Points Pulse: Canada’s Favourite Cards, Avion Travel & 135K Blue Points
In this week’s edition of NerdWallet Canada’s Points Pulse:
Who came out on top in J.D. Power’s latest Canada Credit Card Satisfaction Study?
And the winner is…
For the second year in a row, American Express was Canada’s highest-ranked credit card issuer in J.D. Power’s annual Canada Credit Card Satisfaction Study. Hot on Amex’s heels were PC Financial and Tangerine Bank.
For the third consecutive year, Canadian Tire’s Triangle World Elite Mastercard was the highest-ranked no-fee credit card, followed by two PC Financial cards, the PC World Elite Mastercard and PC World Mastercard, in second and third place, respectively.
Also taking top honours for a third year running was the American Express Cobalt Card, Canadians’ top-ranked card with an annual fee. The PC Insiders World Elite Mastercard came in second, followed by the Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite +* Card.
Nerdy takeaway: Let’s hear it for PC Financial, which made a strong showing in J.D. Power’s three major categories. At a time when life’s so expensive, it’s easy to see why those PC World Mastercards, and their bonkers earn rates, are so popular among Canadians. We’ll have to wait until next year’s report to see how EQ Bank’s takeover of PC lands with consumers.
Avion Rewards Travel: First impressions
On September 14, RBC launched its redesigned Avion Rewards Travel platform. Built in partnership with Hopper Technology Solutions, the new all-in-one portal lets members book flights with more than 500 airlines, along with hotels, car rentals, activities and vacation packages.
Avion Rewards Travel comes with some potentially useful bells and whistles. An AI-driven price prediction tool advises members when to book flights to avoid peak fares. Price watch alerts can notify members when flight prices dip. Avion Premium and Avion Elite members can transfer Avion points into miles or frequent flyer points with certain partner airlines.
It wouldn’t be a credit card-related launch without a welcome bonus: Avion members who book eligible hotels through Avion Rewards Travel by October 31, 2026, can earn 3x the Avion points. And if you sign up for the RBC Avion Visa Infinite Card by November 25, 2026, you can receive up to 70,000 bonus Avion points.
Nerdy takeaway: Avion Travel’s Expedia-esque experience didn’t blow me away. There were plenty of flight, hotel and car rental options, and redeeming and converting points was straightforward.
The price predictor tool appears to respond to the cheapest flight surfaced during a search, not every flight option you select. And the “standard” fare option, where you pay more for a flight just so 80% of it is refundable, feels more like a pricey paid-refund option than a useful middle ground.
Jump through hoops, score Blue Rewards points
BMO’s current Blue Rewards bonus offer, an attempt to get more people to sign up for its Blue Rewards chequing account, runs until November 2, 2026. Up to 135,000 Blue Points are at stake, but BMO isn’t exactly giving them away for free.
To claim the full bonus, you have to:
Be, or become, a Blue Rewards member.
Sign up for a Blue Rewards chequing account, provide a valid email address and make a deposit by November 2.
Set up a recurring deposit of $500 or more and have the first deposit land by December 31.
Complete either two bill payments or pre-authorized debits (of at least $50 each) to two different payees by December 31, 2026.
Open a Savings Amplifier Account by November 2 and deposit at least $10,000 within 30 days. Maintain a daily balance of $10,000 or more for the next 180 days.
Create a goal and choose a strategy using BMO’s My Financial Progress tool, available through either the BMO app or online banking portal, by December 31.
Opening, funding and using the account for payments/deposits gets you 105,000 points. A Savings Amplifier account gets you another 22,500. Using My Financial Progress gets you another 7,500.
Nerdy takeaway: Are 135,000 Blue Points worth all this effort? Potentially — but the redemption value matters. To receive your bonus, you must keep your account open until at least November 2, 2027, which means incurring just over $215 in monthly fees. The cash value of 135,000 points when redeemed for merch is $900. That leaves roughly $685 in potential net value before accounting for the effort involved. Not a bad return.
The biggest catch is the $10,000 savings requirement: you’ll need to keep that money in the Savings Amplifier Account for 180 days. If moving your direct deposit and parking that cash fit your normal banking habits, the offer is compelling. Beyond the bonus, you can earn Blue Points on eligible debit transactions and 500 bonus points each month by maintaining a $4,000 minimum daily chequing balance.
Previous issues:
Points Pulse for September 8, 2026: Canadian Tire and Tim Hortons join forces
Points Pulse for August 24, 2026: Big changes to popular cash-back credit cards
Points Pulse for August 10, 2026: Mortgage rewards and hotel deals
Points Pulse for July 27, 2026: Aeroplan and Hyatt team up as WestJet strike risk grows
Points Pulse for July 13, 2026: Haventree enters everyday banking, Aeroplan rewards airport spending
Points Pulse for June 29, 2026: Concert tickets, plus deals and offers for July
In this week’s edition of NerdWallet Canada’s Points Pulse:
Who came out on top in J.D. Power’s latest Canada Credit Card Satisfaction Study?
Avion members have a new way to book their next adventure.
A whole bunch of Blue Rewards points are up for grabs.
Previous issues:
DIVE EVEN DEEPER
