October 28, 2026
You hear all the talk of points and miles and think, “This is great. This is the solution I have been looking for to make my travel dreams come true.” Then the analysis paralysis sets in, there are so many cards you could open. Which cards have the best offers right now? Where do I want to travel first? What airline should I fly with? And the list goes on. One approach is to open as many cards as possible to build a stockpile of points, but this can be overwhelming. It’s much easier to plan your trip and then strategically open the cards that are required.
Planning the Trip:
First off, where do you want to go? Hawaii, Mexico, or maybe Europe? For this example, I am going to use Oahu, Hawaii. To travel to Hawaii, I can fly either Air Canada or WestJet. The easiest way to search is through Google Flights and then go to the airline’s website to confirm availability. I am big on daytime flights, and it looks like my best option is to fly with Air Canada.
Second, where are you going to stay? Maybe you have a dream resort in mind. If not, you can browse the Marriott website, Aeroplan HotelSavers, the Amex portal, or the RBC Avion portal. I personally like booking directly with Marriott on points, as it’s very easy to cancel if plans change. My second favourite is Aeroplan HotelSavers. They have partnered with multiple different hotel chains, giving you options for great hotel stays for a reasonable number of points. Let’s say I choose The Royal Hawaiian on Waikiki Beach, a Marriott hotel.
The points we need:
- Aeroplan – for flying
- Marriott – for hotels
Now it’s time to plan my credit cards. Keep in mind that Amex will have your highest welcome bonuses, and generally, RBC Avion points are second highest. Both Aeroplan and Marriott have co-branded credit cards that can be opened to earn welcome bonuses. You will probably need more points than those welcome bonuses will offer, though, and that is where you want to look at transferable points. American Express and RBC Avion are the only transferable points currencies in Canada, but only American Express transfers to hotels; RBC Avion is strictly for flights. In this scenario, I am going to want to stockpile American Express points, as they transfer to Air Canada and Marriott. If I were flying WestJet, I would be looking to stockpile RBC Avion points.
For American Express, I highly recommend the Cobalt card if you don’t already have it, to earn 5X on groceries. You could also look at utilizing a welcome bonus from the Gold Card or Platinum Card if you need more points quickly.
Now that you have a plan in place, your order of opening cards could look something like this:
- Cobalt Card
- American Express Marriott Card
- TD Aeroplan Visa Infinite Card or the American Express Aeroplan Card
- American Express Aeroplan Reserve Card – if you are wanting a premium card
If you have a player 2, they could also be opening cards simultaneously. With Aeroplan, you can pool your points with the family sharing option. As for Marriott, you can send someone up to 100,000 Marriott points in a year.
As you can see, it can take some work to plan your credit cards, but you are going to be spending on daily purchases no matter what. Take advantage of that spend, open the credit cards, and start earning towards that dream vacation!
Happy Travels!
-Alexis