Rewards programs

Which program earns the most per dollar spent?

The return of each program’s best card on $36,000 of everyday spending a year, annual fees deducted, from most to least generous.

  • Values taken from official pages or from an announced specialist benchmark
  • Cards ranked by net value, annual fees deducted
  • Official pages reread regularly

  1. 3.1% per dollar spent

    1st

    American Express Membership Rewards

    American Express Cobalt Card

  2. 2.6% per dollar spent

    2nd

    Scene+

    Scotiabank Gold American Express Card

  3. 1.9% per dollar spent

    3rd

    RBC Avion Rewards

    RBC ION+ Visa

The podium ranks the top three; tiers S, A, B and C group every program by return.

Annual spending levels

Each level is a basket of annual spending split across everyday categories. The returns and the ranking are recomputed for that basket.

  • Moderate — $24,000 / year
  • Standard — $36,000 / year
  • High — $60,000 / year

In a personalized analysis, your actual spending replaces this reference basket.

Tier S — the most generous: 2.5% and more per dollar

2 programs · $36,000-a-year basket

  1. 3.1% per dollar spent

    1

    American Express Membership Rewards

    Run by Amex Bank of Canada

    Best card

    American Express Cobalt Card

    $1,122 a year

    Redemption value of a point: 1.0¢ Official rate 4 cards listed

  2. 2.6% per dollar spent

    2

    Scene+

    Run by Scene+ (Scotiabank, Cineplex and Empire)

    Best card

    Scotiabank Gold American Express Card

    $936 a year

    Redemption value of a point: 1.0¢ Official rate 12 cards listed

Tier A — generous: 1.75% to 2.5%

2 programs · $36,000-a-year basket

  1. 1.9% per dollar spent

    3

    RBC Avion Rewards

    Run by Royal Bank of Canada

    Best card

    RBC ION+ Visa

    $672 a year

    Redemption value of a point: 1.0¢ Official rate 5 cards listed

  2. 1.9% per dollar spent

    4

    Aeroplan

    Run by Air Canada (Aeroplan Inc.)

    Best card

    TD Aeroplan Visa Infinite Card

    $671 a year

    Redemption value of a point: 2.0¢ Specialist benchmark (lower bound) 8 cards listed

Tier B — fair: 1% to 1.75%

10 programs · $36,000-a-year basket

  1. 1.7% per dollar spent

    5

    Desjardins BONUSDOLLARS

    Run by Desjardins Group

    Best card

    Odyssey Visa Infinite Privilege

    $599 a year

    Redemption value of a point: $1 Official rate 4 cards listed

  2. 1.6% per dollar spent

    6

    TD Rewards

    Run by The Toronto-Dominion Bank

    Best card

    TD First Class Travel Visa Infinite Card

    $569 a year

    Redemption value of a point: 0.5¢ Official rate 2 cards listed

  3. 1.5% per dollar spent

    7

    VIPorter

    Run by Porter Airlines (cards issued by BMO)

    Best card

    BMO VIPorter World Elite Mastercard

    $557 a year

    Redemption value of a point: 1.5¢ Official rate 3 cards listed

  4. 1.5% per dollar spent

    8

    BMO Rewards

    Run by BMO Bank of Montreal

    Best card

    BMO eclipse Visa Infinite Card

    $536 a year

    Redemption value of a point: 0.667¢ Official rate 4 cards listed

  5. 1.3% per dollar spent

    9

    Marriott Bonvoy

    Run by Marriott International (Canadian card issued by Amex Bank of Canada)

    Best card

    Marriott Bonvoy American Express Card

    $480 a year

    Redemption value of a point: 0.833¢ Official rate 1 card listed

  6. 1.3% per dollar spent

    10

    WestJet Rewards

    Run by WestJet (cards issued by RBC)

    Best card

    WestJet RBC World Elite Mastercard

    $473 a year

    Redemption value of a point: 1.0¢ Official rate 2 cards listed

  7. 1.2% per dollar spent

    11

    Avios (The British Airways Club)

    Run by British Airways (Canadian card issued by RBC)

    Best card

    RBC British Airways Visa Infinite

    $429 a year

    Redemption value of a point: 2.0¢ Specialist benchmark (lower bound) 1 card listed

  8. 1.1% per dollar spent

    12

    MBNA Rewards

    Run by MBNA, a division of The Toronto-Dominion Bank

    Best card

    MBNA Rewards Platinum Plus Mastercard

    $396 a year

    Redemption value of a point: 1.0¢ Official rate 2 cards listed

  9. 1.0% per dollar spent

    13

    PC Optimum

    Run by President's Choice Services Inc. (cards issued by President's Choice Bank)

    Best card

    PC Mastercard

    $360 a year

    Redemption value of a point: 0.1¢ Official rate 4 cards listed

  10. 1.0% per dollar spent

    14

    Amazon.ca Rewards (MBNA)

    Run by MBNA, a division of The Toronto-Dominion Bank, with Amazon

    Best card

    Amazon.ca Rewards Mastercard

    $360 a year

    Redemption value of a point: 1.0¢ Official rate 1 card listed

Tier C — modest: under 1%

4 programs · $36,000-a-year basket

  1. 0.9% per dollar spent

    15

    National Bank À la carte

    Run by National Bank of Canada

    Best card

    National Bank Platinum Mastercard

    $338 a year

    Redemption value of a point: 1.0¢ Official rate 2 cards listed

  2. 0.9% per dollar spent

    16

    CIBC Aventura

    Run by CIBC

    Best card

    CIBC U.S. Dollar Aventura Gold Visa Card

    $325 a year

    Redemption value of a point: 1.0¢ Specialist benchmark (lower bound) 5 cards listed

  3. 0.7% per dollar spent

    17

    CIBC Adapta

    Run by CIBC

    Best card

    CIBC Adapta Mastercard

    $240 a year

    Redemption value of a point: 0.667¢ Official rate 1 card listed

  4. 0.3% per dollar spent

    18

    BMO Blue Rewards

    Run by BMO Blue Rewards, Inc. (cards issued by Bank of Montreal)

    Best card

    BMO Blue Rewards Mastercard

    $123 a year

    Redemption value of a point: 0.667¢ Official rate 2 cards listed

Not ranked yet

1 program · $36,000-a-year basket

  • No ranked card yet

    Asia Miles (Cathay)

    Run by Cathay Pacific (Canadian card issued by Neo Financial)

    Redemption value of a point: 1.5¢ Specialist benchmark (lower bound) 1 card listed

How to read this ranking

Futello scale: return of the program’s best card on the standard reference basket ($36,000 a year), annual fees deducted, welcome bonuses excluded.

  • Tier S — the most generous: 2.5% and more per dollar
  • Tier A — generous: 1.75% to 2.5%
  • Tier B — fair: 1% to 1.75%
  • Tier C — modest: under 1%

Programs do not issue the same number of points per dollar: to compare two programs, look at the return per dollar spent, not the value of a point.