Canadians love to travel, both within their own country and abroad. Statistics Canada says that in 2016, the top five countries Canadians visit were the US, Mexico, United Kingdom, France and Cuba. This translated into millions of dollars spent in those countries, with the US receiving the lion’s share of foreign exchange of the almost 20,000 million Canadian dollars spent in North America.

Canadians are powering their flight and destination possibilities with credit cards that not only provide travel rewards but cash back, companion flights, points, great insurance and the ability to transfer points between cards.

Here are some smart credit card rewards savvy Canadians are using to fuel their flights.

The top credit cards with the best combination of all traveller reward

Money Sense has ranked the BMO World Elite MasterCard as the top credit card for travellers in 2017. It gives you 2% cash back on all card purchases, a $200 sign-up bonus, four airport lounge visits a year for you and your guests, plus your points never expire. It also offers best-in-class medical and travel insurance. Coming in a close second is Scotiabank Gold American Express Card, with 4% on gas, grocery, dining and entertainment and 1% back on everywhere else plus a $300 bonus, among other rewards. The best travel rewards cards overall according to Rewards Canada have also been curated. It is up to you to decide which combination of rewards you rely on the most.

The trend for loyalty rewards goes back to the days of Canadian Tire Money, and bonuses directed at the Canadian market are not solely limited to the credit card market. Localisation of rewards expands to supermarket shopping, in the form of coupons and cashback, as well as online gaming sites in the form of no deposit free spins and a deposit percentage, for instance, the 200% provided by LeoVegas. With so much competition, it’s not just rewarding earner that win big – top reward providers, whether credit card companies or mobile casinos understand only too well that customer loyalty is a two-way transactional street.

Canadian credit cards that have ditched foreign transaction fees

The average fee Canadians pay for making a purchase not in their local dollar currency comes to just under 3%. Sharp travellers have realised that since most credit card reward cash backs are coming in at about 1%, this 3% is eating up hard swiped-for cash back, and then some. What these travellers focus on instead is mainly one thing: paying the lowest fees for foreign transactions.

Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite Card is touted as the most fee-friendly for overseas transactions. Not only does this card dispense with the 2,5% foreign transaction fee, it contains 75% of all purchase and travel insurance options available. Among other benefits, you’ll earn a minimum of one reward point for every dollar spent.

The choices consumers face vary from mobile casinos, companions, shopping, and flights and cashback offers. However, the road for the traveller is open as circumstance befitting choices are made and applied daily.