What if I told you that some of Canada's most hyped up travel credit cards get way more attention than they deserve, while some hidden gems are sitting right under your nose just waiting to deliver outsized value year after year. Today, I'm going to talk about some of the most overrated and underrated travel credit cards in Canada. Let's go. Let's start the discussion with my pick for one of the most overrated credit cards in Canada, the WestJet RBC World Elite Mastercard. Now, this card is great for its annual companion voucher, which offers discounted travel for a second passenger, and for the first free checked bag benefit for you and up to eight passengers traveling on the same WestJet flight. With these two benefits alone, it's easy to get more value than the card's annual fee year after year. So, why do I think this card is overrated? Well, for the most part, WestJet points are worth just 1 cent per point. And when you look at the card's earning rates of two points per dollar spent on WestJet purchases and 1.5 points per dollar spent everywhere else, you're looking at a return of 2% or 1.5% on most of your spending. So, for example, to earn enough points to take $400 off the cost of a WestJet flight, you need to earn 40,000 WestJet points. So, if we assume the card's baseline earning rate of 1.5 points per dollar spent, it would take you $26,667 to earn enough points. That's a lot of money. Now, compared to other points programs out there that offer more opportunities for outsized value, or compared to other credit cards that have better category earning rates, you could get the exact same WestJet flight for half of that amount of spending or even less. For example, you could leverage the 5x category earning rate on the American Express Cobalt card, transfer those points into Delta Sky Miles and book WestJet flights a great value, or you could rack up Scene Plus points with the Scotia Bank Gold American Express card and redeem them against WestJet flights at a value of 1 cent per point, too. So, the verdict here is to keep the WestJet card for its perks, but target your spending on other credit cards for a better return on spend. So, turning the page over to our first underrated gem, the RBC ION Plus Visa. Now, this card comes with a $48 annual fee, which gives you access to 3x Avon points on grocery, dining, food delivery, gas, ride share, daily public transit, electric vehicle charging, streaming, digital gaming, and digital subscriptions. Now, this 3x earning rate can cover a lot of your daily spending, and this card is an absolute powerhouse. As an RBC ION Plus card holder, you'll enjoy membership in the Avon rewards program at the premium tier. This means that if you redeem your points for travel through the Avon rewards portal, you're limited to just 0.58 cents per point, but you can also transfer your Avon points to WestJet rewards at a 1:1 ratio. So, if you really want to pad your WestJet points balance on your daily spending, you'd only need to spend $13,333 in the 3X category to earn 40,000 Avon points, which you could then transfer into 40,000 WestJet points. Now, that's twice as fast as earning the same amount of points on your WestJet card. Now, as we've discussed on Prince of Travel many times before, if you ever decide to upgrade your RBC ion plus visa into an Avon product, or if you happen to hold an RBC ion plus Visa and an Avon product at the same time, you'll enjoy membership in the Avon rewards program at the elite tier. This opens up the most powerful opportunities in the Avon rewards program, including 1:1 points transfers with the British Airways Club and Cath Pacific Asia Miles, as well as 1 to 0.7 transfers to American Airlines Advantage. You're also able to redeem your points through the RBC air travel redemption schedule as an elite member or you can redeem them against any travel at 1 cent per point. So in other words, with this credit card combination, it's just like earning three British Airways AIOS or three Cath Pacific Asia miles per dollar spent or 2.1 American Airlines Advantage miles in the 3X category. Now, this is an excellent return on spend, especially if you can use it at places that don't accept American Express. Now, I use the RBC Ion Plus Visa all the time in my daily spending, and so do lots of people on the Prince of Travel team, and I think you should, too. Are you ready to take your travel rewards game to the next level? Join the Prince of Travel community, your hub for connecting with fellow Canadian points enthusiasts, getting insider strategies, and staying ahead of the latest deals and promotions. Whether you're just getting started or you're a seasoned pro, our community is the place to learn, share, and unlock the full potential of your points. Visit membership.princefravel.com today. Now, the next overrated credit card that we're going to talk about today is the American Express Gold Rewards card. Now, this card has a $250 annual fee, but it comes with a $100 annual travel credit. So, it's an effective $150 annual fee. Now, for spending on this card, you get two American Express Membership Rewards points per dollar spent on gas, groceries, travel, and drugstores. And this earning rate is decent, but it's not spectacular, especially at that price point. Now, exactly where do I think this credit card falls short? Well, it charges foreign transaction fees. The travel credit is restricted to American Express travel bookings only. And the category earning rates are okay, but they're not great, especially for a card with a $250 price tag. So, in some, I think this card delivers mid-tier value at a premium price tag. Now, the American Express Cobalt card offers way better earning rates for less money, and the Scotia Bank Passport Visa Infinite card offers more lounge passes for less money, too. And it doesn't charge foreign transaction fees. So, turning our attention now to an underrated powerhouse, the Scotia Bank Gold American Express card. Now, this card has a $120 annual fee and a $12,000 minimum income requirement, which means that it's pretty accessible to most Canadians. You'll earn 16 plus points per dollar spent at Empire grocery stores like Soies, Safeway, Thrifty Foods, and more. You'll earn 15 scene plus points per dollar spent on dining and entertainment purchases, and you'll earn three scene plus points per dollar spent on gas and streaming. Now, Scotia Bank also has a very generous $50,000 spending cap on these elevated categories, which most people likely won't hit over the course of the year. So, for example, if you spend $1,000 at Empire Grocery Stores every month, you'd wind up with $6,000 Scene Plus points, which is worth $60 when redeemed against travel. Now, over the course of the year, that would add up to $720 worth of points, which in exchange for a $120 annual fee is an excellent way to get outsized value. Plus, we haven't even taken into consideration other spending that you do on the card and the fact that this card also doesn't levy foreign transaction fees. Now, the great thing about Scene Plus points is that they're incredibly flexible to use. You can redeem them against purchases up to 12 months after the fact and you can book directly with travel vendors, which means that you're not forced to book through a booking portal. So, honestly, I don't know why more people aren't using this credit card. So, Wellseene Plus points aren't as powerful as say Aeroplan or American Express Membership Rewards points. They're a great points currency to collect to help offset the cost of travel that's otherwise difficult to book with points. So, moving on to another overrated card, the Beimo Eclipse Visa Infinite card. And I think this is a great example of a card that looks great on paper, but it becomes a bit less interesting when you sift through the details. Let's take a look. Now, earning five BIMO rewards points per dollar spent on gas, groceries, transit, and dining sounds great, but Beimo Rewards points are worth just 0.67 cents per point when redeemed against travel. So that 5x is actually more like a 3.35x, which is decent, but nowhere as good as it sounds. Now, if you add a supplementary card holder to your account, you will get a 10% boost to your earning rates. So, in other words, the 5x category would be bumped up to 5.5x. And with the 0.67 cent per point value, the return gets boosted to 3.69%. Now, that's better, but it's still less than the 5x return that you're expecting. And before you get too excited, you need to know that Beimo also imposes spending caps on the elevated earning rates. So for dining, you'll earn 5x points on the first $6,000 in annual purchases or $500 monthly. For grocery, you'll also earn 5x on the first $6,000 in annual purchases or $500 monthly. For gas, you'll earn 5x on the first $20,000 in annual purchases or $1,667 monthly. And for transit, you'll also earn 5x on the first $20,000 in annual purchases or $1,667 monthly. So unfortunately, dining and grocery, which have the highest potential for earning, also have the lowest spending caps. And in my opinion, this reduces the card's overall value proposition once again. So to sum it all up, I think this is a credit card that looks great on paper, but it gets a little bit less interesting once you dig into the details with a low points valuation and restrictive spending caps. So, sticking with Beimo, but moving to an underrated card in their portfolio, and that's the Beimo VI Porter World Elite Mastercard, one of the newest credit cards in Canada. Now, this card comes with an excellent introductory offer and a range of meaningful perks if you travel with Porter. And it's actually become my go-to card to use at Costco, and VIP Porter points are points that I use for traveling economy in Canada. Now, now, if you're not familiar with VIP Porter, it has one of the fastest earn ratios and loyalty programs in Canada. So, for example, you can fly from Toronto to New York for as few as 5,000 VI porter points. You can fly from Toronto to Edmonton for as few as 8,000 VI porter points. You can fly from Toronto to Halifax for as few as 7,000 VI porter points. You can fly from Toronto to Vancouver for as few as 8,000 VI porter points. And you can fly from Toronto to Los Angeles for as few as 7,000 VI porter points. That's pretty good. So, even with the card's baseline earning rate of one point per dollar spent, you're looking at a free flight for every $5,000 to $8,000 that you spend, which is excellent. Plus, as a card holder, you'll automatically be granted with VIPorter Venture Avid Traveler status. Venture status comes with a number of meaningful perks, and we've got them all listed on the Prince of Travel website, so be sure to check it out. Plus, Porter Airlines has partnerships with Air Transat and Alaska Airlines. So, in addition to redeeming your points for flights with Porter, you can also redeem them for flights with other airlines. and the redemption rates are really good. So, while Porter Airlines and the VIP Porter loyalty program don't have the same kind of recognition as Air Canada Aeroplan or WestJet Rewards, this credit card comes packed with value and gives you access to a really valuable loyalty program with plenty of opportunities to score outsized value. Now, in my opinion, Porter Airlines is an exciting airline to keep an eye on in the next couple of years. If you want to skip the learning curve, unlock premium travel faster with Prince of Travel points coaching. Get one-on-one mentorship with a dedicated points expert through four personalized sessions a year. Learn how to optimize your credit cards, book award flights, and master rewards programs. Plus, enjoy Prince of Travel Platinum membership perks, exclusive community access, and more. You can find a link to points coaching in the description below. Now, our final overrated, underrated comparison will focus on cashback credit cards. And my first pick for an overrated card is the Neo World Elite Mastercard. Now, this card boasts up to 7% cash back, which sounds great on paper, but its appeal weakens once you scratch the surface. Now, with this card, the devil is in the details since the cashback earning rates that you can get are dependent on how much money you have in a NEO everyday account. So, here's where it gets tricky. So, for gas, you'll get 3% cash back unless you have $5,000 in your account, and then you'll get 3.5% cash back, unless you have $10,000 in your account, and then you'll get 4% cash back. Now, there's a $1,000 monthly spending cap in this category, which means that you're getting a maximum of 30 or $40 cash back. It's a similar story for groceries. You'll get 5% cash back unless you have $5,000 in your account, and then you'll get 6% cash back unless you have $10,000 in your account, and then you'll get 7% cash back. But once again, there's a $1,000 spending cap, which means that your maximum return is $50 to $70 cash back each month. It's the same thing with recurring bills. You'll get 4% cash back unless you have $5,000 in your account and then you'll get 4.5% cash back unless you have $10,000 in your account and then you'll get 5% cash back. Now, on recurring bill payments, you're subject to a $500 monthly spending cap, which means that the maximum amount of cash back you can get in this category is 20 to $25. So, to maximize the value from this card, you need multiple NEO products. And it's really complicated, and it sounds a lot like a customer acquisition tool disguised as rewards. So, in my opinion, if you want to earn cash back, you're much better off using the next card on this list, or you're much better off using a card like the American Express Cobalt Card or the Scotia Bank Gold American Express card with high earning rates and higher spending caps. So, wrapping things up with another cashback card, another underrated gem is the Scotia Momentum Visa Infinite card. Now, this card earns 4% cash back on recurring bill payments and groceries up to $25,000 annually, and also 2% cash back on gas and transit. It also comes with a reasonable $120 annual fee that's often waved in the first year. So, the kicker here is that this card earns 4% cash back on recurring bill payments up to $25,000 over the course of the year. And if you can max that out, that's like getting $1,000 cash back to pay your bills. Now, at Prince of Travel, our preferred bill payment platform is Chexi, which allows you to pay pretty much any bill that you can think of using your credit card. Now, bill payments made through checks code as recurring bill payments, which means that if you use your Scotia Momentum Visa Infinite card, you can earn 4% cash back on some of your largest monthly expenses that usually earn you nothing. Now, with Chexi, you can pay pretty much any bill that you can think of using your credit card. And if you were to charge $2,83 per month using your Scotia Momentum Visa Infinite card on bill payments through Chex, you'd max out the $25,000 per year spending cap and you'd end the year with $1,000 cash back. That's essentially getting paid to pay your bills. Now, it's important to note that Checkex does charge a 1.75% processing fee. So, even with that taken into consideration, you're coming out ahead by 2.25% cash back on all of your bill payments. But, you can actually lower the checks processing fee down to as low as 0.5% by referring your friends and family to the service. And if you're able to do that, you'd be coming out ahead by 3.5% cash back on your bill payments, which is outstanding. So, if you choose to earn cash back with your credit cards instead of miles and points, be sure to use the Scotia Momentum Visa Infinite card and its 4% cash back on recurring bill payments and pair it with Chexi. So, there you have it. We've alternated between four overrated credit cards that get way too much hype and four underrated credit cards that most Canadians aren't using, but I think should. And I'm curious to hear what kind of credit card videos and loyalty program videos you want us to make on this channel. So, be sure to drop me some comments in the section below, and I'll look forward to seeing you