Seven Credit Cards for Families Who Love to Travel

As most of you who follow my content already know, I love to travel with my family. Sadly, travelling with a family of five isn’t cheap (nor is raising one, for that matter).

Everything from grocery bills to dining out, transportation costs, utilities, and beyond is more expensive than it was before I had kids. Also, let’s not forget all the additional costs that come with raising children, like gear and clothing, childcare, school tuition, extracurricular activities, and summer camps, to name a few.

Since there’s no way around many of these expenses, you may as well maximize the benefits you can get from all the spending you do. And if you’re earning the right kinds of points, it can also make travelling more of a reality than it otherwise would be.

In this post, I’ll cover my top credit card picks for families who love to travel, with a particular focus on ones without high annual fees.

Best Card for Earning and Redeeming: American Express Cobalt Card

The first card that all families should have in their wallets is the highly touted American Express Cobalt Card.

Not only does this card have no minimum income requirement and a low $12.99 (all figures in CAD) monthly fee ($155.88 annually), it also has some of the best earning rates that you’ll find for everyday family spending categories.

This family-favourite card earns the valuable Membership Rewards points at the following rates:

• 5 points per dollar spent on eligible restaurants and groceries (up to $2,500 monthly)
• 3 points per dollar spent on eligible streaming services
• 2 points per dollar spent on eligible gas, public transit, and travel purchases
• 1 point per dollar spent on all other eligible purchases

In November 2023, there was some negative buzz around this card as it underwent a 50% drop in its welcome bonus, and it increased the monthly spend required to achieve it.

As it stands currently, you can earn a welcome bonus of up to 15,000 MR points upon spending $750 each month in the first year of card membership, earned as 1,250 points for each month in which you spend at least $750.

Despite the recent drop to the welcome bonus, the significant earning rates on this card continue to make it an excellent choice. And to be fair, it’s never really been a card that you get for its welcome bonus, but rather for the powerful earning rates on everyday…