Photo by Simon Maage on Unsplash
Ever wonder why some travelers get to fly, take luxurious vacations, & stay at hotels for - nearly - free, while others struggle to scrape up the cash to stay at hostels, or even eat?
By the way, I’ve experienced this as well. And I’m here to tell you that I’ve learned new ways of traveling lavishly while staying within your budget.
The secret? Miles & Points.
Travel credit cards that allow you to earn flight and hotel points on regular everyday transactions, yet ones that’ll convert into the experiences of your lifetimes when you finally decide to make use of those points on your backpacking adventures.
So without further ado, I’m going to unlock the best miles & points travel credit cards for backpackers in the U.S. and Canada. Because at the end of the day, while backpacking and roughing it are part of the journey, who doesn’t want to pamper themselves a little bit from time to time - and not feel guilty for overspending when they do it?
Also keep in mind that there’s no such thing as “the best” card, as each card offers its own rewards, benefits, and incentives. Your choices will depend on your preferences and priorities - i.e. would you rather own more bonus miles, greater hotel perks, or travel insurance benefits?
As such, we recommend you always do your research, and look for cards that we might not have included on our list. For budget’s sake, we’ve tried to include the cards with a $0 or - comparatively - cheap annual fee.
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
Top Canadian Miles & Points Credit Cards:
Top Canadian Miles & Points Credit Cards:
American Express® Green Card - This card allows you to earn a generous Welcome Bonus of 10K Membership Rewards, which could be converted into travel points - equalling about $100.
The best part? There’s no annual fee! And no minimum income requirement, so you could enjoy the card’s travel benefits - gratis.
Amex also makes it super convenient to retrieve travel points, allowing you to do so on Amazon. If you book through American Express Travel, you can increase your points twofold.
You can also move your points 1:1 to several recurrent flier and loyalty programs like Aeroplan and Marriott Bonvoy. This facilitates flight savings and accommodations while overseas.
The only thing with American Express cards, as you may already know, is that they’re not as widely accepted in Canada as they are in the U.S. Still, for a free card, earning travel points on transactions where you can use it isn’t a bad bargain at all.
Scotiabank Passport™ Visa Infinite* Card - This card offers a $0 annual fee in the first year, and then $150 annual fee for every subsequent year. You also get 30K bonus points upon sign up (a $300 value), and access to 1200 global airport lounges six times annually.
Best of all, there are no foreign transaction fees when using this card, meaning you save 2.5% on all non-Canadian purchases.
You also get tons of travel coverage and Visa Infinite benefits - such as the Visa Infinite Luxury Hotel Collection, Visa Infinite Dining series, and a complimentary Avis Preferred Plus membership.
You do, however, need a minimum income of $60K and at least a 725 credit score to be eligible to sign up for this card - so it’s not for everybody.
And if you are qualified to own it, then this one’s a steal, even with the annual fee.
Scotiabank®* Gold American Express® Card - Though this card does require a $120 annual fee, you only need a $12K annual income to be eligible to sign up for it, and you get a 40K welcome bonus (a $400 value).
Much like our previous selection, this card also offers no foreign exchange fees, a high spend return - five points per $1 spent on groceries, restaurants, food delivery, and entertainment as well as three points per $1 spent on gas and transit -, and ample travel insurance coverage.
Again, it’s Amex, so it won’t be accepted everywhere in Canada; you’ve got to admit, these benefits rock, so it’s worth having it for places where you can use it.
Top American Miles & Points Credit Cards:
Chase Freedom Unlimited - For those of you looking for a $0 annual fee and a card that earns a humble 1.5% cash-back rate on all purchases and elevated rewards in departments like drugstores, restaurants and select travel, this one would do it.
If, however, you want to redeem travel points, Chase Sapphire is more worth it, though it does have a $95 annual fee. That said, the latter’s travel benefits and insurance protections, no foreign transaction fees, and strong sign-up incentives - like the 60K bonus points you earn (that’s about a $600 value) if you spend $4K in your first three months of signing up for the card - can elevate your adventures additionally.
This card also offers 25% more value for your points when you book travel through Chase, and it unlocks the ability to transfer points to travel partners for potentially enormous value.
Capital One VentureOne Rewards Credit Card - We chose this one because it’s free ($0 annual fee), and you can earn a 20K mile bonus after spending $500 in your first three months of using the card.
While it doesn’t earn you as many miles as the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card or the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card - both of which have a respective annual fee of $95 and $395 -, for a $0 annual fee, it’s a steal.
Even if you plan to fly economy - which is what I’ve done so far in my life - what does it matter if it’s free and you save 100s of dollars?
Toss up between American Airlines AAdvantage® MileUp® - which earns you 15K bonus miles if you spend $500 within the first three months of opening your account - and the United Gateway℠ Card - which currently has a limited time offer of earning you 30K bonus miles if you spend $1000 within the first three months of opening your account.
The latter also offers a 0% APR for the first year of having the card.
Both cards offer a $0 annual fee, though the latter requires a good to great credit score (670-850).
Keep in mind - and you probably know this -, we’ve just hit the tip of the iceberg in terms of travel cards.
As I mentioned, there are many options, and each card will be more attractive to some than to others based on what they’re looking for and prioritizing.
Google best Miles & Points travel cards in your country, and research. We just want to launch you off the ground, and open your eyes to what’s out there - as well as how you could use these cards to backpack like royalty whilst remaining within - or below - your budget.
Alright, folks, let’s wrap it up for this one.
I hope you got some value from this article, and that you realize that backpacking on a budget doesn’t necessarily mean that you have to sacrifice the good stuff.
You’re already using credit cards in your day-to-day life, right? So why not employ ones that’ll benefit your interests in the long term as well as in the short term?
You owe it to yourself to have the backpacking adventures of your life without overspending.
If you found value in this article, consider liking our Facebook, Twitter / X, and Instagram pages to receive weekly, actionable budget backpacking tips & tricks that’ll teach you how to experience everything that the world has to offer without sacrificing your wallet.
Offer up your own backpacking & travel insights by commenting on our blog posts or on the aforementioned SM channels, and we’ll see you all next week!
P.S. Don’t forget to stay resilient out there, both on your travels, and in life.