Head-to-Head: Amex Aeroplan Reserve vs. TD Aeroplan Visa Infinite Privilege

To the point Here's our comparison of two very similar cards: the American Express Aeroplan Reserve Card and the TD Aeroplan Visa Infinite Privilege Card.

Welcome bonus Minimum income Annual fee

Earning points Earning rates

Redeeming points

The Benefits Access to airport lounges Other benefits

Promotional offers Insurance Bottom Line

TD and American Express Canada offer two Aeroplan credit cards for frequent flyers:

Both by their black colour, their privileged and prestigious benefits, they are very similar. Let’s analyze the small details to see the differences.

Welcome bonus

The welcome bonus offered by each of these cards varies according to the promotions.

Here is how the current offer is structured:

Td Aeroplan Visa Infinite Privilege Card

With this welcome offer for the TD^® Aeroplan^® Visa Infinite Privilege* Credit Card, you can earn up to 85,000 Aeroplan points.

Here’s how:

20,000 Aeroplan points after first purchase
40,000 Aeroplan points after $10,000 in purchases within 180 days of account opening
25,000 Aeroplan points when you spend $15,000 within 12 months of account opening

Based on our valuation of Aeroplan points (2 cents per point), this welcome bonus corresponds to an approximate value of $1,700.

With this welcome offer for the American Express^®* Aeroplan^® Reserve Card, you can earn up to 85,000 Aeroplan points.

Here’s how:

60,000 Aeroplan points after charging $7,500 to your Card in the first three months
25,000 additional Aeroplan points by spending $2,500 in the 13th month

Based on our valuation of Aeroplan points (2 cents per point), this welcome bonus corresponds to an approximate value of $1,700.

Advantage: Draw

With these two offers, you can earn up to 85,000 Aeroplan points as a welcome bonus.

Based on our valuation of Aeroplan points (2 cents per point), this welcome bonus corresponds to an approximate value of $1,700.

Minimum income

The TD^® Aeroplan^® Visa Infinite Privilege* Credit Card requires an individual annual income of $150,000 or an household annual income of $200,000.

The American Express^® Aeroplan^®* Reserve Card requires no minimum income.

Advantage: American Express

Like the vast majority of American Express cards, this Card requires no minimum income.

If this is important to you, the American Express card is easier to get because the TD card requires much more.

Annual fee

The TD^® Aeroplan^® Visa Infinite Privilege* Credit Card has an annual fee of $599.

The American Express^® Aeroplan^®* Reserve Card has an annual fee of $599.

It's a tie !

There is no argument on this subject! The annual fees are exactly the same.

Earning points

The two cards offer different point earning rates.

Earning rates

With the TD^® Aeroplan^® Visa Infinite Privilege* Credit Card, you get different levels:

2 points per dollar for purchases with Air Canada and Air Canada Vacations
1.5 points per dollar on eligible gas, grocery, travel and restaurant purchases
1.25 points per $1 on all other purchases

With the American Express^® Aeroplan^®* Reserve Card, you earn :

3 points per dollar on eligible Air Canada and Air Canada Vacations purchases
2 points per dollar on restaurant, bar and food delivery purchases
1.25 points per dollar on everything else

Advantage: TD

The American Express^® Aeroplan^®* Reserve Card restricts its highest earning rate to Air Canada and Air Canada Vacations. If you do a lot of spending with these companies, this will benefit you.

The 2 points per dollar earning rate at restaurants give this card an edge. Therefore, you will get more points with it than with the 1.5 points of the TD card.

However, the most essential budget items such as groceries, gas and travel (hotels, etc.) are at 1.5 points for the TD^® Aeroplan^® Visa Infinite Privilege* Credit Card. That’s better than American Express. Especially since you can use it in more grocery stores like Provigo.

Finally, the game is tied for the basic earning rate, as you will get equal points with both cards throughout the year. Their earning rate is similar: 1.25 points per dollar.

Redeeming points

Both cards are designed for travellers who earn Aeroplan points.

These points are used to book airline tickets with Air Canada, Star Alliance and partner airlines. Browse the Aeroplan flight rewards chart.

You can also use your Aeroplan points for hotel reservations, car rentals or vacation packages with Air Canada Vacations.

With the TD^® Aeroplan^® Visa Infinite Privilege* Credit Card, you earn Aeroplan points.

With the American Express^® Aeroplan^®* Reserve Card, you earn Aeroplan points.

It's a tie !

Since both are used to earn Aeroplan points and both are co-branded Aeroplan cards, there is no one card that is better than the other.

Each month, both card transfer points to the cardholder’s Aeroplan account a few days after the statement is issued.

Once Aeroplan Points are in the Aeroplan account, there is no way out: you must use them only within the Aeroplan program. If you prefer a premium card with greater flexibility, choose the Platinum Card^®.

The Benefits

Access to airport lounges

The TD^® Aeroplan^® Visa Infinite Privilege* Credit Card offers complimentary, unlimited access to all Maple Leaf lounges in Canada and the United States. It also includes the international Maple Leaf lounge in Canada and the United States when travelling on an international itinerary.

In addition, it offers complimentary membership to the DragonPass program and six complimentary visits to these lounges per year of membership.

With the American Express^® Aeroplan^®* Reserve Card, access to all Maple Leaf lounges in Canada and the United States is complimentary and unlimited. It also includes the international Maple Leaf lounge in Canada and the United States when travelling on an international itinerary.

In addition, there is a free subscription to Priority Pass. However, you will have to pay for each access.

Advantage: TD

The TD^® Aeroplan^® Visa Infinite Privilege* Credit Card offers complimentary and unlimited access to Maple Leaf lounges and six additional visits to DragonPass lounges. This is perfect if the trip is to an airport not served by Air Canada.

Other benefits

With the TD^® Aeroplan^® Visa Infinite Privilege* Credit Card, you’ll have:

$100 statement credit every 4 years for NEXUS enrollment or renewal fees
Free first checked bag for you and up to 8 people travelling on the same reservation
Priority check-in and boarding at the airport when flying with Air Canada
Priority baggage handling and upgrades with Air Canada
Annual Companion Pass if you make $25,000 in purchases during the year
eUpgrades rollover to the following year
Priority international and domestic security checkpoint lines (Toronto, Vancouver, Ottawa, Montreal-Trudeau)
Metal card

With the American Express^® Aeroplan^®* Reserve Card, you receive the following benefits:

$100 statement credit every 4 years for NEXUS enrollment or renewal fees
Free first checked bag for you and up to 8 people travelling on the same reservation
Priority check-in and boarding at the airport when flying with Air Canada
Priority baggage handling and upgrades with Air Canada
Annual Companion Pass if you make $25,000 in purchases during the year
eUpgrades rollover to the following year
Access to priority security screening at Toronto Pearson International Airport
Metal card

Advantage: TD

The benefits of both card are virtually identical.

The only difference is that the TD Card has access to priority security screening at the country’s largest airports. The American Express Card has access to the same security screening only in Toronto.

Promotional offers

With the TD^® Aeroplan^® Visa Infinite Privilege* Credit Card, for example, cardholders were able to take advantage of certain promotional offers:

Earn Aeroplan credits or points on your account
Link your account with Starbucks
Various promotions with Aeroplan for Aeroplan points rebates or discounts on flights

American Express is known for its promotional offers.

For example, with the American Express^® Aeroplan^®* Reserve Card, Cardmembers have been able to take advantage of several promotional offers in the past year such as:

$100 credit for $100 restaurant purchase
$10 credit for purchases at Amazon
$20 credit towards purchases at lululemon
Various events Shop Small

Advantage: American Express

Due to its wide range of promotional offers, the Reserve’s offers are the best.

Indeed, they are not limited to Air Canada or Aeroplan. They involve many different types of merchants (1Password, Marriott Bonvoy, Quickbooks, TurboTax, Columbia, Kinton Ramen, etc).

Insurance

Insurance
Trip Cancellation Insurance	Up to $2,500	Up to $1,500
Trip Interruption Insurance	Up to $5,000	Up to $1,500
Out of Province/Country Emergency Medical Insurance	Up to $5,000,000 31 days	Up to $5,000,000 15 days
Flight delay insurance	Up to $1,000 after 4 hours	Up to $1,000 after 4 hours
Misdirected Baggage Insurance	Up to $1,000 after 4 hours	Up to $1,000 after 6 hours
Lost or stolen luggage insurance	Up to $2,500	Up to $1,000
Hotel Burglary Insurance	Up to $2,500	Up to $1,000
Car Rental Theft and Damage Insurance	Up to $85,000	Up to $85,000
Travel accident insurance	$500,000	$500,000
Buyer’s Assurance^® Protection Plan	2 additional years	1 additional year
Purchase Protection^® Plan	Up to $1,000 120 days	Up to $1,000 90 days

Advantage: TD

The insurance offered by the TD^® Aeroplan^® Visa Infinite Privilege* Credit Card ^MD is superior. Especially for trip cancellation and interruption, as well as for the duration of emergency medical expenses.

In addition, it offers 4-day, $5,000,000 medical coverage for those 65 years of age and older. While the Prestige card offers nothing for this age group.