Summer is here, and a road trip could be in your future (assuming the price of gas hasn’t gotten you down).
Between Canada and the United States, the roads seem endless and there are countless places for you to explore by simply hopping in your car and hitting the open road.
There’s one thing you’re going to want – the perfect credit card to be your companion.
With the right credit card, you could earn plenty of rewards you could use towards a future trip, save on foreign exchange fees if a cross-border trip is your plan, and get help if you need it with roadside assistance.
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5 things every road trip ready credit card should have
We have 5 things that you’ll want in a credit card for a road trip.
There are 3 key elements that you’ll be paying for with any road trip. You need fuel, places to stay, and you’ll need to eat.
A good road trip credit card will ideally offer rewards in these 3 categories:
- gas,
- hotels (or any travel), and
- restaurants (with groceries being a plus).
There are a couple of other things that are also helpful.
Cars are mechanical contraptions, and who knows what can happen while you’re pouring on the miles during a road trip. Even the best maintained cars can run into trouble. Or it could be something as simple as you locked your keys in your car, your battery is dead, or you got a flat tire.
Enter free roadside assistance. A couple of credit cards in Canada will provide this, saving you on a CAA membership.
Finally, if your road trip plans happen to take you into the U.S, a credit card with no foreign exchange fees is your ticket to saving big money on fees. In fact, your savings could potentially outweigh any rewards you would earn if your card doesn’t have it. This one is obviously optional, but it also nevers hurts to never have to pay these fees.
Best credit cards for summer road trips in Canada
So which credit cards meet all 5 requirements? Unfortunately, there aren’t any. Poring over the data of
But we can come extremely close. It turns out only a couple of credit cards offer bonus rewards in our 3 categories.
And for cards that offer roadside assistance or no foreign exchange fees, they only have 2 categories that offer those bonus rewards.
If you’re wondering, there are no credit cards that have both roadside assistance and no foreign exchange fees.
With all that said, here are our choices for best credit cards for road trips.
| Credit Card | Welcome Bonus | Earn Rates On Gas, Restaurants, And Hotels | Annual Fee, Income Requirements | Apply Now |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| American Express Cobalt | Up to 15,000 bonus points (terms) | Gas: 2 points per $1 spent Restaurants: 5 points per $1 spent Hotels: 2 points per $1 spent |
* $155.88 * None |
Apply Now |
| Tangerine Mastercard |  $125 GeniusCash + 10% extra cash back for the first 2 months (terms) |
Gas: 2% cash back Restaurants: 2% cash back Hotels: 2% cash back |
* $0 * $12K personal |
Apply Now |
| Scotiabank Gold American Express | $60 GeniusCash + Up to 50,000 bonus points, first year free (terms) |
Gas: 3 points per $1 spent Restaurants: 5 points per $1 spent Hotels: 1 point per $1 spent |
* $120 * $12K personal |
Apply Now |
| BMO CashBack World Elite Mastercard | $150 GeniusCash + Up to $480 cash back in the first year, first year free (terms) |
Gas: 3% cash back (up to $300 in spend) Restaurants: 1% cash back Hotels: 1% cash back |
* $120 * $80K personal/$150K household |
Apply Now |
| Marriott Bonvoy American Express | 50,000 bonus points (terms) | Gas: 2 points per $1 Restaurants: 2 points per $1 spent Marriott Hotels: 5 points per $1 (2 point on others) |
* $120 * None |
Apply Now |
1. The best credit card for road trips
Transfer points to Aeroplan and 7 other travel partners with Canada's #1 credit card.* Transfer points to Aeroplan and 7 other travel partners with Canada's #1 credit card.*
×8 Award winner 
8x Award winner
It’s our best travel, restaurant, and gas credit card (as well as best overall). So it should be no surprise that the
It’s one of those few cards that offers high rewards on our 3 key categories:
- 5 points per $1 spent on eligible groceries and restaurants
- 3 points per $1 spent on eligible streaming services
- 2 points per $1 spent on eligible gas, transit, and ride share purchases
- 1 point per $1 spent on foreign currency purchases
- 1 point per $1 spent on all other purchases
How does that translate for a return? At maximum value, Amex Membership Rewards are worth up to 2 cents each when transferred to Aeroplam, giving a maximum return of up to 10% on purchases.
Flights not in your future, or don’t want to transfer your points to Aeroplan? You’ve got other options.
You can transfer them to either Marriott Bonvoy or Hilton Honors if you want to turn them into free nights.
You can also redeem them for any purchase charged to your card. Each point is worth 1 cent, still giving you a high return of up to 5%.
One issue we will discuss here – Amex acceptance. Many cards on our list belong to the American Express network.
For gas stations and major hotel chains – you won’t run into any problems, nearly all of them take Amex.
But for independent hotels and restaurants, that may not always be the case. If you want to check in advance if any place takes Amex, there’s a map you can check where American Express will show you where it’s taken.
And if it does concern you, we suggest also getting the next credit card on our list…
2. The best no annual fee credit card for road trips
×1 Award winner 
GC: $125
1x Award winner
You may be surprised to hear, but there is a no fee credit card that offers bonus rewards on all 3 categories – the
You get to choose which categories earn you 2% cash back, from a list of 10. And all 3 of our required categories are here:
With that said, you only get to choose 3 categories if you get your rewards deposited into a Tangerine savings account (they’re free and have no minimum deposit requirement). If you simply get your cash back applied as a statement credit, you get to choose 2 categories. You’ll earn 0.5% cash back on all other purchases.
If you meet World Mastercard requirements of $60,000 personal or $100,000 household, you can get the
It offers the same rewards for no annual fee, plus comes with a few extras, like mobile device and car rental insurance.
GC: $125
One question you may have if you already have one of these cards – can I change my categories?
The answer is yes. If you’ve never changed them, your first change takes effect immediately. If that’s already been done, you can request to have another category changed, however the change won’t take effect for 90 days. You can’t change multiple categories at once, you can only do one at a time.
3. The best no foreign exchange fee credit card for road trips
×1 Award winner GC: $60
1x Award winner
For trips to the U.S., saving the typical 2.5% fee most credit cards charge for foreign currency can lead to big savings.
The
- 6 Scene+ points per $1 spent at Sobeys, Safeway, FreshCo and more
- 5 Scene+ points per $1 spent on groceries, dining, and entertainment
- 3 Scene+ points per $1 spent on gas, select streaming services, and transit
- 1 Scene+ point per $1 spent on foreign currency purchases
- 1 Scene+ point per $1 spent on all other purchases
It doesn’t cover all 3 rewards categories, but at least 2 of them are covered. One point to note – you won’t earn bonus rewards on foreign exchange purchases – you only get the base rate of 1 point per $1 spent.
Each of these Scene+ points are worth up to 1 cent when redeemed for travel, and up to 0.7 cents when redeemed for cash.
No fx fee Visa and Mastercard alternatives
If you would prefer a Visa or Mastercard for your no fx fee card, here are a couple of choices.
First, there’s the
GC: $30
There’s also the Brim Mastercard family. Each of these cards has no fx fees and offers a high flat rate on every purchase, with annual fees ranging from $0 to $89.
4. The best credit card with free roadside assistance
GC: $150
There are only a few credit cards in Canada with free roadside assistance. The best one of the bunch is the
A cash back credit card, here’s what you’ll get for rewards:
- 5% cash back on groceries, up to $500 in monthly spend
- 4% cash back on transit, up to $300 in monthly spend
- 3% cash back on gas, up to $300 in monthly spend
- 2% cash back on recurring bills, up to $500 in monthly spend
- 1% cash back on all other purchases
Only one category is covered, but at least you’re still earning 1% cash back on everything.
But that roadside assistance is almost the price of the annual fee, and you’re still getting a World Elite Mastercard chock full of goodies.
5. The best credit card for free hotel nights
The ultimate credit card for free hotel nights is the
Here’s what you’ll earn for Marriott Bonvoy points:
- 5 points per $1 spent at Marriott properties
- 2 points per $1 spent on all other purchases
A very sweet earn rate for staying at Marriott hotels, but also on everything you charge to the card. We estimate an average value of 0.97 cents per Marriott point, giving all your purchases a return of 1.94% (4.85% at Marriott).
That’s all well and good. But what really makes it sweet for free hotel nights are the Marriott benefits.
Namely, the annual free night certificate. Every year on your anniversary, you’ll get an annual free night stay worth up to 35,000 points. It’s not available to you in year 1, but the 50,000 point welcome bonus is more than ample for a free night or 2.
On top of that, you’ll also receive automatic Marriott Bonvoy Silver Elite status and 15 Elite night credits.
6. Business credit cards for road trips
Small business owner looking for a credit card that fits for earning points on gas, travel, or restaurants?
Here are a few business credit cards to look at, and here is our listing of the best business credit cards available.
×1 Award winner GC: $100
1x Award winner
×1 Award winner GC: $100
1x Award winner
Comparing the best credit cards for road trips
How do our top 5 credit cards compare? Here’s the comparison in a few key areas.
Earn rates
Let’s start with the earn rates.
For this, we’ve calculated the average rate of return for each card with this spending for a road trip of 7 days:
- $700 on gas,
- $1,400 on hotels, and
- $1,200 on restaurants.
All these cards perform well except the BMO card, which unfortunately only has one bonus earn rate on our 3 chosen categories (and has a cap at that).
But you can simply pair it with a Tangerine Mastercard to offset that.
Annual fees
What about those annual fees? Here’s what you’ll pay to keep these cards in your wallet year after year.
Nothing outrageous here when it comes to annual fees, but the Tangerine Money-Back Credit Card is top of the class here.
Income requirements
Finally the income requirements – the barrier you have to meet for entry.
Other than the BMO Mastercard, the income requirements for the other credit cards are quite reasonable.
Your turn
Road trips are an excellent way to explore our country without the hassle of getting on a plane.
And with the right credit card, you can earn more rewards to get even more out of what you spend.
What’s your go-to credit card for road trips?
Let us know in the comments below.
FAQ
What is the best credit card for road trips in Canada?
The best credit card for road trips in Canada is the American Express Cobalt. You can earn up to 5 points per $1 spent on your purchases, which translates to a return of up to 10% on purchases as each point is worth up to 2 cents.
What should you look for in a credit card for a road trip?
There are a few things you should look for in a credit card for a road trip. It’s best to have a credit card that earns bonus rewards on gas, hotels, and restaurants, as those are your primary expenses when travelling. Having free roadside assistance is also a plus in case something happens. And if you’re heading to the U.S., a credit card with no foreign exchange fees can help save the typical 2.5% fee most cards charge on foreign currency purchases.
What is the best credit card for gas and restaurants?
The best credit card for both gas and restaurant purchases is the Amex Cobalt. You’ll earn 5 points per $1 spent on restaurants and 2 points per $1 spent on gas.
What is the best credit card for hotel stays?
For free hotel stays, the Marriott Bonvoy Amex is hard to beat. You’ll earn 2 points per $1 spent on all purchases (5 points per $1 spent at Marriott hotels). But the best part is the annual free night certificate. You’ll earn a free night worth up to 35,000 points every year on your card’s anniversary.
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