of the best loyalty programs for newcomers to Canada, and much like the programs from BMO, TD, and National Bank, it also gives you lots of ways to redeem.
By using a CIBC Aventura credit card like the CIBC Aventura® Visa* Card, you can earn the bank’s flexible Aventura points on all your purchases.
These points can be redeemed for things like gift cards, merchandise, statement credits, and investing; however, our favourite way to use Aventura points is for cheap travel by redeeming the points to cover travel expenses on your credit card or by using them to book a flight with the Aventura Airline Reward Chart.
The PC Optimum program is free to join, and stands out from most of the loyalty programs mentioned above because it doesn’t require a credit card to earn points.
In terms of how the PC Optimum loyalty program works, you can earn points at participating Loblaws-owned grocery stores (Loblaws, No Frills, Real Canadian Superstore, etc.), drug stores (Shoppers Drug Mart and Pharmaprix), gas stations (Esso and Mobil), and retailers.
You can also speed up your earning rate by getting a PC Financial credit card like the PC Financial Mastercard, which lets you earn PC Optimum points on all your purchases.
PC Optimum points are best spent on free groceries and merchandise at grocery stores and drug stores, where you can redeem 10,000 points for $10 off your purchase. Additionally, if you’re patient, you can save your points for a bonus redemption event to get some extra value when you redeem.
You can also check out our best tips for earning and redeeming PC Optimum points to learn more about the ins and outs of this helpful program.
As you can see from above, the best loyalty programs for newcomers to Canada offer the chance to earn a variety of different types of points with a range of redemption options.
Choosing the ideal program for yourself depends on whether you’re most interested in saving on travel, lowering your grocery bill, or rewarding yourself with some free merchandise or gift cards, and how important flexibility and transferability is to you.
Given this, it’s important to give some thought to what type of redemption is most appealing to you, and you may also want to explore a few of our more general guides to gain even more insight into how these programs work.
That said, don’t worry too much about which program you start with since most people are members of multiple loyalty programs, letting them enjoy a diversity of rewards!
Yes, you can be a member of as many loyalty programs as you’d like!
Yes, you can get a credit card without having a credit history in Canada. Most of Canada’s big banks (BMO, CIBC, TD, Scotiabank, National Bank, and RBC) will help you find an appropriate credit card when you’re just starting out on your credit journey.
No, you don’t always need a credit card to earn loyalty points.
Loyalty programs like PC Optimum and Scene+ let you earn points by inputting your member number or by scanning your member card when you make a purchase at an eligible retailer.
Additionally, airline and hotel loyalty programs let you earn points when you book eligible flights and hotel stays without the need for the use of a specific type of credit card.
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