Comparison: TD Platinum Travel Visa* Card vs. National Bank Platinum Mastercard® Card

To the point Here's our detailed comparison of the TD Platinum Travel Visa* Card and the National Bank Platinum Mastercard® Card.

Welcome bonus and annual benefits Minimum income The accumulation of points Redeeming points Insurance Bottom Line

TD and National Bank each offer a credit card called Platinum:

At first glance, Visa and Mastercard may appear to be identical, especially since their names are almost identical! But which one is the most advantageous?

Let’s look at each of their features in detail, to distinguish these two credit cards.

Welcome bonus and annual benefits

Until September 3, 2024, you can earn up to 50,000 TD Rewards points ($250 value), distributed as follows:

15,000 TD Rewards points on your first purchase with your Card
35,000 TD Rewards points after $1,000 in purchases in the first 3 months
Free 6-month subscription to Uber One ($60 value)

What’s more, there’s no annual fee ($89) for the first year on this TD Platinum Travel Visa* Card.

TD reimburses the full annual fee for additional cardholders ($120 value).

National Bank is offering 30,000 NBC Rewards points as a welcome bonus, broken down as follows:

10,000 points after $2,500 in purchases in the first 3 months ;
15,000 points after $6,500 in purchases in the first 12 months ;
5,000 points if you take out payment insurance for at least the first 3 months.

In addition, it provides reimbursement of the first year’s annual fee for the primary cardholder and one additional cardholder (maximum value of $105). Points can be worth up to $300.

Advantage: National Bank Platinum Mastercard^® card

The National Bank Platinum Mastercard^® wins this round by a narrow margin, thanks to its more advantageous points-based welcome bonus.

The Uber One advantage of the TD Platinum Travel Visa* Card and its ease of earning the welcome bonus are also worth mentioning.

Minimum income

There is no minimum annual income for this card.

To be eligible you must:

Be of the age of majority in your province or territory of residence
Be a Canadian resident

No minimum annual income is required.

The eligibility criteria for the National Bank Platinum Mastercard^® are :

Have reached the age of majority in your province/territory
Be a Canadian resident

It's a tie !

Both are exactly the same!

The accumulation of points

The TD Platinum Travel Visa* Card rewards the cardholder with :

5 TD Rewards points per dollar when booking a trip online at ExpediaForTD.com
3 TD Rewards points per dollar on groceries and pre-authorized recurring bill payments
2 TD Rewards points per dollar spent on other purchases

With the National Bank Platinum Mastercard^®, you can accumulate :

2 points per dollar on grocery store and restaurant purchases,
1.5 points per dollar for gas, electric recharges, recurring bills and À la Carte Travel
1 point per $1.5 for all other purchases

Benefit: TD Platinum Travel Visa Card

The earning rate of the TD card is higher than that of the NBC. Let’s analyze the most advantageous ways to redeem your points.

Every 200 TD Rewards points redeemed is worth $1 in savings on travel purchases made through Expedia for TD.

Every 10,000 NBC Rewards points redeemed are worth $100 in savings through the Plan à la carte NBC online travel agency. This is the equivalent of 100 points for every $1 saved.

Let’s look at what it would take to save a dollar:

	Grocery purchases and recurring bill payments	Other purchases
TD Platinum Travel Visa	66,67$	$ 100
National Bank Mastercard Platinum	$ 100	$ 100

The National Bank Platinum Mastercard^® is easy to remember!

Redeeming points

With the TD Platinum Travel Visa* Card, the best use of TD Rewards points is to redeem them when booking directly on the Expedia site for TD.

You can use your points to reimburse taxes, golf fees or resort tours.

Rewards	Points for $100
Exchange with Expediafor TD	20 000
Flexible travel rebates	25 000
Shop with TD Points at Amazon.ca	33 303
Gift-card	40 000
Statement credit	40 000

With the National Bank Platinum Mastercard, you can use your points for various rewards, including travel discounts such as an apartment rental on Airbnb, or SAQ gift cards.

Rewards	Points for $100
Exchange with the dedicated NBC à la carte travel agency	10 000
Flexible travel rebates (from 55,000 points redeemed)	11 000
Flexible travel rebates	12 000
Extras À La Carte RRSP or TFSA contribution Reimbursement of your all-in-one line of credit or mortgage loan	12 000
Gift-card	12,000 – 13,500
Statement credit	25 000

Advantage: National Bank Platinum Mastercard

To compare the two fairly, here are the grocery expenses you’d need to make to get $300 in travel credit.

Card	Expenses
TD Visa Platinum Card	20 001 $
National Bank Platinum Mastercard^®	$15,000

Insurance

Insurance
Trip Cancellation Insurance	None	Up to $1,250 per person
Trip Interruption Insurance	None	Up to $2,500 per person
Out of Province/Country Emergency Medical Insurance	None	Up to $5,000,000 for up to 10 days (age 76 and under)
Flight delay insurance	Up to $500 after 4 hours	Up to $500 after 4 hours
Delayed Baggage Insurance	Up to $1,000 after 6 hours	Up to $500 after 6 hours (up to $1,000 for lost, damaged or stolen baggage)
Hotel Burglary Insurance	Up to $2,500	None
Car Rental Theft and Damage Insurance	Up to $65,000	Up to $65,000
Travel accident insurance (public carrier)	Up to $500,000	None
Insurance -Purchase	Up to 90 days	Up to 2 additional years
Extended warranty – Purchase	Up to 1 additional year	180 days
Mobile Device Insurance	Up to $1,000	Up to $1,000

Here are all the details and conditions in :

Advantage: National Bank Platinum Mastercard

For insurance, the National Bank Platinum Mastercard^® is excellent.

It offers generous insurance of all kinds. In addition, it requires that only a portion of the travel expenses be charged to the account. This is quite rare, as the issuer usually requires the entire trip to be charged.

Bottom Line

So? Which Card is the winner?

In general, the National Bank Platinum Mastercard^® has a head start for :

Welcome bonus worth up to $300
Excellent insurance coverage even if you only charge a portion of the trip to your credit card
The fact that it can be used at Costco!

On the other hand, the TD Platinum Travel Visa* Card is gaining ground with :

Easy-to-obtain welcome bonus
Its higher accumulation rate means less spending to earn rewards

In the end, both cards are interesting for a start in travel rewards, but the National Bank Platinum Mastercard^® may be better suited to accompanying you abroad, thanks to its insurance.

If you’ve ever had one of these two cards, what are your comments? Come and point them out in the Milesopedia Facebook group.

To see the other cards, check out our ranking of the best travel credit card offers in Canada.